Watson.

According to the agenda for a special city council meeting sent out by the City of Arcata Tuesday afternoon, it looks like Arcata Mayor Brett Watson will be exiting the position. But whether that is his choice or the decision of the other four council members, is a little unclear.

The special meeting — to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 20, just before the regular Arcata City Council meeting — contains only one agenda item, which states “With a mid-term vacancy of the Mayor’s position, the Council will consider the election of a new Mayor and Vice Mayor.”

The agenda is signed only by current Vice Mayor Stacy Atkins-Salazar and Councilmembers Emily Goldstein, Meredith Matthews and Sarah Schaefer.

Reached by phone this afternoon, Vice Mayor Atkins-Salazar was not able to provide very much additional information and would only say that the four councilmembers who signed the agenda had decided on Monday to hold this special meeting, and that she “strongly encourages the public to watch the beginning of the meeting.”

An email from Catarina Gallardo, communication specialist for the City of Arcata, provided slightly conflicting information, however. “The special meeting agenda item is based on communication with the Mayor and his need for some personal time,” Gallardo wrote to the Outpost. “Because it is personal in nature for the Mayor I am not able to comment on it further at this time. More information will be provided at the special meeting tomorrow.”

When asked if this meant that Watson would be leaving the council, both Atkins-Salazar and Gallardo said that they could not confirm that.

So, at this point we are left with more questions than answers. Is Watson being voted out of the mayor position by the rest of the council? Or is he stepping down of his own volition? And if so, does he plan to resign from the council entirely?

We do know that the “vacancy of the mayor’s position” comes only a few months after Watson was selected by the council to take over the position from resigning councilmember Sofia Pereira. A little more than a month after that, Watson was arrested for a DUI and possession of narcotics. 

The Outpost reached out to Watson, but has received no response.

The Arcata City Council’s special meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 5:59 p.m. You can view the full agenda and directions on how to participate here. A regular council meeting will follow. You can view the agenda here.

Fortuna Police Department release: 

On 10/18/2021 at approximately 9:20 pm, The Fortuna Police Department received a 911 call reporting a robbery at the Fortuna Subway Restaurant located in the Redwood Village Shopping Center in the 700 block of Fortuna Boulevard. Responding officers obtained reports that two suspects entered the business, brandished a knife and demanded money. The employees fled the business through a rear exit and the suspects fled out of the front of the business with an undisclosed amount of money. The suspects reportedly fled the area on foot, heading south.

• Suspect #1 is described as an adult male, having a dark complexion, possibly Hispanic, approximately 5’7” with a medium build last seen wearing a surgical type face mask and green hoody/sweatshirt.
• Suspect #2 is described as an adult female, having a dark complexion, possibly African American, approximately 5’11” with a tall and slender build, last seen wearing a beanie and dark colored trench coat.

The suspects are at large and this is an ongoing investigation. The Fortuna Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Brian Taylor at the Fortuna Police Department 707-725-7550.

Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Ian Hoffman submitted the following written report to the Board of Supervisors for Tuesday’s meeting. 

COVID-19 case rates have continued to drop over the past few weeks which is needed news for our community. The case rates today remain high, however, near where they were during the peaks of the previous surges in winter and spring.

Under the CDPH “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” we would continue to be assigned “Purple Tier” as of today. Based on CDC data tracker website, Humboldt County continues to be in the “Red, High Transmission” tier.

Per CDC guidance, all residents in “Red, High Transmission” tier counties are recommended to mask regardless of vaccination status, and avoid gatherings and crowded places, especially those with risk factors for severe COVID-19 illness or those who are unvaccinated or both.

Hospitalizations remain higher than they were during the peaks of previous winter and spring surges despite the declining case rates. This is due to very high overall cases in this surge.

We will likely continue to see hospitalizations and deaths at these higher rates in coming weeks before they start to decline 2-4 weeks behind the decline in COVID-19 case rates.

The average age for hospitalization in the Delta surge differs among fully vaccinated and unvaccinated groups (57 years of age average for unvaccinated hospitalizations, 75 years of age average for post-vaccine infection hospitalizations). This is also true of deaths based on vaccination status (66 years of age average for unvaccinated deaths, 79 years of age average for post-vaccine infection deaths).

The graphs below illustrate that during the Delta surge the number of hospitalizations and deaths were largely in the unvaccinated despite the fully vaccinated making up a larger percentage of the population. Currently 57% of the county is fully vaccinated. Blue represents fully vaccinated; orange represents unvaccinated populations.

Monoclonal antibody clinics at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Eureka continue to help mitigate the hospital impact during this surge. The state has extended support for this clinic to continue through the end of November. So far none of those who have become infected with COVID-19 virus and then received monoclonal antibody treatment have been hospitalized. And while this treatment is very effective in the short term at helping protect our hospitals and the individuals who received the treatment, it does not replace vaccination in that the antibody protection afforded by this treatment lasts only a few months.

Vaccine immunity is expected to last for years if not a lifetime, and those who received antibody treatment are recommended to get vaccinated 90 days after the antibody treatment.

Vaccines continue to be the best, safest, most cost-effective protection against COVID-19 disease for our community. Data continues to support that communities with higher vaccination rates have seen less hospital and death burden during the Delta surge even though there are cases in the fully vaccinated. Post-vaccine cases are milder, less likely to spread to close contacts, and are much less [likely] to result in severe disease.

Humboldt County Public Health vaccine clinics are providing Pfizer boosters and Moderna additional doses for immunocompromised, and we are preparing for likely CDC approvals for other boosters, as well as the likely approval for Pfizer for the 5-11 age group. Humboldt County Public Health will continue to support efforts to increase vaccination in our community as it is the best tool to end the pandemic.

With the expansion of Pfizer boosters by CDC approval a few weeks ago we have seen increases in number of boosters given across the county. These boosters help to reduce the hospital and death burden in the fully vaccinated as well as lowering the number of infections in those getting boosters.

Unfortunately, we have also seen a sharp decline in first and second doses in that same time. It is imperative that we as a community continue to increase the number of those who are fully vaccinated, so all efforts towards that goal are encouraged.

There are still around 6% of the population who are only partially vaccinated, and it is important for those folks to complete their vaccination as we know with Delta that partial vaccination is much less effective than it was against prior variants.

Several local organizations, business, venues have taken steps towards requiring vaccination, a step which helps increase the overall rate of vaccination in the community. While boosters will help to reduce some of the COVID-19 impact by reducing hospitalization and death in those at the highest risk, booster will not get us out of the pandemic. Only increasing first and second doses will get us closer to ending the pandemic.

A series of storms are expected to drop several inches of rain along the North Coast this week.

The first round of rainfall begins tonight, as La Niña conditions have officially developed in the Pacific.

“Two storm systems will impact our area this week, with two doses of substantial beneficial rainfall, followed by even another round of rain over the weekend,” the National Weather Service stated. “The first front will pass through Tuesday night, with the steadiest rain from late Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning. Another front will pass by around Thursday night, with the steadiest rain starting late Thursday and perhaps lingering into early Friday. The second system will have greater potential for a period of heavier rain.”

These storms will bring the first significant rainfall of the La Niña season, which NOAA announced last week, is already underway. 

“La Niña conditions have developed and are expected to continue with an 87 percent chance of La Niña in December 2021 - February 2022,” NOAA stated.

Meteorologist Jonathan Garner with Eureka’s NWS office told the Outpost that this is the most October rain the North Coast has received in several years.

“The rainy season is starting as we speak,” Garner said. “The past couple of years, the falls have been drier. I think the last really rainy October was in 2016.”

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PREVIOUSLY: NOAA Predicts 70 Percent Chance of Rainy La Niña Weather Across the Pacific Northwest This Fall, Winter

On October 12, 2021, Elsie, lovingly know as Toots or Maamy, started her journey to join her late son, beloved parents and little chihuahua Squirty.

Elsie was born in Yreka, on November 20, 1938, to Hank and Lottie Beck. At her birth she became a member of the Karuk Tribe of California, and the youngest of eight siblings. Elsie was brought from the hospital in Yreka to her family’s home in Orleans, where she was raised and spent her life along the river until the age of nineteen when she married Wayne King I and became a Navy wife, starting her first big life adventure, moving for the first time in her life to Los Angeles.

During their marriage Elsie and Wayne moved to many great places and had three beautiful children: Kristen Shirleen, Wayne Francis II, and their youngest Charla Ann. After fourteen years of marriage Elsie and Wayne divorced and she embarked on the next major adventure in her life, with her three children she moved to Sacramento Ca, where Elsie began school at UC Davis to earn her bachelors degree in Native American Studies. She accomplished her goal in 1978 while also being a single parent to three teenagers.

After graduation Elsie went to work as a Park Interpretive Specialist for the California State Indian Museum. While there Elsie met many people whom she considered to be lifelong friends and holding some even as close as family. Elsie spent the next sixteen years educating the public and sharing her cultural knowledge. During this sixteen-year portion of her life’s adventure Elsie reconnected with and married childhood friend Darrell “Corky” Gillespie in 1984.

In 1995 Elsie decided to leave the city life behind and embark on her life’s next adventure, moving with her now adult children and grandchildren back to her childhood hometown of Orleans. Elsie jumped into this adventure with both feet, joining and eventually taking over the Orleans Community Service Club, where she organized, ran, MC’d and presented trophies for the annual Father’s Day Parade. She organized the town “cappers” a town talent show that brought much laughter and excitement to all who attended. Elsie put her degree and interpretive skills to use volunteering at her grandkids school. Elsie never once missed an opportunity to have a booth at Orleans Elementary’s Indian Day celebration, teaching countless children to make acorn tops with traditional pump drills. Elsie also spent many years running the snack shack for her grandkids sporting events. Elsie also started a branch of the Northern United charter school in Orleans, teaching her grandson and many other young minds.

Elsie believed in and tirelessly fought for those she knew and loved. She loved ALL animals, taking in many strays and having had many cats, dogs, goats, snakes, and squirrels in her lifetime. Elsie had a laugh that was iconic and everyone who heard it knew that Ma’am was at the party and it was gonna be a fun time. She had a sense of humor that was unmatched and a spirit that made you believe she was far bigger than her five-foot height showed.

Elsie is proceeded in death by her parents Hank and Lottie beck, her husband Corky, Beloved son Wayne King II, sister Barbara Pearson, brothers Oren, Walter and Henry Beck, niece Ruthie McCurdie and nephews Billy “winks” Pearson and Henry “Doomie” Beck.

Elsie is survived by her loving daughters Kristen and Charla King. Cherished grandchildren; Harold “Sonny” Mitchell (Tawnia), Wayne “Bubba” King III (Rena), Sereena King (Kelly), Kristofer “Papa” Mitchell (Mariah), Travis King, Eric Logan, Ruby, William, Vanessa, Chloe and Violet King. Treasured great-grandchildren; Javon and Jaliya Mitchell, BellaAnn and Wayne King IV, Kristofer “KJ” Mitchell Jr., Kion King, and DaVonte “Hankie” Mitchell. She is also survived by her partner in crime Christopher Mellon. Elsie is also survived by her brother Ran Beck (Helen), and far too many nieces, nephews, and cousins to name one by one.

Our Mama/Maamy has left a lasting legacy of unconditional love, family strength, empathy for justice and equality and a great sense of humor and resilience that started all those years ago with the “Four Musketeers.”

A celebration of her big and wonderful life will be held in the spring when her Snow Drops, Fawn Lilies and Red Bud flowers bloom. In lieu of flowers to show love and respect for Elsie please consider making a donation in her name to Miranda’s Rescue, because there wasn’t a stray on earth that Elsie wouldn’t take in or help.

The sweet soul of Charin Lee Buchan, 75, was greeted in Heaven by Jesus on September 25, 2021. Charin is survived by her daughter Cathy Landry, grandchildren Ashlee Linebaugh, Shelby Vincent, and David Weimer, great-grandchildren Tawyna and Kaylin Linebaugh and her brother Bobby Jackson.

She is preceded in death by her late husband Tom Buchan, her son Donnie Weimer, her parents Helen Sellars, Richard Hulbert and stepfather Ed Sellars. Charin enjoyed her family and friends and had a great love for her cat, Sushi Sue. Her early years were spent raising her family in Arizona. Over the years she gained another family when she married her second husband Tom and gained several step-children and grandchildren who she loved as her own.

Later in life Charin relocated to Humboldt County to be closer to her daughter, Cathy, and granddaughter, Shelby. She was so thankful to share the time with her daughter over the last couple of years. She immensely enjoyed the time they spent driving the coast to Trinidad and attending church. She also greatly missed her son, Donnie, who she lost prematurely several years ago.

Her family takes great comfort that she is no longer suffering and was greeted by many that she had missed for so long. Rest peacefully — you are missed and loved so very much.

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

Bergel’s official portrait via the City of Eureka.

Kim Bergel, an instructional assistant at Eureka City Schools and a member of the Eureka City Council since 2014, plans to run for Humboldt County Supervisor next year, potentially challenging current Supervisor Virginia Bass in the Fourth District.

“I am really excited to build on the experience I’ve already had with the city,” Bergel told the Outpost via phone this afternoon. “I want to be a voice for the City of Eureka and alleviate some of the burden as far as mental health services.”

Bergel said people began asking her about a year ago whether she was interested in running for the Fourth District Seat but she needed time to think it over, evaluate her own motives and consider where she’d best be suited.

Last week, at a gathering of the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee, she announced her intention to run for county supervisor.

“I feel like I’ve been really innovative in my time on the council,” Bergel said. “I’m dedicated and I work hard. That in combinations with the relationships I have built, I think we can come up with some outside-the-box solutions.”

She sees a need for new approaches to issues surrounding some of Eureka’s transient residents who suffer from mental health problems. “Business owners are inundated with this stuff day in and day out,” she said. “It’s time we continue to look at new ways to tackle this problem.”

We say Bergel could “potentially” challenge Bass because the incumbent Fourth District supervisor has yet to announce whether she’ll run for re-election. 

Bergel could also potentially be running against Natalie Arroyo, who has also served on the Eureka City Council since 2014 and who announced her Fourth District candidacy in August.

Arroyo’s nascent campaign is in an awkward limbo at the moment thanks to the county’s in-progress redistricting effort. One of the three draft maps released to date would excise a big northwestern hunk of Eureka from the Fourth District and, somewhat bafflingly, tether it to the Arcata-centric Third District via the Samoa Peninsula. Arroyo’s house falls squarely within that big hunk, and of course her candidacy is dependent on Fourth District residency.

Bergel said her home is safely within the confines of the Fourth in all draft maps. Regarding the potential of a head-to-head matchup with her co-councilmember she said, “I think you’ll probably see one of the most civil races you’ve seen in a long time.”

This prediction of courtesy recalls the 2018 election season, when eight of the 12 candidates for Eureka city government — including both Arroyo and Bergel — convened an odd press conference outside City Hall to address “dirty campaigning” from some or all of their challengers. The specifics were somewhat vague. 

Asked what else she’d like to accomplish as a supervisor, Bergel said working with St. Joseph Hospital would be a big goal.

“When I’m hearing stories of mental health patients staying in the ER for four days — there’s gotta be a solution that we as a community can come up with,” she said. “There’s just a lot of burden put on a lot of places that I think we should shift.”

She plans to officially launch her campaign with a kickoff event sometime next month.

“I look forward to working with the community to work through some of these issues that have been troubling us for a long time,” she said. “I think together we can do a lot of things, and we will.”

The only other supervisor up for re-election next year is Steve Madrone in the Fifth District. Local realtor Larry Doss recently resigned from the Harbor District and moved from Eureka to Orick with the intention of challenging Madrone.

The primary election is scheduled for June 7 of next year.