Niccolo Pearce “Nick” Giannini, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and cherished member of the Eureka community, passed away peacefully at his longtime home on October 19, 2025. He was 84 years old.

Born on January 22, 1941, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka, Nick was the middle child of Orlando “Babe” and Alyce Pearce Giannini. Raised alongside his older sister Bernadine and younger brother Ralph, Nick grew up in a home filled with warmth, tradition and deep-rooted values. He attended St. Bernard’s schools from kindergarten through high school, graduating in 1958 as class Salutatorian.

At St. Bernard’s High School, Nick distinguished himself as both a scholar and a leader. He served as sophomore class president, senior class vice president, and was an active member of the Key Club and Block B. His athletic prowess earned him the nickname “The Italian Stallion,” as he excelled in football, baseball, basketball and track, earning a remarkable seven All-County stars over the course of his high school career. Yet, despite his many accolades, Nick often said that the greatest gift he received from high school was meeting Judy Johnston, the love of his life and future wife of nearly 58 years.

Nick and Judy married on June 24, 1961, and together built a life centered on love, family and community. Their two sons, John and Matthew, were their pride and joy. Nick and Judy shared a deep and enduring bond, and though Judy passed away in 2019, the family finds comfort in knowing they are now reunited.

Nick’s professional journey was as rich and varied as his personality. He began working for his father as a driver for Burgermeister Beer, a role he held for 15 years. His passion for cooking led him to a successful 15-year career as a chef at Lazio’s Seafood Restaurant during the 1970s and 1980s, followed by time at the Scotia Inn. He generously volunteered his culinary talents for Sons and Daughters of Italy fundraising dinners, and his holiday meals were legendary among family and friends.

In a bold entrepreneurial move, Nick purchased a block of property in Loleta, including the post office, meat market and Loleta Grocery. He operated the grocery store for 15 years, forming lasting friendships and employing several locals — including his sons. Later, he transitioned into real estate, working as a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty for four years before retiring.

A devout Catholic, Nick was deeply involved in St. Bernard’s parish, attending Mass regularly and serving on the church’s Finance Committee until his passing. His faith was a guiding force throughout his life.

In February 2025, Nick was honored with induction into the St. Bernard’s Hall of Fame, recognizing both his athletic achievements and his lifelong contributions to the school. He served on the Crusader Athletic Board and was a familiar presence at St. Bernard’s sporting events, cheering on the next generation of athletes with pride and enthusiasm — typically accompanied by his brother Ralph, with whom he shared many enjoyable afternoons at the games.

Nick’s hobbies reflected his zest for life. He enjoyed fly fishing on the Eel River, playing adult league softball and following his favorite Bay Area sports teams. In retirement, he found joy in simple pleasures — smoking cigars on the “catio” he built for his beloved cat, Millie, and spending time with family and friends.  Along with fellow Crusader Jim Mathias, Nick was a loyal friend to their classmate Diane Luzzi, offering support whenever she needed it. Nick and Jim shared a close friendship and a meaningful connection with Diane, who passed away just twelve days before Nick.

Nick was preceded in death by his parents, Orlando “Babe” and Alyce Pearce Giannini, and his beloved wife Judy. He is survived by his brother Orlando “Ralph” (Nancy) Giannini of Eureka; his sister Bernadine Resso of Eureka; his sons, John Giannini of Lake Havasu City, Arizona and Matthew (Linda) Giannini of Sacramento his granddaughters, Alexis Giannini of Mesa, Arizona and Gianna Giannini of Sacramento; his great-granddaughter Avery Renee Erwin of Mesa; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family members who will miss him dearly.

Although no formal services are planned at this time, the 12:15 p.m. Mass at St. Bernard’s Church on Friday, November 28, 2025, will be offered for the intention of Nick, as will the 4:00 p.m. Mass on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Church.

In memory of Nick, the family kindly suggests contributions to St. Bernard’s parish, St. Bernard’s Academy or a charity of your choice.

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The Yurok people are a fishing people. Since time immemorial, the Klamath River provided for the Yurok, with salmon, eels, eulachon, and other food. Colonization fundamentally upset the balance that existed. The Yurok faced genocide, and those that survived were confined to a small portion of their territory. The Klamath, once a mighty salmon stronghold, was choked by fish-killing dams. But the Yurok persisted. In her new book, The Water Remembers: My Indigenous Family’s Fight to Save a River and a Way of Life, Amy Bowers Cordalis details the long struggle by her family and people to resist, restore and renew tribal sovereignty and the Klamath River. 

Come see Amy and get a copy of her new book signed at Cal Poly Humboldt on Thursday, November 13 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Behavioral & Social Sciences building, room 162, as part of their Decolonizing Sustainability Speaker Series.

When my dad and I plunged into a hill country ranching enterprise in 1958, we signed a lease on 5,200 acres of mountain rangeland on Elk Ridge, owned at that time by the Samuels-Waddington Estate. This land is located to the south of Myers Flat and west of Garberville, on the divide between the South Fork of the Eel River drainage and the Mattole River drainage. The fact that there was very little active ownership on three sides of the property, and that it bordered on government land toward Gilham Butte and Panther Gap on the west, translated into perhaps fifteen thousand acres of unfenced mountain country.

We purchased some three hundred head of mountain cattle resident on the ranch and were immediately met with the problems inherent in locating, herding and gathering animals that were, in many instances, more “wild” and more cunning in their ability to evade men on horseback than the numerous blacktail deer. These cattle would hear us or catch our scent long before we knew they were around, and quietly disappear. Our dogs provided the only opportunity for finding and controlling these elusive cows and their calves.

My dad had experienced this kind of challenge some forty years before, but I was a greenhorn with only a basic awareness of the tactics required in such an enterprise. The “rodeo” that occurred the first time I witnessed a band of these range cattle in confrontation with a couple of experienced cow dogs was truly a rowdy, incredibly noisy scene. It soon became abundantly clear that gathering these mountain bred cattle was possible only with the help of stock dogs possessing an irrepressible instinct to “do battle” with the animals.

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My overwhelming wish since childhood was to be a horseman, but for all my love of horses I could not come away from the Elk Ridge experience without incredible admiration and respect for the loyalty and dedication of some of the stock dogs we encountered. Without their assistance the gathering would many times have been impossible. It was a continuous process of acquisition and training, sometimes resulting in amazingly productive work by these dogs, but often ending in their terminal experience.

In 1958 we had really only one shepherd with enough experience in herding livestock to be of much help. He was a forty-five pound McNab, mostly black with a tiny snip of white on his nose, a band of white on his chest and two white feet. Zip was instinctively a “header” — that is, when we encountered stock and they attempted to move away from us, which they nearly always did, he would get in front of them and stop them.

Most mountain cows came to learn that they had to be aggressively protective of their young calves. When gathering we could always depend on the cows stopping to engage in battle with any dog. Zip was particularly adept at teasing the cows into charging him, at which point he would stay just far enough ahead to ensure his safety until the cows stopped their charge and returned to their calves. Zip was what I would call a “double-header.” If the stock moved away from him after first contact he would head them again until they stopped, go through the same teasing routine and continue to head them until he was ordered to cease the “game.”

The great advantage that a good lead dog gave us in gathering was that the dog could quickly travel to places that a man on horseback might not be able to reach for several minutes, if at all. Zip was invaluable in such situations because he loved to herd stock and would run immediately to confront the cattle and continue to head them, essentially not allowing them to go anywhere until we could get there. Of course there were always occasions when an animals performance might have left something to be desired, but the overwhelming percentage of the time they made the difference between success and failure. Once “dogged up,” or bunched, cattle could usually be driven in predictable directions with the help of a dedicated header who would always work on the off side of the cattle. A rider could determine the desired direction of progress by positioning himself opposite that path and “ride drag.”

The work was physically difficult and dangerous, particularly to pups who had not yet developed the discipline to adequately protect themselves. Maintaining the dogs feet was a fairly constant challenge. If the dog had hair between his or her toes, it became a catching place for foxtail. During the dry season, a nightly task involved pulling the injurious grass stickers from between the dogs toes with a pair of tweezers, before the sharp awns could penetrate the skin. Once that occurred it became an extremely difficult downhill task to keep the feet healthy. Even after the foxtail was removed and the puncture healed up, the scar would perpetually remain an entry point for grass stickers.

Zip was prone to flopping into available water holes during fall gatherings where he would soften the skin between his toes, making him particularly vulnerable to the foxtail problem. He often had a series of open holes between his toes that got clogged with foxtails daily. At times tweezers had to be forced inches into the dog’s foot to extract the invading seeds, causing the dog to react to the pain by attempting to bite his assailant. Too much of this activity would leave the dog lame and crippled for weeks at a time.

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We would often run a pup along with an older, experienced dog to help the pup learn the ropes. If the young dogs had a strong herding instinct it was at times difficult to keep them out of trouble and prevent them from getting injured.

One year I got a couple of pups from Henry Milsap. Henry was a bear hunter and a true mountain man with a reputation for breeding dogs with guaranteed hunting and herding instincts. These two males were gifted with an insatiable desire to attack any problem with ferocity. They were from the same litter but probably sired differently. Both had relatively long hair but one was all black and the other was brindle. The brindle pup (I can’t remember the name we gave him) was so driven to do battle with the stock that I could not save him one day when we were driving a bunch of cows up a steep backbone to the Dixon Butte corral.

I had hold of my gelding Goldie’s tail, allowing him to pull me up this steep hogback close behind the cows. These pups were milling around, heeling anything they could get hold of, when I heard a solid smack and saw the brindle pup come whimpering back down to me with a bloody nose. I caught him and talked to him. I had no way of restraining him and he seemed okay so I let him go. A few minutes later the pup came gyrating past me, fully airborne, and landed in a patch of poison oak below me. He had gone right back in to grab another cow by the hind leg and was knocked senseless. He had to be put down.

The other Milsap pup, named Hank, stayed with me longer, and we experienced several encounters with livestock. Hank was more athletic than his brother and fast enough to avoid the inevitable charges and kicks. He lacked nothing in the desire to bite cows. Unfortunately I was never able to get enough obedience from Hank to make our attempts at gathering anything but a huge frustration. Nothing would deter this pup. He would charge the cattle, immediately biting anything he could get hold of. If it were a small band they would usually scatter like a bunch of quail, never to be seen again that day.

One day we approached about fifty head on the north side salt ground. As usual Hank raced into the middle of the herd biting at everything he could reach. He actually started and moved the entire band with no cooperation from me. If nothing else, he could really move cattle.

One day we were transferring about forty head from the Dixon Butte corral down to the headquarters. We used a drift fence that had been constructed from the base of the butte directly down the mountain in an easterly direction into the home corrals. Most of the way the fence adhered to gulches grown with willow, pepperwood and buckeye.

The cattle had moved into the shade onto a little buckeye flat against the fence while we rested the horses on a rise to the south. Abruptly a slick red-jawed crossbred heifer came charging back toward us on a dead run. As she drew nearer we saw Hank riding up on the critter’s withers, biting the tortured animal up and down her back, every place he could reach.

The pup rode the heifer past us, over the next rise to the south and out of sight. He returned about half an hour later with his tongue out about a foot saying, “I guess I took care of that heifer!” I didn’t see the heifer again for several months. Since I was unable to expect any obedience from Hank, I thought it was about time to retire him from the training process, as he had a tendency to make the cattle he encountered even wilder than they were before.

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The situation was hard on most dogs. I had a little black and tan female named Sue. Although a little excitable, she had a great instinct to herd and was learning obedience. When we started out horseback in the morning, she would get so excited that she would run in and heel my horse just as I was trying to mount up, causing the horse to jump out from under me. I often carried her in the passenger seat when trucking back and forth to the valley. She would get so excited when she saw any large vehicle approaching us on the road that she would jump at me across the seat attempting to attack the oncoming vehicle, often grabbing my arm above the elbow. The practice was a little disconcerting when I had my hands full staying on the road and keeping the load stable.

One summer we were helping a neighbor, Ernie Manhart, gather some of his cattle for market. He owned about 1500 acres that he principally used as a hunting ground, on a south slope across Salmon Creek from Elk Ridge. We gathered nineteen grown bulls that day that had never seen the inside of a corral, but that’s another story. I was following some cows along below a stand of tan oak brush when I saw Sue come flying out of the brush rolling over in the grass in apparent pain. Upon closer examination I saw she was totally covered with yellow jackets. I tried desperately to get the bugs off her with my hat and my hands until she was able to quiet down. I babied her at Hydesville for two weeks. She developed large abscesses on each side of her rib cage and was gone in another week. Sometimes there wasn’t much one could do to protect these animals.

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Our nearest neighbors Bill Thomas and Rae Wright both had excellent herding dogs. Adrian and Florence Thomas had moved down to Weott and Bill and Elvie Thomas lived and ran mostly sheep and a few head of cattle on the old family ranch to the far eastern end of Elk Ridge. Rae ran sheep only on the Harry Hine ranch known as Sunnyside, across the main Salmon Creek to the north and east of us.

Bill’s dog Rowdy was a mean little black McNab that would sneak around and bite any stranger unless specifically restrained by his master. Bill perversely enjoyed these little attacks and once bitten I could expect to be laughed at and told I’d better stay on my horse. At the end of the day. Rowdy could not be faulted when it came to handling cattle.

The remarkable Patsy. Photo courtesy Ricky Wright via the Humboldt Historian.

The most remarkable dog I encountered in that time, though, was a black and white McNab that Rae Wright had trained. Rae was good with dogs and this female, Patsy, was truly amazing. Rae also had a little red kelpie that would circle around uphill to jump up and ride on the saddle with him, but Red was a plaything alongside of old Patsy. She was a one-person dog, continually on guard against anyone touching or even coming near Rae’s property. She habitually rode in the passenger seat of his old Chevy pickup and woe to anyone who might try to get too close to the cab. She stood guard over his boots until morning where he left them on the porch at night.

The intelligence, dedication and obedience of this animal were truly exceptional. Rae’s sheep would periodically stray across the creek onto our northeast slope known as the Burnell. He would locate them with binoculars, ride over in the afternoon and I would try and help him return them to Sunnyside. One afternoon we located about eighteen ewes and a number of lambs on the Burnell. Rae had sighted another little flock a mile or so further west. We sat and traded lies for a few minutes and then Rae simply said in a quiet tone of voice, “You stay here, Pat.” And we rode off. I think we were gone about two hours and returned with the other little flock to find Patsy patiently holding the original eighteen ewes in exactly the same spot we had left them.

Patsy knew to change her herding methods for sheep or cattle, being much more forceful when that force was needed for the larger animals. One day when we gathered some of Mr. Manhart’s cattle, I was amazed by the performance of this dog. Bill Thomas was there with his Rowdy, and my dad and I were there with Zip. When we first encountered them, the cattle plunged into a thicket of tan oak brush and weren’t seen again for a good mile. Rae had put Patsy ahead of them and we followed as best we could, not really knowing where the animals were. Once in a while we could hear a dog bark somewhere up ahead of us. We could neither hear nor see the cattle. When we came out of the brush near Ernie Manhart’s makeshift corral. Patsy was waiting, with the entire band under control.

Babe Demello, an active livestock trucker at that time, had his truck and trailer up on Sunnyside one day to haul out a load of sheep. Patsy fell asleep in the road behind the trailer. Far from the motor noise of the tractor there was nothing to awaken her and Babe, unaware of her presence, backed over her. Not only was it the loss of a trusted companion, it was like the loss of at least five experienced men in any mountain herding situation. When I came up to speak with Rae he was looking into the distance with tears in his eyes. These dogs were irreplaceable resources and loved members of our family.

William Kent Hilfiker, a devoted husband, innovative designer, and proud veteran, passed away peacefully at home under the care of Hospice of Humboldt and many family members, at the age of 94 on October 15, 2025. Bill was born in 1931 in Eureka, the eldest son of Harold Otto Hilfiker and Louise Elizabeth Hilfiker. Along with his brother, Jack, and sister, Jill, Bill enjoyed a lively childhood rooted in the community he served his entire life.

Following his graduation from high school in Eureka, Bill proudly answered the call to service, joining the United States Air Force to serve his country during the Korean War.

Upon returning to Eureka, Bill joined his father’s business, Hilfiker Pipe Company. It was here that his natural curiosity and keen mind propelled him into the field of civil engineering. Bill was a true innovator, dedicating his career to developing inventions in the retaining wall industry. His work on the Hilfiker Wall Systems became a globally recognized achievement, ultimately making his family name synonymous with earth reinforced structures. Through his work, he helped grow the company to sell his patented inventions internationally, leaving an indelible mark on infrastructure worldwide. Bill never truly stopped working for the family business. Even after “retirement” he continued to invent new systems, create new patents, and regularly visit the office. Bill was granted over 50 patents throughout his lifetime. Under the leadership of Hilfiker’s fourth and fifth generations, the company continues to thrive — honoring Bill’s legacy and sustaining its reputation as an industry leader.

In 1955, Bill married Nancy Lee Jacobson. They raised three sons, Arthur Lee, Harold Kent, and William Brent. Bill and Nancy were passionate parents who instilled their adventurous and self-sufficient spirit in their boys. They taught them how to hunt, fish, snow and water ski, and generally navigate the world with competence and curiosity. Summer days were spent either backpacking or at the family property at Camp Grant and were full of excitement, learning, and laughter. 

Bill was a lifelong contributor to his community. He served on the very first Humboldt Builders Exchange Board in 1962 and was a generous supporter of the Sequoia Park Zoo. He played a key role in improving the Bear Grotto habitat and funding the new Aviary, which was later named the Nancy Hilfiker Aviary in her honor. His civic dedication helped ensure that the zoo would continue to thrive for future generations.

Local skiers from the 1960-1980 hey days of skiing at Horse Mountain will remember Bill as omnipresent, cutting firewood in the summer, stringing tow ropes in the fall, and in the winter and early spring first helping damsels in distress get up the challenging rope tows then, masterfully skiing even the worst mashed-potato snow and breakable crust on the steepest slopes with masterful ease. The Hilfiker’s hosted numerous New Years eave parties at “Cedar Creek Cabin”, the structure that Bill and his Boy Scout Explorer Post-180 cohorts had built in the late 1940’s. The last (usually moonlit) run of the calendar year for many such party attendees was from Cedar Creek Cabin down through about 2 miles of tricky terrain to Titlow Hill Road near New Prairie, followed by a jeep ride back to the cabin. With the Scouts, Bill built the first permanent rope tow on Horse Mountain that served the formidable “Bill’s Hill.” An early member of the Horse Mountain ski patrol, and past president of the Humboldt Ski Club, Bill was a true skiing legend and mentor to both his sons and his many friends.

Beyond his professional life, Bill possessed a boundless imagination and a deep love for literature. He was a voracious reader, especially of history, always eager to explore the past through books. This passion fueled his gift for storytelling and writing. Bill was a prolific writer and a dedicated local historian. In addition to his published children’s book, Penelope Pig (based on the stories he told his young sons), he contributed numerous articles to The Humboldt Historian, the journal of the local Historical Society, preserving and sharing the rich heritage of his hometown. Family and close friends continue to enjoy his many written stories about family and company history and will cherish this documented legacy for years and generations to come. Even in the last year, Bill dedicated himself to a new creative pursuit, writing an ambitious historical novel. His determination to write and share these stories speaks volumes about his adventurous spirit and his belief in the power of imagination and history.

Bill is survived by his loving wife, Anita Hilfiker. They married in 1991 and enjoyed a life filled with travel, adventure, and entrepreneurial pursuits. Bill and Anita’s partnership thrived both personally and professionally; together they launched and managed successful business ventures that reflected their shared ambition and creativity. Their marriage was marked by teamwork, mutual respect, and a deep love that carried them through every chapter of life.

He is also survived by his devoted sons, Harold Kent Hilfiker and wife Cindy, and William Brent Hilfiker and wife Kathy; his three stepsons; thirteen grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.

Bill was preceded in death by his father, Harold in 1980; his mother, Louise in 1998; his first wife, Nancy, who passed away in 1987; and his eldest son, Arthur Lee, who left too soon in 1986. He was also preceded by his brother, Jack Hilfiker in 2009, and his sister, Jill Ecklesdafer, in 2025. 

It was Bill’s wish not to have a religious ceremony or traditional funeral. In true Hilfiker fashion, family, friends, and colleagues will come together on Saturday, November 22, 2025, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. to celebrate his life at the company plant in Eureka — a place that meant so much to him and where his spirit of invention and adventure will be remembered.

In lieu of gifts or flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in Bill’s name to Humboldt Area Foundation.

Julian Rishard Lafayette, or to family and close friends he was Nuni.

Julian Lafayette was born to Ruby and Lisa Lafayette on January 7, 1987, and passed away on Aug. 22, 2025. Julian was born and raised in Eureka. He was a very talented wrestler and held a chest full of first-place medals to show it. Growing up he was very into fishing, shooting and camping. He truly loved the outdoors. No matter the situation he kept a golden sense of humor and could always make all of us laugh. He was a very kind person and anyone who spoke with him had the same experience. He will truly be missed by many.

We had many adventures, like catching loads of bait fish under Pacific Choice docks and selling them to fisherman. We would camp in our good friend Derrick’s backyard just for fun. As kids we would make functional bows and arrows and shoot them at makeshift targets. We shot pellet guns and Julian was a crack shot. Whatever Julian put his mind to, he was truly great. 

He is survived by our mother, Lisa Barnes and father, Ruby Lafayette. Brothers: Jeremy, Andrew and myself, Jared Lafayette. Sisters: Mandolin and Marianna Lafayette. Nieces and nephews: Dominick and Taitlianna Lafayette, Elizabeth Tierney and Joel Woodward.

Julian’s services will be held at Freshwater Grange on Nov. 8, 2025 from 5 to 9 p.m.

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PREVIOUSLY

• There are New Rules For Protesting at Cal Poly Humboldt This Year, and — Surprise! — They are Not Universally Popular

• (PHOTOS AND VIDEO) Large Pro-Palestine March on Cal Poly Humboldt’s Campus Goes Peacefully

Cal Poly Humboldt unfairly targets pro-Palestine activists by weaponizing their Time, Place, and Manner (TPM) policy on free speech against them, claimed student organizer Rick Toledo at an informal press conference on CPH’s campus this morning. It was followed by a protest attended by a few dozen students supporting him.

Toledo, 33, is a grad student in CPH’s engineering and community practice program and also one of the main organizers for Humboldt’s Students for a Democratic Society chapter. He timed the conference an hour before a disciplinary meeting with CPH administrators for violating their TPM rules; Toledo was one of the planners central to the Oct. 7 pro-Palestine march on campus several weeks ago. They did not get permission from CPH to host the rally. 

According to a letter sent to Toledo by the university’s Office of Student Rights & Responsibilities, Toledo is accused of disobeying a university officer and “substantial disruption” of a university-related activity and CPH’s normal operations. 

He said he wasn’t scared of being expelled, but does want the charges dropped. 

This isn’t the first time Toledo has chafed against the school’s TPM restrictions. In Jan. 2024, when he was an undergrad, Toledo and a crowd of student activists interrupted a university-sponsored meeting for potential donors attended by then-president Tom Jackson, chanting with a megaphone outside an art department building. Both Toledo and another protestor received deferred probations for violating the rules against amplified speech and unpermitted organizing. 

Toledo’s list of grievances with the university vis-à-vis their relationship with student activists is long. He feels that the university targets pro-Palestine groups more than other activist organizations, doesn’t do a good job compromising with them, and never changes despite the opposition; and he thinks the TPM policy is too restrictive and turns public property into an overly-regulated “business”-like space, devoid of the possibility of spontaneous demonstration (and doesn’t work to protect other students anyway). 

Though he admits that the protest broke the rules and may have annoyed other students with the noise or political messaging, Toledo thinks it was justified. Campus protests aren’t frequent enough to truly have a negative impact, he said, and the issues at stake are important enough to warrant a little chaos.

“Protest is meant to be disruptive, and it’s usually a response to a greater issue that’s not being addressed,” Toledo said this morning. “…The thing that makes it most impactful and powerful is if they can just show up spontaneously and do that thing, or if they can just call people in and make it happen pretty immediately.”

CPH said in a statement sent to the Outpost today that it supported student free speech, so long as it was respectful and rule-following. 

Cal Poly Humboldt has a longstanding and unwavering commitment to protecting free speech and the constitutional rights of all members of our campus community. We strongly support students’ right to engage in peaceful protest, advocacy, and expression of diverse viewpoints. These rights are fundamental to the mission of higher education and to the vibrant exchange of ideas that defines our university.

Recent protests on our campus demonstrate the engagement and passion of our student body on important social issues. While all recent free speech activities on campus have been peaceful, not all policies relating to Time, Place, and Manner were observed, and the University strives to ensure those policies are upheld in order to ensure free speech is protected for all.

While we cannot comment on the specifics of any specific student conduct matter, we want to be absolutely clear about the purpose and nature of any conduct proceedings we initiate in relation to free speech activities.

No student is disciplined for exercising their First Amendment rights to protest or for the content of their speech. Our Student Conduct Code explicitly prohibits disciplinary action against students based on behavior protected by the First Amendment, and we take this obligation seriously.

As a matter of policy and in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), we do not comment on specific student conduct cases. However, broadly speaking, disciplinary action related to a Student Code of Conduct violation wouldn’t result in criminal charges unless the law is broken. Most often, disciplinary action results from a violation of University policy. Depending on the situation, conduct cases typically don’t end in suspension or expulsion.

The process of investigating a possible violation of the Student Code of Conduct policy begins with informal discussions between the Office of Student Rights & Responsibility and the student to help the student understand why a policy may have been violated and to better understand the student’s perspective of the incident in question.

The University’s process for investigating student conduct violations is a trauma-informed approach that takes into account the life experiences that may have influenced the student’s decisions. Our goal is to provide educational and well-being support and resources that a student may need to thrive at Cal Poly Humboldt, guide them in future decision-making, and ensure policies are understood and followed from that point forward. 

We encourage students with concerns about these or any other topics to reach out to the Dean of Students’ office at 707-826-3504 or dos@humboldt.edu.

For extra background on Toledo, check out this profile I wrote for the Lumberjack student newspaper in 2024.

There’s a lot on the agenda for Tuesday night’s Eureka City Council meeting — read it here — and we’ll have more about all that later. 

This post is just to quickly flag up item G.2 on the evening’s consent calendar, which otherwise might escape your attention. Titled “Withdrawal of Measure N Local Coastal Program Amendment,” the item at first glance looks like any number of boring, procedural matters that come before the council.

And perhaps it is that, in this case as well. But it is also the official end, once and for all, of the controversial “Marina Center” project — a mixed-use development proposed by Rob and Cherie Arkley, to be located on Eureka’s Balloon Track and anchored by a Home Depot — that gripped Eureka politics between about 2005 and 2010.

The question of how to redevelop the old railyard, which lies, roughly, between Broadway and Waterfront Drive to the west of Old Town, goes back even earlier, to just before the turn of the century, when Eureka citizens rallied to block Walmart from buying the site and plopping one of its superstores atop it.

A few years later, the Arkleys — through their company, Security National — purchased the land instead and scuttled a public planning process that city government was trying to put together in the Walmart’s wake. A few years after that, in 2010, Security National took a proposal to rezone the property for a big-box anchored development directly to voters, which overwhelmingly approved it, despite strong opposition from environmentalists and small-is-beautiful types.

But then, for 15 years: Nothing much! For one: A couple of years after Security National purchased the property, the economy collapsed. For another: The company was required to do lots of environmental remediation on the site.

The other thing, though, was the California Coastal Commission. Since the property lies in California’s Coastal Zone, the change in zoning approved by Eureka’s voters required a sign-off from the highest authority over land use on the coast. The city of Eureka dutifully submitted a request to the commission. The commission’s staff deemed the request “incomplete,” saying that the proposed zoning changes were likely incompatible with the Coastal Act. And there it languished for more than a decade.

Nowadays, it seems, both Security National and the city are ready to throw in the towel. In the staff report on next week’s agenda item, Cristin Kenyon, the city’s development services director, tells the city council that Security National has asked the city to scrap its long-dormant application with the Coastal Commission, so that together the city and the company might move forward with something different. (Read Security National’s letter here.)

Kenyon writes:

Formal withdrawal will close out the outdated application and allow the City to focus on future planning for the site consistent with the 2040 General Plan, which envisions the Balloon Track as a high-quality, mixed-use commercial district, emphasizing retail and service commercial uses supplemented by upper-floor office and residential space.

The Balloon Track remains one of Eureka’s largest and most strategically located infill opportunity sites. Its redevelopment represents an important opportunity to advance the Coastal Act’s emphasis on concentrating development in urbanized areas while addressing historic contamination, enhancing physical and visual access to the waterfront, improving resilience to flooding, and incorporating wetland restoration and enhancement.

What might that look like, in detail? Does Security National have something new up its sleeve? Gail Rymer, the company’s spokesperson, told the Outpost this morning that it doesn’t yet have any solid plans, but it’s eager to work with the community to develop a new vision for the site, one that’s compatible with the city’s goals.

“We’re looking at this as a fresh start,” Rymer said. “What was good back in the early 2000s isn’t where we need to be today. It’s best just to make it easy for all of us, to get those measures that prevent us from doing what we need to do down there, that’s best for Eureka, out of the way.”