Union members at Cal Poly Humboldt are planning to strike in two weeks over a system-wide salary dispute.

Members of the Teamsters Local 2010, a union that represents some 1,100 skilled-labor employees for California State University (and about 26,000 other workers in California education), were promised three annual 5% salary raises and salary step increases in 2024 by California State University. CSU didn’t increase their salaries in July 2025, citing a clause that allows them to ignore that if California’s legislature didn’t sufficiently fund CSU. 

CSU wound up about $144 million short of full funding, but the state offered CSU a short-term, interest-free $144 million loan to help bridge the gap. CSU says accepting the loan doesn’t meet their definition of being fully funded, and offered a one-time bonus instead, equivalent to 3% of each employee’s salary.

The Teamsters dispute CSU’s claim to be underfunded.

“CSU, in an unprecedented display of greed, arrogance and hypocrisy, has used the state budget and cynical legal maneuvering to re-open our contract and renege on contractually promised raises and step increases,” reads their strike FAQ. “The University has unlawfully and immorally refused to pay our contractual raises and step increases and has committed numerous unfair labor practices in the process…The University can afford to pay the contractual raises and has never asserted otherwise. The University received full funding in the state budget thanks in large part to the lobbying efforts of Teamster members.”

They’re planning to strike Feb. 17-20 on all 22 CSU campuses. The chapter at Cal Poly Humboldt has 26 dues-paying members and represents another 10 that haven’t signed up yet.

“We are bargaining in good faith with Teamsters Local 2010 and remain committed to continuing negotiations in an effort to reach a mutually acceptable agreement,” reads a statement from the CSU shared by Cal Poly Humboldt’s Marketing and Communications department. “While we hope a strike can be avoided, we respect employees’ rights under the law.”

One local union member, Cal Poly Humboldt locksmith and union steward Phillip Bradley, addressed the Arcata City Council during a public comment period on Wednesday to warn residents and visitors about the strike, and apologize for any inconveniences it causes.

“I’d like to make clear this is not an action we want to take,” Bradley said. “Our strike is not targeted at anyone on our campus or in our community. Our strike is instead targeted at the chancellor’s office and the CSU Board of Trustees, who believe that the only response to a budget crisis is to freeze salaries, induce layoffs, and give raises to the highest paid executives in the CSU. We’re a group of people that like to fix things and help people. Inconveniencing others is not what we’re about. But this is our only option at this point.”

He told the Outpost today he expects some “pain points,” and shared some examples of problems that won’t be fixed over the course of the strike:

“We cover heating and cooling issues and the buildings,” he said. “Every time a toilet needs unclogging, that’s on us, or if a sink overflows…We have a building services engineer who spends most of his time working on all the industrial commercial equipment, keeping it running. We’ve got electricians that work with all of the alarms and securities. We probably get two or three calls from our University Police Department every day, just within the housing side of campus, to go check on this alarm or that alarm. Most of the time, it’s just the residents cooking food or taking showers that are too steamy. But we still need someone to go check and verify that everything’s OK. We’ve been understaffed for a while, and sometimes feels like all we’re doing is holding this place together.” 

A spokesperson for Cal Poly Humboldt told the Outpost that the university valued its skilled employees.

“It’s important to note that bargaining negotiations happen at a system level, not with the individual campuses,” reads a statement from Cal Poly Humboldt. “Skilled trades employees are important members of the campus community. We all share a commitment to providing a positive educational experience for our students, and Cal Poly Humboldt values the important work our employees do every day to make this possible. The University does not anticipate disruptions to student services. We will remain open, and classes will continue as scheduled during any strike activity.” 

Before CSU guaranteed step increases in 2024, ensuring some long-time employees would earn a salary commensurate with their skill level, Bradley said some of their skilled laborers were making less than the new hires. He said that some workers were counting on this year’s step increase to earn what they feel they should be making. Many of their health insurance premiums skyrocketed, leaving them in the red. Bradley emphasized that it wasn’t their intention to punish the students or other staff. He said the strike was the only tool they had left. 

“We love seeing all the students, and seeing them grow and learn and go out and do great things,” Bradley said. “And we want to get back to that. That’s what we’re here for.”

Press release from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

On Feb.6, 2026, after a month-long investigation, deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Problem Oriented Policing Team (POP) served a search warrant on a vehicle after conducting a traffic enforcement stop in the area of Northbound HWY 101 and Metropolitan Road. 

During a search of the vehicle and its occupants, deputies located 1.22 grams of heroin and drug paraphernalia. Ultimately, Katherine Manjarrez (32) of Fortuna was arrested for H&S 11350, Possession of Narcotics and H&S 11364, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Deputies then served a second search warrant in the 1200 block of Atterberry Lane in Fortuna. During a search of the property, deputies located 30.34 grams of fentanyl, scales, and packaging materials. Also in the residence was a one-year-old child in close proximity to the fentanyl.

Laurie Arias (60) of Fortuna, was arrested for PC 273a(a), felony child endangerment and H&S 11351, sales of narcotics.  Humboldt County Child Welfare Services was contacted and assisted with a safety plan for the child. 

Both were transported and booked at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

UPDATE, 3:11 p.m.

Rio Dell City Manager Kyle Knopp returned our phone message and explained that while the parcel is currently zone for one-acre minimum parcels, the city would “enthusiastically” support up-zoning to allow for denser development. 

The water board previously curtailed development in this area due to wastewater issues, but a new treatment plant was built in 2013 and restrictions were lifted in 2017. 

“We have a project going on already to upsize the sewer line in that area,” Knopp said. “The parcel is ripe for housing, it’s in a great location and it has beautiful views of the Scotia Bluffs.”

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Original post:

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Map of the Diocese of Santa Rosa. | CC BY-SA 3.0

The Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa recently put a handful of Northern California properties, including 8.19 undeveloped acres in Rio Dell, up for sale in an effort to raise some quick cash as it works through bankruptcy proceedings. 

The diocese, whose territory comprises Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma Counties, filed for bankruptcy in March 2023 amid an onslaught of more than 250 sexual abuse lawsuits. 

The bankruptcy proceedings paused court proceedings for those lawsuits, much to the frustration of survivors.

The Rio Dell property, located at 800 Rigby Avenue, sits on the east side of Hwy. 101, tucked into an elbow of the South Fork Eel River. Local real estate agent Marc Matteoli highlights the property’s development potential in an online listing, noting that it could be split into eight one-acre lots or subdivided into as many as 50 smaller lots.

However, a municipal zoning map shows the parcel zoned “Suburban Low,” a designation that mandates a minimum lot size of one acre. A call to Rio Dell City Manager Kyle Knopp seeking clarification was not immediately returned.

Matteoli’s listing says, “The City of Rio Dell has expressed willingness to work with a developer to create residential development here,” though it also notes that sewer system upgrades will probably be necessary.

Other properties placed on the market this week by the Diocese of Santa Rosa include a couple of vacant acres in Sebastopol, a Napa Valley vineyard, a small Napa home and a long-vacant former clergy residence in downtown Santa Rosa, the Press Democrat reports. 

A quick side note: The Diocese of Santa Rosa is headed up by Bishop Robert Francis Vasa, who last year injected himself into the State of California’s emergency abortion care lawsuit against Providence-St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka. Attorneys for the Catholic-run Providence-St. Joseph Health Northern California had reached an agreement with the Attorney General’s Office by which treating physicians would be allowed to terminate a patient’s pregnancy whenever they determined that failing to do so would seriously jeopardize the patient’s health. Vasa found the agreement’s terms were incompatible with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.

The Rio Dell property is listed at $749,000. 

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PREVIOUSLY:

• THE FORGOTTEN DISASTER: King Salmon Was Smashed by King Tides at the Beginning of the Year. Why is No One Talking About It?

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Due to damage from the 2026 Early January Storm, Tidal Flooding and King Tides event between Dec. 31, 2025 and Jan. 5, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has declared Humboldt County a disaster area.

This SBA declaration does not mean that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance is available to affected Humboldt County residents.

The declaration means that Humboldt County residents affected by this event can now apply for federal assistance through the SBA’s Disaster Loan Program. Through this program, impacted homeowners, renters, business owners and nonprofit organizations may be eligible for low-interest disaster loans to help cover flood-related damages and losses.

SBA Disaster Loan Program Details

Many businesses and nonprofits may apply for business physical disaster loans up to $2 million to repair or replace real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory and other business assets that were damaged as a result of this event.

Homeowners and renters may apply for loans up to $100,000 to replace or repair personal property like clothing, furniture, cars and appliances. Homeowners may also apply for up to $500,000 to repair or replace their primary residence.

For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries and private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers economic injury disaster loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster, even if a business or organization did not suffer physical damage. These loans can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, bills and other expenses left unpaid because of the disaster.

SBA can also lend additional funds to businesses and homeowners to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

Please note that the SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers or ranchers, except for aquaculture enterprises.

Residents should also note that these are low-interest loans that must be paid back in accordance with loan parameters set by the SBA. The SBA determines loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial situation.

How to Apply

Residents impacted by this disaster may apply online and receive additional disaster assistance information at SBA.gov/Disaster.

To provide in person assistance to community members, the SBA will be opening a Disaster Loan Outreach Center at 1 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9 at Humboldt Grange #501, located at 5845 Humboldt Hill Road in Eureka. The center will be open Mondays - Fridays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., closed Monday, Feb. 16 for the Presidents Day holiday. Walk-ins are accepted, but appointments can be scheduled in advance at Appointment.SBA.gov.

For more information regarding SBA Disaster assistance, applicants may also email SBA’s Customer Service Center at DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov or call 1-800-659-2955. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

The deadline to apply for property damage assistance is April 6. The deadline to apply for economic injury assistance is Nov. 3.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services would like to thank the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and Humboldt Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) for their work to secure these resources for the community.

For updated local emergency information, please visit HumboldtGov.org/Emergency and follow @HumCoOES on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter).

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At this week’s meeting in Half Moon Bay, the California Coastal Commission took its first look at a new plan to improve communications and foster trust between offshore wind developers and the state’s commercial fishing fleet.

In 2024, the California Coastal Commission and its staff assembled a working group of eight fishermen, five wind developers, three fisheries associations and three tribal members, along with representatives from various state and federal regulatory agencies, to work out a strategy to offset potential impacts associated with offshore wind development.

Over the past two years, the working group has convened eight multi-day meetings to hash out its differences and come up with a playbook for offshore wind developers that recognizes and protects the economic and cultural importance of California’s fisheries. Through these discussions, the working group developed a draft plan – Statewide Strategy for the Coexistence of California Fishing Communities and Offshore Wind Energy – that outlines potential mitigation measures developers can take to minimize impacts to fishing communities “in a manner that prioritizes fishery productivity, viability, and long-term resilience.

The 422-page document outlines best practices for data collection and survey work, mitigation measures and effective communication with fisheries. It also provides special considerations for tribal communities and a socioeconomic analysis of commercial fisheries, including a guiding framework to establish compensation programs and resiliency funds “intended to help potentially affected fishing communities respond and adapt to offshore wind projects.”

The document was developed as a part of SB 286, State Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire’s bill aimed at streamlining permitting for offshore wind developments. The bill requires the Coastal Commission to develop and adopt a statewide strategy to address potential impacts to commercial and recreational fisheries by May 1. 

Speaking during the public comment period, McGuire commended the working group for meeting the deadline and putting together a strong policy that “protects California’s storied fishing grounds … and has tribal leaders at the table at every step of the way.” He also took the opportunity to make a small jab at the Trump administration.

McGuire | Screenshot

“The Trump administration today is saying that they’re going to put out an executive order to keep coal alive here in the United States of America,” McGuire said. “We know that the United States of America and the majority of its residents have already moved on. … You are preparing and laying the groundwork to ensure that offshore wind is a bright point in our renewable energy future, once the fascists are elected out.”

Several times during Wednesday’s presentation, staff and members of the working group reiterated that the strategic plan is a “living document” and will likely be subject to change years and decades down the line. That said, Mark Fina, a member of the working group and executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association, asked that the language be left as-is for the time being. 

“It’s pretty tortured language … but I would suggest that it not be tweaked and edited,” Fina said. “The committee went over words very closely, and I just think now is not the time to kind of play with wording. I think it’s worth letting this document rest for a while [to] let people digest it … [because] no developments are happening in the very near future. … In terms of dealing with each other, it has good ground rules that will guide expectations and actions.”

Ken Bates, a working group member and longtime advocate for both local and state fisheries, urged the Coastal Commission to use the document to establish conditions that “have the force and effect of the law and minimize impacts to fishermen and fishing communities.”

“Permit conditions should include robust funding for long-term fishing community resiliency in light of the irreplaceable fishing ground loss that the footprints of these projects take up,” Bates said. “I would point out … that the Coastal Commission is the only state agency with specific provisions for protecting and enhancing commercial fishing activities within the [its] charter.”

Representative of Vineyard Offshore and RWE, the developers who purchased leases in the Humboldt Wind Energy Area, participated in the working group as well. Rick Robins, director of marine affairs for RWE said the draft plan “provides an important foundation for successful coordination throughout the life cycle of the development process.”

Robins | Screenshot

“We all learned a lot from each other as we developed the strategy,” he said. “It really would be hard to overstate how much effort went into the process. The strategy provides clear and practical guidance to support the responsible development of offshore wind in California and to promote successful coexistence with the fishing industry.”

Humboldt County Supervisor and Commissioner Mike Wilson joined commissioners in thanking the working group for their contributions to the report, but emphasized that there is still work to be done.

“When we’re in these processes, [I have to] remind myself that we’re pursuing offshore wind, and specifically floating offshore wind, to address a crisis, and that crisis will impact the ocean that we’re talking about,” he said. “The crisis isn’t just sea level rise … we’re also talking about warming and … seeing changes in where species can survive.”

If you missed Wednesday’s meeting, you’ll have a few opportunities to give your two cents before the strategic plan comes back to the commission for adoption. There will be a tribal roundtable at 10 a.m. on Feb. 9  and fishery-centric meetings at 1 p.m. on Feb. 18 and 9 a.m. on Feb 20.

The document will come back to the commission in April.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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California is again updating the system it uses to decide which polluted communities get cleanup funding. The tool, CalEnviroScreen, has already steered billions of dollars to the state’s most burdened neighborhoods, but critics say it still overlooks some of them.

The update is reigniting a long-smoldering debate: officials promise they’re listening to communities more than ever, while advocates say the state’s data gaps leave some areas invisible to the system designed to help them.

What’s new

Officials at the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, the state agency managing the tool, said they worked with eight community organizations to design this fifth update – including the Environmental Health Coalition, UNIDOS Network and Comite Civico del Valle. The update adds two indicators: diabetes prevalence, because people with diabetes are more vulnerable to air pollution; and small air toxic sites, to track additional risks from sources like urban oil wells and dry cleaners.

EnviroScreen also incorporates data improvements among some of the 21 other indicators it uses, such as adding children’s blood lead levels to a risk assessment for lead exposure from housing. The state will hold virtual and in-person public meetings this month to gather feedback; officials said they expect to publish a final version in the summer.

“We listen to stakeholders, community groups, academics, government agencies to understand any new layers that might be needed to better characterize both the pollution burden and the population vulnerability,” said Álvaro Alvarado, the environmental agency’s supervising toxicologist. “It’s a constant work in progress.”

State law requires at least 25% of California’s cap-and-invest funds — money raised through greenhouse gas auctions — go to the most disadvantaged communities. Since 2014, the state has used CalEnviroScreen to define them, including the top 25% of census tracts in that definition.

Laura August, the agency’s environmental program manager, said the update does not dramatically shift the census tracts identified as among the most polluted. She said the Bay Area and Central Valley decreased in the ranking slightly. About 80% of communities designated as disadvantaged remain unchanged in the new update, she said.

How the tool works and what it’s missing

Disadvantaged communities have received at least $5.8 billion in cap-and-invest funds since 2015.

Environmental advocates said that although the tool is essential and provides important resources, it still leaves out important information. Some critics want to see additional indicators, such as tree canopy coverage and wildfire smoke data.

“It would need to have the kind of ground-truthing work … which is to literally walk the neighborhood and count and calculate all the different polluting sources (and stressors) like heat islands and lack of tree cover and water stress,” said Rebecca Overmyer-Velazquez, a coordinator for the Clean Air Coalition of North Whittier and Avocado Heights.

State environmental officials said they plan to incorporate climate data and data about pollution magnets, like warehouses, in future versions of the tool.

Questions about the methodology

Beyond what data to include, researchers have also questioned whether the tool’s design itself creates blind spots.

In 2024, researchers with Johns Hopkins University found the previous version of the tool, CalEnviroScreen 4.0, was subjective enough that certain communities could be losing out on billions of dollars.

“If you’re the model developer, even if you don’t feel that you have any personal biases or you’re not thinking about it, all those choices that you make when you make the model, you are implicitly deciding who gets funding and who doesn’t,” said Benjamin Huynh, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

For example, the current version of CalEnviroScreen includes data about emergency room visits for asthma as an indicator of how sensitive to air pollution people in a particular area are. But some people, including immigrants, are less likely to visit an emergency room than others – or even visit doctors in the first place, to get diagnosed.

August said the agency took researchers’ criticism seriously. Late last year, she and other state scientists defended the tool in a published report, finding that the state’s methods “prioritize generalizability, dissemination, and utilization without sacrificing accuracy.”

Advocates want real change

But even with improvements to the data, advocates said the bigger problem is how the tool gets used — or not used.

CalEnviroScreen was a product, in part, of advocacy from environmental justice leaders in the 1990s. But advocates said they aren’t sure whether the programs funded by the money are actually leading to pollution reduction, and agencies aren’t using the tool aggressively enough in their own policies.

Parents and children join the Lincoln Heights Community Coalition in a rally outside Hillside Elementary School, protesting the development of a warehouse across the street that activists say would harm the health of local residents, in Los Angeles on Nov. 26, 2024. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters

Bradley Angel, director of the environmental group Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, faulted the state for not using the tool to deny waste permits to polluters.

“It’s great that CalEnviroScreen exists … but when communities and environmental justice groups were advocating for what became CalEnviroScreen, they weren’t looking at dollar signs. They were looking to protect our health,” Angel said.

State agencies do use the tool in some policy decisions. The Air Resources Board used EnviroScreen to determine which communities would be a part of its Community Air Protection program, which aims to reduce air pollution.

Under a draft regulation, officials with the Department of Toxic Substances Control said it will use CalEnviroScreen as a proxy for cumulative impacts in permitting decisions. But environmental advocates have called the regulation flawed because those impacts cannot prevent the department from issuing a hazardous waste permit.

“Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, (the department) pays lip service to CalEnviroScreen’s own information,” Angel said.

Looking to other states

At least one other state proves that more aggressive responses to environmental justice indicators are possible, advocates said.

New Jersey has developed a data tool, influenced by CalEnviroScreen. Two years ago, New Jersey started requiring polluting facilities to use its tool to analyze cumulative impacts of different pollution sources in a community. State regulators must deny permits to facilities that can’t avoid harm to overburdened communities.

“The tool is just a tool,” said Caroline Farrell, director of the Environmental Law and Justice Clinic at Golden Gate University. “You’ve got to be able to figure out how you want to utilize it in a way that actually changes things on the ground for communities.”

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our sister, Brenda Olson.

Brenda Lynn Olson, born December 16, 1964 to Melvin and Joyce Gross in Eureka, passed away peacefully on January 23 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka.

Growing up on a farm Brenda discovered her love for animals, particularly horses, and she very much enjoyed being a member of the Freshwater 4-H horse club. Then when she entered middle school she discovered her love for boys, and then in high school she fell in love with “the” boy, Danny Olson. They married and had a beautiful son, Danny Olson Jr. Danny Jr. was her world and being his mom was how she best identified herself.

Throughout her years she enjoyed many lasting friendships. She loved the beach, searching for shells, agates, unique rocks and watching the sunset. She enjoyed long walks along the Van Duzen river at the family’s summer home in Little Golden Gate and spending time with her family. Later in life she began to enjoy gardening, crocheting and painting, as she was a true artist. She loved her home in the country surrounded by nature and her family. She was especially fond of her hummingbirds. In fact, after her son passed away a white hummingbird, very rare, appeared and she said it was her son Danny checking on her to make sure she was okay.

There are many things we will miss about our sister Brenda but her sense of humor will always be at the top of our list. Her ability to make people laugh, even in difficult times, was a gift. She always reminded us not to take life too seriously.

Brenda is survived by her her sisters, Teri, Melanie (Larry Noe), Glenda Kelley, her nephew Steven Gross (Jessica), great nephew Thacher, great niece Addison and her furry friends Gus and Bay.

Brenda is preceded in death by her grandfather Edwin Gross, father Melvin Gross, grandmother Mabel Meth, grandfather John Mitts Sr., grandmother Florence Mitts, mother Joyce Gross, uncle Jon Mitts Jr., son Danny Olson Jr., dear friends Mary Lu, Vicky, Jan and her best friend and companion Riley.

Brenda’s family wishes to thank the amazing care, kindness and compassion from the doctor’s, nurses and staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Memorial contributions may be made in Brenda’s name to your favorite animal rescue.

A private family service will be held.