Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On July 19, 2026, at approximately 8:33 p.m., 37-year-old Levi McElroy was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility by the Eureka Police Department on charges of felony resisting/obstructing a peace officer and misdemeanor disorderly conduct in public.

On July 20, 2026, at approximately 1:26 a.m., during a routine cell check, a correctional deputy observed McElroy experiencing a medical emergency and immediately requested emergency medical assistance. McElroy was evaluated by emergency medical personnel at the correctional facility before being transported via ambulance to Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital for further treatment.

On July 21, 2026, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was notified that McElroy had been pronounced deceased at the hospital.
The circumstances surrounding this incident are currently under investigation by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division and the Humboldt County Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT).

The Humboldt County Critical Incident Response Team is a multi-agency investigative team composed of specially trained investigators from law enforcement agencies throughout Humboldt County. CIRT provides independent, comprehensive investigations of critical incidents, including in-custody deaths and officer-involved shootings. Team members work collaboratively to collect and analyze evidence, review body-worn camera footage and other relevant materials and prepare detailed investigative reports for review by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation remains active, and no additional information is being released at this time.

Anyone with information related to this investigation is encouraged to contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip Line at (707) 268-2539.

Press release from the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

On July 16, 2026, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF), assisted by the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol, served a search warrant in the 3700 block of Red Rock Road in Benbow.

Drugs. Photo: HCDTF.

The search warrant targeted 42-year-old Kristina Babauta as part of a month-long investigation into the suspected distribution of narcotics throughout Southern Humboldt and Humboldt County.

During the service of the search warrant, Fortuna Police Department K-9 Kane was alerted to the presence of narcotics in several areas of the residence. A subsequent search resulted in the seizure of the following:

• Approximately 14.5 ounces of cocaine
• Approximately 14.6 ounces of DMT
• Approximately 3.4 ounces of ketamine
• Approximately 74 grams of psilocybin mushrooms
• Approximately 33.4 grams of MDMA
• Approximately 34 ketamine “KPOPS”
• 35 mushroom-infused chocolate bars
• 192 mushroom-infused gummies
• Five vials of LSD
• Nine functional firearms
• A large quantity of ammunition
• Approximately $77,000 in U.S. currency
• Several gold bars with an estimated value of $116,000

At the conclusion of the investigation, Babauta was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on the following charges:

Guns. Photo: HCDTF.

• HS 11378 – Possession of a controlled substance for sale
• HS 11379(a) – Transportation of controlled substances
• HS 11351 – Possession of controlled substance for sales
• HS 11352(a) – Transportation of controlled substance for sales
• HS 11366 – Own residence where narcotics are used or sold
• HS 11370.1 – Possession of controlled substance while armed

Anyone with information related to this investigation or other narcotics-related crimes is encouraged to contact the Humboldt County Drug Task Force at (707) 267-9976.

Press release from the U.S. Coast Guard:

A Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay helicopter crew rescued a 13-year-old boy stranded on a cliff at Sue-Meg State Park, Monday evening.

At 7:51 p.m., Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay watchstanders received a report from a California State Parks lifeguard that a teen was stranded on a cliff ledge on the south side of Agate Beach, approximately 200 feet above the shoreline. The teen had been climbing recreationally and was unable to descend.

California State Parks personnel remained on scene while local fire and rescue units responded. Sector Humboldt Bay assumed coordination of the rescue and launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew.

The aircrew arrived on scene, coordinated with ground responders and safely hoisted the teen from the cliff. Due to limited landing areas within the park, the helicopter transported the teen to Air Station Humboldt Bay. No injuries were reported.

The teen was later reunited with his parents through coordination between CAL FIRE and California State Parks.

PREVIOUSLY: Two People Died on the Trinity River Last Week, in Separate Incidents; Sheriff’s Office Issues Statement on the Cases, Urges People to be Cautious on the Water

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Over the weekend, 45-year-old Laurel Travis drowned while tubing with friends on the Trinity River. Still processing the profound loss, her wife, Corazón Villota, is channeling her immense grief into raising awareness about river safety in an effort to prevent another local tragedy.

Laurel Travis. | Photo contributed by Corazón Villota.

“If Laurel had had more information, maybe she would be alive now,” Villota told the Outpost in a recent phone interview, her voice breaking with emotion. “We did everything we could — she was wearing a life vest, and I made sure it was Coast Guard-approved and everything — but we didn’t have enough information to protect Laurel. … I know people say that after a certain point it’s safe to swim [in the Trinity River], but it’s not true for all areas. You can’t just rely on that.”

Travis died on Saturday afternoon after her inner tube overturned and she was swept underwater by a strong current along the river’s edge, near Salyer in Trinity County. As detailed in a press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Travis’ life vest caught in a tree branch, trapping her underwater while her two friends struggled to free her against the unrelenting current. When Travis finally resurfaced after nearly 10 minutes underwater, she was unconscious.

Her friends got her to shore and immediately began performing CPR, calling 911 in the process. Sheriff’s deputies and medics with the Salyer Volunteer Fire Department quickly responded to the scene and continued “extensive lifesaving measures,” but it was too late. Travis was pronounced dead shortly after 2:30 p.m.

Travis is the second person to drown in the Trinity River this month. Another person, who has yet to be publicly identified, drowned near the Campbell Creek area of Hoopa just two days earlier on Thursday, July 16, after being swept underwater by a strong current. 

The day after Travis’ untimely death, Villota posted to the Humboldt County on Alert Facebook group to warn people about dangerous conditions on the Trinity. The post received 1,000-plus comments, many of which extended prayers and condolences to Travis’ loved ones. Villota felt others were dismissive of what had happened.

“There were people in the comments saying, ‘Oh yeah, people die there every year,’ but I don’t think we have to accept all these deaths like they’re just normal,” Villota said. “I think we can do better, and it should matter more because these lives are precious. People shouldn’t be criticizing people [without knowing the full story] because we did everything we could. … I even told her about avoiding branches on the side.”

When Travis first mentioned the river trip, Villota said she urged her not to go, given her lack of experience on the water, “but she was determined to do it.”

“This was a period in her life when she was blossoming and growing as a person. Getting to do this trip was like taking a risk and trying something new,” Villota said. “But I really want to make it clear, even though she didn’t have a lot of experience, she wasn’t reckless at all, and she took it seriously. … One of the comforts I have is that [her friends] said they were all having a really good time … [They] said Laurel was beaming and kept saying over and over, ‘This is the best day,’ up until right before [the accident].”

The Trinity River can be extremely dangerous, especially in the spring and early summer when its frigid waters are moving at thousands of cubic feet per second. While the Trinity tends to be safer later in the summer, strong currents and submerged snags are ever-present. 

Every summer, the HCSO publishes a list of safety tips for local river goers, linked below, but Villota feels local officials and emergency responders should do more to identify particularly hazardous areas, either through publicly available brochures or physical markings along the river.

“In the comments [on my post], a lot of people said they really wished that the local government or whoever would put up signs to mark specific areas where the eddies are or where the strainers are,” she said, referring to an obstruction in the waterway (tree limbs, roots, fencing, etc.) that allows water to pass through, but can trap boats and people. “It’s counterintuitive … but what you’re supposed to do is punch a hole in where the branches are — even a fist-sized hole — and try to shove yourself through it, using the current with you as opposed to trying to fight it. And if you can, you should get out and walk around it. Laurel didn’t know to do that.”

“Another person said you should never tube without a paddle,” she continued. “Had we known, Laurel would have had a paddle, and maybe she could have gotten away from the side.”

The Sheriff’s Office offers the following additional water safety tips:

• Always wear a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket when boating, kayaking, paddleboarding or swimming.
• Never leave children unattended near rivers or creeks. Always keep a close eye on kids and make sure they are wearing life jackets.
• Avoid alcohol and drugs when participating in water activities, as they impair judgment and reaction time.
• Do not underestimate the current. Even if you’re a strong swimmer, the power of moving water can knock you off your feet and carry you downstream in seconds.
• Stay informed about river conditions and obey all posted warning signs and closures.

UPDATE: After this story was published, a local river access specialist with American Whitewater, a national nonprofit, shared some more in-depth water safety tips — linked here. 

Villota remembers her wife as someone who loved to take care of other people, both in her professional capacity as a medical assistant and as a partner and friend, despite her own chronic illness. She was a lover of cats and an avid crocheter. In the last year of her life, Travis started stepping out of her comfort zone in a way she never had before. 

“She started to buy Doc Marten boots with glitter on them, and she dressed like David Bowie with full-length pink glitter pants,” Vilotta said, noting Travis’ history of social anxiety. “She was volunteering at an indigenous garden, going to movies and taking new risks. … This trip was actually another example of that; taking a risk, doing something she was scared of and not letting social anxiety hold her back. I think she finally started realizing her own value.”

“She was goofy, quirky, lovable and just a beautiful soul,” she continued. “She went too early.”

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On July 21, 2026, at approximately 10:56 pm., officers with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) responded to 1800 block of Broadway for the report of an injury traffic collision. Upon arrival, officers located the involved vehicle and a pedestrian. The pedestrian had major injuries and was transported to a local hospital.

As standard protocol, personnel from EPD’s Criminal Investigations Unit and Major Injury Team responded to conduct the investigation. During the investigation, a witness was contacted.

The following are the current known facts about the collision:

• The 41-year-old, male pedestrian had been involved in altercation with another male on Fairfield and called Eureka Police Dispatch Center.
• While speaking with the Dispatcher, and despite [being] instructed not to do so, the pedestrian stated he was walking into the roadway.
• The pedestrian walked westbound across Broadway, south of the W.Wabash intersection.
• North and southbound traffic on Broadway had a green light at W.Wabash.
• While crossing in the #2 lane (right-hand) southbound lane of Broadway, the pedestrian was struck by an oncoming vehicle.
• DUI was determined not to be a factor in this collision.
• Alcohol or impairment for the pedestrian is not known at this time.

This incident remains under active investigation. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has information that may assist investigators is urged to contact EPDs Criminal Investigations Unit at (707) 441-4300.

You see that headline above? I used to not know that. Now I do know it, because I have read the following press release from the Cool Air Rebate Program.

Become similarly enlightened below.

By the way: According to the Cool Air Rebate Program’s handy map, there are at least four local shops participating in the program — Leon’s Car Care Center, Eureka Brake & Automotive, Dan’s Auto Electric and Johnson Automotive & Electric, all in Eureka.

Press release from the Cool Air Rebate Program:

The Cool Air Rebate Program, which helps low-income Californians afford vehicle A/C repairs, has launched Cool Air Salute, a statewide program covering 95% of repair costs for eligible veterans, active-duty service members and their families, up to $1,500 per vehicle. Cool Air Salute benefits exceed the standard Cool Air Rebate program’s 90% coverage available for the general public. 

Trippy-ass art from the official Cool Air Rebate coloring book. Click to make it huge.

“California’s veterans, service members and their families have given so much, and too many are spending the hottest days of the year in a car they can’t afford to fix,” said Mike Tanner, executive director of the Car Care Council. “That ends now. Through Cool Air Salute, we are covering 95% of the repair, statewide.”

The Cool Air Salute Program launched on July 17, 2026, at the annual San Diego Stand Down hosted by Veterans Village of San Diego.

“At Veterans Village of San Diego, we are committed to removing the barriers that stand between Veterans and long-term stability,” said Akilah Templeton, president & CEO of Veterans Village of San Diego. “The Cool Air Rebate Salute Program provides meaningful support by helping Veterans maintain dependable air conditioning in their vehicles, improving their comfort, health, and overall quality of life while honoring their service.”

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, California is home to the nation’s largest veteran population, roughly 1.6 million, and with 157,000 men and women, has the most active-duty service members of any state. Many members of the military community live on fixed or limited incomes that qualify them for help.

To learn more, visit coolairrebate.org/salute. 

Let Gilbert break it down for you.

About the Cool Air Rebate Program: The Cool Air Rebate Program, launched in 2024, helps eligible Californians repair leaking vehicle air-conditioning systems, easing the cost of a safe, cool drive while improving local air quality. The program is administered by the nonprofit Car Care Council and funded entirely by unclaimed deposits on cans of R-134a refrigerant, in coordination with the California Air Resources Board. As of this summer, the program has infused $8 million directly into the local economy, partnering with nearly 500 automotive repair shops to stop refrigerant leaks and get families back on the road safely. 

For more information on the Cool Air Rebate Program and to find a participating auto repair shop, visit coolairrebate.org.

The Cool Air Rebate Program is metal AF!

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom is in his populism era.

He started the year vowing to stop corporate investors from buying up large tracts of single-family homes, a desire shared by both socialists and President Donald Trump.

Last month, after he was unable to keep a proposal to tax California billionaires from appearing on voters’ ballots, he tried to get ahead of the debate by pitching nationwide higher taxes on the wealthy.

Last week, he spoke to a crowd of national Latino policymakers about the need to “democratize our economy” in the face of artificial intelligence-driven job losses.

Newsom’s populist appeals come as he prepares to leave office and looks toward an expected 2028 presidential campaign in which widespread anxiety about wealth inequality and the effects of AI on the economy will feature prominently.

“The old bargain is dead, and AI is going to finish it off,” he said last week in Los Angeles, of the concept that Americans could support families with working-class jobs. “We need to wake up to that foundational reality.”

The posture is new territory for Newsom, who is not a natural populist and who maintains his longstanding relationships with wealthy tech donors who have railed against the proposed billionaire tax, Proposition 40.

As governor, he’s kept his image as a liberal who favors progressive income taxes and expanding the social safety net without teetering too far into the overtly redistributive politics of democratic socialists. He eschewed most new tax proposals and stood by several state corporate tax benefits that progressives have longed to scrap.

By focusing on AI-driven inequality now, Newsom is choosing a popular issue to define his expected 2028 run. But it’s not yet clear whether voters will buy his solution.

“Newsom is balancing two pressures,” said Kevin Liao, a Democratic strategist who worked on billionaire Tom Steyer’s “tax the rich” gubernatorial campaign this year. “There’s a desire to meet the demands of his constituents and the current appetite to be against billionaires, and to address the massive wealth inequality in the state and the country, with the cold political reality that much of his career and presumably his future ambitions have also been built on the financial support from a lot of wealthy folks in Silicon Valley.”

Four tax measures on the California ballot

Even as he adopts a more progressive posture while appearing in other states, Newsom is walking a fine line back home, where his vocal opposition to California’s billionaire tax proposal could confuse voters staring at multiple tax measures on the November ballot.

Proposition 3, sponsored by the California Teachers Association, is also a tax on the rich: It would make permanent the state’s higher income tax rates for the top 2% of earners. That money goes into the state general fund, 40% of which pays for schools.

Voters approved those rates temporarily in 2012 at the behest of then-Gov. Jerry Brown, and extended them again in 2016. If they expire as planned in 2030, the state stands to lose between $5 and $15 billion a year in revenue.

Early polling shows that measure is popular, but CTA President David Goldberg acknowledged it will be tricky to campaign in favor of it with another tax on the ballot. The union opposes the billionaire tax because it would not send the same proportion of its revenues to schools, instead prioritizing healthcare.

Voters will also be asked to weigh in on three other tax-related ballot measures: two backed by tech billionaires designed to undercut the billionaire tax, and one by an anti-tax advocacy group that would make it harder for cities to raise local taxes.

“It’s always hard when you have a bunch of things” on the ballot, Goldberg said. “It is going to mean that we have to really go out there and make the case for this.”

Asked whether his opposition to Prop. 40 could hinder public support for Prop. 3, Newsom told reporters recently: “I hope that’s not the case. … It’s a legitimate question.”

How Newsom wants to be seen

For years, Newsom has defended California on Fox News and on social media against a national reputation that it is over taxed, often arguing that lower- and middle-income families pay more in taxes to live in states like Florida and Texas. The basis of his claim is a study from the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that found Florida and Texas rely heavily on property and sales taxes, which effectively take a greater share of those households’ earnings than those of the wealthiest. The states do not tax personal income.

“He taxes low-income workers more than we tax millionaires and billionaires in the state of California,” Newsom said of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, during a 2023 debate hosted by Fox’s Sean Hannity.

Critics say those arguments don’t take into account the lower costs of goods and property in other states.

“California is a high-tax state,” said Jared Walczak, a senior fellow at the right-leaning Tax Foundation. “A state like California can get away with higher rates than some other states because the state has so much to offer. … It doesn’t mean there isn’t a tipping point.”

Now nearing the end of his term, Newsom is touting all the progressive programs California’s tax system has made possible, including universal school meals and subsidized child care.

At the same time, Newsom often chides more left-wing colleagues in the Legislature “not to be profligate” with public spending. He touts that he’s never raised taxes in his eight years as governor, though critics may quibble over limiting businesses’ tax deductions or a law he signed this month raising a tax on health insurance plans.

When Democratic lawmakers pushed to raise new revenue in the face of budget deficits the last three years, he quickly quashed the idea.

“We have among the highest tax rates in the United States of America for high-wage earners, we have among the highest tax rates … for corporate taxes,” he said in 2024. “I feel strongly that we have to live within our means.”

This year, some Democrats insisted on a proposal to tax corporations whose workers earn so little that they qualify for public healthcare; Newsom would agree only for the state to study the idea.

‘He’s never banged this drum’

He’s taken a similar stance with the state billionaire tax. Along with a cadre of Democratic allies like Planned Parenthood, he argues that billionaires could easily move their assets to another state — as some, like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, have done with their homes and businesses. Early polling shows a slim majority of Californians support the measure.

Newsom pressured SEIU United Healthcare Workers West to drop the measure in exchange for concessions, but when he didn’t succeed, he pivoted to proposing his own federal billionaire’s tax, taking a page from progressives like Elizabeth Warren.

He’s calling for a minimum tax rate on anyone making more than $100 million, undoing corporate tax cuts that President Trump and Congress approved in 2017, boosting inheritance taxes and closing loopholes used by the wealthy to borrow from unrealized capital gains without paying income taxes.

Without getting into details, he also said he supports the idea of a public fund using AI-derived wealth to support displaced workers.

Rob Stutzman, a Sacramento Republican strategist, said Newsom risks being seen as inauthentic in a primary campaign.

“He’s never banged this drum … he’s a big spender but not a big taxer,” Stutzman said. “This whole jiu-jitsu he has to do to oppose the (billionaire) tax in his state and then support it federally, it doesn’t sound as authentic as others might sound on the soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.”

Voters are anxious about AI

The call for sharing wealth also opens doors for anti-tax attacks from the right, which is eager to link a wide swath of Democratic policies to communism.

“Most Democrats have the foresight to tie their tax hikes to a far-left policy, but Newsom just wants to take your money because he wants to take your money,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Nicholas Poche said in an emailed statement, criticizing Newsom for trying to “have it both ways with progressives and establishment Democrats.”

But political strategists agree that framing tax proposals as a response to AI anxiety is appealing across the ideological spectrum.

“A wealth tax is more simplistic and falling along ideological lines,” Liao said. “If we’re talking about broad societal change, it is much more than wealth redistribution. It is something that’s going to touch every single person.”

More than half of Americans worry the technology will leave someone in their household jobless; a growing sense of precarity has seized workers from customer service representatives to Silicon Valley’s own elites. Meanwhile, the upcoming public offerings of AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are expected to turbocharge the nation’s already unequal distribution of wealth. The top 10% of the country owns nearly 70% of its wealth, and the bottom half own just 2.5%.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, known as a moderate Democrat, is floating more aggressive regulations on the technology as he weighs a run for president and is open to basic income payments for displaced workers. Progressive standard-bearer U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders is proposing a national sovereign wealth fund paid for with a 50% tax on AI companies that would directly pay Americans, making the nation essentially a part owner of AI.

Even Vice President J.D. Vance is considering the issue, telling a podcaster last month that his biggest concern about AI is not mass unemployment but the breakup of “social harmony” that comes with increasing inequality.

“If you make rich people way richer, you are going to have significant problems,” he said. “That is one of the consequences that I see from AI.”

He added that Trump is generally supportive of Sanders’ idea, though the president also has developed cozy ties with many tech leaders during his second term.

But many progressives are holding their applause for Newsom for now. Lorena Gonzalez, leader of the California Labor Federation, said she’s pleased he is taking on AI-driven inequality, but unions still want the state to curb AI in workplaces and stop mass displacement of workers. Newsom has been reluctant to back aggressive regulation or bans on the technology.

Flanked by labor leaders in important presidential primary states earlier this year, Gonzalez warned the governor that unions could withhold their political support if Newsom does not rein in use of the technology.

“It’s not enough to say, ‘I feel your pain,’” Gonzalez said. “We don’t think that catastrophic job loss is inevitable.”