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Floyd Squires outside one of the apartment buildings he owned in 2017.

Earlier this week, Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kelly Neel dismissed the case of City of Eureka v. Floyd Squires, et al.

The dismissal, which comes almost exactly a decade after the city filed the suit against its most infamous landlord, was the result of a settlement agreement, with Eureka agreeing to cut its losses on a legal battle that had grown increasingly convoluted, mired in bankruptcy proceedings and prolonged receivership of many Squires-owned properties.

“It’s really unfortunate that it has taken this long,” Eureka Public Works Director Brian Gerving told the Outpost by phone on Thursday. 

As a result of the agreement, a number of dilapidated residential properties have reverted back to Floyd and Betty Squires, including one on West Hawthorne that police raided earlier this week. But Gerving said the case did produce some positive results. More than a dozen of the 27 parcels listed in the suit have been sold to new owners.

“Some have been rehabilitated; some are in the process of being rehabilitated,” Gerving said, citing as an example the former Blue Heron Lodge property on Broadway, where a KFC has been built atop the ashes. (It’s set to open in the very near future.)

The city filed the suit on January 18, 2011, asking the court to appoint a receiver — that is, a neutral, court-appointed third party to take control of 27 parcels that city officials considered “nuisance properties.” Squires-owned rentals were already known for being squalid and hazardous, filled with black mold, firetraps and assorted building code violations. 

Two years after the case was filed, the court appointed former Humboldt County Planning Commissioner Jeff Smith as receiver for the nuisance properties. But the Squirses failed to bring their assorted properties up to code and the court cased dragged on and on.

In 2017, Eureka went on the offensive, filing a motion to expand receivership powers (or else replace Smith in the role) and, a few months later, obtaining inspection warrants for close to a dozen Squires properties. As a result, a number of the residential buildings were condemned and demolished. 

The Squireses threw a wrench in the works that same year by filing for bankruptcy, tying the properties up in another layer of litigation and stymying the city’s attempts to coerce compliance with its municipal codes.

A weary tone can be inferred in the settlement agreement. (Click here for the pdf.) “This Agreement is intended to avoid additional litigation and hardship for the parties and the community,” it reads.

As a result of the Squirses bankruptcy proceedings, the remaining nuisance properties addressed in the suit were placed under the control of a “liquidating agent,” Gerving said. This court-appointed officer has been managing the finances of the estate and the properties it’s comprised of. Those that have reverted back to the Squirses were abandoned by the agent, presumably because owning them was a financial liability.

“I would say it’s not a coincidence that the properties that were abandoned by the bankruptcy estate are also those in the worst condition,” Gerving said.

While the agreement includes a release of liability — a fresh slate on the parcels in question — it doesn’t preclude future crackdowns. “The City expressly reserves its rights to take enforcement actions related to violations on the Nuisance Properties,” the document states.

Gerving said his department remains vigilant. “We’re continuing to pay attention to these problems and we will address them as appropriate,” he said.

And so, the city’s battle with Floyd and Betty Squires is bound to continue, though the couple has fewer properties under their control than they did a decade ago.

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From the Humboldt County Joint Information Center:

Dozens of staff at local skilled nursing facilities are expected to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this holiday weekend. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Monday that the state opted into the federal COVID-19 Pharmacy Partnership that will see CVS and Walgreens employees administering the Pfizer vaccine to staff and residents of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential care sites and other long-term care facilities. However, with federal implementation delayed, Humboldt County Public Health has stepped into the gap. 

Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Ian Hoffman said, “The Pharmacy Partnership program will be beneficial for a lot of people, but due to our county’s current situation, we think it is important to move the vaccine timeline up for staff at our local skilled nursing facilities.” 

While some facilities, including Seaview Rehabilitation, will begin vaccination through the federal program early next week, Fortuna and Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Centers would have to wait until the middle of January without the support of Public Health. 

Many staff at Granada Rehabilitation and Wellness Center remain under quarantine, but plans are being put in place to vaccinate all staff who have not tested positive as soon as the quarantine period ends. Staff who tested positive will be able to start the vaccine series after they have recovered or have waited 90 days.  

Public Health staff is coordinating with the Emergency Operations Center, community partners and medical providers to host invite-only mass vaccination clinics for health care workers across the county starting next week. 

For updates on vaccine distribution in California, go to covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/.

What was 2020? No one knows. It came out of nowhere and walloped us upside the head, and it’ll be many years and decades before we actually get a solid grip on whatever that was that just happened to us over the last 12 months. It feels like some kind of turning point. But what kind? We don’t know.

But it is done, and now’s the time to take a look back. Here at the Outpost, we know of no better way to do the traditional wrap-up of recent Humboldt County history than to look at the most-clicked-upon stories of the year, which we figure amounts to a sort of psychographic snapshot of our collective mind.

Without further ado: The 25 most-read Lost Coast Outpost posts of 2020.

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25. ‘I Worry I Could Be Spreading It’: Local FedEx Drivers Say They’re Not Getting Enough COVID-19 Protections

As Supervisor Rex Bohn likes to say about the pandemic: “We are literally building the plane while we are flying it.”

Early on, just weeks after the virus was even identified, there was a great deal of fear about so-called “fomites” — the possibility that the disease could be spread through touching infected surfaces. Later study determined that this is far less common than had been feared in the days when we were all wiping down our groceries with bleach, but that back then delivery drivers — suddenly more in demand than they had ever been before — had reasonable fear that they could be vectors of spread.

We talked to a couple of FedEx-contracted drivers who had these concerns and more. Specifically, they were worried about working conditions in the warehouse, and about being urged to come to work even if they were running a fever.

24. A Redding Megachurch Leader Came to Humboldt and Flouted Mask Rules. Her Ministry is Now the Source of a Major COVID Outbreak.

Bethel Church is a major political force in Shasta County, our doppelganger to the east, where the spread of the virus has been on the worse side of terrible throughout much of the pandemic.

One of the church’s spiritual leaders visited Trinidad during one of her county’s many spikes — which included an outbreak at her own megachurch — then got mad at us locals for asking her to wear a mask. She took to Instagram to vow to her flock that she would spend no more dollars in the charming seaside village. See ya!

23. (VIDEO) Comedian Joe Rogan Gives Humboldt a ‘Holla,’ Praises Sheriff Honsal for Refusing to Enforce Proposed Beaches Closures in Latest Podcast

In late April, photos began circulating of crowded beaches in Southern California. In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom reportedly hinted to a statewide police organization that he would soon order the state’s beaches closed. Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal pointedly announced that he would not enforce this order in Humboldt County, were it to come.

This earned him some plaudits from the most powerful media man in America — podcast host Joe Rogan, an aficionado of nutritional supplements, mixed martial arts and weed. Honsal tipped his hat on Instagram, but Rogan’s cheerful “holla!” at the mention of Humboldt County might not have been for the reasons Honsal supposed.

Anyway, Newsom backed down.

22. (VIDEO) Eureka Police Remove Anti-Masker From Costco By Force, Say Case Will be Forwarded to DA for Charging Decision

It was destined to happen, and finally it did — viral video of a COVID truther insisting upon her right to shop unmasked. Technically this lady was detained by police for snatching an employee’s phone out of their hands and refusing to return it until they arrived, but everyone else seemed glad to see her go for any reason.

21. CANCEL-19: A Running List of Humboldt Closures and Cancellations Related to Coronavirus Fears

A week before the first shelter-in-place order, the writing was already on the wall. Local events were being canceled one by one, and this post was keeping track of them.

Then everything was canceled.

20. Second Humboldt Case of COVID-19 Confirmed Today; Patient is Said to Have Recently Traveled to a ‘High-Risk Area’

Humboldt’s second confirmed coronavirus case came nearly a month after its first. Just a few days earlier, the county and the state had each issued shelter-in-place orders in response to out-of-control outbreaks elsewhere in the nation and the world. We were just ahead of the curve for a while, there.

19. LIVE: Shelter-in-Place Order Press Conference With the County Health Department

Dr. Teresa Frankovich, the county’s health officer, and Sheriff William Honsal did a live stream from the county Board of Supervisor’s chambers on the eve of the first shelter-in-place order in order to explain what it meant and why it was necessary.

“The pace of change in this event has been staggering,” Frankovich said early on in the video, which is worth a rewatch if you want to re-experience the sinking dread we were all feeling at that time, the sense that everything was dissolving.

18. (UPDATE) Body Found on Hwy. 101 Safety Corridor Near Mid-City Motor World

He was 66-year-old Eureka resident Robert Wolf, who had been missing for a month. The coroner determined that he had not been a victim of a traffic collision.

17. Five Additional Humboldt People Test Positive Today, Bringing Total Number of Known Local COVID-19 Cases to 10; One Case May be Due to Community Spread

A week after the shelter-in-place order. This was a big jump at the time.

16. NEW EVACUATION WARNING: Everyone East of the Highway as Far North as Myers Flat is Now Urged to Be Ready to Go

In the end, the largest wildfire in California history was stopped just short of the county line. But the August Complex was touch-and-go for us, for a while, and there came a moment when it threatened to jump the Eel River and burn its way to Garberville. 

That never happened, but several hundred people in the east County were displaced from their homes for a while, and lots more had to live on the edge of their seats for a few days.

15. Still Confused About Humboldt County’s Shelter-in-Place Order? Here’s an Overview, in Broad Strokes

It took a little while to adjust to the new normal (which, blessedly, might not be the norm for much longer). Here’s where we attempted to break down the shelter-in-place order issued by the county the day previous, just a couple of hours before the whole damn state shut it down.

14. TODAY’s COVID-19 REPORT: Four More Cases Confirmed Throughout the County; Total Confirmed Cases Rise to 18

Again: This was late March. Seems quaint now, right?

13. THE 1918 PANDEMIC: Schools, Churches, Masks and Quack Cures at the Height of the Deadly Flu Outbreak

We were very pleased to run local historian Lynette Mullen’s series on the parallels between Humboldt County’s experiences the last major pandemic, 100 years ago, and today. We’re also very pleased that you read it.

If you missed it, this installment is a decent place to start, with a look at how several local institutions — restaurants, schools, law enforcement, churches, the elections office — adapted to the later stages of the pandemic. It’s eerily familiar.

12. OBITUARY: Paxton Ulyanna Marleigh Austrus, 2016-2020

A heartwrenching obituary of a three-year-old girl survived by her twin sister and the rest of their family. It’s still amazing to me how well her parents were able to capture the spirit of this small, beautiful person in the depth of their grief. 

11. (VIDEO) Woman Tells Arcata Cashier She Looks Like an ‘Illegal Immigrant’ After She’s Asked to Cover Her Face While Inside the Store

The intersection of xenophobia, mask denialism and a particular flavor of Humboldt lowlifery.

10. Expired Unemployment Boost, EDD Debacles Sink Jobless Californians

November was the beginning of an especially dark time for people who lost their jobs during the pandemic. CalMatters reporter Orlando Mayorquin spoke to an unemployed and newly homeless Eureka woman, among others across the state, to figure out what the expiration of benefits and a state snafu meant for our neighbors who have been pushed to the margins.

9. Eureka Man Reportedly Attacked By 18-Foot Shark While Kayaking in Shelter Cove; Local Fishermen Rescue Him From Icy Water

This year may have been the year of the virus trying to kill you, but every year is the year of the ocean trying to kill you. Fortunately things turned out OK for a Eureka man fishing from his kayak at Shelter Cove — he was able to fend off the great beast that was presumably attracted by the blood of his catch, which had dribbled down from his craft into the waters.

The victim punched the shark in the face to make him go away, but not before the brute bit a hole in his kayak. Sector Humboldt Bay and local fishermen came to the rescue.

8. RE-SHUTDOWN: Governor Orders Statewide Closure of Bars, Indoor Dining, Movie Theaters, Zoos and More in Response to Spiking COVID-19 Numbers

The middle of July brought what some were calling a “second wave” (though that’s something of a semantic quibble), and with it came new state restrictions. It was a big one — restaurants were barred from serving indoors, bars and movie theaters were shut completely. This came only a couple of weeks after Humboldt County had loosened its own restrictions somewhat.

7. Video Shows Three People Running for Their Lives as Multiple Waves Nearly Sweep Them Off the North Jetty

The second ocean-related incident on the list takes us to the North Jetty, which is perpetually among the most deadly spots on the Humboldt County coastline. A woman visiting from Utah was swept from the jetty right before a local drone pilot caught this video of people barely making it back to safety.

Please: Do not walk out on the North Jetty. Do not do it. This is why you don’t do it.

6. BREAKING: Masks Mandatory Starting Friday; Health Officer to Mandate Face Coverings for Indoor Spaces Outside Your Home, Or Wherever You Can’t Stay 6 Feet Away

It took science a little while to catch up to the fact that masks were effective in slowing the transmission of the virus, but by April it got there.

5. (VIDEO) Beachgoers Swept Off Feet by Moonstone Sneaker Wave

Sneaker waves kill. This one — somehow, thankfully — did not. This is the video you want to show to the person who just moved to Humboldt County and doesn’t yet know about the dangers of our beaches.

4. BREAKING: Humboldt County ‘Shelter-in-Place’ Order to Take Effect at Midnight

Word got out on the morning of the March 19 that the hammer was going to drop. It didn’t come exactly out of the blue. Several Bay Area counties had already announced their own orders. NBA games were already being canceled. Tom Hanks had tested positive. Dozens of people of people in Seattle were dying each day. They were starting to die in New York.

Still, maybe there was some lingering thought that remote Humboldt County, with only one confirmed case, might somehow escape the wave that was cresting over the world. This was a splash of cold water to the face.

3. (UPDATING) Protesters Clash With Traffic, Demand Justice as They March Through Eureka, Demonstrating Against Racism and Police Brutality

Humboldt County hosted a number demonstrations against police injustice in the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 — including in Arcata, McKinleyville, Fortuna and Ferndale — but the first was held in Eureka just days after that shocking event, and after people had been bottled up for two months.

Hundreds showed up to march in solidarity all around the city that Saturday, and while things were often tense, they remained mostly peaceful, with assorted acts of minor vandalism. An exception was when a passing motorist caught in the crowd aggressively drove away, clipping a demonstrator. The District Attorney’s office would later bring reckless driving charges against him.

A couple of days after the demonstration, Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson, Arcata Police Chief Brian Ahearn and Sheriff Billy Honsal met with the community in front of Eureka Police Headquarters. There they, too, affirmed that they believe Black Lives Matter.

2. (UPDATE) Humboldt County Resident Diagnosed With Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The bombshell. Humboldt County confirmed its first coronavirus case on Feb. 20, at a time when pretty much no one was taking the coming pandemic very seriously — surely they’d keep this virus, “the novel coronavirus,” confined to unfortunate people in unlucky localities, as they did with SARS and MERS and Ebola and all the previous bugs that had popped up elsewhere, far away.

But then it was here. Our first patient — one of only a handful in the state, and the first in a rural county anywhere in the United States — had recently returned from China and was isolating at home. Another person, presumed but not confirmed to also be infected, had traveled with the first, and was also isolating. They both recovered, but notice had been given.

1. Fake News: What is the Epoch Times and Why Did It Arrive On My Doorstep?

There came a week when this odd newspaper, the Epoch Times, showed up in Humboldt County mailboxes unbidden. What the hell was it? Why was it in our mail? Why was it so mad at China, and why did it gush over our president so?

The Outpost’s Freddy Brewster didn’t have anything else to do on a slow Saturday, so he delved into the mystery a bit. The Epoch Times is a project funded by the Falun Gong movement, which certainly has reason to be mad at China, and lately it had been attempting to increase visibility through such mass-mailings in different parts of North America.

All well and good, but the Times and its leadership, in its desire for revenge on the Chinese state, had slipped over some mental line into QAnon territory and crazyish COVID misinformation, some of it seemingly prompted by a desire to recruit President Donald Trump and his legions to champion their cause.

Freddy wrote all this up in snarkish Q&A fashion, and then something weird happened. The vagaries of Google placed his screed near the top of search results for “Epoch Times” for a spell, and that meant that all of America logged on to LoCO in the following weeks, as the confusing paper started arriving in other mailboxes in other neighborhoods across the land.

Freddy went on to bigger and better things. We still live in epochal times. Donald Trump lost the election. The vaccine is coming. The year 2020 came to an end.

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In the year’s final “Media Availability” Q-and-A from the Humboldt County Joint Information Center, Health Officer Dr. Ian Hoffman answers questions about the new and apparently more contagious coronavirus variant, the rate at which vaccines are being administered in Humboldt and more.

Stay tuned for the end of the video to see Public Health staffers wish everyone a happy new year. 

Video above, rough transcription below. 

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The North Coast News asks: “With news of a new coronavirus variant making its way from the UK to US, is the new variant being tested for in Humboldt County? Are current testing methods able to detect it, and if they are, will the county be releasing data on when the variant is discovered here?”

Yes, a really good question. Something that’s been on my mind a lot in the last few days. We know that this is not just in the U.S. It’s in California. There are reports from San Diego that there are four cases that have been detected there. It’s in several states across the U.S. so we are looking into testing locally for this.

There are tests available and so when I have updates on that I will let you know.

The North Coast News asks: “The Washington Post reported yesterday that about 20% of coronavirus vaccines distributed nationally have actually been administered. Do those numbers reflect Humboldt county as well? Why, or why not do the numbers differ?”

I would say our numbers here are likely much higher than that. Do we have about 5,500 vaccines in Humboldt County currently. The vast majority of those go to St. Joseph’s hospital system. They got just over 2,000 of those. And they’ve been administering those as quickly as they can.

They’re also running a hospital; they’re seeing the vast majority of the COVID patients in Humboldt County. They have gone through about 1,200 of those so over 50% of their 2,000.

Additionally, other hospitals have gone through several more thousands so I think it’s safe to say we’re very close to 50% of the vaccine that we have in the county having already been administered and we’re working hard to get through the rest of that as quickly as possible.

The North Coast News asks: “Are there local statistics on the impacts on mental health that the pandemic has caused?”

That’s a really great question. I have to say I don’t have the answer to that. I would suspect that the Department of Health and Human Services might and so I would direct the question to them.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• FEAST YOUR EYES on the Expansive Network of Multi-Use Trails in the County’s Final McKay Community Forest Trail Plan

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The new trail network in the McKay Community Forest isn’t being built in earnest yet — still a couple of boxes to tick, there — but the county Public Works Department and the California Conservation Corps have been out in Eureka’s new crown jewel, prepping the paths.

But that all ran into a bit of a hitch a few days before Christmas, county senior environmental analyst Robert Vogt tells us, when thieves unknown busted into a storage container and stole a bunch of tools that were being employed in all that work. 

In all, Vogt says, the burglars made off with:

• 11 point shovels
• 4 square nose shovels
• 6 Mcleods
• 3 loppers

The shovels were all Ace Hardware-brand tools with red fiberglass handles. The Mcleods had wooden handles.

“We’re on a limited budget at the county,” Vogt says — if the tools aren’t returned, he’s going to have to find more money elsewhere in the budget to replace them. It’s not an insignificant setback.

The incident was reported to the Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 18. Know anything about where they ended up? Call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

After the Eureka City Council voted 3-2 earlier this month to temporarily ban syringe exchange programs within city limits, the council will again revisit the issue and consider allowing for the operation of mobile syringe exchange programs (SEPs) during the pandemic.

The council — now with two new members, Kati Moulton and Scott Bauer —  will discuss the issue during a special meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 5.  If the council approves, city staff would amend the city’s Declaration of a Local Emergency related to the pandemic to allow for mobile syringe exchange programs while the emergency continues.

The Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction (HACHR) — which has operated the syringe exchange in Eureka for years — and the city already tried to reach an agreement that would have required the nonprofit to move to a mobile only exchange by June, but some council members felt that this was not soon enough and decided that it would be best to suspend these services until the city could rewrite the rules governing SEPs.

Since the ban became effective on Dec. 16, HACHR has continued to provide syringe exchange outside of the city by home delivery, and continued to provide its other harm reduction services at its Third Street facility. The nonprofit did announce a plan to set up a mobile exchange just outside of Eureka city limits, but quickly backed away from that plan after learning it was not permitted by its state authorization.

HACHR condemned the council’s decision, saying that prohibiting SEPs would have devastating effects on the health of the non-profit’s participants, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. And although the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) —not subject to city jurisdiction — has continued to operate a syringe exchange in Eureka, HACHR staff says that this program alone would not be able to serve as many people.

And the council seems to agree that it is not an ideal time for Eureka to have less syringe services available. Though Councilmembers Kim Bergel, Heidi Messner and Austin Allison (Allison and Messner have both since ended their terms on council) voted to temporarily ban HACHR’s syringe exchange in the city, they have all voiced support for the program, saying that the decision was based on the city’s history with the nonprofit and the neighbor’s complaints about the Third Street location.

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After continuing its discussion on mobile syringe exchange programs, the Eureka City Council will vote, again, to adopt an ordinance banning camping in certain areas and during daylight hours in the city. The ordinance will replace the city’s existing anti-camping ordinance to bring  the city into compliance with a court ruling on city camping bans.

The council already voted 4-1 to adopt the ordinance during its Dec. 1 meeting. But, according to the staff report, the vote was ineffective “due to a technical error on the posted agenda.”

Some changes have also been made to the ordinance since that meeting, including reducing the fines to $25, $35, and $50 for first, second, and third offenses occurring within one year.

Advocates for the houseless are urging people to show up to the meeting, in the hopes that the council will reconsider its vote entirely. You can find more information in this press release from the Legal Services of Northern California.

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In other business, the council will consider handing out $300,000 in grant money to small business owners through the  Eureka Small Business Bridge Program. This program would provide applicants with up to $7,500 to cover rent unpaid due to the pandemic.

Nonprofit or for profit businesses in the City of Eureka can apply if they have seen a 20 percent or more reduction in revenue and/ or a 20 percent reduction of staffing or hours, have 10 or fewer full-time employees, and have been in business since March 1, 2020.

You can find more information on the requirements and how to apply here.

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The council will also discuss the contentious topic of Caltrans’ Richardson Grove Improvement Project. The project, which has been delayed multiple times over the last decade by litigation from environmental groups, proposes to realign and widen a 1.1 mile stretch of Highway 101 through the state park.

File photo from Caltrans

The main purpose of the proposed construction is to allow industry-standard trucks to pass through the area, something currently prohibited because of the dangerously sharp curves on that section of highway. Anticipating that this may mean more commercial trucks would pass through Eureka, the council requested that staff give a presentation on the potential traffic impacts of the project on the City.

According to the staff report, Caltrans issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), which states that “the preferred alternative will have no significant impact on the human environment,” and finding that “The total number of trucks would not be likely to change regardless of truck size for routine, regular truck trips.”

The Eureka City Council special meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 5:00 p.m. You can view the full agenda and directions on how to participate here.

The regular meeting will follow at 6:00 p.m. you can view the full agenda and directions on how to participate here.

For decades, many California teens convicted of serious crimes — such as robbery, assault, and murder — were sent to state juvenile prisons.

This year Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the closure of these state facilities. Under a new law, California’s three remaining youth prisons will no longer accept newly convicted youth after July 2021. Instead, counties will be responsible for young offenders who’ve committed the most serious offenses.

Those counties have until July to create plans to incorporate young people into their current juvenile hall and probation systems, but it’s unclear how much funding they’ll receive from the state.

Opponents, including the California State Association of Counties, worry that counties are unprepared to adapt to the new law — and that this may drive them to send more young people to adult prisons.

Some youth advocates agree, but argue that being closer to home will help convicted youth stay connected with their community, and lower the chance that they commit crimes in the future.

The state prison closures don’t affect the 750 youth already incarcerated in state juvenile facilities. After all of them have been released or age out of the facilities at age 25, the state Division of Juvenile Justice will shut down entirely.

Keep watching CalMatters.org for more in-a-minute videos about other new laws taking effect in 2021. They make up a smaller tally than usual given that the coronavirus pandemic dominated the Legislature’s 2020 session.

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