The following is a press release from Arcata City Councilmember Alex Stillman’s campaign. It is the third such announcement to come out in the past week following releases from Stillman’s fellow councilmembers Stacy Atkins-Salazar and Sarah Schaefer, who are also running for re-election in November.

A fourth candidate, newcomer Genevieve Serna, has also announced her intent to vie for one of the three seats up this cycle. The Outpost has an interview with her scheduled next week:

Press release from Alex Stillman:

Arcata City Councilwoman Alex Stillman recently announced that she is running for re-election to the Arcata City Council in the election to be held November 5, 2024.

In 1972, Alex Stillman was the first woman elected to the Arcata City Council. As a member of that council for eight years, and mayor for four, she helped create the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, the county’s first bus system and the Arcata Community Forest. They passed a General Plan that protected Arcata’s open space and agricultural lands, and established the Aldergrove Industrial Park to incubate small businesses. These projects have helped define and serve Arcata is to this day. 

“I love Arcata! I have since I moved here in 1970 to attend college as an older student, and then raised my children here. I just fell in love with Arcata’s small-town atmosphere and how people were willing to jump in to work on projects to improve things. It is a wonderful quality that makes Arcata a great place to live,” said Stillman. “I also adore all the beautiful historic buildings and have worked hard to protect and save them.”
 
Stillman was re-elected to the city council in 2006 and 2010, and served for eight years. Those councils accomplished several large projects which made the Arcata Marsh, agricultural lands and wetlands more resilient relative to sea level rise, built a public restroom near the Plaza, and established Carlson Park to provide new housing and recreation opportunities for the Valley West area of Arcata. During that time, Alex represented Arcata on the Humboldt Transit Authority and championed increasing public transit routes and bike lanes, and served on the Redwood Region Economic Development Commission and  the Headwaters Fund Board to further economic development.
Stillman was re-elected to the city council for a two-year term in 2022, and serves as Vice-Mayor. 

“I am running for re-election because I want to continue working to create more housing, especially affordable housing. I want to continue the work we are doing to make Arcata more pedestrian and bike friendly, with more trails and increased public safety. With a new city manager coming, a General Plan update in the final stages and a tight state budget cycle, I can help provide continuity and smooth transitions,” said Stillman. 

Stillman currently represents Arcata on the Humboldt Transit Authority and advocates passionately for expanding public transit and increasing ridership. She participates in the Countywide Housing Consortium and works closely with the Arcata House Partnership which serves the houseless community. Alex serves as the sole municipal representative on the Governing Board of the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District, and she is Chair of the Humboldt County Aviation Committee which works to attract new airlines to Humboldt County. 

“Dating back to when we served together on the city council and created the Arcata Marsh Project, the Sustainable Community Forest, and the Arcata & Mad River Transit, I have always admired Alex‘s deep engagement in our community. Her willingness to run for another city council term offers us her ability to be a bridge between our rich history, and the challenges Arcata faces today and in the future. Arcata is in good hands with Alex on the city council,” said Wesley Chesbro, former Arcata City Councilmember and State Senator. 

Local architect Joyce Plath says, “Alex contributes wisdom, integrity and the energy to get things done. I wholeheartedly support her re-election to the Arcata City Council.”

“The Arcata we enjoy today — our marsh, community redwood park, trails, preserved agricultural lands and an appropriately accessible and scaled freeway — is a result of courageous and visionary planning implemented decades ago. Alex was a key architect in those initiatives, the very things we cherish today. I can’t think of a better person to help Arcata craft the next chapter in our towns’ growth. Alex will ensure we keep a firm and informed hand on our past as we develop our next courageous visions for Arcata,” said Arcata resident Laura Middlemiss.

Sunny Brae resident Robin Hashem says, “Alex Stillman has the most energy, focus and desire to help people of anyone I’ve known. I believe her to have a sincere interest in the future of Arcata as a place for action-oriented forward thinkers that appreciate what our North Coast has to offer everyone, as well as a good place for our families to grow. She will always challenge people to examine the issues at hand with a clear eye and will provide a much needed balanced perspective on Arcata’s past and the future to come, a perspective hard won with her many years of service to Arcata.”

Along with her city council duties, Alex plays an active role in many other areas of our community, including serving as president of the Historic Sites Society of Arcata, chair of Godwit Days Migratory Bird Festival, chair of the Fire Arts Center and a volunteer at the Arcata Marsh.

“When I served on the council in the 1970’s, I would often think about my children and future grandchildren when I made decisions. Now, those grandchildren are grown, and some things, especially our hurting climate, are urgent,” said Stillman. “I want to continue to do all I can to help our community grow in a way that provides housing for all income levels, preserves our open space and agricultural lands, has lots of opportunities for active recreation, and maintains our unique and wonderful character.”

UPDATE, 11:51 a.m.: HCSO has now identified the man arrested for homicide near Bridgeville as Melvin Portillo, 20 years old, from Sacramento.

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Original Post: [Ed. Note: The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office issued a release late Monday morning saying it had arrested someone for homicide near Bridgeville the previous day. Unlike with most releases of this nature, HCSO opted not to identify who they’ve taken into custody. The booking logs make no mention of a homicide arrest on Sunday, nor do the calls for service. 

When the Outpost reached out to HCSO for more details, Lt. Mike Fridley responded: “We are not releasing the suspects name right now. That info will be released in the upcoming days.”]

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On 7/14/2024 in the late evening, Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 27000 block of Highway 36 near Bridgeville to investigate the report of a possible shooting. Deputies responded and located one deceased male. One male was subsequently arrested for homicide. There are no outstanding suspects or parties, and there is no danger or threat to the public.

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.

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(Additional Note: LoCO has updated the headline of this post subsequent to the release of more information from the sheriff’s office.)

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Press release from the Ferndale Police Department:

On July 13, 2024, at approximately 9:45 p.m., Ferndale Police Officers were dispatched to Belotti Hall inside the Humboldt County Fairgrounds where a private security company had reported they had a subject in custody who was believed to be armed.

Upon their arrival, Ferndale Officers contacted Lopez Valverde, Mauro Jose, 26, of Ferndale, Ca.

During the contact, Ferndale Officers located a loaded .45 caliber handgun tucked inside the front waistband of Lopez Valverde. Ferndale officers were then informed Lopez Valverde had brandished the handgun toward another individual while threatening them.

Lopez Valverde was taken into custody by Ferndale Police without incident, and transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where he was booked on the following charges:

• PC 417(A)(2)(A) – Exhibit a concealed firearm in public,
• PC 25400(A)(2) – Carry concealed weapon on person, PC 25800(A) – Carry loaded firearm with intent to commit felony,
• PC 25850(A) – Carry loaded forearm on person in a public place.

“Conflating anti-Semitism with criticism of a modern apartheid state is dangerous historical revisionism.”

— Lela Tolajian, student and human rights activist

When I told my Jewish neighbor that I thought ritual circumcision was essentially mutilation of a baby’s body, she called me anti-Semitic. My response (I know, I should have just shut up) was, “Since I believe that routine cutting off the most sensitive part of a male infant’s body is a cruel and primitive practice, I’d be discriminating if I made it OK if the kid happened to be Jewish (or Muslim).” Our previously warm relationship turned tepid, and after that, we were simply cordial with each other. (She did tell Louisa later that she fainted at the sight of the mohel snipping away at her eight-day old son’s penis during his circumcision ceremony.)

Since the Hamas atrocities of last October 7 and subsequent IDF invasion of Gaza, the term “anti-Semitic” (or -semitic) seems to be a mindless and impulsive response to many who are critical of Israel’s scorched-earth policy there, including progressive Jews! (I can’t bear to call it a war, when only one side, employing airplanes and tanks, has killed nearly 40,000 civilians — including 10,000 children — and destroyed much of what was essentially a concentration camp for over two million refugees, their families having been driven from their homes by Israel. The ongoing “operation” in Gaza makes the 1982 massacres in Lebanon’s Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps seem hardly worth noting.)

I’m not even sure what being “anti-Semitic” means anymore. In its original, now obsolete, form, it meant being prejudiced against those of the tribe of Shem (one of Noah’s three sons, per Genesis), which can properly apply to Arabs, Jews, Akkadians, Phoenicians and a host of Middle-Eastern and African groupings. Obsolete it may be, but how can we square the “anti-Semitic” label with Jews from, say, the U.S., Germany, Russia etc? Seems to me, only Jews from the Middle East can be termed “Semitic.”

(Ironically, the term was originally coined by journalist and politician Wilhelm Marr, 1819-1904, in his 1881 book The Way to Victory of the German Spirit over the Jewish Spirit, Jews, in his opinion, being responsible for all the ills suffered by Germany. Ironic because Marr made an exception when it came to marriage: Three of his four wives were Jewish.)

The real problem with the label “anti-Semitic,” and with labels in general (e.g. racist, bimbo, illegal, slut, retard, tranny, homo…) is that it creates defensiveness, stops discussion, and is just a lazy way to avoid facing up to our own fears and insecurities. I think my Jewish friends would agree.

Former President Donald Trump was rushed off stage by security personnel after loud bangs were heard at the beginning of a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday night. The Secret Service says Trump is safe and under protective measures. A spokesperson said Trump is “fine.”

Watch live updates from NBC News above. 

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(Note: The headline to this post has been updated to reflect new information learned since it was initially posted. Further information about this incident can be found at the New York Times or other outlets.)

Northcoastoffshorewind.org is a new website designed to provide objective answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about offshore wind with links to primary sources. On this week’s show, Matt Simmons of EPIC and Jen Kalt of Humboldt Waterkeeper answer the top 10 most frequent questions that we get about offshore wind. Want to learn about whales, birds, fish and more? Listen in!

Seated at a dining table in her empty – but technically open – new business, Gabrielle Long described what the Tasty Hub will be in the coming months: a community-oriented food scene with regular vendors in the parking lot and a dining area inside, but also a venue for food-related community events, teach-ins, or whatever else folks dream up for the space. 

But the new commissary kitchen in northern Eureka, which opened officially on Monday this week, isn’t quite there yet. The kitchen itself is fully stocked and ready to go; now it just needs chefs. 

Have you noticed this new sign, heading north on the 101? Photo: Jacquelyn Opalach

Long’s business is the foundation of a plan that relies on other local businesses to operate. It is now up to those in the mobile food industry – already existing or new to the scene – to make the Tasty Hub vision a reality. 

A commissary kitchen is a rentable commercial kitchen typically used by food trucks, vendors, caterers, nonprofits or other food-related business ventures. These “mobile food facilities” (usually) legally depend on commissary kitchens to operate. Though there are a few commissary kitchens in Humboldt, the area’s recent food truck boom has created a demand for more.

That’s one of a few reasons Long, who also owns A Taste of Bim and the Grind Cafe, decided to open the Tasty Hub. “I’ve been hearing that chant: ‘there’s not enough kitchens,’” Long said. “‘Kitchens, kitchens, kitchens.’” Commissary kitchens, Long pointed out, are a resource to people who want to break into the food industry but don’t have the money or resources to do it the old-fashioned way. 

But the Tasty Hub is a bit different from your average commissary kitchen. Beyond using the facilities and storage space there, food vendors may, if they wish, secure a permit to sell their food onsite. 

The goal is “to build community, because we’re stronger together than apart,” Long said. “What better way to have people helping each other, working together in a place that can help uplift, and help the community thrive.” Long is stoked with the traffic-heavy location and was happy to restore the unique building, which was once the long-time home of The Chalet House of Omelettes but has been vacant since 2020.

“It’s always good when you can take something like that and make it positive, and turn it into something that people can use and benefit from,” Long said.

She hopes the Tasty Hub will become a safe space for underserved communities, Long said, like folks of color and the queer community.

That hope might manifest in a partnership with a local nonprofit called Pathways of Purpose, which facilitates learning programs for underserved transition-age youth (16 to 24). Dr. Susanne Sarley, who co-founded the organization with her husband Aerin Monroe in 2021, said they’ve been looking to add some vocational training programs to the nonprofit’s offerings. 

“We think that it will be a great place to train transitional age youth in not only the culinary arts and cultural foods and knowledge and healthy eating – which is all connected to our model,” Sarley said, “but also we’re thinking about the potential of perhaps doing a garden where they could learn farm-to-table practices, because my husband is an agricultural farmer. So there’s some really good potential for that site, and for our partnership with Tasty Hub.”

Both Long and Sarley noted that those ideas are preliminary. For now, the Tasty Hub (itself a for-profit business) needs to get off the ground and running. At this point, it’s up to food people, new or seasoned, to get involved. 

Long said that people can rent the kitchen by the hour or secure a longer-term lease agreement with Tasty Hub. There are overnight parking spaces for three food trucks, and other vendors, like food stands, can store equipment onsite, too. Once applications are approved and all the necessary bureaucratic stuff is good to go, folks can get on a schedule to use the kitchen, sell food onsite, or do some other cool food thing at the Tasty Hub. Three businesses have already started the process.

Long said to contact her for the application by email at atasteofbim@zoho.com or by phone at (707) 298-7099. You can also keep an eye out for the Eureka Chamber of Commerce newsletter in the coming week, which will detail how to apply.

“Here’s your opportunity now to do what you’ve been dreaming of,” Long said. “I’m excited and I can’t wait to see how it will help people bring their business ideas to fruition.”