Cappa and his new teammate Ted Karras talk to the media after signing contracts with the Bengals. | Cincinnati Bengals

Alex Cappa officially signed a four-year, $40 million deal with the Cincinnati Bengals yesterday, after the former Lumberjack became one of the first free agents to commit to a new team in the 2022 NFL season.

pic.twitter.com/tj7IjQhisb

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) March 18, 2022

The 27-year-old guard announced his intent to sign with the Bengals on Monday morning during the NFL’s initial two-day “legal negotiation window” that precedes free agency. However, the deal was not official until yesterday.

“I knew [Cincinnati] was going to be a good place to come to, and a place where we’re going to be competitive and talented,” Cappa told the media after signing his new contract. “That’s what I was looking for.” 

Welcome to The Jungle, Glass Eaters! 😁 pic.twitter.com/MFFRr13qgc

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) March 18, 2022

Cappa wouldn’t comment on the conversations he had with Tom Brady before and after the superstar reneged on his retirement plans, but said that he enjoyed playing with him in Tampa Bay.

“I really enjoyed my time with Tom and I’m super excited to start here,” he said.

After blocking for Brady — who many believe is the best QB in NFL history — Cappa will look to continue his Super Bowl success blocking for up-and-coming NFL star Joe Burrow.

Bengals Wire reports that Cappa’s contract includes $11 million in guarantees and a $9 million signing bonus.

New faces ready to go in Cincinnati! pic.twitter.com/E1pXV0fOch

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) March 20, 2022

Imagine this: You work for the Vice President of the United States as Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor. One day, as you’re walking down stairs near the White House, you feel as if you are “physically struck by a piercing pain” on the right side of your head. Despite your high-ranking status, you do nothing. A year later, you have two similar dizzy/vertigo episodes, feeling like you’re “just gonna fall right into the ground.” Now what do you do? Report these incidents to your security people? Get a medical check up? Or…wait for it…years later, go on the once-venerable CBS new magazine 60 Minutes to be interviewed for a segment on the so-called “Havana Syndrome”?

This, in a nutshell, is Olivia Troye’s tale; the quotes above are from her interview. Her story sounds familiar to me, and probably to any of the estimated one in three people over 40 who have suffered from vestibular dysfunction, that is, when your body suddenly, without warning, loses its sense of balance. It’s usually attributed to a temporary inner ear problem. In Ms. Troye’s case, rather than discussing it with her physician (who would probably have reassured her, as mine did) she went full-on melodramatic, presenting her rather mundane story as evidence for nefarious sonic or microwave weapons aimed at the White House.

Havana Syndrome is misnamed; surely it should be Havana Syndromes, plural. Since first reported from staff in the U.S. and Canadian embassies in Cuba’s capital in 2016, something weird happening to their bodies has since been noted by US intelligence and military personnel in India, China, Europe and, per the above, Washington DC. In addition to those frightening experiences suffered by Ms. Troye, Havana Syndrome includes hearing “strange grating noises,” ringing in the ears, and impaired cognitive ability. Does this represent a combined, worldwide attack on our diplomatic and military staff at home and overseas? Or the result of something more mundane like, um, crickets?

The “crickets” idea came about after staff in the US Cuba embassy made audio recordings “in a series of unnerving incidents later deemed to be deliberate attacks” (quoting from a 2017 Associated Press story, after AP obtained one of the recordings). Two biologists subsequently matched the calling song of the Indies short-tailed cricket by such parameters as waveform, pulse repetition rate, power spectrum and oscillations per pulse to the recording. Similarly, JASON (“an independent group of elite scientists” which advises the government, according to Wikipedia) concluded that the sounds in eight recordings made by Havana embassy staff were “most likely” caused by insects. It was, the group wrote, highly unlikely that microwaves or ultrasound beams were involved, because, “No plausible single source of energy (neither radio/microwaves nor sonic) can produce both the recorded audio/video signals and the reported medical effects.” Here’s a link.

The “cricket” explanation is just one of several put forward, none of which point to foreign powers messing with the heads of our men and women in Havana, or anywhere else. In addition to vestibular dysfunction, these include tinnitus and psychogenic illness. (The latter essentially says that if you’re anxious and primed by, for instance, the media, to believe you may get sick, you might suffer from the symptoms being reported, even though there’s no corresponding physical cause.)

Unhappily, in this age of sensationalism and fake news, 60 Minutes jumped on the “If it bleeds, it leads” bandwagon, omitting interviews with any skeptics who might have offered any such prosaic responses to the program’s wild claims. (We’re being attacked by invisible weapons!) It’s all very reminiscent of their segment on UFOs that I wrote about last May. By the way, the cricket solution was plastered all of the news five months before the 60 Minutes show.

None of which definitively rules out the possibility that foreign powers are secretly attacking us, of course, any more than extraterrestrial alien UFOs are invading our skies. Somehow, though, crickets and/or inner ear problems and/or psychosomatic reactions to stress just aren’t as sexy as covert microwave or sonic weapons.

William of Ockham’s long-ago response to problem-solving still has something to tell us. Paraphrasing: When in doubt, start off with the simplest solution.

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On my way out to the Ukrainian Consulate last Wednesday, I didn’t know what to expect, or why I was even going there for that matter.

With the war dragging into its third week, some 20,000 Ukrainian refugees had already arrived in Turkey, according to the news. Most had arrived either by bus or on foot, fleeing the fighting and bombardment that pounded their towns and neighborhoods.

Where could one find them? Especially in Istanbul, home to 15 million people? I figured the consulate would be a good place to start. A Google Maps search showed the location, up near the Florya Aquarium on the northwest side of the city. You could get there with the Marmaray, the intercontinental metro that runs beneath the Bosphorus.

Actually, the Marmaray passes right through our neighborhood in Uskudar, and I thought of just getting on early that morning. But it was a work day, and even though my teaching schedule is light this term, one still needs to make an appearance. I went to the campus in Kuştepe, had coffee, checked the news for the latest on the war. Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, was saying that peace talks were “realistic,” but at the same time Russian forces were still pounding the hell out of Kyiv and other cities, and people were continuing to either fight or flee.

Around 10 o’clock, I headed out to the metrobus. It’s the best way to get around this big city, and I figured it would connect with the Marmaray at some point. My phone indicated the Zeytinburnu stop. Some fifteen minutes and ten stops later, I got off at Zeytinburnu, an industrial neighborhood, and went in search of the Marmaray connection. There was the M1 line but no Marmaray in sight. A metro worker, in short, indifferent English, said I would be better off going to Yenikapi. So I got the M1 and took it eight stops to Yenikapi, and switched over to the Marmaray. Checking the route, I noted that the Florya Aquarium was indeed a stop, about eight stops away.

At this point, it was getting near lunchtime. I’d lost an hour bumbling about between metro lines. Over the past two years, with the pandemic, we have limited our use of the metros (poor ventilation, crowded cars), so my city navigation skills have got a bit rusty. So it felt good to have a refresher course, as well as revisit old stops in the city that I haven’t seen in so long.

But back to the mission. The Marmaray was not crowded, so I found a seat and sat looking out the window. It was a grey, overcast day, patches of snow clinging to rooftops here and there, as well as along the rolling Thracian landscape. The train goes north, all the way up to the old Ataturk airport. I checked the directions to the Ukrainian Consulate again. A Google advisory indicated: “Open – about as busy as it gets.” The consulate would close for an hour at 1 o’clock but at that point it was only noon, still plenty of time.

I got out my notepad and thought of what I would ask the Ukrainian refugees, should I come across any, jotting them down. “When did you arrive in Istanbul?” “Where are you staying?” “What are your plans?” “What do you think of Zelensky’s announcement? Do you plan on returning home any time soon?” Etc. Of course, such stories have already appeared in the Turkish press and elsewhere.

It felt strange, sitting on that train heading north to the outskirts, in the middle of the week. Was I just looking for a break in my routine? Perhaps this was all just nostalgia for my old days as a journalist. Back in California, I’d interviewed families fleeing wildfires, packing belongings hastily into cars as the smoke over the horizon got ever nearer. Here in Istanbul, I had seen Syrian refugees on the sidewalks in my neighborhood, having fled the bombing in Aleppo and other towns just south of our border here.

At the Florya Aquarium stop, I got off and went down some steps out to the main street. Adakale Street, which goes directly to the consulate, was right there. I crossed the intersection and headed in the direction my Google navigator indicated. I was in a respectable, one could even say affluent, neighborhood on the city’s outskirts. The streets were tree-lined, the houses neat and prominent looking.

A few blocks up, I saw the consulate. It looked just like any other building in the neighborhood, distinguishable only by the blue and yellow flag posted outside, and a prominent blue sign that read, in Russian and English, “CRİMEA İS UKRAİNE.” Directly across the street, there was a school, and dozens of children were playing in the yard. Local moms passed along the sidewalk, with babes in strollers, bundled up against the chill.

The scene outside the consulate was much quieter than I expected. About 25-30 people stood in line at the entrance, all carrying their passports and papers, evidently waiting for scheduled appointments. They looked neither weary nor anxious. There were no demonstrators nearby, no placards or banners. I noticed one armored police car, parked a discreet distance up the road, a couple of beefy cops leaning against the hood, but they seemed to be there just as a precaution. A few taxis idled at the curb, ready to whisk people back into the city. One could even say the scene was dull.

Normally, Ukrainian citizens can stay in Turkey up to 90 days on a tourist visa, but the government has waived that visa requirement because of the ongoing situation. The Turkish administration has also been reported as saying the Ukrainians can stay as long as necessary until the conflict ends. If the first casualty of war is decency, it is good to know that for the time being, decency is still standing here.

With this in mind, I wondered what the people were waiting in the line at the consulate for. I mean, if it was Turkish residency they wanted, they would need to apply at the Turkish Foreign Police offices, not the consulate.

Standing there viewing this quiet, orderly scene, I felt conspicuous, as if I were a spy, especially when I snapped a few photos. I wanted to approach some of the people in the line (“Excuse me? Do you speak English? I’m writing a story about the refugees …. ) Maybe my reporter skills were rusty, or maybe I was just gun shy, but I didn’t want to bother anybody.

On the long ride back into the city, I felt a bit disappointed that I hadn’t spoken to any of the Ukrainians. Why was I so gun shy? Back in the old days, I would have just gone right up to people and introduced myself and just started talking to people. All I had accomplished was that I had gone to the consulate. Back in my newspaper days, my editors would have probably chewed me out. “What? Is that it? Get your ass back out there and talk to those people!”

Well, it wasn’t really my job anymore, I reflected. In those days, somebody was paying me, my rent and food depended on me having to frequently bother people who didn’t really feel like talking to reporters. At least now, I can afford to be considerate, ha. Maybe in wartime, being gun shy can be luxury . Besides, as I said, the scene was so orderly, so quiet … if there had been bedlam – hundreds of huddled, traumatized women and children, screaming anti-war protesters, police in face shields and riot gear – hell, I might have felt more comfortable approaching people, strange as it may sound.

Of course, the scene at the consulate belies the reality of what’s happening, that there is a war going on just across the Black Sea to the north. Thse people are our neighbors. Millions of Ukrainians have fled their homes, and thousands have made and will continue to make their way here to Turkey. So those 25 or 30 people I saw, standing and waiting so calmly and patiently, remind us that more and more are arriving every day.

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The next day, I headed for the Russian Consulate just to have a look. It was a lot easier to get to, since it’s located near the Santa Maria Roman Catholic church on Istiklal Avenue in the heart of the historic Beyöğlu district. I’d passed by it many times, a handsome, broad-faced gold-colored building with the emblem and sign in Russian near the entrance.

I’d read in the news that some Russians have also fled to Istanbul. In fact, a day or two ago, a Russian DJ called Oxxxymiron gave a concert at a club in Kadıköy attended by many Russians who have recently arrived. The concert was broadcast on YouTube, and the story has been reported by CNN and The New York Times. So I was curious what the scene outside the consulate would be like.

Approaching the consulate, the avenue crowded as always, you see that heavy iron police barriers have been set up in front. At least a dozen armed policemen were clustered behind the barricade. The police didn’t seem to be on any high alert, casually eyeing the passersby, chatting amongst themselves. Nearby, a small handful of people stood inside the barrier waiting for appointments. There have been reports of anti-war protesters outside the consulate, but there were none present at the moment. The people passing were the usual tourists, sightseers and shoppers.

It was tempting to underline the contrasting scenes outside the two consulates I’d visited, especially since Russia is the generally perceived antagonist in the conflict. But I reflected that the Ukrainian consulate is way out in the suburbs, while the Russian consulate is here in the heart of the city. In the years I have lived here, I have witnessed many protests and demonstrations, which usually begin up near Taksim Square and make their way down the long, narrow avenue. Some of them, like the Taksim Square Park protests of 2013, turned violent, with police firing tear gas at the demonstrators.

Given such recent history, mixed in with the current conflict, it is understandably necessary to have the heavy police presence in front of the Russian consulate. And a police presence on Istiklal is pretty normal, since protests involving anything can erupt almost anytime (like with inflation, which in Turkey is well into the double digits nowadays).

Anyway, I stood there only for a few moments, as I did the day before, not wanting to be noticed, to take in the scene inconspicuously. I snapped a couple photos and was on my way. I walked through the Beyoğlu back streets, where in the evenings the bars are lit up and full, and in the summer time people sit at tables long into the night drinking and listening to pulsating local and club music.

But it was only lunchtime and most of the bars were still closed, boarded up. An Irish pub was open, and I went in, sat down and ordered a tall pint of Weihenstephaner, a smooth German draft, and reflected on the past two days. The scene at the two consulates was generally routine, uneventful, but they perhaps serve as portraits of Turkey’s neutral role in the conflict. Still, it’s thought-provoking to realize that you have these two consulates quietly going about their business while just over the Black Sea to the north, the bullets and bombs are flying.

The beer tasted good, and I enjoyed the sunlight that was coming down into the dim backstreets, the people sitting at tables having lunch or coffee. Most places were still closed, but the people were out. I reflected again about how big the city is, having traversed much of it the past two days, from the factories to the far-flung suburbs, to the underbelly of the vast metro network, to the historical center, and you realize that just about anybody is welcome here. That’s a great thing about the city, but the more I reflect about the war to the north, and the quiet here, the more I realize that quiet is a fine, rare and lucky thing if you can ever find it.

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James Tressler, a former Lost Coast resident, is a writer and teacher living in Istanbul.

Broken windows and burglarized businesses aren’t exactly unusual in Eureka, but a rash of crime along F Street in downtown Eureka over the past few days has been particularly unsettling. 

Early Friday morning, some jerk threw a Molotov cocktail at Sangha Tattoo Studio’s new location. Hours later, in what is believed to be an unrelated incident, it was discovered that a separate jerk broke into the Eureka Theater and stole a laptop. Also, in that same general time period, another-or-possibly-the-same jerk tried to break into Dalianes Travel but was unable to gain entry into the business.

Jackie Silva, body piercer and co-owner of Sangha, told the Outpost she got a call from Advanced Security Systems around 1:50 a.m. on Friday notifying her that the motion sensor had gone off and the building was on fire. 

“I literally jumped out of bed in my robe and pajamas, threw shoes on and hauled down to the shop,” she said. “At that point, I was just thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, my livelihood is on the line – our livelihoods are all on the line.’ When I got there I saw flames, shattered glass and smoke had just engulfed the whole shop. …You hear about businesses getting broken into but something to this extent is devastating. It’s so surreal.”

Humboldt Bay Fire and the Eureka Police Department responded to the scene. EPD Captain Brian Stephens confirmed that “some type of device containing an accelerant” was thrown at the building. “We located evidence at the scene that indicates this was a targeted event, not just a random act,” he added.

Spray painted on the sidewalk in front of Sangha is a note that appears to say, “3 years fix my tattoo.” When asked if any disgruntled customers came to mind, Silva said, “We have absolutely no idea.”

(See more of the damage done to Sangha Tattoo in the embedded Instagram post at the end of this article.)

“We have no idea who would’ve written that or if they even have a legitimate beef,” she said. “We’ve been turning it over in our heads trying to think of who could have done this to our shop, who would have had a problem. I mean, we stand by our work. If anyone has ever been unhappy with something we will do everything we can to correct it, to make sure that at the end of the day that person gets taken care of and they walk out our door extremely happy. We’re very accomodating to our clients and our reputation in the community is super positive.”

Had the fire spread, it could have impacted the neighboring businesses, she added. “If this was personal, whoever did this did not take into consideration that we are not the only ones that got impacted. We have neighbors who have been there for years and their livelihoods could have been taken as well.”

The fire did not spread far beyond the entrance but there is extensive smoke damage throughout the shop.

“New Life Service Co. boarded everything up for us yesterday and set up fans and ozone generators to run over the weekend to get the smoke smell out of there,” Silva said. “The next step is for them to come in and do a cleanup because they’re trained for this kind of thing. It’s super critical that every single bit of soot is cleaned up because this is a tattoo and piercing shop and we have to be able to maintain a sterile environment. …Unfortunately until then, none of us can work so we’re all financially impacted.”

Randy Meyer, tattoo artist and co-owner of Sangha, thanked the community for their support during this difficult time and said any information leading to the culprit could earn someone a free tattoo.

“A couple of people from the shop have offered up free tattoos for information,” he said. “We would gladly help anyone with a tattoo that can provide any viable leads to who did this.”

Fast forward to 9:40 a.m. when EPD responded to a reported break in at the Eureka Theater.

“We got called to come down and do a security check of the building,” Stephens said. “I think it was reported initially as a broken door but it ended up being a broken window. Our officers went and cleared the building. They did locate another broken window on the third story. The responsible told us that the only thing taken was a laptop from the projection room.”

It is believed the suspect broke into the theater from the third story window.

“The assumption is that someone got all the way up a solid concrete building, which was a feat of persistence and strength if nothing else,” Gregg Foster, president of the Eureka Theater board of directors, told the Outpost. “They broke into the projection room and took the laptop, which was not alarmed. We don’t know this for sure, but we think they came down the stairs to the second floor lobby and that’s when the alarm went off. It’s pretty loud so they probably ran downstairs and broke out one of the windows of the interior doors so they could get out.”

Thankfully, the historic etched glass was not damaged, he added. 

“We were just really fortunate that they look like they’re more interested in getting the heck out of the building rather than trashing the place or trying to find another thing to steal,” he said. “The unfortunate thing is we rely upon donations, revenue and grants to restore the building and now we’re going to be spending more money on upgrading our alarm system, getting interior cameras and fixing our windows.”

EPD, with assistance from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, responded to the theater this morning after the alarm was tripped again but it looks as though it was a fluke.

“We found no signs of forced entry into the building this morning so we’re not sure what set that alarm off,” Stephens said. “It’s a very large old building and sometimes doors could swing open or something could trip the motion alarm on the inside today. We found no signs that anything was taken or tampered with.”

The Eureka Theater hosted the premiere of The Craftsman on Friday night, a new series featuring Eric Hollenbeck, the owner of local business Blue Ox Millworks. Foster said the latch on the door is “kinda funky” and could have been disturbed during the event. “The door could have blown open. Nothing was disturbed, nothing was touched.”

There was an attempted break in at Dalianes Travel just down the street from the theater on Friday morning as well. Stephens said the alarm went off but the suspect was unable to gain entry into the businesses.

It is unlikely that the incidents are related, but Stephens encouraged community members to contact EPD with any information about the aforementioned incidents.

“If anybody has seen anything suspicious or were in the area at the time of these incidents, please just give us a call and let us know what you’ve seen,” he said. “This could be anything from someone walking away [from the scene of the incident] and which direction they went so we can try to find additional surveillance cameras that may catch them.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Eureka Police Department at (707) 441-4044.

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Humboldt County is faced with some important and difficult decisions regarding our energy future, and if the TerraGen project taught us anything it’s that the public needs to be involved as energy projects are planned.

But civic engagement requires an educated populace, so the Northcoast Environmental Center is working to figure out what folks do and don’t know about renewable energy sources and how to fill those information gaps to make sure we move forward with the best possible energy sources for our future.

In this episode Gang Green are joined by CalPoly Humboldt graduate students Lorelei Walker and Alexander Brown to talk about our energy past, our energy future and the survey they are working on with the NEC to learn Humboldt County residents’ perspectives on renewable energy sources.

Take the survey by March 31 at this link. 

AUDIO:

“The EcoNews Report,” March 19, 2022.

The Humboldt County Drug Task Force has released its annual interdiction summary for calendar year 2021. In it, the task force says that it confiscated around $1.4 billion million worth of illicit substances (retail value)— mostly heroin, meth and fentanyl. [ED. NOTE: Apologies for this boneheaded error, which has been corrected.]

In addition, the DTF says it seized 90 weapons and almost a million dollars in cash.

The report breaks down the amount of drugs seized by four geographic areas — the city of Eureka, the city of Arcata, the city of Fortuna and the county’s unincorporated areas.

The Eureka numbers include a large amount of seized MDMA — most of it, presumably — from this large bust in October, in which the Drug Task Force was alerted to a large shipment of the substance from France by federal authorities.

The great bulk of the county’s fentanyl busts have taken place in the county’s largely rural unincorporated areas, according to the report.

Check out the slides below, or download the entire report at this link.

From the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

This report details drug seizures, weapon seizures, and arrests made throughout 2021.

As a reminder, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force is comprised of Special Agents from the following agencies:

• Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office
• Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office
• Arcata Police Department
• Eureka Police Department
• Fortuna Police Department
• California Highway Patrol

A Crime Analyst is provided by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.

A Sheriff’s Sergeant and Commander is provided by the Sheriff’s Office.

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Earlier this week President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 2471 – a big spending bill that includes $11.5 million in funding for community projects in Northern California, more than $6 million of which will go towards projects in Humboldt County.

“The projects we put forward address some of the most pressing needs facing our region — from climate resilience and increased affordable housing to critical infrastructure improvements and disaster preparedness,” Rep. Jared Huffman said in an announcement about the bill earlier this week. “After almost a year of advocating on behalf of California’s Second District, I’m excited to say this funding is officially on its way to being signed into law.”

Since Huffman’s announcement, the bill has officially become law, which means that several large-scale Humboldt County projects will soon receive the funding they badly need. The heftiest chunk of money – $5 million – will be used for replacing the Hammond Trail Bridge, something county staff has been pushing toward for a long time. 

Hammond Trail Bridge Replacement

Hank Seemann, Humboldt County’s deputy director of environmental services, told the Outpost that the bridge – which serves as a segment of Hammond Trial and crosses above the Mad River, providing a non-motorized connection between McKinleyville and Arcata – has had multiple repairs to keep it functioning over the years, but the bridge is starting to deteriorate beyond repair. Originally a section of railroad, the bridge was converted into a pedestrian walkway in the early 1980s, something Seemann said was very innovative for its time. Unfortunately, the steel bridge has not been able to withstand the elements and, because of its close proximity to the ocean, is very susceptible to severe rust.

Seemann said that the county has applied for grant funding to replace the bridge in the past, but has been unsuccessful, adding that he was very thankful for Huffman’s hard work in helping to secure this funding. The $5 million isn’t quite enough to complete the entire bridge replacement, Seemann said, but it does get the project team very close. Seemann estimated that the project will cost at least $6 million to complete. The $5 million is a very good start though and Seemann said that this money can be used, at the very least, to fully fund the necessary technical studies and engineering components, and that will help the county to leverage the additional funding, most likely from the state.

As for when the community can expect a new bridge, Seemann told the Outpost it will probably be a while. “It’s going to take a little time to get the funding agreement in place and initiate the whole process,” he said. “It’s probably going to be at least two or three years before construction can happen.”

Burre Dental Center Expansion

Another project that will see some of this sweet, sweet federal funding is the Burre Dental Center expansion project. The dental center – a branch of Open Door Community Health Services – will receive $1 million, which will be used to add six additional operatories, hire two additional dentists and to train one additional dental resident each year, according to Huffman’s announcement.

With these expansions, the Burre Dental Center expects to expand capacity by 8,000 visits per year. “This additional dental capacity would be focused on children’s dental health improvement,” the announcement states. 

Project Rebound — Humboldt County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Additionally, $218,000 will go toward Project Rebound - an effort to retool Humboldt County’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), which is a countywide plan used to help guide economic development.

Humboldt County’s current CEDS was adopted in 2018 and focuses on six industries that were identified and targets of opportunity: building and systems construction, diversified health care, investment support services, management and innovation service, niche manufacturing, and specialty food, flowers and beverages.

Of course, since the pandemic, the county’s economic needs and priorities have shifted. According to Huffman’s statement, the $218,000 will go toward Project Rebound’s community-wide effort to “deconstruct and rebuild the county’s comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) with an eye toward creating specific, measurable, and actionable economic strategies which emphasize economic recovery, economic self-sufficiency, and economic equity.”