Michael Spagna is an excellent dresser. 

He sat across from me in one of the cafeterias on Cal Poly Humboldt’s campus, clad in a tan wool overcoat and paisley tie, barely damp from the downpour outside. He had precisely half an hour to talk with me until he was rushed to his next appointment, something important enough that it demanded the cessation of our interview at exactly 11:30. 

Spagna’s been Humboldt’s acting president since August, when the previous president, Tom Jackson, stepped down after a controversial five-year tenure. Spagna will be acting president for the next six months or so, when the California State University Board of Trustees will pick a permanent president. 

Spagna has worked in the CSU system for over 30 years. Prior to his ascension to interim president, Spagna was the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at CSU Dominguez Hills. 

Spagna made it clear that he has one main objective: Keep Humboldt on track in its transition to a Cal Poly by keeping things running smoothly and helping the board to find the right person for the presidency. 

“Look at the next six months as my opportunity to gather information from students and staff and faculty to make sure that the chancellor and trustees know ‘This is what this university deserves,’” Spagna said. “You need somebody who will embrace this community, will embrace the student, the mission — will embrace the whole notion of being a polytechnic university…How do you balance a journalism program and make sure that’s thriving, as well as starting a new program in speech pathology? That’s what a new president will have to do.”

Spagna said that two of the biggest takeaways from his research so far were that faculty members are “fiercely committed” to their students, and those students are committed to their own cause célèbres. 

“[One of the things I have to do] is help the university heal from what happened in April [the Siemens Hall occupation] and to try and go back to where the university was historically,” Spagna said. “The campus has always been a campus of activism. It’s about students finding their voice, building community, being the change that they want to be in the world. And the events in April took us on that path, and so I think there was a lot of healing that’s necessary.”

The transition to becoming a polytechnic university was supposed to bump enrollment to over 8,000 students by this semester. In reality, there are only 6,045, up about 1% from when it was plain ol’ Humboldt State in 2021.

He blames the failure to meet enrollment goals on the COVID pandemic, but also believes they were too high to begin with.

“Quite frankly, the enrollment aspirations were outlandish,” Spagna said. 

Spagna pointed out that enrollment is down at CSUs all across the state. Cal State Maritime might be absorbed into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and Spagna said that both Sonoma State and Channel Islands are in bad shape after double digit decreases in enrollment.

“You know, the bad news is not subtle news: We didn’t hit those aspirational targets that were a little out of control,” Spagna said. “But we have been showing growth over three years, we have been seeing an increase in growth. So it’s 1%, 2% — if you look at it relatively, in Northern California, you have drops in the double digits at San Francisco State, at [CSU] East Bay, you have major campuses in the northern part of the state that have had precipitous drops. We’re not dropping, but our incremental growth is not the aspirational growth.”

The two graphs Spagna drew. On top represents the previous enrollment expectations; the bottom represents what Spagna thinks could happen.

To explain his point, Spagna drew two graphs. On the top is a perfect playground slide of a line; an instantaneous and steady tick up in students, year after year, that university officials expected but didn’t get. On the bottom is what Spagna hopes happens, a line any studious high-schooler in Algebra II would recognize: Exponential growth. 

I told Spagna I was skeptical.

“I’ve seen it happen,” Spagna replied. “I’ve seen it happen in other parts of the United States. But it’s going to come down to the strength of the faculty, the student body. And do students feel at the end of the day that it’s a good value proposition, meaning ‘I got skills and a degree that will help me?”

Spagna thinks what will make Humboldt get that growth will be prospective students realizing a degree does, in fact, increase their social mobility, despite the loss of immediate profits by joining the workforce instead of studying. 

Simply put, Spagna said that he expects much of Humboldt’s growth will come from students who couldn’t get into Cal Poly SLO or Pomona using Humboldt as a fallback school, as well as immediately admitting some fresh graduates. Marketing that option to them is crucial.

“What’s the shared brand?” Spagna asked. “A student that applied to SLO and wanted to study mechanical engineering but was turned down. Humboldt is the perfect place for them to come. San Luis Obispo has more applications than any other CSU in the entire system, so they turn down a ton of students…SLO, like Humboldt, are very place-bound universities. Students will come to them from all over the state to come and study here…What is attractive to an SLO student will be attractive to Humboldt too. So we have to increase the branding and the marketing to students to talk about their careers.”

Spagna did not directly mention his wildly unpopular predecessor Tom Jackson, but he did say that the next president needed to be well-liked, accessible and visible on campus, things Jackson famously was not. Both Jackson and the president before him, Lisa Rossbacher, spent only five years in the position. Spagna thinks the next president needs to serve for seven years minimum. 

In the future, Spagna wants the university to have closer links to the community at large.

“I think that they’re so dependent on the university for the economy, they’re dependent on the university for vitality,” Spagna said. “I think the community just wants the university to thrive, but they also want to see the university be visible in the community…You can’t be a university on a hill here. This has to be where you’re out doing stuff in the community and vice versa.”

As California Democrats attempt to “Trump-proof” the state and Republicans celebrate their party’s sweeping victory, the mood among some of the state’s most prominent housing advocates is glum.

“Trump’s extremist economic agenda is going to tank the housing market and housing construction,” Sen. Scott Wiener, one of the Legislature’s loudest YIMBY voices, said in an interview Friday.

That concern is based largely on actions taken during President-elect Donald Trump’s first presidency and his stated plans to deport massive numbers of immigrants and raise tariffs. Trump has offered few specific housing policy proposals. When CalMatters reached out to his campaign for more details, it didn’t get a response.

That’s left housing experts, elected officials and journalists reading the tea leaves of his public statements, moves made by his first administration, and the ideas put forward by his former housing secretary, Ben Carson, in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint.

If those are any indication, a Trump presidency will likely make it harder for immigrants, including mixed-status households, and other low-income Californians to access subsidized housing. It could also complicate efforts to build housing in the state that’s specifically designated as affordable.

First: Construction site for an affordable housing apartment complex. Last: Construction workers building an apartment complex site for an affordable housing project in Bakersfield on May 29, 2024. Photos by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

At the same time, experts said, Trump could help ease regulations for housing construction across the board, something sought by pro-housing officials in both parties. And some said Trump’s mentions of housing on the campaign trail, however vague, signal bipartisan agreement on the need to do something about housing affordability, at least when it comes to single-family homeownership. In other words, the rest of the country is catching up to California, where more than 3 in 4 adults say the cost of housing is “a big problem.”

Many of the most important housing policy decisions take place at the state and local level, placing some constraints on Trump’s influence. Here are a few ways an incoming Trump administration could affect housing in California.

Mass deportations

As with most other issues affecting the country, Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance have blamed immigrants for the housing crisis, arguing that deporting them will help free up homes for U.S. citizens. He’s also promised to ban mortgages for undocumented immigrants, who make up a tiny portion of the homebuying market, accounting for about 5,000 of the more than 4 million mortgages originated in 2023, the Urban Institute estimates.

Besides the human cost to families in California, a state where nearly half of all children have at least one immigrant parent, mass deportations would mean fewer workers to build new homes, said Ben Metcalf, managing director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley.

“If he’s going to go full bore on deporting everyone who’s not a citizen or green card holder, that is going to gut a construction workforce that is already aging and dwindling,” he said.

Perspectives on the state’s construction worker shortage vary; Chris Hannan, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, said that a slowdown in office construction means there are plenty of skilled tradespeople available to build new housing. But California’s construction industry employs more than 200,000 undocumented workers, or about a quarter of the workforce, according to the Migration Policy Institute, meaning their absence would significantly disrupt the industry.

Reducing the population also does not automatically make housing cheaper, at least in some parts of the state. New research from the Public Policy Institute of California finds that in some counties, rents have risen since 2010 even as vacancy rates also rose, with developers focusing on building for higher-income renters and charging more for newer units to recoup construction costs.

Taxing imports

Tariffs on construction materials would likely depress housing construction in California and elsewhere as companies are forced to pay the extra taxes on imported products, experts said.

Hannan pointed to the supply chain problems during the COVID-19 pandemic that drove up material prices. “The costs went through the roof,” he said. “There were (residential) projects that were delayed and projects that did not move forward.”

During the first Trump administration, the California Building Industry Association told the Sacramento Bee that tariffs enacted during the president’s first two years in office had driven up the cost of the average new home by $20,000 to $30,000.

Trump this year suggested he might impose 20% tariffs on imports across the board, and 60% on those from China.

Business leaders said Trump’s unpredictability makes it difficult to plan for potential future tariffs. “If Trump did nothing and let the (Federal Reserve) continue lowering interest rates and didn’t enact wild tariffs, things would improve for housing construction,” said Elaina Houser, vice president of policy for the Los Angeles Business Council. But a more interventionist President Trump could lead to more instability in the housing market, she said.

“Somebody says the wrong thing to him from another country and he says ‘I’m going to get back at you with tariffs’ — I can see that happening,” she said.

Easing regulations

Assemblymember Joe Patterson says he hopes a Trump administration will keep the promise in the Republican Party’s 2024 platform to “cut unnecessary regulations that raise housing costs.” The Rocklin Republican, who serves as vice-chair of the Assembly Housing Committee, pointed to an affordable apartment complex in his district that he said went through a costly and time-consuming environmental review when developers wanted to add four more units per acre to the site footprint.

Trump could use the power of the federal purse to reward states that speed up approval of new developments, he said.

“The two things that impact the price of housing is the cost of land…and the time and money to get through the approval process,” he said, referring to Trump’s plans to both loosen regulations and build housing on federal land. “I think if Trump can focus on those two things the market can take care of the rest.”

A Trump administration could also work with Congress to loosen HUD rules governing manufacturing of mobile homes, making more of that cheaper, entry-level housing available, said Alex Horowitz, housing policy initiative director for the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Restricting access to public housing and Section 8

If past is prologue, low-income Californians who rely on federal housing assistance will be at risk under a second Trump administration.

During Trump’s first term, his administration floated a ban on federal housing assistance to families with any undocumented members — including those with U.S. citizen children. The rule, never implemented, would have broken with current policy allowing mixed-status families to receive pro-rated assistance based on the number of family members who are eligible.

If the federal government were to enact a similar rule today, “there’s a large number of households in California that would be impacted — mixed status families who would have to make that hard choice of separating as a family or leaving their housing and quite possibly not being able to find an alternative,” said Chione Flegal, executive director of Housing California, an affordable housing advocacy group.

Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a second Trump administration, also envisions a thorough overhaul of the Department of Housing and Urban Development that would add time limits and increase work requirements for housing benefits, sell off land owned by public housing authorities, and transfer some of the department’s responsibilities to state and local governments.

Reducing the number of Californians eligible for federal housing vouchers could compromise new affordable housing projects because some developers rely on income from voucher-holders to make projects pencil out, Flegal said.

State leaders could choose to make up some of the funding for housing vouchers, she said, or finance affordable housing projects that wouldn’t be bound by the federal rules, though that would be “incredibly expensive.”

Prioritizing single-family zoning

Trump has railed that Democrats want to “abolish the suburbs,” co-authoring a 2020 Wall Street Journal op-ed with Carson that criticized elected officials in several states, including California, for promoting higher-density housing in residential neighborhoods.

“People fight all of their lives to get into the suburbs and have a beautiful home,” he said in a speech that year. “There will be no more low-income housing forced into the suburbs.”

California lawmakers in recent years have taken the opposite tack, making it easier for homeowners to build ADUs in their backyards and split their lots into two. “Creating more flexibility in zoning is essential to getting housing costs under control and addressing the housing shortage,” said Wiener.

It’s unclear, however, whether Trump would have much ability to influence zoning in California, beyond dangling federal grants as incentives. “The federal government has a limited impact on regulating housing requirements in California or any other state,” Morgan Morales, a spokesperson for the California Building Industry Association.

Help for first-time homebuyers

The Republican platform promises ​​to “promote homeownership through tax incentives and support for first-time buyers,” help that could theoretically make a difference for California, where the median home price topped $900,000 this year and the age at which the majority of residents become homeowners is 49.

New housing construction in a neighborhood on the outskirts of west Fresno on June 15, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Unlike Vice President Kamala Harris, who said on the campaign trail that she’d give first-time homebuyers up to $25,000 in downpayment assistance, Trump has not offered any specifics. His spokespeople didn’t respond to requests for details.

The president-elect has said he would lower mortgage rates, something presidents don’t directly control. Mortgage rates rose after the election on the expectation that Trump’s economic policies will fuel inflation. Some of the changes contemplated in Project 2025, such as increasing mortgage insurance premiums and decreasing lengths of loans offered by the Federal Housing Administration, would likely make buying more expensive for first-time homebuyers.

The fact that both parties highlighted homeownership in their campaigns could provide some opportunity for collaboration on the issue at the federal level, said Adam Briones. He’s the CEO of California Community Builders, which promotes homeownership for middle-income Caifornians and those from historically marginalized communities. Briones said that the federal government lacks a large-scale program to build income-restricted affordable housing for homebuyers, the way it does for rental housing through tax credits.

“We are obviously a very divided nation,” he said. “We’re divided politically, racially, along gender and religious lines. The one thing that still seems to unite Americans is most folks want to buy a home. What can we do to use this general desire for American homeownership to potentially bring people together?”

Building housing on federal land

Trump has said he’ll open some federal land to housing construction, an idea with broad appeal that both candidates pushed on the campaign trail.

He’s suggested he would hold a contest to design and build new “Freedom Cities” on federal territory. “Trump Freedom Cities and Homes will sell like hot cakes and everyone will want to live in one!” effused Bill Pulte, a private equity CEO and real estate heir rumored to be under consideration for Trump’s Housing Secretary, this week on X.

Much of the federal land in California is in rugged terrain inhospitable to development or far from population centers, housing researchers said. But a recent Terner Center report found that the United States Postal Service owns more than 50 sites in California that could be suitable for housing construction due to their location in residential areas close to public transportation and other neighborhood amenities.

“I would think this would be an easy win for Trump if he wants to do something visible,” said Metcalf, the Terner Center director. “He likes to build things, he likes building walls. So maybe he can take some federal land and build some housing.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Barbara Geraldine Romero Clement
March 1, 1934 – October 25, 2024

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Barbara Geraldine Romero-Clement, a cherished mother, aunt, grandmother, and performer, who left this world after a life full of love, laughter, and artistry. Born on March 1, 1934, in Santa Barbara, Barbara’s indomitable spirit shone brightly from her earliest days.

A performer at heart, Barbara took her first bold step into the spotlight at just 16 years old, eagerly auditioning with the same passion and enthusiasm that would define her extraordinary life. Her talent graced numerous stages, including the historic Eureka Inn, captivating audiences across local venues.

Barbara’s journey reached new heights when she fulfilled her dreams of performing on a grand scale, traveling the world aboard a renowned cruise ship, touching hearts and sharing joy through music. In 1999, she celebrated another milestone by creating and releasing her first CD, “My Romance,” a testament to her dedication to her craft and love for expression.

Barbara was known for her fierce spirit and rebellious courage from a young age. As a teenager, she delighted in charting her own course, often sharing spirited tales of sneaking away on forbidden motorcycle rides—stories filled with laughter and bold defiance against her parents’ cautious wishes. It was in those moments of the escapade that Barbara truly came alive, embodying the freedom of youth and the joy of living in the moment.

Even as a child, nicknamed, Little Iodine, Barbara’s love for life was apparent. At just five years old, she would eagerly accompany her uncle to the docks, where she experienced the thrill of the sailors’ homecoming, singing cheerful tunes like “A Tisket, A Tasket,” while her uncle lovingly sold flowers — a vibrant and joyful scene that she cherished throughout her life.

Her artistic spirit was rivaled only by her boundless love for family. An active member of the Latin American community in Eureka and devote to her faith, Barbara dedicated her life to uplifting those around her. To her many nieces, nephews, and grandchildren, Barbara was more than just an aunt and grandmother; she was a treasured confidante and whimsical friend. She delighted in hosting extravagant tea parties, where imagination knew no bounds, and mischievous laughter filled the air. Proper table manners were perhaps her only requirement; beneath her playful exterior lay a steadfast belief in tradition and kindness. Her festive spirit shone brightly each Christmas as she donned whimsical outfits, bringing joy to her young grandchildren and family friends through caroling for local senior citizens. It was during these special gatherings that Barbara instilled the values of joy and creativity that they will carry with them forever.

In her later years, Barbara never lost her sass; her signature phrases like “That’s Nice Honey”, “Twecko”, “How Buggy”, and “Mas Para El Rancho, Then” became affectionately cherished mantras in her family. These memorable sayings encapsulated her ability to blend warmth and mischief in equal measure.

Barbara is survived by her sons, Kenneth Osborne and Steven Osborne, and her siblings, Jose Romero, Frances Kottre, Yvonne Larson, and William Bryant. She leaves behind a legacy of love through her 24 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren, in addition to numerous adoring nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Barbara rejoins her beloved parents, Joseph Romero and Elizabeth Cota Hunter, her children, Julie Ann James, and Jeffery Osborne, along with her dear siblings, Mary Ann Stewart, Betty Beatty, and Dick Romero, in eternal peace.

Her radiant spirit and kind heart will be profoundly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her. Barbara’s life was a celebration, and her legacy will continue to resonate in the hearts of her family, friends, and countless lives she touched through her music and love.

A memorial service in honor of Barbara Geraldine Romero Clement will be held on November 23, 2024, at Noon, St. Bernard’s Catholic Parish, 615 H Street, Eureka, followed by a graveside service at Oceanview Cemetery.

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

Kristin Diane Aubrey was born March 25, 1967 at the General Hospital in Eureka and passed away peacefully in her sleep, with her loved ones by her side, on November 8, 2024 in Yreka. Kristin is preceded in death by her paternal grandparents Calvin “Henry” Aubrey and Omalee Aubrey, maternal grandmother Marjorie Laurentsin; parents Joann Aubrey, Calvin Aubrey, step-father Loren Aubrey; siblings Loren “Bubba” Aubrey, Brenda “Brat” Aubrey, Carla Aubrey, and Margarett Lee Moon, Arlyss Goodman, and Edmond Moon.

Kristin is survived by her children Linda Robinson, Troy & Jalea Aubrey, Stephanie Tibbett, Wallace Aubrey, Bessie Aubrey; Siblings- Scott Aubrey, Jodene Aubrey, Lorann Aubrey, Edward “Horse” Aubrey, Hank Aubrey, Buck Aubrey, Shelly Moon, Kassandra Moon, and Geraldine Moon; Grandchildren- Maya Trimble, Kali & Kaydence Batiste, Curtis & Kami Robinson, Laila & Lawrence Walker. And Many Nieces and nephews whom she loved like her own.

Kristin was an enrolled member of the Karuk Tribe and a descendent of the Yurok and Ute Tribes. She loved her Native culture and heritage. She had a lot of knowledge in gathering medicine, basket materials, and regalia making. She was a singer and always sang Native and Christian songs no matter who was around. She taught cultural classes to the youth and would teach anyone who was interested in learning.

In her younger days she was a force to be reckoned with, a Humboldt County Legend. She had a rough upbringing and used her testimony to help people later on, she didn’t let her rough upbringing “define” her.

Kristin went to Zoe Barnum High School and proceeded to get her A.A. degree in Substance Abuse Counseling/ Behavioral & Social Sciences from College of the Redwoods. Kristin was a drug and alcohol counselor for most of her life and a proud member of the A.A./ N.A. community. She helped mold the Humboldt County Detox Program in Eureka, CA to what it is today.Kristin then moved to Yreka and was a DUI Counselor for the Karuk Tribe. While working as a DUI Counselor she was a foster parent and adopted her children Bessie and Wallace Aubrey. She moved to Lakeport to help take care of her aunt Linda and uncle Doug in their older age. While in Lakeport she worked for the tribe in Ukiah, in the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. She then moved to Colorado to help with her grandchildren while her daughter Linda pursued her Real Estate Career. She moved back to Yreka and became a cultural mentor for the Karuk Tribe. She taught several cultural classes and helped children connect to their Karuk culture.

Her life in recovery was important to her and she was always involved in sweats, the red road, N.A./A.A., church and helped countless people on their paths to recovery. She had a big heart for everyone and was always there for everyone in their time of need. She helped countless people along her journey. Her love for her family was unlike any other, she will always be remembered as the one who kept her family together through the good times and the bad. The job she loved the most was being a grandma and auntie, she was always there for her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She had many family and friends who she cared for. She will forever be remembered for her loving character and she will always be missed.

To accommodate all those who loved her in Humboldt and Siskiyou Counties, her services will be held at the Karuk Tribe (DNR) building in Orleans, on Saturday November 16, 2024 at 12 p.m., followed by her last ride to Aubrey Ranch for graveside services and burial, ending with a potluck style reception at the DNR building. If anyone has a special recipe that they know Kristin loved, please bring it to share.

Pallbearers: Scott Aubrey, Edward “Horse” Aubrey, Sunnybuck Aubrey, Frank Cooke, Mike Flowers, Jessy Minard, Loren TwoFeathers Offield, Amos Albers, Kanuk Jones, Reggie Stanshaw, Nelson Thom, Jack Thom, Jack Thom III, Charles Hayden, Raymond Hayden, Ernie Schmidt, Dane Starr, Sheldon Osceola and James Gensaw.

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

Julie Ann (Osborne) James, born on August 31, 1952, in Santa Barbara, California, passed away peacefully in Eureka, California, on March 10, 2024. She was the beloved daughter of Ralph Osborne and Barbara Romero.

Julie enjoyed a fulfilling, creative career as a cosmetologist and was an active member of the Latin American club. She loved music, was a talented dancer, and was a passionate and dedicated fan of the 49ers. However, her greatest joy came from dedicating her life to the care and nurturing of her children.

She is survived by her son, John-Paul James; her daughter, Alisa James; her brothers, Ken, Steven, and Jeff Osborne; as well as a loving extended family including aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and numerous cousins.

A celebration of Julie’s life will take place at St. Bernard Catholic Parish, located at 615 H Street in Eureka, on November 16 at 12 p.m. Julie will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Stacy Yates, born August 1954, left us for the stars unexpectedly the night of November 3, 2024.

Tay was loved deeply by her two daughters, Courtney (Steve) and Tana (Nik), and her four grandsons, Trevor, Camron, Jasper and Weston. She was the glue of our family. She’s held us all close for all her years. She was a selfless woman who would help anyone who needed it. She opened her heart and home to many of her daughters friends over the years and was a surrogate mother to many. She’s changed so many lives with her heart, and was a safe haven for people. She also opened her heart and home to the many (many) animals her daughters brought home over the years. A stray cat her oldest brought home became her favorite child, a silver tabby, Jericho. He was her baby and she treated him as such, spoiled rotten! She was always there for her family and never let us go without. We always knew we were loved and important. She gave all of herself always for her family and made us all the best versions of ourselves we could be. We are proud to have been born to such a strong, beautiful and giving person.

Those who knew her will remember her laugh and wicked sense of humor. She loved fishing out in the bay or ocean, crabbing and abbing, before it was closed. She loved cooking, barbecuing and making jerky in her smoker. Most of all she loved being with her family. We’ll never forget her Christmas baskets of homemade fudge, jams and smoked meats. She had a talent for art, even if she didn’t think it was that great. There were many Halloweens with homemade ghost, bats and witches made from freezer paper and colored in by us kids. There was one year her homemade reindeer decorated the Christmas tree at the Eureka Inn — she was damn proud of that.

She was always ready for a game of Rummy, Crazy Eights or Go Fish with the grandkids. We will forever miss her and we will never be able to fill the hole she’s left in our hearts and lives in leaving. There are so many stories and things we can add about how wonderful of a person our mom was, and her humor — this could go on for pages to create a novel. If you have any great stories of Mom, please share them as we’d love to read them.

Since Mom didn’t want a service we ask, in lieu of flowers or donations, that you take some extra time to hold your loved ones a bit closer and never take for granted a single moment because we are not promised tomorrow.

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

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Nearly 360 acres of coastal dunes and wetlands are back in the hands of the Wiyot Tribe.

Tribal leaders, local elected officials, environmentalists and other noteworthies gathered at the Samoa Women’s Club today to celebrate the long-awaited return of Digawututklh [pronunciation], formerly known as the Samoa Dunes and Wetlands Conservation Area, a 357-acre swath of sand dunes, maritime forest and seasonal wetlands on the Samoa Peninsula. The land return ceremony featured speeches from numerous local leaders, as well as songs and dances from Wiyot Tribal members.

“As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Keep your eyes on the prize,’” said Cheryl Seidner, a former Chairwoman of the Wiyot Tribe. “And that prize is for all of us to see the [return] of the land that was taken away from us.”

Friends of the Dunes has spent the last 25 years working with the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, the Wildlife Conservation Board, the California Natural Resources Agency, the California State Coastal Conservancy and others to acquire the peninsula site, also known as Dog Ranch, for long-term conservation management. In 2005, Friends of the Dunes secured the funding needed to purchase the property but those plans were stymied when Eureka businessman Rob Arkley swooped in at the eleventh hour to outbid the non-profit. 

The property was listed for sale in 2014 and eventually sold to a coalition of local and state conservation groups. Friends of the Dunes assumed temporary ownership of the property in October 2020 with the goal of transferring the property for long-term management.

“Today, we celebrate the return of Digawututklh,” said Wiyot Tribal Chair Brian Mead. “Traditionally, the Wiyot people lived along the Samoa Peninsula. This area was a place where we gathered food … caught surf fish and dug plants to feed our families. The forest here is peppered and plants that we traditionally use for our culture. … We hope to restore this place and return to our cultural practices.”

“Friends of the Dunes has been involved in protecting this site for more than 30 years, but that pales in comparison to the generations of Wiyot who have had a relationship with this land, which is now being returned,” said Friends of the Dunes board member Carol Vander Meer. “We pledge our support in whatever ways are helpful to the Tribe, be that in assisting with guided walks, securing funding for ongoing stewardship or collaborative work days. We would be honored to play a supporting role in ensuring that this place continues to be revered and protected and enjoyed for generations to come.”

Humboldt County Supervisor Natalie Arroyo acknowledged that it can be easy to get bogged down by the “bureaucratic stuff” that comes with working in politics, but noted that “this is one of those moments” that makes it all worth it.

“It is incredible to be here and to be able to – not take credit for – but bear witness to and celebrate together what people have spent their entire life working toward,” Arroyo said, her voice wavering with emotion. “This is one of those moments.”

Eureka Mayor Kim Bergel briefly spoke about the historic return of Tuluwat Island, which was approved by the Eureka City Council in 2019, and the importance of the Land Back Movement.

“Why land back? Because it’s the right thing to do,” Bergel said. “To be able to witness this here today, and to be a part of that in the past has been a real, a real blessing to me. … Hopefully, the healing will continue and we’ll move forward.”

Keep scrolling for more pictures of today’s land return ceremony. 

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PREVIOUSLY: 

• Friends of the Dunes Temporary Management of 357 Acres of Samoa Dunes, Wetlands and Coastal Forest; Organization Looking Outside to Determine Permanent Ownership of Dog Ranch Property
• Harbor District, Friends of the Dunes Develop Agreement With Security National to Acquire Oceanfront Dog Ranch, Conservation Group Announces
• “Buying binge reflects his vision, Arkley says,” NCJ, April 28, 2005