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The Eureka City Council on Tuesday took its first look at a draft ordinance that would require property owners to regularly maintain empty buildings to address and prevent blight around the city. 

The Vacant Building Ordinance, if approved, would impose new rules on commercial and residential properties that have been unoccupied for more than 30 days to discourage property owners from allowing empty buildings “to remain vacant indefinitely.” Under the proposed rules, property owners would be required to “actively maintain and monitor” vacant buildings that are not “actively being offered for sale, lease, or rent.” If the building is not maintained for 30 days or more, the owner will be fined $1,000 per month.

There are a few exceptions to the proposed rules. If there is an active permit and the owner is diligently working to “complete the repair, rehabilitation, or demolition” of the building, they’re probably exempt from enforcement. 

Contreras-DeLoach | Screenshot

Councilmember Renee Contreras-DeLoach asked City Attorney Autumn Luna to explain what counts as regular maintenance and appropriate landscaping. “This is not HOA behavior we’re talking about, right?” she asked. “We’re not going to be out there measuring people’s lawns.”

“Absolutely not,” Luna said, adding that she would never ask the city’s code enforcement team to “go out and measure grass.” She acknowledged that people may “quibble about whether their particular lawn is a mess” but said that wasn’t a pressing issue that she was aware of. 

“Not to be too punny, but I don’t want to get in the weeds on the health and safety standard issues,” Luna said, adding that such issues are already addressed in municipal code. “We’re generally talking about places that don’t necessarily look like a dilapidated mess, but they’ve been vacant for a very long time and we’re trying to reach [those] buildings with this ordinance.”  

Asked how staff would sort out citizen complaints about maintenance at vacant sites, Luna said the city’s code enforcement team is trained to identify issues that rise to the level of enforcement. Regardless, property owners and neighbors have “due process” to air out their concerns. “That is baked into every law enforcement action we take,” she said. 

Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez asked how the ordinance would be enforced and if the city would keep a registry of vacant buildings. Luna said the city would maintain some sort of registry “to the extent necessary to enforce this tool.” As for enforcement, the city is hoping property owners will self-report and bring themselves into compliance with the ordinance. However, most code enforcement actions are based on citizen complaints, she said. 

“Code enforcement doesn’t have the time and isn’t generally roving the neighborhoods looking for problems,” Luna said. “They’re responding to concerns from the community when they go out on calls.”

Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Castellano, who filled in for Mayor Kim Bergel at Tuesday’s meeting, reminded the council and the audience that staff was looking for direction on the draft ordinance and a final version would come back in the next month or so.

Speaking during public comment, Scott Pesch, a local commercial real estate broker, expressed concern that the proposed rules would unfairly punish property owners for vandalism and other issues that occur at vacant properties.

“I represent a lot of clients that have commercial buildings that are vacant or are for sale,” he said. “When a vacancy [occurs] there is a kind of crisscross where the homeless are attracted to it because it is vacant and … then their trash is left behind and vandalism occurs. So, you have this crisscross where the city might look to the owner and the owner might look to the city. At the root of the problem is homelessness. Some of it, not all of it.”

Pesch also expressed concern about the proposed fee structure and how it would affect the local real estate market. “Sometimes the economics of the city don’t always warrant that you’re going to have a complete 100% occupancy. You’re going to have vacancies out there,” he said. “I think we’re all working toward the right thing, I just want to be careful with some of this language.”

Following public comment, Luna said a property owner who is struggling to find a renter could still comply with the draft ordinance. 

Luna | Screenshot

“If your concern is penalizing folks who own a vacant building, say a commercial property owner who takes three months to rent … that’s not somebody who would necessarily be in a penalty situation,” she said. “They could still be in compliance with the ordinance. They would, however, be paying a monitoring fee. I just think it’s important to understand the difference between fee and fine in this context.” 

Asked about next steps, Luna recommended that the council table the discussion for the time being to give staff time to address some of the council’s questions. DeLoach made a motion to that effect, which was seconded by Fernandez. 

“I appreciate the discussion and I appreciate all the work put in by staff, but I’m not comfortable with [the ordinance] as written,” DeLoach said. “I think it can be really tricky sometimes for people to fill buildings. … That being said, I do not like that our downtown is suffering and knowing that sometimes people are just using [vacant buildings] as write-offs.”

After a bit of additional discussion, the council approved the motion in a 3-0 vote, with Councilmember Scott Bauer and Councilmember Kati Moulton absent.

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What else happened at last night’s meeting?

• The city council also received a report from OIR Group, the city’s Independent Police Auditor (IPA) regarding the Eureka Police Department’s role in the greater law enforcement response to the recent pro-Palestine protest at Cal Poly Humboldt. OIR Group’s 26-page review offers a detailed account of the April 22 events on campus, along with a list of recommendations for the department. The report was critical of the University Police Department’s leadership in the police response but praised the EPD for being more prepared and equipped than other responding agencies. OIR Group recommended that the city “facilitate a multi-agency debrief to discuss where improvements can be made in future responses.” The council agreed to receive the report.
• Later in the meeting, Fernandez asked the council if it would be interested in reviewing the city’s existing multi-agency response guidelines to address some of the concerns brought up in OIR Group’s report. The council agreed in a 3-0 thumbs up.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On August 6, 2024, at approximately 1:54 pm, Officers from Eureka Police Department responded to a single vehicle rollover collision at I/Henderson Streets.

Upon arrival, officers extricated the driver and began life-saving efforts. Humboldt Bay Fire took over life-saving efforts and the driver was transported to a nearby hospital. However, at the hospital, the driver was declared deceased.

Based on the preliminary investigation, it appears the driver suffered a medical emergency prior to the collision which ultimately resulted in their death.

[CLARIFICATION: Eureka Police Department spokesperson Laura Montagna tells the Outpost that the cause of death remains undetermined pending an autopsy.]

A member of EPD’s Major Injury/Fatal Traffic Investigations Team, EPD Detectives, and Evidence Technicians responded to the scene to conduct the investigation.

The decedent has been identified and the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office is working to notify next of kin.

This is an active investigation and EPD is asking witness to contact Officer Mark Sheldon at 707-441-4060.

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Note: The headline of this post was changed from its original version to more accurately represent the content of the press release. 

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On August 6, 2024, at approximately 11:33 pm, Eureka Police Department Officers responded to the 900 block of K Street for the report of shots fired into a residence. Upon arrival, officers located evidence indicating shots had been fired. EPD Detectives and Evidence Technicians responded to the scene to conduct the investigation. At this time, this appears to be an isolated incident.

This is an active investigation and EPD is asking witness to contact Det. Sgt. Cory Crnich at 707-441-4300.

Arcata Fire District release:

On August 6, 2024 at 7:00 P.M. Arcata Fire District units along with multiple other fire, law enforcement and EMS agencies were dispatched to a reported commercial structure fire at 4975 Valley West Boulevard.

Arcata Police officers in the area had arrived first and reported smoke coming from a single apartment of a two-story multi-unit apartment building. The police officers immediately began evacuating occupants of the building. Arcata Fire District units arrived on scene and found an apartment with heavy smoke and active fire. The automatic sprinkler system had activated and was preventing the fire from spreading beyond the original apartment.

Due to the size of the structure and potential for threat to life, Arcata Fire District requested Humboldt Bay Fire, who already had an engine responding to assist, dispatch their ladder truck for additional specialized equipment and staffing. The Arcata Fire District units that were at scene attacked the fire, performed secondary searches and confirmed the building was completely clear.

The fire was controlled in about 10 minutes. Arcata Fire personnel ventilated smoke from the building.

While evacuating the structure, Arcata Police officers located an occupant who was suffering from smoke inhalation. The patient was assessed and treated by ambulance personnel at the scene.

The Arcata Fire District Volunteer Logistics responded with salvage equipment to allow fire personnel to remove water, expediting the ability of occupants to re-enter the building. Arcata Fire District personnel conducted an investigation of the cause of the fire, which is undetermined at this point and remains under investigation.

Damages to the building are approximately $10,000. Arcata Fire District would like to thank its allied partners for all of their assistance as the fire had potential to develop into a major incident. Arcata Fire was assisted by Blue Lake Fire, Fieldbrook Fire, Humboldt Bay Fire, Arcata Police Department, Arcata-Mad River Ambulance, Cal Fire Emergency Command Center in Fortuna, and Pacific Gas and Electric.

Arcata Fire would also like to recognize the importance of smoke alarms and automatic extinguishing systems. Combined, these systems allow for early notification which most certainly saves lives and reduces fire spread.

On the surface, fighting wildfires doesn’t appear to require delicacy or nuance. Fire bosses speak in the language of war: weapons, attack, suppression, control.

But to effectively manage a wildfire is to engage in an intricate game of multi-dimensional chess: moving firefighters and equipment where they are most needed or where they are predicted to be required, then coaxing and caring for these resources so that they can continue to be used and moved around a fiery board.

Take the Park Fire, which is blazing through Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties, already consuming about 415,000 acres. Now burning for two weeks, it’s the fourth largest fire in California history.

It’s a difficult fire to manage because of the steep, remote terrain, its early start in the season and the nearly 30,000 other wildfires around the country this year that have been gobbling up firefighters and equipment.

“Some people might ask, ‘Are there enough resources in California?’,” Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler said during a news conference last week from the Borel Fire in Kern County. A fire chief’s standard response is ‘Yes, but we could use more.’ Thanks to mutual aid, help is here and more is coming from around the state, nation and world, Tyler said.

As Cal Fire wrestles with long shifts, stressful conditions, sizzling heatwaves and budget restraints, California’s statewide mutual aid pact and reciprocal assistance from crews across the U.S. and other nations are critical to ensuring there’s enough firefighters to battle its intensifying wildfires.

California “is very successful at handling its incidents” with its own platoons of firefighters and specially-equipped fleets of aircraft, said Sean Peterson, manager of the federal government’s National Interagency Coordination Center, which triages the nation’s large fires by deciding where to send reinforcements. “They have more resources, with state and federal cooperators, than the rest of the U.S. combined.”

At the Park Fire, a dusty parking lot at the Silver Dollar Fairground near Chico is crammed with red, yellow and green fire engines and crew trucks emblazoned with the logo of the agency that sent them.

Jeff Whitehouse, an engineer with the Ventura County Fire Department, sat in his fire engine on a recent day, with the air conditioning blasting against the 100-degree-plus temperatures at the Park Fire command post.

He had been on the fire for a week and, after working shifts of 24 hours on and 24 hours off, he said his priorities are sharply focused: “Hydrate, eat and sleep,” Whitehouse said. “On days off, after I get myself squared away, I don’t have trouble sleeping. Then it’s back at it.”

Jeff Whitehouse, a Ventura County Fire Department engineer, in his engine at the Park Fire command post in Chico on Aug. 2, 2024. Photo by Florence Middleton, CalMatters

Emiliano Lopez, a firefighter from the Riverside County Fire Department, said he hasn’t had a bad day yet, that he’s managing the heat, takes time to rest and tries to take breaks when he can.

State officials say implementing a shortened 66-hour workweek — down from 72 hours — and a plan to phase in more firefighters over five years will take some of the stress off overworked Cal Fire firefighters. For wildfires, state crews stay as needed, generally working 14 to 21 days before they are rotated out.

“Our focus is on getting the health welfare and rest time,” said Cal Fire Battalion Chief David Acuna. “It used to be that the large incidents were so infrequent that you’d get to go home for a week. We have made a more concerted effort to make those 21-day cycles a reality and allow people more time at home.”

“It used to be that the large incidents were so infrequent that you’d get to go home for a week. We have made a more concerted effort to make those 21-day cycles a reality and allow people more time at home.”
— David Acuna, Cal Fire Battalion Chief

Cal Fire would not allow its firefighters at the Park Fire to be interviewed by CalMatters.

The fire is so vast that the fairground is one of two incident command posts established to better stage the nearly 6,600 personnel on the fire.

According to Chris Hardy, Cal Fire’s deputy chief of command and control, federal fire crews from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service are deployed on California fires.

Hand crews from the California Conservation Corps and the National Guard are working firelines. The state Office of Emergency Services assigned hundreds of engines from local jurisdictions to join the fight.

Outside of California, help is coming from all points of the compass. Texas dispatched 25 engines, Utah sent engines and water tenders and Nevada deployed an engine. A fire engine from North Dakota is making its way to the state. A cadre of fire supervisors from Florida, Arkansas and Oregon are working California fires.

And a group from the New York City Fire Department is assisting with a complex of fires in the Sequoia National Forest.

Two waves of Australian firefighters — whose extensive experience and familiarity with California fires is highly prized — are expected to arrive this week. Canada, a reliable partner, is enduring its own fire assault and regrets it cannot help.

“I got calls from governors on the East Coast who were willing to send help,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “That’s a hell of a thing.”

It’s a two-way assistance channel: Despite its already severe fire year — with almost four times more acreage burned so far than the average for this time of year — California already has sent crews to Oregon and Texas, state officials said.

A nationwide Level 5 alert — the highest

Tyler praised California’s mutual aid system for its ability to marshall resources from cooperating agencies quickly. The agreements are pledges that when calls for help come in from another agency within California, fire departments will answer if they can.

The state’s overall fire response is bifurcated, with north and south operations centers set up to more nimbly respond to fires in each region.

With nearly 4,900 fires in California so far this year, and more sparking every day, the system’s limits are being tested.

“We recognize the need to order additional resources,” Tyler said. “We continue to reach out and ask for resources across the U.S.”

Some of those requests are sent to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, where Peterson oversees the daily national fire situation report, making decisions on where to send crews, engines and planes.

“All of our western geographic areas are ordering resources. When I came in at 7 o’clock today, we already had 800 orders sitting here. No large fire is going to get every resource they ask for right now.”
— Sean Peterson, National Interagency Coordination Center

With the U.S. now on Preparedness Level 5, the highest, it’s a sobering outlook. It’s only the fourth time in 20 years that the alert level has been reached so early in the summer.

For those requesting assistance, and for those sending it, it’s starting to be everything, everywhere, all at once.

“All of our western geographic areas are ordering resources,” Peterson said. “When I came in at 7 o’clock today, we already had 800 orders sitting here. No large fire is going to get every resource they ask for right now. We are almost fully committed with our resources.”

Cal Fire crews are rewinding hoses at the Park Fire command post in Chico on Aug. 2, 2024. Photo by Florence Middleton, CalMatters

First: A Cal Fire firefighter unpacks a fire engine shortly after fighting the Park Fire. Last: Dean, a Cal Fire firefighter who preferred to not give his last name, works in temperatures that exceeded 100 degrees in Chico, on Aug. 2, 2024. Photos by Florence Middleton, CalMatters

Peterson, who was born in Redding and grew up in Paradise, scene of California’s most-deadly fire, is a third-generation firefighter who used to work for Cal Fire before joining the U.S. Forest Service.

As the chessmaster responsible for moving much of the nation’s firefighting pieces, Peterson said the current challenge is “we don’t have people to send. It’s a balancing act, it can be a chess game. It’s a game we have been playing for several decades.”

Newsom said last week that “a lot of mutual aid is being stretched to West-wide fires,” acknowledging that California is not always the top national priority.

“We haven’t skimped on staffing, we have a record number of personnel. When I got here as governor we had 6,700 personnel at Cal Fire. Today, more than 9,700 men and women work at Cal Fire,” Newsom said at a news conference.

Rest “is paramount” for Hotshots, state crews

The Forest Service has adjusted, too. The standard staffing on its Hotshot crews in recent years has expanded to 25. These highly-trained crews are often positioned at the most dangerous parts of fires. With at least 18 members required to deploy, a firefighter who needs to stand down can do so without affecting the functionality of the crew.

The Park Fire, stubborn and dangerous, has grown into a “campaign fire,” an informal designation that acknowledges it’s a blaze likely to be around for some time. The million-acre August Complex fire in 2020 burned in seven Northern California counties for nearly three months.

First: Firefighters at the Park Fire command post in Chico on Aug. 2, 2024, after a 24-hour shift. Last: The Park Fire command post in Chico serves as headquarters for crews, offering food, accommodations, showers and mental health support, among other services. Photos by Florence Middleton, CalMatters

On a fireline, that translates into days and nights that blur. Sixteen-hour shifts or longer are not uncommon. Already tired crews settle into a rhythm of hours on the fire followed by a handful of hours to shower, eat and, critically, sleep.

“Getting the crew sufficient rest is paramount for me once we are off the fireline,” said Dan Mallia, superintendent for the Redding Hot Shots, an elite Forest Service team that worked the Park Fire.

He said the fire service has a better understanding of the link between sleep and maintaining physical and mental health. To that end, some crews sleep in specially retrofitted trailers at the incident command post, others, such as Cal Fire, stay in local hotels.

But fire camps, which can be loud, bustling places with round-the-clock lights and noise, are not ideal places to rest. Mallia said after decades of fighting fires in remote places in California, “I know all the hidey-holes. It needs to be quiet and it needs to be dark. We find a campsite, put a sleeping pad down and get in our bags. I’ve slept in hundreds of high school gyms.”

Veteran firefighters joke about being able to sleep standing up. Talking this week while waiting for his team to be assigned, Mallia said the crew was in trucks, ready to go. “I guarantee you they are catnapping,” he said.

‘Can I pet your dog?’

Fire bosses now understand that rest and time away from the fireline are critical to maintaining the ability of crews to stay at work, and to mentally stay on the job. With firefighters facing months of racing from fire to fire, officials employ anything that can reduce the strain of an already-stressful job.

Ember, a cheerful yellow labrador, is one such tool. Richard Alamo is her handler, and as he strides through the sprawling camp he is greeted with “Can I pet your dog?,” exactly the reaction he’s looking for.

Alamo, a captain with the Sacramento Fire Department, employs Ember and her ever-swishing tail, as a therapy dog to allow firefighters to decompress by petting and playing with the dog, a small moment of normalcy in a frenetic place.

“They’re working long hours. They’re waiting to see some of the devastation,” he said. “And so when you come up they’re all smiles. We’re making a huge impact.

A firefighter embraces Ember, a therapy dog, at the Park Fire command post in Chico on Aug. 2, 2024, after returning from a long shift fighting the Park Fire. Ember and other therapy dogs are available to crew members at the command post to alleviate stress. Photo by Florence Middleton, CalMatters

“She has a calming nature and she just loves people,” Alamo said, stroking the dog’s head. “It’s amazing to see her seek out certain people who might be stressed or having some type of emotion, and she’ll provide a little nudge, then position herself right in front of them so that they can pet her. Sometimes there’s no conversation that needs to be had. Just her simply going up to that person and saying, ‘Hey, I’m here.’ “

Those moments of decompression are now part of the state’s overall fire strategy. Tyler has said that attending to the mental health of his employees is a top priority, amid what some state officials have described as a crisis of PTSD and suicide.

The department has a team of peer support counselors who travel to fire stations and set up in trailers on large fires, with an open-door policy for anyone working the fire to talk.

The frequency and intensity of fires now leaves little down time, on a fire or after, because they might be quickly redeployed.

It’s a never-ending chess game.

“It has the potential to be a very long fire season,” Peterson said. “It does give us pause, yes it does.”

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

Our beloved Raven-Simone Dancing-Cloud Doolittle, born October 23, 1993, began her journey home on August 1, 2024. Survived by her three sons: Niłtuq’lay Brown, Oscar Brown III, and Reatus Doolittle, grandmother/“mom”: Rita Fern Doolittle Rogers, grandfather: John Rogers Sr., grandmother: Linda Saxon, sisters: Roseanna Lee (Frank), Arlene Raye (Jimmy), Starlene Faye (Isaac), Mickela Xatimniim, Waterphall Savannah, Renee Ishkayish, brothers: Antone Richard, Virgil Gene, Arlen Wayne Jr. (Melissa), Shan Maureece (Sophie), Wes Glenn (Rindy), Freddy Nicknikish, Kenny Thuuk. And many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, loved ones, and her best friend, Travis Paul. Raven was preceded in death by her mother: Rachel Paula Saxon, father: Arlen Doolittle Sr., brother: Isaac Lyle Saxon, sister: Angel Louise Aubrey.

Raven was the epitome of strength and resilience. She was raised by her grandmother, Fern, and was a proud Hupa woman. When Raven was eight months old, she was diagnosed with Severe Dilated Cardiomyopathy. According to her specialists, she would not live beyond the age of five. Raven was a feisty little warrior who blessed us here on earth for nearly 31 years. She was the proud mother of three beautiful boys, who were her world.

Like her late father, Arlen Doolittle Sr., she made friends wherever she went. Her father was known for his contagious loud laugh, she was known for her sweet little giggle. Raven-Simone Dancing-Cloud Doolittle loved beading, chasing sunsets, cruising the mountain roads and fishing with her boys. She was always dancing, and singing (both contemporary and traditional Hupa songs). She was adventurous with a deep love for the river. Raven had a strong passion for cooking and baking. She was talented in the kitchen, making her food from scratch, always with love. She knew how to fix your side dish without hurting your feelings and was appreciated and respected for her creative, delicious cakes and desserts. She took pride in gifting loved ones with personalized birthday cakes on their special day. Raven loved all her nieces, nephews, cousins, and siblings. She made an extra effort to show up especially for her younger siblings in any and all times of need. She would travel near and far to support her family in sports and cultural activities. She often stood up for those she cared for and was not afraid to speak her mind, quick-witted and confident, our miracle baby was forever firm and unyielding. Determined, and independent with a side of stubborn, Raven was a courageous ball of light and love.

Her wake will take place on Doolittle Flat, 572 Tish-tang Rd., Wednesday, August 7, at 7 p.m. Funeral Services will be held at the Neighborhood Facilities, Thursday, August 8 at 10 a.m. Burial immediately following on Doolittle Flat, 796 Tish-tang Rd.

Reception, 1 p.m. at the Fire Hall, Hoopa.

Pallbearers: Jimmy Sanders, Jayden Dauz, Isaac Bussell, Isiaih Bussell, Julian Rogers, A:de’ts-Nikya:w Rogers, Burr Rogers, Cade Maxwell-Rogers, Aiden Rogers, Travis Brown, Blaze Carpenter, Duane Carpenter, RJ Marshall, Kitsay Powell, Gabriel Anderson, Frank Surber, Zayne Doolittle, Isaac Saxon, Angel Ray Saxon, Lil’ Jake Gayton, Ralph Peters, Kimit Peters, Greg Moon, Greg Moon Jr., Daniel Aubrey, Jordan Hailey, Brently Clark, Joey Schaffer, Vito Cosce.

Honorary Pallbearers: Uncle Kenny Doolittle, Uncle Emmett Chase, Grandpa John Rogers Sr., Uncle Yogi Saxon, Virgil Doolittle, Lil Arlen Doolittle Jr., Wes Marshall, Shan Davis, Freddy Doolittle, Kenny Doolittle, Niłtuq’lay Brown, Lil Oscar Brown III, Reatus Doolittle.

Unfortunately, these past four years have been an exceptionally challenging time for Raven-Simone. She was the recipient of a heart transplant in August of 2022 and continued to fight for life, motivated by the love she had for her sons and her grandma Fern. Despite the immense challenge of her final years, Raven’s infectious laugh and love radiated out to whomever she chose to spend her time with. We send our sincerest gratitude to all Organ Donors, and a special thank you to the family who gifted Raven with a chance to live a little longer. Xa’ gya’ne.

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

After an almost four year battle with kidney cancer, Frank Shaughnessy, 64, died on June 21, 2024, surrounded by his beloved family. Frank was the husband of Christel Rasmussen Shaughnessy, whom he married in Ebeltoft, Denmark, 29 years ago. He was the father of Dion and Fiona Shaughnessy, whom he loved without reservation. Frank was predeceased by his parents Anne and Jim Shaughnessy.

Frank grew up in Sudbury, Mass. and attended St. Johns in Shrewsbury, Mass. for high school. After majoring in Biology and English, Frank graduated from St. Lawrence University, N.Y. in 1982. He earned a Masters of Science in Botany at University of New Hampshire in 1986 and a Ph.D in Marine Botany and Ecology from the University of British Colombia in 1994. He taught at UBC for a year before working as a post-doc at Louisiana State University.

Frank started a position at Cal Poly Humboldt in August 1996, as a biology and marine botany professor and worked there until his retirement due to illness in August 2021. For several years, he co-chaired the Biology Department. Frank’s main research interest focused on the population and community ecology of marine algae and seagrasses. He was a founding member of the Coastal Ecosystems Institute of Northern California (CEINC). This year’s Humboldt Bay Symposium was dedicated to Frank for all his contributions to estuarial and marine ecology in Humboldt Bay and the North Coast (see below for scholarship information for students who share Frank’s interests). Although research was important to Frank, he found teaching truly fulfilling. He loved taking his students on field trips all around the North Coast. Frank spent endless hours working to ensure every one of his students had the opportunity to succeed. He won the Distinguished Faculty Award in 2021, as well as the Outstanding Faculty Award from the Disabled Student Group. Frank’s priorities are encompassed in the title of the last lecture he gave on campus: “The Classroom’s Human Connection: Personal Engagement Between a Student and Instructor and What That Means for Equity and Inclusivity During the Learning Experience.”

Frank was a lot more than the “seaweed guy.” Aside from his family and his work, he pursued several other passions. He was a dog lover, an accomplished woodworker and major cyclist (completing seven Tour of the Unknown Coast Rides and one Death Ride). A masterful gardener, Frank always appreciated when passerby complimented or photographed his profusion of flowers.

A progressive thinker and environmentalist, Frank held himself and those around him to a high moral standard. He was courageous, inquisitive, supportive, kind, determined, witty, and, at times, stubborn and opinionated.

Besides his wife and children, Frank leaves behind his sister Anne Shaughnessy and her partner Susan Epting of Groton, Mass. and his sister Maura Shaughnessy and her husband Bernie Regenauer and their children Colin and Brendan Regenauer of Wayland, Mass. Frank also leaves behind his devoted friends, particularly those in the Arcata area who supported the family throughout Frank’s cancer journey.

A memorial service will be held in Arcata in early fall. Memorial donations may be made to: 1) Students who share Frank’s interests: Please make check out to CEINC (address CEINC, PO Box 806, Bayside, CA 95524) and put Frank Shaughnessy Scholarship fund in the note, and/or 2) Maura’s Pan Ma Challenge Ride (MS0008 egift#) which benefits Frank Shaughnessy Kidney Cancer Research fund at Dana Farber Cancer Institute (pmc.org).

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