Press release from Green Diamond:

Weather conditions permitting, Green Diamond Resource Company plans to conduct prescribed burning for fuel hazard reduction in Redwood Creek area today, 12/2. Burning operations are implemented in coordination with CAL FIRE, and the North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District.

Please note that smoke may be visible in surrounding areas, including Highway 101 and McKinleyville, while prescribed burning activities are being conducted. Green Diamond staff will be on site monitoring prescribed burning operations.

The leaders of the state Legislature have a message for voters: We know you’re frustrated with how expensive California is — and we’re going to fix it.

After a painful election that sparked recriminations and soul-searching among Democrats across the country, state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas are returning to Sacramento recommitted to addressing the affordability issues that appear to have pushed more voters toward the Republican Party in November.

As a new two-year legislative session kicks off today at the state Capitol, McGuire and Rivas told CalMatters in separate interviews that the priority will be advancing policies that lower the cost of living for working Californians, including by building more housing, making energy cheaper and improving public infrastructure.

“Our only way forward is to acknowledge that we have to do better,” Rivas, a Salinas Democrat, said. “It’s clear — we haven’t done enough.”

Just don’t expect any dramatic changes under the dome. Despite losing a handful of seats, both leaders are adamant that returning Democratic supermajorities signal that voters are still on board with their values, if not always the outcomes of their governance.

Instead, the most significant difference in Sacramento next year is likely to be the shadow of a new president, Republican Donald Trump, who made California a punching bag on the campaign trail and has repeatedly threatened the state.

With many in state government resuming the resistance posture that defined California’s relationship to Trump during his first term from 2017 to 2021 — a concurrent special session called by Gov. Gavin Newsom to provide as much as $25 million for expected litigation also convenes today — it’s unclear how the Legislature will balance those competing interests and whether responding to Trump will ultimately distract from the work that the leaders say needs to happen on affordability.

“I firmly believe that we have to fight the damaging and destructive policies that Donald Trump is going to advance,” McGuire, a Santa Rosa Democrat, said. “We’re going to need to fight the Trump administration, but we can’t take our eye off all the challenges we need to fix.”

Taking losses in stride

The November election was undoubtedly a disappointment, though not a disaster, for legislative Democrats in California.

The Assembly caucus defended all of its incumbents but picked up none of the Republican districts it targeted and lost two open seats that had previously been held by Democrats. The Senate caucus also failed to flip its target districts, and members are fuming after a union ally helped the GOP take out one of their own, the first sitting Senate Democrat to lose in a presidential election in more than four decades.

“Do we need to reflect? Absolutely. But the numbers don’t lie. The Senate Republican Caucus still fits into a minivan.”
— Senate Leader Mike Mcguire

It was the best showing in a decade for legislative Republicans — all the more remarkable because Trump, who California Democrats have successfully used as a foil for years, was on the ballot. The party has celebrated it as proof that voters are fed up with how the Democrats in charge have handled affordability, homelessness and crime.

“As Californians grow increasingly frustrated with the failures of Democrat leadership, they are shifting toward Republican solutions,” Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones of San Diego said in a statement last week.

Democrats nevertheless maintain total control in Sacramento, including 60 out of 80 seats in the Assembly and 30 out of 40 seats in the Senate. McGuire and Rivas insist those results refute the notion that they have fallen out of step with what Californians want.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas during a floor session at the Capitol in Sacramento on Jan. 22, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

Rivas called it a “clear mandate” for Democrats — to focus on the issues that matter to voters, prove they are serious about governing and follow through with better outcomes.

“No, I don’t think we are out of touch,” he said. “It’s not about changing who we are, but it’s about changing our approach to addressing these many challenges.”

McGuire was even more resolute that legislative Democrats had won in a landslide.

“Do we need to reflect? Absolutely. But the numbers don’t lie,” he said. “The Senate Republican Caucus still fits into a minivan.”

Crime not a priority

The leaders have few details yet about how exactly they will address the cost of living in the coming session, as members continue to develop their legislative agendas.

McGuire said his caucus would advance an affordability plan “that makes the lives of working Californians and seniors better” and “go to the mat to fix our homelessness crisis.” Rivas said he expected housing to be at the top of the list for his caucus, as well as reviving a package of bills to lower energy prices that fell short last session.

One issue that does not appear to be a priority is crime, a source of increasing anxiety and frustration for many Californians, even after voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 36, which strengthens penalties for some drug and theft offenses.

Legislative Democrats largely backed Newsom earlier this year as he unsuccessfully tried to negotiate the measure off the November ballot. It ultimately won approval from more than 68% of voters, reversing a decade-long trend of the electorate loosening California’s criminal justice laws.

McGuire and Rivas defended their approach, which included passing a dozen bills cracking down on retail theft this summer as negotiations over the ballot measure fizzled — a legislative package that McGuire argues will do far more to solve the problem than Proposition 36.

Though he said lawmakers “need to listen” to the fact that voters wanted to go even further, McGuire did not commit to any additional action.

Rivas said he is serious about holding people who break the law accountable, but added that it is important to ensure more services, such as drug rehabilitation, are available to prevent a return to an earlier era where California’s prisons were deemed unconstitutionally overcrowded.

“This is more than just sending people to jail. This is about alternatives to incarceration,” Rivas said. “There is a pendulum. It swings hard left, hard right. We want to do an adequate job where that pendulum does not swing at all.”

The Trump factor

The Democratic leaders’ plans could be upended by what Trump decides to do when he takes office on Jan. 20.

Fighting back against the president became an inescapable focus of California officials during Trump’s first term. While the Legislature passed laws to protect the environment, prevent cooperation with immigration enforcement and even try to pry loose Trump’s tax returns, the state sued his administration more than 120 times over policy disputes.

Just two days after Trump won the presidency again last month, Newsom called a special session seeking additional funding for the state Department of Justice and other state agencies as officials prepare another barrage of litigation. Battles are expected this time over access to abortion medication, California’s commitment to phasing out gas-powered cars and protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

State Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire during a session at the Capitol Annex Swing Space on Oct. 7, 2024. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

McGuire said the special session is important so that California can move with speed to “build a legal firewall” as it did before.

“The United States of America is in the calm before the storm. The hurricane is about to hit,” he said. “And shame on us if we’re not battening down the hatches.”

While he’s “all in” on any genuine opportunity to work with Trump to benefit California, McGuire said “there’s also a dark red line” that he won’t accept the president crossing.

“I take Donald Trump at his word. He’s coming for those who don’t agree, and California is in the bullseye,” McGuire said. “If the president-elect tries to undermine our state, undermine our democracy, he’ll quickly see how determined the people of California truly are.”

But they may not be as determined as they were eight years ago. Trump’s second victory, including in the popular vote this time around, has been met by many Democrats more with resignation than defiance.

Even Rivas seems disinclined to leap back into the fray. He said California would defend its values, but with much of that work already done, lawmakers could focus instead on better serving working people and Latino communities who have felt left behind.

“This is not 2016,” he said. “Find an area in the last eight years where California hasn’t Trump-proofed already. Now is the time to roll up our sleeves.”

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

If you’ve hunted for apartments recently and felt like all the rents were equally high, you’re not crazy: Many landlords now use a single company’s software — which uses an algorithm based on proprietary lease information — to help set rent prices.

Federal prosecutors say the practice amounts to “an unlawful information-sharing scheme” and some lawmakers throughout California are moving to curb it. San Diego’s city council president is the latest to do so, proposing to prevent local apartment owners from using the pricing software, which he maintains is driving up housing costs.

San Diego’s proposed ordinance, now being drafted by the city attorney, comes after San Francisco supervisors in July enacted a similar, first-in-the-nation ban on “the sale or use of algorithmic devices to set rents or manage occupancy levels” for residences. San Jose is considering a similar approach.

And California and seven other states have also joined the federal prosecutors’ antitrust suit, which targets the leading rental pricing platform, Texas-based RealPage. The complaint alleges that “RealPage is an algorithmic intermediary that collects, combines, and exploits landlords’ competitively sensitive information. And in so doing, it enriches itself and compliant landlords at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices…”

But state lawmakers this year failed to advance legislation by Bakersfield Democratic Sen. Melissa Hurtado that would have banned the use of any pricing algorithms based on nonpublic data provided by competing companies. She said she plans to bring the bill back during the next legislative session because of what she described as ongoing harms from such algorithms.

“We’ve got to make sure the economy is fair and … that every individual who wants a shot at creating a business has a shot without being destroyed along the way, and that we’re also protecting consumers because it is hurting the pocketbooks of everybody in one way or another,” said Hurtado.

RealPage has been a major impetus for all of the actions. The company counts as its customers landlords with thousands of apartment units across California. Some officials accuse the company of thwarting competition that would otherwise drive rents down, exacerbating the state’s housing shortage and driving up rents in the process.

“Every day, millions of Californians worry about keeping a roof over their head and RealPage has directly made it more difficult to do so,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a written statement.

A RealPage spokesperson, Jennifer Bowcock, told CalMatters that a lack of housing supply, not the company’s technology, is the real problem — and that its technology benefits residents, property managers, and others associated with the rental market. The spokesperson later wrote that a “ misplaced focus on nonpublic information is a distraction… that will only make San Francisco and San Diego’s historical problems worse.”

As for the federal lawsuit, the company called the claims in it “devoid of merit” and said it plans to “vigorously defend ourselves against these accusations.”

“We are disappointed that, after multiple years of education and cooperation on the antitrust matters concerning RealPage, the (Justice Department) has chosen this moment to pursue a lawsuit that seeks to scapegoat pro-competitive technology that has been used responsibly for years,” the company’s statement read in part. “RealPage’s revenue management software is purposely built to be legally compliant, and we have a long history of working constructively with the (department) to show that.”

The company’s challenges will only grow if pricing software becomes another instance in which California lawmakers lead the nation. Following San Francisco’s ban, the Philadelphia City Council passed a ban on algorithmic rental price-fixing with a veto-proof vote last month. New Jersey has been considering its own ban.

Is it price fixing — or coaching landlords?

According to federal prosecutors, RealPage controls 80% of the market for commercial revenue management software. Its product is called YieldStar, and its successor is AI Revenue Management, which uses much of the same codebase as YieldStar, but has more precise forecasting. RealPage told CalMatters it serves only 10% of the rental markets in both San Francisco and San Diego, across its three revenue management software products.

Here’s how it works:

In order to use YieldStar and AIRM, landlords have historically provided RealPage with their own private data from their rental applications, rent prices, executed new leases, renewal offers and acceptances, and estimates of future occupancy, although a recent change allows landlords to choose to share only public data. This information from all participating landlords in an area is then pooled and run through mathematical forecasting to generate pricing recommendations for the landlords and for their competitors.

The San Diego council president, Sean Elo-Rivera, explained it like this:

“In the simplest terms, what this platform is doing is providing what we think of as that dark, smoky room for big companies to get together and set prices,” he said. “The technology is being used as a way of keeping an arm’s length from one big company to the other. But that’s an illusion.”

“Our tool ensures that [landlords] are driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions.”
— RealPage document included in federal antitrust lawsuit

In the company’s own words, from company documents included in the lawsuit, RealPage “ensures that (landlords) are driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions.” The company also said in the documents that it “helps curb (landlords’) instincts to respond to down-market conditions by either dramatically lowering price or by holding price… Our tool ensures that [landlords] are driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions.”Providing rent guidance isn’t the only service RealPage has offered landlords. In 2020, a Markup and New York Times investigation found that RealPage, alongside other companies, used faulty computer algorithms to do automated background checks on tenants. As a result, tenants were associated with criminal charges they never faced, and denied homes.

Impact on tenants

Thirty-one-year-old Navy veteran Alan Pickens and his wife move nearly every year “because the rent goes up, it gets unaffordable, so we look for a new place to stay,” he said. The northeastern San Diego apartment complex where they just relocated has two-bedroom apartments advertised for between $2,995 and $3,215.

They live in an area of San Diego where the U.S. Justice Department says information-sharing agreements between landlords and RealPage have harmed or are likely to harm renters.

The department in August filed its antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, alleging the company, through its legacy YieldStar software, engaged in an “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing”. The complaint names specific areas where rents are artificially high. Beyond the part of San Diego where Pickens lives, those areas include South Orange County, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, and Murrieta and northeastern San Diego.

In the second quarter of 2020, the average rent in San Diego County was $1,926, reflecting a 26% increase over three years, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Rents have since risen even more in the city of San Diego, to $2,336 per month as of November 2024 – up 21% from 2020, according to RentCafe and the Tribune. That’s 50% higher than the national average rent.

The attorneys general of eight states, including California, joined the Justice Department’s antitrust suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.

The California Justice Department contends RealPage artificially inflated prices to keep them above a certain minimum level, said department spokesperson Elissa Perez. This was particularly harmful given the high cost of housing in the state, she added. “The illegally maintained profits that result from these price alignment schemes come out of the pockets of the people that can least afford it.”

Renters make up a larger share of households in California than in the rest of the country — 44% here compared to 35% nationwide. The Golden State also has a higher percentage of renters than any state other than New York, according to the latest U.S. Census data.

San Diego has the fourth-highest percentage of renters of any major city in the nation.

“The rent goes up, it gets unaffordable, so we look for a new place to stay.
— Alan Pickens, resident of a San Diego neighborhood where pricing software allegedly harmed renters or is likely to do so

The recent ranks of California legislators, however, have included few renters: As of 2019, CalMatters could find only one state lawmaker who did not own a home — and found that more than a quarter of legislators at the time were landlords.

Studies show that low-income residents are more heavily impacted by rising rents. Nationally between 2000 and 2017, Americans without a college degree spent a higher percentage of their income on rent. That percentage ballooned from 30% to 42%. For college graduates, that percentage increased from 26% to 34%.

“In my estimation, the only winners in this situation are the richest companies who are either using this technology or creating this technology,” said Elo-Rivera. “There couldn’t be a more clear example of the rich getting richer while the rest of us are struggling to get by.”

The state has invested in RealPage

Private equity giant Thoma Bravo acquired RealPage in January 2021 through two funds that have hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from California public pension funds, including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the Regents of the University of California and the Los Angeles police and fire pension funds, according to Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

“They’re invested in things that are directly hurting their pensioners,” said K Agbebiyi, a senior housing campaign coordinator with the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit private equity watchdog that produced a report about corporate landlords’ impact on rental hikes in San Diego.

RealPage argues that landlords are free to reject the price recommendations generated by its software. But the U.S. Justice Department alleges that trying to do so requires a series of steps, including a conversation with a RealPage pricing adviser. The advisers try to “stop property managers from acting on emotions,” according to the department’s lawsuit.

If a property manager disagrees with the price the algorithm suggests and wants to decrease rent rather than increase it, a pricing advisor will “escalate the dispute to the manager’s superior,” prosecutors allege in the suit.

In San Diego, the Pickenses, who are expecting their first child, have given up their gym memberships and downsized their cars to remain in the area. They’ve considered moving to Denver.

“All the extras pretty much have to go,” said Pickens. “I mean, we love San Diego, but it’s getting hard to live here.”

“My wife is an attorney and I served in the Navy for 10 years and now work at Qualcomm,” he said. “Why are we struggling? Why are we struggling?”###

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

Levi Humphrey — Oct. 30, 1933 to Nov. 11, 2024. 91 years of age.

Born October 30, 1933 on the family homestead near Copeland, Arkansas. He was the second youngest of 11 children. His first years were typical farm life watching his father and older brothers till many acres behind a team of horses and helping with the harvest as he could. In 1937, his father purchased a new Ford two ton truck. Shortly thereafter with the family and their belongings loaded onboard, they headed for California over the famed Route 66. Levi said he felt a kinship with John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” which was written approximately the same time. Arriving in California, they developed into a migrant farm worker family traveling a circuit through California, Oregon, Washington and Arizona. Picking strawberries in Oregon and hops (a major component in the brewing of beer) being some of the high points of their season. With the advent of World War 2 and gasoline rationing, the migrant farm worker lifestyle was no longer viable. So the family returned to the Arkansas homestead for the duration of the war. After the war ended, the family returned to California settling in the Modesto area seeking a more stable life. Resuming a migrant farm worker routine through the summer months but with less and less family members in tow.

After his schooling years, Levi moved to the Cottage Grove, Oregon area and began his career working in sawmills. Still in his teen years, he was drafted into the U.S Army. Upon leaving his childhood home of Modesto, it was noted by neighbors that his cheerful whistling as he walked to and fro from his hunting and fishing adventures was greatly missed.

He completed basic training in Fort Ord, California then was deployed to Germany where he met his future wife Lore. His Company receiving an earlier discharge prevented him from marrying Lore in Germany. Upon returning to the U.S. and after much toil, paperwork and an attorney, he was able to have Lore immigrated to the U.S. They married on April 5, 1956 remaining married until her passing in 2019.

Shortly after marriage, they moved to Briceland, where he resumed his career in the sawmills. Levi said that of all the places he had lived and traveled, southern Humboldt County was the best and he remained there the rest of his life. He would typically work at a sawmill until it ceased operations and then shortly thereafter be employed at another local sawmill. He retired from Eel River Sawmills Redcrest Division at the age of 60 at the request of family.

An avid outdoorsman since childhood, he and his family spent many pleasant days hunting, fishing and camping. Some of the family favorites included trout fishing the tributaries of the Eel and Mattole rivers until regulations prohibited such, camping and surf fishing at Usal and rock picking abalone at the beaches of Mendocino and Humboldt counties.

After retiring, Levi discovered new passions. Namely the foraging of wild mushrooms and hunting the newly introduced by California Department of Fish and Game wild turkeys. Along with his lifelong activities of hunting and fishing, his vegetable garden, tending his honeybees, grafting, pruning and harvesting his fruit trees, yard work and maintenance of his Redway home, cutting and selling firewood, tending and maintaining his beloved property near the Garberville airport made him a perpetually busy man. Always in very good health right up to his passing of natural causes. He instilled in his children to never be afraid of hard work and cherish the outdoors.

He was preceded in passing by his wife of 63 years, Lore, in 2019, his 10 brothers and sisters and by all but one sister in law. Levi is survived by his much loved sister in law Maryann Humphrey of Alderpoint, four children, one stepson, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

If any memorial contributions wish to be made, Levi would ask that you join the National Rifle Association to help preserve the Second Amendment.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Levi Humphrey’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Dan, or “Danny” as many knew him, was born in Eagletown, Oklahoma on May 23, 1940, to Myrtle and Lloyd Reynolds.

The Reynolds family moved to Arcata when Danny was about two years old. Danny and his brothers grew up in Arcata and enjoyed the freedom to wander and explore as boys could still do during that era. After attending Arcata High School, Dan joined the US Marine Corps and was assigned to 29 Palms Marine Base.

In 1958, he married his sweetheart, Doris Long from McKinleyville,. They eloped in a ‘49 Ford billowing smoke to the extent another driver warned them their car was on fire! In August of 1959, their son Michael was born at 29 Palms Marine Base, and in December 1960, their daughter Pamela was born at Trinity Hospital in Arcata. With his enlistment complete in 1960, Dan and Doris returned to Humboldt County, initially settling in McKinleyville and Dan was hired at the old Durable Lumber Mill in Arcata. He later worked for Simpson Mad River Plywood until the mill closed about 1980-81. Dan then went to work for Eureka Paving Company, owned by his brother Dave.

Dan loved to work with his hands and seemed to be able to fix just about anything. In the early days, Doris had to be careful not to mention something might need repair, because no matter what time of day or night, he might start working on it and not stop until he was done. He was mechanically inclined and loved to stay busy with his projects.

As an avid youth baseball fan, he was the number one fan of his son Mike’s baseball pursuits, and he served at least one term as president of Humboldt Eagles Baseball. He loved being outdoors and spent many years enjoying his cabin on the Klamath River. His hobbies included fishing, camping, hunting, motorcycle riding, scuba diving, and abalone diving. Sometime in the early 1980s, Dan started the gradual process of building his cabin tucked away in the woods in a picturesque setting next to the Klamath River. It was his refuge and happy place, where many good times were enjoyed by his family, especially in those early years with his young grandchildren and his close friend Ron Brooks strumming his guitar around the campfire.

Even as the off-grid life became harder with age and a move back to town was being discussed, he could not bear to leave his sanctuary. He passed from this earth in the area he loved, surrounded by nature, and his family has found comfort in knowing he was where he wanted to be.

Daniel J. Reynolds is survived by his wife, Doris; son Mike(Stacy), daughter Pam (Tim) - all of McKinleyville; brother David Reynolds - Fieldbrook; brother Darrell Byard (Carol) - Arcata.  Four grandchildren - Casey Bush(Todd) Eugene; Ben Woodward (Daeng Khoupradit) Richland, Wash; Colby Reynolds San Diego. Four great-grandchildren, Gavin, Branwen, & Rowan Bush; Remy Woodward Numerous nieces and nephews and dear friends.

Dan is preceded in death by his mother Myrtle Deitz, his father Lloyd Reynolds, half-brothers Doyle, Dennie, and Donald(Red) Reynolds, grandson Kalin Reynolds, and great-grandson Oliver Woodward.

Beloved father, husband, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend. You were loved and that love continues…

Visitation for family and friends on Tuesday, December 3rd, Paul’s Chapel, 1070 H Street, Arcata from 1 to 3 p.m. A Celebration of Life will be held sometime next spring or summer. The date, time, and location will be announced later.

Advent is the season in the Christian Church calendar year where people around the world observe four Sundays or four weeks to prepare for the emergence of Hope in a dark world. Advent means arrival, emergence, the birth of something notable — the time when we prepare room for Christ, being reminded of God-with-us.

God-with-us. This phrase evokes a spiritual dimension many of us rarely tap into. God-with-us. Is this true? When you dig into the inner spaces of your soul, traversing through sharp brambles of cynicism, protectively encasing that vulnerable center, it’s there you might experience God-with-us. It’s there you might experience the deep connections you were designed to notice — that God has been with you all along.

Advent invites us to seek and find hope, peace, joy and love. This isn’t something that just happens to us. It takes intention. It requires intention. Without intention, this season becomes hijacked with demands to buy more and be more and do more.

I was 10 years old when I first delivered that heavy Thanksgiving newspaper to doorsteps and breezeways, the packed bag choking me as I walked. Usually I could toss the daily newspaper towards driveways without intention. But this paper was stuffed with shiny and glossy Black Friday advertisements, slippery like grease on a hot pan. It was doubled-banded and I had to place this paper gently so everything wouldn’t burst and spill across wet lawns.

We are bombarded by a fast-paced show of lack / need / wants / scarcity, wheeling-dealing promises declared to meet every insecurity and fill every void.

I think most of us know it’s temporary. The lack still exists and the longing remains unfulfilled. The toys and glitter and tinsel can’t seem to fill those insecure voids for very long. But I get it. A temporary shiny thing might help get us through. You’ve lost a lot this last year. Family members. Friends. Jobs. Health. Security. Faith. Marriage. Those losses — through death, estrangement, divorce, illness, betrayal — feel insurmountable and hopeless. The holidays seem to magnify loss, parading it around our minds front and center.

So we seek hope in future promises and presidents and leaders, wondering if things will get better this time around. Hope came with Obama, with promises in red, white and blue posters created by artist Shepard Fairey. Raised Republican, I remember thinking surely a Democrat can’t bring such hope as promised. Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe we need to stop putting our hope into other humans. Maybe hope doesn’t look like Presidents or empty promises or new wars or cease-fires. Maybe hope doesn’t look like fortified borders and tear gas. Maybe hope doesn’t look like open borders and anarchy. Maybe hope looks like something we’d never dream up on our own, because we keep seeming to get it wrong. Without God-with-us-hope being our axis, we continually place our faith and trust in complicated and arrogant people, many of whom are looking out for their own best interests instead of anything else.

The future might feel a bit hopeless for many of us. It might feel a bit bleak. You might be wondering what hope could even look like today. I think of the quiet folk in those first pages of Luke’s gospel in the Bible — Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary. I wonder about the hopelessness they felt being occupied by a violent foreign superpower, subjected to heavy taxation and constant threat. They felt the oppressive darkness of the unknown while still bringing hopeful light into their communities — staying deeply connected to each other and their God.

Advent is a season of darkness when we intentionally choose to sit in such uncertainty without skipping past it. As much as we want to plug in floodlights and chase the gloomy shadows away and avoid discomfort, we settle into this paradoxical season — paradoxical because it might be dark right now, but there’s hope (peace, joy and love) just around the corner.

I know we want to get there immediately and feel the cheer promptly, but it’s not time yet. So this week I will light a candle — a candle of hope. I will allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness and settle into flickering shadows. I will take a deep breath and traverse the inner chambers of my heart, pushing back the brambles of cynicism to connect once again to God-with-us who was and is and is to come.

Hope will come. Hope will arrive this Advent.

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Bethany Cseh is a pastor at Arcata United Methodist Church and Catalyst Church. 

Cyber Monday is a sunrise away, with the holidays just around the corner. And if you’re like most people I know, you might be some combination of tired, stressed, or strapped for cash. In the short term, online shopping alleviates these understandable concerns. It’s so convenient. We can do it from bed wearing pajamas or on the couch with a glass of wine. The options are damn-near infinite. And let’s be honest — it’s often significantly cheaper.

Some might say it’s a “necessary evil.” But a moralistic lens pushes many of us away from the conversation. Instead, I’d make the argument that a mindful approach to our choices as consumers isn’t just right for the planet. It’s an important key to our individual wellbeing, too.

According to CALPIRG, Americans dispose of 25-43% more trash during the holiday season, amounting to around 25 million tons. Hitting “Buy Now” sends the product speeding our way. But the journey began long before, starting with the extraction of natural resources and manufacturing pollution. Then there’s the packaging that might include Styrofoam or bubble wrap, and the gas-fueled plane and truck rides.

I don’t say this to inspire guilt. On the contrary, society is largely responsible for our individual lenses, which is why it’s crucial to challenge these perspectives. One camp of American society insists climate change is a hoax. Another has presented such a dire and bleak perspective that many progressives I know can’t bear to look at the situation, leading to complete hopelessness. While I agree the climate situation is grave, I don’t believe in subscribing to “all or nothing” thinking. I do believe in “harm reduction,” though. We’re all going to keep consuming, so let’s find ways to be more mindful about it. In honor of Cyber Monday, let’s start by looking at online shopping.

I’ve been nowhere close to saintly in this department myself, particularly during the days of the pandemic. I’m familiar with the enticing allure of an expertly curated advertisement that employs an algorithm that’s downright creepy in its understanding of me. The dopamine hit. The anticipation. The package finally dropping at the front door.

And while it’s tempting to an addictive degree, the incredible convenience and low costs do come at a price. For the planet. And for the overseas workers who make pennies for wages in dangerous conditions.

So, what can we do reduce the negative impact of our consumerism?

1) Bring mindfulness to the advertising algorithm: Consumerism only exists because of a perceived want or need. But let’s face it, there are few products that we truly need. The wants are manufactured by companies, driving narratives that we either don’t have enough, or that we, inherently, aren’t enough. Think of all the advertisements playing into our insecurities — the skincare product that will change your life, the protein powder that will finally transform your body. They promise quick fixes, and rarely deliver our expectations. This is a radical call to pause before purchasing, and consider whether there’s a better way to care for ourselves than that product. And to challenge the societal standards that create the pressure to look or be a certain way in the first place.

2) Shop local instead of online: If we can shift away from quantity and convenience, we can lean in the direction of quality and discernment. Lucky for us, Humboldt County has a plethora of artisanal, antique, and second-hand shops for our perusal. And in the meantime, connecting with community and supporting artists is good for the soul. One of my favorite shops is the 4th Street Mercantile in Eureka, which sells the crafts and wares of over 30 different collectors and makers. We’re swimming in a sea of quality thrift stores around here, people! And the fairs! The Humboldt Artisans Crafts & Music Festival at Redwood Acres is December 6-8. Keep a lookout on the LOWDOWN as the month progresses for other events to keep shopping local.

3) Reduce the harm of online shopping: Privilege is an important part of the equation here. Some of us are more able-bodied or financially well-off than others. Financial and physical limitations are a valid reason to rely on online shopping. Apart from that, if you continue to lean in that direction, I get it. Me too. But this doesn’t have to be black and white. When we do shop online, there are ways to reduce the negative impact. Does the company you want to buy from seem sustainable? Do a little digging to ensure they aren’t just “greenwashing” their brand. Consider the materials they use and their environmental impact. What are some values that are important to you? Cruelty-free products? Fair trade? Figure out what matters and steer your shopping in that direction. Avoid “fast fashion,” which relies on sweatshops, and produces garments that fall apart quickly. And if you shop for multiple items Amazon at once, delay your gratification with the “fewer trips” and “fewer boxes” option.

4) Maybe, sometimes, don’t shop at all: Consider whether an item you want to replace could actually be repaired. That shabby dresser might just need a funky new coat of paint to brighten up the room. Or the pants that don’t quite fit could be brought to the tailor. For those with kids who grow into a new size of clothes every few months, donate or hand these down to other families. Before you know it, you might be part of a hand-me-down train. Sick of your wardrobe? Coordinate a clothing swap, where no one has to spend a dime, and nothing needs to get thrown away.

If all of this seems overwhelming, I feel you. After all, our society has been equating consumerism with happiness and success since before I was born. But the more we claw for material goods, the further we seem to get from a sense of contentment. This problem didn’t get out of control in a day, and it won’t be reversed quickly, either. But the ripple of one small shift at a time can create waves of change across the years. The holiday season is a fantastic time to remember that real joy comes from things like connection, creativity, and community — not commerce.

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Ashley Nichole Thomas is a marriage and family therapist who’s passionate about shrinking her carbon footprint. In her free time she writes fantasy novels, and remains unconvinced that fairies don’t exist.