Steven Scott Biggerstaff was born September 29, 1951 in Fresno to Warren and Evelyn Biggerstaff. He passed away peacefully at home in Eureka on September 24, 2024.

Steve grew up in Fresno, with stints in New York and Sweden. He graduated from Bullard High School, then attended both UCLA and Fresno State, receiving a bachelor’s degree in English. He worked for many years in the printing industry, first in Minneapolis and then in Ventura.

Steve was a creative writer, an avid reader, and always learning. He loved music, reading, woodworking, electronics, creating and building.

Steve is survived by Mary, his wife of 40 years, his daughter Annie and his son Connor, as well as his son-in-law law Kevin, granddaughter Nova, sister Jennie, brother-in-law Doug, niece Monique and numerous extended family. He will be missed. Breathe easy now, Steve.

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The latest batch of campaign finance disclosure forms were due to the City of Eureka this past Thursday, and we’ve got a roundup of all the campaign and candidate fundraising in the City of Eureka for this election season, including an eye-popping sum from one company in particular.

Here’s the rundown:

Yes on F, A Committee in Support of the Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative, Sponsored by Security National Properties Holding Company, LLC:

On Saturday, Security National dumped another $94,333 into the Measure F campaign, which was already the most expensive ballot initiative in Eureka history. This latest donation brings the total raised for the so-called “Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative” to $1,224,037. All but $600 of that sum has come directly from Security National. (Eureka accountant John B. Fullerton, who is working on the campaign, chipped in $100 last month and former Renner Petroleum owner Michael Lawrence Renner, who now lives in Las Vegas, donated $500 last year.)

Security National, of course, is the real estate loan servicing firm founded by semi-local tycoon Rob Arkley, whose fury over the city’s downtown development plans was expressed via shouted expletives, insulted-filled emails and threats of political and legal action.

Arkley also vowed to move his business headquarters out of city limits, and while he has yet to follow through on that particular threat, his company did provide startup funding for the group called Citizens for a Better Eureka, which filed four environmental lawsuits against the city. And last November, Security National paid $650,000 to buy the parking lot in front of City Hall and promptly put up barricades that prevent anyone from parking there. (That expense is not an official part of the campaign spending.)

As you’ve no doubt noticed by now, Security National has flooded the zone with advertising — including TV, radio, print, online and billboards — while spending hundreds of thousands on outside consultants.

No on Measure F: A Committee to Defend Eureka’s Housing 

Through Sept. 21, the opponents of Measure F had raised a comparatively modest sum of $19,537, which represents less than 1.6 percent of the amount spent by Security National. The largest “No on F” campaign contributions came from the Central Labor Council of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties AFL-CIO C.O.P.E. ($2,500); AFSCME Local #1684 ($2,500); retired doctor Wendy Ring ($2,000); former Eureka Mayor Susan Seaman ($550); and Eureka scientist Dr. Dale Preston ($500).

Campaign treasurer James Kloor, who works as the director of finance at the Humboldt Area Foundation, loaned the campaign $1,950 through Sept. 21, and has already been reimbursed with campaign funds.

The “No on F” effort has spent $14,703 thus far, primarily on campaign literature and paraphernalia, including yard signs.

Lucky for Ward 4:

Thavisak “Lucky” Syphanthong, who’s running against incumbent Scott Bauer for Eureka’s Fourth Ward seat on the city council, raised $1,772.68 this reporting period, of which $1,672.68 (94 percent) was a loan to himself. (The other $100 was a donation from Eureka retiree Chuck Elsworth. 

Syphanthong spent $391 on his campaign statement, $442.85 on a campaign kickoff event and $127.24 on meetings and events.

Scott Bauer For Fourth Ward Of Eureka City Council 2024:

In Bauer’s first campaign disclosure statement of this cycle he reported raising $1,363 through Sept. 21, and he’d spent just $127 of that amount. His largest donors include Eureka retiree Barry Douglas ($300), Eureka general contractor Jake Larson ($250) and three donors at $100 apiece, including Fourth District Humboldt County Supervisor Natalie Arroyo.

Kenny Carswell for Eureka City Council Ward 2 2024:

Carswell, who’s employed as a project manager for Security National, reported raising $6,465 through Sept. 21, including a loan to his own campaign in the amount of $1,253. His top donors include $500 contributions from Eureka accountant William McAuley, Eureka real estate appraiser Cynthia Olsen and Fortuna residents Steve and Heather Bryan, who own the 707 Bar on First Street. He had a number of other donations of between $100 and $300. 

Carswell’s campaign reported spending $5,192, with expenditures for fundraising events, campaign paraphernalia, advertising and filing fees.

Kati Moulton for Eureka City Council, 2024:

Moulton, the incumbent councilmember is Eureka’s Second Ward, raised just $774 through Sept. 21 and spent $663 of that. The four donors who contributed at least $100 to her campaign include Dr. Preston and Catherine Sennott ($300); Eureka retiree Deborah Dukes ($100); former Humboldt County Supervisor Mark Lovelace ($100) and current Supervisor Arroyo ($100).

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Mark it on your calendars: Election Day is Nov. 5 — just over five weeks off! If you’re not registered to vote, it’s not too late. Click this link to register online before October 21, or you can “conditionally” register and vote at your county elections office after the 15-day voter registration deadline.

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ELSEWHERE: 

• Prop. 36 in the CalMatters voter guide.

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Today at noon at the Eureka Gazebo, Sheriff William Honsal and District Attorney Stacey Eads led a rally in support of Proposition 36, a measure on the Nov. 5 ballot that would enact stiffer penalties for some crimes.

In particular, it would partially repeal Proposition 47, a criminal justice reform initiative passed by the voters in 2014, by mandating that several misdemeanors related to drugs and theft be reclassified as felonies. It would also allow certain of those felonies to be addressed through treatment, rather than imprisonment.

Honsal, who opened the event, said that Proposition 36 would give law enforcement much-needed tools to turn people with addiction problems toward rehabilitation, while at the same time allowing officers to crack down harder on thievery — one of the ways addicts find money to pay for drugs.

“There really is no current incentive for individuals who are arrested for minor drug offenses to receive mandatory drug treatment,” Honsal said. “Individuals opt out of seeking treatment because there’s no accountability, and there’s no consequences. This must change, and with the passage of Prop. 36 this will change.”

Honsal and Eads were joined by Supervisors Rex Bohn, Michelle Bushnell and Steve Madrone. Several local police chiefs were in attendance. Kevin Jenkins, owner of McKinleyville Ace Hardware store, spoke about how brazen shoplifting is affecting his business, his employees and his customers. And Frank Falcone of Redwood Teen Challenge talked about how he escaped addiction with the help of the law.

District Attorney Eads gave the crowd a thorough overview of what laws Proposition 36 would overhaul, and told stories of cases here in Humboldt County where it would have been useful. She spoke of a major fentanyl dealer — a repeat offender — who could only be sentenced to a small amount of time in the local jail, along with a period of house arrest. She talked about a particular retail theft suspect who was arrested three days in a row on the same charge.

Prop. 36 would give her the tools to give those people serious time, she said.

“If you decide to vote no on Prop. 36, then you’re deciding that you’re okay with the status quo,” she said. “So, you’re okay with this individual repeatedly stealing from our businesses. You’re okay with hardened drug dealers coming to Humboldt County with large quantities of drugs to put out on our streets. You’re okay with a fentanyl dealer walking around with a loaded firearm. That’s what’s a no vote on Prop. 36 means.”

Jenkins talked about the the rising incidence of theft he’s seen at his hardware store, telling about two particular cases he said occurred just within the last week. In one case, he said, a woman carefully stole just under $950 in new tools — the limit between a misdemeanor and a felony — and in another, a man stole a whole rack of pants. Because of the way the law is written write now, neither the police or prosecutors can do much to slow down such crimes, he said.

“That stuff will show up on Facebook Marketplace within a few days,” Jenkins said. “There’s a system, there’s an under-economy … So we’re all paying for it. We’re paying for it as a person that’s never touched drugs in their life. And I’ve come to the realization, the painful realization that the people that are doing the stealing, they’re not stealing because they enjoy it. They’re not stealing because they’re trying to provide a higher quality lifestyle for their family. They’re feeding their addiction.”

Falcone, who described himself as a 20-year meth addict, talked about his path to recovery, which started with an overdue visit to a probation officer. That initial step, he said, put him on a path to treatment.

“I started taking responsibility and saying, hey, those are the choices that I made,” Falcone said.  “And I think this Proposition 36 is really going to help to get the people help that they need. They need a program for a while, not just a 30 days or 60 days where they could just leave and get a free meal, but the right tools that they need to be successful in life.”

Like Jenkins, Supervisor Michelle Bushnell — owner of the Boot Leg in downtown Garberville — had stories to tell about retail theft, but she spent more of time talking about how addiction had touched her own family. Though he has several years clean, a close family member suffered from alcoholism, racking up five DUIs and nearly killing himself in a car crash before finally getting sober. All the time, she said, she begged law enforcement to take him in, so that he might have a chance to write a different future for himself.

“I beg people to please vote yes on Prop. 36,” she said. “Think about your future generations and the people that need help. Sometimes they’re not capable to ask for it.”

“This revolving door issue, the way that works … we’ve got to put an end to that,” said Supervisor Steve Madrone, referring both to thieves of the type that Jenkins referred to and people with serious drug rap sheets. “It’s just crazy to have people in and out, in and out. And there’s no repercussions that seem to actually change that behavior.”

Madrone brought the pep to the rally. 

“What are we votin’ on?” he asked. “Yes on what?”

“36!”

“36! That’s right! It’s gonna help us.”

“I appreciate the sheriff, our district attorney and especially the chiefs that could be here today that are supporting [Prop. 36], because I’ll tell you what … if they say we need it, that’s who we call … to be safe,” said Supervisor Rex Bohn, chair of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. “So let’s give them the tools to do it.”

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UPDATE, 11:58 a.m.:

Shortly after this post was published, Bonta’s office issued the following press release, which includes links to the complaint and preliminary injunction:

SACRAMENTO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced a lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Hospital (Providence) in Eureka, California. In the lawsuit, filed in Humboldt County Superior Court, the Attorney General alleges Providence violated multiple California laws due to its refusal to provide emergency abortion care to people experiencing obstetric emergencies.

One particular patient, Anna Nusslock, had her water break when she was 15 weeks pregnant with twins on February 23, 2024. Despite the immediate threat to her life and health, and despite the fact her pregnancy was no longer viable, Providence refused to treat her. She had to travel to a small critical access hospital called Mad River, 12 miles away, where she was actively hemorrhaging by the time she was on the operating table. In addition to filing the complaint, the Attorney General is moving immediately for a preliminary injunction to ensure that patients like Anna will receive timely emergency healthcare services at Providence, including abortion care.  

“California is the beacon of hope for so many Americans across this country trying to access abortion services since the Dobbs decision. It is damning that here in California, where abortion care is a constitutional right, we have a hospital implementing a policy that’s reminiscent of heartbeat laws in extremist red states,” said Attorney General Bonta.

“With today’s lawsuit, I want to make this clear for all Californians: abortion care is healthcare. You have the right to access timely and safe abortion services. At the California Department of Justice, we will use the full force of this office to hold accountable those who, like Providence, are breaking the law.” 

In February 2024, Anna Nusslock was fifteen weeks pregnant with twins when she visited Providence in pain and severely bleeding after her water prematurely broke. At Providence, the doctor diagnosed Nusslock with Previable Premature Pre-labor Rupture of Membranes (Previable PPROM) and confirmed her twins would not survive. Her diagnosis also meant that without abortion care, she was at increased risk of permanent harm or death from infection and hemorrhage.

Nevertheless, Providence informed her that hospital policy prohibited them from providing this emergency care as long as one of her twins had a “detectable heartbeat.” Only once there was an immediate risk to Nusslock’s life—which is to say, a more immediate risk than she already faced—would the hospital give her the treatment she needed. 
Instead of providing Nusslock emergency medical abortion care required by state law, Providence discharged her with instructions to drive to a small community hospital nearly 12 miles away. On the way out the door, Providence handed Nusslock a bucket and towels “in case something happens in the car.”  

Providence’s policy bars doctors from providing life-saving or stabilizing emergency treatment when doing so would terminate a pregnancy, even when the pregnancy is not viable. Not only does this violate California law, this policy discriminates against pregnant patients as the hospital chooses the decision for them. 

Today’s complaint alleges Providence violated California’s Emergency Services Law (the state level analogue to the federal EMTALA statute), the Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the Unfair Competition Law.

Additionally, the Attorney General moved for a preliminary injunction, seeking a court order to guarantee that patients receive prompt emergency medical care including abortion care. This is especially critical because the hospital—Mad River Community Hospital—where Anna eventually received her abortion will be closing its labor and delivery (L&D) unit this October. In a month, Providence will be left as the only hospital with an L&D unit in all of Humboldt County. The next person in Anna’s situation will face an agonizing choice of risking a multi-hour drive to another hospital or waiting until they are close enough to death for Providence to intervene.   

This lawsuit enforces the crucial right to emergency abortion care under California state law, while the scope of federal protections for such care under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) remain uncertain. 

Under EMTALA, every hospital in the United States that operates an emergency department and participates in Medicare is required to provide stabilizing treatment to all patients with an emergency medical condition.  When the U.S. Supreme Court upended decades of legal precedent establishing a constitutional right to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, EMTALA should have provided a critical backstop, guaranteeing that no matter what state a pregnant patient was in, they would receive the emergency care, including abortion care, they needed. But this past summer in Idaho v. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court declined to confirm that EMTALA requires hospitals to provide necessary abortion care to pregnant patients experiencing access medical emergencies irrespective of any conflicting state law.  With EMTALA in limbo, states like California have to rely on their own state laws to protect pregnant patients.   ​ 

California Attorney General Bonta remains committed to ensuring that California continues to be a safe haven for those seeking essential reproductive healthcare including abortion care. For more on his actions, and for key resources to assist you in obtaining reproductive healthcare, visit https://oag.ca.gov/reprorights.

If you are looking for information specific to abortions, the California Abortion Access website provides a safe space to find resources and guidance. The privacy of those who visit this website is protected, and their information is not saved or tracked.

California law requires hospitals to provide emergency abortion care. Click here to learn more.  

If you were denied an abortion you needed in a medical emergency, or if you were denied any other emergency medical care, you can contact abortion.access@doj.ca.gov. 

A copy of today’s filed complaint and preliminary injunction can be found here and here. 

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Original post:

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a lawsuit against Providence-St. Joseph Health Northern California, alleging that Eureka’s St. Joseph Hospital denied emergency abortion care to a woman who arrived in pain and severely bleeding after her water broke just 15 weeks into pregnancy.

Eureka chiropractor Anna Nusslock was pregnant with twins when she arrived at the hospital this past February. 

From the New York Times:

Doctors said one of the twins she was carrying would not survive and the other had almost no chance, according to medical records. They said that if the pregnancy was not terminated, she could face infection, hemorrhaging and threats to her future fertility.

But Providence, a not-for-profit Catholic health care system, has a policy that “bars doctors from providing life-saving or stabilizing emergency treatment when doing so would terminate a pregnancy, even when the pregnancy is not viable,” Bonta’s office told the San Francisco Chronicle in a statement. “Not only does this violate California law, this policy discriminates against pregnant patients as the hospital chooses the decision for them.” 

Nusslock was discharged and eventually received an abortion at Mad River Community Hospital. When St. Joseph sent her away she was provided with “a bucket and towels ‘in case something happens in the car,’”  Bonta’s office said.

Mad River Community Hospital’s birthing center is scheduled to close at the end of this week, leaving St. Joseph Hospital as the only childbirth center in Humboldt County.

The state’s suit against Providence alleges that St. Joseph violated California’s Emergency Services Law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Unfair Competition Law.

Bonta announced the lawsuit in a press conference this morning.

NOW: CA Attorney General @AGRobBonta @RobBonta announces a lawsuit against Providence St. Joseph Hospital (Providence) in Eureka. In the lawsuit, Bonta alleges the hospital violated multiple California laws due to its refusal to provide abortion care to people experiencing… pic.twitter.com/dnGEBqpJ3u

— Eytan Wallace (@EytanWallace) September 30, 2024

This story is breaking. We will update when we have more information.

Many Humboldt Verizon users are experiencing connection issues this morning due to a large outage that seems to be impacting vast swaths of the country. Fear not. Verizon sees you, boo.

“We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers,” Verizon announced through its social media channels about an hour ago. “Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue.”

For whatever reason, it seems like not all Verizon users are affected by the service disruption. If you’d like to compare notes, plenty of folks are currently commiserating on the LoCO Facebook page. Hang tight, crew.

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From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in a missing persons case from 1991.

On July 31, 1991, Andrea Jerri White (also known as “Chic”) traveled from the Hoopa area to Eureka to complete errands. When she did not return home that day, her family reported her missing to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office.  

Early in the investigation, detectives were able to locate a witness who gave White a ride from Guintoli Ln., Arcata, to the Blue Lake exit on Highway 299, from which point she had reportedly planned to hitch hike the rest of the way home. This witness was the last known person to have seen White, and there have been no other leads located to indicate her method of travel from Eureka to Arcata. White was never seen again and has made no contact with family.

White was 22 years old at the time of her disappearance. She is a Native American female, 5 feet tall, weighs about 110-115 pounds with brown shoulder-length hair and brown eyes. She was possibly wearing Levis pants, a sleeveless white shirt and a black leather jacket, and carrying a black duffel bag with white trim.  

The Sheriff’s Office conducted several searches along Highway 299 from Blue Lake to Willow Creek.  ATVs, ground searchers and a helicopter were utilized. White left behind several small children at the time of her disappearance.

The Sheriff’s Office believes White’s disappearance is a homicide and asks anyone with information to contact Investigator Mike Fridley at 707-441-3024. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom has until midnight tonight to act on the fewer than 40 bills remaining on his desk. As of Sunday, the proportion of bills that Newsom has vetoed since the Legislature adjourned Aug. 31 is about 19% (or 181 of nearly 960 measures). 

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