PREVIOUSLY: NEW BEAR ALERT! Sequoia Park Zoo Has a New Fuzzy Wuzzy for You to Go Gaga For

We’re still aways off from the Sequoia Park Zoo’s new chonk-o-licious black bear Ishŭng making her public debut — as mentioned in a previous release, she still needs to get acclimated before she can join the zoo’s other black bear in their new shared home. Patience, bear lovers. 

In the meantime, the zoo says their new resident is doing well. And she has some favorite foods! Also: Look at her! Ahhh! 

Bear update from the Sequoia Park Zoo below:

Ishŭng update! 🐻 Animal care staff have been getting to know Ishŭng since her arrival, and they report that she is adjusting well to her new home at the Zoo. She has a fondness for lettuce, citrus, and beef and seems to enjoy lounging on the platforms in her patio and interacting with sticks, logs, and other natural enrichment items.

One of the first training goals is teaching Ishŭng her name! Then she will learn other behaviors, like how to follow staff and move from one area to another. These foundation behaviors will make it easier for her to accomplish the next behavior goal: how to step on a scale for a weight check. Animal care staff are pleased with her progress and look forward to sharing more soon!

Ishŭng is a non-releasable three-year-old American black bear that came to the Sequoia Park Zoo in late March. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife sought placement for her after her previous facility was not approved by CDFW to renew their restricted species permits.

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WEDNESDAY UPDATE: A few of our readers reached out after reading an article published in the SFGATE on Tuesday announcing that Avelo Airlines is “shuttering base operations” at the Charles M. Schulz Airport in Santa Rosa next month to “make way for deportation flights out of Arizona.” Our readers wanted to know: What does this move mean for Humboldt? 

To be clear, the airline is not abandoning the Bay Area airport, as the SFGATE headline might imply. While Avelo is relocating base operations from Santa Rosa to Burbank and reducing the number of flights offered at the Charles M. Schulz Airport, it will continue air service to Burbank, Bend/Redmond, Ore., Las Vegas, Nev., and “seasonally” to Palm Springs.

Avelo’s Communications Manager Courtney Goff told the Outpost the airline’s decision to move its base out of Sonoma County “has nothing to do with [the Department of Homeland Security] charters.”

“Avelo has decided to close the base in Santa Rosa/Sonoma County (STS) almost a year after it was opened due to low demand and because achieving necessary financial results there has proven more elusive than expected,” she wrote in an emailed response to our inquiry. “We already have a base in Burbank that was originally opened in April 2021, we will utilize the planes there to facilitate the remaining STS routes.”

Asked if flights between Burbank and Humboldt were on the chopping block, Goff said, “ACV and Humboldt County is a great route and airport/community partner for us, and we have no plans to end service.”

Goff did not respond to our follow-up questions about the amount and duration of the airline’s contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). However, she did say that Avelo has chartered deportation flights for the federal government in the past.

 “We also flew these charters under the Biden administration,” she said. “Regardless of the administration or party affiliation, as a U.S. flag carrier when our country calls and requests [and] assistance our practice is to say yes. We follow all protocols from DHS and FAA [Federal Aviation Administration], honoring our core value of Safety Always.”

As of this writing, the online petition to boycott the airline has garnered over 7,000 signatures.

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Original post: After brokering a deal with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Avelo Airlines next month will begin working with federal immigration officials to run deportation flights out of Arizona. The “long-term charter program,” which will be based at Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA), will include both domestic and international flights to “support the Department’s deportation efforts,” according to a statement from the airline.

Reached via email this morning, Avelo’s Communications Manager Courtney Goff told the Outpost that the flights are limited to Arizona and “will not affect our California flights.” She directed further inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security.

The budget airline, which launched service between Humboldt County and Burbank in 2021, is actively recruiting “energetic, highly motivated” flight attendants to service deportation flights, which will begin on May 12. 

The deal has drawn sharp criticism from local officials in some of the communities Avleo serves, including Justin Elicker, the Mayor of New Haven, Conn., who called the decision “deeply disappointing and disturbing” in an interview with the New Haven Register. The New Haven Immigrants Coalition launched an online petition to boycott the airline, which, as of this writing, has garnered 514 signatures. 

Statement from Avelo Airlines:

Avelo Airlines has signed an agreement for a long-term charter program flying for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration Control and Enforcement agency. Avelo’s DHS operations will be supported by three 737-800s based at Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) starting on May 12. Flights will be both domestic and international to support the Department’s deportation efforts.

With this, Avelo will open a base at AZA with Avelo pilots, flight attendants and aircraft technicians, as well as appropriate local leaders. We expect to begin hiring locally for these positions immediately. Current Avelo Crewmembers (employees) will have the first option to transfer to our new AZA base.

Avelo Airlines Founder and CEO Andrew Levy said, “We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic. After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 Crewmembers employed for years to come.”

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Press release from Cal Poly Humboldt:

For years, archaeologists believed the ruins in North Macedonia — first excavated more than 15 years ago — were the remains of a military outpost built to defend against Roman attacks.

But recent excavations, bolstered by cutting-edge technology and the discovery of an ancient coin, reveal a much larger story. Researchers from Macedonia’s Institute and Museum–Bitola and Cal Poly Humboldt are uncovering an ancient city, predating the Roman Empire by centuries, or possibly even millennia.

Near the village of Crnobuki, this site — known as the archaeological site of Gradishte — opens a window into the history of the Macedonian civilization before Alexander the Great, explains Engin Nasuh, curator-advisor archaeologist at the National Institute and Museum–Bitola. 
“We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of what we can learn about this period,” Nasuh says.  

First mentioned in literature in 1966, Nasuh says the site remained a mystery for decades — until now. Archaeological excavations over the past few years have begun to uncover new insights into the size, scope, and influence of the site.

In 2023, modern technologies, including ground penetrating radar and cutting-edge drone-deployed LIDAR acquired with funding from Cal Poly Humboldt’s College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences dean’s office, revealed a once thriving city. The acropolis spans at least 7 acres; notable structures to date include a possible Macedonian-style theater and a textile workshop.

Originally, researchers believed the city was built during King Philip V’s reign (221-179 BCE). But its origin was pushed back after the discovery of a coin, minted between 325-323 BCE, during Alexander the Great’s lifetime. 

Thanks to additional recent discoveries such as axes and fragments of ceramic vessels, researchers now believe humans began occupying it as far back as the Bronze Age (3,300-1,200 BCE). 

The discoveries not only shed new light on North Macedonia’s past, they contribute to a deeper understanding of ancient Western civilization.

The ancient Macedonian state, one of the first modern states in Europe, had an enormous impact on the world, Nasuh explains. “It is a civilization that played a major role in today’s understanding of the world and the desire to connect different civilizations and cultures.”

Archaeologists have so far unearthed stone axes, coins, a clay theater ticket, pottery, game pieces, and textile tools. Dating of some of these artifacts, including charcoal and bone, dates the site between 360 BC and 670 AD, according to Nasuh. These discoveries provide tangible evidence of a thriving city before the rise of Rome.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery, explains Nick Angeloff, Cal Poly Humboldt Anthropology professor and archaeologist. 

“This discovery is significant,” says Angeloff. “It highlights the complex networks and power structures of ancient Macedonia, especially given the city’s location along trade routes to Constantinople. It’s even possible that historical figures like Octavian and Agrippa passed through the area on their way to confront Cleopatra and Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium.”

Angeloff adds that the site may be the lost capital city of the Kingdom of Lyncestis, Lyncus—an ancient settlement and hub for the Upper Macedonian Kingdom that was settled in the seventh century BCE. It’s also possibly the birthplace of Queen Eurydice I, the grandmother of Alexander the Great. Eurydice played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the region.

Students, faculty, and researchers from National Institute and Museum–Bitola and Cal Poly Humboldt are working to continue uncovering the full story of this ancient city. This ongoing work promises to reveal more about the intricate networks and vibrant culture of ancient Macedonia, offering valuable insights into the development of early European states and their influence on the world.

“All these studies are just a small part of the research of early European civilizations,” Nasuh says. “I see it as a large mosaic, and our studies are just a few pebbles in that mosaic. With each subsequent study, a new pebble is placed, until one day we get the entire picture.”

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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A proposal to ban veterinarians from surgically removing claws from cats seems like it would be an easy sell for California lawmakers, several of whom lovingly describe their pets in their official biography pages.

After all, several U.S. cities, states and more than 30 countries already have banned vets from performing declawing, arguing that it’s cruel and unnecessary. The American Veterinary Medical Association has for at least five years discouraged vets from performing the surgeries.

But five different efforts since 2018 to ban declawing in California have died due to resistance from the influential California Veterinary Medical Association, which has spent at least $1 million on lobbying during that time. It’s a demonstration of the power of money and spending in Sacramento, when even seemingly noncontroversial proposals are cast aside.

Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Democrat representing the Milpitas area, hopes this year will be different.

Lee described the procedure last week in graphic terms as he urged his colleagues on the Assembly Business and Professions Committee to advance his Assembly Bill 867, which would prohibit the surgery except in rare cases where removing claws is medically necessary, such as an infection.

“Cat declawing is a serious surgery, with a cat’s final toe joint being removed, or its tendons being severed,” said Lee, who has two cats, Udon and Soba. “I believe that when it is performed for any reason other than the health of the cat, then I believe it is cruel and inhumane.”

Lee brought a poster showing what a declawing on a cat’s paw would be like on a human hand. Dotted lines showed where fingers would be sliced off at the joint below the nail.

Jennifer Conrad, a veterinarian representing the Paw Project, brought a prop of her own: A cigar cutter.

“It’s the equivalent of taking this cigar cutter and cutting off every one of my last phalanxes on my hand,” she told the committee.

Christina DiCaro, a lobbyist for the California Veterinary Medical Association, said many of the association’s members have voluntarily stopped declawing.

“They note that they have not done a declaw procedure in many, many years,” she told the committee. “And if they did, it was because their human client owner was on a blood thinner and could not risk being scratched by their cat.”

But she said her group primarily opposes the bill because vets don’t want the Legislature to dictate what practices they can use. Lee’s bill would also require vets who perform the surgery for medically necessary reasons to report it to California’s veterinary licensing board.

“We suspect that the only reason this language is in the bill is so that animal activists can obtain this information, the names of veterinarians through a public records request, and target our hard-working professionals,” DiCaro told the committee.

The association has donated at least $62,650 to the members of the committee since 2015, according to the Digital Democracy database. In total, the association has donated $677,500 to members of the Legislature since 2015.

Her arguments — and the association’s campaign cash — didn’t persuade the Democrats on the committee. All 12 in attendance voted for the bill.

Los Angeles Democratic Assemblymember Jessica Caloza told the committee the “thought of declawing my cat kind of makes my stomach churn.”

Brea Republican Assemblymember Phillip Chen joined Democrats in backing the measure, but the other four Republicans on the committee didn’t vote, which counts the same as voting “no.” As CalMatters has reported, the widespread practice of dodging tough votes allows legislators to avoid accountability. None of the Republicans spoke at the hearing.

Meanwhile the committee’s Democratic chair, Marc Berman representing Palo Alto, used the measure as an excuse to make groan-inducing cat puns.

“This bill is meow-velous,” he said.

Previous attempts have failed

Despite having early Democratic support, the bill now faces an uncertain future if recent history is any guide. A similar proposal last year didn’t get a committee hearing in the Assembly; a 2022 measure passed the Assembly but didn’t get taken up by the Senate. Three previous attempts since 2018 died similarly, only once having a committee formally voting to kill it.

That’s not unusual. As CalMatters has reported, it’s extremely rare for lawmakers to kill legislation via voting “no” in public hearings. During the 2023-2024 session, only 25 of 2,403 unsuccessful bills died due to a majority of lawmakers formally voting “no” to kill them. Instead, lawmakers usually choose not to take up the measures at subsequent hearings.

DiCaro, the veterinary association’s lobbyist, didn’t return a message from CalMatters seeking to discuss how the association was able to persuade lawmakers to kill previous proposals behind the scenes.

Lee, the author of this year’s proposal, was a staffer for Calabasas Democratic state Sen. Henry Stern, who authored two of the earlier failed bills. Lee also co-authored previous legislation after becoming a lawmaker in 2020.

Lee told CalMatters in an interview that he thinks this year’s legislation has better odds. In the past the vet lobby has tended to argue in favor of the merits of the procedure, but now the arguments focus on resistance to regulating vets, he said.“They’re not even attacking the core declawing issue anymore,” he said. “I really do think it’s like a big culture change and mindset change, and hopefully we’ll get all the way to the finish line this time.”

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CalMatters data reporter Jeremia Kimelman contributed to this story.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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California tourism could lose billions of dollars because of President Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs, immigration and gender identity, as well as his talk of annexing Canada.

Visit California, a nonprofit organization that promotes tourism in the Golden State, recently revised its overall visitor spending forecast for this year from $166 billion to $160 billion, saying international travel into California is already beginning to slow. Canada, the second-largest source of international tourism dollars for the state after Mexico, accounted for $3.7 billion of the $26.5 billion foreign travel brought into the state last year, Visit California said.

So it could be a big problem for California that many Canadians are angry about tariffs and Trump’s insistence that their country should become the 51st U.S. state. Many are refusing to buy U.S.-made products and don’t want to cross the border. Canada and other countries have also issued advisories for travel to the United States, warning travelers that they risk being detained, or that because of the Trump’s administration’s policies on transgender people there could be complications for them depending on what gender is shown on their passports.

Carol Harris, who spoke with CalMatters from Nova Scotia, said she and her husband have visited family in San Diego every year for a long time, but not anymore.

“Never again, until Trump’s gone,” said Harris, a retired university professor who said it will be a big loss. “I will miss the desert,” she added. “I love the topography of California. I like the politics of California.” Still, she said that as an “adamantly progressive” person, not visiting the United States is “just something we have to do.”

Charlie Angus, a member of Canada’s Parliament, recently called Trump’s rhetoric “an act of war” and urged Canadians not to travel to the United States. He cited the case of a Canadian citizen with a U.S. work visa who said she was detained by U.S. officials for two weeks.

“It’s become clear that Donald Trump is willing to drive his nation’s economy into chaos; to rip up the biggest and best trading partnership in the world; to drive the U.S. travel industry to the ground,” Angus said during a March 20 news conference.

Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, doubled down on Trump’s annexation remarks in an email response to CalMatters’ questions about the decline in international travel, especially from Canada: “The United States is a great destination for international travelers, and Canadians will be unburdened by the inconveniences of international travel when they become American citizens as residents of our cherished 51st state.”

Effect on California economy

California saw an 8.8% year-over-year decline in international arrivals in February, Visit California said. If that continues, a broad travel slowdown could hurt different industries that fall under the tourism umbrella, including hospitality and restaurants — and the roughly 3 million Californians who work in them.

Lynn Mohrfeld, chief executive of the California Hotel and Lodging Association, said he is concerned about the possible effects on his industry, though he said it could take some time for those to show up. He said international travelers usually plan their trips way in advance, so they may not cancel their plans even if they might have concerns about visiting the U.S. Because of that, he said he expects summer travel to be strong.

He is clinging to optimism about the near term, but Mohrfeld said “we’ve all heard the nationalistic stuff coming out of Canada, and we’re getting whipsawed on these tariffs. We don’t know whether we’re coming and going… so we would definitely love some consistency and stability on that rhetoric.”

The wide-ranging tariffs imposed by the president last week on nearly every nation have alarmed economists, who are warning about a recession, and roiled the stock markets.

The tariffs could lead to higher prices everywhere, which could cause a continued drop in travel. California restaurants could take a greater hit than hotels. Tourists spent $34.8 billion at the state’s restaurants in 2023, more than the $32.8 billion they spent on lodging, Visit California said.

“Visitors consistently spend the most on food service so restaurants will bear the brunt of any drop in tourism, especially in major metropolitan destinations like San Francisco and Los Angeles when compared to those in the suburbs,” said Jot Condie, chief executive of the California Restaurant Association. He said it could take a greater toll on Los Angeles, which is trying to recover from the deadly fires earlier this year.

Condie said the association is trying to make sure city leaders know about the restaurant industry’s struggles, and that it is also working on campaigns to boost local traffic.

As for the airline industry, Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta said among the possible effects of a drop in travel from certain places is a reduction in airline routes.

“Anytime there are significant declines in visitation, airlines can pull routes from California airports, and that can have long-term impacts,” she said. “We saw that in China after the pandemic. Airlift between China and California is still far below where it was in 2019.”

The Canada connection

In February, Visit California published a report forecasting a 15% annual increase in Canadian tourism to the state, but it now plans to release a revised forecast in May that will likely be more in line with an estimate from Tourism Economics that travel from Canada into the United States will decline 15% this year. Already, Canadian air arrivals to the U.S. declined 12.3% in February compared with the same month last year, Visit California said.

Beteta said her group intends to maintain its marketing and advertising efforts in Canada, and that it has a team in Toronto that’s “keeping the California message alive in the market.”

That message, she said: “California can continue to attract Canadian travelers thanks to our diverse culture and open-minded attitude.”

Whether that message will resonate is a big question. Flight Centre, a leading Canadian travel agency, said that as of February, it saw a 20% cancellation rate on trips to the U.S. over the past three months.

Amra Durakovic, head of communications for Flight Centre Travel Group Canada, said “Canadians are choosing to spend their tourism dollars with more intention than ever,” adding that the agency is seeing more domestic travel bookings as well as an uptick in international travel to destinations in Europe and elsewhere.

Nancy, who asked that her last name not be published because she fears the Trump administration will target dual citizens like her, is a “snowbird.” She and tens of thousands of Canadians, many of them retired, stay in California and other warm U.S. states during the winter months.

Canadians have been able to stay in this country for up to six months at a time without a visa, but starting April 11 they will have to register with U.S. immigration authorities if they intend to stay for more than 30 days.

Now, Nancy said she has heard other snowbirds in Coachella Valley are carrying around I-94 visas in their cars, in case they have to prove they are legally allowed to stay in the United States for an extended period of time.

Nancy is American-born but has mostly lived in Canada since the early 1970s. She and her husband are selling their condo in Rancho Mirage, a decision they made because of what she calls the headache involved in owning property in two countries, even before all this “bullying and nonsense.” Now she has heard others like her talk about selling their properties in California, too.

“You get together with other Canadians, within the first two minutes that’s what everyone’s talking about,” she said. “The instability is not what you want to deal with when you’re retired.”

She has strong ties to California, including a disabled brother in Los Angeles who has no other living family but her. So she has to return here. But she knows Canadians are serious about boycotting American products and travel. “The economy is just going to be really shaken up on both sides of the border if this continues,” Nancy said.

Dennis Lee Lyon, age 76, of Fortuna, passed away on February 15, 2025, at his home, surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren. Dennis was born on February 13, 1949, in Arcata to Betty Lucille Vogel and George Echols Lyon. Dennis graduated from Arcata High School and spent almost 30 years working at Louisiana Pacific at both the Samoa and Big Lagoon sawmills. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Donna Lyon; his son Jamie Lyon (Rachel); his daughter Stacey Costa (Roland); grandchildren Matthew Ware, Ashley Lyon and Katelyn Costa; as well as his great-grandchildren, Ian, Colton, Oliver and Grace.

Dennis was proceeded in death by his parents Betty and George; his brothers Daniel Lyon, Marvin Lyon, Eddie Lyon and Chris Colebank. Eddie, Chris and Dennis all passed away within one year of each other.

Dennis was a loving and honorable man, whose world revolved around his wife and family. He enjoyed helping people and was an extremely hard worker. He loved to play practical jokes and laugh, he enjoyed wood-working, gardening, fishing, going to the lake, taking drives into the mountains, spending time outdoors and learning about history. Dennis was a wonderful storyteller and has written many children’s stories and books for his family.

Dennis and Donna had a wonderful marriage. They enjoyed dancing and gardening together, and when their kids were young they hosted many school dances for them and their classmates, cleaning up the sawmill cookhouse, hanging lights and playing music, just like the movie “Footloose.”

When Dennis was 46 years old he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The tumor could not be completely removed, and he continued to have surgeries and procedures as a result of the tumor for the rest of his life. Dennis then faced many health challenges. Most of his health issues and the treatments that Dennis faced in his life were life-threatening, but you never would have known it from his cheerful and positive disposition. If you didn’t know he was sick, and didn’t see the scars, you probably wouldn’t have known there was anything wrong with him. Whenever he was recovering from a surgery, he would look for his wife Donna, who was always right there. The first thing to return was always his ability to say, “I love you,” followed closely by his manners, saying “please” and “thank you” to his family, the nurses and doctors. He was known for allowing medical students to practice procedures on him and always exceeding everyone’s expectations for how quickly he recovered. His family would often tease a new nurse the first time they would take him for a walk after surgery, expecting he would move slowly, they would say, “Get ready, he doesn’t walk, he runs to recover.” His wife Donna, was his hero, always a champion for his medical issues and always right beside him. Watching them love and care for one another was a beautiful honor. Dennis fought his last battle in the form of a brain cancer and a stroke. Complications and setbacks arose which he could not overcome this time. He died in his home, surrounded by loved ones, at the age of 76, which was a miracle in and of itself, and he knew it. He never took a single day for granted, always saying what needed to be said, he showed his love openly. He faced his passing with acceptance and love, which is all any of us could ever hope for.

The family would like to thank all of the doctors, nurses and medical professionals that cared for him over the years, many of them quite literally performing miracles to save him. This includes a very special thanks to his neurosurgeon Dr. Mitchel Berger and his team at UCSF. Many of the people who cared for Dennis became like family and checked in on him regularly. If it wasn’t for them, we would have lost him many years ago, and for that his family is forever grateful.

A gathering of friends and family is being planned for July 12 at Sue-Meg State Park in Patrick’s Point, among the trees that he loved, to honor his memory. If you would like to honor Dennis’s memory, please do a random act of kindness. We would love to hear how you all chose to honor him.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Dennis Lyon’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Dana K. Bott, age 75, of Bayside, and a Humboldt County native, passed away peacefully on March 30, 2025, surrounded by loved ones.

Dana was a devoted daughter, wife, sister, aunt, mother, and grandmother. She is survived by her husband, William Bott, sister, Myrta Johnson, niece, Tara Powers, son, Jesse Arias, daughter-in-law, Stefanie Arias, daughter, Julia Nottingham, and grandchildren, Anniea and Joe Nottingham.

Dana had a true passion for life. You could always find her enjoying the outdoors, rain or shine, tending to plants, and appreciating what nature had to offer. She also enjoyed having family poker nights at home, which often went on until the early hours of the morning. She held the record for William’s Glasspar sport boat by catching a 33-pound salmon just 1 mile out of Humboldt Bay at the whistler.

She loved all critters and adored her livestock and many other wild animals surrounding her home, including her bear, Harry. She appreciated the arts, enjoyed painting, and was published twice for her poetry. She enjoyed live shows and exciting restaurants with her husband in Las Vegas and Reno year-round. She had a close relationship with the Lord and led those around her with optimism and an unmatched work ethic.

A memorial service will be held in her honor at Sanders Funeral Home on Monday, April 7, 2025.

Viewing at 10 a.m., service to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Hospice of Humboldt or the American Cancer Society.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Dana Bott’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.