Lost Coast Outpost

KHSU Expands Programming With Syndicated Faves Including ‘This American Life,’ ‘Fresh Air’ and More

LoCO Staff / Monday, May 16, 2022 @ 9:46 a.m. / KHSU

KHSU studio | Image via KHSU.org.

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More than three years after the administration of the university formerly known as Humboldt State effectively blew up KHSU as the community had come to know it, eliminating virtually all local personnel and programming, the local public radio station is expanding its coverage with a lineup of familiar, nationally syndicated shows through its partnership with Capital Public Radio.

Here’s a press release from Cal Poly Humboldt:

On Monday, May 16, public radio listeners in the North Coast will hear a new lineup of shows that bolsters the news and cultural programming on KHSU. After more than two years of limited NPR programming repeated throughout the day, the updated schedule features 28 shows airing on weekdays and weekends.
The flagship NPR news magazines Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered remain a core part of the new weekday lineup. These shows will be supplemented by breaking news, feature stories and interviews with new additions that include:
BBC Newshour — international stories and voices;
Fresh Air with Terry Gross — contemporary arts and issues;
Science Friday — science, technology and other cool stuff;
and
Marketplace — public radio’s signature daily business show.
Weekend programming will also receive notable updates. Joining NPR’s news shows Weekend Edition and All Things Considered are other public radio staples, including:
This American Life — host Ira Glass describes it as “little movies on the radio”;
Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me — NPR’s news quiz that always makes you laugh;
The Moth Radio Hour — true stories told before a live audience;
TED Radio Hour — compilations of TED Talks centered on a common theme; and
Hidden Brain — an exploration of the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior.
“Programming has been limited for KHSU listeners during the past few years,” said Phil Wilke, general manager at KHSU and NSPR. “This update provides the North Coast with enhanced listening options for daily and breaking news, and it also opens the weekends to a wide range of great public radio shows that offer humor, storytelling, news, documentaries and even travel. I look forward to hearing from our listeners with their thoughts on the new schedule.
“We’ve added local features and increased the state-government reporting. We plan to continue adding local coverage and voices as we’re able. I look forward to hearing from our listeners with their thoughts on the new schedule.”
The updated programming will air on 90.5 FM Arcata-Eureka, 91.9 FM Crescent City, 89.9 FM Garberville, 99.9 FM Willow Creek, and 88.7 FM Ferndale. Radio Bilingüe will continue on 103.3 FM in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, and the 24-hour BBC programming will continue on 90.1 FM Ferndale and 107.7 FM Trinidad.
The new KHSU schedule can be viewed here. (khsu.org/khsu-radio-schedule)
If you’d like to leave a comment about the new schedule, please send an email to: khsu-contact@humboldt.edu.

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PREVIOUSLY

Traffic Stop in McKinleyville Leads to Discovery of AR-15 and Meth; Two Arrested, Sheriff’s Office Says

LoCO Staff / Monday, May 16, 2022 @ 9:39 a.m. / Crime

Christopher James Diven (left) and Jeramiah Scott Fletcher | Booking photos, Humboldt County Correctional Facility

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On May 14, 2022, at about 8:52 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol in the McKinleyville area conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation. The vehicle yielded to deputies on the 1100 block of Murray Road.
Deputies contacted the driver of the vehicle, 35-year-old Christopher James Diven, and a passenger, 40-year-old Jeramiah Scott Fletcher. Fletcher was found to have an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest and was taken into custody without incident. Diven was found to be driving the vehicle with a suspended license.
During a search of the vehicle, deputies located an AR-15 rifle, a high-capacity magazine, over 19 grams of methamphetamine and items consistent with the sale of controlled substances.
Diven was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of an assault weapon (PC 30605), possession of a high-capacity magazine (PC 32310), possession of a controlled substance (HS 11378), possession of a controlled substance while armed (HS 11370.1(a)), transportation/sale of a controlled substance (HS 11379(a)), driving with a suspended license (VC 14601.1) and possession of over 28.5 grams of cannabis (HS 11357(B)(2)).
Fletcher was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on 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.

With Inflation, California Worries About Progress on Poverty

Alejandro Lazo / Monday, May 16, 2022 @ 7:12 a.m. / Sacramento

Mayra Paniagua and her three children inside their home in Oxnard on May 14, 2022. “With the stimulus payments we were able to continue making the car payment and the other household bills,” Paniagua said. “That helped us a lot.” Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters.

As the state’s Democratic leaders weigh how to spend a record $97.5 billion budget surplus, they also are grappling with how best to keep many vulnerable Californians out of poverty with federal stimulus dollars waning and high inflation devouring household budgets.

Some advocates say the revised budget Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled Friday won’t do enough. To address inflation, Newsom is proposing to devote $18.1 billion in state funds.

His lead proposal, estimated to cost about $11.5 billion, would refund $400 each to most of the state’s car owners, with the aim of easing the burden of high gas prices. Newsom also included $750 million to fund public transit for free for three months.

Activists said the car owner refund would not be targeted enough toward those needing the most help.

“At the end of the day, the state budget should be about ensuring every Californian can afford housing, food, child care, health care, and education opportunities,” said Chris Hoene, executive director of the California Budget & Policy Center.

Experts say low-income Californians are struggling the most with a volatile economic recovery marred by high housing costs and pricier basic necessities. And critics said the budget proposal doesn’t go far enough to help lower-income households weather high inflation.

Mayra Paniagua, a part-time tax preparer in Ventura County whose family of five lives frugally on a combined income of $44,000, said she would welcome any relief as she has seen expenses climb this year.

“It’s been hard,” Paniagua said. “We stretch our money, and try to save as much as possible, especially for what we need.”

But the California Democrats who control state government are at odds over how they should spend on the state’s poorest.

“We stretch our money, and try to save as much as possible, especially for what we need.”
Mayra Paniagua, part-time tax preparer and mother of three

Some are advocating the state extend expiring federal stimulus programs. Others say the eligibility of programs should be expanded to include more people.

They have about a month to come to an agreement, as the legislature is constitutionally required to pass a budget by June 15. Then, Newsom has 15 days to act, before the new budget takes effect July 1.

Republican lawmakers, who are so small a minority they have virtually no say over spending, blame inflation on the policies of the majority party. “Democrat-rule has made this state unaffordable,” James Gallagher, the Assembly Republican leader from Yuba City, said last week.

Gallagher and other Republicans have blamed the state’s gas tax, which Democrats raised in 2017 under Brown to repair roads and bridges and expand mass transit, as a contributor to higher prices at the pump. Gallagher also has blamed the state’s climate change agenda for driving up the cost of utilities.

The federal stimulus is credited with boosting the fortune of the state’s least well off.

The state’s poverty rate fell from 16.2% in 2019 to 12.3% in 2020, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

But experts caution that inflation and the expiration of federal programs could threaten that progress. Without the child tax credit, for instance, 1.7 million children are at risk of falling deeper into poverty, the Budget & Policy Center has said.

More than half of California’s residents with incomes below $50,000 were struggling to pay for food, housing, and medical costs in March and April. Black, Latino and other families of color were among those most likely to be struggling, the center reported.

“We’ve got a strong labor market,” said Sarah Kimberlin, a senior policy analyst with the center. “But even if you can find a job, that doesn’t mean that you can afford to pay the rent and get food on the table.”

The governor unveiled a variety of other measures he said were aimed at easing the inflation burden. Those proposals included $2.7 billion in rental assistance and $1.4 billion in past-due utility bill assistance. He also proposed a waiver of child care fees for low-income families estimated to cost $157 million.

“Even if you can find a job, that doesn’t mean that you can afford to pay the rent and get food on the table.”
— Sarah Kimberlin, senior policy analyst at the California Budget & Policy Center

Newsom also proposed $933 million be used to provide cash payments of $1,500 for hospital and nursing home workers, while reserving $304 million for health insurance premium assistance for families.

To offset freighting costs, the governor proposed a $439 million pause on the state’s diesel tax.

The governor also announced that the state’s minimum wage is set to increase to $15.50 an hour next year due to the inflation hike.

Some Democratic legislators and their allies are pushing Newsom to take a different approach.

Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, a Los Angeles Democrat, plans to promote a bill he authored that would enable the state to extend the expired federal child tax credit. Santiago’s bill, backed by United Ways of California, would provide a $2,000 payment per child to families that earn $30,000 a year or less.

“It is a chance for the Legislature to send a clear message of prioritization,” said Anna Hasselblad, director of public policy for United Ways of California.

Any form of relief would be welcome to Paniagua, a 38-year-old mother of three living with her husband in a two-bedroom apartment in the coastal Ventura County city of Port Hueneme.

In a phone interview, Paniagua said her family survived the pandemic only because her husband kept his job at a local nursery. He is undocumented, she said, and so would not have qualified for 2020 federal relief.

In 2021, her family benefited from state stimulus checks for the undocumented, she said, and from goods from a local food pantry and some CalFresh benefits available to her because her son was enrolled in school.

This year, she said, the high cost of living has stretched her family thin. With her rent increasing $200 in July to $2,100 a month, she has taken to using the Flipp phone app to search for deals on necessities such as milk, yogurt and baby formula for her 7-month-old baby girl.

Gone are any trips to the movies, or the occasional splurge on In-N-Out burgers, a favorite of her children, she said.

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This article is part of the California Divide project, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequality and economic survival in California. CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

HUMBOLDT OUTDOORS: Venturing Inside the Loleta Tunnel

John Ross Ferrara / Sunday, May 15, 2022 @ 10:15 a.m. / Humboldt Outdoors

The Huell Howser of Humboldt, Ray Olson, is back to teach us more about our local landmarks through exploration.

In today’s episode of Humboldt Outdoors, Olson teams up with local columnist Barry Evans to tour the historic and somewhat spooky Loleta Tunnel.

“It was my first time there and, wow, what an adventure it turned out to be,” Olson said.

Click the video to watch Olson and Evans discuss the history of the 138-year-old abandoned tunnel, and see them venture inside.

PREVIOUSLY:

(AUDIO) HUMBOLDT HOLDING UP: St. Joe’s ER Nurse Lauren Van Vlear on the Increase of Patients in Mental Health Crisis Since COVID and the Toll It’s Taking on Medical Staff

LoCO Staff / Sunday, May 15, 2022 @ 10 a.m. / Humboldt Holding Up

(AUDIO) Lauren Van Vlear

Lauren Van Vlear, who has been a registered nurse in the emergency room at St. Joseph Hospital for three years, normally loves her job. She loves helping people and she likes working hard and being busy.

Van Vlear in her PPE

But over the last couple of years, with the COVID pandemic, a sharp increase in patients dealing with mental health issues and a resulting uptick in violence toward medical staff, the environment in the ER has just become too much to handle.

On this week’s episode of Humboldt Holding Up — the Outpost‘s podcast spawned from the weirdness of COVID — Van Vlear joins us to discuss her experience with the chaotic environment in the ER, the troubling situation with patients being taken to the hospital on a 5150 hold, some of the frightening situations she has witnessed and why she has recently decided to transfer to a different department to prioritize her own mental health.

Click the audio player above or head over to Apple Podcasts to hear Van Vlears’s chat with LoCO’s Stephanie McGeary and Andrew Goff and/or scroll our list of past guests below.

PREVIOUS HUMBOLDT HOLDING UP GUESTS:

GROWING OLD UNGRACEFULLY: Eureka!

Barry Evans / Sunday, May 15, 2022 @ 7 a.m. / Growing Old Ungracefully

Spring has sprung, we can pretend we’re in a post-Covid world* and Eureka is looking pretty good to me these days.

* We’re not—257 confirmed cases last week in Humboldt

Let me count the ways:

Cruise ship

We were graced a few days ago with the largest cruise ship ever to navigate into our Bay, the Seven Seas Mariner. She made use of Schneider’s deepwater dock on May 3, and passengers who chose to leave their luxury quarters were greeted by a bevy of Council members and City officials and—wait for it—Free Donuts. (We know how to give folks a good time.) Hopefully we’ll be seeing more cruise ships come into the Bay—the last one was The World, back in 2012, not counting the comparatively small Silver Explorer four years ago. Word is, we might get a couple more this year.

The 48,000-ton Seven Seas Mariner at Schneider dock. (Barry Evans)

Chinatown

The first-Saturday-of-the-month May Arts Alive got an extra fillip, with celebrations that day in Eureka’s old Chinatown district: between Fourth and Fifth, and E and F. Although the City Council changed the name of the lane between E and F to Charlie Moon Way last November, the ribbon cutting—with speeches, blessings and good-luck Lion Dancing—happened a week ago Saturday. Charlie Moon, who was working on a ranch on Redwood Creek, was one of the few Chinese who escaped Eureka’s notorious, racist 1885 Expulsion.

Wrong! It’s Charlie Moon Way. A replacement sign is in the works. (Barry Evans)

Old Town Carriage

When he’s not rooting for Liverpool Football Club, Brendan Feardon drives visitors around Old Town in a decidedly old fashion style, complete with historical commentary, some of which may be true. He can be found most days (officially Wednesday to Monday, 12:30 - 6:30pm) by the gazebo. Call (646) 591-2058 or book online.

Brendan and Pearl (Barry Evans)

Eureka Books

We are blessed with two great bookstores on the same block in Old Town Eureka: Booklegger and Eureka Books. EB’s new owner, Solomon Everta, decided to pre-celebrate the upcoming kitefest with a suitable theme for the store. Redwood Coast Kite Festival and Artisan Fair will be happening in Halverson Park next weekend, Saturday and Sunday May 21 and 22. Go fly a kite!

(Barry Evans)

The Madaket

M/S Madaket, née Nellie C, is now approaching her 112th birthday. You can read about her history here. Harbor cruises officially re-started yesterday, May 14th. Call (707) 445 1910 for times and tickets.

Ready to sail again after her winter hibernation. (Barry Evans)

Birds

Bird rentable electric scooters started showing up all over the place recently. At $1 start fee + 39 cents per minute, they’re more expensive in Eureka than anywhere else I checked (29 cents/minute in Sacramento, for instance), but they’re here and available and much, much more eco-friendly than driving a car around town.

(Barry Evans)

Loleta Tunnel

OK, not quite Eureka. Ray (“Humboldt Outdoors”) Olson and I had fun out at Loleta a few weeks ago—he’d read my story about Loleta’s 1884 railroad tunnel, which became a part of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad’s line down to the Bay Area, starting in 1914. Somehow Ray created this playful video of the two of us exploring a slice of Humboldt history.

(Ray Olson)

OBITUARY: Brian D. Tripp, 1945-2022

LoCO Staff / Sunday, May 15, 2022 @ 6:56 a.m. / Obits

Acclaimed artist and revered Karuk singer and dancer Brian D. Tripp began his journey home on May 13, 2022, at the age of 77. Born April 6, 1945 in Eureka, the third son of Amos Tripp and Violet (Donahue) Tripp, he was raised in Klamath, where he and his brothers talked fondly about all their boyhood adventures at the Klamath Glen and at Terwer Creek, camping, fishing, swimming and maybe a little mischief. Although raised in Klamath, their parents always took them back home to their family place at Ike’s to stay with their gram, and this is where he learned the tradition he shared with many Karuks about drinking the water from your home place so you always remember to return.

“I am from the Spawning Grounds …
That’s when my Father spoke
He said when I was young, I was told
Know how the water tastes
Know which way it flows
Learn from the animals, the birds and the bees
Say a prayer for the Homeground
The Rivers, the Rocks
The Mountains, the Oceans, the Trees
Always give more than you take
Always work hard for the People’s sake
Don’t tell lies
Do things right
Sing your own song and you won’t go wrong …”

He graduated from Del Norte High School where he was recognized as most talented for his artwork. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1965, where he served in Vietnam. After leaving the army, he then pursued a degree in art at Humboldt State University through the then new Educational Opportunity Program, and was hired to teach a Native American art class while still an undergraduate, a class he taught intermittently in the 1970s and 1980s. He married Dolly Kellogg in 1973, and their son Jasper Tripp was born in 1975. They, along with his family, worked closely with Karuk Elders Charlie Thom, Shan Davis, Frances Davis, and Fred & Elizabeth Case and immersed themselves in reviving and strengthening ceremonial culture. He and his brothers were key figures in the renewal of the Karuk ceremonies at Katamiin. A decade later, he was involved with the revival of the Yurok Jump Dance at Pecwan. The ceremonies were his favorite times, he loved the old timers and all the young dancers alike. When he was walking into the pit for the morning round he always told all the young ladies how beautiful they looked, and his nieces and great-nieces loved to dance by him. Everyone knew Uncle’s Brushdance songs and the pit would be rocking when he sang. At Jumpdance he made sure to visit and eat pie at all the camps. Ceremony was his best times.

Brian worked for a number of years for the Youth Diversion Program at Tri-County Indian Development Council and later collaborated there with Frank Tuttle on the Tri-County newsletter, hand lettering designs and the layout. He also designed the logo for United Indian Health Services, and this tradition of using his artwork and art titles for tribal conferences,gatherings, t-shirts, and books continued and you can see his work and its influence all over the state and even for some national tribal organizations.

Although he had been doing artwork since high school, his reputation as an artist began to spread and his work became more ambitious in scale and installation-oriented. In the 1970s, he began exhibiting and organizing Native American art exhibitions and was at the cutting edge of California’s developing contemporary Indian art movement. His work often included abstracts and geometric patterns inspired by basketry, regalia and was heavily influenced by his participation in ceremonies. They always included provocative titles drawn from his original poetry and his beliefs in the Indian Way. His work appeared on the cover of the program for Jerry Brown’s first gubernatorial inauguration exhibition at the State House in 1975. He participated in important exhibitions at Sacramento’s Crocker Art Museum and the inaugural exhibition at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. In the 1990s, his work was featured in exhibitions at San Francisco’s de Young Museum and the New Museum in New York, and he traveled to Japan and throughout Europe as a visiting artist. His powerful mixed media art is now in museum collections including the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Crocker Art Museum, the Denver Art Museum, the Oakland Museum of California, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Humboldt Arts Council and the Cal Poly Humboldt Permanent Collection, and his works on paper are in collections including the Getty, Library of Congress and Yale. In later years, he also was involved in a number of mural projects and this tradition continues on with his family today. He also received the California Living Heritage Award from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA) in October 2018 in recognition for being one of the artistic grandfathers of the cultural renaissance and revitalization movement that continues to inspire generations of California Indian tribal artists today. A retrospective of his work was mounted at Humboldt’s Goudi’ni Gallery in 2021 and he had a special opening with his family at the show which meant a lot to him.

In 2013, Brian moved to Karuk Elder Housing in Orleans, Ca and he was very happy to have the chance to move back to his ancestral homelands and spend time on the river. He and his cousin Jason “Jaybird” Lang and their pards liked cruising up to Katamiin, Ike’s Falls and up the Salmon River. This move home was a very special time for him and he continued to inspire all who took the time to sit and listen to him tell tales of his upbringing and his unique take on being a Karuk Indian. As his health began to decline, Brian moved in with his nephew Sonny and his great-nephews Imya and Mateek in McKinleyville where he spent the last two years. They hosted lots of people at Sonny’s place during that time playing cribbage, sharing stories, singing songs and enjoying good times.

He was preceded in death by his parents Amos and Violet Tripp and his older brother Amos Tripp, who he missed greatly and talked about often. He is survived by his son Jasper Edward and his new grandson Elijah, his siblings Leroy (Sue) Tripp, David (Jan) Tripp, Phillip (Rose) Tripp, Helen (Pat) Suri and his sister-in-law Maria “Perky” Tripp. BDT wanted his nieces and nephews to serve as his pallbearers and they include Missy Defenbaugh, Sonny Tripp, Pimm Tripp-Allen, Hector Ike Tripp, Justin Tripp, Levi Tripp, Paloma Pole, Kapoon Tripp, Monica Hostler, EmilioTripp, Analisa Tripp, Angelica Tripp, Frankie Tripp and Phil Tripp, as well as numerous great nieces and nephews and three great-great-nephews.

Honorary pallbearers include Mike McGarity, Julian Lang, Frankie Thom, Frank Tuttle, Loren Bommelyn, George Blake, Mark Johnson, Rigo, Hot Rod Donahue, Everett “Tweet” Colegrove, Muss Colegrove, Beanie Vigil, Nolan Colegrove, Owee Colegrove, EFC Colegrove, Eli Hensher-Aubrey, Willard Carlson and the Carlson Boys, Homer Bennett, Joe James, Christopher Peters, Greg Rael, Vernon Lewis, Bob Benson, Vincent LaPena, Bill Defenbaugh, Antonio Padilla, Gerald Spannaus, Ron Griffith and Tyler Conrad. We also want to recognize all those who he danced, sang, and played Indian Cards with and his eeling partners from the last 50 plus years, he considered all of you family.

The family wants to thank everyone who came by over this last year to visit Uncle. A special thank you to those who stayed and provided additional care and respite to Sonny and the family. We would also like to acknowledge the staff and caregivers of Hospice of Humboldt, as well as Dr. Tim Paik-Nicely and Dr. Terry Raymer.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, May 15, 2022 from 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. at Paul’s Chapel in Arcata. Open air services officiated by Alme Allen will be held at the Karuk Tribal Department of Natural Resources in Orleans, Ca on Monday, May 16, 2022 at 1 p.m. and internment will immediately follow at Ike’s Family Cemetery on Hwy 96 above Ike’s Falls.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Uncle’s memory at HAFoundation.org/BDTfund or by mail to Humboldt Area Foundation, 363 Indianola Road, Bayside, CA 95524 with reference to the Brian Tripp Red House People Fund. This fund will be used to support California Native Arts and Artists.

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

KHSU Expands Programming With Syndicated Faves Including ‘This American Life,’ ‘Fresh Air’ and More

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