Arcata Police Department press release:

Richard Lawrence McCovey II

On 10/16/2023 at approximately 9:21 PM, the Arcata Police Department received a report that a person had been shot in the area of 27th Street and Alliance Rd.

Officers responded to the area and located an 18 year old Arcata man with a gunshot wound to the leg. The man reported he had been sitting in a vehicle along 27th Street, when a man approached the car on foot and fired multiple rounds into the vehicle, before fleeing.

Further investigation revealed the suspected shooter was know to the victim.

On 10/17/2023, officers from the Fortuna Police Department located and arrested the suspected shooter, Richard Lawrence McCovey II, 20 of Fortuna, at a business on Fortuna Blvd.

McCovey was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on suspected violations of 664/187 PC, Attempted Murder and 246 PC, Shooting at an Inhabited Dwelling/Vehicle.

Anyone with additional information related to this investigation is encouraged to call the lead detective Sgt. Luke Scown.

For years, Republicans have railed against “ballot harvesting” as an underhanded tactic by Democrats to win elections.

But for the 2024 election, the California GOP is going big on collecting ballots from voters and dropping them off at election offices or polling places, which is legal in California, with some conditions.

In part, it’s a reflection of political reality: With a few exceptions, the Republican Party has been struggling. On top of Democratic majorities in the Legislature since 1996, no Republican has been elected statewide office since 2006. And since the COVID-19 pandemic, California has sent mail ballots to every registered voter, making it easier for people to cast their ballots earlier and not just at polling places on Election Day.

“These are the rules that we have been given. And we have to play by those rules,” said Jessica Millan Patterson, chairperson of the California Republican Party. “It doesn’t make any sense to only be Election Day voters. That is like only playing three quarters of a football game.”

Patterson said she has recognized the importance of early voting since 2018, when she ran for party chairperson — a “very dark time” when the GOP lost half of its congressional delegation. And she’s still saying it even though mail voting has been central to former President Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“We would win California in a general election if they didn’t have a rigged voting system, where they send out 22 million ballots,” Trump told the party convention last month within the first few minutes of his speech — contrary to some messaging from his own campaign. “Nobody knows where they’re going, who they’re going to, who signs them, who delivers them, and who the hell counts ‘em? Nobody knows.”

Fact-check: State law requires county election officials to let you to track your ballot from when it’s submitted to when it’s counted and to collect data on rejected ballots.

In the 2022 general election, only 1.2% – or 120,609 ballots – of the 9.8 million returned vote-by-mail ballots were rejected.

Reasons for rejection:

• 57,764 weren’t received in time
• 47,984 had non-matching signatures
• 11,905 were missing signatures
• 823 were from voters who had already voted
• 660 had no ID provided (for first-time voters)
• 649 had ballot missing from envelope
• 644 had a missing or incorrect address on envelope169 had multiple ballots returned in one envelope
• 11 were for other reasons

Source: Secretary of State’s office

Later at the convention, though, delegates attended a session on ballot harvesting, which session leaders said could capture the votes of “lazy Republicans” in key areas. But they said it probably isn’t worth the effort in heavily Democratic neighborhoods.

While mail-in voting is widely thought of as benefiting Democrats, studies find it doesn’t favor one party over the other.

“We did not find that there was a party advantage like increasing turnout. It didn’t increase turnout more for Democrats versus Republicans,” said Mindy Romero, director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at USC’s Price School of Public Policy.

California is one of 31 states that allows a person voting by mail to designate someone else to return their ballot, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Prior to 2017, only family or household members could return ballots, but the Legislature changed that in part because there was no way to enforce that law, according to Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation.

Now, anyone can return the ballot as long as that person isn’t compensated based on the number of ballots returned (it’s legal to be paid a flat rate). The person must sign the envelope and return the ballot in person or by mail within three days of receiving it, or before polls close on Election Day.  

What’s not legal?

Forcing anyone you’re collecting a ballot from to vote a certain way. Employers are also barred from requiring or asking employees to bring in their ballots.

Unofficial dropboxes are also prohibited. In 2020, California sent a cease-and-desist letter to the state Republican Party, as well as local chapters in Fresno, Orange County and Los Angeles, for misleading practices, such as placing ballot drop boxes that were falsely labeled as “official.” The state threatened legal action, but stood down after the California GOP agreed to modify how it collected ballots.

Asked if it would deploy dropboxes in 2024, the party only responded that it plans to “employ a robust ballot harvesting program that ensures that voters have more options to cast their ballot in the primary and general elections.”

Alexander sees the GOP effort to amp up third-party ballot returns as positive. But she does believe the laws governing the process could be more clear, and that election officials should educate voters more about their rights — such as rejecting someone’s offer to collect a ballot.

She also notes that state law requires that the ballot collector fill out their name, relationship to the voter and signature on each ballot envelope. But even if that information is not filled out, that’s not necessarily grounds for rejecting the ballot. The information and signature are more like a contract between the voter and the collector.

“That’s why I would always urge people to only turn their ballot over to somebody who they trust, and to make sure that person takes some time to fill out that information in their presence so they know that person is being accountable to them,” Alexander said.

The potential payoff

For the 2024 election, the state GOP plan is focused on grassroots efforts — recruiting volunteers to go door-to-door to build relationships with voters and later collect ballots.

That trust-building might be key to convincing people that their ballots will be counted. The party will also continue to recruit election observers — something anyone is entitled to do — and is assigning an election integrity chairperson and a lawyer in each county.

“We will continue to do the work that we’re doing to make sure that individuals are voting by every legal means necessary,” Patterson said.

But for all the Republican Party’s plans, they aren’t likely to have much impact on statewide elections. There are about 27 million people who are eligible to vote in California, and of the 22 million who are registered 47% are Democrats, 24% are Republicans, and 23% have no party preference.

In California’s 2022 general election, data analyzed by the Center for Inclusive Democracy shows a higher percentage of registered Republican voters turned out than Democrats — 61% compared to 53% — but Newsom still won by nearly 20 percentage points.

But in some swing congressional and legislative races, Republicans narrowly won in Democratic-majority districts last November. For instance, U.S. Rep. John Duarte, a Modesto Republican, beat Democrat Adam Gray by 564 votes in one of the closest congressional races in the country in a district where President Biden beat Trump by 14.5 percentage points. And Republican Assemblymember Josh Hoover ousted Democrat Ken Cooley by 1,383 votes in a Sacramento-area district.

Last November, of the more than 11.1 million votes cast in California, about 9.8 million were returned by mail or dropbox.

Patterson said that due to limited resources, she has to make decisions on where to spend money — which means a continued focus on races where ballot harvesting can make an impact, such as those swing district congressional seats.

“Watching what we’ve done and the impact that we’ve already had — and the role that ballot harvesting and early voting has played in that — has absolutely already made a difference.”

Cynthia Thacker, one of the organizers of the GOP’s Take Back North Orange County movement, started collecting ballots from friends before the party started encouraging it. Ballot harvesting is one of the keys to their effort.

Thacker says she understands voters’ reluctance to hand their ballots to someone else, but sees it as more secure than mailing them in. “It’s our way of at least making sure — instead of mailing it — that we can try and get your ballot counted.”

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

Gov. Gavin Newsom last week passed on a chance to limit the use of the so-called “forever chemicals” in legions of plastic products when he vetoed a bill that would have banned them in synthetic lawns.

His veto of an environmental bill that overwhelmingly passed the Legislature underscores California’s convoluted guidance on the plastic turf that some homeowners, schools and businesses use in place of grass in a state accustomed to drought.

Less than a decade ago then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law prohibiting cities and counties from banning synthetic grass. At the time, the state was in the middle of a crippling drought and fake lawns were thought to be helpful in saving water.

But this year Democrats in the Legislature went in a different direction, proposing bills that would discourage synthetic turf. They’re worried about health risks created by the chemicals present in these lawns, including perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS chemicals. Some chemicals in the crumb rubber base of synthetic turf, such as bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, can leach out during extreme heat. These chemicals have been linked to various chronic diseases including cancers, diabetes and neurological impairments.

Dianne Woelke, a retired nurse in San Diego, is among the Californians who’ve grown concerned about their neighbors’ synthetic lawns. She joined a group called Safe Healthy Playing Fields to advocate against their use.

“It’s staggering the depth of minutia involved in this product. It’s just a lot of plastic with a lot of chemicals leaching from it,” Woelke said.

One of the bills Newsom signed, for instance, undoes the Brown-era law and allows cities and counties to again ban artificial turf. Some California cities have already begun moving to prohibit fake lawns, including Millbrae in San Mateo County and San Marino in Los Angeles County.

“Emerging research is making it clear that artificial turf poses an environmental threat due to its lack of recyclability and presence of toxins such as lead and PFAS,” said state Sen. Ben Allen, the Redondo Beach Democrat who authored the bill. With the new law “local governments will again be able to regulate artificial turf in a way to both protect our environment in the face of drought and climate change but also by preventing further contribution to our recycling challenges and toxic runoff,” he said.

Manufacturers of synthetic turf say they are working to address concerns about the materials they use, although for the most part they have been unable to entirely remove PFAS. Some have switched to sand and other safer products in an attempt to replace rubber crumb.

“Our members are already working with existing customers, states, and local governments to demonstrate the continued safety of our products and are committed to ensuring their products contain no intentionally added PFAS,” Melanie Taylor, president of the Synthetic Turf Council, wrote in a statement to CalMatters.

Newsom in vetoing the PFAS chemicals bill wrote that he “strongly” supports the intent of the legislation, but he was concerned that the state was not positioned to ensure its effectiveness.

The bill “does not identify or require any regulatory agency to determine compliance with, or enforce, the proposed statute,” he wrote in his veto message.

He also wrote that he’s directing his administration to consult with lawmakers on “alternative approaches to regulating the use of these harmful chemicals in consumer products,” suggesting the issue could return in the next legislative year.

Chemical risks from fake lawns

Synthetic turf is a man-made, non-living replacement of turfgrass that requires no water or maintenance. The grass blades are made of fibers such as nylon or plastic while the base is typically a crumb rubber made from used tires, plastic pellets or sand.

Synthetic grass usually contains PFAS chemicals. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS chemicals are a known carcinogen which can interfere with hormones, reproduction, immunity and cause developmental delays in children.

Adam Smith, an associate professor of environmental engineering at the University of Southern California, said although research is still being done to understand fully what the health implications of the chemical are, current research suggests that “PFAS is absolutely bad for human health.”

“Certainly, in terms of the drought, (synthetic turf) seems great, but there’s all of these downsides,” Smith said.

According to experts, these chemicals can enter the human body through contact with skin, by breathing the particles in or through water sources, especially groundwater sources, that can get contaminated during leaching.

Microplastics from the grass blades and crumb rubber can also leach into groundwater and freshwater bodies.

“These molecules are actually entering the food chains in the ocean, and they’re in our system, they’re in our blood, they’re in our muscles,” said Sylvia Earle, a marine life advocate and former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“We’ve changed the nature of nature through actions that we’ve taken. Now they are coming back to haunt us.”

At what temperatures is it a risk?

Research by the National Toxicology Program shows that high heat can cause chemicals to leach out of the crumb rubber base of synthetic turf, which is made of recycled tires. These leached chemicals are known to cause cell death in humans.

Synthetic turf, like other artificial surfaces including asphalt and pavement, heats up by several degrees more than living lawns.

According to Kelly Turner, associate director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation’s Heat Equity Initiative, the material can trap heat and radiate it back slowly, staying warm for longer periods of time.

“It is one of the hottest surface materials,” she said. “It is hotter than asphalt.”

Janet Hartin, horticulture expert at UC Extension in Los Angeles County, measured various types of surfaces in Palm Springs, where air temperatures around 100˚F are common during the summer.

On days around 100˚F or more, she reported temperatures of synthetic turf and other artificial substances around 175˚F.

Alternative approaches

Hartin said the best alternative to any artificial surfaces are living plants.

“We want to increase the population of our habitat pollinators, and plant climate-resilient plants that provide shade, buffer sun exposure, provide windbreaks, help reduce stormwater runoff and reduce soil and water erosion. And you can’t do that with synthetic grass,” she said.

There are several drought-friendly approaches to landscaping, including warm-season grasses such as Bermuda grass and Buffalo grass, or doing away with grass altogether and planting trees or drought-resilient varieties of plants that are endemic to California.

Hartin said that even though plants require water and maintenance, their cooling benefits and ecosystem benefits go far beyond the water savings one could get through synthetic turf.

“You have choices,” she said. “What we plant today is going to maximize society and urban ecosystem benefits by the time that you’re in your later years.”

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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.

Eugene George Lewis entered into this world on November 14, 1955 in Hoopa and began his journey to the other side on October 15, 2023 due to complications related to cancer.

He is survived by his daughter Lovella Jean Lewis, her children Tek-tah, William, and Myah; his Daughter-In-Law, Falene Blake Lewis and son Pegoy Victor Lewis; his Mother, Donna Matilton, his siblings Monica Matilton (Yogi) and Family, Jon Matilton, Tina Rae Jury (Gary Sr.) and Family, Page Matilton (Irma) and Family, and Holly Fawn Spencer Matilton Jones (Jason) and Family. Eugene had ten Uncles and three Aunts on his father’s side and six Uncles and five Aunts on his mother’s side. His heart was full of love from his entire family and he loved spending time with them.

George was preceded in death by his father, Manuel Lewis Jr.; grandparents, James Peters and Daraxa Peters; great-grandparents, Charles and Rose Stevens; his sister, Ronda Lynn Marshall; his stepfathers Ronnie Marshall and Ray L. Matilton; his son Harmon E. Lewis and numerous loved ones.

George was welcomed by many. He was approachable and willing to help. He practiced his traditional ways and was eager to share his ability and knowledge. He was thankful to be blessed by his “Dance Family.” He was a recognized voice in ceremony, gifted, and his prayers were quite powerful! In March of 2022, when the Yurok Condor Restoration Program brought the California Condor back to our homelands, Eugene sang the Condor Song for the Prey-go-neesh and welcomed them home. He was a student and teacher of many languages and life skills.

Friends and family are invited to join his family for a Visitation/Wake at the Matilton Family Home on Telescope Road, Wednesday, October 18, 2023 after 7:00 pm. Graveside services will be held on October 19, 2023 at Johnsons Cemetery at 12:00 pm. Reception to follow at the Libby Haripop Nix Community Center in Weitchpec, Ca.

Pallbearers are Pegoy Lewis, Tek-Tah and William Sylvia, Jason Jones, Gary Jury Jr., Keoki Burbank, Ryan Matilton, Bryan Matilton, Matthew Douglas, Billy Buck Peters, Damien Scott, Vernon Muggins Peters, Amos Pole, Speygee Bussell, Robert Jones, Ish-kayshTripp, Chey-lel and Ka-gosh O’Neil.

Honorary pallbearers Christopher Peters, William “Billy” Peters, Walter McKinnon III, Jon Matilton, Gary Jury Sr., Page Matilton, Stephen Burbank, Patrick Wilson, Fred Lewis, Dave Severns, Alan Ng, Charles Burdick, Joe James,

His beautiful people, Cindy Sylvia, Dania Rose Colegrove, Gianna Orozco, Keiko Yamamoto Yokazowa and Gracie Lewis.

His family would like to thank the community for their generous support in his fight.

Eugene was a fighter to the end!

His caregivers at Kimaw Medical Center St. Joseph’s Hospital, Pacific Hematology and Oncology in San Francisco, Mad River Community Hospital, Cal-Ore Life Flight and Sutter Roseville Medical Center. Truly amazing care.

By no means can we list George’s entire family and friends.

He loved you all and now he travels with your love and memories.

Chue

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Paul ‘Pablo’ George
September 8, 1948 to September 18, 2023

Paul George passed away Monday Sept. 18, 2023 after a brief battle with an aggressive form of cancer, a few days after celebrating his 75th birthday surrounded by family.

Born in 1948, Paul grew up in Pasadena with his parents and four siblings. A surfer and two-sport athlete in high school (football and baseball), Paul left Pasadena at the age of 17 and moved to Humboldt County where he met the love of his life, Libby, and raised two sons, Hudson and Maxwell. Paul coached his boys growing up and continued to be their biggest fan in life. He often said his proudest accomplishment was raising two sons who didn’t turn out to be “jerks” (not his exact word).

Paul and his father-in-law, Marlan Stover, founded SG Builders together, “Big since ‘76.” Their second catch phrase was “Driving nails and riding the planet.” Paul was known for his amazing craftsmanship and attention to detail in his work as a contractor, and he spent the majority of his career working time and time again for a group of loyal customers he valued tremendously. Paul always had a love of music and played in such notable local bands as Uncle Sam Cereal, The Dry Creek Boys, Mervin Revere and the Waddington Rebels, Robbin’ Pablo, and Undone. Based on these accolades, he would often tell his boys that he was the hippest dude they were ever going to meet. And he was right. Paul thoroughly enjoyed playing golf, and he spent as much time as possible with his many good friends at Beau Pre Golf Course in McKinleyville. His second proudest accomplishment may have been the short time he was a single digit handicap.

Paul will be remembered as an amazing husband, father, grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, friend and band mate. He will also be remembered for his generosity, sense of humor, and many aphorisms, such as, “If you want to run with the big dogs, you got to get off the porch.” Paul is survived by his wife Libby, his eldest son Hudson (wife Sarah, sons Evan and Jacob), youngest son Maxwell (wife Kathy, son William), his siblings David (Cherry) , Jamie, Donna (Louis) and Bruce (Trish), his in-laws Tommy (Kathy), Judy, Laya (Richard) and Alene (Ron) and many beloved nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to your favorite charity in memory of Paul. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.

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As we wrote about a couple a days ago, tonight the Eureka City Council will officially acknowlege that the self-described “Housing for All” initiative, which seeks to stop housing development on downtown parking lots, received enough valid signatures to be placed on the ballot.

Since the petition received enough valid signatures, the City Council can do one of two things: Either pass the “Housing for All” initiative itself, or put it to the voters at the next municipal election.

But when is the next municipal election? Apparently “Housing for All” believes it to be in March 2024 — next year’s presidental primary. And they’re ready to sue the city to make that the case.

In a press release sent out a few minutes ago, the Housing for All people note what we noted: That the staff report associated with tonight’s item proposes to place the initiative on the November ballot, not the March ballot. And they call shenanigans. They write:

According to the Agenda Summary prepared by city staff, the Initiative would be placed on the November 5, 2024, ballot. According to the Elections Code, the city must place the Initiative on the March 5, 2024, ballot, the next statewide general (not just primary) election.

But what does the Election Code actually state? Election Code Section 1405(a), which the city relies on in its staff report, states this:

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the election for a county initiative that qualifies pursuant to Section 9118 shall be held at the next statewide election occurring not less than 88 days after the date of the order of election. The election for a municipal or district initiative that qualifies pursuant to Section 9215 or 9310 shall be held at the jurisdiction’s next regular election occurring not less than 88 days after the date of the order of election.

The election for a municipal initiative that qualifies for the ballot shall be held at the jurisdiction’s next regular election. Local cities have their elections in the fall, always — that is when city council seats are up for election. There is nothing city-related at all on the spring ballot. 

Assistant City Attorney Bob Black confirmed to the Outpost this afternoon that this is the city’s understanding of the matter. It’s not just a meaningless distinction, either — cities contract with the county to run their elections, and they don’t have the power to just shove something on the ballot any time they like, or make the county run a snap election at the time of their choosing.

So unless the city’s understanding is very much mistaken — the courts will tell us, I guess! — it looks as though the “Housing for All” people misunderstood, this whole time, when they would be on the ballot, and are now ready to file suit in an attempt to make their misunderstanding reality. Wow!

Full press release from the Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative below:

Mike Munson and Michelle Costantine-Blackwell, proponents of the City of Eureka Housing for All and Downtown Vitality Initiative, have filed suit against the city seeking judicial relief from the city’s apparent intent to improperly postpone an election on the Initiative until November 5, 2024. The lawsuit also alleges the city violated the Elections Code by failing to certify the Initiative at the City Council’s October 3, 2023, regular meeting.

The Housing for All Initiative has been placed on tonight’s City Council agenda. At tonight’s meeting, the council can take one of two actions: (1) adopt the ordinance directly or (2) submit the ordinance to voters. According to the Agenda Summary prepared by city staff, the Initiative would be placed on the November 5, 2024, ballot. According to the Elections Code, the city must place the Initiative on the March 5, 2024, ballot, the next statewide general (not just primary) election.

The Council can correct the mistakes and avoid needless litigation by voting tonight to adopt or place the Initiative on the March 5, 2024, ballot.

The petition can be found at eurekahousingforall2024.org.

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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

Press release from the Yurok Tribe:

The Yurok Election Board today took formal action on the Primary Election held October 11, 2023 and issued formal certification of the primary results for all Districts. The Election Board on October 17, 2023, certified the election of the following people:

NORTH DISTRICT

• Edward “Horse” Aubrey: 54 (28.72%)
• Phillip L. Williams (Incumbent): 134 (71.28%)

REQUA DISTRICT

• Ryan Ray, Sr. (Incumbent): 31 (100.00%)

WEITCHPEC DISTRICT

• Jewel C. Frank: 9 (14.06%)
• Isaac S. Kinney: 18 (28.13%)
• Toby Vanlandingham (Incumbent): 37 (57.81%)

Since all successful candidates received more than 50% of the ballots cast, there will be no Run-Off for any office. Phillip L. Williams won the position of North District Representative, Ryan Ray, Sr. won the position of Requa District Representative, and Toby Vanlandingham won the position of Weitchpec District Representative for the Primary Election and their installation ceremony will take place on Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 11am at the Main Yurok Tribal Office in Klamath, CA.