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You haven’t forgotten, right? Just about a year and a half ago, Nordic Aquafarms, a Scandinavian company, first put forward the idea of building a large-scale onshore fish farm on the Samoa Peninsula, at the site of the old Pulp Mill currently owned by the Harbor District.

We’ve had a lot of coverage of this proposal over the intervening months — see below for a list — but you might not know, since the onset of sheltering in place, that Nordic is still moving forward. They’re currently in the process of acquiring state and local permits to start construction.

To that end, the company is hosting a virtual Town Hall on Zoom at 6 p.m. today. If you’re interested in the project — either as a booster, a critic or just a curious citizen — you might want to tune in. There’ll be a question and answer period at the end.

Press release from Nordic Aquafarms:

Public Information Meeting and Q & A Session with Nordic Aquafarms

• When: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, 2020
• Where: Zoom
• Log-In Information: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83592185856 
• Meeting ID: 835 9218 5856 
• One tap mobile: 1-669-900-6833

Nordic Aquafarms is in the process of preparing and submitting permit applications and related studies to the Water Quality Control Board, California Coastal Commission and Humboldt County Planning Department.

The community is encouraged to attend this Town Hall meeting to learn more about Nordic Aquafarms permit process, hear application and study highlights, and receive a general project update regarding Nordic’s planned aquaculture facility for the Samoa Peninsula. At the end of the presentation, Nordic will also welcome questions from the audience.

For more information or support in logging into the meeting, please contact Lynette Mullen at lynette.mullen@gmail.com or call 707-845-0467.

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From Humboldt State University:

The University Police Department is advising the Humboldt State University community to be on the alert for an individual who attempted to burglarize a campus residence today. 

At 11:44 a.m., the suspect tried to break into a Campus Apartment residence on the third floor through the kitchen window while a student was home. 

The suspect is described as a white male, 5’11”, medium build, with medium length brown hair. He was wearing a white shirt, tan pants, and carrying a silver metallic-colored bag or fire blanket. He fled in an unknown direction.  

The incident is still under investigation. If you live on campus, please secure your windows and doors. If you need a safety escort at any time or need crime prevention tips, please contact UPD. 

If you see or encounter someone who fits this description on campus, DO NOT confront him. Please contact University Police immediately by dialing or texting 911, calling (707) 826-5555 or extension 5555 from any campus blue light phone.

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly provides an update on COVID-19 in the state this morning.

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Humboldt County is one of six California counties to remain in the state’s lowest level of concern in today’s updated COVID-19 tier placement from the California Department of Heath and Human Services.

The other counties still ranked in the yellow — or “minimal” — tier include San Francisco, Sierra, Calaveras, Alpine and Mariposa.

Two of Humboldt’s immediate neighbors — Trinity and Siskiyou counties — moved from the yellow tier into the more restrictive orange tier, which indicates “moderate” virus spread. Del Norte was already in that tier, and remains there; Mendocino is in the red, “substantial” tier.

The tier system, introduced in California’s “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” COVID-19 Framework, determines the amount and type of restrictions placed on local businesses and other social activities within a county. (See overview in PDF form at this link.) A county’s placement in a tier is determined by new cases per capita, the percentage of tests that come back positive and an “equity” metric, which measures whether or not particular communities are disproportionately affected by the spread of the disease.

Though Humboldt remains in the lowest tier, case and positivity rates have been rising rapidly over the past week. If we move into the orange, additional restrictions will be placed on several local industry sectors. Bars will be forced to moved to outdoor operations only, for example. Gyms and fitness centers will have to reduce capacity.

Here are seven hours of Elections Office workers counting votes yesterday.

Press release from Access Humboldt:

TV and online coverage for manual vote counting process in Humboldt County is streaming and available for observers. The marathon coverage is part of a series offered by the Humboldt County Elections Office in partnership with Access Humboldt.

This year the COVID pandemic created a unique challenge to the normal process for allowing observers to attend key steps, including the “logic and accuracy” testing of the ballot counting systems and the actual manual count of ballots. So, in addition to regular voter information programs in English and Spanish, back in early October the logic and accuracy testing was documented from beginning to end - that program is online here. And since Election Day, complete coverage of the manual ballot counting process has been airing on Access Humboldt and streaming on YouTube at this link.

Sean Taketa McLaughlin, executive director for Access Humboldt said, “Humboldt County residents want to know that our election process has integrity, so local officials maintain the highest standards of transparency to ensure accountability of the voting process and results - part of a local tradition launched in 2008 by the Elections Transparency Project. Our focus on civic engagement and empowering local voices makes election years particularly important. Access Humboldt is delighted to partner with the Humboldt County Office of Elections for this important civic media exercise.”

Access Humboldt is a non-profit, community media & broadband access organization serving the residents and local jurisdictions of Humboldt County on the North Coast of California USA, managing resources that include: cable access TV channels; KZZH FM 96.7 community radio; a wide area broadband network with dedicated optic fiber connections to twenty locations serving local jurisdictions and community anchor institutions; broadband access wireless networks; a Community Media Center with studio and other production equipment and training on the Eureka High School campus; and ongoing operational support for public, educational and governmental access media services.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Nov. 6, 2020, at about 11 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 7200 block of Shelter Cove Road in Shelter Cove for the report of an assault suspect being detained by citizens.

Deputies arrived on scene and located the suspect, 53-year-old Adam Troy Beauchamp, sitting on the ground with his hands restrained by duct tape. Deputies contacted two male victims, ages 52 and 27, on scene who told deputies that earlier in the day the two reportedly caught Beauchamp reaching into their mailbox. When confronted, Beauchamp reportedly began to make death threats directed at the victims and then fled.

Later in the day, the victims reportedly observed Beauchamp in the area of the 7200 block of Shelter Cove Road attempting to set a telephone pole on fire. The victims approached Beauchamp in an attempt to intervene, however, Beauchamp then reportedly physically assaulted the 52-year-old victim, displaying a knife and threating to kill him. The 27-year-old victim and additional citizens attempted to detain Beauchamp, at which time Beauchamp reportedly assaulted the 27-year-old victim prior to being restrained.

Beauchamp was taken into custody and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of assault (PC 240), battery (PC 242), criminal threats (PC 422), assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm (PC 245(a)(1)) and attempted arson (PC 664/451(d)).

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

Jurors debating the guilt or innocence of murder suspect Demetrius Coleman were expected to begin their third day of deliberations this morning.

The jury received the case after hearing closing arguments Thursday afternoon. Deliberations started in earnest Friday morning, with the panel continuing its discussions all day Friday and Monday without reaching a verdict.

Coleman.

Coleman, 40, is accused of the fatal drive-by shooting of 26-year-old Johnny Mack Renfro, killed by one bullet to his abdomen as he stood on Monument Road in Rio Dell. The shooting occurred on Aug. 29, 2019, in broad daylight and in a residential neighborhood.

Home video surveillance cameras recorded the scene as a green Honda coupe passed Renfro once, then passed by a second time with the driver firing at least four shots. The driver can’t be identified in the video, but the car in question was traced to Coleman.

Given that the jury has not reached decision, jurors must be giving serious consideration to Coleman’s account of the incident. He says a Jamaican man named “Dread” was driving his car and fired the shots as he crouched down behind the driver’s seat. The video show the driver’s seat was pitched back at a 45-degree angle.

Coleman is a large man and it’s hard to picture him fitting in that space. But there has been no proof it would be impossible.

After the shooting, according to Coleman, “Dread” got out of the car on state Highway 36. Coleman then drove to the home of some friends, telling them he’d been robbed and shot at. He left the car there, and eventually it turned up as the key piece of physical evidence against him.

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“I’m not understanding this,” said defense attorney Russ Clanton, probably echoing the sentiments of many who heard the bewildering testimony of the man who says he witnessed the brutal murder of Jason Todd Garrett in February.

On Monday Clanton repeatedly had to scratch his cross-examination of eyewitness Christopher Champagne and start all over as Champagne casually tossed in new information and contradicted his earlier testimony.

Tanner.

Champagne, who says he helped bury and hide Garrett’s body after Anthony Ryan Tanner shot him with an AK-47, is the main prosecution witness for Tanner’s preliminary hearing. He has said he has memory problems because of “gunshot wounds” from an unrelated incident.

On Monday Clanton struggled to keep Champagne on track, asking him to provide a timeline for each of the three days he spent at Tanner’s rural home. Clanton was never able to get through the first day before stopping and going back to the beginning.

Champagne previously testified that on the second day, Tanner first cut Garrett’s throat and then forced him into a bathtub and shot him and his dog.

Now Champagne believes the killing happened on the first day he was at Tanner’s home. During testimony he kept getting confused about whether Garrett’s body was in the back of Tanner’s truck when he and Tanner drove to various places, talked to various people and worked on Tanner’s marijuana operation.

He has described trips to both Redway and Garberville to buy food and diesel. It’s difficult to know whether he’s talking about one trip or two. He and Tanner had dinner one or more times at Champagne’s mother’s house. Sometimes he says Garrett was still alive at that point. Sometimes he says Garrett’s body was in the back of the truck when they were having dinner.

It seems fairly clear — at least according to Champagne’s testimony — that Garrett was killed because he was suspected of stealing items from people in the Southern Humboldt neighborhood. Champagne said the stolen goods consisted of clothing.

Even during direct examination by Deputy District Attorney Whitney Timm, Timm had to take the role of cross-examiner and remind Champagne of statements he’d made earlier that don’t jibe with what he’s saying now.

For example, Champagne said that after his ordeal at Tanner’s, he went home and slept “for three or four days.”

Timm asked him about his statement to law enforcement that at one point Tanner came into his bedroom with a noose.

“Oh, yeah,” Champagne said. He said Tanner kicked in his bedroom door, showed him a noose and said “You’re better off hanging yourself.”

Tanner had “one (noose) for me and one for my mother.”

After Tanner left he went back to sleep.

Champagne was expected to continue testifying today when the preliminary hearing resumes.

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