The owner of Eureka’s prized Queen Anne Victorian “The Pink Lady” – excuse me, “The Pinc Lady” or simply “The Pinc” – hopes to bring new life to the beloved mansion by expanding lodging opportunities for its visitors, offering guided tours of the grounds and serving up tea-time treats at an in-house café.
The Eureka Planning Commission will consider a request to move forward with these changes during tonight’s regular meeting, but before we dive into the particulars of the project proposal, allow me to address that burning question in your mind: What’s up with that “c” in The Pinc?
The “c” is intended to honor cancer survivors, according to The Pinc’s website, and efforts “to raise awareness, improve the perceptions of the disease and remind you to make sure to keep current with annual exams and screenings.” They’ve also incorporated a pink ribbon, the international symbol for breast cancer awareness, into their logo.
If somehow you’re not familiar, the iconic bubblegum pink mansion is located at the intersection of Second and M streets in Eureka’s Old Town Historic District, across the street from the even-more-famous Carson Mansion.
The four-bedroom main house is currently permitted as a single vacation dwelling unit for no more than 10 guests, excluding children under eight years old, and must be rented in its entirety by a single group, in accordance with coastal zoning code. The mansion’s current owner, Jacqueline Kretchmer, is hoping to change the Pinc Lady’s designation to “lodging use” to create four separate rental units and a café/lounge common area.
“The basement of the main house, which is at street level along a portion of Second Street, would be converted into a 1,408-square-foot restaurant (‘café/lounge’) with a maximum of 45 occupants including two employees, operating between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily,” the staff report states. “The second floor of the main house, which includes four bedrooms and two bathrooms, would be operated as a lodging house with two employees. Guests of the lodging house would also have access to the common spaces on the first floor of the main house, including a kitchen.”
The detached carriage house is currently being used as a long-term residence. Under the proposed project, the first floor of the carriage house would be converted into a 384-square-foot gift shop and the second floor of the carriage house would remain a long-term residence.
The Pinc Lady would also serve as a venue for small, boutique weddings. “The applicant also proposes to rent out the main house for up to 12 weddings per year, up to six hours per event,” the staff report continued, noting that each event would be restricted to 37 people per event due to Building and Fire Code constraints. “The weddings would occur indoors, on the first floor of the main house and in the basement (the proposed restaurant space).”
Under the proposed project, “tea and tour” events would be held twice weekly in the main house between April and October. “The tea and tours would be hosted by the same two employees running the lodging house … and would operate alongside the other proposed uses, except for weddings.”
Kretchmer is also hoping to use the property for small hospitality and culinary training classes. The staff report notes that private schools are allowed in the particular zoning district with a conditional use permit but, in this case, the use is considered “more incidental to the other uses, as the trainees will not be taught through classes but will instead assume the role of employees.”
The applicant has also requested a variance to retroactively permit a newly installed fence bordering the northern and eastern perimeter of the property.
“The applicant asked the city about permitting for the fence prior to its construction but indicated the fence would be less than six feet in height, and as a result, architectural review was not originally required,” the staff report states. “However, as constructed, portions of the fence exceed six feet in height as measured from the higher finished grade adjoining the fence … and thus the fence requires architectural review.”
The Eureka Planning Commission will discuss the ins and outs of the project proposal (among a handful of other items) during tonight’s meeting at 5:30 p.m. at Eureka City Hall – 531 K Street. You can view the full agenda and directions on how to participate in-person or virtually here.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On Oct. 8, 2022, at about 2:19 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 200 block of Myers Avenue in Myers Flat for the report of a disturbance.
According to the reporting party, an unknown number of suspects arrived at the residence and reportedly began yelling and threatening an adult male resident. When the man refused to allow the suspects onto the property, the suspects reportedly forced entry through a locked gate. The man retreated into the residence for safety. During this incident, the suspects reportedly attempted to steal the man’s motorcycle, damaging it in the process. The suspects fled upon hearing deputies’ emergency sirens.
Upon further investigation, deputies located two suspects, 39-year-old David Joseph Cleveland and 44-year-old Kevin Scott Delong, hiding in nearby brush. Cleveland and Delong were taken into custody without incident.
Cleveland was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of attempted auto theft (PC 664/10851(a)), felony trespassing (PC 601(a)(1)), criminal threats (PC 422) and criminal conspiracy (PC 182(a)(1)), in addition to warrant charges of vandalism (PC 594(b)(1)).
Delong was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of attempted auto theft (PC 664/10851(a)), felony trespassing (PC 601(a)(1)), criminal threats (PC 422), criminal conspiracy (PC 182(a)(1)) and vandalism (PC 594(b)(1)).
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.
Two sisters weeping for a brother who suffered an awful death at the hands of a young stranger. A mother sobbing as her son is sentenced to prison for 15 years.
This morning Judge Kaleb Cockrum sentenced Bronson Moon Lewis Jr. to 25 years to life and Daniel Armendariz III to 15 years for killing 42-year-old Julius Tripp, who was first mutilated and then shot off state Highway 96 between Hoopa and Weitchpec.
“You didn’t know Jules Tripp,” his sister Renee Ferris told the 20-year-old Lewis today. “It was you Jules was worried about.”
Ferris said her brother was “bothered so much” by a young generation with no respect for the law and no fear of prison. He didn’t want these kids to learn the hard way, the way he did.
Tripp was asleep in his camper on a roadside turnout when Lewis, Armendariz and three other teens pulled up in Lewis’s truck. First driver Dale Mabry bumped into the camper. Then Lewis and Armendariz began banging on the windows.
“When (Jules) stepped out of that truck and said ‘What the hell are you doing?’ it was a question,” Ferris said. “He was worried about you guys. He was worried about your age group. He cared about you guys.”
After Tripp threw a rock that shattered the windshield of Lewis’s truck, he ran down the road with Lewis and Armendariz in pursuit. They followed when he went over a roadside bank. Lewis first chopped off Tripp’s hand or arm with a large knife. Then Tripp was left alone in the dark while the teens drove back to Hoopa to get an assault rifle. Lewis then shot Tripp dead.
Ella James, another of Tripp’s sisters, warned the killers they’ll never escape what they did.
“It’s horrible what you have done to these communities,” James said to Lewis.”You’ll forever feel this. Spiritually you will never be right again. I want you to understand that.”
Lewis did not want to make a statement. He stood there, at times looking sullen. It was apparent his silence was a further blow to Tripp’s family.
When it came time for Armendariz’s sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Trent Timm had some words for him. Timm said Armendariz came from a stable home, with parents who had been married 20 years and were both employed. Armendariz worked during high school.
“Mr. Lewis in a lot of ways has ruined Mr. Armendariz’s life,” the prosecutor said. He noted that when Lewis was stabbing Tripp, and later when Tripp was shot, Armendariz was right there.
“You could have stopped what occurred and you didn’t,” Timm said.
He challenged Armendariz to apologize, unlike Lewis.
Armendariz’s attorney Jennifer Dixon said that when Armendariz was interviewed by a probation officer, he accepted responsibility and expressed sincere remorse.
Renee Ferris, addressing Armendariz, said she knew nothing about him and asked “Why were you even in my town?”
Armendariz lived in Klamath but was visiting in Hoopa at the time of the killing in August 2020.
“The only thing I know about you is that you allowed — or went along with — someone to kill my brother,” Ferris said. “What kind of person does that?”
She prays every day “that God will help me not hate you two.”
Ultimately Armendariz did speak, saying he was sorry for the Tripp family’s loss of “a brother, uncle, cousin.”
But he said apologizing a million times won’t bring Tripp back. He said he and Lewis were young “and made some mistakes.”
Also, he defended both he and Lewis as being more than killers.
“Mr. Lewis and I know who we are,” Armendariz said with some defiance. “We know what we’re capable of.”
Armendariz’s parents and two young siblings were in the courtroom audience, with his mother crying throughout the hearing.
“Love you baby,” she cried as her 21-year-old son was led from the courtroom. “I love you,” he responded.
As Lewis exited the room, he let go of one small sigh.
Lewis is represented by attorney Russ Clanton. Lewis pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder, with Armendariz admitting to voluntary manslaughter.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On Oct. 8, 2022, at about 4:30 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies and K9 Yahtzee conducted a probation search at a residence associated with a wanted felony warrant suspect on the 2900 block of Harris Street in Eureka.
The suspect, 42-year-old Brenton Charles Richard, was located in a bedroom of the residence and surrendered to deputies without incident following K9 announcements. During a search of Richard’s room, deputies located approximately 3.6 ounces of methamphetamine, burglary tools and items consistent with the sale of controlled substances.
Richard was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of a controlled substance for sales (HS 11378), possession of burglary tools (PC 466) and violation of probation (PC 1203.2(a)), in addition to warrant charges of Post Release Community Supervision Revocation (PC 3455(a)).
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.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On Oct. 9, 2022, at about 3:16 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on the 4500 block of Chaffin Road in McKinleyville for the report of a stabbing.
Deputies arrived at the residence and located a 51-year-old male victim with serious injuries and an uninjured adult female. The victim was transported to a local hospital and is expected to recover. Upon further investigation, deputies learned that the suspect, 54-year-old David Matthew Bellugue, recently moved in and had been living at victim’s residence. At the time of the incident, the victim and the female were reportedly speaking in a private room when Bellugue entered the room and physically assaulted the victim with a knife. Bellugue then fled the residence.
Sheriff deputies, with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, searched the surrounding community for Bellugue. CHP Officers located and detained Bellugue in the area of Clam Beach and Dows Prairie Roads.
Bellugue was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of attempted murder (PC 664/187(a)).
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.
Mechanic Alex Esparza works on a catalytic converter of a vehicle at Van Ness Auto Repair in Fresno on Sept. 13, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
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A beam of light glints beneath Isaac Agyeman’s 2009 Prius, parked outside his Temecula home early one August morning. One person is under the hatchback, another by its side and a third is stationed nearby. After a few mechanical roars and a quick scoot out from under the car, all three hurry away.
It was the second time Agyeman’s catalytic converter — which scrubs a car’s emissions to make them less toxic and contains precious metals — had been stolen. This time, he caught the whole thing on camera.
“I was upset. I was really frustrated,” he said. He filed a police report, sent them the footage and called his insurance company. On top of everything, it was his birthday.
Agyeman paid $500 for the repair and his insurance covered the rest. He forked over another $150 to get a protective gate installed over his converter, hoping to deter future would-be thieves, and between $6,000 to $8,000 on an upgraded home security system, he estimates. As of September, he still hadn’t heard anything from the police, he said.
Catalytic converter theft has spiked across the country in recent years, from 1,298 reported thefts in 2018 to 52,206 in 2021, according to claims data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The bureau sampled member company claims data to identify catalytic converter theft trends, and a spokesperson wrote in a statement that the numbers don’t represent all thefts.
California hasn’t been immune.
Nationally, 37% of catalytic converter theft claims tracked by the bureau in 2021 were in the Golden State — a disproportionate share, even accounting for California’s large population.
About 1,600 are stolen per month in California, per a 2021 presentation from the state’s Bureau of Automotive Repair. Hondas and Toyotas, particularly older Priuses, are most often targeted, according to claims data provided by the AAA Automobile Club of Southern California. Hybrids have two converters and the parts tend to get less wear, making them more valuable, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Thieves sell the converters, which can be removed in minutes with an electric saw, for $50 to $250, the bureau wrote in a statement.
In April, staff at Yolo Food Bank in Woodland realized a catalytic converter had been stolen from a Prius they use to make small deliveries. Staff used their own cars to drop off food while the Prius was out of commission, said Maria Segoviano, director of marketing communications at the food bank.
The organization paid about $400 for a shield to protect the converter and began parking the car inside its warehouse. And, because this wasn’t the first time they’d had someone break through a wire fence to get to their parking lot, they decided to invest in an heavy-duty, 8-foot fence.
It set them back $69,200 — which translates to about 81,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables, Segoviano said.
“Catalytic converters obviously have been around forever, and they’ve been getting stolen forever, but never this bad,” said Jared Cabrera, a service writer at Art’s Automotive in Berkeley.
Before the pandemic, it was almost unheard of, he said. Now he estimates he sees four or five cars a week that have had their converters stolen.
The value of the precious metals in converters, particularly rhodium, has skyrocketed since late 2019, potentially driving the surge in theft. Rhodium is currently valued around $14,000 per troy ounce, about eight times the current price of gold.
“It’s so incredibly difficult to investigate these cases, to charge them, and to hold anybody accountable,” said Tamar Tokat, a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney.
It’s rare that people are caught by police while they’re taking the converter, since it happens so quickly. And if law enforcement finds someone with hundreds of converters, it might be suspicious but, said Tokat, because converters are unmarked, they can’t be traced back to a particular car.
“How can we disprove a claim that it came from a junkyard, or disprove a claim that they [were] given it by some other auto mechanic?” said Greg Totten, CEO of the California District Attorneys Association. It’s very difficult under those circumstances to prove to a jury of 12 — beyond a reasonable doubt — that it was stolen, he said.
States take action
Lawmakers across the country have scrambled to curb the catalytic converter crime spree.
Amanda Essex of the National Conference of State Legislatures said remedies have mainly fallen into three categories:
Regulating the sale of converters (for example, requiring more documentation).
Increasing or creating new criminal penalties.
Labeling the converters in some way so they can be traced back to owners.
States have passed at least 37 laws, according to Essex. But the laws are so recent there’s little evidence yet which, if any, are effective.
California lawmakers also produced their own pile of 11 bills this most recent session. Many died early, but four wound their way through several layers of committees and votes. They are:
AB-1653, which adds theft of vehicle parts to the list of crimes the California Highway Patrol’s Regional Property Crimes Task Force should prioritize.
SB 1087, which limits legal sellers of catalytic converters to people who can prove it came from their own vehicle, and to businesses including licensed auto dismantlers and repair dealers. Fines for breaking the law start at $1,000, and escalate for repeat violations.
AB 1740, which requires people or businesses who buy catalytic converters to document the purchase by recording the year, make, model, and VIN number of the car that the converter came from.
SB 986, which would require car dealers to etch a car’s unique VIN number onto its catalytic converter if the converter is “readily accessible.” It would also require a traceable method of payment for converters.
The first three bills were signed into law while the fourth failed to pass a late August vote in the Assembly. That bill was sponsored by the Los Angeles district attorney’s office and was aimed at making it easier for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute catalytic converter theft.
Car dealers, who would have been tasked with etching numbers onto converters, opposed the bill. They didn’t think it would deter theft, said Brian Maas, president of the California New Car Dealers Association, and they thought it could be expensive. For cars where the catalytic converter is easy to get to, it wouldn’t take much time, he said. But for others — say, a car that has a converter attached to its engine block — the etching could cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, Maas said.
Legislators amended the bill so that it didn’t require VIN numbers if the converter wasn’t “readily accessible” and marking it “would reasonably require the significant removal or disassembly of parts of the vehicle.” But Maas said that standard wasn’t sufficiently defined, and was worried the ambiguity would lead to lawsuits against dealerships. “I can’t tell you today what ‘significant disassembly’ means. I don’t know which car that applies to,” Maas said.
“We’re concerned that our dealers are going to be held responsible for not marking a catalytic converter that ultimately might have been stolen,” he said.
The bill’s author, democratic state Senator Tom Umberg from Garden Grove, said he was “honestly shocked,” in a statement after the bill’s failure.
“I’m not surprised that the auto dealers and car manufacturers would be reluctant to take on this task to support their customers — we engaged in multiple conversations with them in the last seven months. Frankly, I’m more surprised that the majority of the California State Assembly chose the concerns of the car dealers over the cries of help from their constituents.”
Tokat, with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, thinks the two laws regulating the sale of converters will be less effective without the VIN etching bill. “We’ve already had record-keeping laws on the books for many years now and they’ve really been ineffective,” she said.
Still, others see the new laws as a step in the right direction. They won’t completely “wipe out” the issue, said Amanda Gualderama, a legislative advocate with AAA. But the bill limiting who can legally sell converters, SB 1087, closes loopholes in existing laws, she said.
Will Congress step in?
Congress could also mandate that VIN numbers be etched onto converters. Under federal law, cars are already required to label several other parts, including the engine. A bill in congress would add catalytic converters to the list and create a grant program to help pay for marking existing vehicles.
“I kind of think it’s appalling that the manufacturers don’t just voluntarily put the VINs on the catalytic converters because they know they’re a huge target,” said Rosemary Shahan, president of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a consumer advocacy non-profit.
CalMatters reached out to Ford, Toyota, and Honda. Ford didn’t respond to CalMatters’ questions. Toyota also didn’t answer CalMatters’ questions, but a spokesperson said in a statement, “Catalytic converter theft is an industry wide challenge … the most effective approach requires close collaboration between the broader automotive industry and local and state authorities to devise legislative solutions aimed at eliminating the market for these stolen parts.”
Honda, which didn’t answer questions, directed CalMatters to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an advocacy group for car manufacturers.
The Alliance did not make anyone available for an interview but said, via a statement, “Catalytic converter theft is a major problem in California and across the country… We are working closely with policymakers and law enforcement authorities on how legislation or other efforts, including increasing public awareness and enhanced penalties for unlawful possession, can help deter this kind of criminal activity.”
What’s a car owner to do?
There are steps motorists can take to reduce the odds their converter gets stolen, according to the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Parking on a well-lit street — or in a garage if you have one — helps. You can adjust your car’s alarm, to make it more likely to go off if someone tries to get under the vehicle. And there’s a whole niche market of shields, clamps, protective plates and cages that can be installed to protect converters.
But not everyone can park on a well-lit street or in a garage, and gadgets don’t guarantee protection. Cabrera, at Art’s Automotive, says he’s seen cars with theft deterrent devices still wind up with their converters stolen.
For one driver, though, a converter shield has provided security — at least so far. Greg Feldmeth, a retired teacher in Altadena, had his catalytic converter stolen four times beginning in 2020. When he got a Prius years ago, he was happy with the car and its great gas mileage.
“Since then, I’ve wondered if it was the right choice,” he said. He’s become familiar with the “horrible” noise his Prius makes when it no longer has a converter.
After the part was stolen for a fourth time in October 2021, Feldmeth had a protective shield installed. His converter has stayed put since.
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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
This
measure
would require kidney dialysis clinics to have at least one physician,
nurse practitioner or physician assistant with six months of relevant
experience available on site or, in some cases, via telehealth. It
also requires that clinics report infection data to the state, as
well as publicly list physicians who have ownership interest of 5% or
more in a clinic. The measure also prohibits clinics from closing or
reducing services without state approval and from refusing treatment
to people based on their insurance type.
WHY
IS IT ON THE BALLOT?
This
is the third time a labor union, Service Employees International
Union-United Healthcare Workers West, goes after dialysis clinics via
the ballot process. The union says it wants to reform the booming
industry and increase transparency, while dialysis companies that
spent millions to defeat the two prior measures say it’s a union
ploy to pressure clinics and organize dialysis workers.
There
are about 650 dialysis clinics across the state and about 80,000
Californians receive the life-saving treatment. State
analysts estimate
that the clinics have total revenue of about $3.5 billion a year and
that two private, for-profit companies — DaVita Inc. and Fresenius
Medical Care — own or operate three-fourths of the clinics.
ARGUMENTS FOR:
Supporters
argue that dialysis companies do not invest enough in patient care
and safety despite being highly profitable. The hours-long process of
removing blood, filtering it and returning it to the body is a
physically draining process that leaves patients vulnerable to
medical complications. Having a physician or nurse practitioner, in
addition to current staff, available at all times could help reduce
hospitalizations, proponents say. Meanwhile, adding reporting
requirements would increase transparency in the dialysis business.
Supporters
Service
Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West
Opponents
say that this measure is unnecessary as clinics already provide
quality care and have the needed staff to treat and monitor people.
Patients may also reach their nephrologists via telemedicine if
needed. Plus, opponents say, clinics already report infection data to
the federal government. The opposition warns that these new
requirements could result in dangerous consequences — adding
physicians would increase costs for clinics, pushing some to
potentially reduce hours or close.
