###

During its regular meeting on Wednesday night the Arcata City Council unanimously voted to oppose the controversial Cannabis Reform Initiative, or Measure A, a ballot measure aimed to impose stricter regulations on cannabis cultivation in unincorporated Humboldt County. 

David Loya, Arcata’s community development director, began by giving a bit of background on the ballot initiative and explaining staff’s recommendation for the council to formally oppose it. Though the initiative would not affect the City of Arcata’s cannabis cultivation regulations, Loya said, he does believe that it would have “secondary effects, particularly on our manufacturing sector that we’ve worked to try to cultivate and keep together as cannabis has suffered many market shocks since it was first made legal. ” 

The 38-page initiative, if passed, would dramatically restrict the size and number of permitted cannabis cultivation operations in the county, increase government oversight and add new rules for water storage, well-drilling, access roads, generators and more. Many local farmers and the Humboldt County Growers Alliance are adamantly opposed to the measure and even filed a legal challenge last week alleging that the proponents of the initiative, Mark Thurmond and Elizabeth Watson, “intentionally misled” the public while gathering signatures to place the initiative on ballot. Unless the suit is successful in getting the measure removed, it will appear on March 2024 ballots. 

Several people, including local farmers, members of HCGA and local dispensary owners, urged the council to oppose the initiative, voicing concerns over the potential negative effects the initiative could have on our community, particularly small cannabis farmers who would be unfairly impacted. 

“I think the crux of the issue for us is that this has been presented as an initiative that’s about restricting large-scale cultivation and that’s not true,” Ross Gordon, policy director for HCGA, said to the council during public comment. “The restrictions that are contained in these 38 pages are applicable – almost all of them – to farms of every single size within the county. “

Mark Thurmond, one of the initiative’s proponents, called into the meeting to ask the council members to wait to take a stance on the initiative until they had a chance to review it further. Thurmond defended the initiative, saying that the purpose of Measure A is to address environmental concerns, including the impacts of cannabis farms on our local watersheds and rivers.

“I think it’s important to bear in mind that a vote against Measure A would appear, at least for some, to be a vote against our environment, which might be considered a big poke in the eye for a couple thousand Arcata residents who signed the initiative,” Thurmond said to the council. 

But the council wasn’t swayed by Thurmond’s plea and all four present councilmembers (Kimberly White was absent) agreed that they did not support the initiative, which they fear would negatively impact our local economy, unfairly impact small farms and be very difficult to amend if it were passed, since voter initiatives can only be amended through more voter initiatives. 

“In my mind, and from what I’ve heard from farmers and members of this cannabis community, honestly, this [initiative] is gonna be the nail in the coffin for the cannabis industry in Humboldt County,’ Arcata Mayor Sarah Schaefer said during the meeting. 

###

PREVIOUSLY:

• An Initiative to Reshape Humboldt’s Cannabis Industry Qualified for the Ballot, and It Has Growers Worried
• Supes Agree to Put Controversial Weed Initiative on 2024 Ballot, Though They Hope to Work With Organizers on Alternatives
• Humboldt County Cannabis Farmers Blast ‘Misleading’ Ballot Initiative That Would Impose New Restrictions on Cultivators; Supervisors Form an Ad Hoc Committee to Work on Alternatives
• Proponents of the Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative Are Calling Out the Board of Supervisors, County Staff for Allegedly Distorting the Intent of the 2024 Ballot Measure
• Another Day of Cannabis Reform Initiative Panic at the Board of Supes; It’s Now All But Certain That Voters Will Decide on the Controversial Measure on the March 2024 Ballot
• ‘Cannabis Reform Initiative’ Legal Challenge Filed: Small Farmers, Industry Reps Ask the Court to Kick Next Year’s ‘Measure A’ Off the Ballot
• Arcata Staff Urges City Council to Formally Oppose the ‘Humboldt Cannabis Reform Initiative’

U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler made herself a lame duck a little more than two weeks into the job and solidified the contours of the U.S. Senate race in 2024.

The newly-appointed senator announced today she will not run for a full six-year term, avoiding an already crowded 2024 field that includes three fellow Democrats: U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff.

“I’ve always believed elected leaders should have real clarity about why they’re in office and what they want to do with the responsibility and power they have,” she said in a statement. “I’ve spent the past 16 days pursuing my clarity — what kind of life I want to have, what kind of service I want to offer and what kind of voice I want to bring forward. After considering those questions I’ve decided not to run for Senate in the upcoming election.”

“Knowing you can win a campaign doesn’t always mean you should run a campaign.” Butler added. “I know this will be a surprise to many because traditionally we don’t see those who have power let it go. It may not be the decision people expected but it’s the right one for me. California voters want leaders who think about them and the issues they care most about. I now have 383 days to serve the people of California with every ounce of energy and effort that I have.”

While her decision might indeed come as a surprise to some, if Butler had decided to run, she would have also faced multiple challenges. She would have only had less than five months to assemble a competitive campaign before the March 5 primary and catch up in fundraising. As of Sept. 30, Schiff’s campaign had $32 million in the bank, whereas Porter had $12 million and Lee, $1.3 million.

Butler was also behind in name recognition, and some labor unions — which could have been a key ally to Butler — were already endorsing other candidates and were unlikely to change their minds. Schiff has received the most endorsements from statewide unions among all four Democrats, but several major labor organizations — such as the California Labor Federation, SEIU California and the California Teachers Association — have not decided yet.

“Nobody was looking for a fourth candidate,” said John Burton, former chairperson of the California Democratic Party. “It wasn’t like they were looking for another person to run in a weak field. It’s a very strong field.”

Her choice means that California voters will choose a new senator next year to serve out the final two months of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term from November to January, as well as who they want to serve the full six-year term.

Spokespersons for Democrats already in the race said they looked forward to continuing working with Butler.

“Senate Butler took on the enormous responsibility of filling an open Senate seat with grace, integrity, and a deep commitment to delivering for the people of California,” said a spokesperson for Lee, who pushed Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint her instead.

Butler, 44, grew up in Magnolia, Mississippi, and graduated from historically Black Jackson State University. She currently resides in Maryland, but re-registered to vote in California after Newsom tapped her on Oct. 1 to replace Feinstein. Butler made history as the first Black, openly LGBTQ person to serve in the Senate.

Butler was a longtime leader in the labor movement in California, serving as the president of the Service Employees International Union Local 2015 — a union representing long term caregivers in the state. She also led the SEIU State Council, the political coordination arm of the union. She was also the president of EMILY’s List, a national fundraising machine supporting female Democrats running for office.

She is known for representing both corporations and unions. In 2015, she successfully brokered a deal with then-Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers to raise California’s minimum wage to $15 an hour — the highest in the nation at the time. But she also advised Uber in 2019 as the company fought against legislation to allow independent gig workers to be counted as employees.

Butler’s bid could have further split Democratic votes in the primary and boosted the likelihood of a Republican candidate emerging from California’s top-two primary, although the chance would have been slim, said Thad Kousser, professor of political science at the University of California San Diego.

Butler’s run could have also further splintered Black votes as well as labor union support, political experts say. It would have given voters who want to see a Black woman in the Senate a second option — a potential setback for Lee’s campaign, said Wesley Hussey, professor of political science at the California State University, Sacramento.

The Republican field is far less crowded. Former Dodgers star Steve Garvey announced Oct. 10 he is joining the race, and a poll last month put him ahead of Attorney Eric Early and Coast Guard veteran James Bradley.

If a Republican makes the November ballot, Kousser said it could “change the game.” Democrats could be more relentless in attacking their fellow Democrats during the primary campaign without worrying about losing those voters for the general election, since a Democrat would almost certainly win against a Republican in November, Kousser said.

###

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

###

On Tuesday night, the Eureka City Council unanimously opted to submit the pro-parking lot “Housing for All and Downtown Vitality” initiative to voters at the next municipal election, which, despite claims to the contrary by the initiative’s backers, is scheduled for November 5, 2024, not March 5, the date of the next statewide primary.

The only other option available to the council, per the rules of qualified citizen initiatives, would have been to adopt the measure then and there, during the meeting, and no one on the council was inclined to do so.

Earlier on Tuesday, proponents of the initiative Mike Munson and Michelle Costantine-Blackwell had filed the latest in a series of lawsuits against the city, this one alleging that the Eureka personnel were “improperly” trying to postpone the measure’s appearance on ballots by five months. In an apparent misreading of the state Elections Code, they argued that the city was obligated to place the initiative on the next statewide general election, rather than the next municipal election.

Munson and Costantine-Blackwell also allege that city staff should have placed their ballot initiative on the agenda for the previous city council meeting, on October 3, though Assistant City Manager Pam Powell said that the October 3 agenda had already been published and publicly notified by the time staff received the necessary verification from the county Elections Office.

At any rate, the conversation about this measure began with such calendar quibbles. During the public comment period, Munson asked the council to adopt the initiative itself or place it on the March primary ballot.

”Downtown business owners have been attending public and city council meetings for many years to express our concerns about removing the parking spaces that are vital to our businesses … ,” he said. “You have continued to ignore the requests to work on a better plan, and so you’ve left us with no choice but to let the voters of Eureka decide this. We support housing downtown but not to the detriment of the businesses.”

Fellow downtown business owners Linden Tyler Glavich and Roy Gomez also spoke in favor of retaining the parking lots, as did Kenny Carswell, an employee of Security National Properties speaking on behalf of the company, which has supplied funding for the “Housing for All” initiative.

Caroline Griffith, director of the Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC), spoke in support of the city’s plans to build affordable infill housing in Old Town in downtown and said the initiative contains false and misleading information.

“Specifically, I’m talking about the misleading information about the [former] Jacobs campus and the assumption that simply rezoning that site will result in housing being built,” Griffith said, referring to property at the south end of the city owned by Eureka City Schools, which has been negotiating a sale to the California Highway Patrol.

She also noted that people who’d be eligible for the proposed low-income housing on city-owned lots include grocery store clerks, city maintenance workers, health care professionals and even some employees at Security National, where a few current job listings start at $18 per hour.

“[A]nd they wouldn’t even need to worry about parking because they would live so close to work,” she quipped.

Speaking via Zoom, Costantine defended the initiative, describing it as “pro-housing” and criticizing members of the council for spreading alleged misinformation.

“The initiative allows the city voters to decide where housing developments should be built and if parking [capacity] should be reduced, maintained or increased,” Cosstantine said. “Our voters should make these decisions based on current and verified information, not flawed parking studies and the threat of not meeting the RHNA [Regional Housing Needs Allocation] criteria established for Eureka.”

Following the public comment period, Councilmember Leslie Castellano said that the initiative, if passed, could create “some serious problems for the city” by compromising its compliance with state law, costing taxpayers money and jeopardizing millions of dollars in grant funds.

“And so, you know, I definitely support continued education and access to public process around this issue so that we can really ensure that people have a deep understanding of what they’re voting on,” Castellano said.

Fellow councilmembers Renee Contreras-DeLoach and Scott Bauer said they wouldn’t be comfortable passing an initiative signed by only about five to 10 percent of the city’s residents, so they advocated putting it on the ballot.

Councilmember Kati Moulton said, “I really wish this ordinance did what it says it wants to do and made housing more accessible in the city of Eureka. I wish that that was true. If we could just vote to make housing appear on the Jacobs campus, as the representative of the Second Ward I would really like that, but that is simply not an option no matter what this ordinance says.”

The vote to send the measure to voters next November was unanimous.

###

PREVIOUSLY:

• Local Group Announces Intent to Stop the City of Eureka’s Conversion of Downtown Parking Lots Into Housing With New Ballot Measure
• Group Circulating Eureka Housing Petition Says the Wiyot Tribe’s Projects Are OK, Clarifies That Parking Lot Conversions Will Be Allowed So Long as Developers Build Even More Parking Than Before
• Open Letter Urging Eureka Voters Not to Sign the ‘Housing For All’ Petition Endorsed by 100+ Humboldt County Residents, Including Local Leaders in Politics, Business and Culture
• GUEST OPINION: Like Eureka, McKinleyville Also Has an Excess of Parking Spaces That Could Be Housing
• Former Eureka Mayors Come Out in Support of Pro-Parking Initiative
• Eureka Council Requests Informational Report on ‘Housing for All’ Initiative to Clear Up Confusion for Voters, Discusses Guidelines for ADUs, and More
• Backers of Eureka’s Pro-Parking ‘Housing for All’ Initiative Say They’ve Gathered and Submitted Enough Signatures to Get It On the Ballot
• (UPDATE) Eureka Gets $30 Million Grant for Housing Projects That the ‘Housing For All’ Initiative Hopes to Block
• New Coalition — ‘I Like Eureka Housing!’ — Formed to Oppose Arkley-Backed Pro-Parking Lot Initiative
• (UPDATE) Arkley-Affiliated ‘Citizens for a Better Eureka’ Files Two More Lawsuits Against the City, Aiming to Block Linc Housing Developments
• Backers of Pro-Parking Lot ‘Housing for All’ Initiative Say They’ve Filed a Lawsuit Against the City of Eureka Because They Believe They Should be on the Spring Ballot Rather Than the Fall Ballot

Despite moving in to her new digs just a month ago, Darlene Pizarro and her white dog, Angel, are already regulars at the local dog run.

Pizarro’s new place is not quite a city neighborhood and where she lives isn’t quite a home, but a tiny home, one of 94 city-funded units for the homeless at that lot. But Pizarro, who last lived as a squatter in an abandoned house, was relieved to be there.

“Tiny home” describes a specific type of housing more permanent than a tent or disaster shelter, but less than a single family home, townhouse, apartment, or something else thought of as permanent housing. The structures — smaller than 400 square feet, often lacking either a kitchen or private bathroom — have become increasingly common in California’s response to homelessness over the past five years, though opinions are split on how much to rely on them in years to come.

The site of Pizarro’s tiny home, on Guadalupe Parkway in the city’s downtown, opened in May as the newest of San Jose’s six sites that aim to fill the steps between traditional, congregate homeless shelters — think “room full of bunk beds and cubicles” — and an apartment of one’s own.

It boasts all the fixings of what homeless advocates say are best practices for temporary housing:

• Individualized case management allowing residents to stay as long as they need to get permanent housing
• Laundry and kitchen facilities
• The privacy of individual rooms that lock, with personal bathrooms
• Other elements that emphasize residents’ dignity, like the dog run and weekly community events.

Tiny homes are sometimes called modular homes or, in the case of San Jose, “emergency interim housing.” The city is all in, operating more than 600 such beds across six sites and building more. Mayor Matt Mahan attributes to them a recent 10% decline in the city’s unsheltered population, and notes that of the 1,500 people the city has sheltered in its tiny home sites, 48% moved to permanent housing. That’s compared to an average rate of 34% across Santa Clara County’s shelters over the past three years.

Tiny homes are increasingly California cities’ shelter option of choice for new sites to house the homeless. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration earlier this year said it is sending out 1,200 units statewide. San Jose and Sacramento, each set to receive hundreds, recently said they had selected their sites; as of October the state is still selecting vendors to build the homes.

“They are our single best solution to the crisis on our streets,” Mahan said.

The rise of the tiny home

Mahan’s zeal to open more tiny home sites got him in hot water this year in an age-old debate over which end of the housing shortage to focus on: temporary or permanent.

Advocates of tiny homes say they’re fast, cheap ways to get people sheltered immediately. Other longtime homeless advocates applaud tiny homes as improved shelter options, but are wary about over-relying on them in the long-term solution to homelessness.

“Non-congregate tiny homes are better than congregate shelter, but people are still homeless when they live there,” said Jennifer Loving, CEO of the nonprofit Destination: HOME, one of the primary agencies coordinating Santa Clara County’s response to homelessness. “You may be getting some more homeless folks into temporary shelter, but what about the hordes of people dying for an affordable place to live?”

In June, San Jose officials diverted $8 million of the city’s $137 million in homelessness and housing funding from developing affordable housing to running and building more tiny homes.

Mahan initially proposed putting 36% of the housing funds, which come from a 2020 property sales tax, toward temporary housing and 53% toward permanent housing for low- and middle-income households (the remainder would go toward rental assistance and administrative costs). He called it a one-time diversion to address the homelessness crisis on the streets, while waiting on affordable housing that can cost more than $1 million a unit in the Bay Area and take years to build.

“People are tired of seeing homelessness and they’re saying, ‘Do something, now.’ These non-congregate shelters are being positioned as the, ‘We’re doing something now.’”
— Jennifer Loving, CEO of the nonprofit Destination: HOME

Advocates and several city council members pushed back on what would have been a dramatic shift from past spending plans, which put three-quarters of the funds toward developing affordable housing and 15% on shelter. The city passed a compromise budget that put 68% of the funds toward permanent housing and 21% toward temporary.

Loving said the only way to keep temporary sites successful is to keep developing permanent housing for residents to move into.

“People are tired of seeing homelessness and they’re saying, ‘Do something, now,’” Loving said. “I think these non-congregate shelters are being positioned as the, ‘We’re doing something now.’”

While California cities have been installing tiny homes for at least the past five years, it was the pandemic that thrust the potential solution into the spotlight.

California has for the past decade been shifting its focus from temporary shelter towards building permanent supportive housing: affordable, long-term living options that come with social services. Permanent supportive housing units have been on the rise since 2008 in California as the number of temporary spots fell, according to an analysis of federal data by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

But with a global pandemic and a record number of Californians falling into homelessness faster than the state could house them, officials turned toward non-congregate but temporary options like hotel rooms and tiny homes to keep people sheltered. In 2021, interim housing spots in California again exceeded permanent supportive housing units for the first time since 2015.

A sense of privacy

Also making the sites attractive are a host of modular housing companies springing up to offer tiny homes that are more livable.

Compared to flimsier and less fireproof prior models that evoked disaster zones, many tiny homes now include double-pane windows that can open, individual thermostats and doorbells. In San Jose, one site where the city broke ground this year will include some tiny homes that have private kitchenettes.

Though not all cities use them, many companies build modular units with en suite bathrooms, which residents say provide significantly more privacy and dignity.

A new tiny home community in San Jose on Oct., 10th, 2023. Photo by Talia Herman for CalMatters

It was the bathrooms that convinced Pizarro to accept an offer of shelter at the San Jose site last month.

The 67-year-old has been homeless five years and did not trust traditional shelters, where she said “you have to sleep with one eye open” to evade theft. With a stable place to sleep, Pizarro says she plans to look for retail work and apply for a housing voucher to get her own permanent place.

“I’m very hyper and active, and I like to work because I know if I sit around, I’m going to fade away and I’m not ready for that yet,” she said.

Monica Rojo is a resident of the new tiny home community built in San Jose on Oct. 10th, 2023. Photo by Talia Herman for CalMatters

Others aren’t ready to plan their next steps yet. Monica Rojo, 50, moved into her room in May after having lived at a creekside encampment with about 70 others.

As a woman camping alone, she feared violence constantly. She now feels safer, and since getting her own shower, she no longer feels the disdain of others when she walks into stores. She’s personalized her room with photos of her three adult children in Mexico — two engineers and a nurse, she beams.

Rojo, a former janitor, said she’s recovering from leukemia and depression and working on getting her IDs after most of her documents were stolen.

“This program opens the doors, for work, for everything,” she said.

Advocates split on tiny homes

The more each tiny home feels like a real one, the more it costs — and the closer it inches to the “real housing” that advocates say is what actually solves homelessness. In San Jose, plumbing and utilities for the Guadalupe Parkway site drove the cost of each unit from $30,000 for the structure itself to more than $175,000. (Some of the cost was covered by philanthropy, city officials said.)

Mahan’s aware of the tradeoffs. But he said he’s striking the right balance by pushing for temporary shelter that is dignified, while folks wait for permanent housing.

“We all know the two extremes,” he said of the spectrum of housing options, from camps to permanent supportive housing. “One is kind of the perfect solution, or as close to it as you can get. The other is abject human misery and totally unacceptable. I am of the opinion that we have to spend more, we have to put more of our emphasis on the lower rungs of the ladder, the side of the spectrum that is improving on sanctioned encampments.”

Some in the tiny homes movement would take it even further.

Resident Johnny Nielson walks through the DignityMoves tiny home village in downtown San Francisco, on Oct. 3, 2023. The program provides interim supportive housing to individuals experiencing homelessness. Photo by Loren Elliott for CalMatters

Elizabeth Funk is CEO of DignityMoves, a nonprofit advocating for tiny home shelter sites. More than two years ago the nonprofit got San Francisco’s only tiny homes village so far set up in mere months, with donated structures on a sliver of a city parking lot. Residents can stay as long as they need, with regular access to social and health care workers at the 90 structures. Funk said the site takes advantage of a lot that’s in the yearslong wait of being developed into housing; the structures can be easily relocated when the project breaks ground.

DignityMoves pushed a bill in the state Senate this year to allow non-congregate, relocatable tiny home projects to bypass certain permitting procedures, and direct cities and counties to make available empty land for those uses. The bill initially defined such projects under the state building code as a type of housing, rather than as temporary shelter. Funk even suggested using housing vouchers to pay for them.

She said she didn’t expect the controversy she sparked. A group of advocates pushed back on the bill, arguing that, as Alex Visotzky of the National Alliance to End Homelessness put it, “it blurred the line between housing and shelter.” Sharon Rapport of the Corporation for Supportive Housing pointed out that certain shelters already can bypass permitting restrictions.

“It should be that that kind of expedited process is reserved for housing projects or any other kind of projects that are really promoting good policy,” Rapport said.

Despite some amendments requiring the projects to include plans for residents to get permanent housing when the land is needed for other uses, the bill died in the Senate appropriations committee in May. Its author, San Mateo Democratic Sen. Josh Becker, said he intends to bring it back next year.

“I’m very hyper and active, and I like to work because I know if I sit around, I’m going to fade away and I’m not ready for that yet.”
— Darlene Pizarro, tiny home resident

Even Pallet Shelter, an early tiny homes builder that has supplied units for 36 sites across 32 California cities, was opposed to Becker’s bill. Amy King, CEO of the Washington-based company, said she asked for the bill to be amended to prohibit such sites from charging rents to tenants. No such change was made.

“I am not a supporter of this type of housing becoming a substitute for permanent housing,” King said.

Funk said she wasn’t trying to divert resources from one end of the housing spectrum to the other, but said the lines between the two may be too rigid when permanent housing is so scarce.

If someone needs or wants to stay in a tiny home for multiple years until they’re “ready” to move into a permanent apartment, she says, why shouldn’t it count as their housing?

The site DignityMoves opened in San Francisco illustrates both her point and her skeptics’.

Jezzeille Murdock speaks with a clinical case manager at the DignityMoves tiny home village in downtown San Francisco, on Oct. 3, 2023. Photo by Loren Elliott for CalMatters

Mia Salvaggio moved in two and a half years ago. She became homeless in 2020, after couchsurfing and battling a drug addiction. After bouncing around different campsites in the Bay Area, Salvaggio chose the offer of shelter space at DignityMoves because it afforded her some privacy, she said.

Being there has allowed her to meet a caseworker who helped her get her Social Security card. In an interview, she rattled off a long list of goals to focus on next: drug treatment, getting evaluated by a mental health provider, landing a part-time job. She was waiting for news about a permanent housing placement in early October.

She said she was grateful for the stay at the site, but some aspects still make it a far cry from a home: There’s no kitchen, the communal restrooms are porta-potties and the showers are on a trailer, which staff only keep open until 2:30 p.m. each day.

Salvaggio was also tired of living in close quarters with other residents, whom she accused of stealing her things and dirtying common areas. The rooms at that site are only 64 square feet, smaller than San Jose’s structures, and guests aren’t allowed.

“As long as I can prepare my own food and have my own bathroom,” she’ll be satisfied, Salvaggio said. “I haven’t literally sat on a toilet seat for probably two and a half years.”

###

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

James Rueben Aitken, 86, of McKinleyville, was called home to be with his Lord and Savior on September 4, 2023.

Jim was born in Arcadia, Wisconsin, on June 3, 1937, to Rueben John and Harriet Lucille Aitken. Jim’s sister, Joyce, was born in 1942. In 1951 his family moved to the Rose Valley community near Kelso, Washington.

Growing up, Jim was a kind and considerate brother, cousin, son, and friend. He built a cart so their goat could pull his sister, Joyce, around. He spent lots of time with his cousin, Bill Walters, and high school friends Darrell and Frenchie. He was a good carpenter and handyman and even built a hot rod with his dad.

He graduated from Kelso High School in 1956 and went to work at Longview Fibre.

In 1958, Jim married Jean Foley. Jim and Jean’s children, Pam and Brian, were born in Kelso, Washington, Bruce was born in Arcata.

In 1965, Jim and Jean moved to McKinleyville, where Jim worked at G.P. Pulp in Samoa. In 1972 the family moved to Woodland, Idaho where Jim worked with Jean’s Dad on the family ranch. In 1975, Jim moved to Eureka to work at L.P. Pulp in Samoa as an instrument technician. Jim and Jean divorced in 1976.

Jim married Joyce Lucinda Hutton in 1977. Jim and Joyce made their home in Blue Lake. He used his many skills to remodel the house, build an impressive barn/chicken coop, raised bed gardens, a greenhouse and a play structure for the grandkids. He could fix and build anything and he was a pretty good cook as well. Jim and Joyce enjoyed travel, gardening, and visiting their children and grandchildren. Jim was a long time member of Arcata Church of Christ. Grandkids, their cousins, and friends have great memories of going with Jim and Joyce to Sunday School with Happy Meals and salads afterwards.

Jim retired from L.P. Pulp in Samoa on July 1, 1999. Many of his coworkers became close friends, and remember him as “the nicest guy.”

In 2014 Jim and Joyce moved to Timber Ridge assisted living in McKinleyville. Joyce passed away in 2016, after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. From the onset of Joyce’s diagnosis, Jim was her devoted and selfless caregiver.

Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce; parents, Rueben and Harriet; and step-sons, Chris Hutton and Doug Hutton.

Jim is survived by his sister Joyce (Chuck) Coate, children Pam (Frank) McIntire, Brian Aitken, Bruce (Crystal) Aitken; step-children, Jeff (Carol) Hutton, Don (Vicki) Hutton, Cindy (Matt) Hally; daughters-in-law Linda (Doug) Hutton, Joy (Chris) Hutton; 11 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

Jim was a loving, stable, giving father, step-father, grandfather and husband. We were all blessed to have him in our lives.

Thanks to Timber Ridge Assisted Living in McKinleyville for your care and compassion. He loved listening to the Timber Ridge Boys and going on the weekly excursions!

Anyone who knew Jim would agree with Timber Ridge resident Betty Hanson, “Jim was a kind and loving soul, maybe an angel among us.”

A family graveside service will be held at a later date at Blue Lake Cemetery in Blue Lake.

###

Buddy Bennett, 73, of McKinleyville, passed away on September 29 from cancer.

Buddy was born on June 22, 1950, in Longview, Washington. He graduated from McKinleyville High School in 1969 and joined the U.S. Army. He served in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. He was wounded in action and was honorably discharged at the rank of corporal in 1971.

After coming home from the war he worked for a time at LP Lumber Mill, eventually getting a job at Simpson Timber Mill in Korbel, where he worked as a forklift driver for about 34 years.

Buddy loved sunshine and the outdoors — especially fishing, swimming, riding his Harley and spending time with his daughter.

Buddy was preceded in death by his parents, Willis and Winifred Bennett, and his brothers Gordon and David Bennett. He was survived by his daughter Adrienne Livingston and son-in-law John Livingston Jr of Loleta; his sister Lola Bennett; his sisters-in-law Anita Bennett and Beverly Bennett; and numerous nieces and nephews all who are from Washington. Also survived his best friends Vern and Linda Broyles and their children, of Rio Dell; Loretto Gandolfo of McKinlyville; along with many others.

He will be greatly missed.

There will be a celebration of life at a later date.

###

###

Anyone who’s used the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program – a state program designed to help pay for groceries for low-income families – has experienced the distress that comes with getting your food at the grocery store and standing in line at the check-out, only to realize that some of the items you picked aren’t covered by your benefits. So you ask to exchange the items, feeling a wave of embarrassment as you hold up the line of people impatiently waiting behind you. 

That’s where Jessica Conde Rebholtz, owner of Parent’s Nutrition Center, comes in. Her business, located 1125 Summer Street in Eureka, takes the guesswork out of shopping on WIC by stocking only items that are covered by the program. 

Rebholtz, a mother of three, came up with the idea to start a WIC store in Eureka about six years ago, after having her own humiliating experience. She was in line at Winco using her WIC checks to purchase her food and the woman behind her said something like, “Ugh. I hate being in line behind these people.” Though it certainly wasn’t the first time Rebholtz had experienced judgment in the check-out line, this time she didn’t want to let it go. She responded to the woman, “What do you mean ‘these people’?” And the situation dissolved into an embarrassing confrontation that stuck with Rebholtz. 

“It just left a sour taste in my mouth,” Rebholtz told the Outpost during an interview at her shop on Tuesday. “I started being more self-conscious and wouldn’t shop at times I knew there would be a long line…I would literally get butterflies standing in line. I was embarrassed and didn’t want to be humiliated again.” 

Following her confrontation, Rebholtz called her mother in tears to tell her about the experience. Her mom, who lives in Los Angeles, responded, “Why don’t you just shop at the WIC store?” WIC-only stores are fairly common in LA, but none existed here. The next time Rebholtz was visiting LA, she asked her mom to take her to one of the WIC stores. She absolutely loved it and knew she needed to open her own store here in Humboldt. 

Rebholtz contemplated her dream over the next several years, while continuing to work at her longtime teaching job with the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE). When COVID hit, Rebholtz was pregnant with her third child and she was having a hard time finding childcare for her two kids, while she continued to teach over Zoom. She felt like it might be the right time to focus on opening the store and, with her husband’s support, Rebholtz left her teaching position. 

First she needed to find a space, and after some searching, the couple landed on a small space at the Bayshore Mall. Then they had to get the licensing to be able to accept WIC and EBT (food stamps), a process that usually takes up to six months. Of course, in COVID times this process took even longer, and after signing a lease on the Bayshore Mall space in July 2021, Rebholtz officially opened her doors in April, 2022. 

After just a few months in the food court section of the mall, the lease was already up and Rebholtz felt that it would be better to move into a larger space where she could stock more inventory. She did get pretty good business at the mall, but said that the biggest feedback she got from her customers was that they wished the shop wasn’t so “out in the open” and Rebholtz felt that a more private location would also be beneficial. After again searching for a space for a while, Rebholtz reopened Parent’s Nutrition Center on Summer Street in February of this year. 

In case you are not one of the nearly 2,600 residents of Humboldt County who receive WIC benefits, let this reporter/mama explain how it works. WIC provides benefits for income-eligible pregnant women, new parents, babies and children up to age five, which comes in the form of a monthly credit for staple food items that you can purchase from certain grocers using your WIC-issued card. The amount and types of items covered varies depending on a family’s size/needs, but generally you can purchase things like eggs, cheese, bread, cereal, juice, milk and baby formula. Aside from the fruits and vegetables credit, which is issued as a dollar amount, the credit covers a set size or weight of food items. For example, for my four-year-old daughter, we receive $26 worth of produce, 16 ounces of cheese, two and a half gallons of milk and one dozen eggs, among other items, each month. 

Now here is where things get tricky! Not every type, size or brand of these items are WIC-eligible. For example, if you get 32 ounces of “whole grains” per month — which can be used for things like whole wheat bread, brown rice or corn tortillas — you can only buy these things in 16-ounce packages. At least locally, there is only one kind of whole wheat bread that’s available in 16 ounces and it is often sold out at local grocery stores. Eggs are also complicated. They can only be cage-free, white, large eggs (not extra large or jumbo, they MUST be large.) Most grocers only carry one type of large, white, cage-free eggs and they are also often sold out.

And although many stores label their WIC items, things are often mislabeled or out-of-date. So you might grab something that has a WIC label on the shelf underneath it, only to get to the register and learn that it is not actually covered. WIC used to issue paper checks and you had to pay separately for your WIC items and non-WIC items, making the check-out process longer and more frustrating. With the newer WIC card, the process is simpler, but you often don’t realize that some items weren’t covered until after you pay and get your receipt. There is also a handy WIC app for your phone that tells you what items you still have available and what types/ brands are covered, but it isn’t always accurate. There is even an option to scan items using the app, to see if they are WIC-approved, but it does not always work. 

A screenshot from this reporter’s WIC app, showing an unusable balance of 5 oz. of breakfast cereal

At Parent’s Nutrition Center, Rebholtz helps ease the frustration by guiding customers through the entire process. After being greeted by Rebholtz, she’ll first swipe your WIC card and print out a receipt showing exactly what items you have available. She then goes through each shelf, asking which items you would like and bagging them up for you. After you’ve gotten everything you need, Rebholtz swipes your card again to pay and you are on your merry way, without any growing line of impatient customers behind you. 

Providing this level of attention and service has been especially helpful for certain customers, Rebholtz said, including folks who are new to WIC, people with disabilities or people who don’t speak English as their first language. Rebholtz and her one other employee are both Spanish-speaking, and if someone doesn’t speak English or Spanish, she can communicate with them using hand motions. 

“I have a non-hearing, non verbal customer who comes in and her daughter said, ‘We can’t do this at a bigger store because she can’t communicate,’” Rebholtz said. 

Rebholtz also prides herself in helping customers “get the most out of their benefits,” by guiding them to the items and combinations of items that will use up their entire allotted amount and not end up with some funky WIC balance that won’t cover anything. She also makes sure to carry as many options as she can. Most stores only have two or three juice flavors that are covered, but Rebholtz carries 10! She also makes sure to stock less common items like canned hominy, something that many people don’t realize is covered by WIC, and is also very popular with her Latino customers  “I can’t keep it on the shelves,” she said. 

Another way Rebholtz helps her customers is by writing down recipes for cooking some of the items that people might not know how to cook, while also helping them find different, delicious ways to use their free groceries. She is currently working to establish the store’s Youtube channel, where she plans to share cooking tips and recipes and important WIC information. 

As her business grows, Rebholtz hopes to open more locations throughout Humboldt to help people shop with WIC in our rural area. But for now, she just really wants people to know that her store is here and open. (Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

To be clear, you don’t have to use WIC to shop at Parent’s Nutrition Center and the store also accepts EBT, cash and credit. But the point of the store is to ease the shopping process for those using WIC benefits. 

“We’re here to provide extra help,” Rebholtz said. “I just want to provide a safe space where [people] don’t have to feel like a nuisance.”