Speier chilling in the hot tub at the Arcata Community Pool | Photo provided by Shannon Speier

In a pink sweatsuit and purple sequined slippers, Junie Speier – a nearly 100-year-old woman and longtime Eureka resident – sits at her kitchen table, sipping a cup of Constant Comment tea. I sit down to join her and two of her children, who offer me a cup and some oatmeal cookies, as I look through photo albums and scrapbooks documenting the amazing life that Speier has led. 

In just more than two weeks, Speier will celebrate her 100th birthday, and because of the impact she has had on so many lives locally the family is inviting the entire community to join the celebration. 

“We will be celebrating Junie Speier’s 100th birthday on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the United Congregational Church in Eureka from 1-3 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall,” the family wrote in a press release sent to the Outpost. “The public is invited & the family requests you be Covid negative or wear a mask in order to protect Junie & others who are attending the party.” 

When asked if she was excited for her big party, Speier laughed and said “I might leave town.” 

Clearly, this seasoned woman still has a robust sense of humor. 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Speier moved to Eureka with her husband, Ted Speier, in 1947. Speier began teaching at Eureka High School and helped the effort to build the school’s swimming pool, which opened in 1950 and closed in 2008. Speier spent many years teaching swim lessons both for children and for adult education classes. She also started the “Frolic Club,” where she taught social dancing and etiquette to fifth through seventh graders. 

Speier has long possessed a passion for the water, and during her time in LA, Speier worked as a swimming instructor and as an American Red Cross lifeguard. She was also a Red Cross volunteer for 62 years and in 2004 she received a Red Cross volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Hearing the stories of Speier’s life, it seems clear that she was a bit of a firecracker and not afraid to go after what she wanted. When she was in high school, Speier wanted to become a cheerleader, an activity that was exclusively for men back in those days. Knowing that they wouldn’t let a girl join, Speier went to the barber before auditions and cut her hair very short and auditioned as a boy. After she made it on the team, word got around that she was a girl. Fortunately instead of kicking her out, the school changed the rules to allow girls on the cheer team. 

As a talented swimmer (and, I also must say, a total babe), Speier received a lot of attention in her younger years, and was even offered a part in an Esther Williams film. Speier turned down the offer because “I was busy,” she said. She also, not surprisingly, received a fair amount of attention from the fellas. This is made clear in one of Speier’s photo albums, she titled “The Men in My Life, Volume 1,” which contains pictures of Speier’s many hunky boyfriends. 

“There was never a ‘volume two’ because she met dad,” Speier’s son, Spencer, said jokingly. 

Speier at Big Lagoon in 1961 | Photo provided by Shannon Speier

Speier met her husband in LA in 1943, while he was on leave from the Army. Having borrowed her brother’s convertible, Speier and one of her girlfriend’s were cruising through Hollywood, when they stopped in front of a group of men in uniform and told them to “jump in” and the gang went out dancing all night at the Cocoanut Grove. Junie and Ted hit it off immediately, and the next morning the two attended the Easter Sunrise Service at Hollywood Bowl. 

After “going steady” for a while, the two were married in 1944, just three days before Junie’s 20th birthday. 

Though things were good in LA, Speier wanted to start a family and didn’t want to do it in a big city. Her husband was born and raised in Samoa, and hearing about and seeing pictures of Humboldt County, Speier decided that it was the perfect place to land. 

“[LA] was a good place to grow up when I did, and there were many opportunities,” Speier said. “But this is a good place to raise a family.” 

The couple’s marriage lasted 75 years, until Ted passed away in 2019, and brought them three children and two grandchildren. 

The Speiers passed on their love of the water to their children, and the family spent many summers at their other property near Big Lagoon, where they would swim, fish and water ski. The family still spends time there, Speier’s daughter, Shannon, said, though the activities are much more mellow and they mostly hang out and “take care of mom.” 

Though she can no longer participate in the more extreme sports, Speier still enjoys swimming and her daughter takes her to the Arcata Community Pool at least a couple times a month. Speier said that staying active has likely contributed to her living such a long and healthy life, as well as eating right. Her mother always provided nutritious, home-cooked meals, Speier said, and she picked up healthy eating habits from a young age. 

When asked if there were any other factors that helped her live for at least a century, Speier’s shrugged and just said, “luck.” 

We then raised our cups of Constant Comment in a cheers. “To the next 100,” she said with a laugh. 

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If you are one of the many people in Humboldt who have had the joy of knowing Speirs, then join the family for her 100th birthday celebration on Saturday, Feb. 8 10 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the in the Fellowship Hall of the United Congregational Church – 900 Hodgson Street, Eureka.

Press release from KEET-TV:

Supervisor Forums 2024: Your Voice, Your Vote!

Get ready for an exciting series of Candidate Forums presented by the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County in collaboration with KEET-TV. These live forums, held on February 5th, 7th, and 12th from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., will prepare you for the March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election, focusing on candidates vying for the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors positions.

You can contribute to the discussions! Submit your questions early by emailing leaguehumboldt@gmail.com. Your voice matters, so take the chance to shape the conversation and ask some questions.

Take advantage of the live broadcasts on KEET-TV’s main channel. Before the forums kick off each night, dial into the action as KEET’s phone lines open at 6:45 p.m. Call 707-445-0811 and have your questions ready to share with the operator.

Mark your calendar with the following broadcast schedule:

• Monday, February 5th: Board of Supervisors Candidates for District 1. Candidates for this position include incumbent Rex Bohn and challengers Gordon Clatworthy and Gerald McGuire.
• Wednesday, February 7th: Board of Supervisors Candidates for District 2. Candidates for this position include incumbent Michelle Bushnell and challengers Brian Roberts and Jeana McClendon.
• Monday, February 12th: Board of Supervisor Candidates for District 3. Candidates for this position include incumbent Mike Wilson and challenger Rogelio “Roy” Gomez.

If you miss the live broadcasts, don’t worry! KEET will share the recorded broadcasts on its YouTube Channel and KEET.org/candidateforums. Redwood Community Radio, KMUD, is set to rebroadcast the LWVHC forums on February 6th, 8th, and 13th, airing from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tune in to Garberville at 91.1, Eureka at 88.1, Laytonville at 90.3, and Shelter Cove at 99.5.

Join us in this informative journey to empower voters and shape the future of Humboldt County. Your participation makes a difference.

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Press release from the Rusty Hicks for Assembly campaign:

Today the Rusty Hicks for Assembly (AD-2) Campaign is proud to announce a major endorsement from California Governor Gavin Newsom. “I support Rusty Hicks for State Assembly because he delivers real results for working families – such as his leadership in raising the minimum wage for one million workers,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “He’s the one we can count on to help make housing, health care, prescriptions, college, and broadband more accessible and affordable. He doesn’t back down from big fights. We can count on Rusty to protect our air, water, forest, and coastline — and tackle the climate crisis head on.”

Rusty’s personal life experience informs his belief in the power of a second chance and a quality education for all. At 14-years old, Rusty attended his father’s graduation when he earned a high school diploma while incarcerated. This moment had a profound impact on them both. As a result, Rusty currently serves as an Associate Professor at College of the Redwoods and teaches American Government to incarcerated students at Pelican Bay State Prison. Each week, he brings more than 20 years of first-hand experience to the classroom to share the story of our Nation’s founding, and the many challenges and opportunities we face.

“Rusty Hicks has a different life story and will bring a fresh perspective to the State Legislature,” Governor Newsom added. “Raised by a single mom, Rusty has dedicated himself to service as a union leader, veteran, and educator. His father was incarcerated as he was growing up. Now, Rusty teaches students at Pelican Bay State Prison because he believes in the power of a second chance.”

Governor Newsom joins current Assemblymember Jim Wood, and former Assemblymembers Patty Berg and Wesley Chesbro - all three of the most recent Assemblymembers to represent the North Coast for the last 20 years in the State Assembly - in endorsing Hicks. 

Click here to view the complete endorsement list.

PREVIOUSLY:

• WHOA: Rep. Huffman’s Office Teases $426 Million Federal Grant for Offshore Wind Terminal, to be Announced Tomorrow

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It was a high-powered affair on Woodley Island yesterday afternoon, as people gathered to hear Rep. Jared Huffman officially announce a $426 million Department of Transportation grant to build a port terminal for the coming offshore wind industry. A section of the island’s parking lot was roped off for the event, so that the VIP guests would have a convenient place to park for the ceremony, which took place beneath the Fisherman statue.

And come they did. Supervisors Steve Madrone and Natalie Arroyo were in attendance, as were Eureka Mayor Kim Bergel, Hoopa tribal chair Joe Davis, Jason Ramos of the Blue Lake Rancheria, county administrative officer Elishia Hayes, Cal Poly Humboldt president Tom Jackson, various emissaries from the local business community, harbor district personnel and representatives from the major international firms investing in offshore wind.

Why? As Huffman said when he took the mic, the $426 million grant – all of it originating from President Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – is kind of a big deal.

“The federal department of transportation INFRA Grant that we are celebrating today, to my knowledge, may be the biggest federal investment in this region in 50 years,” Huffman said. “It’s a big, big deal. It’s a game-changer. And for those of you that share in the excitement and the vision and all the possibilities that this offshore wind project has brought to this community, this is a huge step forward in making all of that real.”

What will the $426 million pay for? Not only for the dock and warehouse facilities themselves, but for various improvements that, together, are designed to make the new offshore wind facility a true “green port,” which Huffman hoped would “show the way” to other ports around the world.

An emotional Greg Dale, the chair of the Harbor District’s board of commissioners – the body that will administer this massive cash injection — had a partial list of these green amenities when he followed Huffman at the podium.

“In this $426 million dollar grant, there’s $51 million dollars for environmental restoration,” he said. “$51 million dollars – [the federal government] probably hasn’t spent $51 million dollars on environmental restoration on Humboldt Bay in the entirety of the district’s time as a district.”

Dale also mentioned $10 million for a large solar array, and just over $1 million apiece for a trail and a public access pier. The grant also includes a $6 million community benefits program for “tribe, fishermen and local residents,” Dale said.

The federal grant comes with some sort of matching commitment from private industry, which in theory should add up to a billion dollars on-hand to build the huge facility, which is planned for the Samoa terminal currently owned by the Harbor District. The vision is that this new terminal will serve a nascent offshore wind industry along a large swath of the Pacific coastline, with absolutely massive floating windmills manufactured and assembled in Humboldt Bay, then towed out to the open sea by tug.

Chris Mikkelsen, Harbor District executive director

Not much was said about this matching commitment, or who exactly would be anteing up funds, and how that match affects the ultimate ownership of the new facilities. Crowley Wind Services, the would-be operator of the port, has not yet signed a deal with the Harbor District – the two sides are still in the “exclusive right to negotiate” phase of their relationship. Chris Mikkelsen, the Harbor District’s executive director, told the Outpost that the private match could come from many quarters: Crowley, a different operator, perhaps from the wind energy firms – the operators of the windmills – themselves.

Mikkelsen said that the district is trying to put together ways to communicate directly with the public on these sorts of sticky questions, perhaps in the form of quarterly updates. “No news is not good news,” Mikkelsen said.

This morning the Harbor District put out its own press release about the grant, and Crowley announced that it has purchased the country’s first all-electric tugboat.

More photos from yesterday’s event follow.

Turn your volume up, if you can, and behold the spectacle of a tunnel getting blasted at the base of the 101-year-old Copco 1 dam on the Klamath River.

The detonation happened yesterday, sending water and sediment down the river canyon to the sea at an estimated rate of 4,000 cubic feet per second.

Here’s footage of the blast, via Swiftwater Films, which is producing a feature-length documentary on the dam-removal project and the 20-year campaign to get there.

And below is footage of the newly freed river flowing through Wards Canyon. The clip was shot by Frankie Myers, vice chairman of the Yurok Tribe and candidate for California Assembly’s District 2 seat. 

“Our community is overwhelmed with joy and hope for the future generations,” Myers said when reached by the Outpost this morning. “Truly thankful for for all those who put in a day or a lifetime to make this possible.”

According to Swiftwater Films’ description of the blast, 800 pounds of dynamite was used to blow a concrete plug out of a 90-foot tunnel that crews blasted into the base of the dam last summer.

“[A] surge of water barreled several miles past the former Copco 2 dam and the majestic Wards Canyon that had been mainly dewatered for a century and into newly formed river channels in the former Iron Gate Reservoir,” the company said.

Drawdown of the reservoir at J.C. Boyle is now under way. In total, four dams are slated to be destroyed by fall of this year.

Here’s another view of yesterday’s footage of the January 16 blast of J.C. Boyle Dam:

PREVIOUSLY

• Ground Has Been Broken on Klamath River Restoration, the World’s Largest-Ever Dam-Removal Project
• (PHOTOS) Removal of Copco No. 2 Dam Complete, Restoring Klamath River Flows to Ward’s Canyon for the First Time in 98 Years
• (VIDEO/PHOTOS) Iron Gate Reservoir Drawdown Has Begun as Dam Removal on the Klamath Continues

Press release from Humboldt Bay Fire:

On January 24, 2024 at approximately 03:00 Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported two-story house on fire in the 1300 Block of Henderson Street in Eureka. HBF responded with 1 Chief Officer, 3 Fire Engines and 1 Fire Truck for a total of 13 professional fire service personnel, and 1 Fire Support volunteer who assisted with traffic control.

The first unit arrived on scene and reported a fire burning in the attic. Other arriving units quickly started work to simultaneously ensure everyone was safely out of the home, cover and protect the belongings in the home, and extinguish the fire. The fire was contained to the attic and extinguished in about 15 minutes. Units remained on scene for approximately 2 hours to stabilize the entire incident.

After the fire was extinguished HBF investigators investigated the cause of the fire, which is still to be determined at this time. PG&E responded and mitigated the utility hazards, while the Red Cross provided accommodation assistance to the displaced family. Total estimated property value saved is $300,000. Damage is estimated at $75,000, and there was no civilian or firefighter injuries.

Humboldt Bay Fire would like to remind everyone that smoke detectors save lives! A working smoke detector should be in every bedroom, in the hallway and on each floor of a residence.

Two California lawmakers publicly blew up at each other earlier this month, hitting a nerve on an issue that has long-divided the state’s elected leaders: Whether and how much to offer government-subsidized health benefits to undocumented residents.

In one corner, Corona Assemblymember Bill Essayli declared that he wanted to unravel a new law that offers subsidized health coverage to undocumented immigrants.

In the other, Visalia Assemblymember Devon Mathis stood up for the health care expansion, arguing this helps the state reduce health costs in the long-term and helps working families who are critical to the state’s economy.

That both are Republicans — members of the party that in 1994 pushed to deny any non-emergency health care services to undocumented immigrants through Proposition 187 — underscores how far the state’s political debate has moved to the left over the course of five gubernatorial administrations.

Just 20 years ago, “in the early 2000s, the idea of offering this benefit was considered political suicide for both Democrats and Republicans,” said Arturo Vargas Bustamante, faculty research director at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.

The shift unfolded gradually, as a generation of Latino leaders motivated by Prop. 187 rose in power in the Capitol. Former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015 signed the law that made undocumented children eligible for Medi-Cal.

Then, state budget surpluses and Democratic dominance in the Capitol opened a lane for Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign the law that provided Medi-Cal to income-eligible undocumented residents of any age. That law took effect Jan. 1, making California the largest state to offer government-subsidized health insurance to low-income undocumented residents of all ages.

Citing public health data, Republican Mathis now is making the case that providing Medi-Cal to undocumented residents is the “fiscally conservative” move for the state.

The new law is practically the opposite policy of Prop. 187, the so-called “Save Our State” ballot initiative that denied public services to Californians without legal status. It passed with support from then-Gov. Pete Wilson, a Republican, but did not take effect because of legal challenges.

The topic still carries some political risk for lawmakers of both parties. California is facing a projected $38 billion deficit that could worsen and compel lawmakers to look for budget cuts. Former President Donald Trump has been critical of left-leaning states offering services to immigrants without legal status, and he could return to office.

Polls also show some concern among California voters in how they view immigrants. Four in 10 California voters think that unauthorized immigrants are a “major burden” to the country, according to a poll published by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies published earlier this month. Another 30% considered them a “minor burden.”

But for now, Newsom and the lawmakers who advocated for the Medi-Cal expansion insist they won’t go back.

“I’m committed to it,” Newsom said at a press conference earlier this month.

Trump, COVID-19 and money

A potential second Trump administration would seem to jeopardize California’s expansion of health benefits to undocumented groups, but the former president may have actually influenced some of the benefits currently available, Bustamante of UCLA said.

Trump’s rhetoric disparaging immigrants and his unsuccessful attempt to undo Obamacare fired up California Democrats, Bustamante said. For example, when the Trump administration sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate the federal subsidies that help millions afford coverage, California filed a lawsuit.

And when the federal administration proposed to punish immigrants for using public benefits, California filed another. In fact the state sued the Trump administration more than 100 times.

The COVID-19 pandemic also played a role in persuading California Democrats to continue expanding health coverage to undocumented immigrants, Bustamante said. It reinforced the importance of medical coverage and highlighted health inequities, especially among Latinos, Blacks and low-income people.

The rollout of these benefits came slowly. During the Brown administration, memories of the Great Recession tempered expectations for pricey government programs. Brown, nonetheless, signed a law by former state Sen. Ricardo Lara that opened Medi-Cal to undocumented children.

By contrast, money wasn’t a problem for Newsom until recently. During the pandemic, the state received increased federal funding for its Medi-Cal program and it took in historic budget surpluses. Newsom backed Medi-Cal expansions for adults that Democratic Sen. María Elena Durazo of Los Angeles and others championed.

Garry South’s career as a Democratic consultant dates to the time when liberals faced serious political risks if they supported services for undocumented immigrants. He managed former Gov. Gray Davis’ campaigns.

“Not too long ago, California was pretty politically competitive, but it isn’t now,” South said. “Yes there are some districts in which Republicans win Congressional seats, Senate seats, Assembly seats, but they’re marginalized to the point of being irrelevant, and so most Democrats running in most places in California don’t have to worry about being beat by a Republican. They’re more concerned about being in a run-off with another Democrat.”

He likened expanding Medi-Cal to undocumented immigrants to when the state allowed them to obtain driver’s licenses. It took years and various failed attempts, but legislators and most Californians ultimately determined that it was safer for everyone to get these drivers licensed and insured, he said.

Central Valley Republicans supported Medi-Cal expansion

Aside from Essayli, most elected California Republicans have been fairly quiet on the state’s new benefits for undocumented residents. Tim Rosales, a Republican political consultant, said supporting the expansion would not necessarily damage a GOP candidate’s chances in a future election, but the lawmaker would have to defend their reasoning to right-leaning voters.

He said many Californians have come to accept the role that undocumented people play in the state’s workforce and economy.

“In the Central Valley and other parts of the state that are heavily agricultural, people who live, work and exist in that economy…have understood that the undocumented population is such a huge part of the California fabric,” Rosales said. “People feel like they can talk about it more, and politically, reality is setting in, and that goes for both Democrats and Republicans.”

Mathis, who will be leaving office after this legislative year to do consulting work in the southern San Joaquin Valley, said his community was part of why he wrote in The Sacramento Bee explaining his support for the Medi-Cal expansion.

“I grew up in one of the poorest areas of the state, in a highly Latino area; these are common things that we see and that we know,” he said.

“I did the Op-Ed because I’m sick and tired of one, people on the hard right trying to make everyone sound like them,” Mathis said, “And two, to just say stop the rhetoric for five minutes and look at the actual issue.”

Mathis’ declaration echoes votes by two former San Joaquin Valley Republicans who supported the law Brown signed providing Medi-Cal to undocumented children. They were former Sens. Anthony Cannella of Ceres and Andy Vidak of Hanford.

What’s next for undocumented health care?

Earlier this month, Essayli introduced Assembly Bill 1783, which proposes to pull funding from health coverage expansions for undocumented residents. Although that may be a long shot given the Legislature’s Democratic majority.

“As the son of immigrant parents who came to this country by legal means, I was outraged our state government would earmark billions in funding for the healthcare of foreign nationals when our own citizens cannot afford their healthcare,” Essayli wrote in the Orange County Register.

The Medi-Cal expansions allow Newsom to get closer to his goal of providing universal health coverage, where everyone in the state would have access to medical insurance. Because California is home to the nation’s largest population of unauthorized immigrants — about 2 million people — it would be impossible to achieve universal coverage without covering this population, experts say.

The Affordable Care Act provided health coverage to millions of Americans and expanded the public’s understanding on the need for coverage, but barred anyone without legal status from accessing federally subsidized insurance. That means immigrants who don’t qualify for Medi-Cal have no option but to buy insurance on the private market at full-price.

Researchers at the UC Berkeley’s Labor Center have estimated that more than 1 million undocumented people will gain coverage because of the sweeping Medi-Cal expansion, but another half million will still be without because they earn too much to qualify for Medi-Cal but can’t afford coverage on their own.

Democratic Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula of Fresno is carrying Assembly Bill 4 that aims to allow undocumented people who don’t qualify for the Medi-Cal program to buy subsidized coverage. Arambula said the goal is to establish a program specifically for undocumented immigrants that mirrors the insurance options offered on Covered California, the state’s insurance marketplace. Setting up the program will take some time. Asking the state for funding to provide subsidies will come later, he said.

Arambula pointed to Colorado, which is experimenting with OmniSalud, a program that offers undocumented people the similar insurance options offered in its marketplace and at a subsidized price.

Originally, Arambula wanted to ask the federal government for permission to allow undocumented people into the existing marketplace, but Arambula said this alternative model means California’s program won’t hinge on the feds’ approval.

“We want to insulate ourselves from whomever will be in the federal government at the end of the year,” Arambula said.

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Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

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