UPDATE, 7:15 p.m.: Powell checks back in to share that the house in question has been cleared and contained no suspects or victims. The shelter in place advisory has been lifted. Law enforcement is opening up E Street while they continue their investigation.

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UPDATE, 6:39 p.m.: EPD PIO Brittany Powell tells the Outpost that law enforcement is investigating a possible home invasion robbery. 

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UPDATE, 6:05 p.m.: The Eureka Police Department is asking the public to avoid the area.

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Original Post: Multiple units from both the Eureka Police Department and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office have converged on a residence located at the intersection of E and Dollison streets in Eureka. E Street is currently blocked off between Long and Henderson streets. 

An HCSO deputy at the scene tells the Outpost‘s Isabella Vanderheiden that they’ve been broadcasting commands for the last half hour to the house which they believe may contain hostages. HCSO’s Bearcat, SWAT Team members and an EPD K9 unit have arrived on scene.

Scanner traffic monitor “todd” gave this account of what he heard around 4:45 p.m. this afternoon.

Eureka Unknown Circumstances: EPD is in the area of E and Dollison after an individual called 911 reporting that they had escaped a situation at a nearby residence and several other victims and suspects may still be at scene. Details are unclear. EPD and HCSO are on scene with a house surrounded and are giving commands. Off duty EPD officers are being recalled to cover the city while officers are dealing with this situation. E Street is closed between Henderson and Long

A resident of the area writes in to the Outpost to report that law enforcement asked her to stay in her home for the time being.

We will update when we know more.

[Note: This post’s headline was modified when it was learned that the situation was not as serious as first reported.]

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During next week’s meeting, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will discuss an array of issues on a jam-packed agenda, including the county’s ongoing financial woes, litigation against the Auditor-Controller, the local drought response and more.

Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2022-23

Possibly the most notable item on Tuesday’s agenda is the budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year. The county’s backlog of delinquent financial reports have made it difficult for county staff to plan for the future and create a comprehensive budget for the upcoming fiscal year. As a result, county staff has developed a $570 million budget proposal to serve as a “placeholder” until a final budget is adopted later this year.

“…Without the audit adjustments for FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20 having been posted, and a significant number of FY 2020-21 unposted journals and accounts not reconciled, staff are unable to provide your Board with reliable information regarding fund balances,” the staff report stated. “In addition, delays in closing months in the current fiscal year, delays in posting pending journal transfers, and expenditures and budget adjustments, only exacerbate the county’s lack of financial integrity.”

Following a presentation from Chief Financial Officer Tabatha Miller last month, the board agreed to hold off on the adoption of a final budget for FY 2022-23 until late September to provide additional time for staff to complete the audit for FY 2019-20 and for more transactions from FY 2020-21 to be posted to provide more reliable estimates of the county’s fund balances.

The $570,531,333 proposed budget will serve as a placeholder until a final budget is adopted on or before October 2. In the meantime, the County Administrative Office recommended a budget adjustment freeze, a hiring freeze and a continuation of the voluntary furlough program.

Update on Local Drought Conditions

The board will also receive an update from the Humboldt County Drought Task Force. For the past year, the task force has worked to develop short, medium and long-term strategies to address the impacts of drought across the county.

Humboldt County has received a significant amount of rainfall since the Drought Task Force’s last update in February. Even still, severe drought conditions persist across the majority of the county, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Homestead Collective Weed Company Appeal

The board will also consider an appeal from the Homestead Collective Weed Company regarding the Zoning Administrator’s approval of a special permit for an existing 10,000-square-foot outdoor cannabis operation in Blocksburg.

Citing “a long history of complications and disagreements” between the applicant and the County Planning and Building Department,” county staff are asking the board deny the appeal and deny the special permit.

“The appeal is based on concern with a condition of approval…regarding the setback from a wetland on the site,” the staff report stated. “The concern with the condition has been resolved, but the applicant/appellant still wants to pursue the appeal and is unwilling to pay the cost of processing his permit.” 

Disagreements between the applicant and county staff stretch back to 2018 when the applicant initially refused to pay Measure S taxes on the issued interim permit, according to the staff report. Staff recommended the denial of the application during the Planning Commission’s May 7, 2020 meeting. During the hearing, the applicant agreed to pay the taxes and eventually received a special permit from the Zoning Administrator in December 2020. One month later, the applicant filed an appeal against the decision.

“The applicant refused to pay the appropriate appeal fee and was able to convince a staff member to accept the appeal application,” the staff report continued. “Planning staff worked with the applicant to address his concerns and had a verbal agreement whereby the appeal would be dropped once the appeal issue was addressed. The appeal issue was addressed however the applicant has not dropped the appeal.”

The staff report added that “it is difficult to discern what the applicant/appellant is seeking in this appeal.”

Litigation Against the Auditor-Controller

The board will convene during closed session to discuss anticipated and existing litigation relating to Humboldt County Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez.

Last month, the State of California initiated legal action against Humboldt County and Paz Dominguez, in both her personal and professional capacities, for failing to comply with government-mandated financial reporting requirements. Days later, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to file a cross-complaint against the embattled Auditor-Controller for failing to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of her position.

Earlier this month, the Eureka City Council unanimously voted to initiate its own lawsuit against the county and Paz Dominguez for failing to distribute the City’s “statutorily guaranteed tax revenue funds,” according to a letter from City Attorney Autumn Luna.

“Instead of calculating and distributing the funds as required by law, you are asking that the City of Eureka calculate and file a ‘claim’ in order to receive its funds,” the letter stated. “The calculation itself is a fundamental aspect of your enumerated duties, and where the legislature has conferred a duty on a public official, that public official cannot delegate that duty without further specific authority from the legislature.”

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The Board of Supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 28. The agenda and a link to live stream the meeting can be found here.

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What can we learn about the national and political landscape from the results of the 2022 primary election? Those enviro-political nerds at the Redwood Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility and the Lost Coast Outpost’s own Hank Sims break down election results and reflect on lessons learned from this election.

AUDIO:

“The EcoNews Report,” June 25, 2022.

It’s harvest season here in Humboldt.

First-run deps for folks at modest elevations and those with sound infrastructure are coming to market and buyers are snapping up high-quality flower. Purple gassy strains continue to be the rave and with bag appeal and a solid nose, prices are modest.

Photos: Jesse Duncan.

After conversations with many people in distribution, including some of the largest buyers in the state, one thing is clear … good weed is selling. If you are sitting on product, it means only one thing: It’s not cutting it in today’s market. Not the market of days past, or the marketplace we wish we had, but the one we actually have.

Buyers are increasingly discerning and want sorted pounds, with uniformity, consistency, strong COA’s and spot-on processing. If you meet these criteria, your stuff moves – fast. If you don’t, it won’t. It’s that simple.

Across the West Coast cannabis growing regions, a major shift is underway. Cannabis production, and the economic benefits traditionally associated with such, are going from the hands of many to the hands of few. Small mom-and-pop operators are struggling to compete with well-capitalized corporations and more skilled producers, and this trend will only intensify.

While the Craft industry (small-batch, high-end production) offers a glimmer of hope for select family farms, the challenge is that many folks operating in the space don’t possess the knowledge, husbandry, resources or even basic farming skills required to compete successfully in today’s “high-quality” flower markets.

In other words, it’s not just that small operations lack the capital, business prowess or proximity to major metropolitan markets as many argue. It’s that many simply aren’t producing a product desirable enough for increasingly discerning and judicious buyers and consumers.

I hate to say this, but flower that tastes awesome and looks like shit is not gonna cut here in Cali. Flower structure, outer trichome layer, color, nose and cannabinoid content dominate the sales conversation here in the Golden State, and I don’t see that changing over the immediate to the intermediate horizon. While I love terpene-rich sun-grown flower and understand that not all strains rock up and pod out, the market doesn’t seem to agree and wants what it wants.

I’m not a rocket scientist, but don’t find it useful to question or ignore current realities. Instead, I work diligently to meet market needs as sales velocity feeds the kids and keeps farms running.

To be perfectly honest, most operators in Humboldt County I’ve worked with are really bad at pot farming. Small, loose buds, poor trichome production, terpene sloughing, powdery mildew, mold, bugs and terrible drying and curing processes plague the many dozens of farmers I’ve met over the past decade. And to be very clear, every one of these operators told me they grow killer stuff and didn’t get why they were struggling.

The remote locations, the somewhat isolated lifestyles of many farmers, and the lack of exposure to true top-shelf flower have led to outsized and unwarranted confidence around production and skillset in many cases.

Sadly, I’ve lost friends (and perhaps gained a few adversaries) as I’ve shed light on the subject for consulting clients. Cannabis farming has been a very ego-driven business and we know that folks derive personal satisfaction and a sense of self-worth and accomplishment from their work, so I completely understand the angst. Many find it hard to accept that they have learned little about producing high-end product over the past decades and struggle with how ill-equipped they are to compete in the current marketplace. Coming to understand that one’s livelihood was based not on skill but on the fact that there was relatively little weed around is a tough pill to swallow.

Many are now exiting the industry while others are barely holding on.

In defense of the less skilled, we must not forget that until several years ago old, brown shit weed still fetched a fair ticket in the illicit marketplace…now those units are being purchased by folks from Arizona and elsewhere at $100-150 a pound, if at all. Given that long-time operators are suddenly competing directly for shelf space with corporate money and those who actually exhibit admirable cannabis farming skills, overconfidence has been largely replaced with fear, anxiety and depression.

Economically speaking, small communities across the West Coast are beginning to feel the pinch as excess rents (profits) go away. Fewer lifted trucks and less spending on fancy attire, boats, firearms, ATV’s, vacations, and dining out are hitting small businesses hard. With less disposable income and with the corporatization of cannabis markets, money is changing hands quickly. Corporate producers spend less on local consumption and this trend has only just begun. Over the coming years it’s estimated that 80 percent of California cannabis companies will fail and the pain felt by industry participants, local merchants and ancillary service providers will be significant.

It’s time we small farmers begin executing at a higher level. The reason many permit holders are struggling with distribution isn’t that the market sucks, it’s because their product does. The quicker growers can step up, hone their craft and begin producing something of value, the more they will realize that opportunity is ripe. Margins are slim, yes, but with efficient and effective production processes, a nice living can still be made farming ganja.

It’s the first inning of the regulated cannabis marketplace and to assume things are over is ridiculous. Skilled farmers are inking deals with celebrities, building brands of their own, and capitalizing on the rapidly growing industry and the fervor for high-quality products. And while prices continue to be very modest, the right stuff is flying off the shelves and will continue to do so.

The cannabis industry is now among our nation’s fastest-growing and there’s a place in it for skilled participants across the operating spectrum. The ability to meet consumer needs, adapt to their changing preferences and stand out among increasing competition will separate the winners from the losers.

Unfortunately, out West, many long-term producers are losing and will be wiped out in short order. Pockets of economic strength will remain and wealth creation will be significant for some, but not many. Local economies reliant on cannabis production will struggle and must be nimble and adaptive in order to succeed in this new paradigm. Will you do the same?

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.

With news coming Friday morning of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn its landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling, thus ending constitutional protections for abortion, Humboldt reproductive rights advocates moved quickly to organize a rally in response. 

Ultimately around 200 local supporters of abortion access gathered in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse Friday evening to wave signs and chant pro-abortion rights slogans to a continuous flow of supportive honks from passing motorists. A handful of speakers encouraged attendees to make donations to Planned Parenthood and to stay politically engaged going forward. 

The Lost Coast Outpost was on hand and snapped a few photos of the event.

Eureka City Councilmember Natalie Arroyo spoke about the emotions the day’s events had spurred in her. “It’s obvious that this [decision] affects many people and their individual health choices and their families and their well-being, but it also affects the way that we are knit together as a country in a way that I find really upsetting and very concerning. While I’m an elected official here in California where these rights are likely to be safe, I lived in Louisiana. I lived in Florida. I have loved ones all over this nation whose rights will not be safe.”

“We still have work to do here in California,” said Humboldt County Supervisor Mike Wilson who spoke of efforts to codify abortion rights into the California state constitution, while urging attendees to lobby their local officials to work to set a model the rest of the nation can follow to increase reproductive healthcare rights. “That means pushing your own local legislators and your own local politicians to push the legislation in California to make the changes that need to be made here in this state so that we can help push the nation forward.”

Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees.

The Humboldt County Elections Office just released another of its regular Friday post-Election Night tallies. A total of 6,079 votes have been counted since last week, the report shows, and with them Councilmember Natalie Arroyo’s lead in the race for Fourth District Supervisor has grown.

Arroyo.

Arroyo’s share of the vote has been steadily trending upward in these post-Election Night reports, when provisional ballots, conditional ballots and/or mail-in ballots received near the end of the election cycle are processed. If she maintains more than 50 percent of the vote, she will become the next Fourth District Supervisor without need for a November runoff.

It seems all but certain that this will be the case. There remain only in the neighborhood of 3,100 ballots left to be processed, according to numbers released by the Elections Office last week, and the portion of those ballots belonging to the Fourth District would have to have an extraordinary, anomalous anti-Arroyo tilt for a runoff to be forced. A

Elsewhere: All is roughly the same as it was last week, as far as the share of vote goes. In the only race that’s sure to extend to a November runoff — the race for Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters — Tiffany Hunt Nielsen continues to hold a slight edge over Juan Pablo Cervantes, and that lead actually grew just a skosh over the last week.

Latest election count, in PDF form, at this link.

PREVIOUSLY:

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To her large and close-knit family, 59-year-old Mary Jo Claunch was Superwoman.

She was the best mom, the best friend and everyone’s favorite “Auntie Jo-Jo.”

She was the kind of person, her daughter told Judge Kelly Neel this morning, who “could turn a neighborhood of strangers into lifelong friends.”

All that ended on Highway 101 just north of Orick on Oct. 13, 2020. Eureka resident Jamie Lee Vaughn, driving under the influence of methamphetamine, lost control of her Jeep and it collided head-on with the car carrying San Jose residents Claunch and her husband Duane Claunch.

This morning Vaughn, who recently pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and other charges, was sentenced to the maximum term of seven years in state prison. Before Neel passed sentence, she heard from a long line of Claunch’s grief-stricken family members.

Duane Claunch, who suffered horrific injuries in the wreck, said he and his wife were trapped in their demolished vehicle until help arrived about 30 minutes later. Both were conscious. Duane said he will never forget his wife’s last words to him that morning: “Duane-o, I’m not going to be the same.”

Mary Jo died a week later at Stanford Hospital after her husband and children made the excruciating decision to stop life support. A team of doctors from Stanford Hospital and Kaiser Medical had told them “Mary Jo was gone and she wasn’t coming back,” Duane recalled.

That forced him to make the choice “to kill the love of my life.” Mary Jo died one day after their 35th anniversary. She missed the arrival of her first grandchild by one month.

Vaughn, 37, was sentenced to three years for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, three years for causing great bodily injury to Duane Claunch and one year for having multiple victims. She will be credited for a total of 837 days. She has served 558 actual days and will receive just 15 percent credit because causing great bodily injury is considered a violent crime.

Ironically, under California law vehicular manslaughter is considered a serious but not violent crime. As Neel pointed out this morning, under the law Vaughn would have received less time if Duane Claunch had also died.

Also, as Duane Claunch noted, it’s apparently smarter to drive under the influence of an illegal substance than under the influence of alcohol, because the law sets a limit on what level of blood alcohol causes impairment. There is no such limit for illegal substances.

During Vaughn’s preliminary hearing, an expert testified Vaughn had ingested four to five times more than what’s considered the therapeutic dosage of meth.

Vaughn has a history of felony convictions, including for theft and possession of drugs for sale. Just last month she overdosed on some fentanyl she found in the jail. Vaughn survived because she was rushed to the hospital.

She read a brief statement this morning expressing her remorse, but said “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to harm anyone.”

Vaughn sat silently next to Public Defender Luke Brownfield as many speakers appeared either in court or via Zoom. Also, District Attorney Maggie Fleming read a number of statements from grieving family members.

Nancy Anderson, Mary Jo’s sister, told Vaughn she had ruined life for Mary Jo’s family and “I don’t want you to have a normal life … I do not forgive you for what you have done.”

Mary Jo’s youngest child, Zachary Claunch, said the day that changed his world was just a normal Tuesday until he got a call from his sister. She told him Mom and Dad had been in “a really bad accident.”

“I was crying and asking questions and she was answering questions and crying,” he recalled.

“Mom was a trooper,” he said. “All of us agreed that she would not want to live in the vegetative state promised by Jamie Vaughn and her injuries.”

(“Vaughn) robbed me of my biggest fan in every single event in my life,” Zachary said.

He also passed on some advice his mom gave to her children: “Say yes every chance you get because life is so short.”

Kirsten Claunch, Mary Jo’s oldest child and only daughter, said “I go to bed thinking about her and wake up thinking about her … I can’t listen to her favorite songs or make her favorite desserts without crying.”

Mary Jo’s celebration of life was postponed for months because of the pandemic. When it was finally held, 350 people attended.

Deputy District Attorneys Carolyn Schaffer and Jane Mackie were the prosecutors in the case.