Efforts are ongoing to stabilize and clear a large landslide that has fully closed Route 36 east of Swimmer’s Delight near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park.
Following geotechnical analysis and strategic planning, as well as equipment and crew mobilization, our current goal is to remove hazards within the active slide zone. After that, we’ll focus on building a catchment area and a temporary traffic lane slightly shifted away from the hillside.
Currently, we’re cautiously optimistic that traffic will resume by the end of next week. Safely resuming traffic, especially for emergency services, remains our top priority. In the coming days, once we’re deeper into the nitty-gritty of this work, we’ll provide more detailed information and a clearer timeline.
Also, high-quality topographic data is being gathered to support long-term stabilization. This slide is large and steep. It extends roughly 800 feet up the slope, and due to its steepness and complexity, we’re looking at utilizing helicopter operations soon. Drone-based LiDAR has helped assess the site, but due to difficult terrain and the need for precision, helicopter-mounted LiDAR will be used soon. That data will inform a more permanent slope fix later this summer.
The long-vacant Jacobs Middle School campus at 674 Allard Avenue. | File photo.
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More than six years after Eureka City Schools decided to sell off its vacated and deteriorating Jacobs Middle School campus, the district’s board of trustees may soon consummate a deal giving the State of California the exclusive right to purchase the property for $4 million.
The state has long sought the eight-acre property for the purpose of designing and building a new Humboldt-area headquarters for the California Highway Patrol. At next Wednesday’s meeting, the ECS Board of Trustees will consider approving a two-year irrevocable option agreement that could allow the state to do just that.
Per the terms of the deal, the state would make up to two annual, nonrefundable payments to Eureka City Schools of $253,100 (for a total of $506,200) while conducting the environmental and feasibility studies necessary for the CHP project.
If the state chooses to exercise its option, it would purchase the property for $4 million minus whatever payments it has made to the district by that point.
If the State decides not to exercise its option, then Eureka City Schools could keep whatever option payments it has received and again pursue other suitors for the Jacobs property.
California’s education code gives charter schools and other public agencies priority on purchasing or leasing any real estate that has been declared “surplus” by a school district.
Discussions about a deal with the state have been going on for years, though they were temporarily sidelined by a $6 million offer from a secretive corporation that turned out to have extensive ties to semi-local real estate servicing company magnate Robin P. Arkley II, who was simultaneously bankrolling a ballot initiative aimed at thwarting the City of Eureka’s plans to convert downtown parking lots into affordable housing developments. (Arkley denied any involvement with the corporation that made the offer.)
The Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees and administrators were widely lambasted for the secrecy of negotiations with the mysterious corporation, called AMG Communities - Jacobs, LLC. A report from the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury said, “In selling the Jacobs property, there was no effective opportunity for the public to know about, consider, and participate in an important decision regarding selling a valuable public asset, even if the result of the decision is perceived to be in the near-term best interests of students.”
When that deal fell apart last August, negotiations with the CHP resumed. (Technically, the talks were with California’s Department of General Services, which handles property negotiations for all manner of state agencies.)
Click below to download a draft copy of the option agreement, which the Eureka City Schools Board of Trustees will consider at its June 25 meeting, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the district office at 2100 J Street.
Demonstrators protest against recent ICE immigration raids as National Guard officers stand guard in front of a federal building in Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. Photo by Ted Soqui for CalMatters
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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
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Donald Trump can continue to control the National Guard in California for the time being after a panel of judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined he followed the law in deploying troops to Los Angeles.
The order is the latest in a fast-moving legal saga playing out over Trump’s decision to call up the National Guard and U.S. Marines to the Los Angeles area in response to protests after federal immigration law enforcement agents began worksite raids and arrests two weeks ago. California’s Democratic leadership, led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, has called the deployment unnecessary and illegal.
Their order in a lawsuit filed by Newsom contesting the deployment isn’t surprising; the panel signaled an openness to the Trump administration’s legal arguments during a legal hearing on Tuesday.
In court earlier this week, attorneys from the Trump administration argued the president’s deployment was “unreviewable” by courts.
The appeals court judges disagreed that the decision was beyond the reach of the judicial branch, but found the president had a legitimate interest in protecting federal employees when he called up the troops.
“The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters ‘pinned down’ several federal officers and threw ‘concrete chunks, bottles of liquid and other objects’ at the officers.”
Two of those judges were appointed by President Trump in his previous term.
What happens next could take one of several turns. On Friday a lower court judge, Charles Breyer, will hold a hearing on whether to again return the troops to Newsom through a preliminary injunction.
Trump deployed the troops through a presidential memo on June 7 and cited a rarely used federal statute permitting a president to deploy the National Guard in times of invasion, domestic rebellion or the inability for the federal government to carry out its laws. Trump’s order was for 60 days and technically applied to all of the state Nation Guards in the U.S.
Basically, the battle over whether federal troops can remain in Los Angeles is operating on three parallel tracks — the temporary restraining order from last week, Friday’s hearing and the full merits of the case through a prolonged trial. Technically, the government lawyers for Trump and Newsom can ask for appeals on all three tracks.
For Newsom’s legal team to prevail in Friday’s hearing, they’ll have to clear a higher threshold of scrutiny than they did when they initially won back the National Guard last week, albeit for a few hours. That’s because anyone seeking a preliminary injunction must demonstrate that the merits of their arguments will likely prevail in the full trial.
The appeals court’s decision could influence Breyer’s thinking, legal thinkers said, even if he initially signalled support for the Newsom administration’s arguments.
“It’s kind of hard to disentangle the two processes when we think about how judge Breyer will be weighing” the preliminary injunction hearing,” because a lot of that’s going to be informed by what these higher level courts decide,” said Christopher Mirasola, an assistant law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.
No matter what Breyer does after Friday, it’ll likely quickly go back to the appeals court. And if the appeals court keeps halting the lower court’s orders, Trump keeps the National Guard for the duration of the lower court’s full trial.
Would the Newsom team try to appeal the injunction with the Supreme Court?
On one hand, “why not shoot your shot when you got the opportunity, right?” asked Mirasola rhetorically. But there’s a chance the high court comes back with such a strong opinion favoring the Trump administration that it could “substantively affect how judge Breyer treats the merits of the case.”
Ron Johnson passed away peacefully after five years of health struggles.
Ron grew up and lived his entire life in Blue Lake. He was a logging truck driver for 53 years, known to all local truckers as “Rabbit Ears.” He worked most of his career for Sierra Pacific and retired after 46 years.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Ilene Johnson; son Wayne Johnson; and his parents Tip and Elsie Johnson. He is survived by his sons David Johnson, Jeff (Leanne) Johnson and Greg (Kristie) Johnson; grandson Dane (Mary) Johnson and granddaughter Kaci Johnson.
We would like to thank Dolores, Emerly, Paula and all others who cared for him with so much compassion and love. Thank you Hospice and Hospice volunteers for their time and compassionate care.
At Ron’s request there will be no celebration of life. Donations can be made to Hospice of Humboldt.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Ron Johnson’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
On June 18, 2025, at approximately 5:36pm, EPD Patrol Officers responded to the report of
sexual assault which just occurred. The survivor stated a food service delivery driver arrived at
their residence with an order, forced his way into their residence, and made unwanted sexual
contact with them. During the investigation, officers located the suspect, 27-year-old Arda
Kizilay, who was taken into custody for PC 243.3(a) – Sexual Battery and PC 459 – Burglary.
Kizilay was booked into the Humboldt County Correction Facility.
Bridgeville Post Office – 24878 State Highway 36, Bridgeville, CA 95526. | Image via Google Street View.
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Press release from the U.S. Postal Service:
BRIDGEVILLE, CA - Road closures and limited access due to active rockslides have impacted delivery services for some residents along Highway 36, Bridgeville in the Little Golden Gate Community. Mail will be temporarily made available for pick-up at the Bridgeville Post Office, effective Friday, June 20.
Impacted customers may retrieve their mail at the Bridgeville Post Office, located at 24878 State Highway 36, Bridgeville, CA 95526.
Mail pick-up times are as follows:
Monday-Friday 12:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Customers are reminded to please present photo ID for mail pick-up.
Delivery services will resume as soon as it is safe to do so, and access is restored in the area.
Many retail services including temporary forwards, stamps and more are also available anytime, online at USPS.com.
Prudence
Louise Baker January
18, 1933 – May 30, 2025 92
trips around the sun, every one on her terms
Prudence
Louise Baker, age 92, of Fortuna, left this world on May 30, 2025,
after nearly a century of strong coffee, stronger opinions and zero
patience for fools.
Let’s
be real: if we wrote a boring, buttoned-up obituary, Prudie would
haunt us, and probably correct our grammar while she was at it. So in
her honor, we offer this tribute full of sass, sarcasm and absolutely
no filter. Just the way she liked it.
Born
January 18, 1933, in Oakland, Prudie’s family moved to
Bridgeville when she was four, and she spent the next 88 years
perfecting the side-eye. Known as the “Queen of the Glen,” she
held court over Suntan Glen with sharp wit, flawless timing and an
eyebrow arch that could stop a grown man in his tracks.
She
was tough. Most people knew not to mess with her, yet her sons
apparently didn’t get that memo and were routinely dealt with,
verbally, emotionally and occasionally with whatever household item
was closest to hand.
She
had the soul of an artist and the mouth of someone with no time to
waste. A gifted painter, Prudie first expressed herself on canvas
before turning to hairdressing, a trade that required the same
creativity, confidence and ability to say, “Sweetheart, that’s
just not your color,” with a smile. She ran Prudie’s Beauty Spot
in the ’70s, then styled hair (and humbled egos) at Hair West well
into the ’80s.
Prudie
also dabbled in the fine art of matrimony. Twice, in fact, before
finally getting it right with Lee Baker. But those chapters gave her
four of the greatest gifts of her life, her children. Each one
arrived with their own personality, their own story, and their own
lifelong role as either recipient or witness of her trademark
sarcasm, brutal honesty and fierce devotion. She may have moved on
from their dads, but she never let go of the purpose they gave her:
motherhood, in all its messy, beautiful chaos.
When
she met Lee, it wasn’t just a match, it was a partnership built on
laughter, loyalty and a shared love of holding court from behind the
bar.
Together,
Prudie and Lee owned and operated The Rendezvous Lounge in Rio Dell,
a place where the drinks were strong, the stories stronger, and the
regulars knew better than to argue with Prudie about the jukebox
selection or bad mouthing the Raiders’. She and Lee didn’t just
run a bar, they ran a community. Their reach extended beyond the
lounge walls to the softball field, where they sponsored the
legendary Rendezvous Softball team, aka “Da Vous.” The team
proudly decked out in silver and black like her beloved Raiders.
Rivals dubbed them “the Evil Empire.” Prudie called them “her
boys.” She and Lee were at every game, every cookout and every
post-game exaggeration session where last-minute home runs and
beer-fueled brawls became part of local legend.
A
die-hard Raider fan, she bled silver and black to the end. In her 80s
she still showed up, or tuned in, to watch her youngest granddaughter
battle through middle-school, high-school and college hoops. And
let’s be honest, filters get worse with age, and Prudie’s was
about 99% clogged before she ever walked into a gym or public event.
She kept score in her head and commentary under her breath… nope,
that’s not true, she said exactly what she wanted to say, loudly
and directly. As usual.
She
also went semi-viral in her golden years thanks to her Facebook
antics, where her popularity grew with her sharp and witty responses
to her sons. She had a talent for saying exactly what everyone else
was thinking, but with better timing and fewer apologies.
She
is survived by her children and the glorious chaos they created: Michele Harris of Hydesville, and daughter Alexis; Curt “Scooter”
Harris of Redding and his daughters Lindsey, Rachel, and Taylor; Paige Asbury of Carlotta and her children Michael, Matthew,
Mitchell, Marcus, and Melissa; Chip Stewart of Knoxville, Tenn., with
wife Mary and their children Kendall and Jacob
She
was preceded in death by her beloved husband Lee (likely holding a
cold drink and rolling with laughter at all of this), her parents
Mary and Herman Versell, and her half-sister Dorothy Gregg.
For
all the laughs, Prudie was the kind of mom everyone hopes for:
fiercely protective, wildly supportive, brutally honest and endlessly
loving. She taught resilience, independence and how to fire off a
comeback at lightning speed. She didn’t always get it right, but
she always showed up. She made home feel safe, and her presence,
whether in the bleachers, behind a hair dryer, or at the end of a
snarky Facebook cameo, made people feel known, loved and never
forgotten.
A
private family service was held, low on ceremony, high on stories. In
lieu of flowers, donations toward burial costs are welcome.
Prudie
wasn’t perfect, but she was perfectly herself: hilarious, fierce,
honest and unapologetically real. If heaven has some bleachers on the
court, or comfy lounge chairs in the grass on the field, she’s
already making it known who she’s pulling for, and watching.
So
behave and be careful what you say.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Prudie Baker’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
