Tom Keating was a caring brother, uncle and friend. He died unexpectedly on Monday, February 6, 2023 at the age of 65.

He was born to Darrell and Marilyn Keating on December 13, 1957. After graduating from Eureka High School, at the top of his class, he became a cherished staple in local businesses such as JC Penny and Rite Aid. He is remembered by his coworkers for his work ethic, humor, kindness and above all his friendship.

Tom was a devoted Giants and Raiders fan. He had a passion for antiquing and specifically had a knack for collecting items of historical value. Most of his weekends were spent gardening and reading from his vast collection of books.

His family and friends could always count on a special caramel apple at Christmas time, as sweet treats were his language of love.

Tom is survived by his sister Dianne Keating, his niece Alex (Jack), his niece Andie (Tom), and his nephew Keaton (Brooke). The family will hold a private ceremony. Donations in his memory can be made to Hospice of Humboldt.

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

Our beloved and amazing mother was born Lorraine Giraud on November 24, 1929, and joined her husband, family and friends in heaven on February 3, 2023. She was born in San Francisco to Ersilia and Maggiorino Giraud and grew up in the Sunset District, graduating from Lincoln High in 1947.

She worked for her father at Superior Building Company until she married Elmer Miller on August 7, 1954, at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church. Twin daughters were born in 1955 and her life changed forever! The family relocated to rural property in Santa Rosa in 1963 and she took care of the family, property, garden, and farm animals while her husband worked, along with participating in the twins’ elementary school activities. Later she became a 4-H leader, where she taught cooking and sewing. She was a wonderful seamstress making many of our school clothes and later beautiful quilts.

In the mid-1970s Mom and Dad relocated to their dream property in Fort Jones. There she continued to enjoy her hobbies as well as working with Dad at Interstate Battery of the Siskiyous. They made many friends and loved Scott Valley until they came west due to Dad’s illness to be closer to us in Eureka.

Mom took care of Dad for almost 10 years as he suffered from dementia and passed away in 2006. Travels with her daughters served as respite during that time. There were many trips to Scottsdale and San Francisco for Giants Baseball. After Dad passed there were trips to Hawaii, Canada, and Europe where she especially enjoyed river cruises.

Lorraine was preceded in death by her husband, parents, uncle Frank Giraud, sister-in-law Beth Giraud, and lifelong friends Gloria and Sayoko.

She is survived by her daughters Karen Miller and Marie Liscom and her husband Glen. She is also survived by her beloved brother Richard Giraud and his children Julie, Rich and Tony, their spouses, and children. Her loyal dog Penny was at her side when she passed.

The family wishes to thank Beth Abels and her staff Karen and Jericho for their amazing ongoing care. Many thanks also to Providence Home Health and Hospice of Humboldt who helped guide us in her illness and final days. Thanks also to Betty Jean for her recent care and guidance.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Hospice of Humboldt, 3327 Timber Fall Ct, Eureka 95503; or Sequoia Humane Society, 6073 Loma Ave, Eureka 95503.

A memorial service will be held at Sacred Heart Church on February 17, at 11 a.m., Father Bernard D’Sa officiating.

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

HUMBOLDT TODAY: Will a giant barge docked in Eureka soon house Cal Poly Humboldt students? We look inside the rumored vessel. Plus, a man is arrested in Fields Landing for failing to register as a sex offender. Those stories and more in today’s newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.

FURTHER READING:

• Cal Poly Humboldt is Exploring the Idea of Housing Students on a Huge-Ass Barge in Humboldt Bay
• One Arrested, Two Cited During Fields Landing Probation Search
• DN Sheriff Decides to Continue Searching For Missing Woman, Will Get More Searchers, Resources From CalOES

HUMBOLDT TODAY can be viewed on LoCO’s homepage each night starting at 6 p.m. Want to LISTEN to HUMBOLDT TODAY? Subscribe to the podcast version here.

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In desperate need of new student housing, Cal Poly Humboldt is looking to the water.

Local officials have been working with the university and state regulatory agencies to explore the potential of temporarily housing around 600 students aboard a multi-story residential barge docked in Humboldt Bay.

“The idea of floating apartments or studios is one of many possibilities the University has been exploring,” Cal Poly Humboldt Communications Specialist Grant Scott-Goforth said in an emailed response to questions from the Outpost. “This is very preliminary at this point and the university does not have further details to share.”

Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery tells the Outpost that the city has been discussing the barge proposal with regulators from the State Lands Commission, the Harbor District and other agencies.

“I think, personally, that this is a great idea,” Slattery said. “It would be a huge benefit to the City of Eureka, our businesses, to have this available.” 

Stressing that the concept is still in the preliminary phase, Slattery said city staff have identified two potential dock locations that have the structural capability to host the vessel as well as the necessary water, sewage and electrical hookups.

He declined to identify a specific vessel or manufacturer but said the barge under consideration is 82 feet wide by 320 feet long and includes a cafeteria, a rooftop terrace, a workout room and other amenities.

“They’re nice,” he said. “If I was back at college and went to [Cal Poly Humboldt] I would be the first one to apply. I would live there before living in the dorms,” he added, noting that he lived at the Colony Inn during his own days on campus.

The barge would be a purely stop-gap solution while more permanent housing is constructed, Slattery said.

News of this proposal comes as the university finds itself in hot water with the current student body, many of whom rallied in the quad Wednesday to protest plans to house returning students at local hotels north of campus, including a Comfort Inn, Super 8 and Motel 6.

Photo by Andrew Goff

In his emailed statement, Scott-Goforth said, “As in many areas of California, there are simply not enough housing options available either on campus or in the community. The University has been looking into many creative solutions to provide additional high-quality and affordable housing for students. This includes the three hotels in Arcata, which serve to temporarily expand the available housing stock near campus.”

The Lumberjack student newspaper reported yesterday that there were “rumors and apparent email leaks” pertaining to the barge proposal. At least one student at yesterday’s protest objected to the idea, holding up a sign telling Cal Poly Humboldt President Tom Jackson, “Hey Tom! Don’t put us on a fucking prison boat!”

Barges like the ones being considered here have, in fact, been employed as floating prisons, though more often they’re used as temporary housing — or “floatels” — for employees on offshore or near-shore oil, mining and wind projects. During the worst of the COVID pandemic, one barge was used in Singapore to house healthy workers in a restricted area to avoid potential infection.

Slattery said that when the barge idea first came up, city staff reached out to RWE Offshore Wind Holdings, LLC, one of two energy corporations that won bids to develop offshore wind projects off the Humboldt County coast. The barge could work well to house their employees during construction, he said. 

While Slattery is excited by the barge proposal, Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Executive Director Larry Oetker has reservations. Reached by phone this morning he said his agency operates under the Public Trust Doctrine.

“In the Humboldt Bay Management Plan it says residential uses are generally not considered an acceptable public trust use of tidelands, with a few limited exceptions,” Oetker said. “I’m not saying we’ve made that determination, because we have not,” he added, noting that he has yet to see a detailed proposal, “but generally it is not acceptable in the long term to have these kinds of uses except in limited places,” such as live-aboard boats currently docked at Woodley Island Marina and the Eureka Small Boat Basin.

Melissa B. Kraemer, North Coast District manager for the California Coastal Commission, said in an email that there’s not much precedent for this type of thing along the California coast. Her agency would need to consider a number of issues before issuing a coastal development permit, including impacts on marine resources, water quality, parking/traffic/transit service, visual impacts, tsunami hazards and impacts to commercial fisheries and recreational boating.

Slattery said use of tidelands falls under the jurisdiction of the State Lands Commission, which is well aware of this proposal. The city has also consulted with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers about any potential interference with Humboldt Bay’s navigation channels. The barge’s 82-foot width would “barely” extend into those channels, Slattery said.

While Slattery acknowledged that any work done below the mean high-tide line in Humboldt Bay is the purview of the Harbor District, he said that in his estimation there would be no “work” performed on the barge while it’s docked, meaning the Harbor District would be absolved of any responsibility.

City staff have discussed a number of other potential means of housing Cal Poly Humboldt students, including putting them up in the city’s own hotels or in the EaRTH Center housing and transit project being developed downtown. A previous administration at the university explored the idea of housing students on a cruise ship, Slattery said, though he noted that those vessels would be more difficult to accommodate because they have deeper drafts than residential barges. 

Jennifer Kalt, executive director of environmental nonprofit Humboldt Baykeeper, said that while the barge idea took her aback when she first heard about it, she believes it could work.

“Humboldt Baykeeper has not seen any proposals, but the concept seems like it has a lot of potential and could be a good temporary solution with very little impacts to Humboldt Bay,” she said.

Below, enjoy a tour of the Bibby Renaissance and, if you’re so inclined, stick around for the mukbang.

Note: This post has been updated from its original version to add information from the California Coastal Commission.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Feb. 8, 2023, at about 9:30 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a probation search of a residence on the 6700 block of West Avenue in Fields Landing.

Deputies contacted nine people at the residence, one of which, 43-year-old Samuel Lee Summers, initially provided deputies with a false name but was later properly identified and found to have an active warrant for his arrest. Additionally, he was found to be out of compliance with the terms of his sex offender registration requirements. Summers was taken into custody without incident.

During a search of all structures on the property, deputies located various drug paraphernalia.

Lance Eric Ostlund, age 34, was cited and released on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia (HS 11364(a)) and violation of probation (PC 1203.2(a)).

Danielle Jean Church, age 25, was cited and released on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia (HS 11364(a)).

Summers was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of false identification to a peace officer (PC 148.9(a)), failure to register as a sex offender (PC 290.085(a)), parole revocation (PC 3000.08(f)) and violation of probation (PC 1203.2(a)).

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.

Food banks across California are bracing for a feared spike in hunger amid inflated prices after a pandemic-era boost in food aid ends in April.

March is the last month CalFresh recipients will get the additional benefits, as the federal government cuts off the “emergency allotments” that have kept food stamp allowances higher than usual for nearly three years now.

The average household on CalFresh will lose about $200 a month, said Becky Silva, government relations director at the California Association of Food Banks. A single-person household, for instance, could drop from $281 a month in food aid to as low as $23 in April.

U.S. Department of Agriculture documents show that since November, the pandemic boosts have amounted to more than $500 million a month in additional food stamps coming into low-income Californians’ budgets.

“There’s no way to overstate how devastating this is going to be,” Silva said. “Families are going to see a dramatic and sudden drop in their food benefits at a time when food price inflation and the cost of living in California especially is through the roof.”

Food stamps are funded by the federal government, which determines benefit amounts annually based on the nationwide cost of living as well as recipients’ household size and income.

“There’s no way to overstate how devastating this is going to be.”
— Becky Silva, California Association of Food Banks

In March 2020, Congress allowed the USDA to give states funding to boost all recipients’ aid to the maximum allowable benefits for their household size, or add $95 on top for those already receiving the maximum. The recent Congressional spending bill passed in December cuts that off this spring in exchange for funding for extra food aid for school children during the summer months.

More than 2.9 million California households receive food assistance through CalFresh, a number that has risen steadily throughout the pandemic.

The state social services department attributes the increase partially to a more flexible application process during the pandemic, while advocates like Silva also suggest the boost in aid made going through an application more worthwhile for eligible residents.

The loss of emergency allotments will be felt particularly hard by older and disabled people, many of whom have already seen their food aid eligibility reduced after a historic inflationary bump in Social Security checks in January. In addition to wages, Social Security, unemployment benefits and disability payments all count as income for the person receiving food aid.

Tom McSpedden, a 69-year-old Citrus Heights resident with Type II diabetes, saw a nearly $60 decrease in his normal CalFresh allowance last month after getting a $109 increase in his monthly Social Security checks.

But he continued to get the pandemic CalFresh boosts, which kept the total food stamps on his benefits card at $281 that month – the maximum allowable aid for a single-person household.

In April, McSpedden’s monthly CalFresh benefits will drop to roughly $50.

Nearly half of McSpedden’s monthly $1,368 Social Security check goes toward renting a room; the rest is meticulously budgeted for his phone, car insurance, gas, the portion of insulin and medications that Medicare doesn’t cover and bankruptcy payments.

“I don’t have the $230 left over each month to compensate” for the drop in aid, he said. “I’m just not going to be able to afford food. It’s that simple.”

There isn’t any plan to immediately backfill the loss.

The food banks association and other anti-poverty organizations have proposed that the state spend more than $2 billion providing a “ramp-down” of the extra benefits for five months after the federal boosts end.

But it’s unclear whether the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration would agree on new spending as they seek to close a $23 billion budget deficit.

“I’m just not going to be able to afford food. It’s that simple.”
— Tom McSpedden, Citrus Heights CalFresh recipient

Advocates are also calling for the state to add its own funds to the regular food stamps program, to boost the minimum food aid grant from $23 to $50 with corresponding inflationary increases. Other ideas include expanding special CalFresh programs that provide extra dollars for those purchasing California-grown produce, or for certain Central Valley households who lack clean drinking water in their homes.

Those proposals are “nowhere near approaching the $500 million a month that will be absent from people’s budgets, dinner tables and California retailers as well,” said Jared Call, senior advocate at the food policy organization Nourish California. “But our approach is, no tool in the toolbox should be unused.”

The California Department of Social Services says it’s warning households of the upcoming decline in aid and directing CalFresh recipients to food banks, which have received additional funding from both the state and federal governments in recent years.

The state’s network of food banks continues to serve on average 1.5 times the number of clients as before the pandemic, Silva said.

The Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services, which provides food in the county McSpedden lives, averaged 150,000 clients a month before the pandemic, said community resource manager Lorena Carranza. In recent months, that number has been about 275,000.

But food distributions can’t replace the flexibility of food stamps that many residents rely on.

With a special diet to manage his diabetes, McSpedden said food distribution boxes usually only contain a few items he can eat. He’s loath to take a full box when others could use it, he said.

McSpedden worked for nearly three decades as a long-haul trucker until about 15 years ago, when a series of heart attacks ended that career and landed him in a hospital stay that wiped out his savings and retirement accounts.

“I’ve been in predicaments before,” he said. “But this thing here with the extra food stamps, I have no idea. I’m looking into a tunnel with no light at the other end.”

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

David Andrew (McKinzie) Bradburn
August 29, 1929 – January 30, 2023

David Bradburn of Eureka and Willow Creek, California passed away Jan. 30, 2023, at the age of (93½). He is a descendent of the McKenzie Clan, Willits and Gordon pioneer families and the historic Benning family of Athens, Missouri.

David Andrew (McKinzie) Bradburn was born near Stansfield, Oregon on the Lazinka Ranch, to Raymond McKinzie and Esther Gordon McKinzie. After a family breakup in 1930, Dad moved with his mother Esther and sister Joanne to Willits. Willits is named after his maternal Grandfather Hiram Willits. In 1936, after his mother remarried to George Alfred Bradburn the family moved to Willow Creek (China Flats).

The family settled onto a ranch two miles outside of Willow Creek on Hwy 96, Dad attend school in Hoopa, Grandpa Bradburn worked for the California Highway Department, and Grandma was elected as the Justice Court Judge in Hoopa.

Dad had a very interesting life, working as a young man for the forestry department fighting fires, working for the phone company running phone wires across the Valley. He also raised a long horn steer while belonging to the Future Farmers of America.

Dad was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950 and was sent for service in Korea where he served with the First Korean Infantry Division, TDY with Charlie Co. 45th Division, NCO in charge of the detachment and squad leader. He was presented the Purple Heart by U.S. Army Col. Slaughter. He was also awarded the Republic of Korea War Service Medal, United Nations Korean War Service Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Korean War Service Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and the Korean War Presidential Unit Citation

Dad returned to Willow Creek in 1952 and started working for the California Highway Department in their lab department before he moved on to his final career with the Humboldt County Department of Public Works as the Resident Engineer, where he retired after 38 years. Dad was the Lead Engineer for road and construction work from one end of Humboldt County to the other and he also oversaw all work on the Arcata Airport.

He was a lifelong member of the VFW Eureka Chapter and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).

He is preceded in death by his mother and stepfather George and Judge Esther Bradburn, his daughter Joy Tears and sister Joanne Nachand, his niece Bernice Jacobs, and nephew George Jacobs of New Jersey.

He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Judy Bradburn, his son Kent Bradburn of Eureka, son and daughter-in-law Brett and Myra Bradburn of Gainesville, VA, 4 grandchildren, Victoria Bohling and husband Rhett, Olivia Bradburn, David Bradburn all of VA and Honey Bell and husband Carlos of Sacramento; four great-grandchildren, Gabrielle and Noelle Bradburn and Avery and Rocky Bohling; six step-grandchildren Lacy Regalo, Landon Regalo, Michael and wife Melissa McClurg, Mariah McClurg, and Mason and Evelyn Snow; Judy’s children and spouses Kim and Carl Regalo, Jamie and Rod Boone, all of Eureka; and Ben and Jessica Snow of Watsonville, and a newly found half-brother, Raymond McKenzie of Idaho.

Dad especially appreciated the Eureka and Redding VA clinics, the VA hospital at Fort Miley and the Eureka Vet Center. Much thanks go to the VA Home Based Health, especially PA Vicky Cushing and team, Mad River Home Health nurses and Hospice of Humboldt especially nurses Mia and Sadie, and Robert, who kept David looking handsome as ever in his last days. Special thanks to Trent and Agape care givers, Tabatha and Bonnie.

Dad is appreciated for his dedication and loyalty to his family and stepfamily. We will miss his presence, humor and affection.

The family will hold a private memorial service.

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