Hey, we know those guys! Video courtesy KMSP/Fox 9 Minneapolis.
Looks like they stopped Sprinting long enough to be captured on film!
That’s right: Last night Minneapolis news station KMSP/Fox 9 just figured out what Outpost readers have known for several weeks — that in this Summer of Bummers, 2025, there’s no more pleasant pastime than following the somewhat deranged quest of Humboldt’s Tom and Lisa Trepiak, who have set out to visit all 30 Major League Baseball parks in a single summer.
As Fox 9 viewers discovered, the Trepiaks are just as charming in the flesh as they are in Tom’s prose. Press play, above, for their conversation.
The Trepiaks are clearly a good luck charm. The Minnesota Twins clobbered the higher-ranked Chicago Cubs last night, 8 runs to 1.
Check back Sunday for Tom’s next dispatch. We’re nearing the end of the Sprint! Minneapolis’ Target Field was stadium #29 of 30, but Tom has some tricks up his sleeve before and after the long haul to Seattle.
After hearing strong public support at last night’s meeting, the Eureka City Council unanimously voted to cut ties with Avelo Airlines over the carrier’s role in federal deportation flights, opting instead to use United Airlines for city-related travel.
The ultra-low-cost carrier has faced mounting public criticism in recent months after it brokered a deal with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation flights out of Arizona, prompting a national boycott campaign and numerousprotests.
Speaking at last night’s meeting, Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery emphasized that the city isn’t under contract with Avelo, but said staff have taken advantage of the airline’s inexpensive fares to fly down to Burbank for city business.
Slattery | Screenshot
“In our processes that we use for contracting services, flights [or] construction projects, we typically go with the lowest cost option, so we have used Avelo for that purpose,” he said. “Overall, it’s a really insignificant amount of our travel [budget]. … We don’t use them very often.”
In Fiscal Year 2024-25, the city spent approximately $130,000 on all travel, $2,500 of which was spent on Avelo flights, Slattery continued. Switching to United Airlines would increase the cost of air travel to Southern California by about 40 percent to $3,500.
All of the 20-odd residents who spoke during the public comment portion of last night’s meeting urged the council to ditch Avelo, with many speakers seizing the opportunity to criticize President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
“We live in a culture of violence and apathy, and our government has super-charged ICE, giving seemingly unlimited power and money to an entity with no rules or accountability, only hatred and destruction as their intent,” said Humboldt County resident Annie Fricke, a member of Humboldt Democracy Connections. “Should you stop using Avelo for city business? Yes. Absolutely, without a doubt. We cannot, as a community, support any part of the abductions, kidnappings, forced removals and disappearances. ICE will likely come to our community soon, and we must be a united front from the beginning.”
Another speaker called Avelo an “evil, self-serving corporation,” and asserted that the airline would abandon Humboldt County eventually “because that’s what airlines like them do.”
“We can say, ‘Please, please, Master, would you give me a cheap airline?’ or we could actually have principal,” said Sam, a member of the Humboldt Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). “We could actually say, ‘Screw you guys. We’re not flying with you.’ We have power. We can make a difference in this. We can show the rest of Humboldt that we’re taking a stand. … So let’s have a spine and let’s tell Avelo to go to hell.”
Following public comment, Councilmember G. Mario Fernandez, who asked for the item to be placed on the agenda, made a motion to discontinue the city’s use of Avelo Airlines as long as it contracts with the Department of Homeland Security. Councilmember Leslie Castellano seconded the action.
Fernandez | Screenshot
“Avelo’s operation of deportation flights and the contract with [ICE] is legal, though not moral, and we should not be complicit or complacent in the denial of due process or other 14th Amendment rights,” Fernandez said.
Councilmember Kati Moulton echoed his comments, adding that it is the city council’s “obligation to spend public resources responsibly.”
“That means economic responsibility as well as a moral responsibility,” Moulton continued. “Supporting Avelo Airlines is not only morally irresponsible, but economically irresponsible as well. The campaign of terror is being waged against the innocent Latino community, with or without their papers in order. The suspension of due process is not only a stain on the soul of our democracy, it is a crippling injury to our economy that we will feel soon, harming every consumer, every investor, every worker, but hitting working class people — like most of us in Eureka — the hardest.”
The rest of the council and Mayor Kim Bergel expressed similar sentiments and ultimately voted 5-0 to cut ties with the airline.
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Check back a little later for more coverage of this week’s Eureka City Council meeting!
Butler Fire. Photo: Abel Mattson, Orleans Patrol 25.
Press release from Six Rivers National Forest:
Fire Information: 707-532-5747 Email:
2025.Butler@firenet.gov Fire Information:
Link.
Butler Fire Acreage:
2,126 Butler Fire
Containment: 0% Red Fire Acreage:
104 Number of Personnel:
313
Community Meeting
Today at 5 p.m. at
the Karuk Department of Natural Resources located at 39051 Highway 96
in Orleans. For those unable to attend in person, a recording will be
available on Facebook after the meeting.
Operational
Update
The North Coast
Interagency Incident Managment Team assumed command of the Red Fire
this morning at 7 a.m. Information on both fires will be available
under the Orleans Complex. A complex incident management team has
been ordered and is expected to assume command by Saturday.
Butler Fire
There was some
movement last night, flanking up-canyon on Hammel Creek. The fire is
now in the Nordheimer Creek drainage. Overnight, firefighters
patrolled the fireline to monitor fire behavior and assess special
values at risk. Today, crews will continue to scout pre-existing
control lines from the 2024 Boise Fire. They will begin assessment
and line preparation along the 10N04 to Nordheimer Creek Road.
Structure Groups will continue structure protection. From the
campground, crews are working on reopening handlines up to the
Orleans Mountain Trail. Crews will work on brushing and line
preparation operations along Salmon River Road and Nordheimer Creek.
Air resources are being utilized to tame critical hotspots as well as
assist with efforts on the Red Fire. An Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)
may be used for strategic firing operations as early as this evening.
Red Fire
As of last night, the Red Fire is estimated to be approximately 104 acres. It is
burning in heavy timber and dense vegetation in the Siskiyou
Wilderness Area. Smokejumpers and crews are making good progress on
the fire using direct and full suppression tactics to minimize the
footprint of this fire. There are no structures threatened or
evacuations. The fire is located approximately 1.5 miles north of
Nickowitz Peak, 17 miles Northwest of Orleans and 15 miles Southeast
of Klamath.
Closures
Residents should
prepared for potential delays and road closures along Salmon River
Road between Butler Flat and Nordheimber Campground. Nordheimer and
Oak Bottom Campgrounds are both closed.
Evacuations
Siskiyou County
Sheriff’s Office have evacuation warnings and orders in place for
the Butler Fire. As Evacuation Order has been issued for zone
SIS-1703 (no residents). Zones SIS-1704 (Butler Creek, Lewis Creek,
Bloomer Mine residents and Nordheimer Campground) SIS-1707, and
SIS-1803-A (no residents) remain under Warnings, but residents are
advised to be prepared as the situation evolves. Weather & Fire
Behavior: Today the fire may continue to spread into Butler, Grant,
and Hammel Creeks. The fire may also make short runs when it aligns
with the slope as it wraps around Butler Mountain. Grant Creek and
the draw on the north side of Butler Mountain will see significant
downhill winds.
Fire Safety &
Prevention
For the past 10
days, firefighters on the Six Rivers National Forest and other
Northern California forests have been responding to and working on
suppression of wildfires following thunderstorms over the area a week
ago. Area residents and visitors can help firefighters continue their
work by helping prevent human-caused wildfires.
Make sure equipment,
including vehicles, are in good working condition. Check that tires
are properly inflated with good tread. Avoid driving and parking in
tall grass or on roads with heavy, fine fuel accumulations. Exhaust
particles, hot exhaust pipes and hot catalytic converters can start
grass fires in a matter of seconds.
On July 8, 2025, at approximately 7:23 p.m., deputies from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office
(HCSO) responded to a report of a shooting in the 900 block of Glendale Drive, Glendale.
Upon arrival, deputies located a 37-year-old male victim suffering from a life-threatening gunshot
wound. Deputies and responding medical personnel performed lifesaving measures; however, the
victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased while en route to a local hospital.
The identity of the deceased is being withheld at this time.
Detectives from the HCSO Major Crimes Division responded to the scene and are actively
investigating the incident. Preliminary findings suggest the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a
civil matter involving two individuals and is believed to be an isolated incident. Following an
extensive search of the area, no suspects were located and HCSO is actively following up on leads.
The HCSO is continuing its investigation and will release additional information regarding the
suspect(s) and any associated vehicles as it becomes available.
Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-
2539.
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kaleb Cockrum. | Photos by Ryan Hutson.
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Stobaugh appearing via Zoom on Tuesday.
Serial rapist and clinically diagnosed sexually violent predator Richard Stobaugh will not be released back into the community, as previously planned.
This morning, Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kaleb Cockrum ruled that Stobaugh possessed child pornography while held at Coalinga State Hospital, a mental institution, and that he concealed this fact from his treatment team.
Cockrum vacated his December 2023 decision, in which he ruled that Stobaugh was appropriate for conditional, supervised release following authorization from the California Department of State Hospitals. As a result of this reversal, Stobaugh will remain confined in the state hospital indefinitely, rather than being released to live on the outskirts of Manila.
Cockrum read his full ruling aloud this morning, saying he was convinced by testimony given in court yesterday that Stobaugh not only possessed child pornography on a contraband hard drive but that he then lied about it to law enforcement investigators. Papers found in Stobaugh’s dorm room also suggested that he was running a bartering operation in which he may have used the child porn as currency, Cockrum said.
Stobaugh tried to convince investigators that the child porn actually belonged to a different patient and provided letters that were ostensibly written by that patient, claiming ownership of the device. But when investigators suggesting asking that patient directly, Stobaugh panicked and said something like, “I just killed myself,” which suggests that he had fabricated those letters, Cockrum said.
Stobaugh’s failure to make his treatment team aware of the child pornography and other contraband, including DVD players with the serial numbers filed off, suggests consciousness of guilt, according to Cockrum’s ruling.
Stobaugh’s actions to hide his misconduct are particularly concerning, Cockrum said, given his diagnosed tendency to deceive and manipulate, as recorded when he was subjected to a psychopathy checklist.
The judge also said the doctors who testified yesterday that Stobaugh was still fit for release never acknowledged that his lack of candor about possessing child pornography should be considered worthy of introspection and structured treatment, which “raises serious concerns about the integrity of his rehabilitative process.”
Both expert witnesses, Dr. Paul Murdock and Dr. Robert Cureton, testified in 2023 that they were unaware of Stobaugh’s possession of child pornography, yet once informed they failed to investigate the allegations, communicate with Stobaugh’s treatment team or reassess their conclusions.
“This admission suggests a degree of professional hubris that calls the reliability of their opinions into serious question,” Cockrum said.
Ultimately, Cockrum found that The People, as represented in court by Senior Deputy District Attorney Whitney Timm, had met the burden of proof. He vacated his previous order and encouraged Stobaugh to take responsibility for his actions. By state law, Stobaugh may petition the court for release once per year.
The City of Eureka will be performing pedestrian improvements work on the C Street between 8th
and 14th Streets beginning on Monday, July 14th, 2025.
This phase of construction is expected to take
one to two weeks per intersection, and approximately three months to complete the entire project.
Monthly press releases will be issued to update the status of the project. Road closures, traffic detours
and parking restrictions may be in effect. This work will be performed between the hours of 7:30am
and 6:00pm, WEATHER PERMITTING.
The patience and cooperation of motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians in the vicinity of the work zone
is greatly appreciated.
# # #
Also of interest to Eureka motorists:
The City of Eureka’s contractor is performing pavement marking and striping on Myrtle Avenue between 5th Street and Harrison Avenue continuing through Monday, July 14th through July 18th.
The two intersections of West and Harrison Avenues will have periodical daily closures with detour
routes in affect to safely navigate the closures. This work will be performed between the hours of 7:00
a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Myrtle Avenue is a heavily-travelled route within the City and the safety of pedestrians, motorist and
construction workers are important. Please use alternate routes if possible, slow down, and be
careful. The patience and cooperation of motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians in the vicinity of the
work zone is greatly appreciated
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
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California government agencies are going all-in on generative artificial intelligence tools under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2023 executive order to improve government efficiency with AI. One of the first to roll out is a chatbot from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the primary agency tasked with coordinating the state’s wildfire response.
The chatbot is meant to give Californians better access to “critical fire prevention resources and near-real-time emergency information,” according to a May release from Newsom’s office. But CalMatters found that it fails to accurately describe the containment of a given wildfire, doesn’t reliably provide information such as a list for evacuation supplies and can’t tell users about evacuation orders.
Newsom has announced AI applications for traffic, housing and customer service to be implemented in the coming months and years. But Cal Fire’s chatbot issues raise questions about whether agencies are following best practices.
“Evaluation is not an afterthought,” said Daniel Ho, law professor at Stanford University whose research focuses on government use of AI. “It should be part of the standard expectation when we pilot and roll out a system like this.”
The chatbot uses the Cal Fire website and the agency’s ReadyForWildfire.org to generate answers. It can tell users about topics such as active wildfires, the agency, fire preparedness tips and Cal Fire’s programs. It was built by Citibot, a South Carolina-based company that sells AI-powered chatbots for local government agencies across the country. Cal Fire plans to host the tool until at least 2027, according to procurement records.
“It really was started with the intent and the goal of having a better-informed public about Cal Fire,” said Issac Sanchez, deputy chief of communications for the agency.
When CalMatters asked Cal Fire’s bot questions about what fires were currently active and basic information about the agency, it returned accurate answers. But for other information, CalMatters found that the chatbot can give different answers when the wording of the query changes slightly, even if the meaning of the question remains the same.
For example, an important way Californians can prepare for fire season is assembling a bag of emergency supplies should they need to evacuate. Only “What should I have in my evacuation kit?” returned a specific list of items from Cal Fire’s chatbot. Variations of the question that included “go bag,” “wildfire ready kit” and “fire preparedness kit” instead returned either a prompt to visit Cal Fire’s “Ready for Wildfire” site, which has that information, or a message saying “I’m not sure about the specific items you should have” and the wildfire site link. Two of those terms are present on the site the chatbot referenced.
And while the chatbot didn’t generate incorrect answers in any of the queries CalMatters made, it doesn’t always pull the most up-to-date information.
When asked if the Ranch Fire, a 4,293-acre fire in San Bernardino County, was contained, the chatbot said that the “latest” update as of June 10 showed the fire was 50% contained. At the time CalMatters queried the chatbot, the information was six days out of date – the fire was 85% contained by then.
Similarly, when asked about current job openings at the agency, the chatbot said there weren’t any. A search on the state’s job site showed two positions at Cal Fire accepting applications at the time.
Mila Gascó-Hernandez is research director for the University at Albany’s Center for Technology in government and has studied how public agencies use AI-powered chatbots. Two key factors she uses to evaluate such chatbots are the accuracy of information they provide and how consistently they answer the same questions even if the question is asked in different ways.
“If a fire is coming and you need to know how to react to it, you do need both accuracy and consistency in the answer,” she said. “You’re not going to think about ‘what’s the nice way to ask the chatbot?’”
Currently, the chatbot is unable to provide information about evacuation orders associated with fires. When asked who issues evacuation orders, it sometimes correctly said law enforcement, while other times said it didn’t know. Cal Fire’s Sanchez said it’s reasonable to expect the chatbot to be able to answer questions about evacuations.
If there are no evacuation orders for a particular fire, he said, “the answer should be ‘there doesn’t appear to be any evacuations associated with this incident.’”
Sanchez said he and his team of about four people tested the chatbot before it went out by submitting questions they expected the public to ask. Cal Fire is currently making improvements to the bot’s answers by combing through the queries people make and ensuring that the chatbot correctly surfaces the needed answer.
When CalMatters asked the bot “What can you help me with?” in early May, it responded, “Sorry I don’t have the answer to that question right now” and asked if CalMatters had questions about information on the Cal Fire site. By mid-June, that answer was updated to being able to “provide answers to questions related to information located on this page such as details about current fires, CAL FIRE job classifications, examination requirements and CAL FIRE’s various programs.”
“The big message we want to get across,” Sanchez said, “is be patient.”
But experts said the process of kicking the tires on a chatbot should happen long before procurement begins.
The preferred process, Stanford’s Ho said, is to establish criteria for how the chatbot should perform before a vendor is selected so there are clear benchmarks to evaluate the tool. Ideally, those benchmarks are created by an independent third party. There should also be an evaluation of the benefits and risks before the chatbot is released.
And in a best-case scenario, the public would be involved before launch, Albany’s Gascó-Hernandez said. Agencies interested in using chatbots should identify the questions the public is likely to ask the AI tool ahead of time, ensure those are representative of the expected population the agency serves and refine the chatbot by having members of the public pilot the system to ensure it provides the kind of information they seek.
“These user engagement and user experiences are very important so the citizen ends up using the chabot,” she said.
