OBITUARY: Helen Pitre, 1945-2026
LoCO Staff / Wednesday, March 25 @ 6:56 a.m. / Obits
Helen Pitre (born Helen Henrietta Boushey), longtime resident of Humboldt County, died of Alzheimer’s disease with her family by her side at Frye’s Care Home in Eureka on March 14, 2026. She had faced this difficult disease with dignity and grace, and remained sweet and loving, as she always had been, until the very end of her life.
Helen’s life was centered on love for her family, for children and for the natural world. She was an enthusiastic gardener and loved backpacking. Among her favorite places were the Klamath River, where she camped with her extended family, and the South Fork of the Trinity River where she spent a year in a remote cabin and hosted many gatherings with family and friends.
Helen was born on March 28, 1945, in Bakersfield to Homer Astley Boushey and Eleanor Boyd Boushey. She had three older brothers and a younger sister. Her father would eventually become a Brigadier General in the Air Force and the family lived in Okinawa, Virginia, Ohio, Washington D.C. and Tennessee, before re-settling in California, where Helen graduated from Castilleja School in Palo Alto. Helen’s family made frequent visits to a cabin her grandparents had built on the Klamath River, and from a young age Helen fell in love with the redwood forest and the river.
Soon after her graduation in 1962, Helen married William Lee (Bill) White. They had three children, Eleanor Kimberly (1963), William Gregg (Bill) (1965) and Anna Boushey (1969), before divorcing in 1970. Helen earned her BA in English from Stanford University and later became a registered nurse.
In Palo Alto, Helen lived with her three young children beside a tennis court in College Terrace. Her sister, Annette, lived on the other side of the court, and they and their friends spent many happy hours playing there. Helen grew vegetables, and for a while kept chickens in her backyard. She was an avid runner, and spent many afternoons running the Stanford Dish Loop Trail. Whenever she could, she went up to the family property on the Klamath River – once staying there for a month with her three children. She would often say it was where she most felt like herself.
Helen met and married Anthony Joseph (Tony) Pitre and they moved to Bayside in 1981. Tony and Helen welcomed four more children into the family: Joseph Vincent (1981), Wulf Aimee (1983), Tessa Marie (1986) and Anthony Martin (1988). They bought an old farmhouse, raised sheep and steer, kept chickens and ducks, and grew a large vegetable and flower garden. Helen worked as a labor and delivery nurse, first at General Hospital and later at St. Joseph’s and Redwood Memorial Hospitals.
Helen and Tony moved their family to Trinidad in 2004. Helen loved gardening, spending time on the beaches and walking through the forest to College Cove. She retired from nursing in 2007 after a career of 30 years, supporting new mothers and welcoming newborns into the world. Helen’s nursing colleagues described her as gentle, strong, compassionate, nurturing and capable. After her divorce from Tony, Helen lived on her own in Trinidad in a small house near the ocean. She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren and hosting family and friends at the family cabin on the South Fork of the Trinity River, with many happy days spent swimming and floating down the river. She lived there for a year, much of it on her own, and later reflected that it was the first time in her life that she truly learned to relax. In a letter to her daughter, she wrote, “I feel so happily focused on things here: my writing, and exploring the environment, learning from the plants and birds and insects and animals, chopping wood, cooking simple good food and reading.”
Helen is survived by her children, Eleanor White, Bill White, Anna White, Joe Pitre, Wulf Pitre, Tessa Head and Anthony Thomas; her grandchildren, Natasha LaVeille, Tai White, Emersyn White, Phaedon Moser, Odin Pitre, Ella Head, Kieran Head, Jaden Thomas and a baby girl expected this summer; her great-grandchildren, Bryan Williams, Julian Williams and Nate Finley; her sister, Annette Holland; and her brothers, Homer Boushey and Boyd Dyer. She was preceded in death by her brother Hugh Dyer, her nephew Nick Dyer and her parents, Eleanor and Homer Boushey.
Helen was a devoted mother and a loving sister, aunt and daughter. She was a gardener and a poet, a good friend, a caring nurse and had an adventurous spirit. She made everyone around her feel loved and accepted, and she is dearly missed.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 9. Please email her daughter Tessa for more information if you would like to attend: tessapitre@gmail.com. Donations in Helen’s memory can be made to Save the Redwoods League or the Northcoast Regional Land Trust.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Helen Pitre’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.
BOOKED
Today: 8 felonies, 11 misdemeanors, 0 infractions
JUDGED
Humboldt County Superior Court Calendar: Friday, May 22
CHP REPORTS
No current incidents
ELSEWHERE
RHBB: Two Major Injury Crashes Reported Early Sunday Along Highway 299 Corridor
RHBB: Humboldt Planners Mull Cannabis’ Skunky Odor as Farm Expansion OK’d
RHBB: CDFW Releases Ocean Salmon Harvest Tracking Tools
RHBB: Lane Closure Coming to Highway 299 Near Buckhorn Summit
OBITUARY: Nancy Marie, 1947-2026
LoCO Staff / Wednesday, March 25 @ 6:56 a.m. / Obits
Our beloved Nancy Marie died at Mad River Hospital in the early morning of March 1, 2026. Her son Gabe was with her. Numerous friends and caregivers had visited Nancy that day to say farewell to this beautiful, courageous and compassionate woman. Her Buddhist faith sustained her through the difficult years of decline due to Parkinson’s with Lewy Bodies.
Nancy had Midwest family roots. She was born in a small town in western Kansas, Wathena, located near St. Joseph Missouri. Nancy was born into a large working class Catholic family. She was the daughter of Kenneth and Thelma Hewins. Nancy was the third child of nine children. She attended a parochial grade school in Wathena and graduated from Wathena High School in1966. She then attended the local community college where she met her husband Chris Miller. They were married in 1968 and later that year they had their first and only child, Gabriel (Gabe) Matthias Miller.
A job opportunity for Chris prompted the young family to move to Weaverville in 1968. Nancy and Chris divorced and Nancy and Gabe moved to Humboldt County, where Nancy enrolled at Humboldt State University, graduating with a B.A. degree in Psychology in 1974. It was during this time Nancy formally changed her last name to Marie.
In Arcata Nancy discovered Buddhism, as well as a wonderful place to raise Gabe. She became active in a local Buddhist sangha and developed a dedicated meditation practice that served her for the rest of her life. As Nancy deepened her spiritual life and commitment to Buddhism she decided to take the next step of her education. In 1980 Nancy and Gabe moved to Boulder, Colorado where Nancy enrolled in the Naropa Institute (now Naropa University) and earned a master’s degree in counseling and psychology.
Nancy and Gabe moved back to Arcata and Nancy began her career as a counselor/therapist. One of her interests and unique offerings was women’s gatherings, workshops and retreats. She continued to offer these unique opportunities to women for 10-15 years, building a solid reputation within the community. Nancy was an exceptional therapist due to her deep and empathetic listening skills. She not only used this valuable skill with her patients but also with her friends and family. Intense, deep listening was a gift she gave to us all.
Nancy had a special love for all animals and especially dogs. She fed her deep love of pets by caring for friends’ pets. Her other hobbies were camping and hiking in the great outdoors of Northern California and the west. She enjoyed many camping trips and hikes with sister Peggy, son Gabe, and friends Diane and Tom as well as others.
Many thanks are due to the caring and attentive staff of the PACE program for helping Nancy stay in her home at Plaza Point in Arcata for as long as she was able. Thanks to the memory care staff at Renaissance of Timber Ridge who supported Nancy in her last months. Donations in her name can be made to the Companion Animal Foundation or to the animal welfare organization of your choice. Donations can also be made to Food for People.
A celebration of life will be held on Nancy’s 79th birthdate, September 27, 2026, at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Jacoby Creek Road in Bayside, at 2 p.m.
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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Nancy Marie’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.
Eureka Ranked-Choice Voting Delayed Yet Again — This Time Until 2028 — Because Apparently the Tech Just Ain’t There Yet
LoCO Staff / Tuesday, March 24 @ 5:18 p.m. / Elections
Ranked choice voting was approved by Eureka voters in the fall of 2020. — Ed.
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PREVIOUSLY:
- At Its Meeting Tonight, the Eureka City Council is Set to Put Ranked Choice Voting on the November Ballot
- MEASURE C: Ranked-Choice Voting Would Bring More Democracy and Better Democracy to Eureka, Backers Say, but Citizens Will Have to Get Used to a New Way to Cast and Count Votes
- ELECTION NIGHT FINAL REPORT: With Tens of Thousands of Votes Likely Left to Count, We Know Some Things — But Not Much
- TONIGHT at EUREKA CITY COUNCIL: Ward Redistricting, Ranked Choice Voting Implementation, Anti-Coal Ordinance and More
- Eureka City Council Approves New Ward Map, Ranked Choice Voting; Bans Coal on City-Owned Property
- HUMBOLDT CONVERSATIONS: Catching Up With New County Clerk/Recorder/Registrar Juan Pablo Cervantes
- Eureka Will Have to Wait Two More Years Before it Gets Ranked-Choice Voting
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Press release from the Humboldt County Office of Elections:
The Humboldt County Office of Elections announced today that ranked choice voting for the City of Eureka will begin during the 2028 election cycle instead of November 2026.
This change is the direct result of proactive system testing to ensure the voting system’s ranked choice voting capabilities meet the highest standards of precision, accuracy and state requirements before it is implemented.
Background
In summer 2025, the Humboldt County Office of Elections hosted in-depth tabletop exercises to stress-test the planned ranked choice voting rollout. The county’s voting system was tested during these exercises.
While the goal was to launch in 2026, testing identified limitations in the voting system’s ranked choice voting functionality that require additional updates and subsequent state certification, making implementation in 2028 necessary.
“Our tabletop exercises did exactly what they were designed to do. They showed us what it will take to get this right,” said Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Juan P. Cervantes. “We’re not going to rush implementation at the expense of systemic integrity.”
To address these issues and build a resilient system, the Elections Office is working closely with the City of Eureka and has brought a team of experts, with experience with rolling out ranked choice voting, together for support. Key partners include:
- California Secretary of State’s Office of Voting Systems Technology Assessment
- City of Redondo Beach
- Californians for Electoral Reform
- Disability Rights California
- Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center
- Center for Civic Design
- Democracy Rising
- Accessibility and language access experts
- Hart InterCivic
Next Steps
The Humboldt County Office of Elections continues to partner closely with Hart InterCivic, the county’s voting system vendor, who is on track to submit the required system updates to the state for certification testing in early 2027.
“Hart InterCivic is fully committed to Humboldt County’s methodical implementation plan,” said Julie Mathis, CEO at Hart InterCivic. “Our team is actively developing the required ranked choice voting updates for the Verity system, and we stand firmly behind our timeline to submit them for state certification in quarter one of 2027, ensuring a successful rollout in 2028.”
Due to this timeline change, City of Eureka contests in the upcoming November 2026 General Election will continue to use standard plurality voting, which means the candidate who receives the most votes will win.
Prospective candidates are being informed of this change today during the City of Eureka’s official candidate education workshop to ensure complete transparency.
“This decision reflects our responsibility to the voters of the City of Eureka who supported the ranked choice voting initiative, ensuring we implement it thoughtfully and correctly,” said Eureka’s City Clerk Pam Powell. “We remain fully committed to this initiative. Our continued partnership with the county ensures that when ranked choice voting is introduced, it is secure, accessible and meets our community’s high standards.”
“This work is about getting it right,” Cervantes added. “By bringing everyone to the table, we’re making sure ranked choice voting is implemented thoughtfully and earns the public’s trust.”
About Humboldt County Elections Office
The Humboldt County Office of Elections is committed to ensuring all eligible residents have an opportunity to exercise their right to vote, conducting elections in a fair, accurate and efficient manner, providing reliable information and the best possible service to voters, districts, candidates and other interested parties. For more information, visit HumboldtGov.org/Elections.
Hoopa Valley Tribe Gets Nearly $40 Million Grant to Deliver Fiber Optic Service Throughout the Valley and Beyond
LoCO Staff / Tuesday, March 24 @ 5:08 p.m. / Internet
The Kim Yerton Memorial Library is just one of thousands of places that’ll get that sweet sweet fiber hookup. Photo: Tech Soup for Libraries, via Flickr. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.
From the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s Facebook page:
The Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District (HVPUD), a chartered entity of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, proudly announces it has been awarded approximately $39.7 million through the California Public Utilities Commission’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account to implement the Hoopa Trinity Rural Access Initiative Linkup (Hoopa TRAIL) project.
This transformative investment will expand high-speed fiber broadband infrastructure across Trinity and Humboldt Counties, delivering reliable internet access to thousands of unserved and underserved households, businesses, and community anchor institutions in some of California’s most rural and geographically challenging regions.
The Hoopa TRAIL project will deploy more than 100 miles of fiber optic infrastructure, connecting communities including Willow Creek, Salyer, Hawkins Bar, Big Bar, Junction City, Douglas City, and Lewiston, and reaching over 2,000 serviceable locations. The network will provide gigabit-speed internet, enabling critical access to telehealth, education, emergency services, economic development, and government resources.
Receiving this funding represents more than infrastructure is a continuation of the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s enduring responsibility to its people and its ancestral lands.
The Tribe calls Hoopa “the place where all trails return.” Just as the tributaries of the Trinity River flow back home, this project reflects a modern extension of that philosophy: building a digital river that connects communities, strengthens resilience, and ensures that no household is left behind in the digital age.
“This is an immense honor for HVPUD and a monumental step for the communities we serve,” said Linnea Jackson, HVPUD General Manager. “Through Hoopa TRAIL, we are not only delivering broadband—we are creating opportunity, supporting sovereignty, and reaffirming our commitment to serve our ancestral territory and surrounding region with pride and purpose.”
The project will leverage existing Tribal infrastructure, including HVPUD’s network and central operations in Hoopa, and will interconnect with California’s statewide middle-mile network to ensure long-term scalability and sustainability.
Construction is anticipated to begin following environmental review and permitting, with a projected completion timeline of approximately 24 months.
HVPUD remains committed to equitable access by offering affordable, no data cap broadband plans, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to connectivity for low-income households and Tribal members.The Hoopa Valley Public Utilities District (HVPUD), a chartered entity of the Hoopa Valley Tribe, proudly announces it has been awarded approximately $39.7 million through the California Public Utilities Commission’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account to implement the Hoopa Trinity Rural Access Initiative Linkup (Hoopa TRAIL) project.
This transformative investment will expand high-speed fiber broadband infrastructure across Trinity and Humboldt Counties, delivering reliable internet access to thousands of unserved and underserved households, businesses, and community anchor institutions in some of California’s most rural and geographically challenging regions.
The Hoopa TRAIL project will deploy more than 100 miles of fiber optic infrastructure, connecting communities including Willow Creek, Salyer, Hawkins Bar, Big Bar, Junction City, Douglas City, and Lewiston, and reaching over 2,000 serviceable locations. The network will provide gigabit-speed internet, enabling critical access to telehealth, education, emergency services, economic development, and government resources.
Receiving this funding represents more than infrastructure is a continuation of the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s enduring responsibility to its people and its ancestral lands.
The Tribe calls Hoopa “the place where all trails return.” Just as the tributaries of the Trinity River flow back home, this project reflects a modern extension of that philosophy: building a digital river that connects communities, strengthens resilience, and ensures that no household is left behind in the digital age.
“This is an immense honor for HVPUD and a monumental step for the communities we serve,” said Linnea Jackson, HVPUD General Manager. “Through Hoopa TRAIL, we are not only delivering broadband—we are creating opportunity, supporting sovereignty, and reaffirming our commitment to serve our ancestral territory and surrounding region with pride and purpose.”
The project will leverage existing Tribal infrastructure, including HVPUD’s network and central operations in Hoopa, and will interconnect with California’s statewide middle-mile network to ensure long-term scalability and sustainability.
Construction is anticipated to begin following environmental review and permitting, with a projected completion timeline of approximately 24 months.
HVPUD remains committed to equitable access by offering affordable, no data cap broadband plans, ensuring that cost is not a barrier to connectivity for low-income households and Tribal members.
The Hoopa TRAIL project stands as a model for Tribal-led infrastructure development, demonstrating how strategic investment, community leadership, and cultural values can come together to build a stronger, more connected future for all.
The Hoopa TRAIL project stands as a model for Tribal-led infrastructure development, demonstrating how strategic investment, community leadership, and cultural values can come together to build a stronger, more connected future for all.
TODAY in SUPES: 100 or More Locals Could Return to Homelessness With End of HUD Voucher Program; Public Calls for Sheriff’s Office Oversight Committee
Ryan Burns / Tuesday, March 24 @ 3:59 p.m. / Local Government
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors (clockwise from bottom left): Natalie Arroyo, Michelle Bushnell, Rex Bohn, Steve Madrone and Mike Wilson.
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The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday received a stark update on our region’s housing safety net.
Cheryl Churchill, executive director of the housing authorities for both the City of Eureka and the County of Humboldt, told the board that policy and funding changes from the Trump administration are set to reverse hard‑won gains in housing low‑income residents.
The two local housing authorities — Eureka’s and the county’s — are currently administering more than $16 million in federal housing assistance for families that mostly earn between 30% and 50% of our region’s median income. While the demand for such assistance is growing, federal housing officials have effectively frozen the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program and are allowing key pandemic‑era subsidies to expire early.
Churchill explained that Humboldt County has been allocated more than 12,000 Housing Choice Vouchers on paper yet is only funded to support about 995 vouchers per month, with roughly 978 currently in use.
Since late 2024, she said, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has barred local housing authorities from issuing new vouchers and has recaptured about $2 million in local reserves that had been fueling a significant expansion since 2024.
Special‑purpose vouchers for veterans, disabled residents and former foster youth are still being issued in limited numbers, but the larger program that serves most low‑income renters is in a “slow attrition” phase. Churchill does not expect that trend to reverse until 2027.
Compounding the problem, she warned, Emergency Housing Vouchers created during the COVID‑19 pandemic are running out of money years ahead of schedule, leaving roughly 70 to 100 local households at risk of returning to homelessness by around 2027 with no clear path to convert them into regular vouchers.
“When we talk about a good-sized group of people potentially facing homelessness and eviction over the next year, I don’t have a solution,” Churchill said. “We talk about this in our COC [Continuum of Care] meetings frequently. Nobody has a solution.”
Despite this dire state of affairs, the Eureka Housing Authority is pressing ahead with several major redevelopment projects in the city aimed at rehabbing and expanding the aging public housing stock from the 1950s and ’60s.
Churchill detailed three phases — nicknamed Green, Red and Blue (or Blue & Purple) — that will demolish and rebuild or substantially renovate older units. The Green Phase, for example, calls for a planned 44‑unit family project on Hiler Street while the Blue & Purple Phase will see a 44‑unit senior housing building at C and Clark streets. Both phases will be supported by state grants and tax credits.
Conceptual illustration of 44 new units of affordable housing slated for development at 3230 Hiler Street in Eureka, a project nicknamed “Green Phase.” | Screenshot.
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The Blue & Purple Phase, which Churchill said “is honestly one that I am just kind of in love with.”
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The Red Phase, meanwhile, entails the renovation of nearly 100 redwood-built public housing units from the 1950s and ‘60s, bringing them to “like-new status,” according to Churchill.
The “Red Phase” will include 98 units of rehab in the red-outlined areas.
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Another state‑funded project will replace the undersized Boys and Girls Club facility on Prospect Avenue, near Winco, with an approximately 4,500‑square‑foot shared community space.
Waitlists for city‑owned housing units remain open, she said, even as voucher waitlists — which already hold more than 1,600 applicants — are closed until HUD allows new issuances.
Fourth Third District Supervisor and Board Chair Mike Wilson sounded off on the Trump administration, describing it as “hostile to housing people in general” and condemning recent legislation that stripped federal subsidies for existing housing.
“It’s so frustrating because the simplest and easiest way for us to keep people off the street is to house them in existing housing,” Wilson said. “[And] to have an administration that makes a conscious choice to defund that is shocking to me.”
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Public Calls for Sheriff’s Oversight Board
Earlier in the meeting, half a dozen public commenters spoke in favor of establishing a community oversight board for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, and while the assorted speakers didn’t identify themselves as any sort of official committee, they have evidently drafted a voter initiative intended for inclusion on local ballots in November.
“The residents of Humboldt County deserve professional monitoring and accountability of their public agencies, especially the powerful and influential Sheriff’s Office,” leadoff speaker Caroline Griffith said.
She referenced a 2024 Civil Grand Jury report advocating such an oversight body (a proposal that Sheriff Billy Honsal has publicly resisted) as well as the City of Eureka’s Board of Community Oversight on Police Practices.
The proposed Humboldt County Sheriff’s Policy and Practice Board would have subpoena power and be subject to the Brown Act and other public meeting laws.
“The board would serve as an impartial and objective, independent body that audits and assesses community complaints, jail conditions, budget and spending and certain specified critical incidents involving members of the Sheriff’s Office,” Griffith explained. By increasing transparency and providing a stronger, more independent review structure, this board would benefit both the public and law enforcement officials, she argued.
She asked the board to place the matter on an upcoming meeting agenda and then place it on the November ballot.
Other speakers endorsed this request.
“I was shocked to learn actually that the county doesn’t have an oversight board already,” Cal Poly Humboldt grad student Amy Scott said. “Eureka has had theirs since 2022; it has been useful. There was a great report about it even increasing police morale.”
Eureka mom and business owner Sierra Braggs said she works with people on the autism spectrum, many of whom “are terrified of encounters with law enforcement, because any time that they deviate from what is prescribed … literally their life is in jeopardy, and they’re very aware of the national stories of what can happen to people.”
Eureka City Councilmember Leslie Castellano was among the speakers advocating for a citizens’ oversight committee. She noted the successes of Eureka’s police oversight board, saying it has provided greater transparency, public engagement and trust in law enforcement.
“Trust is meaningful, and that trust requires community engagement and opportunities for serious public discourse,” Castellano said. “A ballot initiative would do just that and generally bring greater professionalism.”
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Screenshot from a presentation on the latest Community Health Assessment.
Assessing Community Health
Does Humboldt County need a checkup? Couldn’t hurt, right?
Briana Sherlock, the county’s deputy director for public health, said her office routinely works on Community Health Assessments (CHA), compiling data on cancer, prenatal care, youth tobacco use, maternal and infant health, and adverse childhood experiences. This information helps to guide the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) — a “treatment plan” that sets priorities every three years.
In the previous CHA/CHIP cycle, the community identified four main priority areas:
- Suicide prevention
- Substance use
- Housing instability and homelessness
- Healthy beginnings and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
The next cycle could be similar, or maybe not. It will depend on the data the county receives, Sherlock said, and she urged local residents to complete a new countywide health survey at livewellhumboldt.org. (You can also access it by scanning the QR code in the image above.)
As that web address suggests, this community health checkup is part of the broader Live Well Humboldt initiative, which maintains a publicly accessible community health data dashboard offering customizable data on health indicators. This dashboard is used by other government agencies, nonprofits and grant writers to track health trends and support funding requests.
Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo encouraged people to check out the dashboard, calling it “an incredible asset.”
Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone agreed, emphasizing the importance of taking the community’s “pulse” through regular surveys.
DHHS hopes to get at least 10% of the county’s residents (roughly 13,000 people) to complete the survey. As incentive, everybody who completes the survey will be entered to win a $30 Visa gift card.
Tidbits
- Humboldt County Aviation Director Justin Hopman is set to move back to Florida with his family after this week, after just two months on the job, but County Administrative Officer Elishia Hayes said he has “graciously” agreed to help the county through the transition process of recruiting and hiring his replacement.
- Humboldt County’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Advisory Board urged supervisors to oppose proposed state budget cuts that would eliminate emergency backup caregivers, link IHSS eligibility more tightly to Medi-Cal status and shift additional care costs onto counties. Board Chair Margaret Lewis warned of severe impacts on vulnerable residents local budgets.
- The board unanimously agreed to change the name of Cesar Chavez Day to “Farmworkers Day” in light of the recently surfaced allegations of sexual assault by the late labor organizer.
- Lisa Dugan, a member of the McKinleyville Community Advisory Committee, spoke in support of using a $50,000 state grant to fund an initial feasibility assessment for the long-discussed prospect of McKinleyville incorporating as its own city. Supervisor Madrone agreed, saying, “It’s high time we finally get the data so the community can actually have an informed discussion about revenues, expenses, pros and cons.” The board approved the proposal as part of the meeting’s consent agenda.
Cal Poly Humboldt Spent More Than $90,000 On an Independent Security Firm After the February Pro-Palestine Occupation
Dezmond Remington / Tuesday, March 24 @ 1:45 p.m. / Cal Poly Humboldt
An AX9 employee guarding Nelson Hall on March 4. Photo by Dezmond Remington.
Cal Poly Humboldt spent more than $90,000 to hire a security firm to guard Nelson Hall for six days after a pro-Palestine occupation forced its closure earlier this month, public records obtained by the Outpost show.
The university hired AX9 Security, a firm with licenses to operate in nine states and Washington D.C., to post a couple people outside of Nelson Hall from Feb. 28 (after the protestors left the building at around 2 a.m.) to the evening of March 5. It cost CPH $91,476, according to a copy of their contract the Outpost accessed via a public records act request.
The unarmed guards were instructed to avoid physical contact with students and staff and to report any safety concerns to the University Police Department, according to a CPH spokesperson.
“We recognize that recent events over the past two weeks have impacted members of our campus community,” the spokesperson said. “In response, additional security personnel from AX9 have been brought in to support a safe learning and working environment.”
There were also rumors that the AX9 personnel were asking masked students entering Founders Hall for their IDs; neither the Outpost nor Cal Poly Humboldt could verify the incident.
The Eureka Police Department’s Annual Report Is, Once Again, Full of Fascinating Facts and Figures
Hank Sims / Tuesday, March 24 @ 1:34 p.m. / Local Government
Ed. note: There’s a lot to chew on in the EPD’s annual report, which was presented to the council last week. Some of it — like the department’s new focus on proactive, officer-initiated activity — we’ve written about in the past.
But if you’re a person who’s at all interested in the city of Eureka’s public safety infrastructure, the whole 50-page, graphics-heavy PDF is well worth a perusal.
Above and below: Some select pages that caught our eyes. What about yours?
Press release from the Eureka Police Department:
On March 17, 2026, Chief Brian Stephens presented the Eureka Police Department’s 2025 Annual Report and Military Equipment Use Report to the Eureka City Council and members of the public during a regular City Council meeting. The 2025 Annual Report provides a comprehensive overview of department operations throughout the year, including calls for service, crime statistics and highlights from various divisions and programs.
The report is intended to increase transparency and provide the community with insight into the department’s activities, priorities, and public safety efforts during 2025. The Military Equipment Use Report was presented in compliance with California Assembly Bill 481, which requires law enforcement agencies to obtain approval from their governing body prior to purchasing, acquiring, or funding equipment defined as “military equipment.”
The City of Eureka adopted an ordinance to adhere to this state law, which also requires an annual report detailing the inventory, use, and oversight of such equipment. Additionally, City of Eureka Security Camera Use Policy 1.82 requires an annual report to City Council outlining how public safety cameras are utilized throughout the City of Eureka to support crime prevention, investigations, and public safety operations These reports are part of the Eureka Police Department’s ongoing commitment to transparency, accountability, and community engagement.
All reports can be found at this link or on the City of Eureka’s website.






