PREVIOUSLY:

• With Apparent Backing From Danco, Community Group to Propose New Charter High School in Samoa at Special NoHum School Board Meeting Tonight
• Teachers, Students Raise Concerns About Proposed Samoa Charter High School at School Board Meeting

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The Northern Humboldt Union High School District administration has recommended that their board deny a charter petition from the Samoa Beach Academy, a career and technical education (CTE) focused school that hopes to open this fall. In a document citing over a dozen logistical, fiscal and educational concerns, NoHum’s district staff deem the charter’s proposal a “subpar alternative to better CTE programs” available at other local schools.

The charter petition was submitted to NoHum’s administration in November by Catherine Scott, who formerly was superintendent of the Southern Humboldt Unified School District. The proposed institution would start by enrolling 150 students, but hope to eventually serve 400, and would offer three CTE pathways: building and construction trades, health and science medical technology, and business and finance. In their petition, SBA’s leaders claim there is a “strong community need” for workforce-ready high school graduates locally, and tout the natural and industrial resources Samoa would bring to their students’ education.

In January, Scott and her fellow petitioners presented plans for the charter during a special board meeting, and the public was invited to comment. Though some appeared in support of the program, most comments came from students and faculty concerned about what a new 400-student high school would mean for enrollment and the existing CTE programs offered at NoHum’s schools.

With a host of sub concerns, there are three primary reasons district administrators have suggested that their board rejects the Samoa Beach Academy. After scouring the 300-plus page petition, Northern Humboldt’s staff has concluded that SBA’s educational program is “unsound,” that the petitioners are “unlikely to successfully implement the program,” and that the charter would “substantially undermine” existing “superior” programs. These reasons are in accordance with California’s legal grounds to disapprove a charter.

Staff anticipate that the charter would rely too heavily on online classes. The school’s proposed mathematics curriculum is an online program, and the report states that the description for this class “reads more like a sales pitch for a product, rather than a well-thought-out description of how students will benefit from an online math program.”

The district also predicts that students interested in Advanced Placement courses will have to take them online, citing SBA’s plan to do that if the number of students who sign up for AP classes is too low to fill a class.

Reliance on online curriculum will seep into the CTE programs, too, staff worries, arguing that SBA’s wages won’t attract the few local teachers who are credentialed in CTE. The district compared the proposed salary of an SBA CTE teacher to the average NoHum CTE teacher, finding a disparity of $44,183. The SBA petition noted that while they intend to hire their own teachers, they would turn to an online program in the event staffing is difficult.

“It seems highly likely that many students will have at least two online courses each grading period, which, in a six period day, is 33% of such students’ week,” the staff report states.

Petitioners said in their proposal that CTE pathways will be supported by local partnerships, but staff is doubtful that will be possible in the medical realm. “Medical CTE is an area that local districts have explored exhaustively, but it is simply not possible to recruit qualified CTE teachers in this area, as people with expertise in this field have many more lucrative options,” they wrote.

In that vein, the district has apprehensions that SBA will work with “novel industry partners” at all, noting that several of the partners SBA listed in their proposal have already committed to supporting CTE elsewhere in the county.

“Humboldt County schools have been careful not to overuse or over-extend the ‘asks’ we make upon our industry partners, and the LEAs [local educational agencies] work together collaboratively on this effort,” staff explained in the report. “We believe that the burdens this proposal places on existing partners will exhaust the resources for all LEAs, particularly given the reliance placed upon donations from such partners, and will lead to fatigue on the part of all the community’s CTE partners. This would be to the collective community’s detriment.”

Staff is skeptical about SBA’s plans for equipment as well, citing the petition’s failure to specifically identify funding for CTE materials. In correspondence regarding this concern between the district and charter, SBA’s leaders said that local business partnerships would help supply CTE workshops. In their document, the district wrote that “reliance on others’ goodwill and donations to run a school is not a path likely to lead to a successful school or CTE program.”

Beyond the CTE curriculum, the administration believes that staffing and finances toward special education are lacking. For the first year, SBA has budgeted for one resource teacher, who will teach an estimated 28 students, assuming SBA’s student demographics are proportional to the district’s. However, the district noted that “in our experience, the hands-on nature of learning and the application of knowledge that is a component of a CTE program attracts a disproportionate number of special education students.” SBA doesn’t plan to hire any student aides.

SBA outlined procedures that conflict with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which protects students with disabilities. Staff fears those policies will “invite litigation in addition to failing to meet students’ needs,” which would ultimately impact the district as well as the charter.

Red flags about finances popped up all over the petition, according to the staff report. In addition to “non-competitive” compensation, staff says the proposed budget “does not account for all expenses,” and identified that “some numbers are drawn from unknown sources and do not add up.” In order to stay afloat with the budget they’ve proposed, SBA would need to attract 400 students by their fifth year in operation, but staff has doubts they’ll be able to, claiming the charter’s offers are “inferior” to existing CTE programs.

The NoHum board will vote whether to approve or deny the charter at a special meeting on March 4. If the board approves it, NoHum will be responsible for the charter in terms of ensuring its legal compliance with special education laws.

A Loleta teen charged with killing three people Feb. 10 on the Bear River Rancheria has been charged with murder with special circumstances, meaning if convicted he would qualify for either the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole.

In the criminal complaint from the District Attorney’s Office, Mauricio Eduardo Sanchez-Johnson is charged with three counts of murder for the deaths of Nikki Dion Metcalf, Margarett Lee Moon and Moon’s daughter Shelly Moon, who is referred to in the complaint as Jane Doe.

Sanchez-Johnson also faces the special allegations of personally and intentionally discharging a firearm causing death or great bodily injury and personally using a handgun. The special circumstance in the case is having multiple victims.

Sanchez-Johnson was arrested the day after the killings in Tooele County, Utah, as he was driving east on Interstate 80. He remains in jail in Tooele and had his first court appearance today.

Attorney Andrea Sullivan, who is based in Lake County but handles many Humboldt cases, has been hired to represent the teen and has visited him in Utah. Sullivan said there have been “all sorts of inaccuracies and crazy rumors” on social media about the case. One false rumor she wanted to clear up was that Sanchez-Johnson and Shelly Moon, 16, were romantically involved. Sullivan said that is untrue.

“They were part of an extended family at the rancheria,” she said. “There was no romantic relationship.”

Both Sanchez-Johnson and Von Eric Keener, who was in the car with Sanchez-Johnson when he was arrested, have court hearings tomorrow before Third District Judge Dianna Gibson. Keener, 46, is the boyfriend of Sanchez-Johnson’s mother. The mother, Melissa Sanchez-Johnson, was following behind her son and boyfriend in another vehicle when they were stopped on I-80. She was taken into custody but released.

Sullivan said she has no information on when Sanchez-Johnson might be extradited to Humboldt County.

Humboldt Bay Fire press release:

On Christmas Eve night, while many of us were resting with holiday anticipation, the crew of Engine 8113 got the worst call a firefighter can get – report of unconscious infant, not breathing.

The call came in one minute past 11:00 p.m. on December 24, 2020, and the crew arrived at scene within 3 minutes of the initial dispatch. Engineer Brett Egbert, responsible for driving Engine 8113 to the incident, recalls having just studied that particular section of city maps that same day in a strange coincidence that felt “meant to be.”

Once inside, the crew found seven-month-old baby boy Phoenix lying on the ground pale, not breathing and without a pulse. The crew immediately began performing CPR, administering oxygen, and preparing the cardiac monitor, an advanced life support tool, for defibrillation. Moments thereafter, the monitor delivered its first shock to baby Phoenix’ heart. With no improvement in conditions after the first shock was administered, Fire Captain and Paramedic John Goodman began Advanced Life Support measures including the administration of life-saving medications on scene. All the while, Firefighter Logan Bongio and Engineer Egbert continued CPR, sustaining baby Phoenix’ heartbeat and breathing while he was unable to do so for himself.

Soon, City Ambulance of Eureka arrived and assisted with Advanced Life Support care before transporting baby Phoenix to the ambulance. Fire Captain/Paramedic Goodman and Firefighter Bongio stayed with Baby Phoenix, continuing to provide care while en route to the hospital. In total, baby Phoenix was defibrillated three times, and received four rounds of Advanced Life Support medications.

After arriving at the hospital, Fire Captain / Paramedic Goodman continued CPR with Emergency Department staff for approximately 5 minutes before, miraculously, baby Pheonix’ heart rate stabilized and he once again had a pulse. In a huge sigh of relief, baby Phoenix was handed over to hospital staff, who took over his care. Once the hospital confirmed baby Phoenix was stable, the crew of Engine 8113 left the hospital, and returned to their station- forever changed by the events of a Christmas Eve they would never forget.

This story is shared with the permission and enthusiasm of baby Phoenix’ family. We are happy to report that, after receiving specialized care for some time in San Francisco, baby Phoenix has returned home to his family in Eureka.

A Loleta man accused of murdering three people on the Bear River Rancheria was arraigned this morning in Tooelle, Utah, where he has been in jail since being arrested while driving east on Interstate 80.

Sanchez Johnson.

Today was the first court hearing for 18-year-old Mauricio Eduardo Sanchez-Johnson, who appeared before Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson. When the judge asked whether he had received a copy of the charges against him, Sanchez-Johnson responded “Yeah.”

“Would you like me to read the charges?”

“No, thank you.”

Because Sanchez-Johnson said he is unemployed, Gibson appointed a public defender to represent him and told him to call the attorney. His next hearing is tomorrow afternoon.

On Feb. 10 Sanchez-Johnson allegedly shot three people to death in a home on the rancheria: his friend 16-year-old Shelly Mae Autumn Moon, her mother Margarett Lee Moon, 40, and her mother’s fiance Nikki Dion Metcalf, also 40.

Sanchez-Johnson was arrested the following day near Tooele after officers used spike strips to stop his car on I-80. His passenger was 46-year-old Von Eric Keener, who is the boyfriend of Sanchez-Johnson’s mother. Keener is in the same detention center as Sanchez-Johnson.

This morning Sanchez-Johnson wore an orange and white striped uniform. His face was covered by a mask.

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PREVIOUSLY: 

• 18-Year-Old Bear River Homicide Suspect, Two Associates Taken Into Custody in Utah, Sheriff’s Office Says

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Press release from Providence St. Joseph:

CNN health analyst Amy Compton-Phillips, MD, President and Chief Clinical Officer, Providence, will be a featured guest at a live, virtual forum for the entire community, Thursday, February 25, at 6 p.m.

Dr. Compton-Phillips will be interviewed by Roberta Luskin-Hawk, MD, Chief Executive, Providence St. Joseph Hospital and Redwood Memorial Hospital, as the two discuss the science and safety behind the COVID-19 vaccines, their efficacy, the local COVID-19 response, and take questions from the community.

Hear the latest information from two prominent women in medicine; Dr. Compton-Phillips, who led treatment of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S., and Dr. Luskin-Hawk, an infectious disease physician and researcher who brought clinical trials to Humboldt County for the first drug approved (Remdesivir) to treat the virus.

“The Providence family of organizations has been responding to the COVID-19 crisis since admitting the first known US patient in January of last year,” said Compton-Phillips, MD. “The communities we serve in Humboldt County were among the earliest to experience the pandemic’s devastating toll. I’m excited about the recovery ahead, but in our marathon we’re at the base of heartbreak hill, not the peak.”

The 90-minute online event is sponsored by Women for Wellness, a philanthropic group of local women advancing the cause of quality health care at Providence St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial Hospitals.

Community members may participate by emailing Rebekah.Harmon@stjoe.org to RSVP, receive the event link, and submit questions in advance. Questions may also be entered through online chat during the event.

Amy Compton-Phillips, M.D., is an internationally respected health care executive, innovator, speaker and author serving as President and Chief Clinical Officer for Providence. She is responsible for improving health, care, and value outcomes delivered by the 51 hospitals, 800+ clinics, and 120,000 caregivers of the $25 billion health system. In January 2020, Dr. Compton-Phillips oversaw care at the hospital at which the first COVID positive patient was admitted in the U.S.

A CNN medical analyst, Dr. Compton-Phillips is a vocal advocate for equity and innovation in healthcare. She has been instrumental in Providence’s early adoption and scaling of technology including telehealth, data analytics and artificial intelligence solutions that are critical to the system’s pandemic response and the future of healthcare.

Roberta Luskin-Hawk, M.D., serves as Chief Executive, Providence — St. Joseph and Redwood Memorial Hospitals. Prior to her current role, Dr. Luskin-Hawk served as Regional President & CEO for Presence Saint Joseph Hospital – Chicago and Presence Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston.

An infectious disease physician with extensive clinical research experience, including working with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci during the AIDS epidemic, Dr. Luskin-Hawk secured Providence St. Joseph Hospital’s participation in two national clinical trials of the anti-viral drug Remdesivir for the treatment of moderate and severe COVID-19.

Video of the slide taken Friday by Joe Gregorio of Cal-Ore life flight.

After days of persistent landslides, Caltrans is ready to reopen Highway 101 at Last Chance Grade for a limited time.

The department announced this morning that the highway is expected to be reopened to one-way traffic control at 10 a.m.

“This plan is subject to change because of the nature of this dynamic slide area,” Caltrans said. “Our plan, for now, is that the Last Chance Grade area will be open during daylight hours from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today unless slide activity resumes.”

Drivers can expect one-hour delays in the area.

Michaele is craving crustacean! Yes, this week, Humboldt’s President of Positivity is feeling the good kind of crabby and her insatiable hunger leads her to a bayside sandwich at Gill’s by the Bay in King Salmon. That’s it! Sometimes life is that simple. Crab Bella!

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