Ben was born on January 22, 1924 on a dairy farm in McKinleyville located
near the mouth of the Mad River. His parents were Basillio and Romilda Manzi-Spini from Lake
Como in northern Italy. He attended grade school in McKinleyville and Arcata. In high school he
played most every sport, but was especially fond of basketball, where he lettered for three years.
After high school Ben worked as a dairyman on their family dairy as well as for other ranchers.
While home on leave from the US Army, he attended an outdoor dance at Camp Bauer where
he met his future wife, Patricia (Pat) Flaherty of Eureka. They were married February 26, 1946.
After his discharge from the Army on March 7, 1947 Ben came home and family life began with
Pat and their first born, Kathy. Ben then went to work for Golden State Creamery in Arcata as a
truck driver hauling 10 gallon milk cans from dairies to the creamery. In 1950 their second
daughter, Marci, was born. In 1951 they built their home on North Bank Road where they raised
their family and lived for the next 68 years.
In 1952 Ben went to work at Blue Lake Builders Supply. In 1968 he began his work at
Campton Electric Company in Eureka, where he stayed until retirement in 1989.
He and his
family enjoyed spending time at their summer cabin in Orleans. After selling their
property in Orleans, he and Pat purchased property in Trinity Village. There they spent many
summer days with family and friends. Ben raised beef cattle and hay, tended a large vegetable
garden, and made homemade salami and sausage with his family. He and Pat prided
themselves on filling their dinner plates with colorful home grown food. He enjoyed bailing hay
for friends and neighbors. Ben always said “If you can run a hay bailer, you could fly a jet.”
During their retirement Ben and Pat enjoyed their time traveling on many tours all over
the US, Canada, Mexico, and a trip to Italy where Ben’s parents were born. One of his most
memorable trips was the “Honor Flight” to Washington DC. The trip included a visit to the World
War II Memorial, the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Arlington
National Cemetery. Ben was a loyal member of the morning coffee group at Toni’s with his
ranching friends and never missed his grandkids’ sports games.
Ben was an avid sports fan. In the ‘50s and ‘60s he took up bowling and played in
several leagues. He was a faithful follower of the SF Giants and SF 49ers, and hosted Super
Bowl parties every year decorated with Niners red and gold even if the 49ers weren’t playing.
When his sight was mostly gone, he relied on his trusted radio for play-by-play broadcasts of
games. Even until his last days he kept track of his favorite teams and players’ statistics.
In 2019 Pat and Ben joined Marci and family in Escalon, Calif., where they lived out their
days. They were situated in a small home of their own, with views of cattle and horses grazing,
and hummingbirds that frequented their feeder.
Ben passed peacefully at the age of 100 years
and 4 months (to the day). He is survived by: daughters Kathy Schuler (Catherine) and Marci
Barnes (Mike), grandchildren Andrew Schuler (Julie) and Megan Dyk (Ryan), five great
grandchildren, sister Betty Deacy, sister-in-law Joyce Spini and many beloved nieces and
nephews. Ben is preceded in death by: his wife of 75 years Pat, grandson Matt Barnes, brother
George Spini, sister Mary Taylor (Clark), and brother-in-law Ted Deacy. The family would like to
extend special thanks to his caregiver Cindy, who helped make life easier for Ben and his girls in
those last months.
A combined graveside service for Ben and Pat Spini will be held at the Blue Lake
Cemetery on July 17 at 1 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. Celebration of Lives at the Blue Lake Grange
Hall. All friends of the family are welcomed to attend. In their memory, consider a donation to the
Matthew D. Barnes Memorial Scholarship via Humboldt Area Foundation at 363 Indianola Rd.,
Bayside, CA 95524.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Ben Spini’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
Are you ready for more murals in Eureka? We sure hope so…because the seventh annual Eureka Street Art Festival will be spreading color throughout the City July 29th - August 2nd.
We currently have murals being planned for these wall locations:
Eureka Theater, 612 F Street
Eureka Center for Spiritual Living, 239 Buhne Street
Discovery Shop, 2942 F Street
Alder Grove Charter School, 714 F Street
WIC Grocery Store, 1125 Summer Street
Opera Alley Wall, 212 F Street
Quality Body Works, 949 W. Del Norte
Chapala, 201 2nd Street
Eureka Natural Foods, 1450 Broadway Street
Limas Professional Pharmacy, 2097 Harrison Avenue
Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, 921 Waterfront Drive
Eureka Municipal Auditorium, 1120 F Street
Intersection by Food for People, 14th + Summer Streets
This year we will be installing larger than life ceramic banana slugs around town as well (crafted by local ceramic artists Shannon Sullivan and Jessica Swan). These “Slugs of Eureka” are being planned for these walls:
Inn at 2nd + C, 124 C Street
Mendenhall Studios, 214 C Street
The Bodega, 215 F Street
Skyhorse International Hostel, 216 3rd Street
Morris Graves Museum, 636 F Street
MOCA, 204 4th Street
Commercial Building, 622 H Street
CD Downtown Campus, 525 D Street
Synapsis, 1675 Union Street
Jefferson Center, 1000 B Street
Discovery Shop, 2942 F Street
Yarn, 2840 F Street
Humboldt Cider Co, 2901 Hubbard Lane
This year we are welcoming artists from all around California (and primarily from Humboldt County). Stay tuned: we will be announcing our artists in the next few weeks.
After seven awesome years of adding color to the city, the organizers have decided that this will be the last year of the Eureka Street Art Festival…at least for now. The Festival takes an immense amount of work and money to put on each year, and the three organizers are ready to move on to new projects. Through the Festival, over 100 new murals have been added to Eureka. Just like the murals, this Festival was never designed to last forever.
Want to help make this last year incredible? We are still seeking sponsors - please email us if you are interested: eurekastreetartfestival@gmail.com.
The Eureka Street Art Festival’s mission is to create intentional, accessible art that enlivens public spaces, stimulates community revitalization, and attracts visitors to Eureka. Our long term aim is to recreate this event annually and continuously introduce new public art in Eureka. Excess funds raised by the Festival will go towards the maintenance of existing public art throughout the city.
On 6/08/2024 at 22:47 hrs. Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported Structure Fire at
2235 3rd St. in Eureka. Humboldt Bay Fire responded with 1 Chief Officer, 3 Engines
and 1 Truck for a total of 13 fire service personnel. Additionally, 2 volunteer Fire
Support personnel responded and provided traffic control.
The first unit (Truck 8181) arrived on scene in 5 minutes and reported a working fire in a
2-story structure with heavy fire involvement. A quick size-up of the structure was
completed and the Truck began to hit the fire with tank water to cool the fire.
Battalion
Chief 8103 arrived on scene and established Incident Command (IC) and assigned Truck
8181 to Search. The second arriving unit was assigned to establish a water supply and
Fire Attack, with the primary objective of fire control and exposure protection. The third
arriving unit was assigned to assist Fire Attack. The fourth arriving unit was assigned to
assist with exposure protection.
A Second Alarm was requested by the IC, that brought 1
additional Engine from Arcata Fire,1 Engine from Samoa Peninsula Fire and 1 Chief
Officer from HBF to the scene.
The fire was controlled in 20 minutes and no occupants
were found in the residence.
Humboldt Bay Fire remained on scene for an additional 4 hours to completely extinguish
the fire and await the arrival of the crew to complete the demolition of the structure. The
damage to the structure from the fire was significant enough that it was no longer stable
and it posed a risk as a safety hazard as a result, it was demolished.
The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental. PG&E arrived on scene and
confirmed the electrical and gas service to the residence was disconnected. There were no
civilian or Firefighter injuries and the value of the property is estimated at $250,000 and
damage from the fire is estimated at $150,000.
Humboldt Bay Fire would like to thank PG&E, Arcata Fire, Samoa Peninsula Fire, The
City of Eureka and EPD for their assistance on scene and providing coverage to other
emergency calls during this incident.
Conceptual designs for proposed Linc Housing developments at Eighth and G streets (top) and Sixth and M streets (bottom). | File images courtesy City of Eureka.
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Press release from the City of Eureka:
Linc Housing has secured another $15 million for 90 new affordable homes at three city-owned
properties in Eureka (known as the “Eureka Scattered Site Project”).
The California Department of
Housing and Community Development just announced Linc Housing’s Eureka Scattered Site Project as
one of 18 projects across the state to receive federal funds for new affordable rental homes through
the National Housing Trust Fund Program (NHTF). Linc Housing will apply for tax credits this July,
which will be the final funding component needed to move the development forward.
The Eureka Scattered Site Project will include new affordable housing communities on city-owned
properties at 8th and G Streets, 6th and M Streets, and Myrtle and Sunny Avenues.
The project has
previously been awarded $30.1 million from the State’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable
Communities Program in 2023, as well as an Infill Infrastructure Grant of $750,000 in 2021, and has
secured project-based housing vouchers from the Eureka Housing Authority.
If awarded tax credits,
Linc Housing anticipates applying for building permits in early 2025 and completing construction the
following year.
The city and Linc Housing have been working together on the project since the Eureka City Council
approved Linc Housing’s proposal in October 2020, after a Request for Proposals process was
completed. The aim of the development is to build affordable housing on city-owned parking lots as
required by Eureka’s 2019-2027 Housing Element to meet State housing requirements and address
the housing crisis.
Press release from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:
Lucero.
On June 8, 2024, Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF) Agents with assistance from the Fortuna Police Department (FoPD), served a search warrant on Jasmine Kahoalii Lucero (46 years old from Eureka). HCDTF Agents observed Lucero travel from Humboldt County to Sacramento, California. Upon Lucero’s return to Humboldt County, Agents conducted a traffic stop on her vehicle. FoPD Officer Stevens and his K9 partner Cain conducted an open-air sniff on the vehicle. K9 Cain alerted to the vehicle indicating drugs were present.
Inside the vehicle, Agents located Jasmine Kahoalii Lucero, over a pound of methamphetamine, a digital scale, and drug paraphernalia.
Jasmine Kahoalii Lucero was transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where she was booked on the following charges:
HS11378- Possession of a Controlled Substance
HS11379(A)- Transportation of a Controlled Substances for Sales
HS11379(B)- Transportation of a Controlled Substance through Non-Contiguous Counties
UPDATE: 11 a.m.: The mama bear has been removed. Police and firefighters have left the scene. They’re looking for permission to relocate the bears to a state park. More photos of her removal below.
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UPDATE, 10:30 a.m.: The EPD’s Montaga now tells us that they believe only one cub was up in the tree with the mother bear.
That cub has been removed, as documented in the video below. They’re trying to get the mother out now.
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UPDATE, 10:05 a.m.: The EPD’s Laura Montagna has some of the backstory.
She says that the bears — again, a mother bear and two cubs — were crossing Broadway from west to east when one of the knucklehead cubs turned around in the middle of the highway, scrambled back to Pierson’s and climbed the tree. The others then followed.
The cubs are now laying down on top of the tranquilized mother bear, up there in the tree. Rescuers are trying to grab the cubs. The Outpost’s Ryan Burns reports that a “sad, crying sound” can be heard coming from the tree, but that it’s unclear whether it is coming from the mother or the cubs.
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UPDATE, 9:55 a.m. A ladder truck has been deployed. They’re chainsawing branches to try to get better access.
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ORIGINAL POST:
See that big kerfuffle on the highway in front of Pierson’s?
The reason for that is this: A family of bears have taken up residence in the big tree there. Click the video above to witness them.
Eureka Police Department spokesperson Laura Montagna tells the Outpost‘s Andrew Goff, on scene, that it appears to be a mama bear and two cubs.
As of this writing, the mama bear has been tranquilized, but is still in the tree. Could be a difficult extrication.
Students walk along the bridge leading into campus on Scholars Lane at the University of California Merced campus on Nov. 4, 2022. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local
As many as 300,000 Californians have until June 30 to take advantage of a one-time offer to qualify for faster student loan forgiveness, lower monthly payments or outright forgiveness for federal loans borrowed before 2010.The U.S. Department of Education’s June 30 deadline is a big deal because borrowers who submit their applications would become eligible to receive credit for past years of repayment that previously didn’t qualify for student loan forgiveness.The department’s one-time “adjustment” will largely help borrowers who took out federal student loans before 2010 called Federal Family Education Loans — as well as borrowers with two other types of loans.Why is the department doing this? To “remedy years of administrative failures that effectively denied the promise of loan forgiveness to certain borrowers,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a 2022 press release. The deadline for this remedy has been extended several times, but student loan advocates believe June 30 will be the final opportunity for this one-time benefit.
Nationally, about half of borrowers 60 and older have been repaying their student loans for more than 15 years, a key reason why debt among this population has skyrocketed.By May, more than 1 million Americans have already gotten $51 billion in debt relief through this adjustment program, according to the department.The student loan landscape is notoriously complicated. A National Public Radio reporter whose investigation exposed how borrowers placed in the wrong repayment category lost the ability to gain credit toward loan forgiveness, quipped that if none of this makes sense, “You’re not alone.”
To meet the June 30 deadline, borrowers must submit applications to consolidate their loans into so-called direct consolidation loans. Only loans in the direct program are eligible for loan forgiveness after 10 or 20 years of payments, depending on a borrower’s employment situation. Direct loans also qualify for lower monthly payments.Some borrowers may see no reason to consolidate, but for many others, meeting the June 30 deadline will be a life-changer.
This week California is also debuting a network of 14 nonprofit organizations that collectively received $7 million in state grants to help California borrowers navigate the maze of student loan policies, hurdles and deadlines.The Student Loan Empowerment Network will offer California borrowers in-person or phone consultations to handle their student loan quandaries, including issues surrounding private student loans that are governed by a different set of rules.“It was created really to just have somewhere for borrowers to go and provide more help than I can provide,” Damian said. Until last week, she was the only person in state government doing this work.Between March 20 and May 1, Damian communicated by phone or email with 1,400 borrowers after her office sent an email to Californians who’d likely benefit from loan consolidation.Some borrowers didn’t realize they possessed federal loans that were eligible for any loan forgiveness, Damian said. The borrowers instead thought they were repaying private loans. Others thought her agency’s outreach was initially a scam. “So they would reach out and say, ‘Is this real? I thought there was no option for me,” she recounted.Damian stressed that a growing number of California borrowers are senior citizens who may struggle to complete the federal online application. “The oldest one I spoke to was about 83, 84”, she said. “These are loans they took out in the ‘90s.”Several times borrowers nearly gave up trying to apply, so she told them to complete the paper version of the application and email her photos of their paperwork. She then collated their photos into a PDF document and submitted the paperwork to the U.S. Department of Education on their behalf.
How did we get here?
Federal Family Education Loans were common loans issued by private lenders but guaranteed by the federal government. In 2010, these loans were discontinued and the federal government began issuing student loans directly.
The old loans qualify for federal loan forgiveness programs with less generous repayment plans and require more years of repayment.These loans are also ineligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a loan program for government and nonprofit workers that forgives federal undergraduate and graduate student loan debt after 10 years of payments. The only way to qualify for that loan forgiveness is by repaying direct loans — which borrowers with Federal Family Education Loans can do if they consolidate by June 30. Once their consolidation goes through, borrowers will need to apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, but they will have inherited past credit already through the steps they took to consolidate.Borrowers need to only apply for consolidation by the June 30 deadline. The department’s actual review process will take at least 60 days.
Borrowers who are found to have made at least 20 years of payments for undergraduate loans or 25 years for graduate loans will see their loans fully forgiven — a tax-free perk through 2025.
Things to consider for student loan forgiveness
A key benefit of consolidation: Borrowers can choose to be placed on the SAVE repayment plan, which bases monthly payments on current income and offers loan forgiveness for any income level after 20 or 25 years.The SAVE plan also doesn’t charge interest as long borrowers make regular payments.Not all periods of repayment will count toward one’s loan credit under the federal government’s one-time program. Any time spent in default won’t count.
Loans in periods of deferment will count, but only before 2013. If loans were deferred because a borrower re-entered college, such as to complete a bachelor’s or earn a master’s degree, that time won’t count toward the borrower’s credit.If borrowers have older loans and Parent PLUS loans that they took out on behalf of their children, they should weigh their options, Damian said. Parent PLUS loans are eligible for only one type of loan forgiveness plan that’s less generous, and consolidating those loans with other loans will block the borrower from the newer repayment plans.
Consolidation may not be for everyone. Borrowers with high incomes, a low loan balance and a discounted interest rate from their lender may not necessarily benefit from this, said Betsy Mayotte, president and founder of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, a nonprofit group. “But for just about everybody else, there isn’t going to be a downside.”
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