From Humboldt County Public Works: 

Shively Road is one of several roads closed due to the severe weather we are experiencing. Once again, a slide came down on Monday, Feb. 3 and the road remains closed at post mile 7.26.

With ongoing storm conditions, road crews are actively storm patrolling throughout the county, responding to immediate hazards as they arise. Crews are working hard to keep roads safe and passable during the storm, but will be addressing the slide today.

Thank you for your patience.

Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire proposed Tuesday that state firefighters work year-round in place of the seasonal workforce the agency currently staffs for nine months each year. The increased duty for about 3,000 seasonal firefighters is estimated to cost at least $175 million.

“This escalating crisis has stretched firefighters dangerously thin,” McGuire said at a press conference in Sacramento, flanked by 21 other state senators and representatives from the union representing CalFire firefighters. “The threats to their health and safety along with the threats to local communities — they have never been greater.”

McGuire’s proposal is aimed at addressing California’s growing fire season — which typically lasted from June to October in the 1990s but is now considered to be from May through December, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as CalFire.

The agency said it does not track how many fires occur outside of the extended fire season each year, but the CalFire website shows that two fires reported outside of the fire season in 2024, burning a total of 250 acres. No fires were reported on the website during the off-season in 2023. The extended season is driven in part by a hotter and drier climate according to research by civil and environmental engineers at the University of California, Irvine.

CalFire has about 6,100 permanent employees, in addition to the 3,000 seasonal firefighters who are typically laid off between January and March.

“For three months out of the year we downstaff one-third of our engines because of an inadequate way of staffing CalFire in today’s world,” Tim Edwards, president of the union representing CalFire firefighters, said at the press conference. “There is no fire season in California. Fires are year-round, as we just witnessed” in the Los Angeles area.

The rare January wildfires in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades killed 24 people and damaged about 16,000 homes and businesses. The state brought in firefighters from Portland and Houston, as well as from Canada and Mexico.

CalFire did not have a comment on McGuire’s proposal. But Jesse Torres, a battalion chief and spokesperson for the agency, said that more staffing wouldn’t necessarily help fight the Southern California fires due to the high winds that caused flames to spread quickly. He said a larger, year-round staff would allow more prevention work and allow firefighters to take time off.

Under McGuire’s proposal, the seasonal firefighters would be transitioned to year-round employees, and the agency’s 356 fire engines would be operational all year.

The governor vetoed a similar bill last year by Sen. Tim Grayson, a Democrat from Antioch. Newsom wrote that the state was already in the process of hiring 2,000 additional year-round firefighters because of staffing levels required in the Cal Fire union’s most recent contract, and he wrote that state civil service laws would require the temporary firefighters to apply for the permanent positions.

Asked for comment on McGuire’s proposal, the governor’s office said it does not typically comment on pending legislation. McGuire said at the press conference that his new plan would address the governor’s concerns around the legality of transitioning from seasonal to full-time by creating a new employee classification.

“We were moving at a pace that nature didn’t wait on, and the wildfires didn’t wait on,” Grayson told CalMatters Monday about last year’s bill. “We are learning that climate change continues its march forward at a pace that we must catch up to.”

The office of Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas did not respond to a request for comment on the Senate proposal.

There’s also the cost question: McGuire said the effort would be funded by the state’s general fund and would require negotiations through the budget process.

The budget is not finalized until June, however – so McGuire said he hoped his plan could move more quickly.

“I think the vast majority of Californians would like to be able to see this investment yesterday,” said McGuire, who represents the state’s fire-prone North Coast from the Bay Area to the Oregon border.

McGuire’s proposal is the latest in the Legislature’s effort to help those impacted by the wildfires in Southern California.

The Assembly unveiled a wildfire-related package last month aimed at housing recovery, including a bill to pause most new building standards, one that would accelerate state housing permit reviews and another that would ease permitting in coastal areas for accessory dwelling units.

Last week, in an effort shepherded by the governor, the Legislature also approved $2.5 billion to state and local agencies to help them oversee recovery.

The Senate Republican Caucus, representing nine of the 40 state Senators, also unveiled its own wildfire-related proposals Tuesday. The GOP plan focused on water storage, tax credits to homeowners for efforts to fireproof their properties and longer sentences for fire-related crimes.

“While Senate Republicans are encouraged by the initial bipartisan nature of the Senate’s response to the Los Angeles wildfires thus far, they remain wary of potential partisan pitfalls for this critical legislation as the plethora of past efforts have largely been blocked by legislative Democrats and the governor in years past,” the caucus said in a statement.

###

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

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Joy Gilberta Pastori. Joy was born on April 5, 1938 to William and Isabella Pasquini in Eureka. Joy passed away on January 26 at the age of 86 at the Ida Emmerson Hospice House.

She grew up in Eureka and Vallejo. She was the best sister to her siblings Bill, John Lee and Judy. She was extremely proud that her mother was the first female traffic officer in Humboldt County. Her life changed forever on April 16, 1955 when she had a blind date with Jim Pastori, who became the love of her life. They went on to marry December 31, 1959 and were married almost 60 years. Together they owned and operated Harris and K Market and Three Corners Market for over 55 years. Their four kids — James, Cynthia, Rick and Yvette — were her world, and there isn’t anything she wouldn’t have done for them. All her children agree that having her as a mother was the greatest honor of all.

Joy leaves behind a legacy of love and laughter that no one could match. She brought joy no matter where she went. She was the best wife, mother, grandmother, sister, Aunt and friend anyone could ask for. She was her happiest when surrounded by family. She’s infamous for her great cooking, holiday decor (especially Christmas) and love of shopping. She treasured her many shopping trips with Charlene Lundblade and Jeani Vallee. Her grandkids will always remember her as the best back scratcher and their biggest fan. She and Jim traveled far and wide to catch as many of their events as they could. Her favorite place to be was their family summer home in Redway. Thankfully, Jim didn’t know all the things she let her kids get away with. She thrived in the role of “cool mom.” She was a mother figure to many and touched a lot of hearts and lives.

Joy leaves behind her loving children, Jim Pastori, Rick Pastori, Cindy (Tom) Losa, Yvette (Jason) Pastori-Ables; grandchildren Shelby (Jared) Lund, Jon (Kendra) Losa, James (Hayley) Pastori, Kendra Losa, Nicole Pastori, Colton and Kylie Ables; great-granchildren Dawsyn and Rye Pastori, Leo Lund and three more on the way; sister Judy Ford; sister-in-laws Yvonne Wahlund and Judy (Carl) Rorling; and many nieces and nephews.

Joy is preceded in death by her husband, Jim Pastori; parents William and Isabella Pasquini; brothers Bill and John Lee Pasquini; and brother-in-law Randy Ford.

In honor of Joy’s life, a celebration of life will be held on March 22 at 3 p.m. at Old Growth Cellars, 1945 Hilfiker Lane in Eureka. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Hospice of Humboldt.

###

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

Deborah Marie Jerome-Davis
June 27, 1951 – January 9, 2025

Deborah Marie Jerome-Davis was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on June 27, 1951 to Conservative Baptist pastor Norman Basil Jerome (1912–1993) and his devoted wife and Christ-follower, Catherine Marie Hozey-Jerome (1921–2012). At the age of six, Deb prayed with her mother to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior and became a Christ-follower herself.

At her side when she entered Heaven’s gate were her husband of more than 40 years, Daniel Dean Davis (Dan), her daughter, Deanna Marie Davis-Lugo (1990), her son, Daniel James Ollie Davis (1993), and one of her two sisters, Darlene Edna Jerome (1954). Deb is also survived by her sister, Cynthia Dawn Jerome (Cindy, 1960).

When Deb’s mother married Norman, a widower, in 1950, he brought two sons into their marriage, both of whom preceded Deb in death: David Stephen Jerome (1940-1957) and Daniel Lee Jerome (Dan, 1946-1994; wife, Miriam). Deb delighted in sharing photos and memories she had of her half-brothers, and she cherished Dan and Miriam’s sons, Jason, Aaron, Ethan and Nathan and their families.

A dedicated and accomplished teacher, Deb earned her B.A. in Education from the Philadelphia College of Bible and her M.A. in Elementary Education from Temple University. Her career spanned teaching public and private elementary school students in Pennsauken, New Jersey and Arcata.

Deb and her brother, Dan, shared a close bond. When Dan and Miriam served as missionaries in Kofu, Japan, Deb joined them as a live-in tutor and teacher for their two oldest boys, Jason Lawrence Jerome (wife, Ruth) and Aaron Smith Jerome (wife, Jennie). She cherished their younger brothers, Ethan William Jerome (wife, Bethany) and Nathan Norman Jerome (wife, Vali). Later, Deb moved with Dan and Miriam to Okinawa, Japan, where she continued her passion for education by teaching elementary students at Okinawa Christian School.

As Providence would have it, Deb met a young Marine, Dan Davis, shortly after arriving on Okinawa and they were engaged within a year. Dan separated from the Marine Corps in August 1983 and returned to Humboldt County where his father’s family settled in 1948 and where he was born and raised, and Deb left the island about a year later after fulfilling her OCS commitment. They were married on July 21, 1984, at Doylestown First Baptist Church and settled in the McKinleyville-Arcata-Eureka area, near where Dan was born and raised.

While Dan returned to Humboldt State to complete his bachelor’s degree in computer information systems, and after briefly substituting at a local public elementary school, Deb began teaching fourth graders at Arcata Christian School, continuing until Deanna’s birth on April 15, 1990. Their faith was deeply tested when Deanna was born with a life-threatening condition called TEF (tracheoesophageal fistula). They faced this challenge with prayer, the support of close friends, skilled medical professionals, and modern technology. With the help of their McKinleyville Baptist Church family, Deanna overcame those early struggles, an experience that ultimately strengthened Deb and Dan’s faith and their relationship.

In 1991, Dan was transferred from the community bank (Bank of Loleta) he had worked at in Eureka, since before they were married in 1984, to U.S. Bank in Portland, Oregon. They made their home there for the next 27 years. Their beloved son, Daniel, was born into the family on May 16, 1993. Deb homeschooled Deanna until Daniel entered kindergarten, when they both enrolled at Portland Christian School, Deanna graduating in 2008 and Daniel in 2011.

Deb and Dan found their Oregon faith family at Montavilla Baptist Church until about 2001, where Deb served as a teacher and a Women’s Retreat speaker and Dan served as a teacher and elder, among other roles. Deb would later serve as Women’s Ministry Coordinator and Dan as Men’s Ministry Coordinator and elder at Greater Gresham Baptist Church (now Pathway Church).

After 22 years in their SE Portland home, in 2018 Deb and Dan found a new home in nearby Columbia County and a new church family at Grace Baptist Church Warren. Deb settled in quickly, leading a home Bible Study with several Grace ladies and some of their friends from other churches. Dan took a little longer to find his way and then began attending Men’s Ministry events and activities like Men’s Bible Study, Men’s Breakfast and Man Camp. He would later volunteer to serve as Men’s Ministry Team Leader.

On April 20, 2022, Deb was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and began a journey that neither she nor Dan ever imagined for her, themselves or their family. Through invasive surgery and painful chemotherapy, immunotherapy and a few clinical trials, Deb’s joy and faith in God’s sovereignty over her life never wavered: “I am absolutely certain God will heal me, either miraculously this side of Heaven, or through my doctors’ hands, or as I die and pass into Heaven.”

In early 2023, after the cancer returned, Deb committed to reading through the Bible to highlight key verses for Deanna. She completed that read-through and markup on December 31, 2024, nine days before she would see her Savior face-to-face. In December 2024, after learning the cancer had spread to her heart and lungs, Deb made the difficult decision to accept hospice care. She used her remaining days to meet with her small group for a Christmas gift exchange, and several of her friends and family in person and in online meetings to say goodbye and share her faith. She called these “meaningful conversations.” Deb prayed especially for Bay Scholl, a young member of Grace Baptist Church, whom she adopted as a Prayer Buddy and met with twice.

On the afternoon of Thursday, January 9, 2025, Deb left us to meet her Heavenly Father. She will be remembered as a Godly, loving, and joyful Christ-follower and loving daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother and friend. She is already greatly missed by all who knew her.

You are invited to join the family to honor Deb at a graveside service at Greenwood Cemetery, Arcata, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 15, 2025. Deb’s ashes will be interred there near the graves of Dan’s father and stepmother, Lawrence Corley Davis (1922–1995) and Mary Rowena Campbell-Davis (1929–2021); his paternal grandparents, James Albert Davis (1890–1959) and Ollie May Corley-Davis (1897–1969); and one of Lawrence’s two brothers, James Riley Davis (1930–1991).

In honor of Deb’s memory, those who wish to contribute are encouraged to support Voice of the Martyrs, a cause close to her heart, by visiting www.persecution.com. Your generosity will help support persecuted Christians worldwide.

Deb’s prayer for Dan, Deanna, Daniel and you is found in Numbers 6:24-26 (NLT):

May the LORD bless you and protect you.
May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.

###

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

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of a remarkable lady. Linn was surrounded by family at the Ida Emmerson Hospice House of Humboldt on December 19, 2024.

She was born on January 6, 1943 in Redding, to Werner Holmquist and Norene Cave, Humboldt pioneers. As a child, Linn spent lots of time visiting her Grandpa Richard and Grandma Grace Cave in Eureka on L Street and her Auntie Emogene and Uncle Larry Wing. They’d pick wild blackberries and make jelly and pie.

Linn graduated from UC Davis in education, and began teaching at a DOD school in Kuwait. Upon return to the US, she taught elementary school in San Jose. Linn retired from teaching, and later worked as a travel agent and executive secretary.

She married Richard Duske in 1975, and became stepmother to his three children. Linn and Dick moved about a bit, but finally settled into retirement in Florence, Oregon.

In 2023, Linn moved to Frye’s memory care unit in Eureka. She loved Frye’s rose garden, having her wheelchair pushed through Murphy’s Market, and taking driving tours around town.

She celebrated her 81st birthday with a burger and hot fudge sundae at Fresh Freeze in Henderson Center with her 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins: Dennis and Elizabeth Wing; Carrie, Erich, Will, Ben, and Grace Allen; Tiffany, Matt, Luke, and Gigi Grinstaff; Jenni, Tim, Anna, Sophia, and Gabbi Grimmett.

Above all, Linn was loved by her family. She is survived by cousins, Dennis and Elizabeth Wing and children, stepchildren: Peggy, June, Marc; step grandchildren: Alicia, Becky, Ryan; and dear friends, Dee and Bert.

She is preceded in death by her husband Richard Duske. Linn will share the Duske niche with her husband at Sunset Memorial Park in Eureka. She will be missed, and her memory cherished.

Funeral services will be handled by Humboldt Cremation and Funeral Services, 3975 Broadway St, Eureka. A memorial service will be arranged at a future date.

###

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

###

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors received a “dismal” mid-year budget update at today’s meeting, with staff reporting that the county’s General Fund remains on track to run out of money by the end of the 2025-26 fiscal year.

County finances have been following this concerning trajectory for more than a year, with a $15.1 million deficit built into the current year’s budget, but Deputy County Administrative Officer Jessica Maciel had more bad news to share today. She reported that tax revenues are lower than expected, and many of the county’s “major” funds are deep in the red, “which is concerning and problematic for us,” she said.

Funds with big negative balances include those for the Department of Health and Human Services (at minus $8.6 million), Roads (minus $7.2 million) and Aviation (minus $2.8 million). 

At the start of the current fiscal year the General Fund had a balance of roughly $43.2 million, with an operating budget of just over $600 million. By the end of this fiscal year, on June 30, the balance is expected to be less than half of that amount, at roughly $21.1 million.

With tax revenues flagging while the cost of salaries, benefits (especially health insurance) and pensions only rise, the outlook is bleak. Looking ahead to next year’s budget, Maciel said, “It’s really difficult to make recommendations that balance the fiscal needs of the organization but allow departments to maintain operations.”

County Administrative Officer Elishia Hayes recommended that the board deny any requests for un-budgeted General Fund expenses, but Sheriff Billy Honsal asked for them to leave some wiggle room.

“I would love to have the opportunity to present new ideas to this board, and even if you have a limited amount of funds I think it should be up to the board … to prioritize how you want to spend your General Fund money,” Honsal said. He later added that every single county department is “cut to its core.”

However, Hayes said that with “real challenges” looming in the 2026-27 fiscal year, it’s important to tighten the purse strings now.

“It would be incredibly irresponsible of me to hand you a checkbook when you don’t have money in your checking account, and that’s what the data is telling us right now,” she said. “You’re not going to have money in your checking account at the end of next fiscal year, based off of a status quo budget as it is.”

With Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson absent (he had to leave the meeting early), the remaining board members unanimously approved staff a recommendation directing Hayes to prepare the 2025-26 budget with a number of cost-saving provisions, including the de-allocation of unfunded positions and setting the General Fund allocations at a “status quo” level.

Immigration Enforcement Concerns

Earlier, during the morning session of the meeting, the board chamber was filled with members of the local immigrant community and their supporters, who were looking for reassurance that the Sheriff’s Office and other county officials won’t paricipate in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has included shipping migrant detainees to Guantanamo Bay, removing legal protections for political refugees and redirecting military resources to help enact mass deportations.

Ever since 2018, when local voters passed Measure K (the “Humboldt County Sanctuary Ordinance”), Sheriff Honsal has delivered semi-annual public reports to the Board of Supervisors to disclose any and all information that his office has provided to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), if any. 

Of course, Measure K — like statewide legislation such as Senate Bill 54 — prevents local law enforcement agencies from using their resources to assist federal immigration enforcement agencies, so Honsal’s reports have been fairly minimal. And today he reiterated his commitment to report to ICE only what he’s legally obligated to.

He explained that whenever someone’s booked into the county jail, their fingerprints are processed and automatically sent to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. The latter agency may send a “hold request” to the county, asking jail staff to maintain custody of someone who’s been flagged as being undocumented, but Honsal said, “We do not honor those holds” as a general policy.

Captain Duane Christian, who’s in charge of the county correctional facility, said there can be exceptions when an undocumented person has been convicted of a “qualifying offense” under California Government Code 7282.5. In those cases, the detainees are eligible to be turned over to ICE. But Christian said that hasn’t happened over the past year. 

He ran down the stats. Out of roughly 6,500 people booked into the jail last year, ICE sent back 33 administrative detainers, asking the county to hold onto those inmates. “We do not honor those detainers,” Christian reiterated. He said there were four individuals who, in theory, the Sheriff’s Office could have transferred to ICE upon their release from jail.

“But we cannot hold them in custody past the release date for ICE to come pick them up or anything like that,” he said. “Of those [four] people, none of them were released to ICE.”

During the public comment period, people expressed heightened anxiety in the current political climate. A woman who called in and described herself as a 32-year county resident asked county officials to help ensure that “public places such as schools and hospitals … will continue to be places that we shouldn’t have to worry about going out of fear.”

A woman speaking on behalf of the local immigrant rights group Centro del Pueblo came to the lectern flanked by supporters holding a “Know your rights” banner behind her. She presented a letter asking the board to “reiterate and contextualize the end of any type of collaboration with ICE” and to implement a zero-tolerance policy for anti-immigrant discrimination in policing.

A group of senior women known as the Raging Grannies sang a song of support for immigrants and their contributions to the community, to the tune of “You Are My Sunshine.”

Speaker after speaker voiced support for the immigrants in our community, past and present. One woman noted how many headstones in the Ferndale Cemetery proudly list the deceased’s country of origin and said, “Ferndale wouldn’t be our Victorian town without immigrants.”

A young Latina and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient asked everyone watching the meeting, “Please look at me.” 

She continued, “I am the people who this organized [federal] government does not want to help or protect. I am the person that every time negative remarks are made about sanctuary law, who you are limiting their rights to. I am one of many youth members asking you to please expand sanctuary law into Eureka and allow us to feel the same safety I felt when I first arrived here in 2018 to get my education.”

(Supervisor Wilson later clarified that the county has no jurisdiction over actions by the City of Eureka.)

Mary Ann Hytken, program leader for the nonprofit English Express, which offers English language lessons, citizenship classes and more to local immigrants, said, “This is the backbone of Humboldt County. This is our economy. Immigrants are here working, building, caring and contributing in ways too numerous to share here today.”

Wilson followed up on that argument, saying, “The data is very clear that crime and incarceration rates for immigrant populations is significantly less, and in some cases half as much as [the] incarceration and crime rates for people born in the United States.” He added that immigrant communities contribute more than $1.5 trillion to the nation’s economy.

Later in the meeting, Jim Glover of the county’s Human Rights Commission presented the board with a draft letter [pdf here] expressing support for “all Humboldt County community members” and asked the board to sign it. After some minor wordsmithing — and the addition of a provision asking Sheriff Honsal and District Attorney Stacey Eads to add their signatures — the board unanimously agreed to do so. 

Airplane Hangar Rates to Increase

The cost of storing your plane at a Humboldt County airport will so go up, much to the frustration of local general aviation pilots, who say the county needs to improve the condition of its facilities before jacking up rents.

The county has been without an aviation director since the unexpected and still-unexplained departure of Cody Roggatz in September, so today’s report was left to Karen Clower, assistant county administrative officer and acting aviation director. She recounted the events leading to these rate increases, including a negotiated agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration, which previously sued the county and slapped it with a notice of deficiency for being out of compliance with federal regulations.

Per that agreement the county agreed to incrementally increase aeronautical tenant hangar rates by 18% each year for five years until hanger rates reach the rates approved by both the FAA and the Aviation Management Consulting Group (AMCG), a firm retained by the county to conduct a rate study. The county is now entering Year Five of that period, and so the board was asked to approve the rate increase — possibly with an additional amount connected to the consumer price index.

Clower warned that if the board decided not to increase rates in compliance with that agreement, the county would risk losing up to $1.2 million in entitlements and grant funding.

As in previous meetings where this issue has been discussed, a succession of local pilots voiced their objections to the proposed rate hikes, with many questioning the methodology of the AMCG rate study. They said steep rate increases would harm the economy and impact their livelihoods.

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn acknowledged that delayed maintenance at the airports has been “a constant issue” in his 13 years on the board. Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone said this was not an easy decision to make, saying the county needs to improve its aviation facilities but also needs revenues to do so. 

Ultimately the board voted 4-1, with Bohn dissenting, to have staff return with an ordinance increasing hangar fees to the FAA-approved level, though without an additional CPI increase. The motion included a General Fund contribution of $55,876 to compensate for the resulting lost revenue.

Clower said it is staff’s intention to use those funds for hangar improvements. 

Here we go! The Eureka arm of the National Weather Service tells us that projected snow levels are dropping rapidly, so much so that it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that the Humboldt coast could get a dusting this afternoon and beyond.

More from NWS:

A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for much of Humboldt County. Snow levels are dropping fast this afternoon, with a mix of rain and snow is possible along the coast and an inch of accumulation is possible above 500 ft.

High mountain passes of Humboldt and Del Norte could see an additional 6-12 inches.