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In a special meeting this morning, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors ratified the recent order from Health Officer Dr. Ian Hoffman to re-institute a universal masking mandate countywide inside county facilities.

The board also reversed its July 20 decision to resume in-person meetings starting next week, opting to continue meeting via Zoom. Both decisions were motivated by the alarming increase in COVID-19 cases over the past couple of weeks.

The meeting was delayed by about 50 minutes due to technical problems, and once it got going, board chair and Fourth District Supervisor Virginia Bass sounded hoarse, though she explained she only sounds that way because she’s been talking to people a lot lately.

Hoffman said local conditions are changing rapidly. “The Delta variant of the Coronavirus has shown itself to be much more contagious,” he said. “And I think when we couple that with … a moderate vaccination rate and a fair amount of of openness and not very much masking going on in the community, we’re seeing very widespread [contagion] right now.”

Case rates have more than quadrupled over the past two weeks and hospitals are filling up, Hoffman added. He said he’s hopeful that the mask mandate and a reduction in public gatherings will help drive case rates back downward.

Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell asked Hoffman to address questions about why the countywide mask mandate won’t take effect until Saturday. Hoffman said the delayed onset was intended to give businesses a chance to prepare with signage and have masks on hand for customers.

Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone said the masking order is “the right thing to do,” though he noted that some people have medical reasons for being unable to wear masks and suggested the county should make accommodations for them. 

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn, who revealed this morning that he has tested positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, pushed back against criticism of the renewed mask mandates, saying, “[I]t’s amazing, with the internet everybody’s a lawyer.”

He said public health officers are tasked with protecting the public health of the areas they serve and he believes Hoffman is doing just that. “Hospitals are pushed to the edge,” he said. “Management are freaking out. Like it or not, I appreciate [Hoffman] stepping forward because I don’t think he’s invested heavily in any mask corporation. I think he’s looking out for the health of Humboldt County.”

The mask mandate might help the county avoid having to shut down again, he said, adding, “And, not to get off-topic, get the damn vaccine.”

Bass also voiced frustration, saying that she’s been dealing with a family member in the hospital and that getting the vaccine is the responsible thing to do. “Just to remind people, we didn’t need to be this way,” she said, apparently referring to the surge in cases. 

In late June, the board implemented a policy allowing county staff to self-attest to their vaccination status and go mask-free if they’ve fully vaccinated. Today, Bass said bitterly, “Let’s just say self-attestation was a failure. … I’m mad. I don’t get mad but I’m mad right now about people who think this is a joke.”

Bushnell, who has previously declined to say whether or not she’s been vaccinated, asked to respond to Bass’s statements. 

“Even people that are vaccinated — as we are aware — are getting the virus,” she said. “So, while you said self-attestation wasn’t working … I’m not willing to make that blanket statement. What I’m willing to say is breakthrough is happening.”

While breakthrough cases are becoming more common with the Delta variant, data collected by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that fully vaccinated people have dramatically reduced rates of infections, hospitalizations and deaths, compared to unvaccinated people. In California, one in every 992 vaccinated people were infected with COVID, compared to one in 11 unvaccinated people. And among those infected, the unvaccinated were 142 times more likely to need hospitalization, NBC News reports.

The motions to resume virtual meetings and ratify the mask mandate passed unanimously, with Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson absent.

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CORRECTION: This post has been corrected to reflect that the board ratified the policy pertaining to county facilities, not the county as a whole. As the public health officer, Hoffman has sole authority to implement the countywide masking order.

It’s officially a Saturday night to dress your cat in funny costumes they seem indifferent about. You can add Arts Alive to the list of local events either canceled or postponed by organizers recognizing the threat posed by Humboldt’s recent uptick in COVID cases. At this point, it’s probably safe to assume an event you saw advertised for this weekend is not happening, so maybe check before venturing out (if you still plan to). 

A statement from the Eureka Main Street on the action can be found below:

Humboldt County has seen a significant raise in Covid cases and hospitalizations caused by the Delta variant.  In support of the health of small businesses, health care workers and the community at large the decision has been made to cancel Eureka Main Street’s First Saturday Night Arts Alive. Artwork can still be viewed in businesses through Downtown and Old Town, Eureka during regular business hours. We look forward to the return of art, music, live performances and seeing everyone when the numbers drop. Stay safe and mask up!

Bohn | Facebook

Rex Bohn, Humboldt County’s First District supervisor, has tested positive for COVID-19.

He announced the diagnosis via Facebook Friday morning, noting that he hasn’t experienced any symptoms and that because he’s been fully vaccinated doctors tell him he’s likely to experience only mild symptoms, if any.

“I’m thinking of painting my house or mowing my lawn,” Bohn said with a chuckle when reached by phone.

He has contacted everyone he’s recently been in contact with for more than about five minutes, he said, and he noted that since supervisors and many county staffers are nearing the end of a two-week vacation, he hasn’t been interacting with as many people as usual.

Bohn said he has been getting tested every six to eight weeks because it’s so easy and convenient. Most recently, he stopped by the testing site at Eureka’s Wharfinger building and got in and out in less than four minutes, he said.

After getting his positive test result he texted Humboldt County Public Health Officer Dr. Ian Hoffman and St. Joseph Health Humboldt County CEO Dr. Roberta Luskin-Hawk. 

“They wanted to verify that I was fully vaccinated,” Bohn said. Once they got that confirmation, “the first thing out of their mouth was, ‘Well, you’re not gonna die!’” he recalled. “That’s a big plus! That’s a positive!”

Earlier this week, Bohn took some heat from a number of his constituents — and earned kudos from others — over a Facebook post in which he sounded the alarm over worsening local conditions in the COVID-19 pandemic and urged people to wear masks and get vaccinated.

“We have 23 people in St Joes right now,” the post says. “I have been contacted by ICU nurses that are running on empty, please consider them! And all our other health professionals.” Local health care professionals are urging people to get vaccinated, and Bohn said he’s listening to them.

“I do not care what is on Tik Tok, Reddit or any other site I am gonna believe the folks here that have to look me in the eye. A young man died locally younger than my son with no other conditions except not being vaccinated. I am worried for all of you yes all of you.”

And in a prescient observation, he added, “What is scary is you can get this while being vaccinated but your symptoms are greatly reduced. Almost guaranteed not to die, I like that one.”

The Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting Friday morning at 10:30 to reconsider a recent decision to resume in-person meetings. Bohn said he expects more bad news about local COVID conditions to be revealed at the meeting. He has been directed to isolate for 10 days. 

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California today issued the first order in the nation that requires COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers, allowing only for religious or rare medical exemptions.

Employees of hospitals, nursing homes, doctors’ offices, clinics and other medical facilities have until Sept. 30 to get at least one dose of the vaccination, under the new order issued by Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, California’s public health officer. In the meantime, they must either be vaccinated or undergo mandatory weekly testing, under the state’s previous order issued last week.

California also ordered visitors to hospitals, skilled nursing homes and facilities for the developmentally disabled to be fully vaccinated or show a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours. The order applies only to indoor visits and goes into effect on Wednesday.

The new requirement for medical workers tightens Gov. Gavin Newsom’s move last week to require health care workers and state employees to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing.

State health officials were not immediately available to explain why the requirements for health care workers won’t go into effect until the end of September.

The orders come as California — along with the rest of the nation — grapples with a surge of cases propelled by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, which represented about 86% of cases as of July 21, according to the California Department of Public Health.

“As we continue to see an increase in cases and hospitalizations due to the delta variant of COVID-19, it’s important that we protect the vulnerable patients in these settings,” Aragón said in a press release. “Today’s action will also ensure that health care workers themselves are protected. Vaccines are how we end this pandemic.”

The exemption for medical and religious reasons could prove to be problematic. California eliminated similar exemptions for childhood vaccines because of overuse by many parents.

More than 9,500 new COVID-19 cases were reported today, a sharp increase from mid-June when the state’s economy largely reopened and just over 1,000 daily cases were reported.

State health officials said recent COVID-19 outbreaks in health care facilities often are traced to unvaccinated employees — even though health workers were first in line to get the COVID-19 vaccines when they first became available in December.

A number of health workers, including certified nursing assistants, have been surprisingly reluctant to get vaccinated.

It’s difficult to know how many of California’s hundreds of thousands of health care workers remain partially or completely unvaccinated, but federal data analyzed by CalMatters provides a clue: About 23% of nearly 500,000 hospital workers in more than 350 California hospitals had not received a single dose of vaccine as of July 23.

As a result, Kaiser Permanente and other large health care systems have announced their own vaccine mandates for workers. Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association, an industry group, called the state order “an important step in a long battle we face.”

About 23% of nearly 500,000 hospital workers in more than 350 California hospitals had not received a single dose of vaccine as of July 23.

Unions representing health care workers have not been as outright supportive. Reluctant to visibly oppose officials’ vaccine mandates, one of the unions sent out a vague statement similar to those released last week.

“Workers must have a seat at the table as these decisions and their implementation are discussed,” Bob Schoonover, president of SEIU California and executive director of SEIU 721, which represents about 35,000 health workers, said in an emailed statement. SEIU spokesman Mike Roth declined to elaborate.

But another union leader voiced support for the state’s new, tougher mandate. “While this order will not be embraced by all of our members, it will save lives and protect the health of healthcare workers and patients enduring another COVID-19 surge that is being spread primarily by unvaccinated people,” Sal Roselli of the National Healthcare Workers Union said in an emailed statement.

Other states’ orders have not been as stringent. Massachusetts on Wednesday issued an order requiring nursing home employees to be vaccinated by Oct. 10, with exemptions only for religious or medical reasons. And Oregon announced a mandate similar to California’s original order, requiring health care workers to be vaccinated but allowing a testing alternative.

With slightly more than half of California’s eligible population fully vaccinated, nearly all new COVID-19 cases and deaths are occurring in unvaccinated people, state public health officials say, and hospitalizations have risen at an alarming rate.

More than 5,500 Californians are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, with about one-fifth of them needing intensive care.

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

Known for its starry skies, Joshua Trees and 100-plus-degree heat, California’s vast desert has recently become a hotbed of something else: thieves stealing California’s water.

So who’s on the receiving end of all this theft? Local investigators say it’s often illegal pot farms.

And with the parched state in a withering drought, water managers are doubling as amateur detectives.

For months, they watched as demand for water spiked. They hired security firms and sent drones to see where the water was going. It wasn’t long before the local water czars caught on to a phenomenon happening across parched California: bandits are tapping into fire hydrants and rivers, filling stations and wells stealing millions of gallons of water.

“It’s usually done in the dark of night,” said a local water manager who didn’t want to be identified because of safety concerns. “So, you’ll start to see footprints or you’ll see water or wet spots or they’ll leave the hydrant cap off the hydrant.”

Another local water leader backed out of an interview, citing the same fears.

The desert is now strewn with pot farms. California allows them with proper permits and local approval — which San Bernardino County has not given.

The state also is one of the few places where illegally growing seven marijuana plants can yield the same punishment as illegally growing seven thousand: a misdemeanor and a $500 fine.

About 80% of California’s roughly 30,000 pot farms are illegal, according to the state water board.

“Where cultivation is illegal is where we’re seeing the highest occurrence of water theft complaints,” said Yvonne West, director of enforcement for the State Water Resources Control Board. “So these cultivators are turning to theft of municipal or groundwater supplies to support their illegal cultivations.”

Through the end of June, 125 Californians reported water thefts to state authorities — more than twice as many as a decade ago.

In Helendale, along historic Route 66, the water district hired a private security guard to investigate who was stealing water.

“We found there was a multitude of locations that were illegal grows,” said Kelly Gregg, vice president of Liberty Protection Services. “They were pulling water from some of those locations are on abandoned properties, private properties, and the like.”

Without photographing a culprit in the act, water theft is hard to catch and often more complex than blatantly stealing from a hydrant.

A court ruling limits how much groundwater Helendale residents can pump. Groundwater pumping is already causing California’s valley floors to sink. But when black market buyers show up with their tanks and their cash, landowners cut deals.

“Wells in many cases are now abandoned, or the people that are living in those houses with the wells will sell their water to these haulers, in some cases, not knowing that it is an inappropriate use,” said Kimberly Cox, general manager of the Helendale Community Services District.

Local authorities are responsible for enforcing well restrictions. The state can step in for other “aqua crimes”. It can fine bandits up to $1,000 a day — but that’s a pittance for players in a multi-billion dollar pot industry. And state’s 80-person team hasn’t been able to keep up as the crimes increase.

“We accept those complaints, we review them, we triage them, and then we prioritize them,” West said. “And in situations where we have authority, we will investigate and prosecute aggressively any water theft.”Local police have started raiding more illegal grows. In addition, several counties passed resolutions petitioning state lawmakers for more power to prosecute water theft.

Meanwhile, Johnson Valley resident Jo Hansen says she stays home more often to keep an eye out for poachers. “I don’t know who breaks my water lines and does all this chaotic crap they do, but I mean, they steal constantly up here,” she said.

“Is there a mechanism to cut off the water these farms without having the response be very negative and forceful?” asked the local water manager who wanted to remain anonymous. “No one, no one’s tried this. We’re not enforcement officers, we don’t carry guns.”

Some are taking a more confrontational approach.

“Because the sheriffs aren’t able to get on things fast enough, and we’re out here, kind of a desolate desert, most of the residents are starting to take matters into their own hands and starting to take care of it themselves scaring off the guys that are bleeding the grounds out before they can erect the greenhouses, so it doesn’t get built,” said county resident Greg Bruning.When Gov. Gavin Newsom asked Californians to cut their water use by 15%, many braced for the possibility of more restrictions to come.

“There is a reluctance to ask our customers to cut back when there are when there is this kind of customer seems to be taking the water without regard for the drought,” the water manager said. “It’s not legal. It’s just not legal. And so you’re dealing with a lawless situation, and you’re trying to come after it with a lawful approach.”

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

Ruby Pauline Flaiz was born in Delta, Colorado, to Glenn and Mary Wright and graduated from Delta High School. In 1947, Ruby met her soon-to-be-husband Bill Flaiz on a blind date that took them skating and a picture show in Delta in his dad’s ‘35 Ford pickup. She then started college at Western State in Gunnison, Colorado. A few short years later, Bill and Ruby were married on June 15, 1949, in Grand Junction.

They spent their early years farming in Olathe, Colorado, and ranching in Ridgeway. Later, they moved to Kellogg, Idaho, where Ruby’s parents lived. When the zinc plant shut down, they moved back to Olathe. In 1959 they headed to California and bought a home in Fortuna, where they raised their three daughters.

Ruby was quite the homemaker. She raised a large garden every year, canning and freezing fruits and vegetables. Every Sunday and on the holidays she would fix dinner for her kids and grandkids. At Christmas time, she would make candy and cookies for the family and neighbors to enjoy. She enjoyed reading, puzzles, playing cards, sewing, swimming, ping pong, horseshoes, riding her bike, and family walks. She was involved in putting out the flags for Memorial Day at the Sunrise Cemetery and even won some awards at the flower show in Fortuna. After her mother’s passing in 1976, she started donating blood until she had to stop in 2014 due to skin cancer winning an award for donating 20 gallons. In 1997 she took over her granddaughter’s paper route for the Times-Standard where she put in 15 years of service and was awarded carrier of the month.

Ruby died on July 28, 2021, at the age of 90, at Timber Ridge in Eureka. Ruby was preceded in death by her parents, Glenn and Mary Wright, her two brothers, John and Al Wright, and grandson James (EJ) Brekke. She is survived by her husband of 72 years and her three daughters, Karen (Ernie) Pires, of Eureka; Bonnie (Dick) Brekke, of Central Point, Oregon; and Terry (Tom) Dowdy of Fortuna; two sisters, Jean McAtee of St. Helena, Oregon, and Rose (Duane) Williams of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho; sister-in-law, Peggy Wright, of Pasco, Washington, four grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother to many, and great grandmother. She will be missed by everyone who knew her. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Hospice of Humboldt or the Alzheimer’s Association.

Jeffrey Terry Edwards, born Nov. 7, 1945, left us on July 10, 2021.

Our dear Uncle Jeffrey was a complicated person; a thinker, a planner, brilliant at times, challenging at others. He was funny and had great insight and he could be obstinate and righteous too.

Jeffrey graduated in 1963 from Palo Alto High School. At Paly he was a multi-sport athlete and still holds the shot putt record to this day. He went on to Stanford University on a pre-med path and played football with the Varsity team as a freshman. A bout with mononucleosis derailed his plans and then life and the ‘60s got in the way of his college path.

He traveled around the US and across Europe, lived as a nomad for many years performing odd jobs, living in forests and abandoned buildings. He had quite a following in San Francisco during the summer of 1965 because he was a deep thinker and philosopher with charm and wit.

Always a fixer, he worked various jobs and was skilled at plumbing, electrical work, and construction in general. He was a very talented tile setter and worked many years at Watercourse Way, a well known spa in Palo Alto, building waterways, water falls, and tubs of various designs.

He moved to Humboldt County in 1995 having bought a property in Arcata. He built his own living quarters and, always the planner, he insisted on reinforcing the foundation in anticipation of a second and third floor! He was well known at all of the local hardware stores for his frequent patronage, conversational style and unique perspective.

He was tough. He survived a myriad of economic and health challenges over his lifetime. As recently as the past several months his stamina was put to the test and he survived multiple surgeries and trials albeit challenging his practitioners at every turn.

He will be remembered for his kindness and for his willingness to help others in any way that he could. No one was a stranger when it came to this trait.

He is survived by his three siblings; Kenneth, Jonathan, and Joan, sisters in law Joann and Nubia, brother in law Hooper, his nieces Chelsea and Kaitlin, nephews Kenny, Dan, Carl, Daniel, Zeke, and Marley, and by the many people he touched and helped over the years.

A memorial in his honor will be held Sunday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m. at his sister’s home: 1800 27th St., Arcata.

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