So, how’s your 2016 been, folks? Eventful? Rewarding? Godawful? 

For the world at large, well, consider this: As the year limps pathetically to a close, a host of esteemed news outlets — from NPR to the Washington Post to the New York Times — have felt it necessary to assert that 2016 was probably not the worst year ever. So there’s that.

Here in Humboldt things have been pretty rough, too — at least from a crime perspective. We saw a record 22 homicides, for example, including the deaths of two teenage girls and an infant. 

50 most-read stories

  1. BOLO: A Group of Trimmers Allegedly Rob, Murder Laytonville Grower, Make Off With More Than 100 Pounds of Weed
  2. ‘Hoping for a Peaceful Resolution’: Sheriff Mike Downey on the McKinleyville Standoff
  3. Cal-Ore Life Flight Plane Crashes Northeast of McKinleyville
  4. Jeep That Killed Two Girls in Fortuna Located at Deceased Victim’s Residence, CHP Says
  5. SHOTS FIRED DOWNTOWN: One Person Down After Eureka Police Engage in Firefight on Fifth Street; Highway Closed
  6. Two Skateboarding Teenage Girls Killed in Fortuna Hit-and-Run
  7. Fortuna Fatal Hit-and-Run: CHP Seeks Public’s Help in Tracking Down Marcia Kitchen and Josh Pearlston
  8. Monster Sinkhole Closes Highway 101 in Harbor on the Oregon Coast
  9. Highway 299 is Going to Be Closed For a Long, Long Time
  10. 19-Year-Old Fortuna Man on Life Support After Centerville Beach Sand Hole Collapse
  11. APD: Arcata Man Found on Footpath on Top of 12-Year-Old Girl by Parent
  12. A Car Put a Great Big Hole Through One of Humboldt State’s Mission-Style Entrance Signs Last Night
  13. MARSH EVICTIONS: 44 Tons of Trash Collected, One Arrest Made, Some Campers Remain (for Tonight)
  14. Roads Closed, Flood Warnings Issued as Rain Continues to Pummel North Coast
  15. Highway 299 Shut Down Near Big Bar Due to Rockslide
  16. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Just Released 112 Pages Worth of People with Active Warrants
  17. GREEN RUSH! Here is a List of the 846 Humboldters and More (So Far) Who are Looking to Go Legit
  18. OBITUARY: George O’Donnell, 1929-2016
  19. Crescent City Teen Found Guilty in Brutal Gang Rape Case; Tried, Sentenced as Adult
  20. Some Dudes Carrying Pounds of Meth Crashed Their Car Right in Front of the Eureka Police Chief This Afternoon, Looks Like
  21. Two Arrested in Eureka in Connection with Yesterday’s Manila Homicide
  22. Fortuna Murder Suspect Arrested by SWAT Team East of Bridgeville; Victim ID’d
  23. Students Sit With Kaepernick at HSU Football’s Home Opener
  24. Eureka Hikers Missing in Marble Mountains
  25. Big Police Raid Underway Outside Cutten Murphy’s Market
  26. You Probably Should Not Drive Here (PHOTOS)
  27. Man Shot, Killed Off Rohnerville Road in Fortuna; Police Searching for Suspect
  28. Woman Shot and Killed Outside McCullens Motel in Eureka
  29. Standoff on Broadway; Eureka Police Surround El Milagro Rancho Viejo Market With Guns Drawn
  30. McKinleyville Standoff Comes to Violent End; Subject Dead After Opening Fire on Officers
  31. METH, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE: How Hidden Cameras and Crooked Policing Botched One of the Biggest Busts in Del Norte History
  32. 28-Year-Old Man Found Dead in Blue Lake Casino Hotel Room
  33. Multiple Eureka High Schoolers Hospitalized After Consuming Psychedelic Seeds
  34. Two Reported Dead in Major Six-Vehicle Accident on Highway 101 South of Willits
  35. (VIDEO) Massive Landslide Collapses Into the Van Duzen River as Friends Have Lunch at Swimmer’s Delight
  36. Northbound Highway 101 Reopened at Loleta After Slide, Crash
  37. Major Morning Structure Fire on Eureka’s Fourth Street
  38. 21-Year-Old Eureka Woman Arrested for Manslaughter After Hitchhiker is Ejected, Killed During Crash on Highway 299
  39. 20-Year-Old Shot Dead in Manila Early This Morning; Victim Found Lying in the Middle of Highway 255
  40. Two Once-Busted Humboldters Get Healthy Settlement From State of Iowa
  41. Highway 101 Fully Closed after Truck Crashes, Leaks Fluid Onto Roadway
  42. BOLO: Two More People Wanted by Sheriff’s Office in Connection with Manila Homicide
  43. Officer-Involved Shooting in Arcata
  44. Surfer Unscathed After Great White Shark Chomps His Board, Wetsuit Near the South Jetty
  45. Hit and Run Driver Strikes People Standing Outside St. Vincent DePaul; Witnesses Say Driver Intentionally Rammed Victims
  46. 21-Year-Old Killed in Today’s Highway 101 Accident
  47. Five Arrested on Drugs, Weapons Charges in Morning Melee at Downtown Arcata Gas Station
  48. Suspect Arrested and Booked for Murder Following This Morning’s Fatal Shooting at McCullens Motel
  49. Two Fortuna Students Arrested for Planning ‘Mass Casualty Event’ at Fortuna High School Today
  50. Disney’s ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ Filming in Eureka This Week

25 top-commented comment threads:

  1. LoCO Earth: Oct. 9, 2016
  2. LoCO Earth: Oct. 10, 2016
  3. LoCO Earth: Oct. 15, 2016
  4. LoCO Earth: Oct. 11, 2016
  5. LoCO Earth: Oct. 13, 2016
  6. LoCO Earth: Oct. 14, 2016
  7. LoCO Earth: Nov. 10, 2016
  8. LoCO Earth: Oct. 28, 2016
  9. LoCO Earth: Oct. 30, 2016
  10. LoCO Earth: Oct. 4, 2016
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  13. LoCO Earth: Nov. 15, 2016
  14. LoCO Earth: Nov. 3, 2016
  15. LoCO Earth: Oct. 21, 2016
  16. LoCO Earth: June 29, 2016
  17. LoCO Earth: Nov. 14, 2016
  18. LoCO Earth: Nov. 9, 2016
  19. LoCO Earth: Nov. 22, 2016
  20. LoCO Earth: Oct. 26, 2016
  21. LoCO Earth: Oct. 27, 2016
  22. LoCO Earth: Nov. 8, 2016
  23. LoCO Earth: Nov. 23, 2016
  24. MARSH EVICTIONS: 44 Tons of Trash Collected, One Arrest Made, Some Campers Remain (for Tonight)
  25. LoCO Earth: Nov. 2, 2016