Within the next week and change, Democrats who control the Legislature and fellow Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom will need to reconcile their competing budget plans for higher education in California, with huge implications for student financial aid and the short-term fiscal health of the state’s public universities.

At issue is the 2024-25 state budget that begins July 1 and the multibillion-dollar projected deficits California faces. Lawmakers and the governor are in the final, secretive sprint of the annual process to craft the state government’s spending plan.

The Legislature fulfilled its constitutional duty last Thursday by passing its budget plan. That started the clock for Newsom and lawmakers to reach a compromise for the final 2024-25 budget by late June.

And on higher education, they’re far apart in key ways — differences that first emerged in January, when budget season publicly kicked off with Newsom’s first proposal for 2024-25.

“As depressed as I was in January, and as bad as some of the cuts still are that are included in this budget, in education I think we’ve been able to step ahead with this budget,” said John Laird, a senator and Democrat from Santa Cruz who is chair of the budget subcommittee on education, at a hearing on the Legislature’s budget last week.

How much for Middle Class Scholarship?

Newsom’s last public spending proposal, released in May, would permanently gut the Middle Class Scholarship to just $100 million annually — a serious blow to California’s dreams of supersizing college financial aid so that no university student would need to take out student loans.

The Legislature countered last week with a stark “nope,” instead keeping a past-year’s promise to grow the program to $926 million in 2024-25 and the following year.

The dueling proposals would either slash how much each of the roughly 300,000 student recipients who attend University of California and California State University would receive — or make debt-free college a closer reality.

Under the governor’s plan, average awards would drop from between $2,500 and $2,800 to just over $300. If the Legislature gets its way, average awards would range from $3,100 for UC students to $3,600 for Cal State students.

The cuts would likely mean more college loans for students, an official with the governor’s Department of Finance said at a hearing last month.

The Legislature’s plan “significantly brings back the Middle Class Scholarship, right at the time that parents and students are making decisions about what colleges to go to and whether they have the financial resources to go to certain public higher education institutions in California,” Laird said at the budget hearing last week.

Will Cal Grants help more students?

The Legislature also seeks to partially expand the Cal Grant, the state’s marquee financial aid program, for the 2025-26 budget year. If the plan is approved, another 21,000 students would receive the grant for the first time. About 400,000 students receive it currently.

Newsom in May formally rejected any expansion of the Cal Grant, citing California’s colossal fiscal hole. But legislative budget leaders have been adamant about rolling out the Cal Grant to more students despite the state’s difficult finances to make good on years of aggressive advocacy from lawmakers.

The cost would be $47 million in one-time funding to ensure current students receiving the Cal Grant under the current rules would remain in the program.

If the plan becomes law, about 11,000 more community college students would get the grant in 2025-26, which would appear as a cash award of about $1,650 and then cover tuition at a UC or Cal State if the student transfers. Cal Grants are valid for four years of full-time enrollment. The number of new recipients would grow with each subsequent year.

This is a lower number of new recipients, and smaller price tag, than what’s in the original Cal Grant expansion plan. That’s because the partial roll-out would keep the current 2.0 GPA requirement for community college student eligibility while the original would have removed it.

Still, under this new proposal, students would be able to re-establish eligibility by taking fewer classes through a special program — 12 units instead of the current 16 — and earning a 2.0 GPA. The number of units a student would need to rehabilitate their GPA would drop to nine units in 2026-27 and six units in 2027-28. The plan calls for no GPA requirement by 2028-29.

These details were confirmed by the office of Asssemblymember David Alvarez, a Chula Vista Democrat who is chairperson of the Assembly’s budget subcommittee on education.

The rule changes would mean 9,000 new recipients at Cal State in 2025-26, according to information the state’s financial aid agency, the California Student Aid Commission, shared with CalMatters.

Also, about 7,300 new students would get extra cash award for those with dependent children. Current recipients get $6,000, but new recipients would receive $3,000 in the first year. The award for new recipients would grow by $1,000 each year until hitting $6,000.

However, UC would see about 1,300 fewer students receiving the Cal Grant in 2025-26 than current projections show — the result of the lowering the income ceiling for who is eligible. UC’s share of low-income students has declined in the past decade — a source of worry for some lawmakers.

Advocates pushing for Cal Grant expansion, including student associations from UC, Cal State and community colleges, wrote to lawmakers that they are pleased with the proposal. “We respect that the cost may be too great during this budget cycle, so we agree that a phase-in as you have proposed is the right step,” the letter read.

If approved, these details would appear in a separate “trailer bill” sometime in late June or early July.

What’s the bottom line for UC, CSU?

Newsom’s plan imposes cuts and delays funding for UC and CSU in 2024-25 and then restores funding in 2025-26 — but by much less than what lawmakers and the governor promised last year.

Newsom’s funding plan has numerous moving parts, but would basically see Cal State receive $75 million less in 2024-25, then bounce up by $171 million the next year, and leap by another $265 million by 2026-27. That would increase Cal State’s main state support to $5.35 billion. But Cal State faces numerous budget challenges, including a deficit as high as $831 million in the next two years.

The legislative plan would switch the order of fiscal hurt by proposing to grow the UC and CSU budgets in 2024-25 and apply cuts — if the budget deficit still calls for it — in 2025-26. The logic is that another year of additional state aid, even if it’s less than what the systems were promised last year, provides them a year to prepare for the budgetary scythe.

Newsom’s plan imposes cuts and delays funding for UC and CSU in 2024-25 and then restores funding in 2025-26 — but by much less than what lawmakers and the governor promised last year.

Less funding for the UC and Cal State would mean larger class sizes and more faculty and staff positions that go unfilled. That would limit student services, and, for Cal State, likely result in more academic programs getting the ax.

Under both plans, though, the UC and Cal State systems would see more funding by the third year. For Cal State, that’s a jump from $4.99 billion in 2023-24 to $5.35 billion in 2026-27. And for UC, that’d mean state support growing from $4.74 billion now to $5.18 billion in 2026-27.

And both plans want to continue the recent trend of paying the systems to enroll more California residents — a note of sweet relief for students in the state eager to enter some of the most selective public universities in the country.

Laird said that “inflation, deferred maintenance, salary contracts, it is a challenge, but this really is an excellent step forward in a tough budget.”

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

California’s nonprofits have been dragged into a bitter legislative battle with some of the state’s most powerful labor organizations over local government contracts with non-union workers.

Democratic Assemblymember Liz Ortega took a shot at the chief executives of the nearly 190 nonprofits that wrote in to oppose her legislation, Assembly Bill 2557, that would add new disclosure requirements for private organizations — many of them nonprofits — that do work for local governments under contract.

“Looking at several of the executives who signed the nonprofit opposition letter, it was brought to my attention that many of them make upwards of over $200,000 per year,” Ortega, a former Alameda County union official, told the Senate’s Local Government Committee last week. “Some make even more than $300,000, while many of their staff are in line for services that we provide in the nonprofit sector.”

It was the latest salvo in a big-money lobbying fight between labor unions and local governments over the hiring of private contractors that perform services for the state’s 4,800 counties, cities, special districts and schools.

Local governments rely on contractors to perform a wide range of services paid with taxpayer funds. Contractors run animal shelters and after-school programs. They provide health care in local jails as well as homeless, legal aid and immigration services. Contractors cut fire breaks around rural communities, perform engineering services for public works projects, build affordable housing and fix government computer systems.

Unions have long demanded cities and counties hire their dues-paying members to do government work. They say the outsourcing to contractors erodes middle-class jobs, and they cite concerns about misuse of taxpayer funds. This has led to clashes with local officials who argue contractors help keep down costs for taxpayers as they provide vital services for communities across California, particularly during an ongoing local government labor shortage.

Despite the tensions, Geoff Green, who heads the California Association of Nonprofits, said he was still surprised by Ortega’s attack that kicked off the start of last week’s committee hearing.

He said his member organizations strive to get local government contracts that pay nonprofit workers as much as what union members make. He didn’t dispute the executive salary ranges, which Ortega’s office told CalMatters had been pulled from the tax forms of eight large nonprofits that opposed her bill. But Green called it a “non-starter argument” for her to attack the pay of the people running “some of the most successful nonprofit organizations that serve millions of Californians.”“It really impugns the sector, the whole nonprofit sector, and insults those who work in it and lead it,” Green told CalMatters.

Unions highly influential in California politics

There are few groups more influential in state politics than unions in California, despite only representing one-sixth of the state’s workforce.

As CalMatters reported, they regularly get their way on bills at higher rates than other prolific lobbying groups, due in part to the massive amounts of money they spend on state politics. Unions have donated at least $22 million to sitting legislators’ campaigns since 2020, according to the Digital Democracy database.

Fast-food workers and SEIU members march at the Capitol to deliver postcards and petitions to Gov. Gavin Newsom on May 31, 2022. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

The California Labor Federation, which has donated at least $729,600 to campaigns since 2020, is “a proud co-sponsor” of Ortega’s bill. So is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which has donated at least $1.8 million. Service Employees International Union, which has donated at least $2.7 million, is another cosponsor.

Ivan Fernández, a California Labor Federation lobbyist, told the Senate committee last week that contracting out instead of hiring union members has led to a decline in middle class jobs, particularly for women and workers of color.

“Previously viewed as the backbone of the middle class, public sector jobs provided community members with long-term, sustainable employment,” he said. “Today, many simply do not have these opportunities due to local governments choosing to utilize a quick, contracted workforce.”

Local governments are prohibited from spending taxpayer money on political campaigns. But they’re no slouches when it comes to lobbying, though they tend to get their way less often on bills than unions do.The League of California Cities, which opposed Ortega’s bill, is one of the top lobbying spenders in California. The group reported to the Secretary of State it spent nearly $2.6 million since January 2023 on lobbying. The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) spent $1.1 million.

“CSAC opposes AB 2557 quite simply because it will harm our ability to care for the 39 million Californians your chamber and our boards mutually serve,” the association’s president, San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bruce Gibson, told the senate committee.

Bill watered down in Senate

Ortega is one of at least six lawmakers who are former union officials or who have close ties to the labor movement. She was secretary-treasurer of the Alameda Labor Council and statewide political director for the University of California’s largest employee union, AFSCME Local 3299. Since winning her first election in 2022, she’s authored several union-sponsored bills.

Her latest bill would have originally put more requirements on contractors than the version California’s 40 state senators are now considering.

The version of the bill that passed the Assembly this spring would have required local government contractors to pay for regular audits of their own job performance, and it would have required that names of contractors and their employees — as well as their compensation and benefits — be publicly disclosed.

After local government, business and nonprofit lobbying groups complained that the requirements were wildly impractical, expensive and burdensome, the bill was amended last week in the Senate to remove the self-auditing requirements and the public naming of private-sector employees.

The new version would require that contracts be posted on local government websites and that unions be informed of new contracts and changes in existing ones. Now, only the number of contracted employees, their job classes and salaries would be made public.

Ortega told the Senate committee last week the measure is intended to improve transparency and accountability.“As lawmakers, we have the right to know what our taxpayers’ monies are going for and making sure that the results that we’re looking for are achieved,” she said.

Asked why the measure was necessary, her office provided CalMatters with a list of nine recent news stories that detailed problems with local governments’ contracts with nonprofits. They included an article about a San Francisco nonprofit accused of spending around $80,000 of taxpayer funds on luxury gift boxes, limo rides and a Lake Tahoe trip; and another that detailed how a nonprofit mismanaged Sacramento County funds.

Lone Democrat casts ‘no’ vote

The original version of Ortega’s bill sailed through the Assembly earlier this year without any of the chamber’s 62 Democrats voting “no.”

However, 11 Democratic lawmakers — most of them former local elected officials — didn’t vote on the bill when it was on the Assembly floor last month. As CalMatters reported, not voting counts the same as voting “no,” and lawmakers regularly don’t vote on controversial bills to avoid angering influential groups such as unions.

When the bill passed the Senate’s local government committee last week, Sen. Steve Glazer, the former mayor of Orinda, became the lone Democrat in the Legislature to cast a “no” vote so far on the proposal.

Sen. Steve Glazer gives an interview at CalMatters in Sacramento on May 3, 2022. Photo by Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters

Glazer is one of the few Democrats in the Legislature who regularly sides against unions on legislation.

For instance, he’s aligned with the California Labor Federation with its position on bills just 54% of the time, according to Digital Democracy. The four other Democratic senators on the local government committee — Nancy Skinner, Aisha Wahab, Scott Weiner and María Elena Durazo — align with the federation between 83% and 97% of the time.

Glazer, who is stepping down at the end of this year, told CalMatters he voted against Ortega’s bill because it creates “an added burden” on local governments, and he “didn’t see the justification for what they claimed was the purpose of the measure.”

Despite his group’s opposition, Green, the nonprofit association CEO, said it doesn’t mean nonprofits are out to take jobs from local government union members.

“We are not in competition with public-sector workers,” he said. “That is the bottom line.”

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Editor’s note: CalMatters is a member of the California Association of Nonprofits and its newsroom staff recently voted to join a union that’s affiliated with the California Labor Federation.

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

Carmen (Bacon) Mauroni
“Auntie Boo Boo”
1948-2024

Carmen passed away suddenly on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2024 from a pulmonary embolism, Her loving partner/husband and family were by her side.

Carmen was born and raised in Eureka, where she grew up with her family and seven siblings. Carmen is a proud Native American of the Yurok Tribe. Growing up, her Yurok grandmother and mother taught Carmen the native traditions and values of her tribe and told her many stories of the past events. She enjoyed spending time on the reservation where she would camp and net fish for salmon on the Klamath River. She participated in brush dancing when she was younger. Carmen was an activist for Indian rights and participated in many protests for her beliefs.

Carmen attended Eureka High School and graduated in 1964. Following high school she attended beauty school in Marin County.

Carmen as a young lady started working at the Safeway bakery, where she met and married Arnie Mauroni. Carmen was married in a full native dress from head to toe. Together they had two beautiful daughters, Tonya and Cinya. Carmen and Arnie relocated back to Eureka, where they spent many blessed moments attending family potlucks, holidays, and birthdays. Fifteen years later they relocated to Santa Rosa, where she continued to be a child care provider and later worked at Friends House being a caregiver. She really loved her job and loved working with children and elderly people. Many people gravitated towards Carmen including her daughter’s friends, who often called her mom. Through the years, Carmen often opened her house with open arms to many of her daughter’s friends, nieces, nephews, brothers, and family who lived with her.

After Carmen’s divorce, she went on to meet her loving life-long companion David Hunter. They loved to spend time with their friends, dining out and dancing. They especially loved to spend time with their beloved dogs over the years. They eventually moved back to Eureka and bought a house together. They spent years renovating, decorating, gardening and filling the house with Carmen’s love of Indian baskets and pictures of their family. They spent 36 years together until her passing.

While living in Eureka she enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren in Santa Rosa, or her grandchildren would come up for a visit. Carmen’s grandchildren meant everything to her. She was the most thoughtful grandmother never forgetting a birthday or holiday. After her daughters and granddaughters taught Carmen how to use her iPhone she started using Facetime, sending texts and pictures which allowed her to be in touch on a daily basis with her family and friends.

She was so proud of her grandchildren. The eldest grandson, Brandon, is currently serving in the Army. Her second grandson, Chaise, is going to college and getting ready to transfer to a University. Her eldest granddaughter has a master’s degree and is an accountant. Her youngest granddaughter is attending college with straight A’s

Carmen’s daughters meant everything to her. Her girls were devoted to their mother and would do anything for her. Although they lived in different cities they were in constant contact daily and would visit as often as possible. They loved their mother with all their hearts, sending flowers and cards on holidays, spoiling her on her birthdays. Carmen was also devoted to her third daughter, her fur baby Fiona.

Carmen had a very special connection with her son-in-law Chris Gwin. Carmen met Chris when he was just a teenager, practically growing up in her household. When Carmen lived in Santa Rosa and was going through a divorce young Chris would put her on the back of his moped and give her rides to work everyday. Carmen really thought of Chris as a son and that unbreakable bond lasted for over 35 years. Carmen would always spoil him on birthdays and holidays. Chris was always there for Carmen for anything she needed. Chris helped Carmen on renovations with her home numerous times and most recently with a beautiful kitchen.

Carmen loved her siblings, nephews and nieces dearly. She has a very special relationship with her sister-in-law Diane Bacon. Her niece Tracy would come by for coffee and visit with her Auntie Boo Boo often. Her nephew Jason would call Auntie Boo Boo often and when he got to town her house was his 1st stop. Carmen and David also cared for her youngest brother Joseph in their home for 7 years after his stroke. Carmen made sure to spoil him with his favorite foods and treats.

Her family could always count on her for her support without judgment, stopping by her house to visit often or calling her.

Carmen enjoyed cooking (making the best potato salad that her family loved), keeping her house immaculate, watching her favorite news channel, reality TV, enjoying her favorite dinner, honey walnut prawns. Some other things she enjoyed were talking on the phone, going to the casino, drinking a margarita with her daughter, and taking trips to Santa Rosa to visit her family and friends.

Carmen is preceded in death by her grandfather Issac Mccovey, grandmother Elsie Gray Jones, father Gaylon Bacon, mother Elsie Mccovey Bacon. Little brother Gaylon Bacon, brother Gerald (Squeaker) Bacon, sister Bonnie Green. nephews Lucas and Danny Bacon, David and Anthony Johnson, and Christopher Durbin Cousins, Vivian and Johnny Simpson

Carmen leaves behind her beloved partner/husband, David Hunter, eldest daughter Tonya Mauroni, youngest daughter Cinya Mauroni-Gwin, son -in- law Chris Gwin, eldest grandson Brandon Rivera, second eldest grandson Chaise Noles, erldest granddaughter Jaiden Gwin, youngest granddaughter -Alyssa Gwin. Brothers: Raymond, Gaylon and Joseph Bacon. Sister: Marjorie Durbin. Sister-in-laws: Diane and Melissa Bacon. Brother-in-law: Richard Green. Nephews: Jason and Raymond Jr. Bacon, Gerald and Richie Green, Charles Johnson. Nieces: Tracey Mahoney, Cindy Green, Scottie Bacon, Elsie Bacon, Debra Moreland Angie Kuhnle, Brandy Senestraro Cousins, Sean, Tiannah and Pey-Goy Simpson. And many more second, third generation family

Memorial Service will be held:

June 29, 2024 at 3 p.m. Reception to follow service.

Sanders Funeral Home
1835 E St. Eureka CA 95501

If you want to send flowers please contact: Eureka Florist, (707) 443-4811.

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

Gerald “Jerry” Hansen was born on December 19, 1943, and passed away on May 31, 2024, with family by his side. Known to many as “Billy Goat” he was the second of eight children, and the only son of Arnold “Budd” and Beverly (Beauchamp) Hansen. He was born in Fortuna while his parents lived with Aunt Annie Giacomini in Centerville. The family built a home on the Beauchamp homestead in Freshwater, and he started school at Garfield Elementary. They later moved back to Centerville where they resided on the dairy started by his grandfather, Carl Hansen. There he attended Ferndale Elementary and Ferndale High School.

As a sophomore at Ferndale High School, the first time he saw Gloria Silva get on the school bus he stated that he was going to marry her one day. They were married on April 18, 1962, and spent the next 62 years together.

While in high school, Jerry participated in FFA, the marching band, track, tumbling and football. As a senior, he was proud to receive the MVP award for football. After graduating from high school, he did relief milking and hay hauling for many local farmers and was a delivery driver for Ferndale Meats when it was owned by his uncle Wes Duncan. When his father died in a Coast Guard helicopter accident while serving as a volunteer spotter during the 1964 flood, Jerry took over the family dairy in Centerville. In 1973 he moved his family to Grizzly Bluff, where they downsized the dairy, and he started driving truck. He drove for Yancy Feed, hauled potatoes, drove for Whitchurch Hay, Don Nolan and Kelly Concrete, among others, while keeping the dairy going. In 1978 he purchased his own log truck and started “Hansen Truckin.” His old green Kenworth was well known in the timber industry, and Jerry was proud that the truck had over 1.8 million miles on it. He was a mentor for many aspiring truck drivers, including some of his grandsons. Jerry also really enjoyed old tractors, especially John Deere, and had a collection of vintage models. He enjoyed participating in Ferndale’s annual lighted tractor parade for many years.

He started racing go-carts with friends on a track built on the dairy in Centerville. He later joined the Six Rivers Racing Association and participated in stock car racing. He raced cars 97 and later 15, and was a big help to other drivers, including his close friend, Larry Pries. In 1969 he was presented with an award for helping other drivers.

Jerry was a member of the Farm Bureau, a lifetime member of Native Sons of the Golden West and a major blood donor, having donated over 10 gallons. He was also a big supporter of the Humboldt County Junior Livestock Auction, purchasing animals for many years.

Jerry was passionate about his family and worked incredibly hard to provide for them. When asked what was most important to him, Jerry quickly and emphatically replied that family was the only thing that mattered. He was so proud of his grandchildren, which they never doubted. He took every opportunity to get family together, whether it be a large family reunion, a holiday BBQ or a small family dinner. He led by example, instilling in all of us the importance of both hard work and good manners. He was very generous and will be remembered for joking and teasing, especially the kids. They were surprised with his teeth coming out and wet willies with his stubby finger. He was known for being opinionated, yet was always fully supportive and accepting of his family. Among his memorable advice was to never eat truck stop meatloaf.

He had an unwavering commitment to children and schools. He attended as many school and athletic events as possible. He was a member and President of the Grizzly Bluff school board until the school closed. Later he was elected to the Ferndale Unified School District board, where he served multiple terms. He supported all student activities, and was an avid athletic booster, traveling all around for competitions, even when his grandchildren weren’t participating. Additionally, each year he provided eggs to the elementary school for classes to hatch chicks.

Jerry is survived by his wife of 62 years, Gloria (Silva) Hansen. He is also survived by his sons Carl and Robert, along with his daughters, Linda (Bob) Anderson and Alice Rye. He was so proud of his grandchildren, Kristen (Mitch), Derek (Shelby) and Celia (Jessica) Hansen, Michael and Alyssa Anderson, Christopher (Kaitlyn) and Travis Rye, and Andrew and Mathew Hansen. He loved spending time with his great grandchildren Weston, Madison, Ivan and Brynn Beddow, Nora Hansen, Isaac and Marcus Rye. He was looking forward to welcoming the latest family additions, including Patrick Gerald Rye, who arrived shortly after his passing.

He is also survived by his sisters, Judy Lynch, Becky (Craig) Hill and Julie (Dave) Alber, along with many nieces and nephews. In particular he really appreciated all of the help he received from his nephew, Russell Alber, who helped keep his truck and tractors running.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, Budd and Beverly Hansen, his son Larry, his sisters Bonnie Hill, Linda Hansen, Darlene Hamilton and Shirley Roby, his brothers-in-law Ivan Lynch, Bill Hill, Jack Roby, his nephews Gene Hill and Henry Alber, his great-nephew Colton Hamilton and his in-laws Henry and Angie Silva.

A memorial gathering will be held on Saturday, June 29 at the Ferndale Veterans Building from 2 to 5 p.m., where friends are invited to join the family in sharing memories.

“There may be benefits to evaluating non-economic makers of a country’s success, but not all researchers agree that happiness looks the same around the world.”

— Science News, April 20, 2024

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It’s official. We’re now ranked the 23rd happiest country in the world, down from 15th last year. Predictably (it usually is) Finland still ranks No. 1, followed (also predictably) by those blond-and-blue-eyed, swimming-in-ice-water-is-good-for-you, Nordic nations: Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway. They’re all in the top ten (along with Israel, Netherlands, Norway and Luxembourg). The United States now ranks below Slovenia (21) and United Arab Emirates (22); but above Germany (24) and Mexico (25). Last in the 143 rankings is, unsurprisingly, Afghanistan.

Sez who? The 2024 World Happiness Report, issued last March 20 (United Nations International Day of Happiness). It’s a partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the WHR’s Editorial Board. There’s much more to the report than a simple ranking of countries, however, and it’s a fun read here. Particularly if you’re (how to put this delicately?) old: This year’s report focuses on the happiness of people at different points in their lives, especially the latter stages.

From the website: “The World Happiness Report reflects a worldwide demand for more attention to happiness and well-being as criteria for government policy. It reviews the state of happiness in the world today and shows how the science of happiness explains personal and national variations in happiness.”

A couple of caveats are in order, lest you think I’m too naïve for words. First, of course, is, Who decides who’s happy and who’s not? Well, you do, that is, it’s all based on respondent’s self-assessments. You’re asked which rung of the ladder you’re on, the bottommost rung (0) being “your worst possible life” and the topmost (10) “the best possible life for you.” Many non-Western cultures consider that you’ll jinx your life if you’re happy and you say so, thus depressing scores on the test. (Does anyone really say, “10”?) Second, happiness is such a vague term, especially to non-Westerners, who may think that happiness isn’t the best measure of a life well-lived. Other criteria of well-being might be peace and harmony; or having meaning in one’s life; or working to help your children have a better life than yours. A Canadian study a few years ago found that, for many cultures, having a calm life was more meaningful than being happy.

Another take on this comes from Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence (subsequently slightly amended by the “Committee of Five): “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” When I first read that (while preparing for my citizenship exam), I found it odd that Life and Liberty were given full measure, but that Happiness was qualified: the pursuit thereof.

Now, I’m all for setting goals in life, both realistic (10,000 steps a day) and possibly unrealistic (dying with more countries visited than my age — currently 82 for 81). But why water down Happiness? Do we only have the right to pursue happiness, but not to happiness itself? For that matter, I’ll bet that you and I might have trouble agreeing on what actually constitutes happiness. Is bliss (I’ll know it when I feel it!) happiness? Feeling good in the moment (I like how that sentence turned out)? Anticipation (I can’t wait to see you tomorrow!)? Contentment, that is, long term-happiness, with the usual daily and weekly ups and downs?

One thing I know is that, if I’m actually asked whether I’m happy, I’ll feel defensive, or boastful, or irritated, or embarrassed — anything other than happy. More like unhappy. I just hope I’m never asked to respond to someone from the World Happiness Report holding a clipboard.

Kyle Steven Wear, a beloved son, brother, husband and father whose life’s work was dedicated to protecting the rare and endangered plants of his adopted North Coast home, died April 29 with his wife and stepfather at his side after battling heart issues caused by a virus he contracted six years earlier. He was 54.

Born to Mary and Bob Wear in San Diego on March 16, 1970, Kyle grew up surrounded by extended family, including both sets of grandparents and numerous aunts and uncles, during a quintessential Southern California childhood spent camping in the region’s inland valleys and swimming, spearfishing and surfing along the coast, the latter sometimes when he was supposed to be in class.

He would often take his adored dog Pepper down to Ocean Beach where she would patiently wait on the shore while Kyle went out, except for the time Pepper decided to jump off the jetty and he had to come home early.

At the age of 8, he gained a second father in Mike Klose, who played a formative role in helping raise Kyle and his younger sister Keely after marrying their late mother and remained a steadfast and guiding presence throughout his life.

Kyle graduated from Point Loma High School in 1988 and attended San Diego State University with an eye on a degree in engineering before transferring to Humboldt State University, where he took a botany course and never looked back.

Not that his college years were all about academics. Among his favorite stories from that time was how Sublime played twice in the living room of the house he lived in on Fern Street, much to the consternation of neighbors who called police, because some of the band members were friends with his roommate.

After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s in biology, Kyle went on to become one of the North Coast’s foremost biological consultants, known for aptly walking the delicate line of advocating for his clients while strictly adhering to regulatory guidelines.

During a visit home to San Diego in December of 2002, Kyle was introduced to his wife, Kimberly, at the party of a high school friend — who happens to be her cousin and married to her best friend — in a not-so-discrete group effort to set the two up. One year later, they were engaged, with Kimberly’s family often joking that he came pre-approved. They married in September of 2004 and settled into their life in Arcata.

The proudest moment of Kyle’s life arrived three years later when their daughter Averie was born on a bitterly cold January day that began with Kyle spraying down the car to de-ice it before they were told there was no need to rush to the hospital. By the time they were ready to go, the doors were frozen shut and an ice slick covered the driveway, leaving Kyle, Kimberly and her mom laughing hysterically in those early morning hours as they gingerly navigated getting into the car while trying not to fall — or wake up the neighbors.

His love for Averie was without bounds and Kyle spent many years taking her on hikes, bike rides and morning trips to Los Bagels. He was the dad who hand-made empanadas for bake sales, attended every school performance, cheered from the sidelines at cross country and BMX races and helped out on science fair projects that often centered around him teaching her about the basic tenets of his field, like using the 50-20 rule to determine plant coverage and how to define a wetland.

More recently, anyone who knows Kyle well enough was probably regaled with videos featuring Averie that were produced by her high school leadership class. Just before he died, Kyle was so proud of her for pursuing and receiving a seal of biliteracy in Spanish and making it to the state History Day competition in Sacramento.

Kyle was profoundly impacted by the loss of his mother Mary, whose outer beauty was outshined by her fierce love for and pride in her children before her life — like Kyle’s — was unfairly cut short at almost the same age. After her death in March of 2002, every major milestone — from his wedding to Averie’s birth — was tinged with sadness that she was not there to share the moment. Kyle often told Kimberly how Mary would have swooped Averie up as soon as they arrived for a visit and they would have been hard pressed to lift a finger to take care of her during their regular trips to San Diego. From Mary, Kyle inherited his artistic talent, which she inherited from her mother, and he, in turn, passed on to Averie.

Like his dad, Kyle loved to tinker on projects around the house, from making the polished concrete countertops in his and Kimberly’s kitchen to installing their home’s hardwood floors, although those sometimes resulted in shouts of “this is a disaster” before, as always, working out in the end.

Bob and Kyle spoke almost daily, often just chatting about the latest Padres game or Kyle’s most recent fishing excursion, with the answering machine regularly ringing out with the message, “Grandad, checking in.”

A talented cook who somehow seemed to use nearly every dish in the kitchen, Kyle loved to experiment with culinary creations, often taking his latest bread baking or wood-fired pizza endeavors to share with the many friends he made at Six Rivers Brewery and the Bigfoot Taproom, where he liked to “network” over a beer after a long day of working at his home office.

While on the quiet side in general, Kyle still made friends effortlessly with his easy-going nature, great laugh and a broad, sometimes silly, smile — one that shone brightest when he was with his daughter.

Preceded in death by his mother Mary, his grandparents, father-in-law Bob, Aunts Sharon and Linda and cousin Ryan, Kyle is survived by his wife Kimberly, daughter Averie, father Bob, stepfather Mike and wife Bev, his sister Keely, mother-in-law Nann and sisters-in-law Katherine (Tom) and Karen, as well as numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, his nieces Katie and Genevieve (Ryan) and nephews Robert, Tom (Nicole) and James (Emily) and their children.

Kyle fought hard after receiving news of his diagnosis, bouncing back time and time again to return to the field work he so loved, often confounding his doctors by his ability to still climb mountains, crawl under whitethorn thickets and trudge through slash to survey for rare plants and delineate wetlands.

Still, he was private about his health struggles, never wanting to worry even his closest friends and family members. In the end, the damage caused by the virus proved too much.

Kyle loved his family, his adopted North Coast home and the many friends he made before and during his more than 30 years here. In his honor, please raise a glass of whatever makes you happy. He would want you to remember him that way.

In the words of our wedding song, Kyle, in my life, I love you more.

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

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•  (VIDEO) There are Bears in the Tree By Pierson’s

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Bears in town are not a good omen for all sorts of reasons. Not a good sign for the bears and kind of a headache for people, too.

But there sure seems to be a spate of them lately, and the one upside to this troubling trend is that we get some good pictures of bears trying to navigate the urban landscape.

This evening, a mama bear and her cub kicked it in downtown Arcata for a bit.  They were spotted climbing over the fence at Pho Hoang and beating feet down G Street. Daniel Pacheco Browning (age 13) reports, through his mom, Anjali, that police were on the scene at Pho Hoang, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife had been notified.