UPDATE: Caltrans says they plan to open 36 at 8 a.m. on Monday morning. More details:

“For safety concerns, the section of roadway will only be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and only one vehicle will be allowed through the slide area at a time. Because this is a dynamic situation, this is subject to change. Motorists can anticipate delays of up to 30 minutes or longer if necessary. Routes 20 and 299 are available as state-route detours.”

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Highway 36 remains closed just west of Grizzly Creek, between Carlotta and Bridgeville, due to an active slide. As of this morning, there is no estimated time for reopening the roadway.

“The aerial photo shows just how large the slide area is … Once we do open Route 36, it is possible traffic will be limited to daylight hours in order to maximize monitoring visibility,” according to a Facebook post from Caltrans District 1. “Routes 20 and 299 are available as state-route detours.”

Keep an eye on Caltrans Quickmap or the Caltrans District 1 Facebook page for current road conditions. We’ll update when we know more.

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Map of Caltrans closure. If the big STOP sign isn’t appearing in the center at the time you read this, then the road has been reopened.

Global warming increases the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, supercharging winter storms like the slate of atmospheric rivers that have smashed the West Coast. More moisture also means increased risk of flooding, as we have tragically experienced this year. More moisture might sound good in recent drought years but it’s more complicated than that. A warming planet also increases the risk of summer droughts, despite increased winter moisture. Climate scientist Michael Furniss joins Gang Green to talk through how climate impacts weather.

REQUIRED READING:

• Climate Change and California’s Atmospheric Rivers
• How climate change will make atmospheric rivers even worse

Iris J. Moon, 13, of Orleans, passed away on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.

Iris was born in Eureka on March 16, 2009 to her mother, Barbera Randall and her father, David Moon Sr. She joined her older siblings Daisy Reece, Luke Reece and Violet Moon. Her number of siblings grew after her youngest brother David Moon Jr. was born.

Iris spent her life smiling, laughing, caring for others, playing softball, basketball, wrestling and cheerleading, drawing, attending school, spending time with family and friends. She was a very beautiful, smart, strong and loving girl, who was loved by so many people in her family and community. She was known for always trying to make others laugh and smile with her goofy personality. She was also very protective of her family and would go out of her way for others at all times. Whether she really knew them or not, she treated everyone with the same love and kindness. She had a heart of gold and made a very memorable impression on those who were fortunate enough to know her.

Even though Iris was known for being sweet, you can’t forget about the sass she brought. Everyone was able to see this through glimmers of her personality, the tiktoks she made and the jokes she shared. A lot of what people didn’t get to see in Iris was her strength, her voice, her hope and her fight. Iris will always be known for her bravery, fighting to make sure that she was heard and she made her voice loud to share her story. Iris will never be forgotten because she leaves behind the hope for others to carry on. Iris’s strength will always be remembered. It wasn’t until the last few years that Iris struggled with her mental health, but she continued to fight as long and as hard as she could.

She will be remembered through her parents, siblings, granny Geraldine Moon, her grandmothers, Elouise Marshall, Melody Cossey, her auntie Cherri Moon, Shelly Moon, Viola Marshall, Kachina Cossey, Angela Randall, Felicia Randall, Nisha Casteneda, Diane James and April Sylvia, her uncles, Eagle Moon, Joshua Moon and Eric Castaneda, her cousins Victoria Moon-Sanchez, Elizabeth Moon, John Moon, Niklaus Moon-Overholt, Cheyenne Noneo, Chloe Moon, Joshua Moon Jr., Jessie Moon, O’dell Moon, Moira Moon, Anthony Moon, Robert Moon, Little Eagle Moon, Hawk Mowgli Moon, Kuustan Shinar, Nathan Shinar Jr., Alana Stauffacher, Eric Marshall, Mikey Titus, Wayne Marshall, Patricia Chavez, Alex Chavez, Fabio Chavez, Carmen Chavez, Summer Marshall, Jimmy Thom, Paul Aubrey, Daniel Aubrey, David Blake, Timothy Blake, Jonathan Blake, Pamela Houston, Kimberly Houston, Auhna Casteneda, Loretta Casteneda, Mason Ferris, Paul Aubrey Jr., Lauralye Aubrey, Ts’isnah White, Kelsie Aubrey, Gabe Hayden, Nancy Huntzinger, Quincy Hayden, Nathaniel Huntzinger, Melody Huntzinger, Frankie Jr., and her niece Amelia Bailey.

Iris has touched so many lives through her naturally nurturing character and will forever be remembered in that way. Anyone that has met Iris easily saw her beauty, sweet, kind and gentle soul. She will be dearly missed by all of her loved ones and may her heart be at peace.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Iris Moon’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

William Glen Williams (Bill) (Chief)
December 24, 1945 - December 31, 2022

Bill left us unexpectedly in the early morning hours of December 31, 2022, at the age of 77. He was born in Fort Bragg, California, Dec. 24, 1945, to Clarence and Juanita Williams. He is survived by his wife of fifty years, Linda. He is also survived by his sister Kay (Steve) Funk of Fort Bragg, nephews Mark (Lynn) Hopper, Mike Hopper, niece Kelly (Marc) Tamborini and several nieces and nephews.

Bill spent his childhood in Caspar, California, where his father Clarence worked at the Caspar Mill. He began his schooling there (he opined that he was “teacher’s pet”) and had fond memories of playing with friends and of the Caspar Lumber Company community.

The family moved to Fort Bragg in the fifties, where Bill continued his education. He and his friends had impromptu baseball games. And there was fishing in the Noyo River as well as abalone picking with Dad, Boy Scouts and school crossing guard duty, newspaper sales and school sports. He spent summers camping at Boyles Camp (Big River) with his grandmother Ethel Galli, his sister Judy, relatives and other families.

These activities were curtailed in high school when Bill got a job at the Advocate News as a printer’s assistant, working after school on the big press alongside the other men. He saved his money. He wanted to go to college. And that’s what he did.

He entered Sonoma State College (Go Cossacks!) in the fall of 1963, majoring in history and embarking on what he would recall as the best time of his life. He was active in student government (treasurer), participated in athletics (medaled in track), travelled a bit with The Bronze Hog (a ‘60s band), made lasting friendships and acquired the appellation “Chief”, which would stick with him for life. He worked summers and did odd jobs in order to support himself and continue with college.

In 1968, Uncle Sam decided it was his turn to enjoy Bill’s company and he was inducted into the Marines on May 2, 1968. He could type and thereby ended up in Hawaii after boot camp, using his typewriter more than his rifle. He earned his sharpshooter medal and was in the Honor Guard. He was released from active duty and came home to Fort Bragg in May, 1970. He grew his hair, quit shaving, did a little babysitting for his sister Judy’s kids, and set about reconnecting with his hometown friends and family.

He and Linda renewed their college friendship at a chance meeting at the Broiler Steak House in Ukiah, and soon the friendship blossomed. They married in 1972, settled in Santa Rosa but moved to Fort Bragg after seven years. One year later Bill bought Orick Market in partnership with Linda’s parents, Bus and Rusty Newbrough. In 1990, Bus and Rusty retired and moved back to Ukiah, selling their half of the business to Bill and Linda. Bill was known to hop over the Redwood Creek levee during steelhead season for some angling, but the store took up most of his time. In 2007, he sold the store. During his tenure, Bill was fortunate to have good employees, including Marie Vaughn, Mary Bailey and Connie Secor who worked steadfastly until the doors were closed for the last time.

Bill, not ready to stop working, went to work for Paul and Phil Ayers at Ayers Distributing. He enjoyed his time there, seeing old friends who used to service the store in Orick and making new ones. He and Linda moved to McKinleyville, and he retired after several years, keeping in touch with many of the Ayers crew and with Phil and Paul. As the saying goes, “He never met a stranger.” He always remembered those he met and took an interest in their families and well-being.

Bill loved animals, and over the years he and Linda adopted a number of homeless dogs as well as numerous cats, the last being “Geeko,” who lived with them for twenty years.

Chief was preceded in death by his father, Clarence Williams, his Mother, Juanita Williams, and his sister, Judith Hopper. Arrangements were made at Sanders Funeral Home, Eureka. A time for gathering and remembrance has not been set.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Bill Williams’ loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Joseph John Del Grande died December 3, 2022 in Arcata while recovering from surgery. He was 94.

Born on July 23, 1928 in Massa Macinaia, Italy, Joe emigrated to Humboldt County with his family in 1939. A graduate of Eureka High School, Joe spent his remaining 83 years in Humboldt County living life to the fullest. He was an avid hunter, fisher and gardener, and was most joyous when he could share his bounty and a glass of wine with friends and family. Life was about breaking bread with others, sharing stories, and enjoying each other’s company.

In 1985, he married Ruth Reynolds, his wife of 37 years. Together they forged a marriage of sharing, of trust and of love, watching their family grow around them. She was at his side until the end.

Joe is also survived by his son Greg, from a previous marriage, his son Mark (Angela) and step-daughter Pat (Chris) from his marriage to Cleta, and his step-daughters Kathy (Larry) and Dianne from his marriage to Ruth. His grandchildren include Mason, Joe, Ariacella, Sergio, Thomas (Tonya), and Jacque (Ross); and great-granddaughter Ava. All will dearly miss the patriarch of our Del Grande family, our husband, father and papa.

Joe was preceded in death by his mother, Libera, father, Victor, and sisters Mary and Mafalda.

A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, 21 January, at the Lutheran Church of Arcata. In lieu of flowers, please offer a donation in Joe’s name to your favorite wildlife or hunting charity.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Joe Del Grande’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Arroyo (left) and Landry.

Press release from newly seated Humboldt County Supervisor Natalie Arroyo:

I am pleased to announce my selection of Lonyx Landry for the Humboldt County Planning Commission District 4 seat.

Lonyx brings a fantastic skillset to the Commission, with a strong background in education, watershed science, and community development. He is a citizen of the Nor Rel Muk Wintu Nation, a leader within Cal Poly Humboldt’s Indian Natural Resources, Science and Engineering Program, and a Councilmember with the Northern California Indian Development Council.

Lonyx has an educational background in biology, Native American education, and natural resources, and conducted his post-baccalaureate research in soil science. Lonyx has a robust and diverse employment history, having worked for multiple local Tribes and community organizations as a teacher, a social services director, an advisor about Tribal community needs, and a mentor to youth and adults pursuing education and work in the sciences. Additionally, Lonyx volunteers his time to planning the California Indian Big Time and Social Gathering and is an active community member in and around his home of Eureka.

Lonyx shared that he looks forward to bringing his strong grassroots values, local knowledge, and indigenous perspective to the Planning Commission.

After careful consideration, I asked Lonyx to serve in this capacity because of his depth of knowledge about local issues, his ability to draw from multiple wells of knowledge in the sciences and use an analytical approach to issues, and his incredible warmth of spirit and strong relationships. It’s an exciting time for Humboldt County, and I believe Lonyx will serve the 4th District very well and bring a fresh perspective to planning-related matters.

This appointment will be part of the Board of Supervisors’ agenda on January 24th, 2023. I wish to sincerely thank Mike Newman, the current 4th District Planning Commissioner, for his years of service in this capacity.

A local advertising partnership called ADS in Motion last week filed a lawsuit against Humboldt Transit Authority (HTA) accusing the regional bus service provider of breach of contract and defamation, among other allegations. 

The suit, filed by Arcata-based attorney Eric Kirk on behalf of Charles “Chuck” Edwards and Ted Sheets, claims that HTA “arbitrarily” canceled a multi-year contract agreement in early August, causing Edwards and Sheets’ advertising partnership, ADS in Motion, to lose $105,000, nearly eight months of ad revenue through the end of March, when the contract was set to expire.

The suit also seeks nearly $90,000 in additional losses and damages, plus $400,000 for defamation. Specifically, the suit alleges that HTA General Manager Greg Pratt and Finance Manager Katie Collender falsely accused the ad company of acting unethically and attempting to cheat HTA of money through inappropriate overcharges. 

ADS in Motion is identified as “an unincorporated partnership” in the suit. The entity is affiliated with Eureka firm Advanced Display & Signs.

The lawsuit further alleges that HTA terminated the advertising contract with the intention of claiming the plaintiffs’ business interests as their own — effectively stealing away clients that Edwards and Sheets had spent years cultivating.

“I think it’s unfair,” Edwards said in a recent phone interview. “Truly, I think they’re greedy.”

HTA is a public entity operating as a joint powers authority between Humboldt County and the cities of Arcata, Eureka, Fortuna, Rio Dell and Trinidad. Nancy Diamond, HTA’s legal counsel, told the Outpost that she and the rest of the agency’s legal team were reviewing the complaint and couldn’t discuss legal strategy. However, she said, “I think HTA has always acted with enormous integrity. Otherwise I can’t respond to the allegations.”

While the lawsuit says more than once that HTA terminated the contract with ADS in Motion arbitrarily, emails obtained via a Public Records Act request show that HTA had been questioning the company’s billing practices for months.

On Jan. 31, 2022, Pratt sent Edwards an email saying, “I would like a better understanding of the income/expense listed on your monthly reports.” Over the next six months, Pratt exchanged numerous emails with Edwards and Sheets, asking them to explain and justify various charges.

Speaking with the Outpost, Edwards said ADS in Motion first won the contract to provide bus ads for HTA in 2008 and has since bid and won contract renewal every four or five years. 

He acknowledged that billing mistakes had been made by a former bookkeeper, though he said that he and Sheets were transparent and proactive about trying to rectify those errors. HTA, he said, refused to abide by a dispute resolution provision in the contract, which calls for “good faith negotiation” and, if that fails, third-party mediation prior to either side initiating legal action.

In Edwards’ telling, the bookkeeper (whom he did not identify) worked both for ADS in Motion and for a separate business operated by Sheets. Last January, Sheets discovered that this bookkeeper had made an error related to his own business, so he terminated her. She kept working for ADS in Motion, however, even though Sheets found out that during the pandemic she’d moved out of town without telling anyone.

“In our partnership I never handled the books; I always did sales or customer service,” Edwards said. “So I was insulated from the the financial aspect, and I was fine with that.”

He recalls receiving the January email from Pratt, in which the GM asked for an explanation for certain charges. 

“And so we inquired and found out that [the former bookkeeper] was actually confusing certain expenses with other counties that we do bus advertising for, and frankly she should not have taken those,” Edwards said. In other words, the bookkeeper had been passing expenses along to HTA that should not have been HTA’s responsibility.

“So, again, being totally transparent, I told Greg — I called him up, emailed him and said, ‘Hey, I just did an audit. Here it is. It looks like we owe you about $5,200, almost $5,300. And here’s a check.’ Well, that just seemed to whet his appetite to look deeper, which is fine. He started asking for more clarification.”

These requests for clarity appear in the emails obtained by the Outpost. The check that ADS in Motion cut to HTA was actually for $5,959.15, and in a February email to Pratt, Edwards said he and Sheets “are looking to continue on well into the future without any further hiccups. Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention so I could make it right.”

A couple weeks later, Pratt responded with a list of follow-up questions. The back-and-forth communication continued, and in April Pratt directly challenged some expenses and requested financial records dating back to 2018.

“I know that the Quickbooks report is a push of a button so I would like that now … ,” Pratt wrote in an April 14 email.

A few days later, Sheets responded to Pratt, explaining the reason for a delay in turning over the financial records: “When Covid started, my previous bookkeeper went to work from home and took our files with her. I could not access them for the last two years,” he wrote. 

Before signing off he added, “Lets [sic] keep the line of communication open, I have nothing to hide here. I don’t like funny business and would not do that as a rule.”

The email exchange continued through early June. Edwards said he and Sheets hired local accountant Richard Hutchison to go over their company’s finances “with a fine-tooth comb,” and sometime in June or July Sheets and Hutchison had an in-person meeting with Pratt and Collender of HTA.

Edwards said the meeting was contentious, and it ended with Pratt and Collender abruptly standing up and leaving. 

“Richard looked at Ted [and] said, ‘What just happened?’ We don’t know,” Edwards said. “And then it was just a few weeks later, we get a letter of termination from Nancy Diamond.”

The letter said the account was being terminated for breach of contract. “And so that was when we retained counsel,” Edwards said.

To him it feels like HTA simply decided to take over the business he’d built up over a period of years. Before ADS in Motion took over the advertising on local buses the ads “looked like crap,” he said. “They were all on metal trays that were attached … . And so we came in and removed all that and then started a whole different kind of approach to bus advertising.” They adopted sleek adhesive ads with material from 3M. Some of the ads wrapped entire buses.

“And we built it up all these years on our own sweat and brow and efforts. And it has not been without expenses because we guaranteed the signs for up to seven years.”

He and Sheets had plans to further improve the business, Edwards said. They were planning to install video screens inside the buses for digital advertising, opening up a whole new stream of revenue.

“It’s pretty devastating to lose a business that you worked so hard to build since 2008 — to have someone just come and go, ‘Mine!’” Edwards said. “It’s, personally, it’s — it’s very sad. I’m really sad.”

When Diamond was asked why HTA canceled the contract with ADS in Motion she replied, “It was an ongoing situation and I think, given that the lawsuit has been filed, I’m going to say we just can’t comment on that right now. But it was after a lot of internal investigation as well as back and forth with ADS in Motion.”

Asked why HTA didn’t enter into third-party mediation, as required in the contract, she said, “The mediation request was brought forward without [ADS in Motion] identifying exactly what was going to be mediated, and I never got a good response to that [question] from their counsel. So the board [of directors] was not able to respond in a direct way, so because of that they just declined the request.”

A case management conference has been scheduled for April.

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DOCUMENTS: 

• Complaint for Breach of Contract: Charles Edwards and Ted Sheets dba ADS in Motion v. Humboldt Transit Authority, et al.
• Advertising contract between ADS in Motion and HTA, plus emails and other documents obtained through a California Public Records Act request