Before you throw away that half-eaten sandwich, you’ll want to listen to this week’s EcoNews Report. Every year, Humboldt County sends thousands of pounds of organic waste to our out-of-state landfill. In the oxygenless (anaerobic) landfill environment, organic matter breaks down into greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane.

Luckily, there’s an easy solution: waste less in the first place. But by taking on food waste, we can not only reduce greenhouse gas production at our landfills, but we can also take a bite out of local food insecurity. Maggie Gainer from Zero Waste Humboldt joins Gang Green to talk about how Humboldt can (and must) do a better job diverting organic waste from the waste stream.

AUDIO:

“The EcoNews Report,” March 6, 2021.

REQUIRED READING:

• CalRecycle
• Food for People
• Humboldt Waste Management Authority

To submit a locally-filmed (or produced) video, upload it to YouTube and email the link to News@LostCoastOutpost.com with your name, a brief description of your work and “TRL” in the subject line. Please do not submit videos containing any form of violence, racism, illegal activity, pornographic material, bullying or harassment. Also, no advertisements or duplicated submissions please.

“Cities in Dust” - Siouxsie and The Banshees (grunge cover by Charlie Ritchie):

Eurekan Charlie Ritchie is excited to share her cover/music video for “Cities in Dust” by Siouxsie and The Banshees.

“I’ve been learning to record music, so I decided to record some cover songs to get used to the studio and the software,” she said. “Then I decided ‘what the heck’ and filmed myself doing all the parts.”

“Misfit” - Iron Rain:

Local band Iron Rain has been around since 1996 but they just started producing music videos last year.

“Trip on my Tongue” - Huddyglo Feat. Red Two Six:

Hudson Glover is a Eureka-based artist known for his psychedelic films and music videos.

###

Californians holding out hope for spring baseball games, summer trips to Disneyland and concerts in the park are in luck. State officials today announced that outdoor sports and live performance venues, as well as amusement parks, will be allowed to begin reopening on April 1 — with restrictions.

That is, if counties proceed through the state’s four-stage, color-coded reopening tiers as hoped with increasing vaccination rates and declining COVID-19 infections. And if would-be outdoor audience members are quick on the draw, since strict capacity limits and reservation requirements will be in effect.

“We feel like this is a good time to begin to provide additional visibility into how we can move forward opening parts of the economy,” said Dee Dee Myers, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top economic adviser, during a press conference. “This gives some of those bigger employers a chance to ramp up, to get ready for April 1.”

For Disneyland and other popular attractions to start reopening next month, they’ll need to make it into the state’s second-most-restrictive red tier. The state made that slightly easier to achieve this week, when they eased requirements for counties to advance out of the strictest purple tier after vaccinations in low-income neighborhoods hit levels the state is expected to reach in about two weeks.

With the new changes announced today, outdoor events will be limited to 100 people or less in the purple tier, 20% capacity with reserved seating and no concessions in the red tier, 33% capacity in the orange tier and 67% capacity in the yellow tier. Amusement parks will be permitted to operate at 15% capacity in the red tier, 25% in orange and 35% in yellow. Attendance at these expanded outdoor activities will be limited to in-state visitors.

As vaccination and infection rates change in the coming weeks, Myers said the state will consider how to adapt “much more difficult” guidance for indoor businesses. Officials are also evaluating ways for employers to help get their workers vaccinated.

###

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

###

PREVIOUSLY:

• Correctional Deputy Arrested for Smuggling Drugs Into Jail Following Month-Long Investigation

###

From the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

Throughout the month of February, Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) Agents received information from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office regarding the smuggling of contraband into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility (HCCF). Throughout the investigation, Agents identified Ricardo Tranquilino Aguirre, 27, of Eureka as the involved correctional deputy.

HCDTF Agents were able to identify HCCF inmate, Caleb Weston Hoffarth, 25, of Eureka, as the inmate responsible for receiving the controlled substances and other contraband that Aguirre was bringing into the HCCF. Caleb HOFFARTH was booked at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility in November of 2020 for the following charges:

• VC12500(a) Driving without a License

• VC2800.2 Evading a Peace Officer

Outstanding Bench Warrants for:

• PC3455(a) PRCS Revocation

• HS11352(a) Transportation/Sale of a Controlled Substance

• VC12500(a) Driving without a License

HOFFARTH had recently been sentenced to serve six years in state prison for the above charges and was awaiting transport to a California Department of Corrections facility.

The following charge will be requested for HOFFARTH’s involvement in this case:

• PC182(a)(1) Conspiracy to Commit a Crime

Through their investigation, Agents discovered that HOFFARTH was communicating with Selina Chavez-Robles, 25, of Fortuna. CHAVEZ-ROBLES would facilitate the order of contraband and controlled substances placed by HOFFARTH. CHAVEZ-ROBLES would ensure the order was received by AGUIRRE who would then transport the contraband and controlled substances into the HCCF and deliver them to HOFFARTH.

In the early morning hours of March 5 th , 2021, HCDTF Agents, with the assistance of the Fortuna Police Department, detained Selina CHAVEZ-ROBLES. CHAVEZ-ROBLES was arrested and booked at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for PC182(a)(1) - Conspiracy to Commit a Crime - for her involvement in the case.

This investigation is currently ongoing. If other co-conspirators are identified, they will be arrested. 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.

Press release from the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office:

Jesse Shenk. | Photo courtesy DNSO)

The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of World Wide Predator Hunters (WWPH), has made two arrests involving soliciting underage children with the intent to commit sexual acts. 

World Wide Predator Hunters is a volunteer organization that uses adults who pose as underage decoys. In both incidents the suspects initiated contact with the decoy, who was posing as a 14 year old. The decoy made it very clear within the initial contact that they were 14. Within in minutes the subjects turn the conversation sexual in nature, asking very explicit sexual questions. As the conversations progressed the subjects describe the lewd sexual acts they want to perform on the 14 year old. 

One suspect, identified as Conner Arellano (25 years old), initiated contact with the decoy on 2/9/21. The decoy advised that they were a 14 year old female. Arellano turned the conversation sexual within 24 hours. He arranged to meet the “child” on 2/14/21 but backed out. On 2/15/21 Arellano arranged to meet again near Pebble Beach in Del Norte County and showed up. DNSO Investigators observed Arellano drive to the designated turnout. They were able to detain Arellano and he was arrested without incident. He was booked into the Del Norte County Jail on the following charges:

• 288.3 PC, Contact with a Minor with Intent to Commit a Sexual Act,
• 288.4 PC, Arrange a Meeting with a Minor for Sexual Purposes and
• 664/288 PC, Attempted Lewd and Lascivious Acts with a minor.

The Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office was also conducting an additional investigation that was initiated on 1/22/21. Jesse Shenk (31 years old) made arrangements to travel to Del Norte County from the City of Arcata to pick up a 14 year old (decoy) twice, but due to weather was unable to come. The suspect expressed being very apprehensive about traveling to Del Norte County. He even sent the decoy a link to an article detailing a previous, similar investigation conducted by the DNSO.

On Thursday, 2/25/21, Shenk traveled to Klamath, CA. Investigators believe he intended to transport whom he believed to be a 14-year-old child to his residence in Arcata to perform sexual acts. Those acts included sharing graphic pornographic photos of himself, oral copulation, sexual intercourse, as well as sodomy. An arrest warrant was issued and Del Norte County Sheriff’s Investigators with help from the Arcata Police Department’s Detective Unit served the arrest and search warrant on Shenk, on 3/4/21. Shenk was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Humboldt County jail to be transported to the Del Norte County Jail to be booked on the following charges:

• 311.2 PC, production, distribution of obscene matter,
• 313.1(a) PC, distribution and exhibition of harmful matter to a minor,
• 288.3 (a) PC, contact or communicate with a minor with intent to commit specified offenses,
• 288.4(a)(1) PC, arrangement of meeting with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd acts,
• 664/288(a) attempted lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years of age,
• 664/287, attempted oral copulation and
• 664/286 attempted sodomy.

Sheriff Apperson said “As disturbing as the details surrounding these arrests are, there are some very positive takeaways. With the help of World Wide Predator Hunters our team was able to investigate and arrest these predators before they victimized someone. We may never know how long they have been up to this sort of activity but this investigation puts them on our radar. I also appreciate the reputation we are building for being an unsafe place for people attempting to carry out this sort of criminal behavior. Ultimately, one of the suspects committed the crime but did not want to come to Del Norte County based on recent and similar arrests. In response, we came to him. I am proud of the effort demonstrated by our DNSO team and thankful for the agencies that assisted us. I am also grateful for the ongoing support from our Del Norte District Attorney’s Office. My hope is that these predators continue to think twice before targeting people in Del Norte. And as always, all suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. They have a right to bail, just like anyone else.”

###

You’ve heard of those weird laws that are still on the books, even though they’ve become obsolete. For example, in Eureka you are not allowed to keep more than 100 homing pigeons and, according to the City of Eureka’s current animal ordinance, when you let your pigeons out for exercise or racing, it cannot be “within 25 feet of any door or window of a habitable room of a dwelling.”

It seems that racing homing pigeons has largely gone out of style since the ordinance was drafted 62 years ago, and a few other things have also changed when it comes to what types of animals we keep and how we care for them. This is why Eureka City staff has been working to update the ordinance, making it more applicable to the present day. 

“We have different expectations when it comes to the quality of life now,” Eureka Police Department Captain Brian Stephens told the Outpost on Thursday. “How we see our pets has changed dramatically since the ‘50s. We have to be progressive to make sure we have the tools to address issues and make sure our city stays safe.”

The EPD Animal Control Department and other city staff have been in the process of updating the ordinance for about five years — conducting research, consulting with experts and rewriting the text multiple times, Stephens said. After the City released a draft animal ordinance in 2019 that was met with a lot of public concern, staff made a few amendments and Stephens feels that the latest draft is something that can benefit the residents — both human and animalian — of Eureka.

So, what exactly would the ordinance do? Well, in addition to taking out some antiquated sections about homing pigeons and city dairies, the updated ordinance includes a lot more specifications on what kinds and how many animals you can keep.

For example, the ordinance would permit residents to keep one miniature pig and up to two miniature goats (you’d be allowed more if they’re baby piglets and/or goats under four weeks old). The ordinance still forbids keeping full-size pigs or goats within city limits, as well as their hooved friends: sheep, deer, elk, alpacas and llamas.

Similarly to the 2019 version — the ordinance  would prohibit the ownership of more than three dogs (excluding puppies under four months), unless you obtain a special license. But instead of requiring a kennel license, you would be required to obtain a  “Dog Fancier” license from the City, whereas owners of more than three cats would need to obtain a “Cat Fancier” license.

The ordinance would also prohibit residents from keeping more than six animals total of any combination of dogs, cats, miniature pigs and miniature goats. So, if you were to own, say, four dogs (with your “dog fancier” license) you could only have two cats, mini goats or pigs.

Some other restrictions include a limit of 10 lizards, snakes, insects and small rodents — such as guinea pigs, rats and mice. You could keep up to 20 rabbits on any property smaller than 5,000 square feet and up to 30 on properties larger than 5,000 square feet. There is no specified number for horses, but you could not keep one (understandably) on any property smaller than 11,000 square feet.

As for poultry — including pigeons, chickens, ducks, geese — you would be limited to 10 on a property up to 5,000 square feet and 20 on larger properties. This is excluding racing-homing pigeons, according to the ordinance. So whether or not you can still keep 100 of those is a little unclear.

Though some of this may sound surprisingly restrictive, Stephens wanted to assure the public that exceptions can be made through special variances granted by the city. If someone believes the restrictions are unreasonable, they can request a hearing from the City Manager, the ordinance states.

The ordinance states that violators would have 30 days to remove the “excess or prohibited Animals from the premises” after which point the city could fine them or have the authority to seize the animal(s), but Stephens also said that the ordinance is not necessarily meant to be punitive and that the City would focus on guiding folks through the necessary processes to allow them to safely keep their pets.

“We want to provide the avenues for people to legally care for these animals,”  Stephens told the Outpost. “I’m getting so many questions about seizing dogs, if you have more than three dogs. We won’t be seizing dogs.”  This is, of course, with the exception of nuisance animals or negligent owners, Stephens added. If you are keeping animals in unsanitary conditions — also strictly forbidden by the ordinance — if the animal or its home are deemed a public safety hazard, the City will take necessary action.

Of course, the restrictions are not yet finalized and amendments will be made before the ordinance comes before the Eureka City Council for adoption. Stephens strongly encourages those with concerns to attend the city’s public workshop on Tuesday. Stephens said he has already received over a dozen emails about the ordinance and the City has made some adjustments, which will be discussed during Tuesday’s workshop. After the workshop, staff will make more necessary changes and the draft ordinance should go before the City Council in April, Stephens said.

The City of Eureka will hold the public workshop on the draft Animal Ordinance on Tuesday, March 9 at 5:00 p.m. You can find the zoom link and directions on how to participate here.

You can view the updated ordinance here.

###

PREVIOUSLY:

• Updated Eureka Pet Ordinance Would Limit Residents to Three Cats or Dogs, One Potbelly Pig or Two Mini Goats, Among Other Changes
• Eureka Decides to Host Workshop to Hear Public Concerns Over Proposed New Pet Ordinance
• EUREKANS WITH PETS: Get Ready and Get Involved, Because the City Will Be Updating Its Pet Ordinance Soon

Longtime local beer drinkers are sure to be familiar with Red Nectar Ale, the at-one-time locally produced flagship brand of Humboldt Brewing Company that has passed through the hands of a few corporations and brewers since the rights to both the beer and brewery names were sold off, back in 2005. Well, thanks to a COVID-era deal inked by HumBrews owner Andy Ardell and his brother David, both Red Nectar and the Humboldt Brewing Company moniker have come homeboldt. Raise a glass, y’all.     

“Yeah, it just kind of stumbled upon us,” Ardell told the Outpost. “I caught wind of it all being for sale and I thought, let’s bring it back to Humboldt and Arcata.”

Humboldt won’t have to wait long to taste the fruit of the Ardell brothers’ efforts to reclaim its legacy. The first batch of the new Red Nectar Ale is already being produced at Six Rivers Brewery McKinleyville by seasoned brewer Carlos Sanchez, who just so happens to be one of the people who brewed the beer for Humboldt Brewing Company three decades ago, on the same equipment he still uses today. 

“To be able to bring it back to Humboldt is special,” said Ardell, who has owned HumBrews restaurant in Arcata for the past 17 years. “I’ve been telling people I know who know about Red Nectar, who are like, ‘Oh my God!’”

The saga of how “Humboldt Brewing Company” and its beers slipped out of local control is somewhat complex. Originally founded in 1987 by brothers Vince and (former Oakland Raider) Mario Celotto in Arcata — in the same building HumBrews occupies now — Humboldt Brewing Company was the county’s largest brewery at its peak in the early ‘90s. Appropriately, the brewery was one of the first in the country to brew with hemp, and HBC’s Hemp Ale would go on to win a gold medal at the California State Fair.

But eventually the small-town success story would get complicated. In 2005, craft brewing giant Firestone Walker — who’d already been assisting Humboldt Brewing Company with its increased demand for Red Nectar Ale by brewing the beer at its larger facilities in Paso Robles — bought HBC outright, in the process dropping the “Humboldt” name in favor of “Red Nectar Ales.”

Fast forward to 2012 when a South Carolina company named Total Beverage Solutions purchased Nectar Ales and decided to change the name back to Humboldt Brewing Company, a move that caught Ardell, who at that point owned the similarly named HumBrews in Arcata, off guard. After fielding a few confusing media inquiries wondering about the deal, Ardell contacted Total Beverage Solutions to see what was up.

“I called them and said, ‘What are you guys doing?’” Ardell recalled. “And they said, ‘Well, we changed the name back to Humboldt Brewing Company.’ And I’m like, well, you’re not the Humboldt Brewing Company.”

But Total Beverage Solutions’ Humboldt-washing plan proceeded. They did brew the Humboldt-branded beer in California — both Mendocino Brewing Company and Lost Coast Brewery even produced the stuff for periods — but in 2019 “Humboldt Brewing Company” was again up for sale at which point the Ardell brothers scooped it up. 

“The goal was to bring the beer back to Humboldt where it originated and belongs,” Ardell said. “The [Humboldt Brewing Company] offices now reside at HumBrews, which is the exact location where it started over 30 years ago.”

And so, all is right in the world. Humboldt Brewing Company is Humboldt again. In the next few weeks Humboldt-brewed Red Nectar Ale is slated to flow from the taps of four local establishments — Humboldt Brews (of course), Six Rivers Brewery, The Madrone and The Local Cider Bar. In the coming months, the Ardell brothers plan to produce a second beer which harkens back to their brand’s previous successes — they’re calling it “Smoky Hazy Hemp IPA.” Maybe look for it when you feel brave enough to go out again.