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PREVIOUSLY: Blue Lake City Council Set to Hire Former County Supervisor Jill Duffy as New Interim City Manager

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At a brief special meeting Tuesday evening, the Blue Lake City Council unanimously agreed to hire former two-term Humboldt County Supervisor Jill Duffy as the city’s new acting city manager.

Duffy, who has also served as executive director of the Humboldt Waste Management Authority and general manager of the Humboldt County Fair Association, agreed to step into her new role the following morning, meaning she’s already on the job today.

The council — minus member Michelle Lewis-Lusso, who was absent — sang Duffy’s praises ahead of the vote. Councimember Kat Napier said she had spoken with Duffy extensively and was thoroughly impressed with her qualifications and experience.

“She has a vast knowledge on how government works, and also, I found, above all else, integrity. And that is something that I think we will all value here … ,” Napier said. “However you feel about the council, I think that Jill Duffy stepping forward is something that serves all of Blue Lake.”

Fellow councilmember Elise Scafani and Mayor John Sawatzky made similar comments, with the latter saying Duffy “has filled many, many roles and dealt with many, many different situations throughout our local Humboldt County community.”

Duffy herself came to the lectern and said that, as someone who was enjoying her retirement, she had some trepidation about taking the position. But she feels the city has made “some remarkable progress” since she lived in town (Duffy now lives in Fortuna).

However, in a nod to the city’s tumultuous political atmosphere of late, Duffy said Blue Lake “needs a little, you know, stabilizing” as it works with SoCal marketing agency Tripepi Smith to recruit good candidates for the permanent city manager position.

“It’s really important that some of the turmoil kind of calm so that it becomes attractive to people to want to apply,” Duffy said.

Duffy rejoins the workforce as a CalPERS retired annuitant, which means her employment with the city comes with certain restrictions, including working no more than 40 hours per week, on average. She told the council that she intends to stick with that, even with the requirements of frequent public meetings.

Dani Burkhart, who had served as acting city manager since the city parted ways with longtime City Manager Amanda “Mandy” Mager in May, will return to her position as finance manager, according to the staff report.

Brown Act Issues

While Duffy’s hiring wasn’t official until the council cast its votes last night, the public proceedings appeared largely ceremonial, a formality necessary only to finalize a decision that had already been made, according to David Loy, legal director for the nonprofit First Amendment Coalition.

As noted in our story from yesterday, the Blue Lake City Council met in closed session last week to discuss a “public employee appointment,” among other matters. California’s open meetings law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires local government bodies to report any actions taken in closed session. But the Blue Lake City Council did not report anything after its July 22 meeting. When asked about the meeting afterward, Mayor Sawatzky reiterated that no reportable actions had been taken.

And yet the staff report prepared for yesterday’s meeting “all but admits — or implies — that they made the decision [to hire Duffy] already,” Loy said in a phone interview ahead of last night’s meeting. 

Specifically, Loy pointed out that not only was Duffy’s employment agreement fully drafted and ready for signatures, but the staff report says the council “has decided to appoint an experienced public administrator” and that Duffy “has agreed to serve” as interim city manager [emphasis added]. The logical conclusion, he said, is that those decisions were made during the July 22 closed session hearing but not reported to the public, as required by law.

Speaking to the Outpost on Tuesday afternoon, Loy said, “It’s very telling to me that, as of today’s agenda report, [the council] admitted they’ve already made the decision to appoint [Duffy], which means they had to have had a collective conversation and vote, or consensus, before today.”

The Brown Act defines a government action broadly, he explained. (You can find that definition in the state’s legal code.) “It’s not merely a formal finalization of the employment contract. And bear in mind, the Brown Act has to be construed broadly in favor of transparency.”

This marks the third time since April that Blue Lake’s government has been accused of violating California’s open meetings law. Legal experts said the city appeared to violate the Brown Act when parting ways with Mager in May and again later that month in approving her separation agreement, as reported by former North Coast Journal News Editor Thadeus Greenson.

When contacted by Greenson, City Attorney Ryan Plotz of Eureka’s Mitchell Law Firm stood by his position that no reportable action had been taken in the former instance, and he declined to comment on the latter because it was a personnel matter. 

Local resident and former Blue Lake councilmember Alex Ricca, who is involved in an effort to recall Sawatzky, Scafani and Napier, subsequently sent a “cure and correct” demand letter, directing the city to address these apparent violations of law. Plotz determined that the allegations “lack legal merit,” as reported by Times-Standard reporter Sage Alexander.

[Side note: Ricca has been accused publicly of threatening to kill Sawatzky. In a nine-minute audio recording sent anonymously to the Outpost, Ricca can be heard admitting saying such a thing, though he describes the outburst as “rhetorical hyperbole” uttered in the heat of the moment. Ricca adds that he is chagrined by his behavior and repeatedly apologizes to Sawatzky.

In a July 8 email, Sawatzky said, “I can confirm I have reported two separate incidents of what I perceived as threats and intimidation to the sheriffs department by Mr. Ricca.” Sawatzky added that he requested paperwork for a restraining order but the forms are “cumbersome” and he had not yet completed them.

Here’s the recording: Ricca and Sawatzky

The Outpost emailed Ricca seeking comment on the recording but has yet to hear back from him. End of side note.]

Asked to respond to this latest alleged violation of the Brown Act, Plotz told the Outpost via email on Tuesday that while the city council had interviewed Duffy and there was mutual interest, “nothing is approved or final until the Council approves in open session.”

Loy responded, “I guess I hear that, and I respectfully disagree.”

He said other government agencies in the state have taken that same position, and while he’s not aware of any case law that applies directly to such instances, he said, “I don’t buy the argument.”

He reiterated that the term “action taken” means “a collective decision made by a majority of the members of a legislative body,” not merely the formal finalizing of that decision by having “every piece of paper wordsmithed and signed.”

Here’s video of last night’s meeting:

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A pedestrian was struck and killed by a Humboldt Transit Authority bus in the Valley West neighborhood of Arcata Tuesday evening. 

Officers with the Arcata Police Department and other emergency personnel responded to the intersection of Giuntoli Lane and Valley West Boulevard after receiving a call at 6:35 p.m., according to APD Lt. Luke Scown.

Bus passengers were directed to offload following the incident. Three witnesses told the Outpost that the victim was an adult man who appeared to throw himself in front of the bus.

Scown said the victim has been identified, but that identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Kamala Harris will not run for California governor, ending months of feverish speculation and raising fresh questions about the next chapter of her political career.

The former vice president — a California native who rose to prominence as attorney general and U.S. senator for the state — announced today that she would skip next year’s open gubernatorial race. Though she did not confirm other plans, the decision leaves open the possibility that Harris will make another bid for the White House in 2028.

“I love this state, its people and its promise. It is my home. But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election,” Harris wrote in a statement posted on social media. “I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.”

Conjecture about what Harris would do next began almost immediately after she lost the November election to President Donald Trump. The 60-year-old Harris is still relatively young in political terms, and her flashy 107-day drive for the presidency, after then-President Joe Biden dropped out, reignited public interest in a figure who had been pushed to the margins in Washington, D.C.

Many observers came to see the California governorship as a natural landing spot. Harris previously passed on the office to run for U.S. Senate in 2016, averting a showdown with future Gov. Gavin Newsom and setting off her rapid ascent in national politics. With Newsom terming out next year, the 2026 gubernatorial race is wide open, and California’s outsized role in the political discourse still provides its governor with a stage that can reach far beyond the state.

But seeking the office would have almost certainly forestalled a campaign in the next presidential election, which will kick into overdrive in early 2027, just as California’s new governor is taking office.

And despite returning to the state, where she lives in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood, Harris appeared in recent months to be more interested in cultivating her place in the national spotlight. She publicly dipped back into politics in April with a speech at a fundraiser in San Francisco, where she warned that Trump was fomenting a constitutional crisis and called on Democrats to stand together to fight back against his dismantling of American values.

“They are counting on the notion that if they make some people afraid, it will have a chilling effect on others,” Harris said at the time. “But what they have overlooked is that fear is not the only thing that’s contagious. Courage is contagious.”

The crowded field of California gubernatorial candidates is no doubt breathing a sigh of relief at the news. Harris’ near-universal awareness with voters and nationwide fundraising network would have made her the immediate frontrunner in the race and likely sent many of her fellow Democrats scurrying for the exit.

Early public polling is spotty, but an April survey from Inside California Politics and Emerson College found that 31% of voters supported a theoretical Harris campaign, while no other contender exceeded single digits.

They include former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former state Controller Betty Yee, former state Senate leader Toni Atkins, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and timeshare magnate Stephen Cloobeck.

Former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are the most prominent Republicans in the field.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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Raised in a family of dedicated civil servants, Siena Parrish has always been drawn to the public service sector. After moving from Sonoma County to Humboldt last year, Parrish took a part-time gig at the Eureka Visitor’s Center, where she joined a group of like-minded locals who care deeply for this foggy little place we call home. 

“This kind of work is what I grew up wanting to do,” Parrish told the Outpost as she plucked a bit of litter from the ground and plopped it into an orange five-gallon bucket during a recent community clean-up. “I think community is as good as how you treat those who need it the most, and the fact that we have so many small business owners and city employees who take the time to [volunteer] and are clearly passionate about what they do is what makes Eureka really special for me.”

Parrish is one of the Old Town Stewards, a small but mighty team of city employees and volunteers working to “promote goodwill and hospitality” in Eureka through beautification projects, community outreach and engagement. Modeled after successful ambassador programs in other cities, including Arcata, the City of Eureka launched its Old Town Stewards Volunteer Program last summer to provide residents and visitors with a friendly, knowledgeable presence around town. 

The group, led by Uplift Eureka’s Social Services Coordinator Hannah Ozanian, meets at Clarke Plaza every Wednesday to pick up trash and tidy up planters around Old Town. When they’re not sweeping up cigarette butts and wrangling loose wood chips, you can find the stewards chatting with locals or sharing tidbits of Humboldt history with visitors. 

“We are community liaisons trying to provide local resources, whether that’s directions to the Carson Mansion for a tourist from out of town, or whether it’s directions to the Eureka Rescue Mission for someone who’s unhoused,” Ozanian told the Outpost during last week’s clean-up. “Our main focus on Wednesdays is to do a deep clean of Clarke Plaza, and then we move out around Old Town toward the gazebo. If we can keep an area clean, that’s a hospitable thing to do for everyone, right?”

The idea is to make Eureka a better place for everyone, whether that be local business owners or unhoused community members, Ozanian said.

A couple of times a week — usually Tuesdays and Thursdays — the stewards host the Connections Club, a community-building coloring circle at St. Vincent de Paul’s dining facility. There, attendees can tap into their creative side or use the materials to write letters or greeting cards to loved ones. 

“I look at outreach as [a way to] connect with people, and I love the Connections Club,” said Kimberly Keisling, a local realtor and one of the Old Town Stewards. “The people who are perceived as being unhoused belong here as much as we do. Sometimes they just need a smile and a conversation, you know? Maybe if we can connect and develop a relationship, we can kind of guide them to the resources that are available here.”

For Omar Abi, a steward and local business owner, the Connections Club is an opportunity to make a positive impact and meet new people. “It keeps me grateful,” he told the Outpost. “And it gives me a chance to connect with people on an interpersonal level that I normally wouldn’t have interactions with otherwise.”

Before assuming stewardly duties, each volunteer undergoes comprehensive training and orientation sessions in city policies, de-escalation techniques, safety protocols and local resources. The stewards also get a crash course on the history of Old Town and its various attractions. 

Each volunteer brings their own area of expertise to the table. Roy Marin, a 40-year Eureka resident and retired school bus driver, is the group’s history buff.

“I’ve watched Old Town evolve from way back in the late ‘70s when [the city] was really talking about tearing it down,” Marin said. “I like taking people on little spontaneous walks around Old Town and pointing out, for example, the spot down the boardwalk where you can look and see a perfect view of the Carson Mansion. And I encourage them to walk over to it and explore!”

Marin said he’s been working on a motto for the stewards: “‘Promote, protect, preserve’, or something like that.”

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If you think you’ve got what it takes to become an Old Town Steward, they’re always looking for new folks to join the team. You can find an interest form at this link or email oldtownstewards@eurekaca.gov.

And if you’re hankerin’ for a little bit of barbecue at some point today, you’ll want to pop by the Block Party BBQ at St. Vincent de Paul’s dining facility (35 W. Third Street in Eureka) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Details here.

UPDATE, Wednesday, 11:11 a.m.: Tsunamigeddon 2025 is officially over!

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office just issued a release saying that the remaining tsunami precautions have been lifted while still urging beachgoers to be alert. The Outpost is planning to follow up with various local agencies to offer a postmortem on the response to this incident with the hopes that this might all go smoother in the future. Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, here’s the official end-of-tsunami announcement from HCSO:

The Tsunami Advisory previously issued for the Humboldt County coastline has been cancelled.

The advisory was lifted following updates from the National Tsunami Warning Center and coordination with state and federal emergency partners. While there is no longer a tsunami threat to Humboldt County, residents and visitors are urged to remain cautious, as strong currents and hazardous water conditions may still persist along the coast, in harbors and in bays.

Beachgoers are advised to exercise caution and stay out of the water until conditions stabilize.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as needed, otherwise this will be the final communication for this incident.

UPDATE, Wednesday 10:30 a.m.: While the Humboldt tsunami visuals haven’t turned out to be all that exciting, up in Crescent City the water looks rather turbulent. Check out this footage, above, taken at the Crescent City harbor earlier this morning. (Make sure to “full screen” it.)

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UPDATE, Wednesday, 8:20 a.m.: Remember — the tsunami is small by tsunami standards, but that doesn’t mean you want to go frolicking in the waves.

Seriously: Give the ocean a healthy amount of respect — all days, but today in particular. The currents and the surf are choppy and unpredictable. Stay well away from the shore.

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UPDATE, Wednesday, 6:45 a.m.: Earlier this morning Humboldt’s status was downgraded from a tsunami warning to a tsunami advisory. 

Eureka’s National Weather Service crew has been dutifully on this all night. A few hours ago, they noted the maximum confirmed wave height in Humboldt Bay to be 1.2 feet. Maximum wave height in Crescent City was observed to be 3.6 feet.

If you’d like an actual visual of our coast not being washed away, LoCO drove up to the Table Bluff overlook of the South Spit at sunrise. Here’s what that looked like.

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UPDATE, 11 p.m.: Local officials have booted up a video livestream to discuss all things tsunami. Tune in below:

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UPDATE, 9:29 p.m.: Perhaps in response to the scary, blaring message we all got on our phones a bit ago, the Eureka-based arm of the National Weather Service is going out of their way to soothe our anxieties, posting just now:

Humboldt County is NOT at high risk of inundation of dry land from a tsunami. This highest risk of inundation is directed toward Crescent City, where 3-5 foot maximum tsunami waves are expected. Humboldt County is expected to have 1-2 foot maximum tsunami waves.

More on that loud message we referenced above: Multiple local agencies now indicate that was sent out in error. As a result, EPD reports they are now “receiving a high volume of calls.”

“[T]here is no immediate threat of widespread flooding,” EPD says. “However, community members should stay out of the water and away from beaches and waterways.”

Again, be safe but chill, Humboldt

—Andrew Goff

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UPDATE, 9 p.m.: It’s worth noting that the Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group — the people who most know their business on this matter, locally — are pretty chill about this tsunami warning, at least insofar as Humboldt County is concerned. 

As they write on their Facebook page:

The coast of Humboldt and Del Norte County have now been placed in tsunami WARNING following this afternoon’s earthquake in the NW Pacific near Kamchatka. The magnitude has been revised to 8.8, making this earthquake tied for 6th place on the largest earthquake of all times. The main reason for issuing the Warning was concern that areas around Crescent Harbor could experience surges of close to 6 feet in height causing some flooding in low lying areas. The rest of the California coast remains in an Advisory status.

What should you do? This event is not our worst case tsunami threat and is only likely to flood lower areas near beaches and harbors especially at high tide. Don’t go to the beach to look for a tsunami - it will be dark and there won’t be anything to see. The best way to watch a tsunami is online - click on any of the tide gauges at this link.

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UPDATE, 8:40 p.m.: In the fifth updated bulletin, the California Coast north of Cape Mendocino has been updated to a tsunami “warning” — meaning “significant inundation” is forecast to occur. 

The detailed forecast still expects the first waves to arrive at 11:55 p.m. at the North Spit weather station. The tsunami is expected to last 20 hours, with a wave amplitude of .62 meters, or just about two feet.

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UPDATE, 6:35 p.m.: The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center has just issued a third updated bulletin for the West Coast of the United States, and it now places us under a tsunami advisory — meaning we are almost certainly getting a wave. It is scheduled to arrive just before midnight, and to last for some time.

The text product doesn’t give much information on predictions for Humboldt County in particular, but the XML data dump associated with the event shows a prediction of about a foot and a half of wave amplitude on the North Spit, and that the event is expected to last 18 hours.

As usual, it’s much worse in Crescent City, with a wave of 3.1 to 5.7 feet, and lasting 36 hours.

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ORIGINAL POST:

A huge, 8.7 earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka a few minutes ago has left the West Coast of the United States under a tsunami watch.

A “watch” is the lowest form of alert, basically asking residents to be aware of further developments as higher levels of danger could be possible. Follow the National Tsunami Warning Center on Facebook for the latest information, or go directly to its site — tsunami.gov — for the latest information. Be sure to look for information pertaining to our region in particular, as there could be higher levels of alert in other places.

From the U.S. Tsunami Warning System:

Tsunami Message Number 2
Earthquake Information

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Location: 315 miles SW of Bering I., Komandorski
Lat: 52.200
Lon: 160.000
Magnitude: 8.7
Origin Time: 2025-07-29T23:24:56 UTC [PDT, AKDT]
Depth: 74 kilometers

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Warning

A tsunami Warning is now in effect which includes the coastal areas of Alaska from Samalga Pass, Alaska (30 miles SW of Nikolski) to Attu, Alaska.

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Advisory

The tsunami Advisory is modified to include the coastal areas of Alaska from Chignik Bay, Alaska to Samalga Pass, Alaska (30 miles SW of Nikolski).

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Watch

A tsunami Watch is now in effect which includes the coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alaska from The Cal./Mexico Border to Chignik Bay, Alaska.

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Tsunami warnings mean that a tsunami with significant inundation is expected or occurring. Warnings indicate that widespread dangerous coastal flooding accompanied by powerful currents are possible and may continue for several hours after the initial wave arrival.

Tsunami advisories mean that a tsunami capable of producing strong currents or waves dangerous to people in or very near the water is expected. Significant widespread inundation is not expected for areas under an advisory. Currents may be hazardous to swimmers, boats, and coastal structures and may continue for several hours after the initial wave arrival.

Tsunami watches are an advance notice to areas that could be impacted by a tsunami at a later time. Watch areas may be upgraded to warning or advisory status, or canceled, based on new information or analysis. People in a watch area should closely follow subsequent tsunami messages.

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Actions:

Pacific coastal regions outside California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska should refer to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center messages for information on this event at tsunami.gov.

Additional Information and Next Update:

* The tsunami message will remain in effect until further notice.
* Refer to the internet site tsunami.gov for more information.
* This message will be updated in 60 minutes or sooner if the situation warrants.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office release:

At approximately 1:45 a.m. on July 26, 2025, a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop on a transit-style van traveling along Highway 20 in Upper Lake.

The driver was identified as 31-year-old Alexander Abare of Arcata, California. Upon contact, the deputy observed signs consistent with recent marijuana use and noted a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Abare stated he was returning to Arcata from the Sacramento area. During the interaction, he appeared visibly nervous. When questioned further, Abare admitted to having a bag of marijuana between the seats and a vape pen containing concentrated cannabis on the dashboard.

A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of approximately 400 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, packaged in black plastic bags and large totes, each labeled with various strain names. Deputies also located more than $370,000 in cash, vacuum-sealed in multiple bundles.

Abare was arrested and booked on multiple charges, including felony transportation of a controlled substance for sale across county lines, possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a switchblade, and possession of an open container of marijuana in a vehicle.

This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Narcotics Taskforce Tipline at (707) 263-3663.

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Are you ready for some baseball?

The joke’s sure on LoCO correspondent Tom Trepiak, because while he peregrinates across the country in search of the perfect baseball experience, nothing less than the goddamn Pacific Empire League title is on the line right here at home, as your Humboldt Crabs open up the championship series against their perennial enemies, the big bad Healdsburg Prune Packers.

It all starts at 7 p.m. in Arcata’s Crabs Stadium, which squares call “the Arcata Ball Park.”

Baseball, if you’re unfamiliar, is the perfect sport for people who don’t like sports. You only have to pay attention like 10 percent of the time, if that. The majority of your energy will be focused on drinking beer, eating hot dogs, bullshitting with your friends and ridiculing the opposing team. It’s great family fun.

In case you haven’t checked in to Crabs baseball in a while, here’s what you need to know. Whereas, like, 20 years ago, the Crabs basically played every game at home and absolutely smashed all comers, last season they and a few other regional squads formed a new league — the Pacific Empire League. Since then the Crabs have had to play on something like equal footing. Last year they went a ho-hum 16-12 in league play and didn’t even make the championship series.

This year, though! This year they went a ho-hum 17-8 in league play and did make the championship series, thanks to a last-minute Rube Goldberg-like series of improbable events that are best told by our friend Ray Hamill over at HumboldtSports.com.

That puts the underdog Crabbies up against the Pacific Empire League’s seemingly unstoppable juggernaut. Someone should check on what they’re packing into these Prune Packers’ prunes, because Healdsburg cruised to an easy PEL championship last year, then went 22-5 in the league this year, beating the Crabs in five of their last six meetings behind the talents of players like Tucker Bougie, Kaden Taque, Hayden Hattenbach, Maximo Martinez, Drake Digiorno and Hideki Prather. (No idea if these are their best players, but they have some of the best baseball names on the roster.)

So it’s gonna be an uphill climb for the Crabbies! Clear eyes, full heart, can’t lose! Get out there and cheer and jeer! They need your support! There’ll be a second game in the series down in Healdsburg — perfect place for a pitcher named “Tucker Bougie,” by the way — on Thursday and, if needed, a series-clincher in the same place on Friday.

Go, Crabs! Go, goddammit!