Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On Dec. 13, 2025, at 1: 02 a.m., a Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputy was patrolling the area of Broadway St. and Sunset St., in Eureka when he observed a white Jeep Cherokee parked at a local gas station. There were two people associated with the Jeep, the deputy then stopped and contacted the two individuals. The driver and owner of the jeep was identified as 37-year-old Jesse Eugene Johnson, and the passenger was identified and determined to be on formal probation with a search clause.
The deputy then conducted a search of the vehicle to ensure the subject on probation was adhering to his terms of release. During the search the deputy located a homemade explosive device inside the vehicle. The deputy detained the two subjects and requested the assistance of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Explosive Ordinance Detail (EOD). EOD responded to the scene and rendered the explosive device safe.
A further search of the Jeep conducted by the deputies revealed approximately 13.61 grams of methamphetamine, 13.16 grams of Psylocibin mushrooms, drug paraphernalia, .22 caliber ammunition [and] a .22 caliber rifle. Through the investigation, it was determined that the device, drugs, weapon and ammo belonged to the driver, Jesse Johnson.
Johnson was arrested and transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility and booked on the following charges:
HS 11377(a): Possession of a Controlled Substance
HS 11350(a): Possession of a Controlled substance
HS 11364(a): Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
PC 18710(a): Possession of a Destructive Device
PC 29805(a)(1): Possession of a Firearm w/ Spec Misdemeanor Conviction
PC 30305(a)(1): Prohibited Person in Possession of Ammunition
The passenger of the Jeep was released at the scene.
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
Blue Lake City Councilmember Elise Scafani. | Image via City of Blue Lake.
Last week, registered voters in the City of Blue Lake received an important piece of mail amid the deluge of (also important) holiday packages and greeting cards: Ballots for the voter-initiated effort to recall Mayor Pro-Tem Elise Scafani were sent out a week ago, likely arriving in mailboxes last Tuesday or Wednesday.
Something was missing, though. On Saturday, staff at the Humboldt County Elections Office realized that they’d forgotten to include both the statement of reason for recall, submitted by those behind the effort, and the response statement submitted by Councilmember Scafani.
“We were reviewing materials and realized we needed to get additional information out to voters,” Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes told the Outpost via phone this morning. After realizing their mistake on Saturday, staff hustled to get the necessary materials together on Sunday, and the supplemental info was mailed out today, Cervantes said.
In a notice posted online, the Elections Office says the recall election will still take place as scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, and the ballots issued last week remain valid.
Ideally, the supplemental information would have been sent out at the same time as ballots, but Cervantes said that California Election Code is not always organized in the most intuitive way.
“These kinds of things happen sometimes when you’re under the gun,” said Cervantes, whose office had a short runway this fall to prepare for California’s special election on Proposition 50.
In Blue Lake, where municipal politics have turned as bitterly divided as those at the national level, a group of local residents mounted a recall effort against three of the five council members, including Mayor John Sawatzky, following the closed-session ouster of longtime City Manager Amanda “Mandy” Mager. Recall proponents fell a few signatures shy of the threshold necessary to trigger recall votes for Sawatzky and Councilmember Kat Napier, leaving Scafani the only one at risk of removal.
Below is the info mailed to Blue Lakers this morning, including the “Statement of Reasons for Recall” and Scafani’s “Answer of the Officer.”
STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR RECALL
TO THE HONORABLE Elise G Scafani: Pursuant to Section 11020, California Elections Code, the undersigned registered qualified voters of Blue Lake, in the State of California, hereby give notice that we are the proponents of a recall petition and that we intend to seek your recall and removal from the office of City Council Member, in Blue Lake, California.
The grounds for the recall are as follows:
Through your actions, you have exposed the City of Blue Lake to financial, legal and operational jeopardy by:
Your inability and/or unwillingness to vote for and adopt a Housing Element as required by law in the State of California and as part of the General Plan for the City of Blue Lake.
Separating the City Manager, Amanda “Mandy” Mager, from her position without justifiable cause and in a meeting that most likely violated the Ralph M. Brown Act.
These two acts have placed this city in jeopardy of potential lawsuits from contractors, fines from the state and loss of local control. By removing Mandy as City Manager, at such a crucial time, it leaves the city open to disfunction and an inability to respond to any legal challenges that may arise.
For these reasons, we the citizens of Blue Lake, no longer feel you have our best interests at heart and demand that you vacate your positions either thru resignation or recall.
The printed names of the proponents are as follows: 1. Elissa Rosado 2.Charis Bowman, 3. Steve Spain, 4. Bobbi Ricca, 5. Dennis Whitcomb, 6. Barbara Keating, 7. Elizabeth Mackay, 8. Eric Hall , 9. Susan Lane, 10. Ron Perry
###
ANSWER OF THE OFFICER
The last time HCD certified Blue Lake’s Housing Element Update was in 2004. The current update was due on 8/31/2019, work on it began in 2021. There have been many drafts before the planning Commission over the years and before the previous City Council in late 2024. The current city council is committed to working with HCD to come into compliance with state housing law and has set forth a schedule by which to study and adopt an updated housing element no later than 12/31/2025. [NOTE: The Blue Lake City Council adopted an updated Housing Element in July.] There is no immediate threat of fines from the state related to this issue as this ongoing effort and intention to comply are recognized.
On May 8, 2025 the City Manager and the City Council announced a mutual decision to end our professional association. This decision was the product of extensive consideration by all parties involved and occurred under the guidance of the City’s legal team to assure compliance with all employment laws/ethics and the Ralph M. Brown Act. Assertions of unlawful process in this matter are not based on factual events. I am committed to ensuring the City maintains functionality and essential services as we transition.
The holiday season can be dangerous for people on the roads. In
December 2023 alone, 1,038 people were killed in the U.S. in alcohol-impaired-driving
crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Eureka Police
Department wants to remind the public of the dangers of driving impaired and to
celebrate the holiday season responsibly by not driving under the influence.
From December 12 through New Year’s Day, Eureka Police Department will have
additional officers on patrol looking for drivers suspected of being under the influence of
alcohol and/or drugs. The high-visibility enforcement effort is part of a national campaign,
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, with the goal of stopping suspected impaired drivers who
put others at risk.
To that end, On Thursday, December 18th 2025, the Eureka Police Department will conduct
a driving under the influence (DUI) Checkpoint from 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. at an
undisclosed location.
DUI checkpoint locations are determined based on data showing incidents of impaired
driving-related crashes. The primary purpose of DUI checkpoints are to promote public
safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off the road.
“Impaired drivers put others on the road at significant risk,” Eureka Police Department’s
Chief Brian Stephens said. “Any prevention measures that reduce the number of impaired
drivers on our roads significantly improve traffic safety.”
Drivers charged with a first-time
DUI face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties, as
well as a suspended license.
“We want to make sure everyone gets home safely so that they can celebrate the holiday
season with their families and loved ones,” Eureka Police Department’s Commander Rabang said. [Ed. That’s Wayne Rabang.] “Not only is driving impaired illegal, but it is also dangerous and never
acceptable. We are asking everyone to do their part to keep themselves and everyone
on the roads safe.”
Eureka Police Department encourages everyone to stay in for the night or plan ahead by
designating a sober driver, using public transit or calling a taxi or rideshare service if you
intend to drink.Impaired driving is not just from alcohol. Prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications,
cannabis products and other drugs may also cause impairment. If you plan on drinking or
taking medications with a driving warning label, let someone who is sober drive. If you see
someone who appears to be driving while impaired, call 9-1-1.
Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety
through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
On a warm August afternoon, on a quiet side street in Arcata, a group of Cal Poly Humboldt students are taking turns swinging a sledgehammer against a small steel plate on the ground. They pause for five seconds and strike again. Five seconds. Another.
Each blow sends a clang echoing down the street and vibrations deep into the ground. In a lab half a mile away, scientists watch their screens to see whether those vibrations register on a seismometer-like machine—a Distributed Acoustic Sensing interrogator. The strikes are spaced five seconds apart so they’re distinguishable from other ground noises, like passing cars.
The students are running what’s known as a tap test—part of an experiment to explore using fiber optic lines to detect earthquakes, which could one day help communities more quickly receive warnings of seismic events.
This project is part of a multi-year, multi-agency effort led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Cal Poly Humboldt, Vero Fiber Network, and state and local partners to monitor seismic activity.
The tests take place above buried fiber optic cables in Humboldt County, which lies in the most seismically active part of the continental U.S. These cables, which will provide high-speed internet to more than 20,000 residents in the region, can also be used to detect earthquakes by capturing even the tiniest seismic disturbances. When vibrations—whether from a sledgehammer or a real earthquake—pass through, they slightly stretch or compress the fibers, changing the light pulses that carry data. Scientists can detect those changes on the interrogator, which is connected to the cables and is so sensitive, it can detect earthquakes as small as magnitude 1 on the Richter scale.
“This is a major leap in seismology research capability,” explains Eric Riggs, co-lead on the project and Dean of the College of Natural Resources and Sciences at Cal Poly Humboldt. “It’s ushering in a new era of earthquake detection and monitoring.”
Fiber optic earthquake detection systems help scientists understand how to better prepare for the impacts of earthquakes, explains USGS geophysicist and ShakeAlert Chief Scientist Jeff McGuire. “A system like this could also potentially be used for the quick earthquake detections needed to give hospitals, schools, and entire communities a few precious seconds to brace for impact and reduce damage.”
The research builds on work already underway in Humboldt County, where fiber optic cables are being installed to expand internet access as part of California’s Middle Mile broadband expansion program. Three years ago, Cal Poly Humboldt partnered with USGS on a pilot study using a small fiber line between Arcata and Eureka. Traditional seismometers were installed parallel to the fiber line to study the difference between what the methods detected during an earthquake.
The project has also strengthened Cal Poly Humboldt’s earthquake research capabilities and expanded its role in statewide seismic research. The University recently became a participating institution in the Statewide California Earthquake Center. The center is a collaboration between agencies throughout the state that work to advance earthquake science, community resilience, and education.
Over the next three years, researchers—including students—will continue to evaluate the cables’ ability to monitor seismic activity. Cal Poly Humboldt will act as a central hub, linking fiber optic lines and creating a testbed for the technology.
This technology is revolutionizing earthquake monitoring and research, says McGuire. “Cal Poly Humboldt is creating an amazing test facility for seismic research. By using the fiber optic networks already in place, we will collect the data needed to test ways to build a faster, smarter early warning system that can reduce the impact of future earthquakes.”
Turns out that the five whales are Bigg’s Killer Whales — roaming orcas — from the T035A group, led by a 27-year-old matriarch named “Lester.” With Lester were her kids: 15-year-old Opal (T035A1), 12-year-old Topaz (T035A2), 7-year-old Garnet (T035A3) and 3-year-old Agate (T035A4).
Schulman said this is the first time these whales have been documented in California waters, though Lester’s mother — 55-year-old Rooby Roo (T035) — was among the whales who cruised past Humboldt Bay in June 2020. Rooby Roo apparently rolls with the T038 squad these days.
Pelican Bay inmates record stories for a podcast. File photo.
###
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
###
Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fill vacant medical and mental health positions at prisons and state hospitals, California has little to show for it, according to a new report from the state auditor.
Job vacancy rates have increased since 2019 at the three facilities examined in the audit, as has the state’s reliance on pricey temporary workers. Atascadero State Hospital, Porterville Developmental Center and Salinas Valley State Prison had health-related vacancy rates topping 30% during fiscal year 2023-24. At Salinas Valley State Prison more than 50% of health positions were unfilled.
Workers contend that the high vacancy rate leads to more on-the-job assaults, mandatory overtime and staff turnover.
“A high vacancy rate is a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Dr. Stuart Bussey, president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which represents about 1,300 state psychiatrists.
The vacancy rates persisted despite targeted bonuses and wage increases that prison health workers received in contracts and under court order during the Newsom administration. Those included $42,000 bonuses for prison psychiatrists in a 2023 contract and more recently $20,000 bonuses the state had to dole out to mental health workers through a long-running prisoner rights lawsuit.
At face value, some state health workers are comparatively well-compensated. All of the 55 prison employees who earned more than $500,000 in income last year were doctors, dentists, psychiatrists or medical executives, according to state controller data.
A board-certified psychiatrist at Atascadero State Hospital — some of the highest paid state employees — can earn more than $397,000 in base pay. They also retire with pensions through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. In comparison, the mean wage for a psychiatrist in California is $328,560, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But in certain places, local hospitals are offering even more. In Monterey County, $90,000 hiring bonuses are common at private hospitals struggling to fill their own vacancies, staff told state auditors.
Despite the pay, vacancy rates were highest among psychiatrists at Atascadero State Hospital and second highest at Porterville Developmental Center and Salinas Valley State Prison, auditors found.
All three of the audited facilities house individuals who are either incarcerated or institutionalized because they were deemed by the courts to be dangerous or unfit to stand trial. Federal and state law as well as court rulings require the state to provide adequate medical and mental health care. As a result, most of the facilities are required to have vacancy rates less than 10%.
Over the past 30 years, California has consistently failed to meet that standard.
None of the state departments overseeing the facilities have taken necessary steps to ensure adequate staffing, auditors wrote.
The audit found:
The facilities had a “significant number of vacant positions” that were not filled by temporary workers or staff overtime.
Neither the Department of State Hospitals nor the Department of Developmental Services, which houses some people with developmental disabilities in Porterville, had procedures to adequately evaluate or budget for staffing needs annually.
The state hospitals and developmental services departments as well as the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have no process to determine whether facilities are meeting staffing minimums during each shift.
In a letter to lawmakers, California State Auditor Grant Parks wrote that the state should conduct a statewide recruitment campaign to hire health care workers “because of the decades-long difficulties the facilities have had in filling vacant health care positions and a current and projected health care professional shortage.”
In response to the audit, the developmental services and state hospitals departments partially agreed with the findings in detailed comments.
The Department of State Hospitals, however, wrote that the vacancy rates covered during the audit period were significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and that salary savings were overstated. “Our hospitals regularly meet or exceed mandated staffing minimums and have self-reported rare occurrences where they have not due to extraordinary circumstances,” department spokesperson Ralph Montano said, in an email to CalMatters. The department has agreed to implement many of the recommendations made in the report, Montano added.
In a statement, the corrections department said it was “committed to providing adequate health care for the incarcerated population, while ensuring fiscal responsibility.”
Workers claim state wastes money to fill vacancies
Coby Pizzotti, a lobbyist for the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians, which represents about 6,000 mental health clinicians, said the audit confirmed what many of the state worker unions had suspected: The state has continually refused to meaningfully improve wages, benefits and working conditions for employees, while spending money on temporary workers. This, the unions contend, makes the vacancy problem worse.
“Effectively, it’s a shadow state employee workforce. They’re just not called civil servants,” Pizzotti said.
The departments saved $592 million in payroll over six years by carrying the vacancies, the auditors wrote. But, auditors criticized the state departments for their inability to specifically track how they later spent that money. The departments counter that, generally, the money can be used to offset other costs or it can be given back to the state.
But they have also poured money into temporary positions to meet court-mandated minimums. During the six-year audit period, the state spent $239 million on contract workers to fill staff vacancies. The departments were authorized to spend more than $1 billion on temporary workers during that time period, though they used only a fraction of the money, according to the audit.
Contract workers, while making up less than 10% of the health care workforce, are paid so much that they cost more per hour than state workers even after accounting for benefits, auditors also found.
State workers’ unions say that’s more evidence toward their argument that these arrangements don’t save the state money.
“Contracting out is not a great way to do business. It’s expensive,” said Doug Chiappetta, executive director of the psychiatrists union.
Instead, state health worker unions want the state to increase salaries and benefits, to make permanent positions more attractive to candidates rather than spending it on highly paid contract workers.
The psychiatric technicians union, psychiatrists union and the state nurses union said that contract workers get paid two to three times more per hour than state employees, according to job advertisements from contracting agencies they have collected. Those companies are also able to offer generous benefits and scheduling flexibility that state jobs don’t have.
“It’s been a slap to our faces to see how the state doesn’t care for our nurses,” said Vanessa Seastrong, chair of Bargaining Unit 17 for SEIU Local 1000, which represents about 5,100 registered nurses. “You’re standing next to a nurse that is doing less work than you and getting paid more than you. How does that bring up morale?”
Bigger problems for recruitment
Even relying on temporary contract workers, the state has in many cases still failed to maintain staffing minimums for health care positions.
Vacancy rates increased significantly between 2019 and 2024. Salinas Valley State Prison saw vacancies jump 62% during the audit period, and more than half of mental health and medical positions were unfilled during fiscal year 2023-24.
Atascadero State Hospital’s vacancy rate rose 39% over the audit period for a total vacancy rate of about 30%. During the last three years of the audit period, Atascadero also lost 90% of its staff to attrition.
Porterville Developmental Center’s vacancy rate increased by just 6% over the audit period, but more than a third of its positions remained unfilled in the final year of the audit.
In interviews with auditors, administrators at the facilities said that the COVID-19 pandemic caused higher staff turnover as well as an increased reliance on contract workers to fill gaps.
All three facilities, which are located along the Central Coast or in the Central Valley, face additional barriers to recruitment.
These areas suffer from health care professional shortages. The area along the coast where Atascadero State Hospital and Salinas Valley State Prison are located faces a medium shortage of behavioral health workers, while Porterville Developmental Center is in an area with a severe shortage, according to the Department of Health Care Access and Information.
“Places like the Central Valley have substantially fewer mental health professionals per population than compared to the rest of the state,” said Janet Coffman, a professor at UCSF’s Institute for Health Policy Studies who studies workforce issues. “Particularly for Porterville, that’s a big part of the issue.”
At the same time, demand for mental health services has increased in the general population, Coffman said.
Combined, that makes it more difficult for the state to compete with the private sector, which is also struggling to hire health care workers.
Other barriers are difficult to address with money alone. The patient population can make the work dangerous. Staff are frequently verbally or physically assaulted. Unsafe conditions make it harder to recruit new workers and sometimes cause long-time workers to retire early.
“There were 2,700 assaults on staff last year. It’s not a matter of if, it’s when,” Pizzoti said.
The audit recommended that the state conduct a market analysis of all health care positions to determine whether payment was competitive, streamline the hiring process, and conduct a statewide recruitment campaign.
###
Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.
Michael
Avelar, of McKinleyville, passed away on November 29, 2025 at the age
of 42 after living for many years with Machado Joseph’s Disease.
He
was born on March 15, 1983, in Arcata to Henry and Maria Avelar. His
arrival marked the beginning of a life defined by curiosity,
creativity, and deep connection. Michael grew up surrounded by a
warm, close-knit family who often gathered with relatives and
friends—always with plenty of food, laughter, and love.
As a boy, he loved playing Magic cards,
exploring computers, and reading fantasy books late into the
night—long past when he was supposed to be asleep. In his early
teens, he enjoyed playing golf. Michael joined a model rocket club,
building rockets with friends and his close cousin, Jason Lowe, and
delighted in launching them thousands of feet into the sky. His
fascination with the cosmos led to countless nights of telescope
viewing and astrophotography. Michael always wanted to understand how
everything worked and why, a lifelong curiosity that shaped much of
who he became.
At
McKinleyville High School, Michael excelled academically. He was
intellectual, scientific, and absorbed knowledge like a sponge. He
thrived on challenging projects—often working extra hours simply
because he loved learning.
His passion for computers led him to pursue a
career in programming. After attending Humboldt State University,
working in the photo department at Longs Drugs, and living in Arcata,
Michael moved to Seattle, Washington. There, he spent most of his
adult career as a valued computer programmer at Moodlerooms, working
alongside his close childhood friend, Mark Nielsen, before returning
to his hometown of McKinleyville in 2012.
Michael enjoyed camping, fishing with his dad,
mushroom hunting & traveling—visiting Japan and Europe with
Mark, spending a summer in the Azores with family, cruising to the
Bahamas and Alaska, and taking many road trips, including two RV
journeys across the United States & Canada to see national parks
and monuments.
In later years, Michael turned inward toward
spirituality. He found joy in spending time with family, taking
scenic drives, and experimenting in the kitchen — making jams, cider,
preserves, and baked treats, all “in the name of science.” Michael’s love of nature remained constant throughout his life. He
also continued to enjoy his evenings playing video games.
Michael
was preceded in death by his mother, Maria, and his brother, Nelson.
He is survived by his father, Henry; his sister, Melissa; his aunt
Elizabeth, her husband Geoff Wright; his cousins Grace, Gavin and
Garrett.
The
family extends profound gratitude to all of Michael’s health care
providers, and especially to Jeremy, who lived with Michael as his
primary caregiver and friend.
In
honor of Michael, donations may be made to the National Ataxia
Foundation to help find a cure and ease for others. A celebration of
his life will be held at a later date.
The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Michael Avelar’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
