UPDATE, 3:30 p.m.: DHHS says that funding for WIC has been extended through the month of November. SNAP funding is still at risk.

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ORIGINAL POST:

Press release from the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services:

As the federal government shutdown enters its third week, the Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) is bracing for impacts to benefits starting Nov. 1, including to the approximately 22% of county residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. 

In Humboldt County, more than 30,000 individuals receive SNAP — CalFresh — which equates to between $5.8 and $6 million a month. These benefits not only supplement the food budgets of elderly community residents, families with children and other individuals, there are many businesses in the county that accept EBT cards (which is how these benefits are delivered) and rely on this income as well. Statewide, approximately 5.5 million residents are expected to lose benefits effective Nov. 1, 2025.

Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate approximately 42 million individuals will be impacted by the loss of SNAP benefits nationwide, if the shutdown continues. 

Currently, the approximately 2,880 participants who receive benefits through the WIC (Women, Infants & Children) program, can expect to continue receiving them through the first week in November. 

DHHS Director Connie Beck said she is already seeing the impacts on staff who are anticipating this loss of benefits in the coming weeks. “It is daunting knowing we soon may not be able to provide services to the folks who depend on us.” 

Beck said staff is working on messaging about other resources that may be available, including local food banks, to provide to current customers if benefits are halted.

At this time, funding to programs including Foster Care Title IV-E and In-Home Supportive Services is expected to be covered through the end of the year, despite the ongoing shutdown. 

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

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California’s elected and appointed officials will now have to tell the public when they’ve accepted a job offer from a new employer that might seek favors from them while they’re still in a position of power.

Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month signed Assembly Bill 1286 by Democratic Assemblymember Tasha Boerner of Solana Beach. The measure requires California’s elected officials and state appointees to note on mandatory conflict of interest forms whether they’ve gotten a new job before their term in office ends.

Boerner introduced the measure in response to a CalMatters story last year that highlighted how lawmakers were not required to tell the public if they were negotiating or had accepted a job with an organization trying to get something from the Legislature.

“People’s distrust of the government is growing,” Boerner said in a statement after the bill was presented to Newsom. “As public servants, one of the most important parts of our job is transparency. It is the one-way ticket to building confidence between government officials and their communities.”

Shery Yang, a spokesperson for the California Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces California’s ethics laws, said Chairperson Adam Silver proposed the bill idea to Boerner’s office after reading CalMatters’ story.

Under the new law, officials must now provide the commission with the date they accept a job offer, the position they’re going to take and a description of what their employer does, as well as their employer’s name and address. Boerner’s bill passed the Legislature without any lawmaker voting against it.

The CalMatters report came as around a quarter of the Legislature was leaving office. Some lawmakers were searching for their next job while still casting votes, potentially on matters that could benefit their future employers.

Of the 180 lawmakers who left office since 2012, the story noted, around 40 registered as lobbyists, worked as political consultants or took executive-level jobs with companies or organizations actively lobbying at the Capitol.

It’s illegal and considered bribery for a government official to cast votes or do other official favors in exchange for a promise of future employment. It’s also illegal for officials to use state resources to search for or secure a new job.

Lawmakers also are supposed to recuse themselves from any official actions that have “direct and significant” financial impact on an entity with whom they are negotiating employment or who has made them an employment offer,” according to a legislative ethics committee handout.

But state ethics guidelines still allow lawmakers to vote on bills that could benefit a prospective employer, allowing them to discuss and vote on bills that would benefit a “significant segment” of an industry rather than their specific would-be employer.

In practice, that means a lawmaker with a job pending at a major tech company can continue to vote on legislation that impacts all tech companies.

Government ethics experts told CalMatters last year that adding disclosure requirements for job-hunting lawmakers would add needed transparency and help keep lawmakers and lobbyists honest.

FPPC Chairperson Silver called the measure “an important step forward for transparency and accountability in the political process.”

“This reform is about something bigger than disclosure forms — it is about trust,” he said in a statement. “It guarantees that Californians know their government is working for them, not for private interests. And more practically, it ensures that the FPPC has the information necessary to timely and effectively identify and prosecute violations of the state’s ban on influencing prospective employment.”

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

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Starting next year, Californians with diabetes will be able to purchase state-branded insulin at steeply reduced prices, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today.

Long-acting insulin pens will be available at pharmacies for $11 per pen — or $55 for a five-pack — beginning Jan. 1. The pens are interchangeable with glargine, the generic alternative for Lantus, a once-a-day injection that regulates blood sugar. An equivalent amount of Lantus sells to pharmacies for more than $92, according to data compiled by the governor’s office, but consumers may pay a different price based on their insurance.

“California didn’t wait for the pharmaceutical industry to do the right thing — we took matters into our own hands,” Newsom said in a statement released at 3 a.m. Pacific time. “No Californian should ever have to ration insulin or go into debt to stay alive.”

Roughly 3.5 million Californians have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Lawmakers at the state and federal level have focused in recent years on the high cost of insulin, a life-saving drug used by diabetics. Price caps set by the Biden administration in 2023 as well as public pressure have driven down the cost nationally, according to health economists.

The sale of insulin is part of the state’s CalRx initiative aimed at lowering prescription drug prices for Californians. Today’s announcement comes three years after Newsom announced the state would tackle the cost of insulin. The first vials of insulin will be for sale two years after the governor’s promised delivery date of 2024.

Newsom originally pledged that the state would spend $50 million to contract with Civica Rx, a nonprofit drug manufacturer headquartered in Utah. The state earmarked another $50 million to build a manufacturing plant in California, but has given no updates on that project.

In a statement, Elizabeth Landsberg, director of the state health care access department that oversees CalRx, said the program was “committed to transparent pricing, eliminating hidden costs, and ensuring equitable medication access for uninsured, underinsured, and vulnerable residents.”

Less than a week ago, Newsom signed legislation capping out-of-pocket insurance costs for insulin at $35.

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Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

Treasured Firstborn Daughter; Big Sister; Wife; Auntie/Tia to her siblings’ children and countless other children she loved; Teacher-Mentor-Art Docent-Art Patron-Advocate-Collaborator-Knitter- Weaver-Gardener-Dancer-Reader-Cat Lover-World Traveler and above all a Positive Force of Nature! Lucy was a genius at nurturing life-long friendships, serving her community, and enjoying life to the fullest.

Born in La Jolla, California on July 13, 1942, to Hazel (Robertson) and Lt. Colonel Mathew Santino, her early years were spent as an Army brat exploring exotic locations in the United States, Panama, Argentina and Colombia (where she fell in love with the Spanish language, flamenco and bullfighters). Her siblings Mary, Peter and Nancy arrived during this period. In 1956 the Santino family moved to Eureka, returning to where her mother’s side had called home since the 1850s. She made friends easily at Eureka Senior High and graduated as class treasurer in 1960. At Humboldt State College, she earned a BA in 1964 and an MA in 1982. It was there Lucy found Lewis Quinby (in his own words: challenging, charming, cranky, comforting), the love of her life. They married in 1966.

After Lewis earned his BA and MA from Humboldt State College in photography, he became interested in group and family therapy and earned his LCSW at Sacramento State in 1971. He became Eureka’s most memorable therapist and family counselor and advocate for transactional analysis.

Lucy dove into a 35-year teaching career in Eureka City Schools. In 1993, she was awarded the prestigious Milken Educator Award. She first taught at Zane Jr. High and then Eureka High School, retiring in 2000 as Eureka High’s most beloved Spanish teacher ¡Señora Quinby! Lucy delighted in running into former students and their children and their grandchildren wherever she went, and while holding court with Lewis at Ramone’s Bakery on Harrison.

Those two, Lucy & Lew, traveled the world like crazy for 50 years. A river cruise in Europe. The highlands of Scotland. The inland passage to Alaska. Hong Kong. Paris. Mexico… returning after each voyage for work and rest in their cozy home in Myrtletown that they bought in 1972. Their garden said so much about them: Zen-like, bonsai, defined, well-tended favorite trees but also dripping with roses and raspberries, succulents and heathers. Private and sheltering, welcoming and generous.

In addition to decades of family gatherings and solo retreats at her grandmother Zoe Barnum’s Salyer cabin, Lucy also traveled with her mother, Hazel Santino, to places they had lived in South America, to Robertson-family origins in Scotland, and a memorable trip to Tuscany to visit Peter and his family for Hazel’s 75th birthday.Soon after Lucy’s retirement from Eureka City Schools, her mother had a stroke and Lucy devoted herself to taking care of her and making arrangements that allowed her mother to stay in her own home, as she wished, until her passing in 2008.

Even if you only met Lucy once, you’ll remember her vibrant smile and feisty energy. For the last quarter of a century she dedicated so much time to mission-driven organizations including: The Humboldt Arts Council where she served both on the board and as a docent for the Morris Graves Museum of Art; Humboldt County Children’s Author Festival (she was always a favorite with the authors); Overseeing the Mathew Santino Scholarship Program, at Humboldt Area Foundation, for students of international relations and foreign languages; and working together with Lewis on the Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka’s project providing assistance to hospitals in Mexico.

After Lewis died on January 5, 2022, Lucy’s plans to start traveling again were thwarted by her failing health. To mitigate her frustration that travel had become impossible, dear friends, family and her excellent caregivers took her on jaunts to restaurants and the glorious vistas of Humboldt County, cooked for her, invited her to tea, sat with her while she knitted and told stories and laughed, or called from around the world. Lucy was pampered, coiffed, Reiki-ed, amused, her every food whim satisfied. Though frail, she was spotted at the center of local parties and dedications, always smiling and positive. Her siblings did for her, what she had done for their mother, whatever was necessary for her to stay in her own home for the rest of her remarkable life.

She stunned us all with her determination to enjoy life between health ups and downs, her illness more than just inconvenient, it would likely have been unbearable for anyone who was not Lucy (in her own words: stubborn Scot and tough Siciliana)!

Hospice very gently declared her in transition on a Friday, and she was gone just before midnight on Sunday, September 28, 2025. Lucy’s powerful soul left with her usual flourish. A storm was brewing, her windchimes wildly playing, her front door blew open and she was gone. Decisively. Naturally. Her life was magical and so was her crossing over. A hearty rain then fell on her precious garden. She died in her home as she wished, knowing she was exceedingly well loved and had loved well in return.

Lucy was confident that her work will continue professionally, and full of heart, by those she mentored and collaborated with. She was so grateful for this life, this work, her devoted family and friends. And somehow after so many rallies, for so many years, she managed to surprise us all at how quickly she could make things happen when she declared herself ready! But didn’t she always do that?

Because Lucy adored Christmas, her Celebration of Life will be held December 20, 2025, 1-3 p.m. at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, 636 F Street, Eureka.

If you cannot attend, Lucy will understand, but when you travel to exotic lands, taste the food, smell the air, feel the weather, ENJOY! ENJOY!! ENJOY!!! and tell her all about it.Lucy Quinby is survived by her siblings, and their spouses, Mary Troth (Chris), Peter Santino (Shirley), Nancy Andrews (Bill); her nephews and nieces, Jeremy Jerome (Sunny), Jake Jerome, Nathan Weiss, Hazel Lee Santino and Luciano Matteo Santino; grandniece Karli Weiss and grandnephews Caleb Jerome and Skyler Jerome - as well as a legion of amazing and fortunate people she called friends.

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Marian Jean Christiansen was born on October 22, 1929, and went home to be with her Lord and Savior in Heaven on September 25, 2025, living an active and fruitful life for almost 96 years. Marian was the only child of Albert and Gladys Janke and grew up in Eureka attending Lincoln School and graduating from Eureka High School in 1946. She married Robert Christiansen on February 1, 1948, and together they raised three children, Suzie, Bob and Carla.

Marian went back to college after Carla started school and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from Humboldt State College in 1962. She taught at Washington Elementary School (4th to 6th grade) for 25 years before retiring in 1987. She was a very dedicated teacher, often the last one on campus and grading papers late into the evening at home. Her students have commented “Mrs. C was strict, but fair and I learned a lot!” They often recall California Missions projects and trips to Canada as highlights of history with Mrs. C.

Before her husband died in 1997, he and Marian loved doing most everything together including dancing at the Danish Dance Festival, square dancing and dance clubs. They also enjoyed traveling in their trailer around the western USA, horseback riding in the local mountains and beaches and spending special time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Marian has been an active member of First Covenant Church for almost 30 years. Some of the activities she enjoyed there were: singing in the choir, bible study, 15-year chairperson for Operation Christmas Child, sewing Christmas stockings for local foster children, cooking and sewing for various kids camps and fellowship groups along with supporting the Eureka Rescue Mission.

Marian has been a quilter for many years and enjoyed the fellowship of other quilters in special groups of friends. She felt blessed to be a part of these groups that shared her passion for quilting.

Marian is survived by her three children and their families which includes eight grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. Her family have been privileged to share their lives and especially these past few years caring for their wonderful Mom and Grandma who was the matriarch of the family and she will be greatly missed. With the help of her children, faithful caregiver Donna and Hospice of Humboldt they were able to fulfill her wish to remain home until her passing.

A celebration of life Service will be held at First Covenant Church, 2526 J Street, Eureka on Sunday, October 19, 2025, at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Marian’s honor can be made to: First Covenant Church (Operation Christmas Child Fund), Eureka Rescue Mission or Hospice of Humboldt.

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Our beloved mother, Juanita May (Sullivan) Anderson, has passed away of natural causes. With her children by her side, she closed her blue eyes for the last time on October 10, 2025 at the age of 96 in Eureka.

She was born on September 2, 1929 in Battle Creek, Michigan to parents Goldie (Biggs) Sullivan and Claude Sullivan. She was the middle child of three girls, older sister Princess, and younger sister Barbara.

Her parents started their life together in West Frankfort, Illinois. There her father worked in the coal mine, while her mother took care of the home and their first daughter. After several years working in the coal mine, her father moved his family to Battle Creek, Michigan, where he was able to get a better job at the Kellogg Cereal Factory, working on the belt line that roasted, what was then and now known as the breakfast cereal Kellogg’s Cornflakes, until he retired.

With the birth of their second child, a little blue-eyed, blonde-haired daughter they named Juanita May Sullivan, they moved out of the small one bedroom apartment to a house a few miles out of town. A few years later their third daughter Barbara completed the family.

Over the years Juanita and her sisters enjoyed living there. In winter, they shoveled the snow from the driveway, which according to her, Princess and Juanita did more playing in the snow than shoveling…but they always got it done before their father got home. Then, in the spring and summer, they helped weed the garden, but soon their father noticed that there was more eating than weeding going on. His three daughters loved to eat the tomatoes and string beans off the vines and put as many strawberries and raspberries in their mouth as they possibly could. So, he would chase them out of the garden, and they would run away giggling. Summer was also a time to spend afternoons with her sisters at the river, swimming and talking, which she loved so much.

Her memories growing up with not only her sisters and her parents, but also in the company of her grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins on both sides of her family, would always bring a smile to her face.

In 1945, at the age of sixteen, she was introduced to a young soldier by the name of Virgil L. Anderson, who would become the love of her life and the father of her six children. They were married on May 24, 1946 in Battle Creek. They lived there during and after Virgil’s discharge from the army for several more years. During those years, Juanita gave birth to their first three children, Virgil Jr., Shirley, and Wanetta. Then they moved to California, where Virgil was from. They stayed awhile in Fresno, but there were no long-term jobs there, so they packed up again and headed for Eureka, this time with another addition, a new baby girl named Rose. There, they were able to move into a house that was close to Virgil’s family, and Virgil got a permanent job with the California State Highway, better known today as Caltrans. Juanita loved it there — more room for her family, which was good, for in time two more baby girls were born, Janet, and completing the family, Marcia.

Mom was a very caring and loving mother, who always put her children first. No matter what time of the day or night, when one of us needed her, she was there! She wiped away our tears, held us when we were frightened, put a band-aid on our scratches, always followed by a kiss. At the end of a long day — and no matter how tired or sick she must have been at times — she made sure all of her children were fed, bathed daily and had clean clothes to wear and a clean, warm bed to sleep in.

Mom liked to read, work on large puzzles, sew and quilt blankets for any and all newborn babies that came along in her extended family or neighbors.

She was always there to baby-sit any children for parents that needed her help.

Until the day she died, she still remembered each of those children and their names.

Mom believed in herself and her husband. They grew strong together in their love for each other and their children. Mom also believed in her faith in Jehovah God. She grew even stronger with His love and support. She would read her Bible each day, and prayed to her heavenly Father to help her through times of sorrow that would touch her life many times over.

Mom was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 65 years, Virgil L. Anderson Sr., her parents Goldie and Claude Sullivan, sisters Princess (Sullivan) Allerding and Barbara (Sullivan) Gamble, grandparents and great-grandparents Sullivan and Biggs, son-in-law Denny Procissi, great-grandson Clayton Jackson, great-grandson Douglas Anderson, father-in-law Lloyd Anderson and step mother-in-law Ruth Anderson, ex mother-in-law Lucille Lane, sister-in-law Vyral Reeser, sister in-law Pat Anderson, brother-in-law Norris Blasingame and many more loving relatives and friends.

She is survived by her six children, son Virgil Jr. (wife Susan), daughters Shirley (husband Chris Cabalzar Jr.), Wanetta, Rose, Janet and Marcia. And eleven grandchildren, twenty great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren, her sister in-law Barbara Blasingame, sister-in-law and brother in-law Mary Sue and Carl Anderson, brother in-law Andy Anderson, nieces, nephews, and many friends. If we have left someone out, please forgive us. There are so many of you who she loved and cared about.

A Message and a Wish for You, Mom

Mom, our hearts are broken … and tears are falling down our face … but you are not here to wipe them away. But we know what you would say … “No, I am not there … my time with you … my children … has ended for now. But you have each other to lean on for support and strength … that’s what I want you kids to do”

And that’s what we will do, Mom.

Mom, our wish for you … may the next time you open your blue eyes … may you see Dad and your family … that you have wanted to see and be with for so long.

But for now rest … your work is done.

Thank you Mom for everything … We Love You … Goodnight!

— Virgil, Shirley, Wanetta, Rose, Janet, Marcia

“Jehovah is my shepherd. I will lack nothing. In grassy pastures he makes me lie down; He leads me to well-watered resting-places.” Psalm 23:1, 2

Viewing:

• Goble’s Mortuary, Fortuna
• Friday, October 17, 2025
• 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Funeral Service :

• Goble’s Mortuary, Fortuna
• Friday October 17, 2025
• 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Burial Service:

• Sunset Memorial, Eureka, at 2 p.m.

We, the children of Juanita Anderson, want to thank the following nurses and staff for their loving and wonderful care they gave our mother over the last days of her life.

• Dr. Gregory Holst
• St. Joseph Providence Hospital
• Granada
• Sequoia Springs Senior Living
• Hospice of Humboldt

In lieu of flowers please make donations to her favorite charities, the Cancer Society and Hospice of Humboldt.

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Born on January 21, 1934 in Eureka during the Great Depression, and died September 25, 2025. She was one of 12 children. 

Elizabeth knew what it meant to work hard. She worked at Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Service for over 30 years. During the 1964 flood in Humboldt County, she helped pass out supplies from a helicopter. Quite the adventure for someone who did not like being in the air.

Elizabeth was a happy grandmother to 6 grandchildren and great grandmother to 9.  She was there at almost every sports game, graduation, and any other events involving her grandchildren.

She had a very giving spirit, happy to help different causes that she loved. She loved her garden and took great pride in her flowers. She loved collecting  mice figures and enjoyed displaying them in her home.

She has survived by her children: Jo Ann Mell, Ernest Leon Millot III and David Allen Millot (Regina). Grandchildren: Stephanie Francis (Robbie), Kimberly Laddipalli (Sai), David Millot Jr. (Casey), Scott Mell, Michael Millot and Kyle Millot.  Sisters: Patricia Ennes & Mary Mahoney (Dennis). Brothers: Joseph Cramer & Richard Cramer (Teresa). Numerous nieces & nephews.

She was preceded in death by second husband, Ray Woods, ex-husband, Ernest Millot Jr. daughter, Lee Ann Millot. Brothers: John Cramer, Gerald Cramer, Myron Cramer, Art Cramer, Ray Cramer, Henry Cramer. Sister: Barbara Garling.

Arrangements made by Ayres Family Cremation/Ocean View Cemetery. There will be a graveside gathering at Sunset Memorial Park in Eureka on October 25, 2025 at 1 p.m. All are welcome.