Look, we’re pretty sure that Hank would not want us, his coworkers, to crow about the fact that he just won a very cool journalism award for his meticulous explainer/exposé of the county’s shambolic redistricting process, and of the suspicious provenance of some folks who tried to influence that process.
He wouldn’t want the focus on himself. But guess what — Hank’s not here today! And in our estimation, the award is well-deserved. So we’re going to go ahead and publish the following press release from the Humboldt Journalism Project, a nonprofit under the DreamMaker umbrella of The Ink People.
This honor, known as 40th Award, recognizes work that affects people in the lower 40 percent of the income scale. This is the award’s inaugural year.
Congrats, Hank! And congratulations, also, to Ryan Hutson of Redheaded Blackbelt, whose series on St. Joseph Hospital’s struggles during the summer COVID-19 surge earned honorable mention from the panel of judges.
Sims’ article and his follow up coverage examined flaws in the process, including how some voters could lose their voice by being lumped together inappropriately. Amid increasing scrutiny by the Lost Coast Outpost and other media outlets, the county ultimately abandoned the draft maps and kept the original districts almost unchanged.
Judges praised Sims’ “dogged determination” and his ability to explain the topic’s importance.
Hutson won an honorable mention for her three-part series on troubles at St. Joseph Hospital as it struggled with staff shortages amid the summer surge in Covid-19 patients.
The judges lauded Huston’s “deep passion reporting” documenting conditions at the hospital.
The contest was judged by Dale Maharidge, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist who for many years lived part time in Petrolia, and Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, public editor at PBS and a graduate of Humboldt State University, before its polytechnic name change.
Sandoval-Palos also sits on the advisory panel of the Humboldt Journalism Project, a nonprofit that supports local journalism relevant to those who are sometimes left behind economically. It is a DreamMaker Project of The Ink People.
This was the first year of its 40th Award, so named because it recognizes work that affects people in the lower 40 percent of the income scale.
The Humboldt Journalism Project also gives reporting grants, and it has grant money available now for freelance journalists in broadcast, print and online. To qualify, journalists must find an editor who agrees to publish their piece, and then they can apply for grant funding to report it. For more details, email journalism@inkpeople.org.
In their more detailed remarks on the award recipients, Maharidge and Sandoval-Palos wrote: “Local redistricting is a story that many news outlets ignore. Back in the day an editor would have said “can you keep it to twelve inches?” (Very short, some six hundred words.) These days understaffed newsrooms don’t have the person-power even if editors are willing to dig into this vital aspect of democracy. Hank Sims approached the story with dogged determination and showed the importance of this process. At first look it might not appear to be relevant to those in the lower 40 percent of the income scale, but it most certainly is. If economically stressed communities are broken up into different districts, it means they don’t have a voice. For example, Sims notes that in Humboldt County, home to the two largest native American tribes in California, that population was not identified by the makers of the draft redistricting maps. It was great that he had a journalistic seat at the table with this story.”
Of Hutson, Sandoval-Palos and Maharidge wrote: “In the midst of an event of historic and global proportion — the Covid-19 pandemic — Hutson brought the story home to one hospital in Humboldt County. Reporting on hospitals is difficult, but Hutson broke through in her work on documenting conditions at St. Joseph’s Hospital. When administrators would not allow access, Hutson gained the trust of nurses and others to get the story about staffing shortages, as well as shortcomings in safety protocols. The story reflects deep reporting passion on the part of Hutson, and it provided a valuable insight into a hospital relied upon by many in the lower income bracket in Humboldt County.”
As with this year’s contest, first place carries a prize of $1,500 and the honorable mention comes with $500. Both prizes are awarded to the individual journalist or journalists, not the outlets they report for.
It’s been one week since California dropped its indoor mask mandate for vaccinated individuals in favor of a more flexible approach to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, but that does not mean the pandemic is over. While case positivity rates and hospitalizations have plummeted across the state, the local tally remains relatively high.
COVID-19 hospitalized patients in Humboldt County | California Department of Public Health
“Between December and January we were seeing between 12 and 20 cases on average at St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka and anywhere from zero to six at Redwood Memorial in Fortuna,” said Dr. Roberta Luskin-Hawk, chief executive for Providence in Humboldt County. “…We’re actually down to 11 at St. Joe’s today with only one of them in ICU. However, a couple of days ago we had 20 patients along with one patient in Fortuna so it’s very fluid right now.”
It’s difficult to say whether the state’s decision to ditch the mask mandate has impacted COVID case rates and hospitalizations, but what is clear is the omicron variant of the coronavirus has caused fewer hospitalizations and shorter stays, Luskin-Hawk said.
“With omicron, many more people get it because it’s so highly contagious, but … those who do get it are at a much lower risk for hospitalization and death,” she said. “The virus is less aggressive and we’ve actually had some interventions to try to reduce those risks, like our monoclonal antibody clinic, to support people who are at the highest risk of hospitalization or death.”
Out of the 11 individuals currently hospitalized at St. Joseph Hospital, four are incidental.
“They’re coming in with something else and happen to have COVID at the same time,” Luskin-Hawk explained. “COVID is not what’s causing their hospitalization. I would be venturing a guess, but I think it’s probably between 20 and 40 percent of people who have incidental COVID. For example, we had a patient in our childbirth center who tested positive but they were just coming in to have a baby. We just have to take the appropriate precautions.”
Although the indoor mask mandate has expired for the vaccinated, Luskin-Hawk emphasized the increased protection masking offers, especially for immunocompromised folks.
“I feel there is still a role we can play in taking care of our community by continuing to wear a mask indoors, especially in more crowded settings or with larger numbers of people that are not your normal contacts,” she said. “…We’re worried about people who have may have gotten vaccinated but their immune system is so weak that they’re not adequately protected. Typically, that’s people over 75 years old or those with underlying medical conditions, as well as very young children and people who have not chosen to get vaccinated.”
“To the extent that everyone gets vaccinated and boosted as it’s available, that will allow us to open up society more and that’s a really important aspect of having a vibrant community,” she added.
If you experienced some “brr” last night, perhaps you’d like to know that more frigidness is on its way.
The Eureka arm of the National Weather Service is alerting coastal Humboldt dwellers to expect below-freezing temperatures late Wednesday/early Thursday.
“Another round of cold morning temperatures are expected Thursday across northwest California,” NWS writes. “Protect sensitive pets and plants as well as exposed outdoor pipes.”
The Arcata City Council during a meeting on Wed. Feb. 16 | File photo
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During last week’s Arcata City Council meeting, Councilmember Brett Watson revealed that he suffers from a learning disability.
Watson, who has served on the council for nearly five years, has been given strict rules about when and how he can interact
with city staff following an undisclosed incident that is currently under investigation. This newly limited access to staff, combined with
his disability, is interfering with Watson’s ability to do his job, he says.
Watson made his disclosure as the council was questioning staff about details of the Old Arcata Road Rehabilitation project. He voiced concerns about the cost of the project and potential threats of litigation but said it was important to go over every detail, a task he found nearly impossible on his own.
“I did request several hours of staff time to help me understand this project, being that it is so large and complex,” Watson said during the meeting. “And a lot of people don’t know that I also have a learning disability that makes it so I need a lot more time to read information than the average person. I also need complex information to be explained to me by someone in person or over the phone for me to comprehend it.”
Watson added that he’s been limited to just 30 minutes of staff time each week, “per the council’s request.” After persistently requesting more staff time, Watson said, he was granted another hour prior to Wednesday’s meeting.
Following the meeting, Watson told the Outpost that he has suffered from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for most of his life, though he was not diagnosed until about five years ago.
“I think reading is the biggest thing,” Watson told the Outpost in a phone interview last week. “It’s really hard for me to comprehend information that I get from reading. Your mind wanders a lot. I have to read things multiple times … . And it affects my memory. It’s hard for me to recall stuff sometimes and I need stuff explained by a person. It helps with my focus and engagement.”
When asked why he had never disclosed this to the public before, Watson said he didn’t consider it an issue. When he was appointed to the council in 2017 he did tell staff and the other council members about his disability, he said, adding that they were very understanding and accommodating.
Although it does take him longer than the average person to comprehend certain written information, Watson was always given as much extra staff time as he needed. When Watson then ran for election in 2018, he said, he felt comfortable with serving on the council and confident that his ADHD did not present an insurmountable problem. He felt that this private medical information wasn’t something that needed to be shared with voters.
So why share it now? Watson told the Outpost that he wanted to explain why he felt it necessary to abstain from the vote until he had more time to review the lengthy text. The one hour of staff time he got wasn’t enough for him to comprehend the material. Watson told the Outpost that, depending on the complexity of the materials, he used to spend about five hours per week with city staff — all in person.
Though last week was the first time Watson mentioned his learning disability, it was not the first time he mentioned not being granted the staff time he requested. Watson brought up the issue during a meeting in January, while the council was discussing the high-profile Valley West hotel housing projects. The conversation quickly turned uncomfortable when Watson asked how the rest of the council felt about him not having access to staff, and Mayor Stacy Atkins-Salazar said she didn’t think the council was “legally allowed to speak on that.”
A few days after that meeting, the City of Arcata announced that it was investigating “potential violations of the City’s Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policy” by Watson. The council also adopted “special protocols” governing how Watson is to interact with staff as a means of “restricting his contact with potential victims and witnesses.”
What the “potential violations” are has remained unclear, as no one can comment on the ongoing investigation. Watson said in his response that he did nothing to warrant such an allegation. He has since maintained that he doesn’t know what this is all about.
The whole situation is the latest in a series of unusual and uncomfortable circumstances surrounding Watson. In August of 2021 Watson was arrested for DUI and drug possession, after which he issued a public statement saying he was struggling with the one year anniversary of his father taking his own life. About two months later, the council cast a vote of “no confidence” in Watson, right around the time he entered into a 30-day rehabilitation program.
Since Watson’s return to the council, meetings have often been marked by tension. Several times, Watson has been the lone dissenting voice on city issues. With councilmember Emily Goldstein recently resigning to care for her family, the council will be down to just four members until another new person is elected in June. Some community members worry about the council’s ability to function properly.
Chris Richards – Arcata resident and owner of Chris Richard Automotive – has written emails to the council and city staff expressing his concerns over the drama and apparent confusion at Arcata City Hall. “I certainly feel – and others in the community I’ve been talking with feel – the confidence level in the council is lost,” Richards told the Outpost in a phone interview late last week.
As someone who operates a business in the Gateway Area, Richards is particularly concerned about the council’s ability to vote on the upcoming adoption of the Gateway Area Plan, which will greatly affect future developments in that part of town.
Atkins-Salazar mentioned during a recent meeting that – because she owns property and operates a business in the Gateway Area — she may need to recuse herself from decisions pertaining to the Gateway Area Plan, which would reduce the council’s ranks even further on Gateway-related decisions.
Richards said that in addition to being concerned about the council’s ability to make important decisions, he is also concerned and confused by the issues between Watson and the rest of the council and city staff. Richards recently requested a meeting to discuss the Gateway plan and was told that some staff members couldn’t attend if Watson was going to be there.
Richards says he hasn’t been able to get any answers about why this is happening and people in the community are spreading some pretty serious rumors, especially following the release of a Mad River Union article that published intra-council texts regarding Watson.
As a constituent, Richards said it is stressful to not feel confident in the council and to feel like the public is being left in the dark about what is going on behind closed doors.
“Whatever issues the city is having with communication/information in regards to Brett and staff are a big mystery for the public and I would hope that there is some way to help everyone understand what is happening … ,” he wrote in an email sent to the city council and the Outpost. “I think it prudent that the city shows more transparency with information that moves to help the public understand what is happening.”
On February 22, 2022, at about 7:35 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area of Harris Street and O’Neil Lane, in the county’s jurisdiction of Eureka, for the report of a disturbance between a man and a woman.
According to multiple reporting parties, the man, later identified as 35-year-old Cory Robert Allen Reum, was heard yelling at and threatening the adult female victim. Deputies arrived in the area and located Reum and the female hiding from law enforcement among parked vehicles.
Reum was found to have an active warrant for his arrest. During a search of Reum incident to arrest, deputies located drug paraphernalia and approximately .66 grams of methamphetamine.
Deputies contacted the female, who had sustained visible injuries as a result of the disturbance with Reum. During their investigation, deputies learned that Reum and the female were known to each other, and there was a current Domestic Violence Restraining Order prohibiting Reum from contacting the victim. The two were involved in an argument outside a nearby business. During this argument, Reum reportedly assaulted the victim, made threats against her life, forced the victim to hide from law enforcement, and prevented the victim from contacting 9-1-1.
While detained inside a patrol vehicle, Reum became physically violent and sustained injuries to his head. Reum was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation and then was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of kidnapping (PC 207(a)), false imprisonment (PC 236), damage/destroy a wireless communication device (PC 591.5), possession of a controlled substance (HS 11377(a)), possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia (HS 11364(a)), inflicting corporal injury on a spouse (PC 273.5(a)) and violation of a court order (PC 273.6(a)), in addition to warrant charges of petty theft (PC 488), violation of a court order (PC 273.6(a)), criminal threats (PC 422) and violation of probation.
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.
MRB CEO Linda Cooley is ready to play ball! | Submitted
The next time you make a trip down to the Bay for a Giants game, it might not feel so far from home. That’s because, starting this season, Oracle Park in San Francisco will begin serving several of Mad River Brewing’s craft beers, marking the first time a Major League Baseball team will offer brews from a tribal-owned brewery.
More details on the deal can be found in the Mad River Brewery release below:
AMONG GIANTS: MAD RIVER BREWING WILL SERVE CRAFT BREWS IN SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS’ ORACLE PARK FOR 2022 SEASON
Yurok Tribe-owned Mad River Brewing makes history as first tribal craft beer
partnership in League
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After entering pandemic challenges just weeks after the Yurok Tribe’s
purchase of Mad River Brewery in 2019, a bright horizon appears for the award-winning craft
brewery.
Mad River Brewery, an independent craft brewery with a 33-year history of innovation and long list
of prestigious industry awards, is known by craft beer lovers from across the country for their
legendary flagships; Steelhead Extra Pale Ale and Jamaica Red Ale, specialty crafts including barrel-
aged vintages of John Barleycorn Barleywine. The brewery has also been recognized for their
market-disrupting splash in the world of seltzers with their 2021 release of the Undammed line of
hopped hard seltzers.
But all awards aside, Mad River Brewery’s history-making partnership with San Francisco Giants
begins with a call to action and mission to promote the never-ceasing effort to advocate for water,
land, and wildlife, as well as Indigenous recognition. As part of the brewery’s recent rebrand, the
release of each new product is tied to bigger endeavors. Oracle Park will feature a variety of MRB’s
craft brews including Historic State Park IPA, Steelhead Extra Pale Ale, and Undammed
Huckleberry Hopped Hard Seltzer.
For years the Giants have been bringing people together, pouring into communities, and
championing underserved communities through events, investing in youth and education, and
building partnerships with purpose. The Giants have also been the first in the league to champion
many aspects of diversity and inclusion, making them an ideal partner for the tribal owned
brewery.
“There have been dreams that at one time seemed unreachable; finding a tribal product for sale
in a professional stadium was unheard of—until now. Never again can we say that it is
impossible. Not a statue, not a sign, not just a demonstration, but our own product. Not only will
this be the first tribal beer in a professional stadium, but the first tribal product with a tribal
certification.” Said Linda Cooley, CEO, Mad River Brewery. “In one swift motion the Giants are
helping us secure our sovereignty and opening doors that could have never been opened. This
time, we are not being tokenized—we are being supported in our causes, recognized as
Indigenous, here and now, in this time and world that we live in.”
This new chapter for MRB means the sale of these products will truly catapult the efforts they tie
back to, putting them in the hands of those they have never touched. Cooley emphasized, “By
providing this platform, the Giants are assisting in the fight for water, land and for our story to be
told.”
Cass Bell (left) and Tyson Miller (right). | Photos provided by Bell
Arcata’s Cass Bell and Eureka’s Tyson Miller have signed on to fight in separate preliminary bouts at Bellator 277 in April.
This event be the MMA duo’s first return to a spectator-filled arena since COVID-19 shut down much of the sporting world in 2020.
“I am super excited to be fighting again,” Bell told the Outpost. “Finally the fight will be in front of a crowd, which I love.”
The undefeated Miller (2-0) will face off against an also undefeated Shane Keefe (2-0) of Los Gatos, Calif.
The more battle-tested Bell, meanwhile, will look to rebound from two consecutive losses after starting his pro career with an impressive 5-0 run.
Bell is set to fight kickboxer Gaston Bolanos (5-3) of Dublin, Calif. In his last bout against Jornel Lugo at Bellator 256 in April 2021, Bell was stunned by several powerful leg kicks. This time, Bell said he plans to be more prepared.
“He is a kicking machine,” Bell said. “We’ve had everyone [at our gym] throwing kicks at me all day, everyday.”
Bell, a bantamweight, and Bolanos, a featherweight, have agreed to meet in the middle and fight at a weight of 140 pounds.
As usual, Bell has taken to social media to recruit as many Humboldt locals as he can to attend his upcoming match.
“Being able to see the sea of green of all my family and friends helps me keep fighting,” he said. “Especially when I hear my daughter and son yell: ‘Keep going, you’re not tired.’”
Bellator 277 is scheduled for April 15. The preliminary fights will begin at 4 p.m. and will be available on YouTube and PlutoTV.
