A Northstate News report on last year’s stair climb.
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Press release from Humboldt Bay Fire below. Note: The Outpost did confirm that the general public is welcome to come observe the opening ceremonies of this event, and to watch the firefighters do the climb, though the climb itself is restricted to first responders.
The Humboldt Bay Fire Training Tower is located at 2401 Hilfiker Lane, Eureka.
On Thursday, September 11, 2025, Humboldt Bay Fire, in partnership with local law
enforcement and fire agencies, will host the First Annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb
Fundraiser, a solemn tribute to the lives lost during the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The event will be held at the Humboldt Bay Fire Training Tower, beginning with an
opening ceremony at 9:00 a.m. Following the ceremony, first responders from across the
region will ascend 22 rounds on the 5-story tower, symbolizing the 110 stories of the
World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.
Each participant will climb in honor of the 343 firefighters, 60 police officers, and 8
paramedics who made the ultimate sacrifice while saving others that day. While the
challenge is physically demanding, its true weight lies in the tribute it pays to their
bravery, selflessness, and enduring legacy.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the First Responders Children’s Foundation,
which provides vital support to the families of first responders who have been killed or
injured in the line of duty. The foundation’s programs include scholarships, emergency
financial aid, and resources for children navigating the hardships that come with their
loved ones’ service.
This Stair Climb is not only a remembrance of history, but also a reminder of the strength
of community, the courage of those who serve, and the lasting legacy they leave behind.
A $7,500 check presentation to Cal Poly Humboldt in support of student success
A time capsule ceremony, preserving Coast Central’s history for future generations
Remarks from President and CEO Fred J. Moore and Board Chair Ron Rudebock, reflecting on the past 75 years and sharing a vision for the next 75.
Across all Member Services Branches (MSBs), members can enjoy:
Branded giveaways including mugs, pens, notepads, custom cookies, and more
Entry into a $75 gift card opportunity drawing at each branch
A refreshed coastccu.org website featuring a sleek new look with the same trusted functionality
“This new brand honors where we’ve been and points to where we’re headed,” said President and CEO Fred Moore. “It represents our unwavering commitment to our members and speaks to our mission of being the values driven partner uniquely rooted in uplifting our members and community.”
Join us September 9 as we celebrate 75 years of commitment to our community! For media inquiries or questions, please reach out to Christian Hill at (707) 499-2928 or chill@coastccu.org.
About Coast Central Credit UnionCoast Central Credit Union is the largest member-owned financial institution in the area, with over $2.2 billion in assets and operating 11 Member Services Branches throughout Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties, including McKinleyville, open six days a week and Bayshore Mall, open seven days a week. Additionally, members have access to a network of 30,000 free CO-OP ATMs nationwide. Individuals and businesses in the three counties may bank at Coast Central by visiting coastccu.org/join. With a strong emphasis on personalized service, community involvement, and financial integrity, Coast Central Credit Union provides exceptional financial services to its more than 79,000 members. More information is available at coastccu.org, facebook.com/coastcentral, @coastccu on Instagram, and by calling (707) 445-8801.
Lobbyists and advocates are filling the halls of the Legislature this week as negotiators work on a last-minute deal to extend California’s cap-and-trade program. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters
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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
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California lawmakers are scrambling to finalize a last-minute deal that would extend the state’s landmark greenhouse gas reduction program – known as cap and trade – through 2045.
At the center of this year’s reauthorization fight are a number of controversial concessions that former Gov. Jerry Brown gave to various industries – including oil and gas – when the Legislature last renewed the program in 2017. Those include giveaways that allow fossil fuel companies and others to emit greenhouse gases free of charge, as well as permission for some market participants to purchase questionably effective carbon offsets to meet emissions targets.
To the chagrin of environmental advocates, Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this summer proposed reupping the program as-is, an early sign of his blossoming friendliness with the fuel industry as he eyes a presidential bid in 2028.
The twist? There’s no bill. And even if the text of legislation comes out by the Wednesday deadline to introduce it, opponents argue that such a critical policy should not be rushed through at the last minute.
“We are in the last week of session, and no one has seen the language of what a program would look like,” read a pamphlet that lobbyists from the business community were circulating to members in the Capitol Monday. “Rushing a bad deal to determine the next 20 years of climate policy is the wrong approach.”
Even some environmental advocates who want to see the program renewed have griped about the opacity of the negotiations, which have primarily unfolded behind closed doors. While the Assembly has circulated draft language that closely resembles Newsom’s proposal, the Senate has kept its language under lock and key. According to two people familiar with the negotiations, Senate President Pro Tem’s Mike McGuire’s staff has only allowed members to view the proposed legislative text in person and prohibited them from bringing copies – printed, digital or photos – back to their staff.
Environmental justice advocates have long criticized the cap-and-trade program for failing to reduce pollution at refineries and other industrial sources, which are often located in low-income and minority communities. Because cap and trade allows companies to comply with greenhouse gas limits by buying credits, large polluters can continue operating in low-income neighborhoods without improving air quality or reducing emissions
Proponents of swift reauthorization say the carbon market needs certainty that the program will continue to exist in order to keep pulling in revenues. Over the past 11 years, almost $13 billion from cap-and-trade auctions has paid for electric vehicles, public transit, clean energy and other projects to reduce greenhouse gases and adapt to climate change.
A flurry of appeals to lawmakers
As lawmakers entered the Capitol on Monday, a welcoming committee of lobbyists and advocates descended on them, armed with pamphlets urging the members to halt negotiations over cap and trade and kick the conversation to next year.
The opponents included representatives from the fossil fuels industry, business groups and even the state’s influential trade unions, who often have the ear of Democrats in Sacramento but many of whose members are employed by the oil and gas industry and other major polluters.
They argued that a rushed plan to reauthorize cap and trade would unnecessarily raise costs on industries ranging from cement production to oil and gas and manufacturing and push them out of California. That, the groups argue, would result in job losses as well as higher prices as companies pass their increased costs along to consumers.
“No deal is better than a bad deal,” read a notice sent to members from the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California and obtained by CalMatters. “Negotiations on this complex and essential policy should be halted and picked back up in the earliest days of 2026 when the Legislature reconvenes.”
The union argued that the Legislature’s proposals would lead to “massive industrial job losses” and “skyrocketing fuel and retail costs” that would harm California families.
“We are disappointed that the Legislature has not been able to work with the Building Trades and the energy industry to advance a clean extension of cap and trade that prioritizes affordability,” the pamphlet read.
The California Chamber of Commerce, a business advocacy group that often finds itself on the opposite side of the trades union, agreed that the shortened timeline wasn’t sufficient to produce a “robust and responsible” piece of legislation.
“For months, we have heard promises that issues affecting California’s affordability were at the top of the list,” said Jennifer Barrera, group’s president and CEO. “But this vital issue will have to wait.”
While mainstream environmental groups like Environmental Defense Fund generally support reauthorizing the program, they’re irked about the obscure nature of the negotiations. Meanwhile, environmental justice advocates say that the flood of last-minute lobbying to delay the reauthorization came because they were finally making progress at the negotiating table.
“They’re saying that because they’re losing ground,” said Katie Valenzuela, a lobbyist for environmental justice groups. “These folks have unprecedented access to members in the building, and so for them to argue that there needs to be more public process is just comical.”
“Everyone is still at the table and working towards a negotiated proposal,” said Santa Barbara Democrat Sen. Monique Limón, the incoming Senate president. “So long as everyone is still working collaboratively, the possibility to get this done remains.”
Steve
Newman died on August 21, 2025 at the age of 82. He died at his home
in McKinleyville, where he’d lived the previous 48 years. He died
peacefully, in his sleep, near Carol, his wife of 44 years.
Steve
was born in Evansville, Indiana on November 13, 1942. Son of Morton,
a lawyer and later judge, and Babette, whose family lived across the
Ohio River in Henderson, Kentucky, Steve would spend his life near
rivers, oceans, creeks and other bodies of water, often most content
simply sitting near them. He and his sister Nancy (“the only person
I’ve known my entire life”) had, in many ways, a typical 1950s
midwestern childhood, but they would each find their way out of
Indiana, separately moving around the country and world, but were
never far from one another, both eventually landing in California in
the 1970s and remaining a major part of each other’s lives till the
end. A lifelong science enthusiast, Steve often joked that as a kid
he dreamed of becoming a nuclear physicist, but because of
pronunciation issues due to a lisp, he decided to pursue a career in
law like his father instead.
Graduating
high school in 1960, Steve then attended Indiana University. In
Bloomington, Indiana in the early ’60s, he found a countercultural
scene that included many friends that he would remain close to for
the rest of his life. He discovered much of the music and literature
that he was so passionate about during these years. Still, he
graduated with a degree in economics
and left for Cornell to attend law school.
It
turned out, the law wasn’t his thing. After a couple attempts at
law school, he spent much of the 1960s trying to figure out what was.
He moved to Washington D.C. and got a job in the Labor Department. He
went back to Indiana and got his master’s degree in media
studies,
a relatively new field. (He
would claim his thesis on Marshall McCluhan was the shortest in
university history, a legacy of brevity and mystery of which he was
very proud.) He worked at ABC news in New York during the moon
landing, taking a weekend off to attend Woodstock, which he left
after a few hours. He never liked crowds.
In
the early 1970s he found his way to California, attending UCLA in
pursuit of a Ph.D and joining the Coast
Guard.
After his honorable discharge from the Coast
Guard
he traveled up the coast for a summer to escape the crowds of LA and
visit a friend from his Bloomington days who was now a professor at
Humboldt State University. He never left. Finding a small house on
the Pacific Ocean in the town of Trinidad (“An incredible beach, a
real dream spot… 55 dollars a month!” he’d write to his
parents), he got a job at HSU in the media department. He remained in
the department for more than 30 years. In the media department he
found his thing: he loved being a detached observer behind the lens
of the camera and the editing process, during which one’s choices of
inclusion and omission are vital in telling the larger story. In
Humboldt is also where the long story of his early life ends and the
simple, more important one begins.
In
1977, at a university function, he met Carol Bany, who’d attended
college at HSU. They began dating. She knew it was serious when he
took her to look at a house he was thinking of buying. He bought it.
On Bartow Road in McKinleyville, it would be the house he remained in
for the rest of his life. He and Carol were married under the apple
tree in that backyard in 1981. In 1985 their son Nick, now a chef in
New Orleans, was born. In 1987, they had a daughter, Tara, a special
education consultant in Sonoma. He was an excellent husband and
father. Carol and his kids (and later grandkids) were everything to
him. The ‘80s were spent picking apples and blackberries in the
backyard, playing catch with the kids, collecting rocks and feathers
on the beach, and writing little poems and songs for his family
(although he could never carry a tune or play an instrument, he never
let it stop him.) Train trips back to Evansville to visit his mother
(his father passed away just before he became a father himself) were
another highlight, Babette remained a very important part of his and
his family’s life until she too passed in 2011. He would videotape
every trip, holiday, or school function and edit them with as much
care (and more love) as any professional project he was working on.
In
1995 he was diagnosed with cancer. He only hoped to live long enough
to see his kids graduate from high school. He did, and then lived
more than 20 years longer. In 2004, he retired from HSU, as the head
of the media department. In retirement he got to spend a couple
quality years with Tara, who was still in high school. Their lunches
of clam chowder at the Marina or breakfast at the Seascape formed a
bond that carried over to a game of words with friends that lasted
the rest of his life. He remained a constant presence in both of his
kids’ lives till the very end. He also got to spend quality time in
his beloved backyard with his dog Stewie, who, like Brownie in
Evansville, Mutlett in Trinidad, and Molly before him, was a major
part of his life.
But,
most importantly, he got to spend his later years with Carol, who
also retired from her career as a nurse. They would walk around
McKinleyville hand-in-hand. They took trips to Ireland, to visit her
family’s roots, and often spent Christmas with Nick in New Orleans.
They were inseparable. By far, the highlight of these twilight years
were visits with the grandkids. Tara and her husband Justin had Grace
in 2017, and Jack in 2018. His third act as PopPop may have been his
favorite one of all.
After
2020, he spent much of his last five
years at home. In (mostly) good health and (always) good spirits, he
spent much of these years in the backyard, photographing the birds
and deer who would wander in. He continued to edit short videos (his
“video doodles”) that he would share with friends and family till
the day before he died. Although most of his time was spent at home,
he remained very social till the end, with each day of the week
devoted to a Zoom call with people from different phases of his life,
from high school in Evansville, to college in Bloomington, to friends
from the late ’60s and early ’70s, to his son and grandkids. He
would regularly meet with friends from HSU, and occasionally host a
Friday beer group in the backyard.
Writing
home in 1971, he told his parents: “Nancy says you’re kinda worried
and I should tell you more things. I really can’t though because I’m
pretty much just taking things as they come. I’m happier and more
relaxed than I have been in years, tho which is something.”
He
would have been proud of what followed. Steve died quietly at home,
having lived a full life.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Steve Newman’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.
The cause of last month’s fatal plane crash off the coast of Shelter Cove remains a mystery following today’s release of a preliminary investigation report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
According to the report, 48-year-old Santa Rosa resident and student pilot Brian Mariette and a passenger flew into Shelter Cove for lunch on Aug. 17 and had just taken off on their return flight to Santa Rosa when their Cessna 140 hit turbulence, rapidly lost altitude and crashed into the Pacific, seriously injuring both men, according to a preliminary investigation report released today by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The wreckage remains unrecovered, the report says.
A witness told investigators that after taking off from the remote cliffside airstrip, the plane made a steep, climbing right turn over the ocean before disappearing into the low coastal fog. The passenger, who has not been publicly identified, relayed to investigators that they’d departed to the south, into the wind, and intended to circle back over the runway to gain altitude.
After entering the fog, however, the passenger looked down and saw the ocean “closer than expected,” the report says. “Shortly after entering the fog, he described the feeling of turbulence and stated the airplane was ‘violently pushed down’” before hitting the water, according to the report.
The witness who’d watched the plane take off heard sirens and someone in the water calling for help.
According to the NTSB report, the passenger did not remember exiting the airplane after the impact. Shelter Cove Fire personnel responded to the scene and found the men in the water, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Both men were recovered and brought to shore, but the pilot was pronounced dead at the scene. The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office later determined that he had drowned.
You can download and read the full report via the link below.
The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District (HBMWD) has announced that it will
conduct critical maintenance on its transmission pipeline this week.
Here is the schedule released today:
The isolation of the transmission pipeline will begin at 3:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 9. The
shutdown is expected to last a minimum of 24 hours, but could extend up to 48 hours depending on
conditions.
During this maintenance period, local water systems, including those serving the Cities of Eureka and
Arcata, the Humboldt Community Services District, and the Samoa Peninsula (Fairhaven, Samoa, and
Manila) will operate using existing reservoir supplies.
There should not be any interruption to water service. However, we encourage customers to use
water wisely over the next 48 hours.
HBMWD will post updates at www.hbmwd.com. For questions, customers may call HBMWD at (707)
443-5018 or City of Eureka Public Works at (707)441-4203, publicworks@eurekaca.gov.
Press release from the Humboldt County Administrative Office:
For those looking for a special day to tie the knot, the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s Office is thrilled to announce a hauntingly beautiful opportunity for couples to celebrate their union this Halloween.
In person civil wedding ceremonies will be performed for extended hours at two locations to accommodate couples seeking to make their love official on this eerily romantic holiday.
On Friday, Oct. 31, the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s Office will host elegant, gothic-inspired civil marriage ceremonies at the historic Humboldt County Fairgrounds, located at 1250 Fifth St. in Ferndale. The ceremony site will be transformed into a dark and glamorous wonderland for the occasion. Ceremonies will be held by appointment between noon and 6:15 p.m., rain or shine. Fairgrounds ceremonies will be available on a first come, first served basis, so interested couples are encouraged to call 707-445-7593 to schedule their ceremony as soon as possible.
Additionally, the Clerk-Recorder’s Office will be offering private civil marriage ceremonies, by appointment, at the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, located on the fifth floor of the Humboldt County Courthouse at 825 Fifth St. in Eureka, which will be specially decorated for the occasion. Courthouse ceremonies will be scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
How to Book a Halloween Day Wedding Ceremony
Civil wedding ceremony bookings must be done in person at the Humboldt County Clerk- Recorder’s Office. The fee to book a wedding ceremony is $100. Spanish language ceremonies are available upon request.
Due to high demand, couples must book their Halloween ceremonies no later than Thursday, Oct. 30 and are reminded that a marriage license is required for a wedding to be performed. All couples must arrive to their ceremony with marriage license materials on hand.
How to Obtain a Marriage License
A marriage license can be obtained up to 90 days before the ceremony date. A marriage license application may be competed in person in the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, or you may begin the application process online at tinyurl.com/HumCoWeddings. Please note that the couple must appear in person to complete the application process and provide a valid government-issued ID. The marriage license application process takes about 30 minutes and costs $78 for a public license or $80 for a confidential license.
Choose Your Own Wedding Officiant
Couples can make prior arrangements with the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s Office for the ceremony to be performed by a person of their choice, age 18 or older. The person must be an ordained officiant or deputized to perform the ceremony in advance by the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder. The fee to be deputized to officiate a wedding ceremony is $50. The Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s Office will provide comprehensive wedding ceremony packets containing ceremony wording, instructions and sample license completion guides for all officiants.
For more information or to schedule your wedding ceremony, please call 707-445-7593 or visit humboldtgov.org/Clerk-Recorder.
About the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s Office
The Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s Office maintains vital records and provides essential services to the public, including the issuance of marriage licenses and performance of civil marriage ceremonies. The office is committed to providing efficient, professional service to all Humboldt County residents. For more information on services the Humboldt County Clerk-Recorder’s office provides, please visit humboldtgov.org/Clerk-Recorder.
