Ronald Paul Rouse passed away on July 19, 2022 in Eureka at the age of 81. Ronald (Ron) was born on August 5, 1940 in Richmond to Oscar and Florence Rouse. They raised their family primarily in Ione, Calif. where Ron graduated high school before joining the Navy in January of 1959.

Ron later met his wife, Caroline (Childers), in Crescent City, when her Saint Bernard “introduced” them on the beach. They were married on November 20, 1965 in the Oakland Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They remained married for the next 56½ years.

Ron and Caroline moved several times during their early marriage before settling down in Eureka, where they raised their children. Ron was an active member for over 45 years of the Eureka 1st Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ron always enjoyed working with the church youth, from Nursery age through High School.

Ron worked as a salesman for McMahans Furniture for several years before going to work for The Fisherman’s Marketing Association as manager of the Marine Supply Store for 5 years.

He then went to work for Maxon’s Music as both a keyboard salesman and band instrument repairman. He repaired and maintained numerous band instruments for the local schools over the next 5 years. He also received special recognition for One Million Dollars in sales of Yamaha keyboards and instruments, for which he was awarded a Special Edition Yamaha guitar. Ron played all manner of string, brass and keyboard instruments over his lifetime, and had a deep love of Bluegrass music.

His final sales position was that of Store Manager at the Sherwin Williams store in Eureka, which he held until his retirement. While there he earned multiple awards in the President’s Club, and was presented with many trips which allowed he and Caroline to travel and see some of the world outside of Northern California. He was especially fond of his many trips to Nashville, Tennessee and the opportunity to visit the Grand Old Opry.

Ron loved sailing and bought his first sailboat, a converted canoe, in 1967. He owned four different boats over his lifetime, before finally buying an actual canoe. He was an accomplished sailor, enjoying being on the water above all else.

He was a beloved father, grandfather (Papa), and great-grandfather; as well as a much loved uncle and great-uncle. He was also a very special brother-in-law and male role model to his wife’s much younger sister.

Ron was preceded in death by both of his parents, as well as his older sister, Sandra Nuss (Don). Ron is survived by his wife, Caroline, his children Vikki Frazier (Adam), David Rouse, Ingrid Connor (Jim), his grandchildren, Sarah Duren (Tom), Seth Frazier (Ashley), Noah Frazier, Hannah Luna (Joseph), and great-grandchildren, Abby and Zack. Also his younger sister Claudia Ruark (Ron), as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and in-laws.

Services will be held on Saturday, August 6th in Eureka. The graveside service will be at 11 a.m. in the LDS section of Oceanview cemetery, followed by luncheon and a Celebration of Life at noon at the LDS church, 2806 Dolbeer St, Eureka.

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The obituary above was submitted by Ron Rouse’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Last week’s column on deep star fields as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) nearly 30 years ago and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), both spearheaded by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Agency) got me thinking about acronyms. We’re living in a world of internet-fueled acronyms (WIFAs?), from NSFW (Not Suitable For Work) to FOMO* (Fear Of Missing Out), often paired in the world of finance with FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt). And on and on.

Not forgetting JOMO, the Joy Of Missing Out (I didn’t want to go to that party anyway) and NEMO, Nearly but not fully Missing Out (I went, scored some weed, but came home early because it was a drag).

(I just learned that STP stands for Scientifically Treated Petroleum.)

Some acronyms are really mnenomics, ways of remembering, oh, the names of the Great Lakes (HOMES) or colors of the spectrum (ROYGBIV) or treble clef notes (FACE) or treatment for a sprain (RICE = Rest + Ice + Compress + Elevate). Others just arise naturally: Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid. OK, strictly, that’s an ambigram, the way they used it.

Does CSNY count?

If you’re a purist (AKA pedant), you’re careful not to confuse an acronym with an initialism. So SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) and NASA are true acronyms, while the FBI, CIA and NSA are initialisms — that is, they aren’t made into a single word, but retain their individual letters.

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What about lists that don’t lend themselves to acronyms or easy-to-remember gimmicks? Paddling my kayak around Eureka’s two marinas, I always check out the names of the boats, as I try – unsuccessfully, to date — to recall Dylan Thomas’ evocation of the boats in the harbor of his home in Laugharne, South Wales (“where they quarrel with boathooks”), fictionalized as Llareggub in Under Milk Wood. He lists the boats’ names as they “tilt and ride” in “the black, dab-filled sea”: Arethusa, the Curlew and the Skylark, Zanzibar, Rhiannon, the Rover, the Cormorant and the Star of Wales. Oh to come up with a mnemonic to remember those lyrical labels, when all I’ve got is ACSZRRCS.

And speaking of ROYGBIV, how do the cast members of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat remember those hues, absent some trick of memory?

It was red and yellow and green and brown
And scarlet and black and ochre and peach
And ruby and olive and violet and fawn
And lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve
And cream and crimson and silver and rose
And azure and lemon and russet and grey 
And purple and white and pink and orange
And red and yellow and green and brown
And blue!

Yeah, I know. SHINFO.

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On this week’s EcoNews Report, Gang Green talks about the Land Back movement — the indigenous-led campaign to return political and economic control to indigenous people and tribes — and why rank-and-file environmentalists should support this movement.

AUDIO:

“The EcoNews Report,” July 23, 2022.

Some local examples of Land Back:

• ”Yurok Tribe now operating Chah-pekw O’ Ket’-toh ‘Stone Lagoon’ Visitor Center,” Mad River Union, April 14, 2022.
• ”Congressman Huffman introduces Yurok Lands Act,” Yurok Tribe, April 28, 2022.
• ”Duluwat Island is Returned to the Wiyot Tribe in Historic Ceremony,” North Coast Journal, October 21, 2019.

The following is a press release from the Hoopa Valley Tribal Police Department:

The cannabis business is tough. Across the nation in states with more open licensing schemes, supply is rising and prices are coming in fast. Competition is ever increasing, consumers are demanding higher quality products, and profit margins are being eviscerated.

Many operations are struggling with sales velocity, compliance costs are rising, and with new tax, labor, environmental and regulatory requirements, many operating in the farming space, are failing, fast.

This piece will summarize an oral presentation I give designed to help farmers achieve financial success despite the challenges listed above. This 9-point plan, if taken seriously and executed well, can help you not only survive but thrive in what promises to be an increasingly crowded space.

Understand the Operating Environment

Cannabis cultivation entails significant risk but offers significant opportunity as well. As has been argued for years, bulk flower prices are heading in one direction – down. In all likelihood, this trend will continue and prices will eventually find equilibrium – presumably at much lower levels. Without high volume and very low production costs, playing the bulk sales game will ultimately collapse most farms.

The alternative, acquiring shelf space and selling packaged products at the retail level still evades most farms. Large vertically integrated companies grow, package, and sell flower through their own storefronts. Other well-heeled operations pay slotting fees to acquire shelf space or employ regional sales reps and brand ambassadors to tell their story, create retail relationships, and move packaged products with higher margins.

In addition, thousands of small operators are seeking the same prize, either through their own label or a white labeling agreement with a copacker. At the end of the day, competition for valuable shelf space is significant and will only increase in time. To succeed in this endeavor a cultivator must understand retail and consumer needs, and meet those needs better than others – either through quality, specialization or price point.

What can you do to help retailers improve margins? Can you deliver a product that is so smoking hot and in such high demand that retail foot traffic and sales improve in the stores carrying your merchandise? If you can, prices will firm significantly and your cultivation operation will flourish. Taken one step further, imagine a scenario where across the nation everyone is demanding your stuff… a truly viral situation where folks are talking about and singing about your flower or extract. Prices for that label will melt upward, to levels only dreamed about previously. Will that label be yours?

Conduct a Feasibility Study

Given your skill set, expenses, and product focus, can you function in a paradigm of rising costs, falling prices, and ever-increasing competition? Given the marketplace we actually have, can you pay the bills with bulk sales or by growing flash frozen? Can you maintain the size of your current operation, or could you reduce your cultivation footprint in an effort to control costs and improve quality?

Cultivators of all sizes are faced with the same questions. As we have seen from our neighbors to the north, even large corporations are scaling back their cultivation footprint and right-sizing their operations to focus more on quality and less on volume.

How long can you hold out? Can your operation sustain losses for a few years, hoping for better days ahead with national and global markets, or does getting out now make more financial sense?

Being realistic about business is critical for cultivators. While the current realities in Cali cannabis are sobering to say the very least, maintaining unrealistic expectations does not serve anyone well … it can also break the bank.

Some believe that this year will clear the deck in Cali, meaning that so many operators are going to shut down that supply will slack off and prices will firm. I personally believe that new developments currently underway will more than offset farm closures and also believe that distressed asset sales will only bring new entrants to market. Some of the largest MSO’s have a modest footprint in the Golden State and I assume they are simply waiting for a better entry point. Only time will tell.

Professionalize and Formalize Your Operation

I wrote a column on this point a few months ago and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Regardless of size or resources, we can all improve our businesses by professionalizing and formalizing our operations. Here in Humboldt, there are plenty of free resources available to small business owners – business planning, budgeting, marketing, and operational assistance are available, for free. Regardless of formal education or experience, we can all create a mission and vision statement, identify our target market, and craft our product offering appropriately.

Perhaps your cannabis play is in the area of health and wellness, perhaps it’s medicinal, or recreational. The marketplace needs to know where your heart is. Maybe you grow because you believe in cannabis as a tool for harm reduction. Maybe it’s to help people manage health issues or simply to improve people’s overall sense of well-being.

Whatever the case may be for you, the market needs to connect with your offering and understand how your products are uniquely positioned to help them. Maybe it’s the terpene content of a strain you have bred – perhaps it helps combat nausea or inflammation better than other strains on the market. Maybe it’s the taste, smell, or cannabinoid content that differentiates. Whatever the case may be, showing how your product is different and useful will help you rise above the competition and carve out a lasting niche in the business we love.

Focus on the Profit Function

The profit function is one of the most fundamental concepts in business. Revenue minus costs = profit. Clearly understanding your farm’s sources of income and understanding your company’s costs in exquisite detail is a must.

Where will you be selling flower or biomass? To who and for what price? How much does it cost you to grow a pound? Let’s not forget that many farms operated without a formal budget for years. Few farms were aggregating expenses or using accounting software – the money was flowing freely and every dollar invested in a farm had a huge return for years.

As things have tightened up, understanding where every penny comes from and where every penny goes is a must. Working with a competent bookkeeper or CPA, tracking expenses with accounting software like QuickBooks, and forecasting the timing and amount of revenues is critical for your operation.

Have you secured a forward or contractual arrangement for your flower ahead of time, or are you growing flower and hoping it sells? Contractual arrangements can help provide security to your operation and help immensely with budgeting and forecasting.

By having a realistic and accurate understanding of revenue and costs, you can make a more informed decision around whether or not continuing in business makes sense. The last thing you want is to bite off more than you can chew…spending money to produce a product you can’t sell. That leads to wealth erosion, enormous stress, and bankruptcy. Do the hard work. Understand your business’s finances in excruciating detail and you will be more informed and able to operate from a place of knowledge and strength.

Understand Developing Resources & Stay Connected and Informed

Our industry is developing rapidly. Getting plugged into industry data and developing resources can empower you, improve cultivation outcomes, and drive profitability for your business. Online chat rooms, industry events, informational sources, and developing sales platforms are coming online with greater frequency. Meeting others throughout the supply chain, sharing technology and resources, and upping one’s business and cultivation skills has never been easier.

Social media platforms like Linkedin and others are ripe with opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and mutually beneficial business relationships. Resources like the Elevated Botanist publish high-quality cultivation pieces that can help you up your skills in the dirt and boost production.

The days of hiding in the hills are over. Companies that are well informed, well connected, and adept at forming business relationships will have far greater success and staying power than those who isolate or go it alone. Becoming a resource for others, participating in collaborative projects, and asking for help when needed are skills we can all learn and benefit from.

Our industry is developing rapidly. New discoveries about plant care, business management, and effective marketing are hitting the street regularly. Make sure you are in the know and that you seek information regularly – it can make a world of difference.

Work Smarter (and Maybe Harder Too)

Systematizing your operation in an effort to produce predictably amazing and consistent results is a must. Documentation and systems creation are hugely important in creating a well-functioning company. Killing it one run and bellyflopping the next happens in cultivation regularly. Creating a winning process and executing it precisely and consistently is a must – especially in an environment of declining margins.

Putting in the time necessary to be successful is also increasingly important. Unfortunately, farming is not an industry well known for work-life balance. Cultivating cannabis successfully, especially at some scale is a real grind. It takes commitment, energy, passion, consistency, and physical sacrifice.

Cutting corners, working 4–6-hour days, and relying on others to do work for you is not going to cut it in the current paradigm. Sweating it out, working sacrificially, and honoring those who help you along the way are critical.

Be Thankful and Honor the Plant

Working with the plant is a blessing, remember that always and behave according. Allowing pests and pathogens to overwhelm your garden, growing spindly sick-looking plants, failing to shape, bottom, and core your ladies, and simply neglecting them out of laziness are all recipes for disaster. Growing lush, stumpy plants with heavy, beautiful flowers is the best way to succeed in cultivation these days. That doesn’t happen by itself.

Touching the plant regularly, giving her what she wants when she wants it, and honoring the cultivation process and your natural surroundings will bring better energy to your farm and help improve results.

Care For Yourself Physically and Mentally

Farming cannabis is not for the faint at heart. Physical and mental strength are important for longevity and success in this business. Drug and alcohol use, being out of shape, and failing to sleep well will not serve you well as a cultivator or cannabis business owner. Caring for your body and your mind will help you operate at a higher level and will help you perform at your best, month after month, year after year.

Exercising, eating well, getting enough sleep, and caring for yourself emotionally and spiritually will carry over and improve your performance in the garden. Stress, burnout, emotional instability, and substance abuse will inhibit your efforts and will show up in terms of lackluster production and product quality.

Farming ganja is a marathon, not a sprint. Producing larger volumes of high-quality cannabis does not happen by itself. It takes commitment, love, passion, strength, and physical/mental endurance. Remember that and live well.

Manage Business and Personal Finances Prudently

Regardless of company size, margins for California cannabis operators are slim. Solidifying company financials through cost control, budgeting, forecasting, and documentation is critical. Understanding the financial health of your company is a must and working with competent advisors and strategic partners who can help improve financial performance is highly recommended.

Undergoing a personal financial planning process is recommended for cultivators as well. While personal and company financials are often highly intertwined for smaller operators, knowing where you stand financially can help inform your business decisions. For those in a stronger place financially, investing in infrastructure and continuing to fight the fight may make more sense.

For those struggling on a personal level, closing up shop and entering another profession with benefits and a retirement package is likely the prudent choice.

Farming ganja was highly profitable for years. Many people in the Emerald Triangle stacked millions of dollars over the past decades, but that is more challenging these days. Managing your company prudently, upping quality and production, and creating winning business relationships will separate the winners from the losers. Authenticity, storytelling, connecting with consumers and retail partners, and product differentiation are necessary to survive and thrive in highly competitive markets. Take steps each day to improve your performance, create new relationships, and learn new skills. While getting out there and exposing yourself to new ideas and potential rejection can be scary for some, it’s necessary in today’s business climate. Go get yours!

I am rooting for us all,

Much love,

Jesse

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Jesse Duncan is a lifelong Humboldt County resident, a father of six, a retired financial advisor, and a full-time commercial cannabis grower. He is also the creator of NorCal Financial and Cannabis Consulting, a no-cost platform that helps small farmers improve their cultivation, business, and financial skills. Please check out his blog at, his Instagram at jesse_duncann, and connect with him on Linkedin.

Humboldt County Office of the District Attorney release:

Yesterday, Humboldt County Judge Kaleb Cockrum sentenced 52-year-old Mark Jonathan Wright to 5 years in prison for multiple felonies committed over several years in Fortuna.

In 2018, surveillance video showed Wright causing more than $8000 in damage at Leonardo Logging.  He received probation after pleading guilty to felony vandalism (Penal Code section 594) in that case and to misdemeanor vandalism in several separate cases.

In March 2020, a citizen observed Wright pouring lighter fluid on the electrical meter of a business in Fortuna.  The District Attorney’s Office charged Wright with that crime (Penal Code section 453(a):   possessing/disposing of a material for arson) later in 2020, but due to delays caused by Covid the case did not proceed until March 2021, after Wright had been arrested for additional felonies.  Wright eventually pled guilty in this case.

In early 2021, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), in collaboration with both the River Life Foundation and the FPD, began investigating damage along Strongs Creek caused by Wright camping and leaving trash. The CDFW warden questioned Wright about the trash and his possible involvement in other crimes. Following that interview, FPD submitted a report to the District Attorney’s Office that included the charge of auto theft (Vehicle Code section 10851).   

Also in early 2021, the FPD responded to the Double D’s Steakhouse for a vandalism report.  FPD soon discovered that surveillance video showed Wright had broken light bulbs and the picture window of the restaurant.  

Following his arrest in that case, the District Attorney’s Office charged Wright with multiple crimes attributed to him in 2021.  Wright then pled guilty to the felony charges and admitted the violation of his grant of probation in 2018.  Wright was sentenced to 6 months in jail and 4 years and 6 months out of custody on supervision.  (Recent changes in California law (Penal Code section 1170(h)) now dictate that convictions for felony vandalism, possessing/disposing of a material for arson, and auto theft cannot result in prison sentences.)    

In March 2022, Wright committed his most recent known felony by setting multiple fires in Fortuna along Riverwalk Drive and Newburg Road.  He subsequently pled guilty to felony arson (Penal Code section 452(c)) in that case and admitted to violations of probation and supervision conditions from his preceding cases.  

The conviction for felony arson allowed Judge Cockrum to sentence Wright to prison. Wright received 3 years for the vandalism in 2021 and 2 more years for additional crimes, specifically 8 months each for auto theft, the 2018 vandalism charge, and the possession of material for arson.   (When a person is sentenced for multiple crimes, the sentences for general felonies beyond the first crime are limited to 1/3 of the midterm.  General felonies have a sentence triad of 16 months/2 years/3 years; 1/3 of the midterm of 2 years is 8 months.)  Wright’s sentence on the arson charge will run concurrently with the 5-year term for the other charges.

There’s a new mural in Valley West and it’s not on a wall, placed there only for you to gaze at it. It is on the ground, and you’re even allowed to step on it. Actually, you’re suppose to play basketball on it! 

That’s right. The basketball court on Hallen Drive in Valley West just got some fresh paint – a colorful, abstract mural painted across the entire court. The mural was created by the REBOUND project – a DreamMaker project of the Ink People Center for the Arts, dedicated to transforming basketball courts (and other surfaces) into colorful works of art. 

Benjamin Funke, founder of REBOUND, told the Outpost that 10 paid volunteers helped paint the court, starting on Monday afternoon and finishing up on Thursday. Funke said the most difficult part of the work was priming the 4,500 square foot court, which took 33 gallons of primer to cover. “It was about double what we had anticipated,” Funke said. 

But once the primer was dry, the rest of the painting went smoothly and quickly and Funke was pretty surprised that the crew was done by 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. Everyone who worked on the project was having a great time, Funke said, and the community response was really positive, with many people stopping by to express their excitement for the mural.  

“A lot of people from Valley West came up and were extremely appreciative of what we were bringing to the community,” Funke said. “I mean, we took a piece of black asphalt and turned it into this colorful mural, vibrating with dynamism. It’s so different from what was there a week ago.” 

The project is one of several recent upgrades to the Valley West neighborhood – including the addition of fruit trees, more murals and a picnic table to Valley West Park (across the street from the basketball court), free dance and theater classes and outdoor events – funded by $15,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, allocated by the City of Arcata. The community group Comunidad Unidad del Norte de Arcata (CUNA) has been partnering with the City to spruce up Valley West, organizing projects and gathering neighborhood feedback to see what Valley West residents want improved. The basketball court mural was one of eight community improvement projects selected by residents during a public vote organized by CUNA. 

This is the second basketball court mural that REBOUND has painted in Arcata. Last year the nonprofit worked with the City to paint the court at Shay Park near Foster and Alliance, and the group is also responsible for the Blake Reagan mural on the retaining wall behind Café Brio. Like with the Shay Park court, REBOUND used the funding to cover the cost of paint and other materials and to compensate the painters, and the City of Arcata will take care of maintenance of the mural. 

On Friday afternoon, two workers from the City of Arcata Parks and Recreation Department were finishing up the Valley West court by adding two coats of waterproof sealant to protect the mural. The sealant has some grit to it, to help prevent people from slipping on it. The workers said that, depending on the weather, the sealant generally takes about two days to dry and the court should be open to the public after this weekend. 

Funke was really excited that REBOUND was selected for this project and is looking forward to completing many more murals in the future. He added that the nonprofit is always looking for new projects and for donations, so make sure to visit their website to find out how you can help. 

Funke also wanted to add that he is thrilled with the efforts of the City of Arcata and CUNA to breathe some new life into Valley West, a neighborhood that he thinks is actually pretty great. 

“I feel like the vibe in Valley West is very positive,” Funke said. “Spending consecutive days there and walking around the community, I feel like maybe it’s misrepresented. There’s a really good feeling about being a part of beautifying Valley West and I’m really happy we were able to contribute something beautiful and meaningful.”