In the video above, produced by Eureka City Schools, please meet Eureka whiz kid Bien Hou, who has parlayed her passion for computer programming, data science and machine learning into big scholarship $$$ from Amazon and Dell.

Congratulations, Bien! I, personally, dislike that she is using npm in the above clip — and on Windows, no less! — but no doubt that is because I am an extremely old man.

Just in time for summer break: The wonderful folks at Backcountry Press have released a new book — Hiking Humboldt Kids — that’ll give you some great options?

Here are authors Jennifer Gonzales and Humboldt hiking legend Rees Hughes to tell us all about their new book, which is in English and Spanish side-by-side. Not only do you get hiking suggestions, you get a ton of kids activities tailored to each specific hike. Good stuff!

Check it out! Video above, rough transcript below.

O’CONNOR:

Well, welcome to another Humboldt Conversation. I’m really thrilled to say we’re here today with Rees Hughes and Jennifer Gonzales, who have just brought out this fantastic new book, Hiking Humboldt Kids. Now, you may have already spotted it on our bookshelves on Humboldt today. We’ve been having it behind me as we’ve been doing the news for the last few weeks. So tell us about this book, Rees, what’s it all about?

HUGHES:

Well, I think it’s a recognition of the importance of getting outdoors and getting families with young children outdoors. Yeah. Both of us have gone through the process of being parents of young kids and what a great opportunity to get out and explore this wonderful place we live in.

O’CONNOR:

Yeah, there’s a lot going on around here and Jennifer, there’s a Spanish version as well I believe.

GONZALES:

The book is fully bilingual. Oh, bilingual. I apologize. There’s English and Spanish side by side.

O’CONNOR:

So what’s the highlights of the book? If people are looking for this for kids, what can they expect to get out and explore?

HUGHES:

There are 25 hikes that we’ve highlighted and in here are not only the hikes with very simple maps and Directions and things that they they might expect to see that we have what we call well There are two things one is either exercises they can do with their kids or what we call Here I’ll give you an example. I don’t know if it’ll show up here, but we have a series of things, like this, we call them scavenger hunts. They’re not really a traditional scavenger hunt. But it’s the notion of things that you might see when you’re out on this walk, so it may be historical it may be an animal or a plant, it may be a bit of information that you might expect to see. What would you add to that?

GONZALES:

And activities to do with young kiddos. Yeah. Drawing, journaling for kiddos that write. Even kids that aren’t writing words can journal with their own drawings. And yeah, just different activities to engage families and get them out there sharing experiences.

O’CONNOR:

Well it’s perfect timing because the nicer weather has finally arrived. Who thought it was ever going to come this year? We finally got it so as to get out there. Now this is actually a partnership though isn’t it with a couple of different organizations? 

HUGHES:

It is — the principal one being First 5 Humboldt. And I think you can talk a little bit more about that. The other part of it is Backcountry Press. And they were a key partner in this as well. You can talk about First Five.

GONZALES:

Yeah, so the project was born in the height of COVID. And First 5 Humboldt was trying to think of ways to get families outdoors and enjoying nature and finding ways to reduce stress from, you know, COVID was hard. It’s been hard. And so yeah, so I reached out to Rees and we started chatting and then we roped in Michael with Backcountry Press and his wife, Alison, and yeah, we worked together for about a year and a half?

HUGHES:

Longer than we ever would have thought. But it’s a complicated project with the intent of being as inclusive as possible. And I think that is a special challenge. And I think that’s also especially important.

O’CONNOR:

Now, it is for children of all ages, isn’t it? But it’s also very much for adults as well, because anybody can follow the trails.

GONZALES:

Absolutely, absolutely. We did design it specifically thinking of folks with kiddos, you know, five and under. That’s our, that’s our…

HUGHES:

Target group.

GONZALES:

Target group. That’s our target, with First  Five Humboldt.

HUGHES:

I have to say that I’ve had some older friends who’ve said, you know, this actually is about my length of hike. Perfect for me. So I think … and obviously it’s complex. We didn’t try to talk down to the reader. So in that respect, I think it’s really intended to be for the parents. And they will then be guides for their kids. 

O’CONNOR:

And future generations, their grandkids. And we are checking in now.

HUGHES:

Grandkids, right, or themselves.

O’CONNOR:

It’s a lovely book, it’s available now, tell us how much it is.

HUGHES:

You know what? $24.95. $24.95. And in part the reason I had to look because not only is it for sale but through your program…

GONZALES:

Yeah, First 5 Humboldt has purchased copies to distribute free for Humboldt County families with children ages 5 years and under. For the entire month of June, myself and my colleagues at First 5 Humboldt will be traveling around the county through playgroups and library branches to distribute them free for families to get them outdoors.

O’CONNOR:

Fantastic. Well, it’s a lovely book. I’m really glad I had the chance to meet you both today. Thank you. It’s been a real pleasure, Rees. Thank you, Jennifer. Thank you. Thank you for joining us for a Handbook Conversation and join us for another one very soon.

There are lots of thorny legal problems with filing kidnapping charges against a rival governor, but the most important one is simple: Proving that the chief executive of the other state is, in fact, responsible for luring migrants onto a plane under false pretenses.

But Gov. Gavin Newsom, on Twitter, is threatening to do just that after two recent flights delivered 36 people to Sacramento. The first flight arrived Saturday and a second arrived on Monday morning.

Though neither flight originated in Florida, California’s governor put the blame squarely on the Sunshine State, as he did last year when planeloads of migrants were flown into Sacramento and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

“You small, pathetic man,” Newsom tweeted at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday morning. “This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard. Kidnapping charges?”

.@RonDeSantis you small, pathetic man.

This isn’t Martha’s Vineyard.

Kidnapping charges?

Read the following. https://t.co/kvuxe8Fb6F pic.twitter.com/KyE1lJiIYo

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 5, 2023

Newsom then linked to the California criminal code statute on kidnapping, specifically the section on bringing someone into the state against their will.

Newsom also made noise last year when requesting the federal government investigate the previous flights, but so far, the U.S. Department of Justice has not made public any such investigation.

Immigrant advocates said on Monday that the human consequences of federal inaction last year are arriving tired and hungry in Sacramento this week.

“I think it was a mistake to dismiss these flights as a stunt in September,” said immigration and border consultant Chris Rickerd. “It was a mistake not to stop the escalation then.”

The Sacramento Executive Airport on June 5, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

A spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta told The Associated Press that the migrants were transported through a program run by Florida’s Division of Emergency Management and carried out by the same contractor paid by the state of Florida to fly migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in September.

“While we continue to collect evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting,” Bonta said in a statement.

Brian Hofer, an attorney and executive director of the Oakland-based nonprofit Secure Justice, which advocates against what the organization deems to be state and corporate overreach, said the legal ground is “messy” for determining charges, much less where to file them.

“You took people from one state, on flights which are funded by another state, dropped them off in a third state, and you’re going to say they were coerced or taken under threat of force?” Hofer said. “What court do you bring that in?

“It’s just a mess. The legal ground is certainly messy.”

Mark Meuser, a San Francisco-based constitutional and election law attorney, disputed Newsom’s legal reasoning in a tweet on Monday.

“Can you please cite one Florida law that prohibits the transportation of individuals who are in this country illegally to a sanctuary state?” wrote Meuser, a Republican who ran against U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla in last November’s election.

Gavin Newsom called for Justice Department investigation

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the flights “dangerous and unacceptable” on Monday, but the Biden administration’s response to previous migrant flights has been, at the very least, out of public view.

Newsom in September asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether the flights could be considered kidnapping under state laws. If they could, he wrote, then the U.S. Justice Department should get involved because they could be considered violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

In September, Rachael Rollins, former U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, pledged to “look long and hard” at potential charges. But Rollins has since resigned, and it’s unclear where that investigation led. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts did not return calls from CalMatters on Monday.

DeSantis’s office also didn’t return calls and emails from CalMatters. Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature has set aside $12 million for the migrant flights.

The Catholic Diocese of Sacramento on June 5, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Bonta, as California’s attorney general, also didn’t file state charges related to those September flights, and it’s unclear what would be different this time. Neither Newsom nor Bonta responded to requests for comment from CalMatters.

It’s one thing to know the planes came from Florida and another to connect those flights directly to DeSantis. But at least one investigation into that connection is continuing, as the sheriff in Bexar County, Texas, has turned over the results of a criminal investigation into DeSantis for his alleged role in transporting 49 migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last year.

The Texas Tribune reports that the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office recently filed several counts of unlawful restraint, both misdemeanors and felonies as a result of the investigation, but didn’t name individual suspects. The investigation has been turned over to the Bexar County District Attorney.

Sacramento surprised by migrant flights

California was caught unaware by the latest arrivals, who were diverted to a small airport in the city and met by local outreach groups and law enforcement.

Sacramento County spokesperson Kim Nava said the migrants left from Texas and changed planes in tiny Deming, N.M., before arriving in California.

“The county did not know the flight was coming in,” she said. “We don’t have communication (with the state of Texas) at this time.”

Sacramento County Communication and Media Director Kim Nava addresses the media during a press conference at the Sacramento Executive Airport on June 5, 2023. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the migrants were being used as “political pawns.” He said he’s focused on “making sure the people who landed here are cared for, and that’s our job.”

Steinberg, a Democrat who is considering a run for attorney general, said he supported a review of whether criminal charges should be filed.

“I mean, I think we ought to, you know, await the result of an investigation, but certainly, an investigation into potential criminal culpability is warranted,” he said.

Each of the migrants carried a clear plastic bag, inside of which were papers directing them to immigration courts, some as far away as Chicago, according to an advocacy group that has been supporting them. Landing in California could make it more difficult for those individuals to reach their court appearances.

“So they’re not even trying to get them closer to families or closer to their court,” said Lydia Guzman, national immigration chair for The League of United Latin American Citizens. “This is all politics.”

Guzman said the organization also demanded action from the federal government in September.

“We inquired with the (U.S.) Department of Justice, we wanted them to look at who was behind all of this,” Guzman said. “We never heard back from DOJ on this issue.”

###

This story was written by Nigel Duara, Anabel Sosa and Jeanna Kuang. CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Jon Albert Mitts Jr. was born May 11, 1936 to John and Florence Mitts in Eureka. He passed away peacefully with family at his side May 30, 2023.

Jon graduated from Eureka High School in 1956 and went on to graduate from Humboldt State College in 1958 with a degree in teaching. He then began his 35-year career as an educator. He first began teaching at Jacobs Junior High, then on to Zane Junior High teaching math and history before completing his career as vice principal. After retiring from Zane Junior High he enjoyed substituting as principal at Winship Junior High and Lincoln Elementary when needed. He was incredibly passionate about education and devoted his life to it. Many of his former students would continue to stay in touch with him and take him to lunch to catch up whenever they came to town.

Jon enjoyed staying active in his membership with the CRTA and spending summers and weekends at his summer home in Bridgeville with family and friends.

Jon is preceded in death by his father, John Mitts Sr.; his mother, Florence Mitts; his sister, Joyce Gross; and his cousin and dear friend Don Johnson.

He is survived by his nieces, Teri Gross, Brenda Olson, Melanie Noe and husband Larry; his great-nephews Danny Olson, Steven Gross and wife Jessica; his great-great-nephew and -niece Thacher and Addison Gross.

His family wishes to thank the kind and loving care from the staff at Redwood Memorial Hospital. A very special thank you to Jon’s cousin Linda Hooper for her unwavering support and care to not only Jon but his family as well, we are forever grateful as was Jon.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church on H Street in Eureka on June 7 at 10 a.m.

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Patricia Fay Goff (Pipgrass)
October 13, 1947 - May 9, 2023

Patricia was born in Laona, Wisconsin to Earl and Elsie Pipgrass on October 13, 1947. She passed away on May 9, 2023 at the age of 75 in Redding. She was preceded in death by sisters, Colleen Grunder of Port Byron, New York and Beverly Howen of Laughlin, Nevada, and her brother, Darrell Pipgrass of Glasgow, Kentucky.

When Pat was in 6th grade she came to Briceland to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Beverly and Bud Howen. She attended South Fork High School, where she met her future husband Kenneth Melvin Goff of Whitethorn. They dated all four years of her high school and were married June 26, 1965. They made their home in Whitethorn. Their daughter Tammy Fay was born May 12, 1966, followed by daughter Traci Lynn, June 5, 1968. Their son Scott Melvin was born April 8, 1970.

Pat was happy being a homemaker and stay at home mother to their three children. She enjoyed gardening and took pride in her beautiful yard with all kinds of flowers and plants. Kenny and his brother, Larry Goff, started a business together, K&L logging. Pat and her sister-in-law, Deanna Goff, did the bookkeeping for the business. For many years Pat and Deanna traveled together to and from the various work locations that K&L Logging took them to, oftentimes several hours from home.

Pat was a member of the Whitethorn Grange and attended church in Whitethorn. She also helped out at the local polling station in Whitethorn on election days. When her children started school she was often room mother, helping with class parties and field trips. Pat and Kenny enjoyed camping with their children, spending time at Shelter Cove - occasionally fishing, and having picnics on the beach. Pat loved to travel and took many trips with friends to various locations. She loved Hawaii and Mexico and also taking cruises. She had a group of close friends from high school that took trips with her. She was very good at planning and arranging fun excursions with her girlfriends. When her daughters were grown and able to travel with her, she enjoyed arranging mother-daughter trips too. She and Kenny loved being outdoors taking motorcycle rides on their Harley and enjoying many family houseboat trips on both Lake Trinity and Shasta.

From 1978 to 1979 Kenny and Pat built their dream home on the Mattole River in Whitethorn. She took an active role in designing and completing their beautiful cedar home. She developed a magnificent yard with many varieties of roses and other beautiful flowers, plants, and trees. Pat did a lot of canning including pears from their orchard and other fruits like peaches, etc. She was quite the cook when she wanted to be. Kenny always loved whatever she prepared.

In 2008 Pat and Kenny decided to move to Redding to be closer to medical care and more convenient shopping locations. They built another beautiful home together and once again established an exquisite yard with gorgeous plants, trees and lawn.

As time went on, her health issues took a toll on her. She had several spinal fusions but was always a trooper. She was stoic about her conditions and rarely complained.

Pat will always be remembered for her beautiful smile, laugh and how upbeat she remained, even when life got more difficult. She and Kenny had a wonderful relationship and always helped each other through the hard times. Pat and Kenny were regular church-goers, and her love of God and family were central to her being.

Pat is survived by her three children: Tammy Clary (Jimmy), Traci Carlson (Doug), Scott Goff (Laura), grandchildren: Kasandra Clark (Gary), Austin Clary (Kristen), Kaylee Ledesma (Edgar), Kelton Carlson (Sarah) & Kaya Goff, also exchange student granddaughter Bruna Cury-Borim (Artur), and great-grandchildren: Blaire Lynn Clark, Meadow Rose Clary, Elena Raine Ledesma, River Jaxon Clary, and Brooke Michael Clark. Pat is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

Pat’s ashes will be spread in Ettersburg. There will be a celebration of life Saturday, July 15, 2023 at 1 p.m. at the Mateel Community Center in Redway, 59 Rusk Lane. Food will be provided, but if you wish, you may bring a dessert.

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News! Humboldt County government looking at a billboard moratorium and a scary budget. Setbacks to the renovation of Da’ Yas (formerly 20/30) Park. Teacher of the year! Giant octopus! A look back at the Forest Moon Festival. Plus weather and poll results. 

Press play above and make your selection below.

Press release from Eureka City Schools:

Eureka City Schools (ECS) is pleased to announce our Summer Community Meals program will continue in 2023.

Starting June 26, 2023 and spanning through August 11, 2023, children 18 years of age and younger can access free nutritious meals from four designated school sites, Monday through Friday. School sites participating in the Community Meals Program are Alice Birney Elementary - the ECS Primary Community Meals site, Washington Elementary, Zane Middle School, and Eureka High School.

Eureka City Schools encourages families and approved programs to access meals at the Primary Community Meals site - Alice Birney. As part of a new California Pilot program, meals are not required to be consumed on-site, if accessed from the Primary Community Meals site. Meals are available at Alice Birney from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM.

Washington, Zane and Eureka High will also have access from 6/26/23 to 8/11/23. At these locations meals must be consumed on-site. Meals will be available from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM at Zane and EHS, and 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM at Washington. These sites have a short time window because they are either directly before or after the site’s designated Summer School lunch period.

The ECS Summer Community Meals Program provides an opportunity to continue a child’s physical and social development while providing nutritious meals during vacation periods from school. Eureka City Schools takes food insecurity very seriously and understands how much good nutrition is essential for not only learning in school but for a child’s overall growth and development. Having consistent access to healthy food can stabilize energy, promote strong bones and teeth, improve mental health, help to maintain a healthy weight, prevent chronic diseases, and even reduce anxiety and give a child confidence.Our participation in this federally-funded program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture helps children stay connected to their community and return to school ready to learn.

Eureka City Schools is an equal opportunity provider. If you have any questions, please contact Food Services Director Kevin Ralston at (707) 441-2501. The Community Meals Menu (when it becomes available) and other Food Services information is posted at www.ecsnutritionservices.com.