In her first year as chancellor of the California State University system, Mildred García will earn just under $1 million in total compensation to lead the nation’s largest system of higher education.

That’s more than triple Gov. Gavin Newsom’s compensation. It’s also a steep increase from the three previous chancellors who led the 23-campus system.

According to an analysis by CalMatters using publicly available salary data, system leaders and presidents in the Cal State system have seen their pay increase at a higher rate than full-time professors and lecturers over the past 15 years.

While the Cal State system aims for executive salaries to be at the median of comparable institutions nationwide, trends pushing that median upward have resulted in larger salaries for the system’s chancellor and campus presidents.

Cal State is facing backlash for approving student tuition increases earlier this year and simultaneously raising executive pay during a $1.5 billion budget deficit. Meanwhile, the California Faculty Association is preparing to strike for increased pay. The faculty union has four strikes planned for early December at Cal Poly Pomona, San Francisco State, Cal State Los Angeles and Sacramento State.

García inherits a system with a long list of priorities — chief among them, negotiating raises for the 29,000 instructors the faculty union represents. The union said Oct. 31 that 95% of its members who voted approved of strike plans amid negotiations to lift the minimum wages for the lowest-paid instructors and increase salaries generally, among other demands.

CalMatters reached out for an interview with García, but she declined through Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith.

“The CSU should use the budget … for direct instruction and student advancement, not for continued expansion of administrative bloat and endless administrative positions at the Chancellor’s Office and on all 23 campuses.”
— Charles Toombs, faculty union president and Africana studies professor at San Diego State

At the Cal State Board of Trustees meeting in July, faculty and union members criticized executive salary increases at the university system. At that meeting, the board voted in favor of the chancellor’s compensation package and discussed a proposal to increase student tuition.

“The CSU should use the budget it receives from the state for direct instruction and student advancement,” said Charles Toombs, faculty union president and Africana studies professor at San Diego State, “not for continued expansion of administrative bloat and endless administrative positions at the Chancellor’s Office and on all 23 campuses.”

Additionally, student leader Dominic Treseler said at the July meeting a tuition hike beginning in Fall 2024 would adversely affect students.

“Students should not bear the inequitable burden of addressing revenue shortfalls for the system,” said Treseler, president of the Cal State Student Association and a senior studying political science at San Jose State. Nevertheless, the board voted in September to increase tuition by 34% over five years.

Rate of salary increases for instructors lag behind executives

Cal State presidents have seen their base salaries grow by an average of 43% between 2007 and 2022, translating to an average $119,882 salary increase per campus president over that time.

In 2022, all 23 presidents received a 7% raise. Additionally, 14 of the presidents who underwent three-year reviews received additional equity increases between 6.7% and 20%.

“Even after making the general salary increases and other market adjustments, 17 campus presidents remain below their peer group median salary,” Bentley-Smith wrote in an email statement.

The Cal State chancellor has seen significant salary increases over the same 15-year period — increasing 38% from a $451,500 base salary for former chancellor Charles Reed in 2007 to a $625,000 base salary for interim chancellor Jolene Koester in 2022.

The Cal State Board of Trustees allotted an additional 27% salary bump in July 2023 when they approved a $795,000 base salary for García. Additionally, $80,000 in deferred compensation, a $96,000 annual housing allowance, and a $1,000 monthly auto stipend brought her total compensation package to just under $1 million a year.

In comparison, instructor salaries have been slower to grow. On average, lecturer salaries at Cal State increased by 22% within the past 15 years, translating to a $13,000 pay bump for the system’s 3,000 full-time lecturers. In Fall 2022, full-time lecturers earned an average of $71,255.

Meanwhile, professor pay has risen at a rate of 30% since 2007, going from an average of $93,643 to $122,016 in Fall 2022. Full professors, the top rank on the tenure track, at Cal State are the highest-paid faculty while lecturers are the lowest.

“Yeah, I can’t even describe how bad it feels. But it feels horrible. But here I am.”
— Claire Garrido-Ortega, co-president of the faculty union at Cal State Long Beach and health science lecturer

Even for students, the pay disparity between on-the-ground faculty is concerning.

“It’s kind of crazy to expect our faculty members to be able to perform so well at such a low compensation rate,” Treseler said.

Claire Garrido-Ortega, co-president of the faculty union at Cal State Long Beach and health science lecturer, said in her 18 years of teaching in higher education, she has only received one pay increase as a result of union bargaining in 2020.

“Yeah, I can’t even describe how bad it feels,” she said. “But it feels horrible. But here I am.”

Cal State spent about a third of its $12 billion budget on salaries and wages during the 2022-23 year. Of that expense, nearly half, or just over $2 billion, went to faculty. Staff expenses came to one-third, at $1.4 billion. Most of the rest of the funds went to other employees, including student assistants. The smallest slice, just 0.3%, or $14.3 million, covered executive salaries. While the executive expenses increased by $3 million over the past five years, the net percentage of the budget did not increase.

A 2022 systemwide review of staff salaries in the Cal State system found that they “have not kept pace with general industry or with other higher education institutions” over the past 15 years. Of the employees who responded, 96% agreed the CSU lacks “an appropriate and consistent process for advancing the pay of employees.”

Cal State isn’t the only system in the state rewarding executives with raises. Within the past decade, University of California chancellors, equivalent to CSU presidents, had an average salary increase of 73%, or $233,738, between 2012 and 2022.

In July 2020, UC Regents approved an $890,000 base salary for UC President Michael Drake, the system leader, a steep increase from his predecessor Janet Napolitano, who earned a base salary of $570,000 in 2019.

Salaries for executives are increasing nationwide

In spite of outcry from faculty and students over recent decisions from the board of trustees, pay for university executives has consistently increased across the country.

From 2010 to 2019, compensation for college presidents across 49 states, excluding Hawaii, increased 56%, according to an analysis published in the Chronicle of Higher Education. The average salary for a college president rose from $543,000 in 2010, to $715,000 in 2019, an increase 32% above the rate of inflation, according to the article’s authors Judith Wilde and James Finkelstein, professors at George Mason University in Virginia.

Part of what is driving salaries upward is the trend of campuses looking for candidates with corporate leadership experience, Wilde said.

“People in those kinds of positions are used to seeing higher salaries,” Wilde said. “They see that most large universities have overall budgets of many millions if not into the billions of dollars.”

Despite the nationwide upward trend, the reality is that California institutions are still on the lower end of the base salary nationally, according to Wilde, particularly in the Cal State system. She added that California generally has a higher cost of living than other states yet salaries do not reflect that fact when compared to administrators at other state institutions.

“The most ridiculous set of contracts we see are out of Florida. California is not anywhere near up to that,” Wilde said. “They’re low, particularly if you are thinking about the Cal State system, which has lower pay than the UC system.”

Presidential pay at Cal State is determined by the median salary of comparable institutions nationally, in addition to the candidate’s reputation, breadth of experience and other accomplishments, according to CSU compensation policy.

“We are a state institution at the end of the day and we have to be fiscally prudent with our resources,” Cal State’s Bentley-Smith said. “So we need to attract and retain the brightest and most talented in order to serve our mission and so we need to pay accordingly to attract those people.”

Bentley-Smith declined to answer whether executive salaries could be capped in the future, stating any policy change on executive pay would need to be initiated by the board of trustees.

“The more we’re asked to do, the more society yells at us and says, ‘Oh, you’re failing at your mission,’ while you’re asking us to do a lot.”
— Lynn Mahoney, San Francisco State University’s president

For Cal State presidents, each campus is grouped with comparable universities across the nation to assess the median salary. The median salaries of the comparison groups sit at $498,269 on the high end and $370,234 on the low end.

In comparison, the average base salary for presidents in Texas public universities rounded to $670,000 in 2022. Additionally, three of the nation’s highest-paid presidents that year were in Texas. The University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston all paid their presidents over $1 million in base salary, also well above the $608,426 average of presidents in the UC system in 2022.

At Cal State, presidents meet with the chancellor during the first year of appointment to discuss campus-specific goals and set starting compensation. For new presidents, base salary is not permitted to exceed their predecessor’s by more than 10% unless “extraordinary circumstances” arise – including the president’s recognized ability.

A year later, they reconvene to discuss progress, after which reviews are conducted every three years, according to Cal State policy. Presidential reviews entail feedback from student and campus leadership as well as alumni.

Along with increases in salary, presidents are often granted additional compensation and perks during contract negotiations that can dramatically increase their full compensation. Presidents can consult with personal lawyers for added benefits such as exit agreements, allowing presidents to remain at their respective schools in the form of a teaching position, in some cases, even if removed for a specific reason.

Former Cal State chancellor Joseph Castro resigned as the system’s leader in February 2022 after allegations he mishandled sexual harassment complaints. Castro then exercised his “retreat rights” to become a faculty member at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he started teaching in spring 2023.

Wilde said there are typically no metrics to determine if a president is reaching the goals of the university. Executive contracts involving performance bonuses or incentives list things generally, such as increasing enrollment, without specific benchmarks. Wilde expects executive pay to continue the upward trends seen nationally.

Finklestein added that a president’s goals are often considered a private matter among the board and not made public. He said this further perpetuates the treatment of campus presidents as corporate executives rather than a leader of an educational institution.

The role of the campus president

San Francisco State University’s president, Lynn Mahoney, joined the campus in May 2019. Mahoney, who earns a base salary of $463,585, says her salary is at the median of comparable institutions.

Mahoney said her job includes four main roles: hiring and mentoring the campus leadership, promoting the university’s mission to external stakeholders, providing basic needs for students and guiding the campus as a moral and political leader.

“So my typical day is meeting, meeting, meeting, meeting,” Mahoney said.

She says over the past five years, increasing demands of presidents have made the job more difficult. Mahoney said colleges increasingly provide students’ basic needs, as well as moral and political guidance for the campus community during turbulent times locally, nationally and abroad.

In addition, she said she holds a lot of responsibility in her oversight of a $300 million budget, the success of 23,000 students and the well-being of all the employees.

“The more we’re asked to do, the more society yells at us and says, ‘Oh, you’re failing at your mission,’ while you’re asking us to do a lot,” Mahoney said. “So there’s another piece now to being a university president that is so much harder, and so much more complicated than it ever was before.”

Mahoney added that while base salaries for campus executives may be high, it’s a necessary tool for the system to recruit on a national stage. According to Mahoney, in hiring for her own campus, she’s lost candidates to campuses that could offer higher salaries and in states with lower costs of living than California. She thinks Chancellor García is the type of candidate many campuses across the nation would have loved to hire.

“If the next state over is going to pay $900,000 or more, $1.2 million, how is the CSU going to recruit the kind of quality chancellor it needs to serve the largest, most impactful state university system?” Mahoney said.

The Cal State system employs search firms to scout the most qualified candidates for a position. Mahoney said after she submitted her application for the position she was contacted by a search firm while serving as the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, and was ultimately hired by the board of trustees for her current role.

Finklestein said it’s common that university presidents allocate their time toward external relations, including fundraising for the university, working with state legislators and meeting with university board members. Presidents rarely get involved in issues of curriculum or make academic decisions that haven’t been heavily vetted beforehand, he said.

“I think this is something that most people don’t understand today,” Finklestein said. “A university president has actually very little to do with the day-to-day running of the university.”

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

They came, they saw, they yelled at each other. A lot.

Somewhere in the 100 or so minutes of crosstalk and insults tonight was Fox News’ heavily-promoted “The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate” between Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Touted by moderator Sean Hannity as a contest of ideas — an opportunity to sort through two clashing governing philosophies that have come to define this divided country — the event wound up more of a verbal smackdown, with both DeSantis and Newsom at one point accusing the other of being a bully.

“What are we actually doing here?” Newsom asked rhetorically early in the night. It was likely a question on many viewers’ minds as Hannity, begging not to be the “hall monitor,” repeatedly tried to cut through the jumble of shouting to urge his participants to let each other speak.

The answer would be made clear before the telecast was over, when Hannity, finally turning the presidential campaign subtext of the whole affair into text, prodded Newsom: “Will you say, unequivocally, under no circumstances are you running?”

Here are five key moments from the bitter, pugnacious, downright messy showdown:

Presidential aspirations, stated and unstated

It’s no coincidence that the head-to-head format — DeSantis and Newsom standing at lecterns in a television studio in Alpharetta, Georgia, sans live audience — resembled a presidential debate, underscoring the high stakes for a man now seeking the most powerful office in the land and another widely touted as a future contender.

The implications of the event were far more immediately significant for DeSantis, who hoped that a knockout performance could rescue his floundering campaign for president. Once a serious threat to the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, former President Donald Trump, DeSantis has sharply faded in public polls with less than two months until the first contest in Iowa and now risks falling into third place behind former South California Gov. Nikki Haley.

Many pundits were surprised when DeSantis accepted Newsom’s debate challenge in August, pitting him against someone who is not even in the presidential race. But lacking opportunities to face off directly against Trump, who has refused to participate in the GOP primary debates, DeSantis aimed to show Republican voters that he is best-equipped to take on Democratic President Joe Biden in the general election.

“What Biden would do, the people around him, they would look to California for the model to go forward in the next four years. That would accelerate the decline of this country,” DeSantis said tonight. “The failures need to be left in the dustbin of history.”

Newsom has repeatedly denied his own White House ambitions and instead become a top surrogate for Biden’s re-election, appearing on his behalf in the spin room at a GOP debate in Southern California this fall. Yet the governor’s increasingly national lens, positioning himself as a Democratic spokesperson, carries all the hallmarks of a politician eyeing higher office; this year he embarked on a “red-state tour” to boost Democrats in conservative communities and introduced a constitutional amendment on gun control.

The Hannity debate gave Newsom another opportunity to introduce himself to a broader audience that has not been following his work in California — and, perhaps most valuably, to redefine himself for conservative and moderate voters who watch Fox News and could be crucial to winning swing states in a presidential election.

Even as he once again shot down any notion that he was running a “shadow campaign” for the Democratic nomination — “I don’t know how many times I can say it,” Newsom told Hannity, “Joe Biden will be our nominee in a matter of weeks” — the very suggestion presented Newsom as someone who could be a legitimate candidate for the job.

A leg up for DeSantis

Before the debate, Newsom warned that it would be a two-on-one pile-on, with Hannity and DeSantis teaming up to make their liberal foe look bad.

In the end, he wasn’t wrong. Though Hannity promised to serve as an impartial moderator, he framed most of the questions by highlighting something that he believed was wrong with California — high taxes, high gas prices, bad schools – and asking Newsom to defend it.

A typical exchange: Fox News displayed a graphic showing the violent crime rate in California is higher than the national average and nearly twice that of Florida. (These rates are based on FBI data collected voluntarily from local law enforcement agencies, about half of which did not report in Florida.)

“How do you explain that when safety and security, I would argue, is a prerequisite for the pursuit of happiness?” Hannity asked.

Newsom tried to flip the question onto DeSantis, pointing out that Florida has far higher incidences of murder and gun violence than California, where gun control laws are much stricter.

“Maybe spend a little more time back in your home state and address the murder and gun violence in your own backyard,” Newsom said.

DeSantis, who filmed a campaign ad in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood this summer lamenting its widespread drug use and homelessness, said “public safety has collapsed” in California.

“In a lot of these places in California, everything’s under lock and key because they’ve basically legalized retail theft,” he said. “They have chosen in California to put the interests of the criminals over public safety.”

Liberal elites and conservative bullies

The debate took almost no time to get personal, and was at moments downright nasty. DeSantis noted early on that Newsom’s own in-laws had relocated to Florida. Newsom later referred to DeSantis as “weak, pathetic and small.”

But nothing seemed to bring out the animosity between the two governors quite like the coronavirus pandemic, which came up on multiple occasions during the telecast.

DeSantis criticized California’s strict lockdown measures to slow the spread of the virus, contrasting his own decision to reopen businesses and schools much sooner in Florida. He said Newsom “did huge damage to people” by shutting down the economy while he ate dinner at the French Laundry and should apologize for keeping students out of classrooms while his own children returned to their private school.

“The only person who should apologize is Ron DeSantis for the tens of thousands of lives that died unnecessarily because he played to the fringe of his party,” Newsom responded, referring to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that shows more Floridians died per capita from COVID-19 than Californians.

The conversation devolved into another shouting match when Newsom brought up that DeSantis threatened a $27.5 million fine against the Special Olympics last year unless they dropped their coronavirus vaccine requirement for athletes. The organization, which runs athletic competitions for disabled people, eventually reversed course.

“They were discriminating against the athletes,” DeSantis said. “You’re a liberal elite. You wanted them to be ostracized.”

“You attack vulnerable communities,” Newsom replied. “You’re nothing but a bully. I understand that intimidating and humiliating people, that’s your calling card.”

The looming abortion question

Newsom delighted throughout the debate in needling DeSantis about his sinking support in the presidential race, even urging DeSantis at the end to drop out and give Haley a better shot to stop Trump.

He seemed determined to deliver a fatal blow during a segment on abortion, which Democrats hope will be a key issue in the 2024 election after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to abortion last year and which Republicans have taken pains to downplay on the campaign trail.

In the week before the debate, Newsom put an ad on television in Florida highlighting a law that DeSantis signed this year banning abortion after six weeks. The spot accuses his Republican rival of criminalizing women who seek the procedure and doctors who perform it.

“Will you or will you not support a national ban if it lands on your desk?” Newsom asked tonight of a hypothetical DeSantis presidency. DeSantis repeatedly ducked the question, before Newsom turned straight to camera to speak to the viewers at home.

“He will sign that extreme six-week national ban,” Newsom said. “The American people should know that.”

A poop map of San Francisco

Yes, a poop map. As the debate drew to a close, DeSantis actually whipped out a printout purportedly from a user-generated app tracking human feces found on the streets of San Francisco.

It was intended to be his knockout punch at Newsom on the issue of California’s spiraling homelessness crisis, which he said has gotten so bad that “human feces is now a fact of life” for residents. DeSantis blamed Democrats’ lax attitude.

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” DeSantis said. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and even light it on fire.”

“They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned,” he added, “but they have contributed to the destruction of the quality of life in California.”

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

It is with great sorrow that the Spek Family shares the passing of our beloved Hans Spek, an incredible local and international artist, teacher, and dreamer. He passed peacefully in Humboldt County on the morning of November 25th, 2023 knowing he was deeply loved. Hans was preceded in death by his lovely wife Christine Spek on July 28, 2020 during the pandemic. Christine departed this world in the home her and Hans shared and the wonderful environment they created together with Hans, daughter Lisette, and family by her side. Hans and Christine were so cherished and loved.

Hans was born on March 1, 1934 in the city of Haarlem in his homeland of Holland. He came into this world on Centauru Straat in his family’s home on the street he shared with his grandmother. He had a little sister who he loved. He was a clear joy to his family throughout his childhood, an adorable and spirited baby and child as evidenced by the many family photos. He was a wanderer and was known to be found by his fathers fellow policemen on the other side of town exploring from a young age. Hans, like many of his children and grandchildren, was towheaded with a great big smile. Christine was born Christine Schoemaker in the city of Delft, Holland on April 6th 1935. She was a sweet and caring child, the oldest of five children. Christine was descended from rose breeders and Hans was from the family who had long served the Dutch royals through forestry. Both of their fathers were policemen, Hans’ father with the Royal Police. Christine’s father was a part of the dutch underground and helped save many lives through his work with the Dutch Resistance during the war years. Hans and Christine were both mischievous, perhaps one of the qualities that united the two. They lived through and survived many of the unspeakable tragedies of World War II in their childhoods but in spite of the pain they both witnessed and experienced, their spunky and fun loving personalities persisted.

During the war, Hans’ family moved from his hometown of Haarlem he loved so much to a house in the country in Vaassen where they survived on the farmland. They then moved to Apeldoorn where Hans’ grandfather was a forester to the royals at Het Loo palace. Christine’s family lived in Arnhem during the war years, moving to Apeldoorn during the Hunger Winter following the war. This was where Hans and Christine met when they were 13 and 14 years old. They attended high school together at Queen Wilhelmina High School where they were taught English, German, and French in addition to their native language of Dutch. Hans took art classes with a Dutch Master outside of school, encouraged by his mother who respected his great passion for art.

It was at Queen Wilhelmina High School that Hans and Christine fell in love. Christine loved that Hans was an artist and wanderer, and Hans loved that Christine was dedicated and funny. Their parents and teachers disapproved, but neither Hans nor Christine allowed that to hamper their connection, they insisted on being together. They went on many adventures together in the Netherlands, trips to the Island of Terschelling to tan and have great fun with their friends, travel to Austria, a bike trip through Belgium countryside where Hans slept in the farm houses, and so many more wonderful times. After high school Hans was in the Air Force in Holland for two years and then worked as a cartographer making maps. Christine was a writer and editor for a publishing company in Delft where her high intellect was recognized. In 1958, Hans and Christine were married and boarded a boat to immigrate to a new country at the ages of 23 and 24. America had limited availability at the time, so they settled for Canada. Christine was nervous to leave her homeland, but Hans reassured her that if she ever needed they could return, they might as well have an adventure - and they did! First stop was Canada where their first child, son Jeff, was born. Christine was delighted to be a mother, she loved babies and children. Hans worked as a surveyor and was soon offered an opportunity to immigrate again, this time to Southern California. They jumped at the chance and it was in Santa Ana that they welcomed their daughter Lisette.During their years as a family in Southern California, Hans worked as a Civil Engineer and painted avidly in his free time, teaching oil painting lessons up to three times a week. He traveled to Alaska through his employment where he saw nature that deeply inspired him.

Christine was a dedicated mother and wife, she was incredibly intelligent and went to college while her children were in school to earn a B.A. in Literature from Cal State Fullerton. She then opened a popular and quality store in Tustin selling Many wonderful imports and decorations. Hans and Christine were both creating avidly during this time, Hans with his oil paints and watercolors and Christine with watercolors, textile stitching, knits, and recipes. They went on family vacations with their kids to Europe and road trips to the Tetons they loved so much in Wyoming. Hans enjoyed adventures with his daughter, spending time with his son fly fishing in Yellowstone National Park, and skiing with his family in the winter. Hans and Christine later went back to the Tetons with both of their children and all five grandchildren where wonderful memories were made. Hans always wanted to go on an adventure, both big and small, and Christine was perpetually along for the ride, she was amused by her loved ones interests and always joined in - even with Skiing eventually!

Christine loved to cook and bake incredible dishes and Hans heavily preferred her cooking. She loved to read Russian literature and, like her father’s family, grew beautiful roses in her garden. Hans enjoyed going fishing, maps, collecting trinkets, exploring in nature, and listening to music, especially organ music. He had a liking for mastery and tradition, and Christine had one for creativity. Hans was a dreamer, his entire life he reported many fantastically realistic dreams, often flying through landscapes and exploring many lands. Hans was an incredibly talented and accomplished oil painter and artist, he was so proud of his paintings and felt a deep connection to and was inspired by many of the grand master painters such as Rembrandt (his favorite), Frans Hals, Canaletto, Caravaggio, and Vermeer. He replicated a number of their famous works throughout his lifetime between his own landscapes, portraits, and still lives. Christine was accepting of everyone and always open to new ideas and experiences. She loved a hearty conversation, even if someone’s views didn’t match her own. Christine was incredibly righteous. Both Hans and Christine were wickedly humorous, so keen, observant, and clever. They were companions in every sense of the word.

Hans and Christine moved for the final time in 2006 to Humboldt County to fulfill Christine’s dream of living near grandchildren; Hans graciously agreed even though he was pained to leave the art market where his paintings sold so well in Southern California. They moved to Fortuna, a community they loved and a landscape that inspired Hans’ later artworks. Here, they both participated in raising 3 of their 5 grandchildren, granddaughters Rhea, Ula, and Marlo.

Christine jumped right in to help pick them up from school, cook amazing weekly family dinners, host weekend and holiday sleepovers at her house, and brought a loving and soft touch to every milestone. She made incredible pancakes. They never missed a holiday or birthday since the day their cherished first granddaughter Rhea was born. They often went back to Holland and made trips to Florida to visit their son Jeff, grandsons Garret and Ian, and great-granddaughter Willow. Hans had an art studio in their garage again where he continued to paint while Christine knitted many masterpieces and gifted them to her family.

Hans was a member of the Redwood Art Association for many years. Christine hiked often with the Ramblers walking group, Hans would join periodically, and they loved farmers’ markets and good cafes. Hans taught all three of his granddaughters to drive. Christine was incredibly close with her family, especially daughter Lisette with whom she held a strong bond and granddaughter Marlo who was her very best friend. They spent a lot of time together at cafes, the knitting shop, advising each other on sewing and designing, and being so comfortable in each others company. Christine was a master gardener and had show-winning Daffodils in the Daffodils by the River flower show in Fortuna. Hans continued to teach art lessons and had many students in Humboldt County who he loved to spend time with, he won many awards for his paintings. Hans advised his granddaughters Marlo and Ula in art over the years. Everywinter, Hans made his traditional Dutch New Years Olibollen donuts and they sent Dutch chocolate letters to the family in Florida for Christmas.

When Christine’s health began to decline, Lisette and her children cared for her and had a jam- packed last year full of memories. Hans never left her side until the very end. He was devastated to lose his wonderful wife of 62 years and friend of 72 years. In his final years, he spent a great deal of quality time with daughter Lisette who cared for him lovingly as well as his granddaughters. Lisette and her daughters provided him much care and often took him on car rides and adventures.

Hans and his best friend Ula spent an incredible amount of time together in his final five years. They shared a brilliant connection and friendship creating and discussing art. Marlo devoted herself to a well-forged common bond with Hans in artistry. Marlo and Ula were his protégés and carry on his legacy in painting. The family made every holiday a party for Hans. In The end of his 89th year, after a stellar visit with his son and a lovely Thanksgiving celebration with his family, Hans went “home” to be with his wife Christine who he loved so much. His last drawing was the Tetons, a reflection of his love for the time spent with his family and so many wonderful memories. He had just spoken with his daughter and let her know he had dreampt of all of the people who he loved. He was excited and ready for his next trip.

There will be a memorial and celebration of life held on Saturday, December 2 at 2 p.m. at the Christ Lutheran Church: 2132 Smith Lane in Fortuna. Artists and friends who knew Hans and Christine are encouraged and welcome to attend the event. Many thanks to all who made this community so great for them. Thank you to Emma for your loyal friendship to our Hans. And thank you to Lisette for your hard work over many years providing the absolute best care and attention to Hans and Christine.

To our beloved Hans and Christine, thank you so much for your incredible beings. The Spek Family loves you both so dearly. We will always keep your lights alive. We houden zoveel van je!

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Katherine Faye Fulton, nee Lunsford
June 19, 1941-November 25, 2023

Katherine Fulton (aka Katie, Kat, Kaye, Kathy, Katherine (say it like Kathereen)) went home to heaven on November 25. She had dreamed of being with Jesus in heaven for such a long time, and now it’s real. Still, it was a surprise. She just didn’t recover from cancer surgery.

She had a twinkle in her eye and a great smile. She was always “put together,” knowing how to combine colors and fabrics. Not that she spent a lot — she was great at thrift shopping, And for a while, she worked at a Salvation Army store. Talk about temptation.

She loved the bling and the shoes. When I asked her why she bought another pair of black shoes, she would say, “But I didn’t have any like these.” She didn’t really know where she got me. We were so different — me with my plain tastes. But somehow her influence caught up with me. I think of her every time I have to cram things down to close an overstuffed dresser drawer

Katherine was creative. She wrote songs, some of them pretty good, and taught herself to play piano by ear. I teased her at times that everything she played sounded like church music, but I think that was a compliment to her.

Another form of her creativity: when my brother and I were small, she buffed her freshly waxed floors by dragging us around on a blanket. We thought it was great fun and looked forward to it. We had no idea she was USING us!

Katherine loved simple pleasures, like good coffee. When she and my dad lived just 1/2 mile from me, I would see them pass by my house, and they would never stop. When I asked her about that, she said “we knew you didn’t have any coffee.” I bought a coffee maker, but I think it was just too late. In more recent years when I visited her in a residential facility, I didn’t dare arrive without coffee. I kind of hated the last few weeks in the skilled nursing facility where I couldn’t bring it.

So, the residential facility…mom had her struggles with mental health. Finding peace and wellness has been a hard thing, and I’d like to think she has it now.

Katherine was born in Antioch, California, and her family moved to McKinleyville when she was about 10 years old. She lived there until she married Earnest Fulton when she was 15, and they moved to Texas when he entered the Air Force. Their children, David and Deborah, were born while they lived there. In the nearly 30 years they were married, they moved back to California, and then to Oklahoma and Washington. She returned to McKinleyville after they divorced, and she lived there, and then in Eureka, until 2020.

Katherine was the oldest child in her family. She is preceded in death by her parents Velva Lunsford (Hammers), Herman Lunsford Sr., and George Martin Dignan as well as by her son, David Fulton, her sisters Doris Lunsford and Patricia Andersen, and her brother, James Dignan.

She is survived by her daughter, Deborah Burdett (Greg); siblings Herman Lunsford, Jr. aka Pete (Juanita), Betty Neely (David), Sharon Cain, Mary Lee Andersen (Glenn), Don Dignan (Betty), Linda Trimm, Kenneth (Marilyn), Irene Hopkins (Jim), Doug Lunsford, Jonathan (Patricia), Carson (Carol), Brad; and grandson Theo Hyde

Katherine will be interred at Ocean View Cemetery. A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 2, at 11 a.m. at New Hope Church of God, 2022 Sutter Road, McKinleyville.

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Jason Balke | Booking photo

On 11/30/2023, at about 10:00 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 1900 block of Sutter Road in McKinleyville for the report of male subject brandishing a knife.

Deputies arrived on scene and located a male subject who they identified as 43-year-old Jason Balke. Balke was walking in the middle of Sutter Road and removed a large fixed-blade knife from his jacket.

Balke brandished the knife towards the deputies in a threatening manner as they approached. Deputies commanded Balke to drop the knife but he refused to do so. Balke then fled from deputies on foot.

Deputies pursued Balke onto Central Avenue. Balke continued running while armed with the knife and deputies attempted to keep him from busy public areas. Balke began running towards Safeway on Central Avenue.

For the safety of the public, deputies requested Safeway be locked down. Deputies then deployed a less lethal shotgun to induce Balke to drop the knife. Deputies fired less lethal bean bag rounds at Balke striking him.

Balke still refused to drop the knife and continued running towards Safeway. Deputies then utilized a Taser device which effectively subdued Balke. Deputies were able to detain Balke in handcuffs without further incident.

Balke sustained minor injuries, and he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. Balke was then booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for felony resisting arrest (PC 69(A)), brandishing (PC 417(A)(1)), criminal threats (PC 422(A)), and probation violation (PC 1203.2(A).  

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the California Highway Patrol and California State Parks for their assistance with this investigation.

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.

Life in Eureka will almost assuredly be more “aww”-inspiring going forward thanks to the latest wild and wet addition at the Sequoia Park Zoo. 

Noni and Tule

Earlier this week, Noni and Tule, the zoo’s pair of American black bears, were given their first access to a new, luxurious habitat. Designed and built by local artificial waterfall specialist Ben Goulart, the expansive exhibit boasts a 50-foot cascading waterfall stream adorned with massive 2,000-pound boulders sourced from the mountains east of Eureka. The area also features a 60-foot-long, four-foot-deep pond for the animals to cool off in. 

Goulart told the Outpost he was able to witness Noni and Tule’s first moments in their new wet playground. “It almost brought a tear to my eye,” he said. “They immediately climbed up through the waterfall sections, played in the water, and even jumped right into the pond.” Even though it was the animal’s first water experience, “they took to it like fish and were playing like little kids. It was awesome!”

Scroll for some photos of the zoo’s aquatic bear wonderland courtesy of Jeffrey Schwartz. Additional information about the project can be found in the zoo release farther down. 

Sequoia Park Zoo release: 

Sequoia Park Zoo is excited to announce that Noni and Tule have started exploring the dynamic west area of the newest habitat at the Zoo. Affectionately called the “front yard”, this wild-inspired space includes a waterfall and pond to play in, log structures to explore and forage, and plenty of trees to climb.

American black bears, Noni and Tule, were found orphaned in the wild and taken to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) for rehabilitation in spring of 2022. Despite the best efforts of their wildlife care team, California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined that the cubs were not suitable for release, and Noni and Tule were transferred to Sequoia Park Zoo in late May of 2023. Since then, the rambunctious yearling bears have delighted visitors, staff, and volunteers with their climbing antics and playful personalities.

“It’s amazing watching them explore,” says Amanda Auston, Animal Curator at Sequoia Park Zoo. “Animal care staff will be closely monitoring them, especially over the next few days, and all signs are positive for a continued and smooth transition to the full habitat.”

Introducing animals to a new habitat is a carefully coordinated process, and Noni and Tule have spent the past few months learning skills and behaviors that help Zoo staff care for them. One of the most important behaviors for Noni and Tule to practice and master is a “recall”, in which animal care staff call them from the habitat to the care quarters for treats and positive reinforcement. Asking animals to move from one space to another is a simple and critical skill that eases veterinary visits, reinforces training, and allows staff to clean and service the habitats.

Noni and Tule began their foray into the front yard on Monday morning and spent the day exploring the new space under the watchful eyes of staff and volunteers. Known for perching atop the redwoods in the familiar backyard habitat, Noni wasted no time in determining which trees are best for climbing and set to work “pruning” a new vantage point. Tule made himself at home searching for snacks among the logs and leaves and tired himself out chasing Noni up the trees. Both bears are strong swimmers, and they each spent time splashing in the pond and exploring the waterfall.

Animals at Sequoia Park Zoo have many opportunities to demonstrate a full range of natural behaviors and adaptations, and Noni and Tule can decide whether they want to explore the habitat, play in their covered patio, or sleep in their indoor den. Depending on where the bears choose to be, they might not always be visible to visitors. Guests are encouraged to check the feeding schedule posted daily at the front of the Zoo for the best opportunities to observe the animals and talk with staff and volunteers.

Noni and Tule’s habitat at Sequoia Park Zoo has been generously funded by Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria and is part of the recent expansion that includes the award-winning Redwood Sky Walk. Visitors can immerse themselves in the richness and beauty of the redwoods and learn about the amazing plants and animals that call the forest home.

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Press release from the Myers for Assembly campaign:

Eureka, CA – Today, Yurok Tribe Vice Chairman Frankie Myers declared his candidacy for California Assembly District 2. “I have spent my entire adult life working with tribal, state and federal lawmakers, local communities, and private corporations to solve some of the North Coast’s most pressing issues. I am eager to use my experience to build a brighter future for District 2 and the entire state.”

Myers, a Democrat, decided to run for the District 2 Assembly seat because he wants to apply his leadership skills, experience, vision and values to serve the people of California. “We have a mental health and fentanyl crisis in our communities, climate change is threatening our environment, and too many Californians work full time but still can’t afford healthcare, let alone buy a home. Improving access to healthcare and high-paying jobs are just a few of the issues I want to take on as your next Assemblymember,” said Myers. “I can’t do it alone, but if the people of the district elect me, I am committed to building a broad coalition to tackle the big problems that affect all of us.”

For more than two decades, Myers was a leader in the successful effort to remove four fish-killing dams on the Klamath River. He helped build a diverse coalition of tribes, fishermen, conservation groups, farmers and even the dam owners to address this complex challenge. Currently underway, the Klamath dam removal is the most ambitious salmon restoration project in world history.

“Frankie Myers brought people from all walks of life, all backgrounds and all income brackets together to un-dam the Klamath River. He took on big government and big business to do something that many thought was impossible – remove four large dams and restore one of America’s greatest salmon fisheries. I know he’s not afraid to take on the big fights and I know his constituents can depend on him to stand and deliver no matter the challenge,” said California’s first elected Native American state legislator, James Ramos, Serrano/Cahuilla. Ramos added, “Representation matters, and electing Native voices into the legislature will allow for greater diversity and perspectives from California’s First People.”

Myers has served as Yurok Vice Chair since 2018. The Yurok tribal government is one of the largest governing bodies in District 2. The Tribe employs approximately 600 local community members and administers nearly 50 departments and programs, including police and fire departments, education, transportation, planning and community development, housing, social services, fisheries, watershed restoration, wildlife, environmental protection, forestry, food security, substance abuse treatment and elder nutrition.

As Vice Chairman, Myers led many of the Tribe’s high-profile initiatives. Myers oversees three Tribal for-profit corporations in commercial construction and river restoration that collectively provide hundreds of living wage jobs. These efforts brought more than a half billion dollars to the region for infrastructure and environmental restoration projects and $61 million to install fiber optic cable connecting Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. The project will provide access to high-speed internet for thousands of residents, create more than 200 local jobs and fortify broadband services in the region.

Other significant achievements include:

• The Yurok Tribe’s California condor reintroduction initiative. In 2022 the Tribe released the first of these sacred birds to fly over the North Coast in more than 100 years;
• Raising national awareness of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis, co-hosting the first annual Northern California Conference on MMIP;
• The 2023 launch of Condor Aviation. The tribally owned company administers a fleet of aircraft equipped with cutting-edge aerial imaging technology serving clients across the nation.

Myers grew up on the Yurok Reservation near Weitchpec in the same village where his ancestors lived since time immemorial. While Myers has served two terms as the Vice Chairman of California’s largest Tribe, his career in politics didn’t start there. “My father, a Vietnam War veteran, mother, aunts and uncles, served on Tribal Council, local school boards and housing commissions. Public service has always been important to my family. This feels like something I have been preparing for my whole life,” Myers said.

Many local tribal leaders celebrated the announcement. Hoopa Valley Tribal Chairman Joe Davis noted, “I can think of no better way to close out Native American Heritage Month than to see the next generation of tribal leaders step up to represent not only their tribe, but all of the people of the district.”