Humboldt is due for some fresh ‘n local indie cinema. It’s time! This time, it’s coming from 17-year-old Griffin Loch, whose A Spark In Nothing was shot largely in Humboldt and will soon be released at a (drive-in) theater near you, if you live near Eureka, which is likely, we figure!

Loch is 17 and has already pretty much dedicated his life to writing and directing films. On a budget of $30,000 and clad in suit and tie all along the way, he spent the last couple of years writing, directing and editing A Spark In Nothing, which was filmed in Humboldt and Santa Clarita. 

With a fantastical twist, A Spark In Nothing traces the impact of choosing one life path or the other. It will screen drive-in style on July 9 at Redwood Acres, gates at 7:30 p.m. 

A Spark In Nothing promotional flier

A Spark In Nothing — which has been accepted into two film festivals — is actually Loch’s third feature-length film. He credits his parents for his early and successful start. “I was born into a family of cinephiles,” he said. His parents have experience in the industry, and, in their household, movie posters paper the walls and film is a dinner-table topic more often than not. His parents “saw that filmmaking spark right in the beginning,” Loch said. “They saw little Griffin with the camera, and they’ve taken that so, so graciously with open arms and have carried that through my entire life.”

After testing the waters with his friends by making short films and documentaries from age 9 to 12 — “nothing fantastic came out of those three years,” Loch noted with a laugh — he sat down with his parents and mapped out his entire adolescence, which, the three agreed, would culminate in four feature-length films by the time he turns 18. “It’s been kind of a family venture of making these films together,” Loch said. 

They began with Calling the Shots, a film about a young teen who witnesses a murder and wrongfully becomes a suspect, for which Loch and his parents served as the entire crew. 

“That was the first film, just to really see if it was possible,” Loch said. And it was! For his next film, he “didn’t want to just make another thing. I wanted something that would speak to my generation within the picture,” he said. The Adventure of T.P. Man and Flusher, which is about two best friends who embark on a crazy night of mischief and explores teen depression and suicide, which Loch felt was underdiscussed when he started working on that script. 

For his third feature, which eventually became A Spark In Nothing, Loch wanted once again to deliver a meaningful message. “We could always use more love and hope, every day,” Loch, a wise fellow, said. Although many in his cast and crew are adults, all of his productions so far have relied heavily on young minds. 

“It’s very exciting being able to bring on people that I’m close to, that are the same age, same generation,” he said. “Youth that are all excited about the film, excited about filmmaking, excited about art.”

A Spark In Nothing is the first of Loch’s films to feature areas of Humboldt. He’s from Santa Clarita, but has familial roots — specifically, the eccentric Tom “The Great” Razooly — in Humboldt. He grew up visiting the area every school break and every summer, and ended up writing and editing most of his films during those visits. Griffin, who completed high school in two years, moved here full-time with his parents because of the pandemic. 

“I always wanted to make a film that really covered the beauty of Humboldt County,” he said. From script (Loch’s preferred word processor is a typewriter: “You’re literally pounding the ink into the page!”) to set, seeing his Humboldt-inspired story come to life in Humboldt was a long-awaited and special experience. 

“I loved it so much,” Loch said. “The community is so incredible with everything that they did, and all the doors they opened, and lending their own personal time. It’s just fantastic and something you can’t really truly get from such a big city.”

Loch plans to wrap up his teenage years with one more feature-length film of the supernatural thriller genre, which will be shot entirely in Humboldt, so stay tuned.

Scroll for photos from the production.

###

Steve Hoffman captures on video a mountain lion in the Arcata Community Forest. The lion first appears about 14 seconds in.

###

While biking on the South Fork Janes Creek Trail in the Arcata Community Forest last week, Arcata resident and mountain biker Steve Hoffman had a surprising encounter with a mountain lion.

“I came around the corner on my mountain bike and it was crouched in the middle of the trail,” Hoffman wrote on Nextdoor, where he posted the above video Tuesday night. “It turned and jumped in a bush a few feet away from me.”

Approximate location of Hoffman’s lion meeting

Hoffman told the Outpost that after he saw the animal jump into the bush, he got off of his bike and, holding his bike above his head to appear bigger, he slowly backed away from the area. When he felt far enough, he sat, waiting with his phone camera pointed toward the area he had seen the mountain lion. Hoffman said he was probably about 50 feet away from the lion when he took this video.

“I didn’t know where it was because it didn’t make any noise,” Hoffman said in a phone interview this afternoon. “I was just sitting there, not really knowing what to do.”

After close to 10 minutes of sitting there filming, Hoffman saw the mountain lion leap out of the bushes (about 14 seconds into the posted video). The large cat then stood still, staring at Hoffman for about a minute. Hoffman then decided to stand up, and the mountain lion scampered away.

As an avid mountain biker and resident of Sunny Brae, Hoffman said he has seen a few mountain lions in his time and this one looked to be in the small to medium size range. It could have been a juvenile, Hoffman said, adding that he is not an expert. Though he’s seen mountain lions many times, Hoffman said this was definitely the closest he’s been.

Though Hoffman felt a “mixture of excitement and fear” during his mountain lion encounter, he said that he did not feel particularly threatened by the animal. Hoffman wanted to share this video, not only to remind people that mountain lions are out there and you can encounter one at any time (Hoffman took this video at about 3:30 p.m.), but also that such an encounter does not need to be a cause for panic.

“These animals are top predators and sometimes by seeing them, people will think negatively of them and think we have to remove them,” Hoffman said. “I hope the video shows that you can see a top predator and I never felt threatened. I hope more people look at this as a reminder to prepare for an encounter like this, to help keep themselves and the wildlife safe.”

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office needs the public’s help to locate missing person Kiera Lynn Foley, age 32, of Redway. Foley is believed to be missing under unknown circumstances.

Foley was reported missing by a family member on June 28, 2021 at about 9 p.m. According to the family member, Foley lives a transient lifestyle and was last seen in the Eureka area. Foley’s last contact with family members was in late April of this year.

Foley is described as a white female adult, approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall, 125 pounds, with brown eyes and long brown hair.

Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office regarding Foley’s possible whereabouts should call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251.

###

In hard-hit Napa Valley, which has burned multiple times this last decade, successful winemakers and longtime residents are weighing their options to rebuild or move out entirely simply by looking at their property insurance policies.

“They just can’t get insurance,” said Democratic state Sen. Bill Dodd, whose district spans the region’s celebrated vineyards. “Or the insurance is so expensive that there is no way they could ever afford that kind of coverage.”

Such a refrain is eerily familiar throughout Santa Rosa, Paradise, Ventura and other communities that have been ravaged by recent wildfires. As if a second dry winter and historic heat wave were just the opening acts, California homeowners are girding themselves for another destructive fire season that could raise their wildfire insurance rates to unaffordable levels.

The problem is catching. California’s streak of infernos has already created record liability for insurers: Insurance companies lost a total of $20 billion in 2017 and 2018, twice the industry’s profits since 1991, according to a white paper by Milliman, a financial consulting firm.

Insurers are betting climate change isn’t going away and that’s why they’re now pushing the state to allow them to factor in future flooding, mudslides and forest fires into customer premiums. If they don’t get their way, they say they’re just going to continue to drop more homeowners from coverage in a state where one out of three homes have been built in or near dense vegetation.

Who pays for wildfire costs?

That tees up a contentious debate in the Legislature over who should be responsible for the costs caused by natural disasters to homes built in the wildland-urban interface — homeowners, insurance companies or government entities that allowed them to build in the first place. Others argue that construction should be banned entirely in fire-prone areas in spite of a statewide housing shortage.

“There are no villains here,” said Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, which represents State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Farmers and other major insurers. “We are dealing with the way we used to do things, which doesn’t fit with our new reality. So that’s what’s causing the market to be out of whack.”

Draft recommendations from the Climate Insurance Working Group, established to advise state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, suggest allowing a contentious move to let insurance companies adjust premiums based on projections from natural catastrophe models. The shift, they say, will more adequately allow insurance companies to charge rates based on extreme fire risk. Supporters believe it could discourage building and rebuilding in high-fire zones. If adopted, it would be a dramatic change from the current structure, which is determined by historic rates.

So far, lawmakers appear receptive but Gov. Gavin Newsom hasn’t tipped the scales. “The administration strongly supports land use planning requirements and building codes to bolster wildfire resilience in our communities,” said Gopika Mavalankar of the governor’s office.

The insurance commissioner’s office declined to comment until the final report is released in a few weeks.

A catastrophe model

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Photo by Max Whittaker for CALmatters

Insurance companies argue the move is necessary to keep private insurers in the marketplace. They point out earthquake insurance is already allowed to factor in future risk. California allows insurers to use market-based models to project premiums for earthquakes, but those models are owned and created by third-party businesses that don’t divulge their reasoning, citing proprietary information.

To others, though, the recommendation to allow insurance companies to use new models is worrisome.

Consumer Watchdog, a taxpayer advocacy group, argues that moving to a catastrophe model would not only increase insurance rates, but also eliminate transparency for how those rates were calculated.

Hard to get insured

For fire survivors like Patrick McCallum, whose home burned down in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, there’s suspicion that insurance companies could potentially manipulate data to increase premiums on homeowners.

“It’s an extremely difficult process to go through and complicated, and, I felt, not fair,” said the Santa Rosa resident. “They are profit-making companies. Still, with all of these disasters, (they) are still making profits.”

Due to cost and coverage, McCallum and his wife ultimately decided against rebuilding. They moved to another neighborhood within the city. Even so, they had difficulty getting homeowners insurance because of their past claim. McCallum said they got coverage on the 10th company they tried.

The working group’s recommendations also suggested that insurance rates could be used to disincentivize new building in fire-prone areas, adding that new development should be actively discouraged to limit state spending on infrastructure there. The arguments come at a precarious time for California as the state heads into fire season with an ongoing housing crisis. In 2020, California experienced five of the six largest wildfires in recorded history and nearly 11.2 million people live in the state’s wildland-urban interface.

Conversation for lawmakers

Carmen Balber, executive director of Consumer Watchdog, argues that insurance shouldn’t be used as the stick to keep residents from building in fire zones when government policies otherwise allow it.

“We need a conversation about incentivizing rebuilding in a place that burned down three times, but the insurance industry should not be making that decision based on its own private profit motive,” Balber said. “That’s a conversation for the government…It should not be the insurance industry’s job to decide where we build our homes.”

She adds it’s unfair to place the burden of paying for increased wildfires solely on residents who live near fire lines.

“We’ve told people they can build in the (booneys) and wilderness for decades and only now is it catching up to us,” Barber said. “It most definitely falls to the state to invest more seriously in mitigating climate risk — no individual homeowner is responsible for fire increases. But we shouldn’t be encouraging people to build in fire-risk areas. The problem is a political struggle.”

More houses, more fires

A recent study released by researchers at the UC Berkeley Center for Community Innovation and think tank Next 10 found that state and local land use policies and a statewide push to build more housing is increasing the economic and human cost of wildfires by pushing more building into high-risk fire areas. The report argues that state and local policies are primarily responsible for emphasizing rebuilding and retrofitting homes in high-fire areas, rather than offering incentives for homeowners to relocate after fires.

“We should be making this harder and we are not,” said Rob Olshansky, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an author of the study. “Just having people in the wildfire areas increases the chance of fire igniting. The main cause of fires is people doing stuff like using barbecues and spark plugs.”

The study also found that strict building codes and design standards for new homes across the state have propelled increased building in the open spaces on fire lines — rather than infilling in existing towns and city centers.

Lawmakers open to factoring in future risk

Lawmakers who represent communities devastated by fires are receptive to the idea of raising rates some — if it means their residents can continue to stay on their property.

Assemblymember James Gallagher, a Republican whose district includes Paradise, said his constituents’ biggest concern is access to coverage. They want to avoid the California FAIR Plan, which is the state’s insurer of last resort that comes with a hefty premium and only covers fire damage. Critics add that the plan was never created to be a permanent solution for California homeowners seeking fire insurance.

“I think that most of my constituents acknowledge that they live in high-risk areas and we are willing to pay,” Gallagher said. “But it has to be a reasonable premium, and I don’t think the government is going to be able to provide that on its own. You need the private insurance market to be part of that solution.”

The Yuba City lawmaker disagreed that the government should take responsibility for telling people where they can and cannot build. He said the state failed residents by allowing a backlog of tree clearing and thinning to accumulate.

Dodd said he supports allowing private insurers to factor in future disasters if it means residents in his districts can avoid exorbitant pricing offered by the FAIR plan.

“So many people right now are going naked with no insurance or paying seven or eight times the annual premium they did before,” the senator said. “If they raised the rates 50%, that would be a blessing.”

###

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

Born in Tustin, Calif. on July 19, 1961 and left this earth on May 4, 2021, Edwin Ross Cox was named after both his grandfathers and definitely had their genius as well as eccentric personalities.

The Cox family moved to Ferndale from Tustin in 1967. He was raised in Southern Humboldt and Freshwater. Attending local schools and graduating from South Fork High. Eddie was very proud of graduating from College of the Redwoods with a degree in automotive technology. Eddie had the ability to diagnose any auto problem. He later worked as a professional truck driver, a professional bus driver, and worked in auto repair shops in this area.

Eddie had a unique personality — very caring, very emotional, very concerned, and downright unique! He earned the nickname of “Fast Eddie” not only because he was a fast talker, but he could be very quick-witted and sharp-minded to figure ways to circumvent many problems.

Eddie enjoyed motorcycles, cars and boat racing, cutting firewood and in later years after getting his own old town apartment he enjoyed cooking,

Willing to help his friends with almost any task, but only if the proper tools and safety equipment were available! A memory like an elephant, he could remember dates, phone numbers, events, and circumstances. Edwin was very proud of over eight years of sobriety and four years without a cigarette.

Most people liked Eddie, although most people didn’t understand Eddie and his strange mannerisms.

Eddie was preceded in death by his mother Jacqueline Gildley (Cox) is survived by his brother Dennis Cox, Sister Carla Cox and many family members and friends.

God speed, fair winds and calm seas to our friend Eddie.

Very special thanks to his close and caring friends that took care of Eddie and brought him into their families – Larry Zerlang, Leroy Zerlang and Dale Warmuth.

A private celebration of life will be held aboard MADAKET at a future date.

###

Our amazing and beautiful mom, Arlene Joyce Bartley, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Sunday, June 20, 2021. She was laid to rest next to the love of her life, the late Danny Bartley.

Arlene was an only child born to Peter and Mary Fabbri of Arcata. Arlene resided most of her life in the Arcata and Bayside area. She and Danny built their dream home in Bayside in 1991, where they enjoyed years of gardening and working around their beautiful property together.

Arlene’s number one priority was her family. Arlene was very generous to their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. The backdoor was always open, cupboards were stocked and nobody left their house without carrying something she was “sure we needed” – even if she had just purchased it for herself. In her impactful time, she blessed each and every member of her family in one way or another.

Arlene was fierce with love for her family and she always made every holiday special. She made it a priority to spend hours with her grandchildren watching scary and classic movies, playing rummy, and made sure every movie night ended with hot chocolate and toast before bed. She loved making her most coveted jam for her grandkids. Christmas would never be complete until she’d made her famous danish cookies which were a holiday staple. She was a great cook and we never turned down an offer from her to make us her special macaroni salad.

A novel could be written with scenes filled her zany and hilarious personality. She was often referred to being “just like Lucille Ball” with her crazy and often true antics. Arlene had many dogs with poodles being her favorite. She planned her day around caring for her dogs and up until her passing, she loved and cared for her sweet dog, “Buddy.” Any animal fortunate enough to be loved by her was very lucky. Her grandkids would admire how she even cared for the crows who would come to the backyard. Arlene was very, very special to all of us. She left us rich with great memories and always had us laughing.

Arlene was preceded in death by her soulmate, Danny Bartley, and her parents Pete and Mary Fabbri. She is survived by her son Gary D. Bates, her daughter Sherie Walker, and her daughter in law, Lona Bates. Her stepdaughter, Nina Fike (Jimmy), and her stepsons, James Bartley, and Andrew Bartley Jr. Her grandchildren, Tricia Rogers (Nate), Travis Walker (Elizabeth), Matthew Bates (Cynthia), Maegan Bates Smith, along with her step grandchildren, Ryan Bisio, Gianni Bisio, Andrew Bartley, and Michael Bartley. Her great-grandchildren, Natalie and Nathan Rogers Jr., Bailey Walker, Natalie Bates, Joseph Bates, and Hanna Smith. She is also survived by friend and father of her children, Gary Bates and his wife Betty.

In honoring Arlene’s wishes, there will be no services.

###

We lost our beloved Phillip “Phil” Lee Silva on December 22, 2020. He passed away in Roseville after a 10-year courageous battle to fight cancer.

Phillip was born to Maurice and Betty Silva of Ferndale. He attended school in Ferndale, graduated from Ferndale Union High School and was proud to be a wildcat. Phillip was very active in sports throughout his younger years including football and baseball. He had a natural feel for baseball and it showed as he was named All-County two years in a row. He remained an avid Giants fan.

Phillip spent his summer breaks helping with the family milk truck business, changing irrigation pipes, and hauling hay, back when the bales were picked up and loaded by hand. The season always ended with friends at the county fair.

Upon graduating from high school, Phillip worked at Humboldt Creamery and then moved to Rocklin to take a job with Crystal Creamery. He then went on to work for Foster Farms and lastly Organic Valley.

Phillip had a work ethic to be admired. He learned the creamery business from the ground up. It was sales that he loved most. His ability to easily connect with people earned the trust of many and won him numerous awards for his salesmanship. He was a man who was true to his word.

Phillip loved that outdoors. Surf fishing with family as a kid and later lake fishing. Scuba diving in Fort Bragg, and camping with family and friends. His other favorite past time was attending sports games, especially if the Kansas City Chiefs or 49ers were playing.

He was very proud of his Portuguese heritage coming home to attend celebrations or attending out of the area. Fond memories were made learning to make sausage with his dad and the crew.

Phillip had a big heart and anyone who met him formed an instant bond. He would do anything for anybody, anytime, anywhere. Phillip left us with many great stories and memories that will be everlasting. He will be remembered for his generous spirit, irresistible smile, and strong faith.

Phillip was preceded in death by his father, Maurice Silva, and his grandparents John and Frances Silva, and Harold and Marie Cooper as well as numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He is survived by his mother Betty Silva, brothers Randy, Kevin and Brian Silva, and nephew Evan Silva along with several aunts, uncles and cousins. And his dog “Good Medicine Molly”, his faithful companion.

Graveside services will be held on Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 2 p.m. at the Ferndale Cemetery located on Bluff Street followed by a celebration of life at the City Hall at 3 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in memory of Phillip to the Eel Valley Portuguese Hall Association P.O. Box 254, Ferndale, CA 95536.