Our Great Fun Season of Redistricting draws to a close. As noted earlier, the state Citizens Redistricting Commission put the stamp on its final maps today. Longtime North Coast Congressman Mike Thompson is out, shunted off to Martinez. We keep State Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) and Assm. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata), but it looks like The Chezz is probably gonna have a primary fight on his hands.

That’s right, folks — a real election! Here on the North Coast! Of course, most all the action is gonna be happening around our Congressional vacuum, which a swarm of new-to-the-neighborhood Marinites are battling to fill. You’ve got Assm. Jared Huffman, Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams and activist Norman Solomon contesting for our favor. This latter is dropping hankies all over the goddamn place. Press release:

With the California Citizens Redistricting Commission’s approval of final maps today, Democratic congressional candidate Norman Solomon is available to speak with journalists about California’s new North Coast congressional district (CD-2) spanning north of the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.

Below is a brief statement from Solomon, an independent progressive Democrat: 

“I’m excited to be running for Congress in California’s newly formed North Coast district — a diverse, stunningly beautiful region with a long history of political independence and progressive values. Let’s hit the ground running and seize this chance to work together for our communities.”

Excellent!

Now to local news: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors is gonna be talking up supervisorial redistricting in its afternoon session. Well have more to say then, but if you want you can check out the exciting interactive draft maps on the county Web site. One way or another, a lot is going to change.

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The Great 101 Slide that launched the LoCO last spring inflicted more terror on an unsuspecting populace today. Planned construction work at the site of the hellslide amounted to delays of a half-hour on 101 north of Garberville.

A few minutes ago, Caltrans’ Julie East told KHUM’s Larry Trask that there was way more traffic on the road than her agency had anticipated. In response, she said, they’re moving construction to evenings from now on, and hope to have the work wrapped up in a few days.

Audio!

Trask-East

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Whilst photographing the pretty trees up Del Norte way, New York artist Richard Rothman for some reason took on the thankless task of learning to love Crescent City.

The contrast between the radical, spectacularly ornate environment of the forest and the trashed, disposable landscape of the town that abutted it became the subject of a more complex project which would take some surprising twists and turns.

The result? Redwood Saw, which seems to be a coffeetable book with pretty pictures of big-ass redwoods and somewhat less pretty pictures reflecting “themes of longing and unhappiness, reflected in the faces and bodies of the [Crescent City] townspeople.”

No doubt!