The search is underway for Cal Poly Humboldt’s new president.
The California State University Board of Trustees is holding an open forum to kickstart the process October 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Van Duzer theater on Humboldt’s campus. There’s also a virtual option available.
The board wants people to show up and share what they want the new president to be like. There’s also a survey for thought-sharing as well.
Interim president Michael Spagna took over after the previous president, Tom Jackson, resigned in July. The new president will be announced in March 2025 by the Board of Trustees.
Press release from Cal Poly Humboldt:
The California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees is beginning the search for the next regularly appointed president of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt). Michael E. Spagna is currently serving as interim president.
The first meeting of the Trustees’ Committee for the Selection of the President will be held in a hybrid in-person/virtual open forum from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 10, 2024, in the Van Duzer Theatre on campus. During this time, the committee will outline the search process, and the community will be invited to share their preferred attributes of the next president of Cal Poly Humboldt.
Pre-registration is not required to attend and provide comment in person. However, campus and community members wishing to address the committee through the virtual option are required to register in advance on the president search webpage. The deadline to register to speak virtually during the open forum is Tuesday, October 8, at 5 p.m. Confirmed registrants will receive details about how to participate.
CSU Trustee Leslie Gilbert-Lurie will chair the committee. The other trustee members include Larry L. Adamson, Lillian Kimbell and Anna Ortiz-Morfit, as well as Trustee Chair Jack B. Clarke Jr. and CSU Chancellor Mildred García.
Board policy requires the CSU trustees chair to appoint an Advisory Committee to the Trustees’ Committee. The Advisory Committee is composed of representatives from the faculty, staff, students and alumni, as well as a member of a campus advisory board, all of whom are selected by the campus’s constituency groups. Also on the Advisory Committee is a vice president or academic dean from the campus, and a president of another CSU campus, both selected by the chancellor. Both the Trustees’ Committee for the Selection of the President and the Advisory Committee to the Trustees’ Committee function as one unified group.
Members of the Advisory Committee for the Selection of the President include:
Daniel Barton, department chair and professor, Department of Wildlife, and Marissa Ramsier, professor, Department of Anthropology (faculty representatives)
Carmen Bustos-Works, associate vice president, Academic Programs and dean, Undergraduate and Graduate Studies (administrative representative)
Mara Kravitz and Wysdem Singleton (student representatives)
Soraya M. Coley, president, Cal Poly Pomona (president representative)
Betty Chinn and Virgil Moorehead (community representatives)
Bella Gray, student placements and community engagement specialist, College of Professional Studies (staff representative)
Daniel E. Sealy (alumni representative)
Miles Slattery, President’s Advisory Board representative
James F. Woglom, chair, University Senate
Over the next several months, the committee will review candidates and conduct interviews, with the announcement of Cal Poly Humboldt’s next regularly appointed president made during the CSU Board of Trustees meeting in March 2025.
Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:
On Monday, Sept. 30 at about 9 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputies responded to the report of an armed robbery at the Fairway Market on Herrick Ave. in Eureka.
The store owner reported the incident shortly after it occurred, prompting immediate response from deputies in the area. According to the store owner, a person entered the market and pointed a firearm at the owner. The suspect demanded cash, and threatened to shoot the owner if he did not comply. The suspect then fled on foot and was last seen in the area of Carolyn Ct. Deputies arrived on the scene within minutes of the 911 call; however, after an exhaustive search they were unable to locate the suspect.
The suspect is described as a white male adult, approximately 6’ tall and weighing between 150-160 lbs. He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, and black gloves, and was seen carrying a blue canvas bag. If anyone has information about this crime or a potential suspect, they should contact HCSO.
This case is still under investigation.
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.
Clockwise from upper left: Humboldt County supervisors Rex Bohn, Michelle Bushnell, Mike Wilson and Steve Madrone. | Screenshots from Tuesday’s meeting.
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The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors today took a couple of small steps toward increased flexibility in multi-family housing development.
With Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo absent, the board passed a pair of ordinances that will implement and expand upon a state law that took effect last year. That law, called the Middle-Class Housing Act of 2022, allows housing to be built in zones where office, parking or retail are permitted.
There are certain restrictions on those allowances. For example, any new housing projects must be located within an “urban cluster,” and here in Humboldt they’ll have to be built at a density between 15 and 30 units per acre. No single-family houses and no huge apartment complexes, in other words.
Potential locations for this new housing development include Fields Landing, Cutten, Scotia and the long stretch between McKinleyville and Fortuna.
There were some differences of opinion among the board members as they discussed potential tweaks to the Commercial Residential Ordinance, which the Planning Commission passed along with a recommendation for approval from the supes.
Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson argued that multi-family housing shouldn’t be put in commercial zones right next to industrial zones, and he said the ordinance should specify that new housing development must occur only in areas with existing services, such as public water and sewer and access to public transportation.
“I’m not agreeing with everything you’re saying,” Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell interjected. Regarding his call for housing to be located in existing service areas she said, “For the very unincorporated areas, especially in my district where housing could be appropriate there, I’m not feeling his language change.”
In particular, Bushnell asked about the potential for development in the Cooks Valley region, and Planning and Building Director John Ford said Wilson’s suggestion would indeed exclude that area.
Wilson said that’s justified.
“Housing is very needed,” he said, “but we can create a pretty substantial service burden, from a local government perspective, if we’re putting multi-family housing in areas that are quite isolated.”
The two wound up compromising by having the ordinance say that multi-family development in areas without services may be allowed, but they’ll require a special permit.
Another point of disagreement arose in a discussion about parking requirements. Wilson suggested eliminating parking requirements for all housing that’s within half a mile of a bus stop. First District Supervisor Rex Bohn pushed back on that idea.
“I mean, I know we’re trying to get everybody out of their cars and everything else, but I’m pretty sure we all drove here this morning,” he said. “So I just think [allowing development with] no parking is an issue.”
Ford said that the Planning Commission also struggled with this topic but decided that parking requirements should not be required for affordable housing projects or those served by public transit.
Bohn also made the argument that excessive red tape is preventing housing from being developed.
“We’re not building a lot of stuff,” he said. “Everybody wants to get a piece of their pie, and it just seems like — .” He stopped himself. “I’m going through the same rant that I always do,” he lamented.
Wilson said today’s decisions should actually help resolve that complaint.
“In general, this ordinance
increases entitlements and decreases restrictions for building housing,” he pointed out.
The board voted unanimously to pass the Commercial Residential Ordinance after excising parking requirements for developments within half a mile from a bus stop and specifying that any developments that aren’t in an “urban cluster” must first get a special permit.
Considerably less debate accompanied passage of the Zoning Updates Ordinance — tweaks to existing regulations “that individually are quite small,” Ford said, adding, “Cumulatively, they’re not significant.”
The changes involved such matters as fence heights the and definition of the terms “family” and “mini-storage.”
Bohn objected to an element of this ordinance that will prohibit mini-storage units in certain zones in an effort to keep them on the periphery of mixed-use commercial and residential areas. As such, he wound up voting “no,” but the motion still passed with a vote of 3-1.
Press release from the Calfire Humboldt-Del Norte Unit:
What:
Professionally controlled prescribed burn planned for the consumption of
invasive European Beachgrass involving approximately 14-50 acres, as
conditions allow.
When:
The prescribed burn is planned for Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024.
Where:
Ocean Ranch southwest of Table Bluff. Four miles northwest Loleta.
Why:
This burn is part of a multiyear prescribed fire study for invasive plant
management and hazardous fuels reduction. The treatment will help to
enhance the health of the native plant communities, aid in the control of
non-native plant species, protect and enhance habitat for multiple dune
species, and aid in the reduction of hazardous fire fuels.
Who:
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), CAL FIRE.
During these prescribed fire operations, residents may see an increase
in fire suppression resource traffic, smoke will be visible and traffic
control may be in place. Please be cautious for your safety as well as
those working on prescribed burns.
Learn more how you can prepare for wildfire by visiting:
www.ReadyForWildfire.org.
For more information, please contact the CAL FIRE Humboldt – Del Norte Unit Public
Information Officer line at: (707) 726-1285.
This morning, a bomb threat was reported at Eureka High School. The Eureka Police Department (EPD) responded promptly and thoroughly investigated the situation. After a detailed assessment, the threat was determined not to be credible.
As a precautionary measure, all students and staff were evacuated while the investigation was conducted. We are happy to report that all students and staff are safe, and regular school operations have resumed.
We appreciate the quick response from EPD and the cooperation of our students and staff during this incident. The safety and well-being of our school community are always our top priority.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely, Gary Strorts Superintendent, Eureka City Schools
Well, what do we have here?! We realize this is kind of last minute, but LoCO finds itself in possession of a pair of four-day passes to this weekend’s Redwood Coast Music Festival and they’re burning a hole in our pixel-y pocket! Perhaps you’d like ‘em, yeah? Maybe you were thinking, “Gee golly, I’d like to go to that thing, but $170 per pass seems a bit steep for me at the moment. I’ll just listen to 8-tracks in the garage again.” Well, here’s your chance to boogie down for free on LoCO. But you’ll have to earn it.
How, you ask? We’re gonna play LoCO KARAOKO. Follow along, music lover, for directions on how this is gonna go:
First, record a new under-60-second video of yourself singing a song of your choosing. We are not limiting your genre or song selection, just try to think of a song that will win over your Humboldt neighbors. You can sing acapella or with musical backing. It doesn’t matter. Just be entertaining.
At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, we will launch the official LoCO KARAOKO post on our Facebook page, which we’ll link HERE to make it easy to find.
Upload your video to the comment section of that Facebook post. One entry per singer.
Then, hopefully, Humboldt’s Facebook users will organically find and enjoy your musical stylings enough to grace you with a “like” or a “heart” or whatever (but we know that you’ll probably all be rallying your troops, which is fine).
This all culminates, at noon on Thursday, Oct. 3, when we will close voting. Whichever singer garners the most reactions will be declared the winner. (We will weigh “like”s, “heart”s, “wow”s, etc. equally, in this instance.)
Does that make sense? We’ve done contests like this on our Facebook page in the past with some success, so we have no reason to believe this won’t work again (though, sometimes things go hilariously sideways). A couple more notes for voters, though:
LoCO is watching. To those who might like to game the system by voting through their business/artist/political campaign pages, we see you.
Now, can you vote for multiple entries? Sure. If you’d like to dilute your vote that way, LoCO is not going to stop you. You are full of love and appreciation, and that’s fine.
OK. Let’s try this out! Again, you’re competing to win two $170 passes to the RCMF. So that’s — hold on… uh… carry the one — a $340 value, people! Hot damn. Thank you in advance for your dulcet tones. And good luck!
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[Note: While it’s true we used a dog in our li’l graphic for this contest, entrants must be human to be eligible to win. Thank you for understanding.]
Metacarcinus magister (Dungeness crab). Photo: (c) Josh Houston, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
From the Office of Assemblymember Jim Wood:
Governor Newsom signed a bill by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-
Healdsburg), AB 1797 recognizing the Dungeness crab – Metacarcinus magister – as
California’s official crustacean. Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) is the principal coauthor
and Assembly Members Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) and Gail Pellerin (D-Santa Cruz) are
coauthors.
“The Dungeness crab is an iconic crustacean in California and one that has made a significant
contribution to the economies of coastal communities in California and to those in the
commercial fishing industry,” said Wood.
The Governor noted in his signing message that “Dungeness crab is one of the oldest commercial
fisheries” and “remains a pillar of the state’s local economy.” The industry supports fishing ports
and bolsters retail and hospitality businesses, bringing patrons in to restaurants and inns. It is a
key delicacy that is often at high demand when Californians ring in the New Year.
“We must recognize, however that the Dungeness crab industry is not without its challenges,”
said Wood. “We need to ensure that the fishing industry, the ocean and its inhabitants are all well
protected.”
Both commercial and recreational fisheries for Dungeness crab exist in California, having
slightly different seasons within the two distinct management areas, divided north and south by
the Sonoma/Mendocino line.
“I’m proud to have helped the Dungeness crab become the state’s official crustacean,” said
Wood. “It’s important to the commercial fishing industry and to the communities that depend on
its health and abundance.”
