Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka. | File photo.
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This past October, less than a month after being sued by California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Office for denying emergency abortion care to hospital patients, Providence-St. Joseph Health Northern California, LLC (SJH) entered into an agreement with the state, promising to follow California’s Emergency Services Law (ESL).
Per the terms of that stipulated agreement, the Catholic operators of Eureka’s St. Joseph Hospital promised to leave abortion care decisions in the hands of its doctors. Specifically, the not-for-profit religious organization agreed to allow its treating physicians to terminate a patient’s pregnancy whenever those physicians determine that failing to do so would seriously jeopardize the patient’s health.
Now, however, SJH wants that agreement to be modified or, failing that, dissolved altogether.
Those directives, as we’ve reported before, state in no uncertain terms, “Abortion is never permitted.”
In their July 22 motion, SJH’s attorneys argue that the stipulated agreement “improperly interferes with the Hospital’s autonomy as a religious institution, and violates the Hospital’s First Amendment right to Free Exercise of Religion.”
Turns out, the “Most Reverend Bishop Robert Vasa,” who serves as bishop for the Diocese of Santa Rosa, found the agreement unacceptable. After reading its terms, he determined that it’s simply incompatible with those Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives.
The motion filed last month argues that the agreement goes beyond the requirements of California’s ESL, improperly giving individual physicians authority to determine hospital procedures, rather than leaving that authority where it rightly belongs — with a hospital’s board of directors.
It also alleges that the agreement violates the “church autonomy doctrine” by interfering with internal religious decisions in a way that would force the hospital to act contrary to its Catholic mission and potentially lose its Catholic status.
Protesters gathered outside the Humboldt County Courthouse in February to support Anna Nusslock, the Eureka chiropractor at the center of the Attorney General’s lawsuit against Providence-St. Joseph Health. | File photo by Andrew Goff.
The AG’s Office Pushes Back
On Friday, Bonta’s office filed a brief asking the court to uphold and enforce the agreement. A deal’s a deal, the office’s attorneys argue, and this one in particular is an unambiguous contract that SJH voluntarily entered into with the help of its own legal counsel.
The stipulated agreement guaranteed “that the women of Humboldt County would be able to access emergency abortion care when needed to save the life and health of patients,” the brief says.
“SJH now seeks to avoid its obligations under the agreement and the Court’s order, upending the status quo that has protected patients since the inception of this case and putting the women of Humboldt County back in harms’ way.”
The state’s lawsuit, as you may recall, focuses in particular on the case of Anna Nusslock, a Eureka chiropractor who was just 15 weeks pregnant with twins when she arrived at Providence-St. Joseph Hospital hemorrhaging and in severe pain.
“Despite the immediate threat to her life and health, and despite the fact her pregnancy was no longer viable, Providence refused to treat her,” Bonta’s office said in a press release. Care providers instead sent Nusslock north to Mad River Community Hospital, which has since closed its birthing center. “On the way out the door, Providence handed Nusslock a bucket and towels ‘in case something happens in the car,’” the suit alleges.
In the brief filed Friday, the AG’s Office says SJH’s latest motion improperly “pivots” to another agreement altogether: the Conditions of Consent issued by the Attorney General way back in 2016 when Providence Health & Services merged with St. Joseph Health.
Indeed, SJH’s motion says that in those conditions of consent, “the AG expressly agreed and mandated that the Hospital would continue to apply the ERDs on a case-by-case basis at least through 2027.”
Bonta’s office replies that even if that were true, “it would change nothing.” The Attorney General is in charge of enforcing the law, and in California, the ESL is the law.
Furthermore, the AG’s Office says California’s bar on the corporate practice of medicine means that doctors, not boards of directors, should determine when a patient needs emergency care. As for the argument that the stipulated agreement violates the hospital’s First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, Bonta’s office notes that Judge Timothy Canning already rejected that argument, finding that the ESL is both neutral and generally applicable.
“In support of its [latest] motion, SJH put forward a written policy detailing when it will allow its physicians to terminate a pregnancy,” the AG’s Friday filing says. That hospital policy says a doctor can only perform an abortion if the death of the woman and child is otherwise “certain.” (In the brief, the word “certain” is in quotes and bolded.) That policy is “flatly inconsistent” with the ESL, Bonta’s office says.
“Accepting SJH’s position would therefore not merely relieve them of the obligations they voluntarily accepted at the outset of this case, it would give them carte blanche to ignore the ESL to the detriment of their pregnant patients, setting a dangerous precedent for other hospitals throughout the State,” the brief argues.
It goes on to address the specific local stakes should Judge Canning grant SJH’s motion.
“Dissolving the Stipulation and allowing SJH to impose its policy would have immediate impacts on the lives and health of pregnant patients, especially given that SJH is now the only option for the women of Humboldt,” it says.
The court should not modify or dissolve the stipulated agreement, the AG’s Office says.
The Outpost left a phone message this morning for Providence’s media relations person but had not heard back by the time this post was published.
The next hearing in this case is scheduled for August 29 at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom 4 of the Humboldt County Courthouse.
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.
