Press release from Redwood National and State Parks:
Park rangers at Redwood National and State Parks are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying suspected thieves. On March 8, 2021, at about 3 p.m., a park visitor contacted Redwood National and State Parks regarding a theft that had just occurred at the Big Tree parking area in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Park Rangers began an investigation.
According to the victims, they left their car for the short walk to the Big Tree and returned to their car to find it burglarized. Multiple items valued over $2,000, along with a wallet and credit cards, had been stolen. Within a short time of the theft the suspects used the credit cards at numerous local stores to purchase clothing and electronics and to withdraw cash. Park rangers were able to obtain images from some of these stores of a female and two male suspects along with their vehicle.
The female suspect is described as white or Hispanic, 20 to 30 years old, with long straight black or brown hair, wearing maroon hooded sweatshirt. One of the male suspects is described as white with short brown hair, 20 to 30 years old, wearing a black hat with a white Fox logo, black hooded sweatshirt, a white tee shirt with a black Nike logo, and faded blue jeans. The second male is described as white, with short black hair, 20 to 30 years old, wearing a black sweatshirt with a light-colored Under Armor logo on the front, and dark pants. The vehicle they are driving is a gold 2005-2010 model Dodge Ram 1500 quad cab with chrome wheels and metal side steps.
Anyone with information regarding the identity of these suspects or related criminal activity should contact Ranger Emily Christian at 707-465-7346.
Anyone with information regarding any other criminal activity within the parks is urged to contact the park’s anonymous tip line at: 707-465-7353.
UPDATE, 3/22: Voting has CLOSED. Congratulations to Bernadette Vielbig who somehow managed to win a $250 shopping spree by walking for five seconds. That’s the Humboldt spirit!
Again, thank you to Timber Boutique and Sage Eureka for their prize contribution!
See you next contest!
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Original Post: Is Humboldt ready for another frivolous LoCO contest? Too bad! We’re doing this anyways!
After y’all overwhelmed us here at the Outpost with your mostly wonderful entries for last month’s successful SINGING IN SOLITUDE contest, we thought, this time out, we’d turn our focus from music to another realm of human expression Humboldt excels in: FASHION. Specifically, we are dying to know how you’ve kept your look fresh during this last year of not venturing out of your abodes. What’s that? You’re going on your twelfth pantsless month? Well, that may actually play to your favor, here.
Today, LoCO is announcing yet another opportunity for you to demand your community’s attention: HUMBOLDT COVID FASHION WEEK! This is a chance for YOU, the listless, ungroomed, responsibly sheltered citizen, to strut the pandemic style you’ve been rocking on your couch these past crap months in the hopes of winning prizes! Masks aren’t required, but why rob yourself of another opportunity to accessorize?
What can you score for your confidence? It’s a good one. Our first place winner will take home a $250 gift certificate to either Timber Boutique or Sage Clothing in Eureka’s spacious Old Town. The world will open up again someday and you’re going to want to look better than you do in the video you’re going to submit for this thing, right? This could help a lot.
This could/should be you. Come as you are, Humboldt.
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Details! Here’s how this silly thing is going to go down:
Record an under-two-minute video of yourself (and your fellow pod members, possibly) walking your home runway decked out in your finest “I’ve given up!” wear. However you’ve been dressing in the privacy of your home this last year, you sell that look, OK? (We won’t know if you’re fibbin’, we will add.) Should there be music in my video? Uh, yes. Definitely. Should colorful, flashing lights enhance the scene? Wow, you’ve got those? Cool. Go for it. Can I rage dance so powerfully that I will magically inoculate myself against coronavirus? Hey, you can try! (But you should still get vaccinated, if you haven’t.)
At noon on Monday, March 15, LoCO will launch the official HUMBOLDT COVID FASHION WEEK post on our Facebook page which we will link to on this page, right here, to make it easy to find.
Upload your fabulous video to the comment section of that Facebook post. One entry per fashionista.
At that point you can either wait for Humboldt to be dazzled by your shut-in energy, or you can rally your associates to throw you a “like,” a “heart” or a “wow.”
At noon on Monday, March 22, the show is over and the Facebook reactions will be tallied. (We will weigh “like”s, “heart”s, “wow”s, etc. equally, in this instance.) Humboldt’s COVID Fashion Champion will be declared and they will have themselves a nice little shopping spree. The populace will rejoice along with them.
Hope that’s clear. Get creative, but just know LoCO reserves the right to disqualify videos that don’t in some way embody the spirit of what we’re trying to do here, wiseguys. In short, be amazing.
Now, a few more disclaimers — we’re just going to poach some copy from our last contest:
Comfy winning!
A note to the people who will inevitably try to game the system: LoCO is watching you. Your attempts to pad your like count by logging into your various business/artist/political campaign pages will earn you LoCO’s scorn. Don’t. Rallying your crew is fine. Show us how popular you are.
And now a message to the voters: Can I like multiple video entries? Hey, there’s no way LoCO can stop you from doing that, but every extra vote you make dilutes your other votes. Do what thou wilt.
And finally, to the people who will find some aspect of this contest to complain about: Throw your own contest, you grump. We’re spreadin’ joy over here.
That about does it! To reiterate: Show Humboldt your quasi-fashionable, undefeated spirit —> win some new duds. Easy peasy. You can work on your homemade fashion show video tonight. Entertain us!
Did you know salmon need cold water to live? My name is Holly Cox and I’m a 4th grader at Freshwater School. I live in Eureka, CA and care about salmon and watersheds. I strongly believe everyone should plant trees to help the watersheds.
One reason is that trees provide a healthy river for salmon. For example, salmon need cold water and trees give shade to make water colder.
Another reason is that trees and other plants help make the water clean. Let me explain in more detail. Trees hold back the dirt and plants make water cleaner by being filters.
In my opinion we should plant trees to help the watersheds. Remember, by planting trees, you could save a watershed.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On March 10, 2021, at about 9:31 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a motel in Orick for the report of a disturbance that had just occurred, with the suspect fleeing the location in a vehicle.
While responding to the incident location, deputies located the suspect’s vehicle parked along Highway 101 near Freshwater Lagoon. Deputies detained the suspect, 32-year-old Cory Marcus Orsenico, while additional deputies contacted the 43-year-old male victim at the incident location.
Upon contacting the victim and nearby witnesses, deputies learned that Orsenico reportedly entered the victim’s motel room uninvited, brandished a knife at the victim and threatened to stab him. Orsenico then exited the room and reportedly vandalized the victim’s vehicle prior to fleeing the area.
Orsenico was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm (PC 417(a)(1)), criminal threats (PC 422), probation violation (PC 1203.2(a)) and vandalism (PC 594(b)(1)).
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.
California today is expected to hit a benchmark of delivering 2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to underserved communities, triggering a big change that will transform the state’s reopening map from purple to mostly red.
Reaching the milestone sets into motion less stringent statewide standards for when counties can allow indoor activities, such as dining in restaurants and working out in gyms. In some counties, that means those activities, with limitations, will be allowed for the first time since August.
Last week state officials announced that they would relax the COVID-19 case rate needed for counties to move from the most restrictive purple tier to the red tier. Instead of 7 cases per 100,000 residents, the red tier will allow 10 cases per 100,000 residents. This clears the way for counties to allow restaurants, gyms, museums, movie theaters and other businesses to reopen indoors at limited capacity.
The easing of the standards hinges on first administering the 2 million vaccinations in ZIP codes that are considered disadvantaged, based on a set of metrics called the Healthy Places Index that include income, housing, health care and air pollution.
State officials on Thursday were inching toward that 2 million goal, reaching 1,971,784 by late afternoon. The trigger point is likely to be reached sometime today.
So what does all this mean? What can reopen and when?
Where did those 2 million doses go?
Some of the neighborhoods that became eligible for increased vaccine supply were also infection hotspots, like East Los Angeles, South Gate, North Highlands in Sacramento and North Richmond.
Most of the ZIP codes that were prioritized are in Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire and the Central Valley. Fewer in Northern California made the list because their rankings on the Healthy Places Index were above the state average.
For instance, the Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland and San Francisco’s Tenderloin district were included, but absent are others that also are infection hotspots, such as East San Jose.
Overall, of the 11 million vaccinations administered in the state, 18.2% have been given in ZIP codes in the bottom, least healthy quarter of the Healthy Place Index. Meanwhile 31.2% of the state’s doses were administered in the top, healthiest quarter.
What happens when we hit that 2 million mark?
It’s complicated, of course! Perhaps a dozen counties will move to fewer restrictions on businesses. The timing, however, varies. Some counties could move as soon as Monday.
As of Thursday, 34 counties — home to 80% of the population — were in the purple tier. Another 20, accounting for about 20% of the population, were in red. Three were in orange, and one, Alpine, was in yellow.
A Los Angeles Times analysis estimated that the new thresholds could ease the way for 12 counties — 45% of the state’s population — to move out of the purple tier as early as this weekend. That includes Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.
Los Angeles County health officials said Thursday that they expect to be moved to the less-restrictive red tier sometime between Monday and Wednesday.
Counties have to meet the state’s new caseload targets for two weeks. But since some counties, like Los Angeles, have already met them for some time, they can move to the red tier sooner.
In addition, counties also must meet a certain threshold for percentage of positive tests and a “health equity metric” that includes showing that positive tests in underserved neighborhoods aren’t significantly higher than the rest of the county.
So what exactly can reopen when they move into the red tier?
Moving to the red tier means the return of indoor dining, museums and movie theaters at 25% capacity. Gyms (including fitness centers at hotels) can reopen at 10% capacity.
Places that already allowed for some indoor activity, like shopping malls, will be allowed to increase capacity from 25% to 50%. See the full list here.
This is big news for businesses in counties, particularly in Southern California, that have never left the purple tier since the state unveiled its Blueprint for a Safer Economy in late August.
The state also announced on Thursday that breweries and distilleries may open outdoors with some limitations when their county is in purple or red, starting Saturday. Bars, on the other hand, will remain closed in the red tier, but can begin operating outdoors once their county falls in the orange tier.
From left, Sreyan Ghosh, Namrata Kannan and Ketki Jadhav place their order at restaurant West of Pecos in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco on March 7, 2021. San Francisco restaurants were permitted to re-open for indoor dining earlier in the week. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, Calmatters.
Moving to the red tier is also a step toward reopening schools. While elementary schools could technically reopen in the purple tier, the red tier allows school districts to bring back middle and high school students, although that also hinges on local negotiations between teacher unions and school districts.
Still, the decisions are left to the counties. Counties are allowed to have more stringent measures for businesses, but not looser rules.
What does this mean for COVID-19 testing?What does this mean for COVID-19 testing?
As counties continue to test, they’re likely to find more people who are infected with the virus. Since their ability to reopen hinges on reducing the number of infections below a certain threshold, state officials are concerned that could prompt counties to test less.
Testing already has dropped since mid-January in California, mirroring a nation-wide slump. John Swartzberg, an infectious disease specialist and clinical professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, said it’s critical to continue testing.
“It’s clear that we’re not testing enough,” Swartzberg said. “It’s going to give us a more accurate look as to where we are.”
That’s why the state is shaving some infection cases off the total for counties that have high rates of testing, making it easier for them to dip beneath the key reopening thresholds.
Do experts think the state is reopening too soon?
Feelings are mixed on this. Experts applaud the focus on accelerating vaccinations in hard-hit communities but disagree about the impact of relaxing restrictions.
UC Berkeley’s Swartzberg cautioned against moving too quickly before more vaccines are in arms.
“We’ve been making the same mistake consistently throughout this pandemic,” he said. “We open up too soon.”
But George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, said California is in a better position to prevent a surge now with better monitoring and more immunity.
“We have quite a bit more cushion than we had in September and October when we tried to reopen after the summer surge,” he said. “I think the pace is okay.”
Can counties move backward if infections start to go up again?
Yes. Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s health secretary, said that these adjustments mark the state’s entry into a new normal, but warned the state will continue “to keep [its] foot on the brake, not the gas.”
Despite the easing of the standards, he said the state still has some of the strongest public health protections in the country. “Counties, if case rates do drift up, will potentially move back into the purple tier with additional restrictions,” he said.
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CalMatters COVID-19 coverage, translation and distribution is supported by generous grants from the Blue Shield of California Foundation, the California Wellness Foundation and the California Health Care Foundation.
CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
We reported that Court Administrative Officer Kim Bartleson disagrees with Public Health Director Michele Stephens, who has held close to those state guidelines by refusing to move court staff higher on the vaccine priority list.
Since that story was published, the Outpost has received emails through a California Public Records Act request that show Stephens has also been pressured by Joyce D. Hinrichs, the presiding judge of the Humboldt County Superior Court.
In an email sent Tuesday, Hinrichs told Stephens she believes court staff and their justice partners should be moved up in line:
I know the issue of vaccination priority is challenging without clear guidance from the State Public Health.
Although some of our staff has been vaccinated, I continue to believe that any Court Staff that have not been
vaccinated and our justice partners should be designated to be in Tier 1B for vaccination priority at the
earliest possible time. Both Los Angeles and San Diego—the two largest judicial systems in the state—have
prioritized Court staff and justice partners and are getting vaccinations now.
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Stephens responded less than a half hour later, disputing the notion that the state has been unclear in its guidance and expressing disappointment that court staff is trying to jump ahead of seniors and people employed in the food and agricultural sector. Here’s that email in full:
Thank you, Joyce. We have discussed with the state several times over the last couple months as well as my
colleagues across other counties and the consistent answer from the state and those colleagues is the courts are
not in Tier 1B. So I do feel we have clear guidance from the state.
LA county and San Diego county choosing to
include courts was their decision as I understand it. And for LA, with outbreaks and a large, astronomical court
system I can see why they did. However, for us, the only thing we’ve done different [from] the state guidance was to
delay opening to 65+ in order to prioritize k-12 educators and support staff so more kids could get back in school.
We have yet to open to 65-69, and epidemiologically, it’s elder people in our community that are getting severe
disease or dying. So that must be our priority, which is still in line with the state’s tier system.
We also have a huge
sector, Food and Ag to open to, and arguably, from an equity perspective, they need the vaccine asap. These are
grocery store workers, farm workers, fisheries, creameries, restaurant workers, and others. There have been
significant cases locally in this sector. There have not been in our courts.
Honestly, I am really disappointed that the Courts went around and circumvented the process. It has created a
divide because the others that were not in that group know what happened and you may be aware, it’s now a buzz
in the media with at least one story likely to be done on it. It just doesn’t look good.
We are doing our best to
continue to be consistent, follow the state’s guidelines and approach vaccination with an equity lens. If or when the
state changes that and courts are included we will absolutely get those folks to vaccine appointments.
Michele Stephens, LCSW
DHHS Assistant Director
Public Health Director
Personal Pronouns: She/Her/Hers (What is this?)
529 I Street, Eureka, CA 95501
Herman Jackson Grooms passed away peacefully on March 7, 2021, at his home in McKinleyville after a long battle with cancer with his loving wife Verna by his side. Herman had a deep abiding faith in Jesus throughout his life. Herman was also known to his family and friends as “Buddy.”
Herman was born on December 16, 1929, to Floyd and Annie Belle Grooms in Bulloch County, Georgia, and remained in Bulloch County until graduating from Stilson High School in 1946.
After graduation Herman, so proud to serve his country, served two tours in the armed forces. Stationed in Astoria, Oregon, he met and fell in love with his dear wife of 70 years, Verna Byers Grooms. Herman and Verna were married on June 9, 1951, and were blessed with four children, three boys, and a girl.
Herman came west from Georgia in the early 1950s and became a logging contractor. He logged with his family until venturing out on his own and started Grooms Logging. His work ranged from Garberville, Klamath River, and Willowcreek.
Herman was preceded in death by his parents, brother Waldo Grooms, Sister Mattie “Mickie” Grooms Masopust, and his son Roger Herman Grooms.
He is survived by and will be greatly missed by his wife Verna Byers Grooms, sons Jack Grooms (Cheryl), Paul Grooms (Debbie), daughter Carol Grooms Eastman (Mike). His sisters of Stilson, Georgia Mollie Bryant and Annette Stokes (Bruce). Fourteen grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-granddaughter.
A graveside service will be held Saturday, March 13, and a private celebration of his life will follow.
The family would like to thank the many caregivers at Granada who took wonderful care of Herman and were so kind to him. We would also like to thank the caregivers, chaplains, social workers, RN’s who also gave excellent care and direction to our family from Hospice. Special thanks to George, Stephanie, and Deanna from the Humboldt Caregivers.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Herman Grooms’ loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
