A statement form the Northcoast Co-op:

Attention Co-op shoppers: It has been brought to our attention that the 10 ounce bags of Boudin Sourdough Stuffing are rancid, and should not be consumed.

The product in question has the UPC number 37296-20195, and carries a “best by” date of June 24, 2022.

If you have purchased this product from the Co-op, please return it to either our Arcata or Eureka locations for a full refund. Members who have purchased this item within the past month are being notified.

Customers with questions may contact Customer service in Arcata (707) 822-5947 ext. 200, or Eureka (707) 443- 6027 ext. 400.

Thank you for supporting the Co-op, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Humboldt County’s housing market continues to be white hot six months after the Wall Street Journal and realtor.com ranked the Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna area at No. 13 on its inaugural list of emerging housing markets — that is, areas that are expected to see home prices rise and that offer “attractive lifestyle amenities.” (Looking at you, natural beauty and clean air.)

In fact, the northern Humboldt housing market has moved up that list. Realtor.com, an online real estate listing agency, now has the Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna area third in its October 2021 “Hotness Rank,” deeming it the hottest market in California and the only market in the western United States to crack the top 20.

The median listing price for homes in and around those three cities was a whopping $489,000 last month, according to the website.

Jill Hansen-Rice, president of the Humboldt Association of Realtors, says that even at these inflated prices, homes are selling quickly, often for well above the asking price. Asked if this fierce demand is being driven in part by people moving here from out of the area, Hansen-Rice responded, “Oh my gosh, yes.”

High prices are good news for sellers, obviously, but Hansen-Rice said the current market conditions make her feel bad for folks trying to break into the home market.

“A lot of local people — or people who are younger who moved here — are absolutely priced out of the market,” she said. “Those who are moving here can pay cash or a lot more than young people and first-time home buyers can.” 

Some prospective buyers she’s been working with have been house-hunting for more than a year.

“They made the mistake of wanting [to save up] a bigger down payment,” Hansen-Rice said. “Now they’re realizing that was a big mistake.” Homes they could have afforded a year ago are now well out of their range.

These folks recently offered $486,000 on a home listed at $449,000 — “just a subdivision house, not fancy-schmancy,” Hansen-Rice said — and still didn’t get it. “They’ve put in five offers and been outbid every time.”

The bidding wars start immediately and tend to end quickly. The median length of time that houses stayed on the market last month was just 10 days, according to the Humboldt Association of Realtors.

A major reason for the local market’s hotness is the limited inventory, Hansen-Rice explained. Relatively few new homes and subdivisions have been built in recent years for a variety of reasons, including geographical constraints, the “exorbitant” and volatile costs of construction and bureaucratic red tape. “The county does not make it user-friendly to build,” Hansen-Rice said.

Below are some figures for last month provided by the Humboldt Association of Realtors:

The region’s home price inflation is likely bad news for renters and low-income households already struggling to pay the bills. A 2020 analysis from the California Housing Partnership found that 6,154 low-income renter households in Humboldt County did not have access to affordable housing. Meanwhile, more than 80 percent of extremely low-income households in the county were spending more than half of their income on housing costs compared to just 5 percent of moderate-income households.

Asked if she thinks the local housing market will crash back down to Earth anytime soon, Hansen-Rice said she’s surprised it hasn’t happened already.

“A year and a half, two years ago we had already reached the prices we had at the time of the [2008] crash,” she said. And yet prices have just continued to rise since then.

She recently attended a California Association of Realtors state director’s meeting in Anaheim, where economists said they expect the state’s housing market to stay hot for the next two years — “and then we’ll see what happens with the interest rates,” Hansen-Rice said.

She’s still advising people to buy if they expect to stay in the house for at least five years, but hold off if they expect to move.

With the remote-work revolution, the influx or new residents from urban areas and other changes ushered in during the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing has remained constant, she added: 

“Humboldt County — this is a very desirable place for people to live.”

Humboldt County Drug Task Force press release:

On Wednesday November 24th, 2021, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF), with the assistance of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), made a traffic stop on Donavan Baltzley (33 years old from Eureka) and Morgan Larkin (31 years old from Freshwater) as they entered Humboldt County on northbound Highway 101. The HCDTF had been investigating Baltzley and Larkin for trafficking fentanyl from the Bay Area into Humboldt County. Baltzley was the driver of the vehicle and is on active PRCS probation. Baltzley is also out of jail on bail from a recent HCSO arrest where he was located with a gun and fentanyl. Baltzley and Larkin were detained without incident.

Agents conducted a probation search of Baltzley’s vehicle, and they located the following evidence:

• 6 ounces of fentanyl (purple, pink, white, and green)
• 4 ounces of “pure” heroin
• 1 ounce of methamphetamine
• $10,050 of US currency
• Digital scale
• Packaging

The 6 ounces of fentanyl is the largest seizure of fentanyl in HCDTF history and has a local street value of approx. $25,000. 

Baltzley and Larkin were both arrested and booked for the following charges:

• H&S 11352(b) Transportation of controlled substances across non-contiguous counties
• H&S 11352(a) Transportation of controlled substances for sale
• H&S 11351 Possession of controlled substances for sale
• H&S 11378 Possession of methamphetamine for sale
• H&S 11379(a) Transportation of methamphetamine for sale
• H&S 11379(b) Transportation of methamphetamine across non-contiguous counties

The HCDTF contacted a Humboldt County Superior Court Judge and requested a bail increase and source of bail funds hold on Baltzley pursuant to Penal Code sections 1269(c), 1270.1(e), and 1275.1. This request was made as a result of Baltzley’s repeated criminal behavior in Humboldt County. The order was granted and Baltzley’s bail was increased to $200,000. 

Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics related crimes are encouraged to call the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at 707-267-9976.

PREVIOUS DONAVAN BALTZLEY:

• Man Passed Out in Idling Vehicle Had Drugs, Counterfeit Cash and Loaded Firearms Inside, Sheriff’s Office Says
• Eureka Man Faces Six Years After Conviction on Multiple Weapons Charges
• Man Who Fled Arrest Last Month Picked Up With Weapons, Narcotics
• Sheriff’s Office Seeking Possibly Armed Eureka Man Who Fled From Deputy in Blue Lake
• Dog Killer Gets 5 Years

Though Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill banning the sale of most new gas powered tools by 2024, gardeners and landscapers say a $30 million state subsidy isn’t nearly enough to help small operators make the switch to electric.

The state agency responsible for administering the subsidy estimates it has only enough to give each self-employed gardener a 50% coupon for one tool, far from the truckload of leaf blowers, lawn mowers, small chainsaws, brushcutters and trimmers most haul around.

In fact, local governments have learned they need to offer more. In Southern California, a regional air quality district that has been running a similar incentive program since 2017 saw few takers until it increased rebates to 75% per tool. The district paired that with an outreach program and encouraged landscapers to test electric equipment.

The California Air Resources Board is still figuring out who will qualify for the rebate but Assemblymember Marc Berman, one of the authors of the bill, said he’s open to adding more funding if needed.

“Let’s not make the perfect be the enemy of the good,” said the Menlo Park Democrat.

Environmentalists hailed the first-in-the-nation law for advancing California’s clean energy goals, noting the state estimates that smog-forming pollution from small gas-powered engines will surpass emissions from passenger cars this year. But electrifying the landscaping industry creates financial and physical burdens for the estimated 60,000 one-person and often unlicensed landscaping operations, an industry with an average income under $40,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There’s an argument for subsidizing the transition. An electric leaf blower and batteries cost nearly twice as much as a comparable gas version. California estimates that a full transition of nearly 3 million tools used by landscaping professionals will cost $1.29 billion.

Bryan, a landscaper who asked to be identified by his first name only because he fears losing business, uses a mix of electric and gas equipment. The electric ones fall short.

“I have 10 to 15 houses a day, right now, but with electric (tools), I may do seven or five houses a day,” he said. That’s a loss of $1,000 a week.

Already, Bryan has told his kid he can’t afford books or a new laptop. The cost of a full conversion by purchasing all electric tools, he said, would require him to raise prices 30%. He fears his residential clients will purchase their own tools and do it themselves, pushing him out of a job.

When the bill was signed, Berman and Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego called it a win for both the environment and human health. Electric tools have already been widely adopted by California homeowners, but only a fraction of commercial landscaping companies have made the switch, according to a 2018 survey by the air resources board.

At that time, 8 in 10 landscapers said they planned on buying gas-powered equipment with many prioritizing performance, run-time and cost. But operating a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour, for example, emits the same amount of pollution as driving a Toyota Camry from Los Angeles to Denver, according to the air board.

The lawn equipment conversion will bring the rest of the state in line with cities such as Palo Alto, Los Altos and Menlo Park, which have already banned noisy leaf blowers. The law also directs the air resources board to come up with statewide regulations for other small motor equipment, such as golf carts, small generators and power washers.

But the landscaping industry, the main target of the ban, says the transition has already been costly.

Steven Wood purchased four batteries for his electric leaf blower after a number of communities in the Bay Area banned gas-powered leaf blowers. Woods, who owns a small landscaping business, immediately noticed the batteries don’t go far enough.

“I never spent $200 on something that lasted 45 minutes,” Wood said, “and it doesn’t last for six to eight houses a day.”

Once the batteries drain, Wood’s two employees resort to raking, which takes three times as long to complete a job.

Tests back him up.

Consumer Reports rated gas and electric tools, such as lawn mowers, leaf blowers and string trimmers, side by side. The nonprofit consumer organization found that battery-powered tools, with low maintenance and ease of use, were strong candidates for homeowners with less than an acre of land who could wait to recharge their batteries. But when it came to larger plots, more robust weeds to whack, or long hours of use, gas tools excelled.

“As an industry, we want this (battery-powered) equipment to be able to handle what we throw at it,” said Sandra Giarde, executive director of the California Landscape Contractors Association. “But it’s not there yet.”

The air resources board said the technology is close enough. While electric tools may not have the same power, they offer other benefits, such as longer lifespan, better torque for some tools and savings on gas and maintenance, said air pollution specialist Christopher Dilbeck.

“We recognize that, yes, there will be substantial costs associated with what we are proposing,” said Dilbeck. “That is part of why this funding is available.”

The board, which will allocate the state’s $30 million subsidy, has yet to release how it will hand out incentives other than saying it will target small operators, including those without a business license. In one scenario, California could offer 12,000 small landscapers a 50% discount on all their new tools, or every sole-proprietor could receive a 50% discount on one tool.

“You are not going to be able to get the jobs done as fast,” said Ken Tamplen, owner of Ken’s Rototilling, a landscaping company in Contra Costa County. “You’re not going to be able to make as much money.”

This article is part of the California Divide, a collaboration among newsrooms examining income inequality and economic survival in California.

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CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Annie Konkler was born on December 10, 1951, in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised there. She went to Saint Augustine High School and stayed friends with many classmates throughout her life. Annie was planning to attend her 50th reunion in October.

Like her mom before her, she had a passion for caring for others and received her nursing degree from Fairview Hospital School of Nursing in 1982.

She had family and many friends whom she loved in Ohio, including Jane and Tom Murphy, who she worked with in the late ‘70s and stayed friends with forever. She always loved the New Year’s Eve lobster meals with them while all of the kids were crammed into basements or bedrooms.

After a summer of motor home living in 1987, she settled in Cypress, California, and worked at Garden Grove Medical Center.

In 1996, Annie moved to Humboldt County to be closer to her children who had settled there and continued her nursing career at Eureka General, St. Joseph, and Mad River Hospitals where she became great friends with Trice Faulkner, Celine Fleckenstein, Marjorie Young, and many others.

During this time, she used her love of travel to help others as a traveling nurse. She worked on the Iditarod in Alaska, Borneo, Thailand, New York City, and Cleveland.

She loved living life to the fullest and having fun. She loved gambling and always made yearly visits to Las Vegas. One of her highlights was spending her granddaughter Autumn’s 21st birthday there. She loved a good prime rib, anything chocolate, whipped cream, and getting people together to enjoy those things and time spent with everyone.

She had a deep love for all of her grandchildren and made sure that they all knew that. She was always there when needed. She was an attendant for Autumn’s birth and made sure to be there throughout the births of her other grandchildren.

She spent the last 16 years of her life with Sal Gurerri, a paramedic whom she met while working at St. Joseph Hospital. They spent their time between Shelter Cove and Eureka. 

Annie left this world unexpectedly on September 17th. She leaves behind her children, Bryan Konkler and Darcy Fardette, Molly Merryman and James Merryman, and Mark Konkler and Kristi Patterson; her grandchildren Autumn and Junior, Dylan, Nate and Samantha; her great-granddaughters Raphaela and Luna; her loving aunt Nina and cousin Marie, along with many other cousins who she remained close to.

She is preceded in death by her mother and father, Georgia and William Anton.

A celebration of Annie’s life will be held in the Spring of 2022 in Humboldt County.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Annie’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

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Thanksgiving is nearly here and if you don’t have any plans lined up, or you’re in need of a meal, several of our hardworking local nonprofits will be serving up free home-cooked turkey dinners this week to help fill hungry bellies. And with a large need for free food this year, there is also a need for donations or volunteers to help get people fed.

So, whether you’re looking for a meal, or wanting to give back this year, here is a list of places that will be serving up the free grub this week:

(Update) Manila Community Resource Center — 1611 Peninsula Drive, Arcata

The Manila Community Center will be hosting a drive-through or dine-out meal on Wednesday, Nov. 24 from 2 to 3 p.m. Outdoor seating will be available, weather permitting and there is also a delivery option. Meals will be provided by Arcata House Partnership and there will also be crafts available for the kiddos.

Availability is limited, so you are asked to RSVP to reserve your meal by calling (707) 441-9771 or emailing esthermcrc@gmail.com

Eureka Rescue Mission — 110 Second Street, Eureka

With several other meal options available on Thanksgiving Day, the Eureka Rescue Mission will be serving its free meal the day before, on Wednesday, Nov. 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Food will be served on a first come, first served basis and dining will be held outside in the parking lot.

(Update) Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR) —1522 3rd Street Eureka

HACHR will be serving up Thanksgiving plates to-go style on Thursday, Nov. 25 from 11 to 2 p.m. A staff member said that the nonprofit will also have some chairs set up outside for outdoor dining.

Although HACHR already received all the food donations it needs for Thanksgiving, the nonprofit is currently asking for donations of anything warm, including blankets, sleeping bags, pants, coats, sweaters, socks, beanies and gloves. You can drop off new or gently used items at HACHR’s building on Mondays between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. or Tuesday and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Betty Kwann Chinn Foundation —133 Seventh Street, Eureka

Usually Betty Chinn does her Thanksgiving meal-giving early and doesn’t cook for Thanksgiving Day. And although Chinn and her team have already been busy handing out pre-packed meals this week, Chinn told the Outpost that the need has been so great that she plans to give out free meals on Thanksgiving Day as well.

Chinn will not have any onsite dining, due to COVID, but will be giving out pre-packed meals on Thursday from 3 p.m until about 5 or 6 p.m. “We’re not going to stop until everybody who needs it has a dinner,” Chinn told the Outpost.

St. Vincent de Paul — 35 West Third Street, Eureka

The St. Vincent de Paul Society will be serving up its free Thanksgiving meal on Thursday from 11 a.m. to about 2 p.m. Dining will be taking place outdoors, but participants will need to go inside the dining facility to get their food. So be sure to bring a mask!

If you would like to help, Mary Price, of the St. Vincent de Paul staff, told the Outpost that the nonprofit is still very much in need of food donations — including yams, potatoes, green beans, pies, whipped cream and fresh fruit.

If you don’t have extra food to contribute, Price said the nonprofit is also looking for donations of warm blankets to hand out to people on Thanksgiving Day. Blankets should be new or in clean, good condition. You can drop of donations at the Third Street location any time until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 24. 

St. Vincent de Paul is also in need of a few (but not many) volunteers to help serve food on Thanksgiving. If you would like to volunteer, call (707) 445-9588.

The River Life Foundation — Fortuna Veterans Hall, 1426 Main Street, Fortuna 

For the fourteenth year, the River Life Foundation will be putting on a huge dinner on Thanksgiving Day from 1 to 3 p.m. This year the nonprofit is offering dine-in, curbside and delivery options.

Indoor seating will be limited, River Life founder Sean Swanson told the Outpost, and masks will be required except when you are sitting down to your meal. Delivery can be reserved for those who are immune compromised or unable to leave their home. And for those who are elderly or immobile, but would prefer to leave their home, the nonprofit can arrange for transportation.

If you’re looking to help out, Swanson said that the nonprofit is still in need of volunteers to help cook, serve or drive deliveries. To volunteer, reserve a delivery meal, or to arrange transportation call (707) 362-9384.

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Do you know of a free Thanksgiving meal that the Outpost missed? Drop us a line at news@lostcoastoutpost.com and we’ll add it to the list!

Yay for Sara again! The latest salvo in the LoCO-imagined, not-real battle between Sara Bareilles and Guy Fieri for “Who is Humboldt’s favorite native-born celebrity?” comes in the form of a gargantuan shipment of free books donated by the former to the Humboldt Literacy Project. Your move, Guy! 

To be clear, half of the expected 5,000 books — a selection of titles from Scholastic — have made their way to Humboldt with the other half expected next spring, HLP Executive Director Emma Breacain tells LoCO. The books will be doled out to local organizations and nonprofits with the need for such reads. (Reach out to HLP if you think your organization should benefit from such a windfall.)

More details on this victory can be found in the Humboldt Literacy Project release below: 

Eureka native, Grammy winning singer-songwriter, Tony nominated Broadway star, and current star of the network sitcom “Girls5eva” Sara Bareilles has gifted her hometown with books. Five thousand books. 

As keynote speaker at this year’s Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, Bareilles was invited by Scholastic, the world’s largest children’s book publisher, to select a charity to receive this massive donation. Bareilles chose Humboldt Literacy Project.

“We are overwhelmed with gratitude,” says HLP Executive Director Emma Breacain. “I don’t know if Ms. Bareilles realizes how far her gift will go. Of course our tutors and learners will use these books in their studies, but we also have partnerships with many other local agencies. Now that we’re coming out of various COVID restrictions, we’ll be able to have family book giveaways again soon, and to return to supplying books to local agencies that work with families and people trying to improve their skills and prospects. 

“This is an open call to re-establish the relationships with the agencies we shared books with before the pandemic, and an invitation for other organizations to call us up and let us help them out. Because honestly, we are not just overwhelmed with gratitude, we are about to be overwhelmed with about 150 boxes of books. We’ll be working to get those books out of boxes and into the hands of readers all around Humboldt County.”

An estimated 14,000 adults in Humboldt County are functionally illiterate. Since 1981, Humboldt Literacy Project has been connecting adults who wish to improve their reading and writing with adult volunteer tutors for free, confidential, one-on-one English language tutoring for native English speakers and second-language English learners. They also have regular family literacy events and book giveaways. 

Breacain says, “Ms. Bareilles has a lot of themes of courage and resilience and pride woven into her work, and I think that perfectly echoes the courage and resilience our volunteers and clients show every day, and how proud we are of them. We are going to be grateful ‘5eva’ for this wonderful gift.”

Learn more about Humboldt Literacy Project at humboldtliteracy.org, or call 707-445-3655.