###

“Grim.”

That was the blunt assessment of Humboldt County’s budget outlook offered this morning by Deputy County Administrative Officer Jessica Maciel.

She was addressing the Board of Supervisors at a special hearing that kicked off the planning process for the upcoming 2024-25 fiscal year, and while the fiscal picture she painted was indeed dour — to the tune of an estimated $12.4 million deficit for the current fiscal year, which wraps up on June 30 — the reality is not as bad as the $18.4 million deficit projected when the budget was first adopted.

Still, that shortfall represents a loss of nearly a third of the county’s $38.3 million fund balance at the start of the fiscal year. Maciel explained that if the county maintains this structural deficit, and certain costs (like employee salaries) continue to increase at their current rates, then the general fund will run out of money before the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year, which is less than just over two years away.

What would that mean for county departments and the services they provide? Maciel said this kind of fiscal hemorrhaging would require a 20 percent cut in general fund allocations across the board by the time fiscal year 2026-27 rolls around. 

“Budget cuts at this level are not attainable without reductions in staffing and services,” she said. 

In the current fiscal year, the board implemented a program of voluntary furloughs, separation incentives and a hiring freeze. Those measures should continue to save the county money in the upcoming year, according to Maciel, though she warned, “these alone will not provide enough savings” to balance the budget.

Money could also be saved by reducing staff through attrition and potentially by reorganizing some departments. Staff plans to present some reorganizing options to the board on June 3.

A budget ad hoc committee comprising Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo and Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell recently met with supervisors from each of the county’s 21 departments to brainstorm ways to stanch the bleeding.

“Truly, it was a difficult set of meetings and a very productive set of meetings,” Arroyo reported to her board colleagues. 

Bushnell said she looks forward to collaborating with department heads to figure out how to balance the budget in the future, though she said the county is about to head into “a few lean years.”

Following this broad overview, county department heads took turns presenting reports that included accomplishments and challenges over the past year and goals for the future. Roughly half of the county departments delivered their reports today; the remaining departments will present their budget overviews at a follow-up hearing on May 20.

Yana Valachovic, director of the University of California Cooperative Extension in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, offered a rare ray of financial sunshine, saying her department was able to absorb some reduced funding thanks to a fortuitous new hire and some structural changes, so she’s requesting no additional funds for the upcoming fiscal year.

However, Valachovic went on to highlight the destabilizing economic impacts of climate change, including the effects of California’s increasing wildfire risks on the insurance industry.

Humboldt County Assessor Howard LaHaie also had some good news. In recent years, the county’s total assessed property values were going up by about four and a half percent, and in both last fiscal year and this one, the tax roll value has gone up by nearly six percent, he said.

He said his office currently has 27 employees. “And actually when I started in 2008, the assessor’s office had 36 staff so we’ve decreased it quite a bit,” he said. “I think that, in my opinion, 27 is probably the minimum to be able to continue to to produce the required assessments that we’re supposed to do. Anything below that would be detrimental to not only to our office but to the county as a whole.”

The county recently purchased artificial intelligence software called Just Appraised, which reads deeds and automatically enters the data into the county’s property tax database, so the work doesn’t need to be done manually.

At the end of LaHaie’s presentation, First District Supervisor Rex Bohn asked about the potential for A.I. to further streamline operations in the department. He went on to joke that some people “are looking forward to the day [when] there’s five computer screen sitting up here” on the board’s dais.

During his turn, the county’s director of aviation, Cody Roggatz, said Humboldt has seen a 50.6 percent increase in commercial aviation passengers from 2018 to 2023. 

“More passengers leads to more parking lot revenue, which is actually our biggest revenue generator for our entire department,” Roggatz said. He noted that his department has completed a series of major capital improvement programs in recent years thanks to funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, aka the CARES Act.

Aside from the Sacramento International Airport and the Santa Rosa Airport, he added, “we have garnered more funding and accomplished more for Humboldt County’s airports than anybody else in Northern California.”

Other county department heads said they’ve experienced significant staffing challenges, including difficulty recruiting and retaining employees. For example, Child Support Services Director Bennett Hoffman said his department has averaged a vacancy rate of 35 percent, and this year it was more like 60 percent among case management workers.

District Attorney Stacey Eads said she’s also having trouble with staffing amid a nationwide shortage of applicants for deputy DA positions. 

“We also live, obviously, in a very rural community; we’re very isolated,” Eads said. A number of people who’ve come to work in her department have loved the job and their coworkers but wound up leaving “due to the lack of adequate medical care,” she said.

Other department heads who presented today included Planning and Building Director John Ford, Human Resources Director Zachary O’Hanen and Library Services Director Chris Cooper. Each outlined the challenges they’ve faced this year and the ones they anticipate in the near future.

As noted above, the rest of the county department heads, including Sheriff William Honsal and Public Works Director Tom Mattson, will offer their fiscal presentations to the board two weeks from today.

Over the coming weeks, departments will submit their official budget requests, and the board will be tasked with finalizing a spending plan that preserves as many services as possible while minimizing the structural deficit.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Deputies Shoot Man Believed to Have Shot Elderly Woman in Cutten This Morning; Fern and Cedar Streets Closed
• Sheriff’s Office Issues Statement on Today’s Shootings in Cutten

###

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On 05/03/2024 at approximately 1520 hours, Kevin Jeffrey Burks (DOB 06/30/1991) succumbed to the injuries he sustained during the critical incident which occurred on 04/25/2024 in the Cutten area of Eureka. More information will be made available once a forensic autopsy is completed, which is anticipated to occur by the end of this week.

This case is still under investigation by the Humboldt County Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).

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.

[Ed. note: The following was sent to the Outpost.]

###

A group of staff and faculty drafted this preamble to the letter below, which we are sharing with the media on behalf of 320 staff and faculty members at Cal Poly Humboldt.

On April 29, 2024, we sent the following letter to leaders who have the power to hold President Tom Jackson and Chief of Staff Mark Johnson accountable for unilateral decisions that have significantly hurt all of us: Chancellor Mildred Garcia, Governor Gavin Newsom, and the CSU Board of Trustees. We have not yet heard from any of them. So we now turn to the media to explain our position and to make visible to the Humboldt community and broader public our solidarity on the issue of termination of Jackson and Johnson. The campus cannot move toward any kind of healing with Tom Jackson and Mark Johnson in leadership positions at our university. Their removal are necessary precursors for restoring a safe educational environment for students and community members.

Over its history, our campus has seen a number of building occupations and angry demonstrations by students. Previous actions by students have been handled by the university in a completely different manner than what we just experienced. The violent and fearful response by our administration is unprecedented. It contradicts the myriad of respectful and positive ways that our previous campus leaders engaged with students involved in protests and demonstrations.

From the beginning of the sit-in in Siemens Hall on April 22, 2024, some administrators, faculty, and staff were on the ground working with student protesters through de-escalation, productive dialogue, and non-violent resolution, in line with past practice and precedent. We were committed to keeping all students, including student protestors, from harm. Yet on both April 22 and April 29, President Tom Jackson authorized multiple law enforcement units to arrest student protestors.Without notice, Jackson also authorized a “hard closure” of the University on April 27, prohibiting all students, staff, and faculty from access to campus. HUMBOLDT ALERT messages to employees about the hard closure include the language that “Failure to follow this directive may lead to corrective or disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.” The hard closure escalated fear and stress for students and campus employees. It exponentially increased the labor of campus staff, such as facilities managers, grounds people, and information technology resources staff. It has forced faculty to hold office hours on their phones or in their driveways as students scramble to study for finals. Students have not been able to access the library or their work in science labs and art studios. Most crucially, the hard closure made our campus community feel unsafe, and it especially caused worry and confusion for students. Faculty and staff were and still are opposed to the hard closure. It was yet another leadership decision made without consultation of faculty and staff. It remains in place as of this writing.

Faculty and staff don’t agree on everything. As per the 320 signatories below, what we do agree on is that Tom Jackson and Mark Johnson have demonstrated that they do not align with our values and repeated calls for peaceful resolution, and they should not be engaged in any additional decisions regarding the situation on campus. Their decisions only created unsafe conditions for all of our students. Our demand for immediate termination of Tom Jackson and Mark Johnson is only one of our current priorities in regard to all of the work we have in front of us. It marks a shared commitment of 320 staff and faculty, and it represents what we believe is the consensus of the university community.

###

We, the faculty and staff of Cal Poly Humboldt, urgently demand the immediate removal and termination of President Tom Jackson and Chief of Staff Mark A. Johnson from their positions at our institution. Their repeatedly extreme and reckless actions in response to recent campus protests have systematically endangered students, staff, and faculty, undermined theprinciples of shared governance, and shattered any remaining trust in their leadership.

President Jackson and Chief of Staff Johnson’s decision to deploy law enforcement against student demonstrators on April 22, 2024 resulted in direct physical harm to members of our campus community. The President’s decisions to bring in law enforcement, before even attempting to communicate with student protestors, followed by the “hard campus closure” on April 27, 2024 has intensified rather than de-escalated the situation. The president has not communicated with members of the campus community, including faculty and staff, at any point since April 22. Jackson and Johnson’s permission for excessive use of police force, coupled with a complete absence of consultation with us, and Jackson’s repeated avoidance of communication and visible leadership since his hire, demonstrate a disregard for the safety of our students, disrespect for faculty and staff, and an alarming lack of understanding of our campus culture.

Furthermore, the administration’s persistent lack of transparency throughout this crisis has eroded our ability to function as a collaborative academic institution. Decisions affecting the entire university have been made without any input from shared governance bodies. This unilateral approach renders meaningful dialogue and problem-solving impossible.

The faculty’s overwhelming vote of no-confidence in President Jackson on April 25th underscores the gravity of this situation. Vote tally out of 203 present voters was 193 affirmative; 3 nos, and 7 abstentions. We have lost faith in President Jackson and Chief of Staff Johnson’s ability to lead Cal Poly Humboldt with integrity, foresight, or concern for the well-being of our learning community.

We demand President Tom Jackson and Chief of Staff Mark Johnson’s immediate removal to restore the principles of shared governance, transparency, and accountability that are essential for Cal Poly Humboldt and the California State University system to thrive.

###

1. James F. Woglom, Chair of the University Senate and General Faculty
President, Co-Chair of the School of Education
2. Monty Mola, Immediate Past General Faculty President & University
Senate Chair, Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy,
3. Mary Virnoche, ASCSU Senator, Past General Faculty President &
University Senate Chair, Professor of Sociology
4. Stephanie Burkhalter, ASCSU Senator, Past General Faculty President &
University Senate Chair, Professor of Sociology, Professor, Politics
5. Timothy Miller, Vice Chair of University Senate Chair of Faculty Affairs
Committee, Librarian
6. Nicole Jean Hill, Faculty Senator, Chair and Professor of Art, Department
of Art & Film
7. Christopher W. Harmon, Faculty Senator, Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry
8. Shelbi Schroeder, Faculty Senator, Art and Film,
9. Arianna Thobaben, Faculty Senator, Learning Center, School of
Education
10.Kimberly Stelter,, Faculty Senator, Librarian, University Library
11.Marissa Ramsier, Faculty Senator, Professor and Chair of
Anthropology
12.Jim Graham, Faculty Senator, Environmental Science & Management13.Ara Pachmayer, Faculty Senator, School of Applied Health
14.Rouhollah Aghasaleh, Faculty Senator, School of Education
15.Frank Cappuccio, Faculty Senator, Dept of Chemistry & Biochemistry,
Biological Sciences
16.Lisa Tremain, Associate Professor and Chair of English, Chair of
Philosophy
17.Tani Sebro, Associate Professor, Politics
18.Gabi Kirk, Assistant Professor, Geography, Environment, and Spatial
Analysis
19.Holland Heese, Lecturer, Mathematics
20.Christina Hsu Accomando, Professor, Critical Race, Gender &
Sexuality Studies & Education and English
21.Sarah Ray, Chair, Environmental Studies
22.Dawn Goley, Biological Sciences
23.Prof. Marschke, History
24.Cindy Moyer, Chair , Dance, Music, and Theatre
25.Howard Benjamin Shaeffer, Philosophy
26.L. Rae Robison, Theatre
27.George Wrenn, Librarian, University Library28.Maria Bartlett, Professor Emerita, Social Work
29.Bonnie Ludka, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering
30.Andrea Delgado, Faculty, Department of English, Cal Poly Humboldt
31.Torisha Khonach, PhD, lecturer and alumni, Sociology
32.Kerry Marsden, English
33.Dr. Roberto Mónico, Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies
34.Marcos Hernandez, Lecturer, English
35.Nicolette Amann, Cal Poly Humboldt
36.María Corral Rocha, Lecturer, Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality
Studies
37.Janaee’ N. Sykes - Academic Advisor
38.Dominic Corva, Director of Cannabis Studies, Department of
Sociology
39.Sarita Ray Chaudhury, PhD, Cal Poly Humboldt
40.Savannah Carpenter CAHSS Staff
41.Caglar Dolek, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
42.Abigail Smithson, Lecturer, Art+Film
43.Jennifer L. Eichstedt, Professor, Sociology44.Eliseo Casiano, Art + Film
45.Marianne Ahokas, English
46.Janet Winston, Professor, English
47.Julie Alderson, Professor, Department of Art + Film
48.Tristan Gleason, School of Education
49.Nate Swenson, Forest, Fire, & Rangeland Management, Lecturer
50.Jennifer Brown, English
51.Dave Woody, Art + Film
52.Alyssa Semerdjian, Biological Sciences
53.Heal McKnight, Lecturer, Dept. of English
54.Jocelyne Takatsuno, Sponsored Programs Foundation
55.Julie Slater North, Faculty, Social Work Department
56.Qualla Jo Ketchum, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering
57.Mary Glenn, Professor, Anthropology
58.Stacey Salinas, Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies and
Education, Ethnic Studies
59.Rob Keever, Dean of Students Office60.Carly Slade, Assistant Professor, Art + Film
61.Dave Jannetta, Assistant Professor, Art + Film, Film Program Lead
62.Nicola Waugh, Art + Film
63.Stephen Nachtigall, Art + Film
64.Noah Zerbe, Professor, Politics
65.Frank Fogarty, Assistant Professor, Department of Wildlife
66.Tyler Hooker IST-II Physics & Astronomy
67.Katie Koscielak, Lecturer ENST & GEOG
68.Pamela Brown Professor Emerita
69.Danielle Cenotti, Community Relations Support Assistant
70.Gillian Black, Academic and Career Advising
71.Lindsay Kessner Art + Film
72.Erin M. Sullivan, Lecturer, Department of English
73.Cara Peters, Sponsored Programs Foundation
74.Sondra Schwetman, Associate Professor, Art +Film
75.Tanner Hooven, Lecturer, Department of Physics and Astronomy
76.Amanda Dinscore, Library77.Angela Turner, Sponsored Programs Foundation
78.Cinthya Ammerman, Assistant Professor NAS
79.Russell “Carlos” Gaskell, Department of World Languages and
Cultures – Spanish Program
80.Roxann Schroeder, Lecturer, Biology and ESM
81.Mary Scoggin, Professor, Anthropology
82.Brianne Hagen, CPH Librarian Faculty
83.Grace Coleman ASC II School of Business
84.Joshua Smith, Chair of Chemistry & Biochemistry
85.Daniel Barton, Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Wildlife
86.Sharon Tuttle, Professor, Computer Science
87.Guy Aronoff, Emeritus Instructor Humboldt
88.Nicole Kita, Lecturer, Art + Film
89.Shannon Rocha, Engineering Professional Experiences Coordinator
90.Sintana Vergara, Associate Professor, Environmental Resources
Engineering
91.Tyler J. Evans, Professor of Mathematics
92.Llyn Smith, Professor Emeritus Anthropology93.Mat Whiteley - Lecturer, Art and Film
94.Paul Michael L. Atienza, Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies and
Education
95.Hallie Lepphaille, Program Coordinator & Academic Advisor, School
of Education
96.Michihiro Sugata, Associate Professor, Sociology
97.Sara Hart, Lecturer and Program Leader, Religious Studies
98.Jocelyn Heaney English Dept.
99.Edward Carpenter, EOP/Student Support Services
100. Leslie WS Rodelander, Sponsored Programs Foundation
101. Brianne Lee, Greenhouse Collections Manager
102. Jeremy Nichols, Administrative Coordinator, Native American
Studies/Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Education
103. Kate Foley-Beining, World Languages and Cultures
104. Kerry M. Byrne, Associate Professor, Environmental Science and
Management
105. Marilyn Koch, Lecturer, Art + Film
106. Carisse Geronimo, Schatz Energy Research Center
107. Ryder Dschida, History Education, Cal Poly Humboldt108. Richard N Brown, Faculty in Wildlife
109. Anthony Silvaggio, Sociology
110. Stefanie Israel de Souza, Assistant Professor, Sociology
111. Elizabeth A.Eschenbach, Professor and Program Lead of
Environmental Resources Engineering, School of Engineering
112. Isaac Torres, Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Education
Lecturer & Academic Advisor
113. Justin Egan, Lecturer, English.
114. Jean Pfaelzer, Affiliated Professor of History
115. Susan Morrison - Biology stockroom manager
116. Dan Aldag, Music
117. Dr. Laura Johnson, Geography, Environment, and Spatial Analysis
118. Emily West, Lecturer, Dept of Physics and Astronomy
119. Julie Raich Dieme, World Languages & Cultures
120. Maral N. Attallah, Distinguished Lecturer, Dept. of Critical Race,
Gender & Sexuality Studies
121. Robert Cliver, Professor of History, Cal Poly Humboldt
122. Christiana Frye Sponsored Program Foundation
123. Tessa Head, Lecturer, English124. Mark Wilson. Biological Sciences
125. Mark Castro, Lecturer Anthropology; Cultural Resources Facility
126. JM Black, Wildlife Professor
127. Nina Misch, Lecturer, Department of Social Work
128. Gary Lewis, Music
129. Daniel Busch, Research associate, Cultural Resources Facility
130. Maghan Maberry Cultural Resources Facility
131. Edward Brenneman, lecturer Chemistry
132. Elizabeth Rivera, Dance Faculty
133. John Chernoff, Music Department
134. Allison Bronson, Biological Sciences
135. JoAnne Berke, Professor Emerita
136. Awbrey Yost, Lecturer, Environmental Science & Management
137. Gina Tuzzi, Art and Film
138. Taylor Picard, Lecturer and Research Associate, Department of
Anthropology Cultural Resources Facility
139. Su Karl, Learning Center140. M. E. Stone, Gallery Assistant
141. Romi Hitchcock Tinseth, Communication
142. Natalie Giannini, English
143. Whitney Ogle - Associate Professor School of Applied Health
144. Erik Jules, Department of Biological Sciences
145. Jennifer Trowbridge, Lecturer, Department of Dance, Music, and
Theatre
146. Dr. Renée M. Byrd, Associate Professor of English
147. Dylan McClure, Lecturer, Social Work
148. Rosemary Sherriff, Professor, Department of Geography, Environment
& Spatial Analysis
149. Robin Bencie, Biological Sciences
150. Henry Solares, Staff Member, RAMP
151. Carly Marino, Librarian
152. Christopher Cox, Music
153. Kaz Wegmuller, Sponsored Programs Foundation
154. Brandice Guerra, Art + Film
155. Catalina Cuellar-Gempeler, Biological Sciences156. Gayle Olson-Raymer, Emerita, Department of History
157. Yvonne Doble, Social Work
158. Daniela Mineva, Professor Music
159. Celesté Tamayo, Post-Master’s Resident, Counseling & Psychological
Services
160. Sharyn Marks, Professor, Biological Sciences
161. Kelda Quintana, Academic Advisor, Academic Advising Center
162. Austin Roberts, Lecturer, Religious Studies
163. Jack Murphy, Lecturer, Dept. of Environmental Science and
Management
164. Meridith Oram, Academic Advisor
165. Dane Oppenborn, Program Support Specialist College of Extended
Education and Global Engagement
166. Dakota Hamilton, Professor Emerita, Department of History
167. Alison Holmes, Professor Politics & International Studies
168. Joan Eleanor Trejo - Cal Poly Humboldt, Geography
169. Tielor Stanger-Lopez, Research Associate with Cultural Resources
Facility
170. Paul Bourdeau, Biological Sciences171. Amy Rock, Geography, Environment, and Spatial Analysis
172. Paul Geck, Lecturer, Dept. of History
173. Elias Pence, Equal Opportunity Program/Student Support Services
Advisor/Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Education
Instructor
174. Zedekiah Minkin, Cultural Resources Facility
175. Andrea Alstone, Facilities Management
176. Stephanie Corigliano, PhD, Lecturer, Religious Studies
177. Emily Jones, Biological Sciences
178. Glenn Tinseth, Cal Poly Humboldt Chemistry Lecturer
179. Kelly Fortner, Staff Member, Center for Community Based Learning
180. Emily Lavrador, Lecturer, English
181. Seth Bradley - Research Analyst (IRAR), Alum (Politics), Grad Student
(Sociology)
182. Alejandro Torres, CAPS Staff Psychotherapist
183. Nassie Danesh, Staff Psychotherapist, Counseling & Psychological
Services
184. Ian Guerrero, Schatz Energy Research Center
185. Gema Quiroz Torres, Staff186. Maritza Herrera, Staff
187. Antonio Barillas, Staff Psychotherapist, CAPS
188. Carrie Walpole, Lecturer, Dance, Music, and Theatre
189. Shannon Rocha, Engineering Professional Experiences Coordinator
190. Sarah Ben-Zvi, English Department Lecturer
191. Maxwell Schnurer, Ph.D., Professor and chair of Communication
192. Nicola Walters, Lecturer, Cal Poly Humboldt
193. Joice Chang, Professor and Chair, Department of Politics
194. Libbi Miller, School of Education
195. Annika Bäckström, Music
196. Rachael Wade, Assistant Professor, Dept of Biological Sciences
197. Laura Levy, Associate Professor, Geology
198. Betsy Rogers, Academic Advisor, College of Extended Education and
Global Engagement
199. Erica Ashby, Case Manager, Student Health & Wellbeing Services
200. Melanie Michalak, Associate Professor, Geology Department
201. Kelsi Guerrero, Lecturer Psychology Department
202. Xelha Puc, Staff203. Sara K. Sterner, Assistant Professor, School of Education
204. Enrique Guerrero, Visiting Professor, Department of Physics &
Astronomy
205. Kaitlin Reed, Assistant Professor, Native American Studies
206. Laura Levy, Associate Professor, Geology
207. Jacqueline Mayrand, LMFT, CAPS Clinical Coordinator and Counselor
Faculty
208. Matthew Dean, World Languages & Cultures
209. Kevin Fingerman, Associate Professor, Environmental Science &
Management
210. Jacky Baughman, Assistant Professor, Geology
211. Dr. Michelle Cartier - Art & Film | TRiO Educational Talent Search
212. Virginia Ryder, Music
213. Binta Wright, Sponsored Programs Foundation
214. Elwira Salata, lecturer
215. Stacy Becker - Center for Community Based Learning
216. Amber M. Gaffney, Associate Professor of Social Psychology
217. Howard Kaufman, Lecturer , Dance, Music, and Theatre218. Lisa Turay, Staff Psychotherapist and Training Coordinator, CAPS
219. Nicholas Perdue - Associate Professor, Geography Environment &
Spatial Analysis
220. Christopher M Steenbock, Faculty, Biological Sciences
221. Jennifer L. Oliphant, Psychology
222. Benjamin Anjewierden, Lecturer, Department of Psychology
223. Amanda Hahn, Associate Professor, Psychology
224. Linda Maxwell - Dance Faculty, Dance and Theatre Program Leader
225. Taylor Bloedon, Associate Professor, School of Applied Health
226. Colin Wingfield, Technician, School of Engineering
227. Alexandru Tomescu, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
228. Josh Meisel, Professor of Sociology
229. Stefani Brandt, Biological Sciences
230. Michael Fabian, Lecturer, Dance, Music, and Theatre
231. Krista Pomeroy, Administrative Support
232. Brandilynn Villarreal, Associate Professor of Psychology
233. Gabriel Goff, Lecturer, Forestry Department
234. Tony Wallin-Sato, Dept. of Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies235. Sarah Lasley, Art + Film
236. Erika Demers, Staff Psychotherapist, Counseling and Psychological
Services
237. Stephanie Souter, Lecturer Psychology
238. David Tuttle, Lecturer in Computer Science
239. Stephen C. Sillett, Department of Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland
Management
240. Kyleigh Brine, Dance, Music & Theatre
241. Ben Kovitz, Assistant Professor, Computer Science
242. Yoon G Kim, Professor, Dept. of Mathematics
243. Darren Ward, Professor, Fisheries
244. Jose R. Marin Jarrin, Department of Fisheries Biology
245. Hyun-Kyung You, Child Development
246. Garrick Woods, Music Department
247. Garrett Purchio, Librarian, University Library
248. Barbara Goldberg, Emerita Lecturer English
249. Jeff Kane Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland Management
250. Matthew J. Koelling Institutional Research, Analytics, and Reporting251. Kyle Morgan, Librarian
252. Jennifer Marlow, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental
Science and Management
253. Tim Payer, Lecturer, Math Department
254. Toby Walker, Information Technology Services Staff and Alumni
255. Aaron Donaldson, Communication Studies
256. Beth Wilson, Department of Economics
257. Iván González-Soto, Lecturer, Department of Environmental Studies
258. Christine Cass, Chair and Associate Professor, Oceanography
259. Edwin Espinoza, Information Technology Consultant, ITS
260. Joseph M. Szewczak, Professor, Dept of Biological Sciences
261. Nancy Perez, Assistant Professor, Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality
Studies
262. Marie Antoine, Department of Forestry, Fire, & Rangeland
Management
263. Jill Anderson, School of Applied Health
264. Sonja Manor, Mathematics
265. Kate Lancaster, Faculty Emerita and Lecturer, School of Business266. Christina Martinek, Lecturer, Sociology Department
267. John Chandler, Philosophy
268. David Franklin, Schatz Energy Research Center
269. Azure Pellegrino, Lecturer, Psychology
270. Melea Smith, Youth Educational Services
271. Jo Archibald, Assistant Professor, Environmental Resources
Engineering
272. Mari Sanchez, Associate Professor, Psychology
273. Claire Till, Associate Professor of Chemistry
274. Peter Goetz, Professor, Department of Mathematics
275. Jeffrey Frederick, Lecturer, Psychology
276. Dr. Heather Ballinger, School of Education
277. John Reiss, Professor, Biological Sciences
278. Oscar M Vargas-Hernandez, Assistant Professor, Herbarium Director,
Department of Biological Sciences
279. Jen Petullo, Lecturer, Psychology
280. Kevin Colando, Academic Analyst, Nursing/Psychology
281. Justin Luong, Department of Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland
Management282. Ramesh Adhikari, Faculty, School of Business
283. Jen Maguire, Professor of Social Work
284. Dove Byrne, School of Business
285. Marlette Grant-Jackson - ITEPP Native American Center
286. Jacqueline Silva, Lecturer, Dance, Music, and Theatre
287. Mira Friedman, Lead for Health Education and Clinic Support
288. Professor Berrill, Dept of Forestry, Fire and Rangeland Mgmt
289. Kayla Begay, Chair, Native American Studies
290. Sean Craig, Biological Sciences
291. C.D. Hoyle, Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy
292. Pia Gabriel, Sponsored Programs Foundation
293. Matt Johnson, Dept of Wildlife
294. Sarah Peters Gonzalez, Academic Advising & Lecturer
295. Alison O’Dowd, Environmental Science & Management
296. Jennie Brown, Clinic RN II, Student Health & Wellbeing Services
297. Julia Kandus, Psychology Department Lecturer
298. Corrina Wells, Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies andEducation
299. Marie Stoll, Lecturer. World Languages and Cultures
300. Joseph Dieme, Professor, World Languages and Cultures
301. Eden Donahue, School of Applied Health
302. Sarah Whorf, Professor, Art+Film
303. Deidre Pike, Professor Journalism
304. Benjamin Graham, Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychology
305. Niki Conley, Art Department
306. Scott Paynton, Professor, Communication
307. Jeff Abell Oceanography
308. Amy Lennox, Office of the Registrar
309. Brittany Sheldon, Art + Film Department
310. Dr. Nikola Hobbel, English Education
311. Laura K. Hahn, Professor Emerita
312. Marissa O’Neill Social Work
313. Ines Morales - Center for Community Based Learning
314. Blake Brown, Lecturer, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry315. Darci Miranda - Staff
316. Erin Kelly, Forestry, Fire, and Rangeland Management
317. Shalom Fletcher - Center for Community Based Learning
318. Ross Mackinney, Lecturer
319. Elena Padrón, Associate Professor of Psychology
320. Gino Pitino, Center for Community Based Learning

Photos: Humboldt Bay Fire.

Press release from Humboldt Bay Fire:

Early on the morning of Monday, May 6 at approximately 2:30am Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported house on fire in the 3300 block of Park Street in Eureka. HBF responded with three engines, one ladder truck, and one Chief Officer. The fourth engine that would normally respond as part of a first alarm was on another emergency response. Additionally, one volunteer Fire Support personnel responded and provided traffic control.

The first arriving unit arrived on scene and reported heavy fire burning in a large two- story single-family residence. As additional units arrived crews quickly went to work to search for trapped occupants, extinguish the fire, and remove smoke from the residence. All six occupants were out of the home upon arrival, but it was reported that several dogs may be trapped in the house.

Due to the size of the fire and the complexity of the home’s design a second alarm was requested, bringing in one additional HBF Chief Officer and fire engines from neighboring departments to help stabilize the incident. The fire was controlled in about 35 minutes and took approximately 3 hours to completely mitigate. After the fire was extinguished HBF investigators began to determine the cause of the fire, which is still under investigation at this time. PG&E responded and removed the utility hazards.

The total estimated property value of the structure saved is $375,000, with fire and smoke damage estimated to be $125,000. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries, but tragically six puppies perished in the fire.

Humboldt Bay Fire would like to thank City Ambulance, Eureka PD, Samoa, Loleta and Arcata Fire for their assistance on this incident, and in providing station coverage. Humboldt Bay Fire would like to remind everyone that smoke alarms can provide early notification of smoke in the residences and should be installed in all living spaces and regularly checked. Additionally, portable space heaters should be monitored as they can be dangerous and should be used in accordance with manufacturer’s specifications.

Who is the flesh-and-blood landlord with a city-spanning portfolio of apartments concealed behind an obscurely-named limited liability company? Who is the proprietor of a local restaurant, hotel or regional car wash chain shrouded beneath a corporate veil?

Who actually owns what in California?

For three years a coalition of anti-eviction advocates, unions, legal aid organizations, affordable housing boosters, workers rights groups and pro-transparency activists have been demanding that the state make it easier to answer those questions.

And for three years, those efforts have failed in the Legislature.

Supporters of this year’s version, Senate Bill 1201 authored by Sen. María Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat, now worry that their fourth effort will soon meet a similar fate.

Businesses operating in California must regularly submit documents with the Secretary of State that list the company’s name and address, along with those of its top managers and anyone responsible for receiving legal filings on the company’s behalf. That information is publicly available on the Secretary of State’s website.

Durazo’s bill would add an additional disclosure requirement: The names and home or business addresses of “beneficial owners” — defined as anyone who “exercises substantial control” or owns at least 25% of a company.

As Durazo explained at a recent Senate committee hearing, the bill is “simply adding one line on the forms that anybody fills out…It’s not asking for any more.”

Yet last week the Senate Appropriations Committee, tasked with putting a fiscal price tag on pending legislation, said implementing the bill would cost the state $9.3 million in its first year and nearly $3 million every year after that. The majority of those ongoing expenses would go toward paying the estimated 24 state employees that Secretary of State analysts say are needed to make the bill work. That would represent roughly 10% of the agency’s workforce that now processes business filings.

Though $9 million is couch cushion change by California budgetary standards, the bill’s supporters say they are mystified by the number. For a 2020 bill requiring the Secretary of State to add a different question to the same form, the fiscal estimate was a mere $561,000 in the first year and $79,000 thereafter.

“This is an example of a good governance bill that will fail because of bad governance,” said Jyotswaroop Bawa with the progressive nonprofit Rise Economy, which is sponsoring the bill. “By not collecting beneficial owner information, the Secretary of State’s office is allowing chaos to continue with impunity.”

Bawa and other supporters of the bill say publishing ownership information will make it easier for tenants, workers and regulators to track down scofflaw landlords and other business owners.

Opponents of the bill, which include state and local landlord groups, the California Association of Realtors and the California Chamber of Commerce, argue that it is already easy enough to contact a business and that disclosing the identities of individual owners would violate their privacy and enable harassment.

The Secretary of State’s office refused to break down sky-high estimate

Once a bill receives a big cost estimate, it’s put in a list known in California legislativese as the “suspense file.” Then, in marathon sessions held twice a year, the Assembly and Senate appropriations committees rapidly tick through every bill on that list, passing some along and killing others without debate or a public vote. The first legislative culling of the year is set for mid-May.

With its seven-digit cost estimate, Bawa said she worries SB 1201 will be the latest victim of “death by price tag,” especially when the state is facing a multibillion dollar deficit. And it wouldn’t be the first time this idea has died a quiet procedural death.

In 2021, a bill that would have required companies to unveil their human owners when filing business records with the state didn’t get a hearing. A revived attempt the next year failed in the Senate after a majority on a key committee declined to cast a vote “yes” or “no,” but simply abstained. Last year, a third try succumbed to the suspense file after the bill was dinged with a $9 million cost estimate from the Secretary of State’s office.

In coming up with this year’s figure, the Senate committee’s fiscal analysis said it got the estimates from the Secretary of State. Itemized totals include $3 million in “IT project costs” and more than $2 million in “mailing costs.”

The Secretary of State’s office refused to answer specific questions from CalMatters about the bill’s cost estimate, but instead responded by email with an unsigned statement.

“The Office of the Secretary of State continues to be involved in deliberations and ongoing discussions with legislative staff related to SB 1201. In furtherance of this process, we must respectfully decline to publicly comment on the substantive or fiscal issues associated with the bill at this early point in the legislative process,” the statement said.

While the office “did not provide context” for its fiscal breakdown, the committee analysis says, the Secretary of State expressed more detailed concerns over last year’s version of the bill. Back then the office warned that investigating and verifying the ownership information through a modified form would be costly.

The bill, as currently written, does not require the Secretary of State to perform that due diligence, which led an earlier Senate committee to raise concerns about the bill’s effectiveness.

‘We could do it for $200’

Corporations and limited liability companies exist in part to ensure that investors in a company aren’t held directly legally responsible for the things that that company does or doesn’t do. If a company maintains unsafe conditions at a rental property, a tenant can sue the company itself, seeking damages from the corporate treasury, but not from the business owner’s personal checking account.

Publicizing an owner’s name and address, then, doesn’t serve an obvious legal purpose, said Debra Carlton, a spokesperson for the California Apartment Association. Landlords can always be reached through the property management companies they employ. Lawsuits can always be served to a company’s listed representative.

“The point of the corporate veil is that you go after the corporation’s assets” in a lawsuit, said Carlton, but it doesn’t prevent landlords from getting sued. “You see lawsuits every day being brought against the industry.”

Matthew Silver, a lawyer who represents cities and counties in substandard housing cases, agreed that Durazo’s bill isn’t likely to make his work easier going after negligent landlords. It’s often quicker to serve court papers to a corporation or LLC than “an individual slumlord” who doesn’t have a paper trail or web presence, he said.

“There’s a path that leads you from the corporate name to the people who actually own it, ultimately, and we will find them and hold them responsible,” he said.

But there are times when it’s crucial to to track down a human business owner quickly, long before matters end up at court, said Larry Brooks, who runs the residential lead prevention program for Alameda County.

He remembers a case in 2022 when twin toddlers were found living in an old apartment with flaking paint. Lead levels in their blood were so high the children were immediately hospitalized. The twins’ parents, undocumented immigrants, initially refused to put Brooks and his team in touch with the building’s property management company, fearing eviction or deportation, he said.

So Brooks began hunting on his own. He turned first to the county assessor’s office to find the property owner’s name, then plugged that name into the Secretary of State’s database. The corporate documents there only listed a street address. Brooks struggled to connect that address with a phone number or email address.

Finally, a county nurse persuaded the twins’ mother to share the phone number of a Sacramento-based property management company. That company put Brooks in touch with the owner, a corporation in Texas, he said. The entire process took two weeks.

“I wish that there were some state or federal law that required every corporate landlord to have a local contact,” said Brooks, who has also advised Human Impact Partners, a public health nonprofit that supports Durazo’s bill. “In a situation like with the twins, where the blood lead levels were so high they were life threatening and the kids had to be rushed to the hospital, you want to be able to call somebody immediately.”

Brooks said he couldn’t share additional information about the children or the landlord citing medical privacy laws and pending litigation. CalMatters was unable to independently verify the details of the story.

Making it easier to find the name and address of a business owner would provide a treasure trove of data for tenant rights organizations, housing researchers and investigative reporters.

But it would also be a boon for would-be harassers and activists, said Carlton. “I can’t figure out what their true purpose is,” she said of the bill’s sponsors. “They want to shame people publicly, maybe.”

But Carlton was also puzzled by the $9 million cost estimate: “I almost felt like saying, ‘We could do it,’” she said. “We could do it for $200.”

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

Press release from the California Highway Patrol:

On May 4, 2024, at approximately 2:45 am, Humboldt Communications Center (CHP Dispatch) received a 9-1-1 call of a pedestrian lying down in the lanes of northbound US 101, near Piercy, CA. The California Highway Patrol’s Garberville Area officers responded to the scene. Upon their arrival, officers located a pedestrian who had been struck by a vehicle. The pedestrian was pronounced deceased at the scene and the involved vehicle(s) did not stop or call 9-1-1 to report the incident.

Dakota Stafslien. Photo submitted by family.

The decedent, Dakota Stafslien, 28-years-old, resided in the Garberville/Redway area. The California Highway Patrol’s Garberville Area is investigating the incident. The investigators are requesting assistance from the public. If you know anything regarding the involved vehicle(s) or person(s) who may have been involved, we are asking you to contact the California Highway Patrol, Garberville Area, at (707) 932-6100 during normal business hours (Monday - Friday 8am – 5pm) or Humboldt Communications Center (707) 268-2000 outside of normal business hours.

[CORRECTION: This post initially misstated the sex of the deceased. We regret the error.]

“I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for the law.”

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

These last couple weeks have been full of emotion for our little town of Arcata and our small Humboldt County. Emotions are high. Opinions are loud. Anger and rage run through our bodies like the winter Trinity River—fast, dangerous, loud, and frothy.

Since October 7th, we’ve had an onslaught of news and media projecting horrific images across our screens—hostages taken, slaughtered bodies lying near escaping vehicles, homes and concrete buildings demolished, children with missing limbs and life slumped against busted walls, hospitals bombed and people displaced and starved and dying. Trauma isn’t a word big enough to encapsulate what we’ve seen, much less knowing our country is supplying the ammunition—our tax dollars funding death.

What do we do with this? How should we respond? Prayer, posts, pennies, protests…

I wrote about protests when George Floyd was murdered. Folx were angry and frustrated at how protestors behaved. Why can’t they do it peacefully? they asked. Why do they need to loot or riot? they wondered. Why can’t they ask nicely? they pondered.

A parable: A teenager had his own room in his parent’s house. He was responsible for the state of his room, but rarely took care of it because he didn’t mind the mess. It didn’t bother him. His parents would ask him to clean it up because the smells were starting to seep through the door. He said it was fine with him and they shouldn’t worry. It’s his room. They told him nicely. They reminded him kindly. He brought more food in, plates stacked with rotten, moldy garbage. He began turning his underwear inside out instead of washing anything. He sat on a pile of wrappers, clothing, empty cans of sticky soda while playing his Xbox, oblivious that the smells became toxic. They nudged him and handed garbage bags and asked if they could at least remove the old dishes. He slammed the door and cursed their request. They had enough. They marched into the room, grabbed the Xbox, went to the open hallway window, and threw it out. As it smashed into a thousand pieces, they wondered if their reaction might have been too much. But maybe now their teenager might listen, might change, might see how serious his behavior, or lack of behavior, affects people other than himself. Maybe now he’ll listen and respond.

Oh, I know this parable doesn’t perfectly represent what’s going on with students across our country, but they’ve posted and prayed and given and now they needed to protest. They couldn’t help it. It grew from the depths of their being. Listen to their hearts for a moment, and you’ll hear a longing for justice, a longing for things to be made right, a longing for death to cease and peace to prevail. (I recognize there are also violent words spewed towards perceived enemies in some hearts as well).

Listen.

This is a word I am stuck on.

We rarely listen to each other, do we? We come with assumptions and accusations like bricks in our hands, building walls between each other. 

What would you hear if you approached the other person with curiosity and willingness to listen? To understand?

You might hear the student stuck on campus, imprisoned in their dorm and needing a police escort to move around. You might hear about needing to get into specific buildings to access their important research, hoping disrupted time between checks didn’t destroy months of experiments. You might listen to their deep sadness and frustration because they didn’t get a graduation ceremony from high school, they didn’t get to move freely on campus their first year of college, and now they might not get a graduation ceremony again. 

You might hear the campus electrician, maintenance worker, groundskeeper, plumber who feels betrayed by the protestors who left an enormous mess behind. You might listen and hear about their long days, their stressed feelings, their bodies on high alert as they carefully moved around their blockaded campus. You might listen to both their relief that no one was hurt and their irritation of having to cleanup the mess. 

You might hear the faculty who are scrambling to help students finish out their semester, searching for spaces to meet—garages, coffee shops, churches, Zoom, and living rooms. You might listen to their anguish over these complexities with supporting protesting efforts, caring for other uninvolved students, modifying finals, seeking peace, devastated from Palestinian death, demanding the return of hostages, making dinner for their family, showing up at the ballet recital for their daughter, going through a divorce, and still having to walk the administration’s line despite a seemingly uninvolved president. 

I wonder what we might hear if we approached each other with compassion and curiosity—if we began to listen. 

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” 

Peacemakers aren’t there to keep the peace by towing the line and avoiding conflict. They place themselves between the conflict, using their bodies and words as healing balms of truth. They go to the center of unrest, where the battle seethes and enemies spew prideful hate towards each other, and model another way forward—“hands up, don’t shoot,” they say. Peacemakers bravely root themselves in the chaotic fray until someone stops and settles down long enough to listen.

Brian McLaren writes in We Make the Road By Walking, “Since the beginning, Jesus has taught that the nonviolent will inherit the Earth. Violence cannot defeat violence. Hate cannot defeat hate. Fear cannot defeat fear. Domination cannot defeat domination. God’s way is different. God must achieve victory through defeat, glory through shame, strength through weakness, leadership through servanthood, and life through death… In God’s name Jesus will undergo violence, and in doing so, he will overcome it.”

You might read these words and believe I’m not speaking strongly enough against Hamas, or Israel, or the students, or the administration, or President Biden, or the massive killing of innocent Palestinian people. I know I’m not. But I would love to listen and hear your heart and work for a new way forward. I believe it’s possible. I hope it’s possible. Maybe it starts this way: find someone who thinks differently from you, get a cup of coffee and listen.

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Bethany Cseh is a pastor at Arcata United Methodist Church and Catalyst Church.