Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On August 10, 2025, at approximately 11:30 p.m., deputies from the
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), with the assistance from
the California Highway Patrol (CHP), conducted a traffic enforcement
stop in the 2500 block of Harris Street, Eureka, for an observed
traffic violation.
The driver, identified as Annai Battle (DOB: 07/05/2006), and the
front-seat passenger, Alyssa Hunsucker (DOB: 07/04/1982), who is
currently on formal probation for narcotics-related convictions, were
detained. HCSO K9 Yahtzee was deployed and alerted to the presence of
narcotics in the vehicle. A subsequent search revealed a substantial
quantity of suspected fentanyl, methamphetamine, digital scales,
brass knuckles, and other drug-related paraphernalia.
Both individuals were transported to the Humboldt County Correctional
Facility and booked on multiple charges, including:
Health and Safety Code 11379(a): Transportation of a controlled
substance
Health and Safety Code 11351: Possession for sale of a controlled
substance
Health and Safety Code 11352: Sale or transportation of a controlled
substance
Penal Code 21810: Possession of brass knuckles
Health and Safety Code 11364: Possession of drug paraphernalia
Penal Code 1203.2(a): Probation violation
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is intensifying its efforts to
combat the distribution of illicit narcotics, with a primary focus on fentanyl, a highly dangerous
substance driving a public safety crisis. Despite aggressive enforcement, the Sheriff’s Office
highlights that California law frequently classifies fentanyl
possession as a “non-violent” offense, often leading to Superior
Court Judges releasing repeat offenders with only a future court
date.
HCSO strongly encourages the community to educate themselves
about fentanyl’s lethal risks and to back initiatives that
strengthen enforcement and public safety measures to curb this
growing threat.
Anyone with information about this case can call the Humboldt County
Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime
Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
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CORRECTION: As you can see in the headline, there, we originally misattributed this case to the Humboldt County Drug Task Force. Apologies.
After years of planning and negotiations, Pacific Gas & Electric Company is moving ahead with plans to demolish two century-old dams on the upper Eel River as a part of its decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project. On July 25, PG&E filed its Surrender Application and Decommissioning Plan with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), kicking off an extensive public review process.
PG&E will discuss next steps for dam removal at a virtual town hall meeting today from 3 to 5 p.m. Officials will provide an overview of the decommissioning plan and the regulatory process, which will include several opportunities for public participation.
The utility has been looking to rid itself of the aging Potter Valley Project — a two-dam hydropower system that diverts water out of the Eel River into the headwaters of the Russian River for municipal and agricultural use in Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and northern Marin counties — since it was deemed “uneconomical” in 2018. The powerhouse stopped generating power in 2021, and the project license expired in 2022
The massive 2,324-page decommissioning plan includes a request to allow the Eel-Russian Project Authority (ERPA) to take over the diversion tunnel and construct the New Eel-Russian Facility (NERF), a modern water diversion facility that will be built at the Cape Horn Dam site to ensure the continued transfer of flows to the Russian River.
“The close coordination between PG&E and ERPA is critical to ensure the construction of the NERF will not delay the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project and will allow for a smooth transition to ERPA operations,” according to a previous press release from PG&E. “The timing will follow the FERC process for approval.”
There’s no telling how long that approval will take. Some time after its initial review, FERC will announce a 30-day public comment period.
In the meantime, those interested in next steps should check out today’s virtual town hall, which will begin at 3 p.m. Click here for the meeting link.
Check the Outpost tomorrow for coverage of the meeting.
On August 09, 2025 at approximately 9:10 am, Eureka Police Department (EPD) officers were
dispatched to the 1100 block of Fourth Street on a report of a stabbing that had just occurred in the
alley. Upon officer arrival, they located the male victim suffering from a single stab wound to the
chest. Medical assistance was provided to the victim who was transported to a local hospital for
treatment. The victim’s injury is not believed to be life-threatening.
A description of the suspect was obtained from the victim and confirmed with surveillance video
received from nearby businesses. A search of the area was conducted by officers but they were unable
to locate the suspect. A county-wide BOLO (Be On the Look Out) was issued for the suspect.
On August 10, 2025 at approximately 1:00 pm, an EPD officer located a person matching the
description of the suspect, who was wearing the same clothes as seen in the surveillance video and as
described by the victim and witness. The person was detained and a witness to the stabbing
responded and positively identified the person as the suspect.
Dane Harold Lawrence, 41 years old from Eureka, was arrested for Assault with a Deadly Weapon and
Probation Violation. During contact with Lawrence, the knife believed to have been used in the
stabbing was located and seized from Lawrence’s person. Lawrence was transported and booked at
the Humboldt County Correctional facility.
This is an on-going investigation. If you have any information in regard to this incident, please contact
EPD’s Criminal Investigations Unit (CIU) at 707-441-4300.
Quite a few people have written in about the helicopter activity taking place over Arcata today. As noted by the LoCO bots, CalFire is dealing with a little wildfire located in dense forest on Green Diamond property a few miles northeast of Arcata. If it becomes more of an issue, we’ll let you know.
However, what we found interesting in the video submitted by LoCO friend Josh Smith, above, is that this is the closest we’ve seen CalFire’s slick new firefightin’ whirly bird in action. Back in June, CalFire sent out an announcement that we were getting some new aircraft here locally.
Photo: Calfire
From that release:
We are pleased to announce the Kneeland Helitack Base will now be operating the Sikorsky S70i helicopter. The S70i, or Fire Hawk, is a replacement for the department’s aging fleet of Bell Huey helicopters. The new helicopter brings a number of increased safety features and operational capabilities.
LoCO must confess, CalFire was kind enough to invite us to come look at the S70i when it arrived. We failed to make the party. That’s on us. LoCO is sorry. :(
If you’d allow us to geek out on the S70i a bit: ‘Round these parts we’ve grown accustomed to the helicopters equipped with with the ol’ collapsible buckets you’d go and dip in a body of water before heading off to douse your fiery foe. The S70i handles this process a little more gracefully, in our humble opinion. It features a 1,000-gallon external water tank mounted on its belly. To fill it, it extends its retractable snorkel — hell yeah! — into a nearby body of water and gets to pumpin’. (Video example below.) If this website it to be trusted, the S70i can fill its tank in just 45 seconds. Wowowow.
Anyway, to sum up: Yes, there is a fire burning near Arcata, but we’re going to place our bet on our new chopper with the retractable snorkel. We are strong.
# # #
UPDATE: Reader Johnny Kell sends in even more video of the S70i in action. This clip gives some context to the location of this thing.
If so, maybe you want to consider supporting them?
Press release from the Live Art Walls Project:
The
Live Art Walls project is calling on the community to help fund this
year’s large-scale public art installation, set to take place
during the CannaFest festival August 30-31 2025.
Fifty
new murals will be painted along the quarter-mile retaining wall at
Halvorsen
Park, located along Waterfront Drive in the Eureka Cultural Arts
District. The wall has become one of the city’s most visible
rotating art galleries, featuring work from local and visiting
artists of all skill levels. Outside of installation days, the public
gallery remains free and accessible, created by the people and for
the people. It stands as a visual representation of rich community
diversity.
Before
artists can start painting, the wall needs to be “buffed” — a
process of covering the old artwork with a fresh coat of exterior
paint. Organizers say they need 20
gallons of white exterior paint plus
basic supplies to prepare the surface.
Community
members can contribute in two ways:
Make a financial donation
through the project’s GoFundMe page
Donate paint directly
to the project coordinator
“This
project is powered by the community,” said Live Art Walls
coordinator Phyllis Barba. “The artists volunteer their time and
talent, but we still need the materials to make it happen.”
Live
Art Walls operates under the Ink People’s DreamMaker Program. Funds
raised will be used directly to prepare the wall for this year’s
murals.
Housing & Residence Life at Cal Poly Humboldt will hold its annual emergency simulation on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 to test campus and community response teams.
The exercise will take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 13, 2025 in a residence hall on campus. The simulation will be loud and include participation from Housing & Residence Life, University Police Department, Campus Resilience & Response, Arcata Fire Department, and Arcata Mad River Ambulance. As part of the simulation, passersby may see smoke coming out of a residence hall and actors crying for help. First responders will use emergency radios and campus traffic flow may be affected.
The exercise aims to train housing staff and local first responders on how to respond to a campus housing emergency. The emergency simulation is intended to provide a real-time, realistic experience of an emergency as well as provide the opportunity to test and evaluate a practical plan and practice communication among agencies.
Housing & Residence Life began holding multi-agency emergency simulations in 1986. The exercise takes place each year in August. For location information, the media can contact (707) 826-3390.
Students work in the library at San Bernardino Valley College on May 30, 2023. California education leaders are striking deals with tech companies to provide students with opportunities to learn AI. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters
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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
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As artificial intelligence replaces entry-level jobs, California’s universities and community colleges are offering a glimmer of hope for students: free AI training that will teach them to master the new technology.
“You’re seeing in certain coding spaces significant declines in hiring for obvious reasons,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday during a press conference from the seventh floor of Google’s San Francisco office.
Flanked by leadership from California’s higher education systems, he called attention to the recent layoffs at Microsoft, at Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and at Salesforce Tower, just a few blocks away, home to the tech company that is still the city’s largest private employer.
Now, some of those companies — including Google and Microsoft — will offer a suite of AI resources for free to California schools and universities. In return, the companies could gain access to millions of new users.
The state’s community colleges and its California State University campuses are “the backbone of our workforce and economic development,” Newsom said, just before education leaders and tech executives signed agreements on AI.
The new deals are the latest developments in a frenzy that began in November 2022, when OpenAI publicly released the free artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT, forcing schools to adapt.
The Los Angeles Unified School District implemented an AI chatbot last year, only to cancel it three months later without disclosing why. San Diego Unified teachers started using AI software that suggested what grades to give students, CalMatters reported. Some of the district’s board members were unaware that the district had purchased the software.
Last month, the company that oversees Canvas, a learning management system popular in California schools and universities, said it would add “interactive conversations in a ChatGPT-like environment” into its software.
To combat potential AI-related cheating, many K-12 and college districts are using a new feature from the software company Turnitin to detect plagiarism, but a CalMatters investigation found that the software accused students who did real work instead.
Mixed signals?
These deals are sending mixed signals, said Stephanie Goldman, the president of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges. “Districts were already spending lots of money on AI detection software. What do you do when it’s built into the software they’re using?”
Don Daves-Rougeaux, a senior adviser for the community college system, acknowledged the potential contradiction but said it’s part of a broader effort to keep up with the rapid pace of changes in AI. He said the community college system will frequently reevaluate the use of Turnitin along with all other AI tools.
California’s community college system is responsible for the bulk of job training in the state, though it receives the least funding from the state per student.
“Oftentimes when we are having these conversations, we are looked at as a smaller system,” said Daves-Rougeaux. The state’s 116 community colleges collectively educate roughly 2.1 million students.
In the deals announced Thursday, the community college system will partner with Google, Microsoft, Adobe and IBM to roll out additional AI training for teachers. Daves-Rougeaux said the system has also signed deals that will allow students to use exclusive versions of Google’s counterpart to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI research tool, Notebook LLM. Daves-Rougeaux said these tools will save community colleges “hundreds of millions of dollars,” though he could not provide an exact figure.
“It’s a tough situation for faculty,” said Goldman. “AI is super important but it has come up time and time again: How do you use AI in the classroom while still ensuring that students, who are still developing critical thinking skills, aren’t just using it as a crutch?”
One concern is that faculty could lose control over how AI is used in their classrooms, she added.
The K-12 system and Cal State University system are forming their own tech deals. Amy Bentley-Smith, a spokesperson for the Cal State system, said it is working on its own AI programs with Google, Microsoft, Adobe and IBM as well as Amazon Web Services, Intel, LinkedIn, Open AI and others.
Angela Musallam, a spokesperson for the state government operations agency, said California high schools are part of the deal with Adobe, which aims to promote “AI literacy,” the idea that students and teachers should have basic skills to detect and use artificial intelligence.
Much like the community college system, which is governed by local districts, Musallam said individual K-12 districts would need to approve any deal.
Will deals make a difference to students, teachers?
Experts say it’s too early to tell how effective AI training will actually be.
Justin Reich, an associate professor at MIT, said a similar frenzy took place 20 years ago when teachers tried to teach computer literacy. “We do not know what AI literacy is, how to use it, and how to teach with it. And we probably won’t for many years,” Reich said.
The state’s new deals with Google, Microsoft, Adobe and IBM allow these tech companies to recruit new users — a benefit for the companies — but the actual lessons aren’t time-tested, he said.
“Tech companies say: ‘These tools can save teachers time,’ but the track record is really bad,” said Reich. “You cannot ask schools to do more right now. They are maxed out.”
Erin Mote, the CEO of an education nonprofit called InnovateEDU, said she agrees that state and education leaders need to ask critical questions about the efficacy of the tools that tech companies offer but that schools still have an imperative to act.
“There are a lot of rungs on the career ladder that are disappearing,” she said. “The biggest mistake we could make as educators is to wait and pause.”
Last year, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office signed an agreement with NVIDIA, a technology infrastructure company, to offer AI training similar to the kinds of lessons that Google, Microsoft, Adobe and IBM will deliver.
Melissa Villarin, a spokesperson for the chancellor’s office, said the state won’t share data about how the NVIDIA program is going because the cohort of teachers involved is still too small.
