Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On February 15, 2024 the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team, Special Services, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, and California Fish and Wildlife served a search warrant on two properties in eastern Humboldt County and two properties in Southern Trinity County. HCSO MET was able to locate and arrest 48 year old Jason Allen Anderson and 57 year old Paula Edens both of Dinsmore.

Deputies located and recovered stolen property from two Bear Creek Road burglaries along with stolen property from the US Forest Service Mad River District. Anderson was arrested for residential burglary (PC 459), possession of stolen property (PC 496(a), grand theft (PC 487(a), and conspiracy (PC182(a)(1). Anderson was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

Edens was arrested for residential burglary (PC 459), possession of stolen property (PC 496(a), grand theft (PC 487(a), and conspiracy (PC182(a)(1). Edens was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.

HCSO MET would like to thank community members, Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Fish and Wildlife for their assistance in this case.

This case is still under investigation.

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.

Assemblymember Marie Waldron is a Republican from San Diego who was the GOP caucus leader for three years at a time when California’s Democrats were waging a legislative war with Donald Trump.

San Francisco Sen. Scott Wiener is a Democratic rising star who’s considered a leading candidate to replace one of the right’s biggest villains, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, should the former House speaker retire from Congress.

The pair may not seem to have much in common, but they have formed an unlikely bipartisan partnership on an unusual issue: legalizing psychedelic drugs to treat mental illness.

Waldron has appeared twice beside Wiener in recent weeks. Most recently, they addressed reporters at a press conference to announce a new bill they coauthored that would allow adults 21 and older to use psilocybin mushrooms, MDMA, DMT and mescaline under the supervision of a licensed and trained facilitator.

And, in January, they sat side-by-side before the Assembly Health Committee to advocate for Waldron’s bill which would convene a workgroup to study psychedelic-assisted therapy with the goal of making recommendations for regulating treatment by Jan. 1, 2026. Waldron’s Assembly Bill 941 advanced without opposition through the Assembly and will be taken up by the Senate this year.

Both pieces of legislation are in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s October veto of Wiener’s bill that would have decriminalized the use of plant-based hallucinogenic drugs. Waldron along with fellow Republicans Heath Flora of Ripon and Bill Essayli of Corona last year cast “yes” votes to advance the measure out of the Assembly prior to Newsom’s veto.

In his veto message, Newsom said, “This is an exciting frontier and California will be on the front-end of leading it.” First, however, he asked legislators to draft another bill with “regulated treatment guidelines” that included dosing information and rules to prevent patients from being exploited and ensure patients with psychoses wouldn’t be harmed.

“We’re grateful that the governor didn’t simply say ‘no,’ but indicated what he would say yes to, which was a therapeutic-focused bill.” Wiener told the health committee.

Wiener, Waldron are unlikely partners

It may not come as a surprise that Wiener would advocate for legalizing psychedelics. After all, he represents San Francisco, a city known for its liberal politics, with a reputation for embracing hallucinogenic drugs dates to the 1960s. Their most famous champion, Timothy Leary, in 1967 told 30,000 hippies in the city’s Golden Gate Park to “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.” The gathering called the “Human Be-In” was held in response to California banning LSD the year prior. Leary’s remarks became an instant counterculture slogan. The federal government banned possessing psychedelics the following year.

Wiener told the health committee that the state and federal decisions 50 years ago to shut down research into psychedelic drugs were a mistake. Therapists “working in the shadows” have amassed evidence that the drugs can save the lives of those suffering from trauma, he said.

“We want to make sure that our folks, including our first responders who are suffering, have access – not in the shadows but in the sunlight – to therapies that … (are) literally saving people’s lives and stopping them from killing themselves,” Wiener told the health committee.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, addresses lawmakers on the first day of session in the California Senate, on Jan. 3, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters Credit: Fred Greaves for CalMatters

It’s perhaps more surprising that Waldron has taken on the issue. She represents a safe Republican district in San Diego, in a region known for its straight-laced, military presence. San Diego County is the home to the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet, tens of thousands of Marines and seven military bases.

In an interview with CalMatters, Waldron said it was actually military veterans who brought psychedelics to her attention.

On Veteran’s Day 2021, Waldron attended a fundraiser for a veteran’s group at the Hotel Del Coronado resort on the edge of the San Diego Bay. There, she heard from a group of Navy SEALs who described crippling PTSD and depression when they came back from combat. Psychedelics, Waldron said, helped them cope with their trauma.“They were saying … how it changed their life and actually ended their desire to commit suicide, restored their family,” Waldron said. “They had a normal life; they didn’t have the triggers that brought on PTSD.”

Psychedelics in therapeutic settings, Waldron said, take a person’s mind “back to the scene of the trauma” and “actually break the trauma in a way.”

“When you come out the other end,” Waldron said, “you’re able to deal with it.”

She notes that she’s hardly the first Republican to embrace the therapies. Republican U.S. Reps. Dan Crenshaw, the eye-patch-wearing Navy SEAL veteran from Texas, and Matt Gaetz, the conservative firebrand from Florida, have supported the use of psychedelics. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a bill in 2021 to study the drugs’ therapeutic benefits.

Waldron a Republican “outlier”

Waldron’s bill may have advanced to the Senate without a single vote against it, thanks in part to Wiener’s support. But at least one Democrat had reservations. Assemblymember Akilah Weber, a physician from La Mesa, abstained from voting.

At the health committee hearing last month, she peppered Waldron and Wiener with questions and appeared skeptical there was enough legitimate medical research for California to craft a set of therapeutic guidelines by 2026. She noted the federal government only recently approved clinical research.

“What kind of studies are they going to be evaluating, especially given the fact that the regulations or the guidelines of how these clinical trials should be done just came out in June of 2023?” Weber asked.

Wiener countered that research is underway and available.“There are already a number of peer-reviewed studies in places like the New England Journal of Medicine,” Wiener said. “So I don’t want anyone to walk away thinking there are no scientific peer-reviewed studies. There are.”

None of Waldron’s 17 Republican colleagues voted against Waldron’s bill when it was on the Assembly floor, though 12 abstained or were absent. The Republicans might not have wanted to go on record opposing a bill championed by their former leader. Some Republicans may also fear the vote could be used against them in a campaign.

Waldron doesn’t have to worry about what a challenger might say, since she’s serving her final term in the Legislature due to term limits.Nonetheless, she said she would have worked with Wiener on the issue of psychedelics even if she was up for reelection. She notes she was a coauthor with Wiener on mental-health legislation that passed in 2020, and she fought for legislation that provides prison inmates with state Medi-Cal services in the months before their release in the hopes they transition easier into drug treatment when they re-enter society.

“It makes me kind of an outlier in many ways on the Republican side of things,” Waldron said of wanting to help inmates. “But I’ve always tried to figure out how to help people when they come home to be able to stay home and not … go back to prison.”

###

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

California State University faculty overwhelmingly approved a new labor contract, moving the nation’s largest four-year public university system a step closer to ending arguably the most acrimonious labor standoff between educators and university leaders in the system’s history.

The California Faculty Association said over the weekend that 76% of members who voted approved the tentative agreement, a set of raises and expansions of benefits that exceeds what Cal State negotiators were offering during eight months of contract negotiations but fell short of initial union demands.The union represents 29,000 professors, lecturers, counselors, coaches and librarians.

All that remains to finalize the contract is a vote from Cal State’s board of trustees, who are scheduled to meet March 24-27. It’s unlikely the board will turn down a contract negotiated by a team that reports to the system’s new chancellor, Mildred García, whom the trustees hired last year. The union wants the board to meet in a special session to approve the deal sooner. If trustees approve it, the deal will last through June 30, 2025.

“We look forward to working together to continue our advocacy for an equitable CSU,” Charles Toombs, union president and a professor at San Diego State, said in a statement that also thanked members for organizing and joining the strikes. “We have special gratitude to our students and sibling union members, as well as elected leaders and public education allies who joined our cause and showed up in favor of investing in our CSU.”

García’s office said in a press release that it’s “pleased” with the vote’s outcome.

The week-long vote followed a one-day strike last month, the first time faculty walked off the job at all 23 Cal State campuses in the system’s history, and strikes at four campuses in December. Some union members criticized the union’s leadership for ending the rain-soaked January strike the day it began, arguing a better deal could have emerged had the strike lasted the full five days union leaders envisioned. Critics also faulted the deal for agreeing to a raise that technically isn’t fully guaranteed.

Core to the union’s initial demands were that Cal State negotiators approve a 12% salary hike for all members for the 2023-24 year. Cal State had countered with a 5% offer in 2023-24 and 5% increases the following two years, if state lawmakers increase Cal State’s main state funding by 5% each year — something they’ve done the past two years but hardly a guarantee going forward as the state eyes multibillion-dollar budget deficits. The union’s leaders refused any deal that was conditional.

But Cal State was loath to give any union more than 5% for this budget year; doing so would have triggered new salary negotiations with some labor groups.The contract just approved by faculty members locks in 5% for 2023-24 that’ll be applied retroactively. Another 5% kicks in this July if Cal State receives as much state funding for its core programs as it did last year — a likelier outcome and one Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed in his budget blueprint, but still a contingency.

The approved contract also extends parental leave from six weeks to 10 weeks — short of the full semester the union initially sought. It also raises the salary floor by at least $3,000 for the lowest paid faculty on top of the across-the-board raises.

Again, that deal exceeded what Cal State negotiators were offering, which was no extra boost for these workers, but is less than what the union initially wanted. Those workers would see total raises of about 15% to 22%.

A website that called for a “no” vote on the contract is telling faculty to remain in the union, despite the contract’s passage.

“Everyone who voted ‘yes’ and everyone who voted ‘no’ can now work together to build power for the bargaining and strike actions to come,” the site read.

###

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

Tim Cochrane was born the evening of August 24, 1953 in his maternal grandparents’ home in Eureka, to James William Cochrane III and Alice Loree Stockton Cochrane of Loleta, California. He and elder brother James Michael “Sham” were later joined by Robert Todd and sister Leslie Loree, the four of them growing up on Singley Hill in Loleta.

Tim had an ear for music and began playing the piano when he was only three years old. On his fourth birthday, he was presented with a piano from his parents, launching a lifelong love for the instrument and all things musical.

Tim attended Loleta Elementary where his father was superintendent and briefly attended Fortuna Union High School before the family relocated to Chiapas, Mexico resulting in a year escaping formal education and exploring the jungles of the Yucatan. Later, the family moved to Peru when his parents joined the Summer Institute of Linguistics.

The time in the Amazon was formative for Tim and he embraced the different cultures, their traditions, music, and cuisines. Packing his trusty accordion along since the piano did not fit under his arm, he easily established rapport with people through his music and learning their music. When Tim was 16, he hitch-hiked from the jungle to the Andes, south to Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia, Chile and back, a trip that he never forgot.

After high school graduation in Peru, Tim returned to the States to attend College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State. It was there that he met Marie Mengel through mutual friends, and they married in 1975. In 1976, daughter Jana Marie was born and in 1978, Laura Ann joined the family. Three years later, Dorothy Loree was born, and Rebecca Elizabeth appeared on the scene in 1984, completing the family.

In 1975 Tim was recruited by Bank of America and by 1981 he was the Chief Financial Officer at Bank of Loleta. Seven years later in 1988, Tim left the Bank of Loleta to found Six Rivers National Bank and became President and Chief Executive Officer of the new community bank. The bank was noted for its technological innovation and caught the eye of the New York branch of the Federal Reserve Bank which was assisting the Russian Central Bank in its transition from the communist system to the free market. This led to Six Rivers National Bank hosting Russian bankers for hands-on experience in US banking and reciprocal invitations to Tim to travel to Russia on several occasions, where he made many lasting friendships.

Subsequently, Tim was asked to create Banker Benefits, a start-up human resources and benefits subsidiary for the California Bankers Association. After three years, Tim returned to banking, working as a management consultant in San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and Southern California before returning to Eureka and establishing Cochrane & Associates Wealth Management Services.

Health issues forced him into retirement and in 2011, he was fortunate enough to have a heart transplant, a gift from a donor family whom he never had the privilege of meeting. Tim and Marie became ardent advocates of organ donation and were provided the opportunity to honor Tim’s heart donor and to continue the legacy of organ donation with the untimely death of their eldest daughter Jana.

Tim was a wonderful, loving husband, father, papa, uncle and friend. He was a prankster at his core and enjoyed making people laugh and smile. He had a great love for all things cooking and baking, a past time that he often enjoyed with his grandchildren.  Even as he lay there in his final days, no less than three times in one day did three kids come asking for cooking tips: What temperature on that chocolate cake? What’s the zing you put in your huckleberry reduction sauce?  Papa, how do we prep this catfish to fry up? Tim raised four strong willed women and nurtured the development of eight grandkids, who all loved him dearly. He will be greatly missed by all, especially his wife of 49 years, Marie.

Tim left this life the morning of February 9, 2024, having squeezed the last possible second out of the time allotted him by our Creator. He was blessed to pass from this realm in the place he was most happy, his home for the past 16 years: On the beautiful Mattole River in Ettersburg.

He was preceded in death by his daughters Jana Marie Cochrane and Dorothy Loree Chambers; parents Jim and Loree Cochrane; brothers Sham, Patrick, and Todd; maternal grandparents Virgil and Ruby Stockton; paternal grandparents Jim and Louise Cochrane; son-in-law Charles Schuttloffel; brother-in-law Sam Mengel; and in-laws Lowell and Dorothy Mengel.

He is survived by his wife, Marie; daughter Laura Cochrane and her children Tig and Hazel Schuttloffel; daughter Rebecca Sheets, her husband Jason and their children Colin, Reed and Mae; son-in-law Douglas DeShiell; son-in-law Kelton Chambers and his children Kaden, Hunter and Makenzie; sister Leslie Loree Cochrane Burchfield, her husband Dennis and daughter Lauren; sister-in-law Cyndee Cochrane and her sons Justin and Christopher; brother-in-law Lowell Mengel; brother-in-law Ward Mengel, his wife Christine and son Carl; brother-in-law Russell Mengel, his wife Donna and children Russell, Robert, Kerri, Michelle and Jennifer; nephew Corey Cochrane; and niece Kristie Cochrane Stogner. He also leaves behind lifelong friends and confidantes Jon Sapper and Alan Mahon.

Reflecting on his life, Tim said “I’ve had a good ride. I was born into a loving family, had a wonderful wife and children, great friends, met many interesting people, had an interesting and successful career and been able to travel the world. What more could I ask for?” Indeed, what more?

Dorothy Nicolson passed away peacefully on February 11, 2024.

Born on December 22, 1919, she lived to be 104 years old, spending her lifetime as a resident of Humboldt County. She grew up living in Trinidad, with her parents, Arabella, and Edwin Erickson, her sisters Mary, Bernice and June.

Dorothy married Edward Nicholson, January 1, 1938, and they made Eureka their home for over 60 years. While Ed served his country during the war, Dorothy went to work for Chicago Bridge and Iron. Years later she graduated from business college and worked for the Humboldt County Probation Department for 23 years.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Ed and Arabella Erickson, husband Edward Nicholson, sisters Mary Robertson, Bernice Riley, June Orlandi, and niece Joyce Miranda. She is survived by several nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.

The family wishes to thank the staff and management at McKinleyville Timber Ridge for their kindness and support of Dorothy during her residency. She celebrated her 104th birthday with the residents, staff, friends, and family.

The family would like to thank the entire medical and nursing staff at Mad River Hospital for their compassionate care.

Per her wishes, Paul’s Chapel did not perform a service but took care of the arrangements for her interment. She was laid to rest at Ocean View Cemetery next to her departed husband.

###

The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Dorothy Nicolson’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

Norita Rae Alcorn left this world on February 13, 2024 to be reunited with her husband of 67 years, Virgil Alcorn.

Norita was born in Longview, Washington on June 22, 1940, to Inabelle Buri and Ray Smith. In her early teen years she moved to Santa Cruz for a short period of time before moving to Arcata, starting her freshman year at Arcata High School. That was the same year that she met Virgil. Thereafter they had four children - Vicky, Rhonda, Michael and Tami.

Norita was a family woman who enjoyed camping, family vacations and family reunions. She also enjoyed going out dancing with Virgil and their friends.

The majority of Norita’s career was spent in retail, with the longest standing being the manager at Beno’s in Arcata. After the closure of Beno’s, she went on to work at Britt Credit Service where she ultimately retired from.

Norita is survived by her children Vicky Couch (Tommy), Rhonda Dellabalma, Michael Alcorn (Peggy), Tami Alcorn Gruetzmacher, grandchildren Eldon Cari (Courtney), Randy Cari (Leanna), Melinda Cari, Melissa Styir (Colt), Nicole Uhl (Ian), Christine Peets (Garret), Monica Rose (Andy), Christopher Gruetzmacher, Ryan Gruetzmacher, Terry Gruetzmacher, Christopher Hopkins, Brandalyn Schumacher, Tamerra Schumacher, along with many great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. Norita is also survived by her siblings Linda Johnson, Johnny Buri, Marla Rountree, life-long friend Virginia Dunson, and several nieces and nephews.

Norita is preceded in death by her husband Virgil Alcorn, parents Inabelle Buri and Ray Smith, and sister Bonnie Lytle.

Services will be held on February 22, 2024 at 1 p.m. at Greenwood Cemetery in Arcata.

Pallbearers will be grandsons Christopher Gruetzmacher, Ryan Gruetzmacher, Terry Gruetzmacher, Andy Rose, Ian Uhl, and Garret Peets.

Sharon Elizabeth Fifer was born on October 3, 1940, in San Mateo, to E.W. “Willy” Fifer and Marjorie Mason Fifer and was raised in the Scott Valley area outside Yreka. She passed away in Arcata on February 16, 2024. When Sharon was three years old, she was diagnosed with polio and spent her life working through those challenges. Sharon first married Johnny Moore and had two children, William “Bill” Moore and Tina Moore. She was next married to Ronald Swihart and had son Ron Swihart Jr. and in 1967 she married her husband of 57 years, George “Buzzy” Peterson. Sharon worked at Granada Care Home in the 1980’s and then accepted a position at Glen Paul School in Eureka as a teacher’s aide until her retirement. She always spoke fondly of her time there, the students she had and the friendships she made.

As a child, Sharon lived on the farm and raised many animals, participating in 4-H and FFA. She also enjoyed camping, going on hunts for deer and elk out of state with her parents as a child and young adult. Sharon loved to travel and she and Buzzy would take annual trips to Reno where they became regulars at Fitzgerald’s. Frequently they would hook up the trailer and head for the mountains and enjoy life and the quiet of the Trinity Mountain wilderness or to Brookings for the kite festival. When they purchased land in Trinity Pines, it became a family gathering place and Sharon enjoyed having her family close, swimming, playing, and enjoying food and fun around the campfire. She enjoyed growing and arranging flowers and took on the greenhouse at Glen Paul as a special project, teaching the children how to care for the flowers. She also loved frogs and any garden she had or worked in was always full of ceramic frogs of every size. She was an avid NASCAR fan and going to Las Vegas with Bill and Tina was one of her greatest thrills and until the end, she asked them when they could take her again.

In the past decade, her mobility worsened and Sharon took to riding a motorized scooter around McKinleyville, walking the dogs alongside as they traversed the Hammond Trail. You would always see her with a black Scottish Terrier, her favorite breed. This led to meeting several other people on scooters from her neighborhood (her posse) and they formed a group, going for daily rides to enjoy the outdoors.

Sharon is predeceased by parents Willy and Marge and her brother William (Bill) Willis Fifer as well as her brother-in-law John Coonrod and sister-in-law Joyce Peterson Coonrod in Oregon.

Sharon is survived by her husband Buzzy, her children Bill (Lynn) Moore, Tina (Larry) Wood and Ron (Paula) Swihart, grandchildren Nicole Moore, Kaitlyn Swihart, Alison Wood, Jory Wood, Ethan (Heidi) Swihart and Mason Wood and by great-grandson Cole Taylor, her sister-in-law Bonnie Fifer and her sister-in-law Karen (Al) Clark.

Sharon also leaved behind many friends and coworkers too numerous to name but a few who have become very special to her include Tim, Kammy, Darlene and the Mickey Jones family. She also leaves behind many cousins back in Scott Valley.

A celebration of Sharon’s life is being planned with a private family interment at the Fort Jones cemetery at a later date where she will be laid to rest with her parents and brother in the family plot.