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We were annoyed. I know I was. You see, we’d planned to walk to Kuzguncuk, but the weather was not cooperating. It was sunny but icy gusts hit us as soon as we started down the hill to the coastal road. Our boy Leo began crying because the gusts were hitting him in the face. He was cold in the stroller. And it was the one day I’d decided we didn’t need the kangaroo pack since Leo usually loves the stroller and the forecast had said it would be warmer.

“Shall we go home? Or can you take the stroller back and get the kangaroo?” My wife was holding Leo, the hood and mask obscuring her face except her lovely expressive brown eyes, which were tired and anxious at the moment.

“I’ll get the kangaroo,” I muttered, turning with the stroller and trudging back up the hill, cursing under my breath. It was Friday, near the end of the term, and I’d felt good because I got up early that morning and finished marking all the students’ papers and updating their grades in the system. And we’d been looking forward to the walk to Kuzguncuk under sunny skies.

As I returned with the kangaroo pack and loaded Leo into it, we noticed that a delivery truck had pulled up.

“Maybe Leo’s mattress has arrived,” Ozge said. We’d been expecting it. She flagged down the driver and made inquiries. He nodded, got out of the truck and lifted a mattress from the back seat.

“Can you take it downstairs?” my wife asked. I took the mattress, it was very light and covered in plastic, back to the apartment, sprayed the plastic with liquid bleach and put it out on the balcony. Some Friday, I thought, with the visceral anger we often feel nowadays. The feeling that you’re not living the life that you should be living. Images – distant and fragrant – of having drinks with friends in Kadikoy, of doing something fun – “Why does everything have to be ‘have to?’ I muttered aloud. Well, at least we wouldn’t have to wait for the package anymore, and Leo really did need a new mattress for his crib.

Back on the street, Ozge was waiting at the corner with Leo. He had calmed down and as we began walking through the neighborhood, he put on his customary “outside” face: a curious silence, looking around at everything with the eyes that are like his mother’s, wide, brown and wistful. At home, he’s a very chatty, funny boy, but on the street he is different.

Nevertheless, we were tired. Ozge was feeling the same as I was.

We didn’t really have a destination, except the vague purpose of getting Leo out. The weekend lockdowns meant he wouldn’t see the outside world until Monday (except for a few minutes here and there, when we sneak him out for a walk on our street). We stopped at our neighborhood bakery and bought some of the fresh, thin pide bread that is really excellent, especially when toasted.

“Well, I guess we can’t blame the weather and we can’t blame Leo,” I mused. “What can we do about it?”

“Let’s go to the market,” my wife said, agreeing. “I want Leo to at least see some human beings other than us before being inside all weekend.”

 

At the bottom of the hill, we passed a local mosque. Friday prayers had just ended, and a fair number of people, mostly middle-aged and elderly, were coming out onto the quiet street. At the entrance of the mosque, an old covered woman was selling packets of tissue, or trying to. She entreated us in a scratchy, tiny voice but we shook our heads and continued on. I felt kind of bad. Normally, we buy a packet of tissue now and then, but nowadays it just didn’t sound like a good idea, and we’d have to spray it down anyway.

The wind was still gusting strongly. Dry leaves whisked past, scraping along the pavement, making thin scratching sounds. We took a shortcut in a passageway that leads through an old Ottoman cemetery, the stones very ornate and opaque-looking. An old man, dressed in a suit and wearing a hat, was in front of us, walking in a stooped way with a cane. I thought about how the pandemic has hit the elderly especially hard.

“There are a lot of old people out today,” I said aloud. “Do they still have restrictions?”

“Yes,” Ozge said. “They can go out between 10 and 2, I think. But on Fridays there are exceptions because of the prayers. And young people can go out in the afternoons.”

I knew that because of my students. We have our lessons in the mornings so that they can utilize the time in the afternoons to go out if they wish. Of course, by the end of the term, only about half the class was showing up to the Zoom lessons, most presumably preferring to just sleep in rather than maximize the possibilities of online education (probably another reason for the persistent feeling of annoyance that has been dogging me of late).

We reached the main thoroughfare. It was buzzing as always. Mostly empty city buses groaned by, yellow taxis, cars. We waited for a gap in the traffic and crossed with Leo in the kangaroo. From there it was just a five-minute walk to the bazaar.

“Of course now the weather is perfect,” my wife observed. It was true. Here the wind had been chased off by the clamor of the shops, cut off by the buildings. We entered the cobbled street where the markets bloomed with goods and all variety of nuts and fruits, candies, dried peppers hanging from windows. The shiny skins of the fresh fish over at the fish markets, the whole chickens basted and golden brown as they rotated on spits, the pide bread on offer at the bakeries. Indeed, all the world’s offerings on display (except alcohol, this is Uskudar, after all). I felt revitalized, remembering that the teeming markets, with all their bustle, was one of the things I’d always loved about this city. Even with the pandemic, and the sellers and customers alike wearing masks, the markets hurtled on, full of color and life, as they always did in the best and worst of times.

We took Leo through the markets and let him look around, and then we went out to a plaza where all the pigeons gather because he likes to watch the birds flock and poke around and dart and fly off with his ever-roaming eyes. After they’d gone, disappearing in the sudden return of the cold gusts of wind, we decided to head home.

“What shall we have for dinner?” Ozge asked.

“Shall I stop and get some chicken?”

“No, don’t buy anything. We have enough at home. I want to make a salad.”

“Do we have mercimek (lentils)? I asked.

My wife nodded.

“We can have soup and salad and the fresh bread we bought,” I said. I thought about the bottle of cabernet chilling on the balcony at the apartment, and how we could have that with dinner.

We were feeling much better after the walk, and the evening began to take a pleasant shape. The Bosphorus was grey and choppy as we walked along the coastal road and back up the hill to our neighborhood.

“What was the name of that nightclub where the terrorist attack was (a few years ago)?” my wife asked, scanning the opposite side of the Bosphorus. “Wasn’t it over there?”

“It was further up, past the Ortakoy mosque,” I said, remembering.

“Reina!” Ozge said. “That was the name. God, there were only a few proper nightclubs in Istanbul, like posh ones, and now they’re all gone.”

“I was just thinking that,” I said. “I mean, when I arrived here in 2009, Istanbul was really a vibrant city. Really cosmopolitan. Taksim especially. And then we had the Gezi Park protests, then the coup attempt, and now coronavirus …”

We talked like this for a little bit as we reached our street, about how things had changed, things that we seldom discuss because we’re so preoccupied with things like changing diapers and washing dishes, the domestic realities made all the more persistent and engulfing because of the pandemic. Always that feeling that you can never really break away, go to some place where you could really feel free and unpossessed. In the old days, you could always say, “Maybe I’ll go to China, or Vietnam or Chile,” or some place like that, but nowadays there is no such place in the world, nowhere to run. The thing to do is just try to make the best with where you are and with what you have. And Istanbul has so much of everything.

Leo, meanwhile, was still quiet, just looking around with his outside face as he had been for the past hour or so.

“Hey son,” I said. “Are you ready to get home to be warm and play with your toys?”

He didn’t answer, still in his street mode, lost in his observations. Yes, he’s a good little boy. It was nice to be heading home, where he would be his funny, talkative self again. But his outside face is nice too, seeing the world as this big, mysterious open place, which it is.

And I thought about what I’d said earlier, about how you couldn’t blame anyone or anything for the way things were. I remembered an old Turkish expression, or part of it anyway. It was something like: “Don’t blame what falls from the sky, for what falls from the sky must be a blessing.” I’m probably embellishing that a little, but why not? What can we do about it anyway except try to get through these days the best we can.

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James Tressler, a former Lost Coast resident, is a writer and teacher.

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Noël August is Holding Up

Since COVID canceled all our in-person fun last year, possibly no one has maintained the “show must go on” attitude like the organizers of Humboldt’s LGBTQ+ party and drag show Club Triangle. Almost immediately after canceling the in-person event, the first online Club Triangle was born and has continued in some form every week since March, 2020.

Noël August/ Tucker Noir

On this week’s episode of Humboldt Holding Up, Noël August — better known by locals as drag king Tucker Noir — discusses the importance of keeping the event going, adapting to the pandemic and plans for Club Triangle moving forward.

August also discusses the many other things that have been keeping her occupied during the last year, including working on that Jason Segel movie that recently filmed in Humboldt, teaching online dance classes, serving on the Community Advisory Board for the College of the Redwoods Police Academy, and somehow balancing all of that with raising children.

Click the audio player above to hear August’s chat with Andrew Goff and Stephanie McGeary and scroll through past guests below!

Club Triangle’s Streaming Saturdays is all day every Saturday on Instagram and (coming soon) on Twitch.

PREVIOUS GUESTS:

• Eureka Mayor Susan Seaman
• Eagle House Owner Jennifer Metz
• Absynth Quartet Drummer Mike “Tofu” Schwartz
• HACHR Executive Director Lasara Firefox Allen
• Alchemy Distiller Owner Amy Bohner
• Eureka City Councilmember Kati Moulton
• Eureka City Councilmember Scott Bauer
• Ungraceful Ager Barry Evans
• Arcata City Councilmember Sofia Pereira
• HumBrews Music Booker Laurel Weston
• Eureka City Councilmember Kim Bergel
• Film Commission’s Cassandra Hesseltine and Nate Adams
• Marble Maker Topher Reynolds
• Arcata Playhouse Director Jacqueline Dandeneau
• Humboldt Political Junkie Eric Kirk
• Rio Dell Mayor Debra Garnes
• Second District Supervisor Estelle Fennell
• Arcata Food Aficionado Jada Calypso Brotman
• Body Piercer Jackie Silva
• Dick Taylor Chocolate’s Adam Dick
• FUHS Teachers Mark Thom and Inma Thompson
• Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery
• Savage Henry Co-Founder Chris Durant
• Eureka Street Art Festival Organizer Jenna Catsos
• SCRAP Humboldt Founder Tibora Bea
• Gym Owner Tyler Parr
• Six Rivers Brewery Co-Owner Meredith Maier
• Multicultural Skincare Therapist Levia Love
• Annie’s Cambodian Server and Social Worker Joshua Coppock
• Eureka City Councilmember Austin Allison
• HSU Professor Deidre Pike 
• Pastor Bethany Cseh
• Singer/Songwriter Chris Parreira
• Eureka City Councilmember Leslie Castellano
• Arcata City Councilmember Paul Pitino

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You might see a group of Visión y Compromiso “promotores” tabling at local mercados throughout Humboldt County — they’re on a mission to help as many Latinx residents as possible obtain health insurance and access healthcare services.

Visión y Compromiso Humboldt is a new chapter of the nonprofit Southern California based organizational coalition of “promotores,” or community health worker liaisons, aimed at supporting and creating healthier Latinx communities.

“The thing that we’re doing that no one else is doing is actually meeting people where they are,” says Visión y Compromiso promotor Ariel Fishkin. “We spend a lot of time outside of markets in Eureka and Fortuna and, for people who just wouldn’t call for whatever reason, we’re there to answer any question. They don’t have to go out of their way to find this information and, definitely, the education helps.”

In an interview with the Journal, Visión y Compromiso Humboldt Coordinator Ruben Ramirez says a California Department of Health Care Services study found that approximately 13,000 qualified Humboldt County residents weren’t covered by Medi-Cal. So, the department partnered with California Coverage and Health Initiatives, which then hired Visión y Compromiso to help Humboldt County’s Latinx residents apply for Medi-Cal.

According to preliminary data from the California Department of Health Care Services, a total of 56,987 Humboldt County residents were eligible for Medi-Cal as of December, including 7,652 Latinx and Hispanic residents.

William Dirks, Visión y Compromiso community promotor, tabling in front of La Pasadita Market in Eureka.

One of the biggest problems facing Latinx communities when applying for programs like Medi-Cal is the language barrier, Ramirez says, adding that even though there are translated forms the bureaucratic language can be confusing and intimidating.

“The majority of people who qualify for Medi-Cal have the problem of being scared of applying,” Ramirez says. “It’s a little complicated and so they have that barrier of, ‘OK, what do I write here? What don’t I write?,’ and we guide them through the entire process and help them figure those things out.”

But it’s not just help with application assistance. Promotores also take it a step further, following up with their clients on their application status, whether or not they need to provide additional documents for coverage, teaching them about the type of coverage they have and ensuring they’re actually using their benefits and receiving the care they need.

“We follow our clients throughout the entire process, and after they’ve been approved we help them find providers and check in to see if they want to make a doctor’s appointment or want to be seen,” Ramirez says.

Following through with clients is one of the most comforting and reassuring things about Visión y Compromiso, Fishkin says, especially for those who aren’t used to navigating bureaucratic systems and trying to apply for benefits. 

Fishkin also emphasized the importance of Visión y Compromiso’s education efforts to make sure people understand the types of coverage and local assistance programs they might qualify for. Local promotores speak with local providers to learn the types of assistance programs or services they offer that aren’t widely known, so they can help relay that information to the broader community.

“County to county in California, we’re finding different programs and, usually, specific hospitals have different programs that can help people who can’t afford their medical bills,” Fishkin says. “Specifically in Humboldt, we know that Open Door clinics are applying to be a part of a program called Connect to Care, which would allow people with emergency Medi-Cal, which is mostly undocumented folks over the age of 26, to get more services … We know that because we’re talking to the clinics.”

Visión y Compromiso is also making sure Humboldt’s undocumented residents know they can get some degree of coverage. Currently, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for full Medi-Cal benefits but can receive limited coverage for things like emergency and pregnancy related services.

For Julio Torres, being a promotor for Visión y Compromiso and helping people navigate complex systems is kind of like a calling.

“For me, I’m always putting myself in places where I’m trying to help people,” he says. “It kind of came natural to take this job on with more of a specific goal in mind to help people access healthcare because I know personally, and from other people’s experiences, too, when we’re not well physically or mentally, that kind of affects a lot of other parts of our lives. And it’s almost like a holistic thing for me. I’m trying to empower people through self-care because I think having medical coverage to take care of ourselves is really important. … We all deserve these basic rights.”

At the beginning of their outreach in November through the end of the year, they’ve helped 35 people apply for Medi-Cal, Ramirez says, adding that they are helping with applications every day they’re outreaching.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need for medical coverage in the Latinx and Hispanic communities, as nationally the rates of COVID-19 cases in Latinx/Hispanic people are 1.7 times higher than for white and non-Hispanic people, while hospitalization rates are 4.1 times higher and deaths 2.8 times higher.

Locally, 27 percent of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases have been Latinx and Hispanic people, while they make up 12 percent of Humboldt County’s population.

“The pandemic definitely secured the need to support the community and, in Humboldt County, Hispanic and Latino people are the ones who often have less services and support, and we also have a population that doesn’t speak the language, “Ramirez says. “That language barrier is huge and to have this team that speaks and understands this language is a positive manner in which we can help. Having this team in this community, where people are scared or often don’t know where to go for help, is necessary and truly beneficial.”

Visión y Compromiso Humboldt is open to helping anyone with Medi-Cal application assistance. If you need help or have any questions, call Fishkin at (530) 523-3881 or Torres at (530) 523-3881.

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Iridian Casarez (she/her) is a staff writer at the North Coast Journal. Reach her at 442-1400, extension 317, or iridian@northcoastjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @IridianCasarez.

The Community Voices Coalition is a project funded by Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation to support local journalism. This story was produced by the North Coast Journal newsroom with full editorial independence and control.

Church.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Jan. 29, 2021, at about 9 a.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center received a request for a welfare check on a juvenile male who was reportedly being held by his father in violation of a custody order at a residence on the 1800 block of Buhne Drive in King Salmon.

The father, identified as Daniel Ray Church, age 46, had an outstanding warrant for his arrest on domestic violence-related charges resulting from a Eureka Police Department investigation. Deputies responded to the residence associated with Church, but were unable to locate Church or the juvenile on scene.

At approximately 2:45 p.m., deputies received information that Church had returned to the residence. Deputies attempted to contact Church, but he declined to follow deputy requests and barricaded himself inside the residence with the juvenile.

Due to the possibility that Church could have access to firearms, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s SWAT Team was requested to respond, in addition to the Crisis Negotiation Team. After approximately four hours of attempting to negotiate with Church for a peaceful surrender, SWAT officers made entry into the residence. The juvenile was located unharmed and was placed into safe custody. Church was arrested on his warrant without further incident.

Church was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on his warrant charges for inflicting corporal injury on a spouse (PC 273.5(a)), stalking (PC 646.9(a)), kidnapping (PC 207(a)) and assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm (PC 245(a)(1)).

This case is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about this case 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.

Press release from the California Highway Patrol:

On 01-30-2021, at approximately 1:13 AM, the Humboldt Area CHP received a report of a head on collision on Fernbridge Dr., north of the Finch Creek Rd. under-crossing. A preliminary investigation by CHP determined that a 2006 Honda Civic, being driven by 25 year old Tiannah Ruvalcaba of Phillipsville, CA, was traveling northbound on Fernbridge Dr., north of the Finch Creek Rd. under-crossing. A 1988 Ford Mustang was traveling southbound on Fernbridge Dr., approaching the Honda Civic.

For unknown reasons, one of the vehicles crossed over the broken yellow line separating the lanes, and the vehicles collided head-on. The driver of the Mustang suffered major injuries as a result of the collision and was pronounced deceased by emergency medical personnel on scene. Ms. Ruvalcaba also suffered major injuries and was transported by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital.

Impairment is being investigated as a contributing factor in this collision and Ms. Ruvalcaba was placed under arrest for Misdemeanor DUI charges related to the collision. She was subsequently released to the hospital for treatment of her injuries.

The CHP Humboldt Area office is continuing to investigate this collision and asks anyone who may have information to contact the office at 707-822-5981 or send an email to humboldt_area.humboldt_area@chp.ca.gov.

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CORRECTION: The headline of this article originally stated that the deceased person was a woman, when the sex of the person has not been released. The Outpost regrets the error.

This week’s Total Request LoCO is mostly a mashup of all the remaining short films we’ve received so far. Submissions are slowing down, but keep sending them in and, Humboldt willing, LoCO will continue to post your videos every week. Send us almost anything: Cooking demos, poetry readings, how-to videos, extreme sports footage, history lessons, music, musings, whatever.

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.

“Arcata Forest Fairy Pt. 1” - A film by Ray Olson & Moonlight Macumber:

A one-man show (mostly) about a troubled hiker who encounters a mysterious, magical fairy in the Arcata Community Forest.

“Kit Carson’s Mansion” - A film by John and Ray Olson:

Here’s a synopsis from the film’s creators: “Two brothers inadvertently release Kit Carson from the Zoltar fortune booth in front of the Eureka bookstore where he was magically imprisoned by his diabolical older brother William Carson over 100 years ago.Upon release, Kit wreaks revenge and destruction onto old Town Eureka after claiming he was the true builder of the Eureka Mansion, not William. It is up to the two modern-day brothers to save Eureka from the monster they released from Zoltar!”

“Doober Driver” - A film by Tim Rossi:

Local filmmaker Tim Rossi returns to share this story about a Eureka-based “Doober” driver transporting passengers around Humboldt County.

“A gooey adventure in Crystal Oscillators” - A film by Hudson Glover:

Eureka-based musician and entertainer Hudson Glover sends in this experimental film/animation.

“Crystal Oscillators follows an alien that is running low on his energy supply on a distant planet,” Glover said. “In an attempt to find more, he travels through space and finds himself in a host of unlikely situations, like fighting off cyberpunks and becoming the headliner of a house show in a small rural earth town (Eureka). While making several friends and enemies along the way, the alien needs to make a difficult decision in order to maintain the life he loves.”

“Fern Canyon: Discover The Lost World in Northern California” - By 
Johnathon DeSoto

A soothing high-quality video of DeSoto’s hike through Fern Canyon with his girlfriend Melissa Miller.

“Tennessee Waltz” - Cam and Colin Trujillo:

We end this week’s Total Request LoCO with a live musical performance filmed in Bayside.

“My brother and I filmed this earlier in the pandemic,” Colin Trujillo said. “We were both missing playing with our band The No Good Redwood Ramblers and other projects and wanted to collaborate on a musical venture again. If people like it maybe we will do some more.”

 

Dan was born in Ohio in 1942 as Daniel Joseph DeSilvio but grew up in Richmond, Calif. Dan joined the Navy and served on ammo ships during the Viet Nam War. After honorable discharge, he accompanied a friend to Arcata to check out Humboldt State University. The friend did not enroll, but Dan did. He earned his Master’s Degree in Botany at HSU. He developed a new and sophisticated slide technique for the student lab he staffed there, while developing a world class collection of slime molds. He adopted his stepfather’s name and was known locally as Dan Taranto.

Dan bought, rehabbed and managed many properties over the years. He was proud to provide affordable housing to many students and “working folks”, many of whom became lifelong friends. His home base was his beloved acreage in Fieldbrook. He was active in the United Stand organization and instrumental in the creation of the Alternative Owner Builder (AOB) program. He served on several County Housing Element Committees over the years.

A major focus of his volunteer efforts was service on the Humboldt County Grand Jury, where he reorganized its function, and later did the same for the California Grand Jurors’ Association as State President. As president, he advocated for permanent Jury reports filed in state archives, support and training for incoming jurors and other reforms. He worked with then-Senator Quintin Kopp to pass state legislation requiring all counties to respond in writing to local jury findings. His local Jury instituted a requirement for a written response. Dan paid for an insert in the local paper and personally delivered stacks of it throughout Humboldt County. In his further quest for government transparency, he personally installed the first video camera in the Supervisor’s Chambers, which came as quite a surprise to some of the Supervisors and staff!

Dan was a man of great intellect with wide and varied interests. He crewed on sailboats from Canada to Mexico, owned some of historical significance, and was a member of the Humboldt Yacht Club. He raised an assortment of plants and animals, most notably sheep, goats and his Watutsi livestock. He had a vast collection of books encompassing science, history, astronomy, religion and literature. Dan volunteered with the Westhaven and Fieldbrook Fire Departments. He was an early and active member of the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County where he participated in a number of local studies. He volunteered yearly for the Jazz Festival and loved Blues by the Bay. He was known to be a hard worker, well liked and respected by a wide swath of people.

With no prior music experience, Dan started tango lessons at age 68. He dove in “with both feet”, practicing, recording the music, travelling locally and to Mexico to take workshops and dancing in the yearly Student Showcase. He became quite good at the art. His dancing days ended when he had a stroke, but he continued watching hours of tango on line and attending local dance events. He made many friends in the tango community.

Dan passed on January 14, 2021 from complications of the stroke. He was preceded in death by his mother Barbara and stepfather, Frank Taranto, and his brother Mark Taranto. He is survived by his brother Richard Taranto and nieces Lacey and Logan Taranto, former spouse Kathy Kistler, and numerous friends and distant relatives. Thanks and appreciation go to the Staff of Frye’s Care home and the many good and faithful friends who supported Dan.

His niece, Logan, wrote the following tribute to her uncle: Dan Taranto was my uncle and one of the greatest men I have known. He was so knowledgeable and I was so lucky that he shared a lot of that with me. We lived five hours away from each other, so we kept in contact through phone calls which lasted for hours. I will cherish those phone calls and all the things I learned from him. My uncle loved when our family would visit at his beautiful property in Humboldt with all the amazing redwood trees. He made three ponds and stocked them with fish so we could go fishing. As a little girl I remember running through the grassy meadow, making flower headbands and just enjoying nature as much as my uncle did. I would get so excited when he would come to the Bay Area to visit us. The last time he was supposed to come, he didn’t show up nor call. That wasn’t like him so I knew something was wrong. I called the Highway patrol and then the Sheriff’s office. They found he had had a stroke and got him to the hospital. After a long recovery period, he asked that I come be his caregiver and that’s just what I did. I felt honored that he asked me. The time I got to spend with him is unforgettable. I loved my uncle very much. I know that he is now dancing tango in Heaven or guiding his sailboat through the clouds.

From Dan’s niece, Lacey: My Uncle was a very special man, not only was he every word and more that is listed above but he was kind, caring and great with his hands. He amazed me at the things he could build. When I was little he built a 2 story playhouse for me! Yes, a 2 story playhouse fully equipped with a bay window, carpet, 3 different rooms, a secret latch door for the upstairs and my name engraved at the front door. To say the least he was amazing. He will be very missed and remembered forever by so many people.

In the words of Rick Taranto, Dan’s brother: I have never met a man with more integrity and he will be deeply missed.

There will be a “gathering” of Dan’s friends sometime during the summer of 2021.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Dan Taranto’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.