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Approximately 20 protesters gathered outside U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman’s field office in Old Town Eureka on Wednesday afternoon, holding handmade signs and waving a Palestinian flag as they chanted slogans demanding a “free Palestine” and decrying American support for Israel.

Billed as a “Ceasefire NOW” demonstration, the protest began on Third Street, and organizers said they planned to march from there to the Humboldt County Courthouse.

Protesters elsewhere in Huffman’s district have also gathered to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, and last week, Huffman apologized for voting against a House resolution that condemned the support of Hamas and Hezbollah on university campuses.

Huffman is currently in Washington, D.C., and the door to his Eureka office was closed and locked during the protest.

Press release from the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office:

Applications for awards from the Asset Forfeiture Special Funds are still being accepted now through December 31, 2023, at 5 p.m.

Any local programs designed to combat drug abuse and divert gang activity among elementary though high school aged students in Humboldt County have an opportunity to apply for funds granted from efforts of the Humboldt County Drug Task Force (HCDTF).

With over 70 investigations per year that often involve large scale, complex and illicit narcotics traffickers and organizations, HCDTF efforts lead to removal of illegal profits from those engaged in drug sales, manufacturing, and distribution. 15% of funds lawfully removed from the hands of drug traffickers are set aside to fund continuation or development of positive intervention community programs.

A panel consisting of the Humboldt County District Attorney, a local police Chief, the Humboldt County Sheriff, and the Chief Probation Officer will be reviewing applications and awarding funding to those who meet requirements.

On behalf of all members of the Humboldt County Drug Task Force Executive Board, District Attorney Stacey Eads invites those interested in developing or continuing a community program combatting drug abuse amongst youth in our community to please visit the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office Programs and Outreach website page at this link to learn more and apply.

PREVIOUSLY: Another Two-Car Collision on Henderson Sends Three to the Hospital

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Press release from the City of Eureka:

On November 07, 2023, at about 2:04 p.m., officers from the Eureka Police Department (EPD) as well as personnel from Humboldt Bay Fire (HBF) responded to the report of a two-vehicle traffic collision at the intersection of Henderson and Union Streets in Eureka. It was reported that one vehicle, a Ford SUV, had overturned and the occupant was still trapped inside.

HBF was able to remove the driver from the overturned vehicle who was then transported to a local hospital by City Ambulance for moderate to serious injuries.

The second vehicle, a silver Honda Sedan, had come to rest atop a brick fence in the yard on the southwest corner of the intersection. The driver and passenger of this vehicle were both 15 years old and able to self-extricate from the vehicle. Both suffered moderate to serious injuries and were transported by City Ambulance to a local hospital for treatment. At this time, Intoxication does not appear to be a factor in this collision.

This is an active investigation and EPD is asking if anyone witnessed the collision to please contact Sergeant Jonathan Eckert at 707-441-4081. EPD is specifically wanting to speak to the driver of a white vehicle that was stopped at the stop sign on Union Street at Henderson at the time of the collision.

The Eureka Police Department want to thank our community for its patience yesterday as we investigated these traffic collisions and for those that have provided us valuable information.

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• Rob Arkley’s Role in Dark Money Political Group Explored in Daily Beast Report
• Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court — With Help From Eureka’s Rob Arkley
• U.S. Senators Ask Rob Arkley and Other Donors for Itemized Lists of Gifts to Supreme Court Justices
• Rob Arkley is Refusing to Comply With the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Supreme Court Ethics Inquiry
• Key Senators Announce Intention to Subpoena Rob Arkley in Supreme Court Ethics Probe

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Press release from U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will no longer vote to authorize issuing a subpoena to Robin Arkley II at this time as it relates to the Committee’s Supreme Court ethics investigation after he provided the Committee with information that he had been withholding. The Committee will move forward with a vote to authorize issuing subpoenas to Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo.

“Months ago, I, along with my Democratic colleagues on the Committee, sent letters to Harlan Crow, Robin Arkley, and Leonard Leo, among others, seeking details about what exactly has been provided to Supreme Court justices. Our goal has been to understand how specific individuals and groups with business before the Court have used undisclosed gifts to gain private access to the justices—access not afforded to others.

“Leonard Leo has refused to cooperate in any way. Harlan Crow claimed he was willing to cooperate, but ultimately made only a limited and insufficient offer. Only now, under threat of subpoena, has Mr. Arkley provided information responsive to the Committee’s requests. Given his cooperation, I’ve decided that voting to authorize a subpoena to Mr. Arkley is not necessary at this time.

“I do not request authorization to issue subpoenas lightly. Over the past several months, story after story has emerged about lavish gifts and luxury trips that Supreme Court justices have accepted and failed to disclose. The Senate and the American people deserve to know the full extent of how billionaires and activists with interests before the Court use their immense wealth to buy private access to the justices. That is why, tomorrow, the Judiciary Committee will vote to authorize subpoenas to Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo. The highest court in the land cannot have the lowest ethical standards.”

Last week, Durbin and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, announced that the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to authorize issuing subpoenas to Harlan Crow, Leonard Leo, and Robin Arkley II as it relates to the Committee’s Supreme Court ethics investigation.

In July, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act to the full Senate. The bill would require Supreme Court justices to adopt a code of conduct, create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations of the code of conduct and other laws, improve disclosure and transparency when a justice has a connection to a party or amicus before the Court, and require justices to explain their recusal decisions to the public.

Durbin has been calling on the Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable code of conduct for more than a decade. He first sent a letter to the Chief Justice on this issue more than 11 years ago.

We knew the end was near. She was never meant to be long for this world. Still, it is with some sadness that we bid farewell to Eureka’s Second Street Whale, the roadway mural painted last month during Friday Night Market. Take some joy in the fact that, due to the weather, she actually stayed with us a few weeks longer than originally scheduled — 19 days we dwelled in her wake.

But now she is gone. Swim free, street whale.

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The rainy season is upon us, and although some people are surely not excited about it, for the fungi-obsessed folks in our community it means this is prime mushroom foraging season! And with the popularity of mushroom collecting in Humboldt County, it seemed like now would be a good time to talk about how to properly go about picking our fungi friends. 

Maria Morrow, local mycology expert and board president for the Humboldt Bay Mycological Society (HBMS), offered some of her advice during an interview with the Outpost, on what things you should be paying attention to, how to be respectful and, most importantly, how to not die when out collecting mushrooms in our area.

“We have hundreds of mushroom species up here,” Morrow said. “So it’s a really wonderful diversity. We’ve got a huge diversity of edible stuff.” 

When it comes to safely and respectfully gathering mushrooms, the first thing Morrow wanted to advise is to be aware of what property you are on and the laws/ rules that apply to that piece of land. There are many places, including state and national parks, where collecting mushrooms is illegal and other forest lands where it is allowed, but there are limits on the quantity of mushrooms you collect.

“Around here it’s really difficult to find a place to go because there’s a lot of different land ownership and each of those different ownerships is going to have different rules,” Morrow said. “So you kind of have to call the agency who oversees the place before going there, to see what the rules and regulations are.” 

Morrow recommends that before you go out somewhere to gather mushrooms, that you first check this interactive land ownership map. Once you know who owns the land you’re going to be on, you can find that agency’s specific rules on mushroom collecting. 

Though the rules and regulations may vary, general mushrooming etiquette would ask that you not pick more than what you need, and leave some for other people. You should also be respectful of the environment and don’t trample or destroy other surrounding wildlife.

What mushrooms will be popping up depends on the time of year, but a few common and popular edibles around our area include chanterelles, lobster mushrooms and hedgehogs, which tend to come out earlier in the fall. As we get later into the rainy season, people are finding king boletes and matsutakes, among other things. There are also a lot of other edible mushrooms that are abundant, but not quite so popular for gathering, Morrow said. One she really likes is midnight entoloma. 

Midnight entoloma

But with hundreds of mushroom species in our area, some that look similar to each other, how do you know for sure that you’ve collected the right one and not something that could make you sick? Well, if you’re new to the mushrooming game, Morrow said that there are some mushroom genera that are a little more foolproof for beginners, and some that you should probably avoid altogether. 

Chanterelles are a great place to start, Morrow said, because they are pretty distinct – usually yellow or orange, with a funnel-like shape and a rounded, forked cap. There are a couple of other mushrooms that look like them — the false chanterelle is a common one — but none of the lookalikes are poisonous. The false chanterelle is not really tasty like a real chanterelle, and it could potentially cause some indigestion, but it’s not going to kill you, Marrow said.

Hedgehogs are another good option that don’t have a lot of close lookalikes, as are laetiporus, commonly called “chicken of the woods.” Chicken of the woods is bright orange and grows like a shelf out of dying trees and logs, making it pretty difficult to mistake. “I don’t think anything else really looks like that,” Marrow said. 

When it comes to mushrooms to generally avoid, Marrow said to stay away from lepiotas, which are all toxic. Another genus to avoid if you’re still learning is amanita. This is probably the most common genus that people misidentify, Marrow said, because there are many types and some of them are edible, while others are incredibly toxic. The effects of ingesting different amanitas can range from hallucinations, to a coma, to death. Marrow discourages newbies from eating any mushrooms from that group, unless they’re gathering with someone who really knows their stuff. 

Luckily, there are lots of wonderful resources available to help you identify your mushrooms. Morrow recommends starting with a mushroom field guide (you can find several suggested titles here). You can also post photos to online forums, such as iNaturalist, or Facebook groups like Mushroom Hunters of Northern California or Mushrooms of Humboldt County, where more experienced folks can help you identify your mushrooms. If you’re feeling like this might be your new hobby, then you should also consider joining a local club like HBMS or Cal Poly Humboldt’s Mycology Club. 

Morrow’s biggest piece of advice for new collectors is a common mushrooming adage, “pick many before you eat any.” Start picking and getting familiar with mushrooms – what they look like, feel like, smell like. After some time, you will be more comfortable identifying edible mushrooms. Morrow also recommends going out mushroom collecting in groups, because different people will notice different details about the fungi. 

Whether you’re an expert, still learning or just starting out, you’ll also want to check out HBMS’s annual Mushroom Fair, which is happening on Nov. 19. There will be lectures and workshops, including an introduction to mushroom identification given by Portland-based mycology expert Leah Bendlin. The fair will also have a community ID table, where you can bring in your mushrooms to have them identified by an expert! You can also bring in your mushrooms on the day before the fair to have them displayed during the event. 

The Mushroom Fair will be held on Sunday, Nov. 19 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Arcata Community Center – 321 Martin Luther King Parkway. The fair has been a popular local event for decades and this year, Marrow said, they are adding food trucks to the party. Marrow also said that because the fair is so popular, the City is recommending people park off-site, because the parking lot will likely fill up. Marrow also added that a lot of newer folks have been joining HBMS and that this year’s fair will be more geared towards the mushroom-curious. 

“We’re trying to do more stuff that’s more friendly to getting people involved, because a lot of our board members retired and a lot of our original mushroom community is kind of aging out a little bit,” Morrow said. “We have so many new people and our content is changing to support those new people.”

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order for “prompt regulatory action” to address the plight of California homeowners facing availability and affordability problems in home and fire insurance.

But at its present pace — and with doubts from consumers, lawmakers and insurers about the Department of Insurance’s proposals to alleviate the crisis — help for residents may not arrive until 2026, at least according to the most pessimistic outlook by the insurance industry.

Those waiting are Californians like the Smithlines, a retired couple in Forest Hill in Placer County, who actually saw their fire insurance premium balloon to the point that they’ve decided they will have to do without it.

Bobbi Smithline said their premium this year tripled to almost $6,000 from $1,800 in 2020. They were on the FAIR Plan — the last resort for residents who can’t find traditional insurance — because Farmers would not renew their previous policy three years ago.

“Our property taxes and homeowner insurance came at the same time as the FAIR Plan (bill),” Smithline said. “We can’t afford to do all three… that’s going to leave us with no savings.”

The FAIR plan is mandated and regulated by the state. Premiums under the plan are usually more expensive, and they’re only getting higher. In September, California’s Department of Insurance approved a rate increase long sought by the insurers that finance the plan, for an average 15.7% rate hike. As more and more people turn to the FAIR Plan because the biggest insurance providers in the state have either paused new policies or left the state altogether, the plan’s total number of policies climbed to more than 330,000 as of September, an almost 21% rise since the beginning of the year.

The Smithlines have lived in their three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom house for 45 years and raised most of their eight children there. They never had a wildfire until last year, when the Mosquito Fire burned more than 76,000 acres in their county and nearby El Dorado County, Smithline said. Now she and her husband, Mike, have told their children — who will inherit the house — about their decision. If a fire destroys their house, their plan is to put a mobile home on their 7.2-acre property, or maybe live with one of their kids.

The Smithlines are among the many Californians affected by the insurance mess. But at least they have a choice. Because their home is paid off, they are not required to carry fire insurance like homeowners with a mortgage must do.

Another California homeowner, Donna Yutzy in Magalia in Butte County, told CalMatters that she will pay higher premiums — almost $7,000 a year for both fire and home insurance — because she doesn’t want to risk having no fire insurance. And Rebecca Reis, another homeowner who recently received a non-renewal notice because her San Francisco building was built before 1925, said her homeowners association will have to raise its dues to cover the increase in premiums for their building, from $7,000 to almost $30,000.

Donna Yutzy’s home in Magalia on Nov. 4, 2023. State law prohibits the use of landscaping plants and any flammable materials within a five-foot radius of the house. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters

Newsom’s September order followed the failure of proposed legislation to address the crisis, and now California’s Department of Insurance is working on new regulations to try to fix the problems. The insurance industry cites a combination of inflation, climate change and several devastating and deadly wildfires since 2017, as well as what it calls outdated state regulations, as factors in carriers’ pulling back or pulling out of California.

There were a total of 8.73 million homeowners policies in 2021, and non-renewals of home and fire insurance policies climbed from 11% in 2018 to 13% in 2021, according to the state insurance department’s most recent data. FAIR Plan policies over that same period jumped from 1.6% of the total market to 3%. Since 2021, though, most of the top insurers in the state have either stopped writing or restricted new policies here; the insurance department is finalizing data for 2022.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara isn’t expected to finalize new rules until next year. Then insurers and consumer groups will react and possibly object, so they say regulations may not be enacted until the following year, or even 2026 — meaning more of the same in the meantime.

“We’re going to move at the speed of good policy,” said Michael Soller, spokesperson for Lara. “We’re going to be judged by the impact we have over the long term. There’s no magic solution to this.”

Soller also said the department disagrees with the forecasts that things won’t change until 2026, saying the department is moving as quickly as possible. “For instance, by enforcing existing rules we incentivize insurance companies to reduce delays caused by incomplete rate filings,” he said. Soller also said that in October, Lara expanded insurance discounts for wildfire mitigation, and that the move will have “a long-lasting impact on the survivability of homes.”

Two members of Congress from California, Reps. Katie Porter and Doug LaMalfa, may also try to help. They recently sent a letter to the chief executives of some of the big insurers that have paused, limited or are no longer issuing new policies in the state, asking for briefings and discussions on possible solutions. Porter and LaMalfa asked the CEOs of Farmers, Allstate, USAA, State Farm and CSE Insurance to respond by Nov. 17.

Porter, the Democratic lawmaker from Orange County who is running for U.S. Senate, plans to write legislation and “conduct oversight as appropriate” on this issue, she said in an emailed statement.

The staff of LaMalfa, the Republican lawmaker from Butte County, did not return a request for comment. The companies did not respond to CalMatters’ requests for comment about the letter.

Insurers want models

The insurance industry has been “grousing” about California’s regulations for years, said Rex Frazier, president of the industry group Personal Insurance Federation of California. Among the industry’s complaints: California is the only state in the nation that does not allow insurers to use forward-looking catastrophe models that take into account the increased risks from climate change; the state’s insurance-department reviews of proposed rates take too long; and the state won’t allow insurers to factor reinsurance costs into their rates.

“If we want a different outcome, we’re going to need different rules,” Frazier added.

The state is poised to adopt rules that appear to give insurers what they want as long as they write at least 85% of their statewide market share in wildfire-distressed areas. For example, a company that provides 10% of homeowner policies in the state would need to provide 8.5% of the coverage in such areas.

Also, insurers will be allowed to factor reinsurance costs into their premiums as long as they can show that California homeowners wouldn’t be bearing the cost of disasters outside the state.

“If we want a different outcome, we’re going to need different rules.”
— Rex Frazier, president, industry group Personal Insurance Federation of California

The public will get a chance to weigh in as the insurance department works to finalize the regulations, said Soller, Lara’s spokesperson.

One consumer group is already slamming Lara’s strategy as presented, saying it amounts to deregulation and warning the governor and state legislators that the plan will not benefit the state’s consumers.

“We know what deregulation has done,” Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, said in an interview with CalMatters. Court said hurricane-prone Florida doesn’t have a “rigorous rate process,” which is why he said premiums in that state are much higher than in California. In 2020, the average California homeowners insurance premium was $1,241 a year, while Florida’s was $2,165, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

A cement sidewalk was built within five feet of Donna Yutzy’s house in Magalia to meet state regulations. Nov. 4, 2023. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters

Court added that so far, Lara’s plan, unveiled in September, is short on specifics and that there has been “nothing in writing” in terms of an agreement between the state and the insurers.

Another consumer advocate, Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, said she was concerned about that part, too. “An actual agreement on paper” would have been nice, she said. But Bach added that she believes the insurance department is doing its best.

“I feel like they’re trying to fix the problem right alongside us,” she said. Bach also said it’s impossible for California to be the “outlier” when every other state in the country allows insurers to pass along reinsurance rates, and to use catastrophe models. Besides, she said, the insurance department will still have power over rate changes.

But the state’s Democratic lawmakers are concerned about the plan, too. Thirty-two of them, including Rep. John Garamendi, a former insurance commissioner, sent a letter to Lara on Monday. They wrote that his proposal “may result in a diminution of the authority granted by California voters,” and “could threaten the important consumer protections established in Proposition 103 and in place since 1988.” Among other things, Proposition 103 gives the state’s insurance department the authority to review rate changes.

In response, Lara sent a letter addressed to Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, on Tuesday. In it, the insurance commissioner, who CC’d the rest of the signatories of the letter, said “Proposition 103 does not grant unlimited power.” He added that his plan is supported by residents including “wildfire survivors, ranchers and farmers… and other insurance consumers who are experiencing the impact of outdated regulatory rules and growing climate threats.” Lara also asked the Congressional members for federal help including “better management of federal forests and watersheds” and more funding for community grants to help with home hardening.

‘Too important’ to leave?

Yutzy, the Butte County resident, said she is lucky to be able to afford the higher insurance costs. It’s the price she pays for retiring in that area, she said. “We wanted to live our vacation, wake up to the trees.”

Sealed Vulcan vents at Donna Yutzy’s home in Magalia to prevent pine needles and other flammable debris from entering. Nov. 4, 2023. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters

She predicted that the increased costs will change the demographics of the area, which she said people used to move to because it was affordable. That all changed after the Camp Fire in 2018, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state, which killed at least 85 people and almost completely destroyed the town of Paradise and the unincorporated area of Concow.

Yutzy said residents of the area have been doing a lot of work since then, and that insurers should take that into account as they set rates. “One thing I would ask insurers: Take a look at what the communities are doing generally in terms of fuel reduction and wildfire mitigation. We have so many things going on that insurers should be looking at.”

Those in the industry say insurers don’t want to leave the biggest market in the nation, and that urgent action is needed for the sake of all stakeholders.

Vanessa Wells, a Silicon Valley-based attorney who represents insurance companies, said that prior to 2020, the carriers would have felt that California was “too important a market to leave behind.” But the massive wildfires were followed by billions of dollars in payouts.

“Since that time, it’s too big in a different way — that you can go out of business here,” Wells said.

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CORRECTION: For the record: The FAIR Plan is mandated and regulated by the state. A previous version of this story misstated the relationship between the plan and insurers. In addition, a previous version of this story misstated the gender of Donna Yutzy’s spouse.

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