Robert Donovan Dunlap passed peacefully at the age of 81 on Thursday evening, October 16, 2025 in Eureka. He fondly was known as “Bob” and will be remembered for his kind heart, funny sense of humor and being a great storyteller.

His childhood was spent in Cambria and Chino, California. He later attended Villanova Prep in Ojai, where he was a standout baseball & basketball athlete and would receive a sports scholarship to the University of San Diego. He graduated from USD in 1966 and would begin his career as a school teacher back in his roots of Chino.

While he thoroughly enjoyed being an educator, he would find his professional success as a chief executive officer of several county fairs throughout the state of California in San Bernardino County, Kern County Trinity County and Solano County. His passion for these communities would shine through with his ideas to showcase projects and exhibits from agriculture to entertainment to local crafts.

He was the ultimate host with his love for food and spirits to share with all that came in contact with him at his elaborate BBQ parties to break bread and toast a beverage with his friends, employees, and family. Bob also enjoyed making people laugh with his incredible repertoire of jokes that he could deliver with the perfect cadence, accent, timing and punchline. We were all better for knowing Bob and all he had to give to show in how much he loved and cared for the many people that had the pleasure of calling him friend.

He is survived by his children Brian Dunlap, Julie Fernstrom, Timothy Dunlap, Erin Dunlap, Tony Dunlap and eight grandchildren.

###

As you know, the Kelly Clarkson Show is “the uplifting daytime destination for humor and connection,” a boast which was on full display today when Kelly had on a couple of our neighbors on to share their story. 

During today’s “RAD HUMAN” portion of the show, Clarkson interviewed Amy Bowers Cordalis, a Yurok attorney who chronicled her tribe’s generational fight to remove dams on the Klamath River. Later in the segment, Cordalis was joined by her niece, Keeya, one of the young people who, earlier this year, became among the first to kayak the river’s full length in more than a century.

Tune in above!

A short and unsubstantial Arcata City Council meeting last night was highlighted by a public hearing where commenters shared their opinions on public transportation with a focus on their “unmet needs.” On the whole, much of the feedback was positive — but the Humboldt Transit Authority’s inability to run buses on Sundays and late at night got some flak.

The comments will be forwarded to the Humboldt County Association of Governments. Other jurisdictions have done the same; both the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors and the Eureka City Council heard from residents this past week. 

Both speakers and councilmembers talked about the difficulty people without cars have getting around Humboldt County; councilmember Kimberley White even mentioned she had to hitch rides after meetings back to Valley West when her car needed repairing recently. The lack of public transport to Bayside and south G Street was also mentioned.

Councilmember Stacy Atkins-Salazar said there was a chance the requests for late night and Sunday routes may never be realized, despite their frequency. 

“Obviously, it’s important to hear all of the unmet needs,” she said. “But I think when they get evaluated, they go through a process of what is reasonable to meet, which is a whole metric. So just because we might want Sunday service or Bayside (which lots of people do), if the metrics don’t show that it’s reasonable to meet for funding, then it doesn’t get met. Which is why sometimes we hear the same requests year after year.”

It wasn’t all bad news; Mayor Alex Stillman said that over 1,000 Cal Poly Humboldt students were riding the bus to and fro the new Hinarr Hu Moulik dorms daily, and White said she was excited to be able to take a cheap public bus all the way to Willow Creek to see family during the holidays. The route to Ukiah got a few shoutouts as well from the councilmembers, as did HTA’s affordability, dependability, and speed.

“You have to have numbers to run all night. We’re not an urban area like San Francisco,” Stillman said. “…We’re not there yet. Our population base is still 134,000 people for the entire county. It’s going to take a while for this to come.”

Other tidbits: Hyland Fence, Forest Update, End of Stillman’s Tenure

City Manager Merritt Perry said during his report that he’d reached out to the owners of a property on Hyland Street in Bayside whose recently installed fence was blocking pedestrian access to Golf Course Road (a few Bayside residents complained about the fence at the last city council meeting. The old shortcut shaved off about 200 yards). However, both the fence and the path are on private property, and Perry said they didn’t seem too interested in removing it. No action for future meetings was planned. 

Michael Furniss, the chair of the Forestry Management Committee, updated the council on the various going-ons in city-owned forests, complete with trail cam footage of cougars and owls and other creatures. Surprise: there are a lot of ‘em out there!

Last night’s meeting was the last city council meeting 86-year-old Alex Stillman will preside over as mayor. A special meeting to elect a new mayor and vice mayor will be held Dec. 11. 

###

The Trump administration today proposed opening nearly 1.3 billion acres of U.S. coastal waters to new offshore oil and gas leases. The plan includes opening federal waters off the California coast to drilling operations for the first time in four decades, along with a remote region off Alaska in the northern Arctic where drilling has never before taken place.

While the announcement was anticipated, it was met today with fierce condemnation by state and local representatives, including our local U.S. Congressman, Rep. Jared Huffman, who serves as ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee. He described the Trump administration’s moves as part of “an all-out war on clean energy.” 

Congressional Democrats held a virtual press call this afternoon. You can watch the video of that event at the bottom of this post. 

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom today addressed the move from the Cop 30 climate conference in Brazil, saying Tump’s offshore drilling proposal is “dead on arrival.” See below.

###

In a subsequent statement, Newsom said this:

Trump’s idiotic plan endangers our coastal economy and communities and hurts the well-being of Californians. This reckless attempt to sell out our coastline to his Big Oil donors is dead in the water. Californians remember the environmental and economic devastation of past oil spills. For decades, California has stood firm in our opposition to new offshore drilling, and nothing will change that. We will use every tool at our disposal to protect our coastline. It’s interesting that Donald’s proposal doesn’t include the waters off Mar-a-Lago.

###

Huffman and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla also issued a press release:

Washington, D.C. – Today, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) condemned the Trump administration’s draft 2027-2032 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which proposes opening vast swaths of previously protected federal waters, including along the California coast, all of Alaska’s offshore waters, and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

“With this draft plan, Donald Trump and his Administration are trying to destroy one of the most valuable, most protected coastlines in the world and hand it over to the fossil fuel industry.

“They didn’t listen to Californians. They didn’t listen to communities up and down the West Coast. Instead, Trump wants to take a wrecking ball to our communities while trampling over anyone who stands between him and what billionaires demand.

“These lease areas are not only irreplaceable, but allowing drilling in these areas would undermine military readiness and pose risks to national security. But Trump doesn’t care. Californians remember every spill, every dead dolphin and sea otter, every fishing season wrecked by contamination. We built stronger, cleaner, more resilient coastal communities — and a burgeoning $1.7 trillion coastal economy — in spite of all that. And we’re not going to stand by and watch it get destroyed by Trump’s oil and gas pet projects.

“This plan targets California and the whole West Coast because they think we will roll over. They are wrong. We’re going to fight this with everything we have.”

Background

The Trump administration’s draft 2027 to 2032 Offshore Oil and Gas Leasing plan released on November 20 marks the most aggressive push in decades to open all of the California coast, nearly all of Alaska’s offshore waters, and vast stretches of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, including areas long protected by moratoria and despite opposition from even Republican senators in Florida.

The proposal includes six lease sales off California between 2027 and 2030, the first attempt to drill in these waters in more than forty years. This move directly targets areas President Biden withdrew from future leasing in January 2025, when he protected 625 million acres in the Pacific, Atlantic, Eastern Gulf, and Arctic. Trump tried to wipe out those protections on his first day back in office, repeating the same maneuver a federal court rejected in 2017 when he attempted to undo President Obama’s Arctic and Atlantic withdrawals.

The draft plan also lands in the shadow of the Republican budget reconciliation law passed in July 2025, which mandated new lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, lowered offshore royalty rates, and expanded fossil fuel industry access without environmental review.

Here’s video from the press call:

###

###

And lastly, here’s the announcement from the U.S. Department of the Interior:

WASHINGTON — The Department of the Interior today announced a Secretary’s Order titled “Unleashing American Offshore Energy,” directing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to take the necessary steps, in accordance with federal law, to terminate the restrictive Biden 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program and replace it with a new, expansive 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program by October 2026. As part of this directive, the Department is releasing the Secretary’s Draft Proposed Program for the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. 

These actions reflect the Trump administration’s continued commitment to restoring American Energy Dominance by replacing the smallest offshore leasing plan ever published by an administration with one that fully addresses the nation’s growing energy needs. 

“Offshore oil and gas production does not happen overnight. It takes years of planning, investment, and hard work before barrels reach the market,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. “The Biden administration slammed the brakes on offshore oil and gas leasing and crippled the long-term pipeline of America’s offshore production. By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come.” 

Under the new proposal for the 2026–2031 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, Interior is taking a major step to boost United States energy independence and sustain domestic oil and gas production. The proposal includes as many as 34 potential offshore lease sales across 21 of 27 existing Outer Continental Shelf planning areas, covering approximately 1.27 billion acres. That includes 21 areas off the coast of Alaska, seven in the Gulf of America, and six along the Pacific coast. The proposal also includes the Secretary’s decision to create a new administrative planning area, the South-Central Gulf of America. 

“Offshore oil and gas development requires long-term vision, steady policy, and the confidence for companies to invest in American energy. For years, that confidence was undercut by the Biden Administration’s failed leasing policies,” said Jarrod Agen, Executive Director of the National Energy Dominance Council. “By putting a real leasing plan back on track, we’re restoring energy security, protecting American jobs, and strengthening the nation’s ability to lead on energy for decades to come. 

This action implements Executive Order 14154 and supplements Secretary’s Order 3418, both titled “Unleashing American Energy.” The orders instruct all Interior Department bureaus and offices to accelerate responsible energy development consistent with federal law. By replacing the failed Biden-era plan with a robust and competitive offshore leasing program, the Department will open new opportunities for offshore investment and job creation, reinforce America’s role as a global energy leader, and help ensure a stable and secure energy supply well into the future. 

Under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Secretary of the Interior must prepare a national program that identifies the size, timing, and location of potential lease sales to best meet the country’s energy needs while considering economic, environmental, and social factors. 

The current proposal follows a public request for information and comment published in April 2025. The Department received more than 86,000 comments from stakeholders, states, industry representatives, and members of the public. Feedback from those comments informed the proposal released today. 

Before the program and individual lease sales are finalized, the public will have multiple opportunities to provide input. The Department encourages broad participation in the upcoming 60-day public comment period, which will begin when the proposal is published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2025. 

As of September 1, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management manages 2,073 active offshore oil and gas leases covering about 11.2 million acres. Offshore production accounts for roughly 15 percent of the nation’s domestic oil output. The Outer Continental Shelf is estimated to contain about 68.8 billion barrels of oil and 229 trillion cubic feet of natural gas yet to be discovered. 

Today’s announcement marks the first of three proposals that will be developed before final approval of the 2026–2031 program. Inclusion of a planning area in this proposal does not guarantee that it will be included in the final program or offered for lease. Each lease sale will undergo additional review, environmental analysis, and opportunities for public comment. 

For more information and to view maps of the proposed areas, visit www.boem.gov/National-Program. 

###

After operating as a joint coffee house/cannabis dispensary for the past eight months, the geometric building at 2742 Broadway in Eureka will soon be remodeled and reopened as a Shotz Coffee, which also has locations in Fortuna and Rio Dell.

This morning we stopped by the big tin can of a building, with its cantilevered window shades and cinder block derrière, and spoke with Assistant Manager Peter Portman. He confirmed that owners Tashina and Mike Benson recently sold the business to Shotz owner Nicole Norton.

The cannabis dispensary portion closed this past Sunday while the coffee drive-through will operate through the end of the month, Portman said.

The Bensons, who also own a weed farm in Southern Humboldt, purchased Gold Rush Coffee from founders Joe and Karen Paff in 2022, according to a recent story from SFGate. This past April, the couple re-opened the drive-through as a coffee-cannabis combo with the clever double-moniker Gold Rush Coffee and Green Rush Cannabis. A “GR” logo served both aspects of the business.

In that April SFGate story, Tanisha Benson discussed the collapse of wholesale cannabis prices in California, saying, “The bulk market since legalization is really hard on a farmer — like, you just cannot make a living wage. It’s not realistic.”

The coffee industry hasn’t exactly been a goldmine either in recent months. The Trump administration’s tariffs on coffee contributed to skyrocketing wholesale prices, which impacted businesses here in Humboldt and across the country. Last week, amid inflation concerns, the administration rolled back tariffs on more than 200 food products, coffee included. 

Haleigh Licona, a manager at the Fortuna Shotz location, told the Outpost via email that the place will reopen as Shotz Coffee sometime in January.

In the office at the back of the building this morning, Portman said most of the crew of employees will continue working at the location under the new ownership. The dispensary lounge will be remodeled back into a walk-in lobby for coffee drinkers. Shotz also offers food items, including breakfast burritos, bagels, açai bowls and banana bread.

Portman is among the employees who will stick around.

“I’m really excited about it, honestly,” he said. “I like this spot. I like the clientele we have here. It’s really special.”

###

In response to the recent lapse in funding for federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the Eureka City Council on Tuesday approved $30,000 in funding to support local food assistance programs. The funds will be equally split — $15,000 apiece — between Food for People and St. Vincent de Paul’s dining facility in Eureka.

Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting, Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery explained that the proposal came about “out of concern for SNAP benefits going away” during the government shutdown, which ended Nov. 12. “SNAP benefits were reinstated … but [there] are other issues pending that could be coming to people who provide food for our community,” he said.

While SNAP, known as CalFresh in California, is not presently at risk, the recent lapse in federal funding showed just how quickly local resources can become overwhelmed “when the food security safety net breaks down,” said Ashliegh Diehl, treasurer for Food for People.

Diehl | Screenshot

“In the days following the announcements of delayed SNAP benefits, Food for People saw an immediate 40 percent increase in people seeking our assistance,” Diehl said while commenting on the council’s proclamation for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. “Many of them were scared, not knowing how they’d feed their family. While that emergency has passed, looking ahead, we anticipate an additional strain.”

Policy changes enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will “significantly change” how SNAP benefits are administered and who is eligible, Diehl said. 

“These shifts will place new burdens on states and communities, and ultimately reduce access for many people who currently rely on food assistance here in Humboldt,” she continued. “Thousands of residents could be affected, which will increase pressure on local food banks and other community organizations. When the larger safety net wavers, the impact is immediate at our local level.”

Staff had initially suggested that Foor for People and St. Vincent de Paul’s split the $15,000 in participatory budget funds, but Councilmember Leslie Castellano asked if it would be possible to up the city’s contribution by another five or ten thousand dollars. Slattery said he was fairly confident that increasing allocation wouldn’t threaten the city’s budget.

During public comment, St. Vincent de Paul Redwoods Region Board President Bob Santilli echoed previous comments about the challenging future ahead, underscoring that the nonprofit sector is often resilient on “precarious” funding streams that “can dry up overnight.”

Santilli | Screenshot

“We’ve pretty much seen a decline in funding over, I’d say, the last eight years or so, primarily in the grant funding world,” Santilli said. “We’re looking at non-traditional funding measures down the road, and we’ll see what happens, but it’s very much a blessing that yourselves are considering this measure for us, and it’s just further evidence of the long-standing support of the city, and we’re grateful for that.”

Councilmember Castellano made a motion to up the contribution to $15,000 for each organization, which was seconded by Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez. The motion passed in a 5-0 vote.

###

Other notable bits from Tuesday’s meeting:

• Eureka Police Chief Brian Stephens presented the council with a mutual aid agreement for Humboldt County law enforcement that will guide the local response during a major incident or emergency. The agreement — linked here — includes all governmental law enforcement agencies in the county, as well as two tribal agencies. The agreement has already been reviewed by the city’s Independent Police Auditor and the Citizens’ Oversight of Police Practices (COPP) Board. The council agreed to receive and file the report, but did not take additional action on the item.
• The council also received a report on the city’s Façade Improvement Rebate and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Grant Program. The program aims to reduce crime and “promote better health and wellness within the community” by improving the exterior of buildings and businesses around town. Eureka’s Economic Development Manager Swan Asbury said the city has had 90-plus site visits where several staffers talk to property owners about maintenance issues and potential improvements, but only 37 people have submitted grant proposals thus far. “I think that it is rare that [our city is] willing to do this, and that’s where the value is,” Asbury said. The council agreed to receive and file the report.
• The council also passed an ordinance designating fire hazard severity zones in the city, which is based on historical fire behavior, fire weather potential and fuel loading. The updated map — linked here — identifies most of Eureka as a “no hazard” zone, with the outskirts of the city designated as a “moderate fire hazard severity zone.
• The council also passed a proclamation acknowledging Nov. 20 as the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

###

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

###

New federal regulations could leave California with 61,000 fewer truck drivers as the Trump administration bans certain immigrants from operating large vehicles. With fewer truck drivers on the road, consumers may see higher shipping costs, too.

Following an executive order from President Donald Trump in April, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy began cracking down on truck drivers by creating new regulations that prevent refugees, asylum seekers, and those with Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, or DACA, from holding commercial trucking licenses. The administration is also increasing enforcement to penalize those who have limited English proficiency.

California is the main target of both actions, sparking a feud between Duffy and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers — often times (sic) illegally. This is a direct threat to the safety of every family on the road,“ Duffy wrote in a statement in September. “California’s reckless disregard is frankly disgusting and an affront to the millions of Americans who expect us to keep them safe.”

Newsom has been unsparing in his responses. “Sounds like the federal Secretary of Transportation needs a lesson on his own road rules,” wrote his press office in October on the social media platform X. “Once again, the Sean ‘Road Rules’ Duffy fails to share the truth — spreading easily disproven falsehoods in a sad and desperate attempt to please his ‘dear leader,’” the office said in November, responding to more allegations by Duffy.

Until recently, the federal government allowed states to issue trucking licenses to non-citizen immigrants, including refugees, asylum seekers, and those with DACA. Of the more than 720,000 trucking licenses that are active in California, about 8%, or roughly 61,000, belong to this class of immigrants.

Now, under the new federal regulations released in September, nearly all of the 61,000 immigrants will lose their licenses in the coming months or years — for some, as soon as January.

Losing thousands of license-holders could disrupt California’s transportation economy, said Rebecca Higgins, vice president of policy for the Eno Center on Transportation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. These cuts may lead to a sudden drop in the number of drivers in the state, potentially increasing shipping costs, she said.

In addition to the new regulations, the U.S. Transportation Department has repeatedly claimed that it conducted a “nationwide audit” of trucking policies and that at least five other states — Texas, South Dakota, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Colorado — have a history of violating federal law by giving licenses to ineligible immigrants. But the transportation department only publicly released an audit of California’s Department of Motor Vehicles and has refused to respond to CalMatters’ requests for data on any other state.

Duffy has threatened to withhold $160 million in federal highway safety funds from California because of alleged violations found in the audit. That money, representing about 4% of these federal funds, is supposed to arrive next fall. Duffy doesn’t have the legal right to withhold the remaining 96%.

Separately, the transportation department said it will no longer award any money to California from a different federal grant, totaling about $40 million, because it alleges that California isn’t enforcing English-language proficiency guidelines for truck drivers.

‘Insufficient evidence’ to support new regulations

Over the last decade, the demand for truckers has grown as companies like Amazon increasingly offer home shipping for any product imaginable. The trucking industry has expanded along with it, though companies have long struggled to retain workers willing to work the long hours with low pay that many entry-level positions offer.

With more trucks on the roads compared to 10 years ago, truck drivers are involved in a higher percentage of crashes and traffic-related fatalities. Duffy said the new regulations for immigrant drivers are an effort to save lives. But in publishing the new regulations on immigrant truck drivers, Duffy’s transportation department acknowledged that there’s “insufficient evidence” to prove that certain kinds of immigrants drive more dangerously than other drivers. Instead, the department justified the regulations by citing a number of high-profile crashes involving truck drivers who allegedly lack legal status, including a fiery crash on the I-10 in Ontario in October.

The driver, Jashanpreet Singh, is in jail, where he’s charged with vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving leading to the death of three people and injuries of two more. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security claims he lacks legal status and said it plans to detain him even if the charges are dropped.

In a Nov. 13 letter, the transportation department claims that if California had complied with the new regulations then “the crash may have been avoided.” But Higgins said the federal focus on a few crashes involving immigrants is glossing over the “root cause” of most traffic accidents, such as speeding and driving under the influence.

Thousands of licenses rescinded

Following the federal audit of California’s DMV, the state has already rescinded 17,000 licenses from immigrant truck drivers, giving each of them 60 days to stop driving and find a new job. Duffy said California was “caught red-handed” violating federal law on trucking licenses while Newom’s press office said that was a “lie.”

The reality is more nuanced. The federal audit found that California had issued some trucking licenses with expiration dates that extend past the dates that the driver could prove their legal right to remain in the U.S. The California DMV said that federal law never prohibited this practice until September, when the transportation department changed the rules. California rescinded these 17,000 licenses to abide by the new regulations and never violated the law, the DMV said.

After it rescinded those licenses, California asked the federal government to drop its threat to withhold $160 million in highway safety funds, but the transportation department refused.

All told, the money at risk represents a small fraction of the total federal dollars that go to California’s highways, so small that most Californians are unlikely to notice the change on the road, said Higgins. “The general public doesn’t notice a 3% or 2% reduction in highway funding, and they don’t notice a 1% reduction in trucks on the road.”

Still, she said many truck drivers and trucking companies could be hit hard.

Because of the transportation department’s new rules, California has already denied over 300 applications for truck licenses from refugees, asylum seekers, and those with DACA status, said Toni Tinoco, the assistant deputy secretary for communications at the state’s transportation agency. Driving schools say that some students have decided not to apply at all, knowing that their applications won’t be accepted.

Even after rescinding 17,000 licenses, California still has about 44,000 immigrant truck drivers whose licenses are still valid. But it’s likely that they won’t be able to renew their licenses as long as the federal regulations remain in effect. The only exceptions are those who have certain work visas known as the H-2a, H-2b or E-2, which are relatively rare for truck drivers.

A lawsuit by two national unions representing truck drivers appealed the new federal regulations and a judge agreed last week to temporarily pause their implementation, saying the federal government didn’t give states enough prior notice before changing its rules.

But the U.S. Transportation Department said the ruling doesn’t apply to any state under disciplinary actions, such as California. Tinoco said California will continue denying immigrants their licenses.