– The Humboldt County Planning Commission stalled work on a new medical marijuana ordinance, reports the T-S’s Thad Greenson. Apparently, Commissioner Ralph Faust convinced the commission to stop work partly on the somewhat incredible grounds that regulation of the outlaw industry could harm our economy. This ain’t your daddy’s Timber War!
Meanwhile, the T-S’s Donna Tambourine kicks in with a round-up on the state of marijuana regulation in six of the county’s seven cities.
– Likewise, the Humboldt Waste Management Authority put off the politically touchy matter of awarding a new contract for the processing of its recyclables. Per the T-S’s Allison Edrington, the delay was required to give member cities more time to look at the dueling proposals from the Arcata Community Recycling Center and Waste of Willits (a band name ripe for the plucking.)
– The House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation that would open big patches of ocean for offshore oil drilling; Rep. Mike Thompson raised hell in opposition. “There may be enough oil off the North Coast to make oil companies billions of dollars in profits, but there is nowhere near enough to change the reality or our national energy challenges, or outweigh the serious risks to North Coast communities,” quoth Thompson.
But the Associated Press is saying that the bill has zero chance of passing the Senate or receiving the president’s signature.
– On the KMUD News: Robert Firestone still missing (2:10). Rep. Mike Thompson on the offshore oil bill (3:40). The quixotic effort to incorporate a large swatch of Southern Humboldt as “Emerald City” (20:25).
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