An Assembly Bill sponsored by the Karuk Tribe, which seeks to expand consultation between state water agencies and tribes during water policy decisions, passed through the California Assembly last week.

The Karuk Tribe says the bill could help address historic inequities by giving tribes a seat at the table.

The vote was 57 in support and 23 members refusing to vote, including every Republican in the Assembly and three Democrats.

If signed into law, Assembly Bill 2218 would declare, as statewide policy, recognition of “the inequities regarding access to, and control over, water caused by state-sanctioned acts of termination, removal, and assimilation inflicted upon all California Native American tribes.”

It would also have the Legislature formally acknowledge and apologize for over a century of state-sanctioned policies that harmed Native Americans.

A key provision of the bill is requiring consultation with tribes when certain water policies are revisited by state agencies. The State Water Board, when investigating the basis of a water right, would need to consult with a California Native American tribe whose ancestral territory includes the water body, when requested.

There are some existing tribal consultation policies, but the Karuk Tribe says they aren’t airtight, legally.

Craig Tucker, a policy consultant for the Karuk Tribe, said current relevant State Water Board policies stem from executive order, and are susceptible to litigation.

“What we’re doing is providing a legislative backstop to those policies, and so [the bill] strengthens those existing policies,” he said.

He thinks there’s still room for state agencies to involve tribes in decision making.

The bill also more broadly calls for historic inequities to be addressed through financial assistance, protection of tribal water uses, consultation on water projects, plans, and policies, plus incorporation of Indigenous knowledge to restore and protect ecosystems.

State agencies like the State Water Board, Regional Water Quality Control Boards, the Natural Resources Agency, the Delta Stewardship Council and the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation would implement this policy.

The Karuk Tribe and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians (another co-sponsor of the bill headquartered in El Dorado County) said this change would bolster tribal rights, stewardship and justice in a press release.

“Tribal Leaders recognize that California’s water rights system, based on the ‘first in time, first in right’ principle, purposefully disenfranchised the original water users,” said Russell “Buster” Attebery, chairman of the Karuk Tribe in a prepared statement.

“This resulted in California Tribes losing access to their water, traditional foods and culture. We believe that healthy rivers and restored fisheries are inseparable from Tribal equity in water governance,” he said.

Tucker said despite the Karuk Tribe’s advocacy for more water in rivers, there are places with inadequate water for fisheries.

For example, he pointed to the Scott and Shasta rivers, both key tributaries to the Klamath that have hosted water battles between agricultural users and those pushing for flows for fish.

“Currently the Water Board is setting flow requirements on the Scott and Shasta, and we want every legal right to be fully involved in the process,” he said.

The bill would also have the Legislature apologize for policies that led to Indigenous groups across the state losing access to land and water.

“The state historically sanctioned over one century of depredations and prejudicial policies against California Native Americans, including removal from ancestral land. The Legislature apologizes on behalf of the citizens of the state to all California Native Americans for the violence, mistreatment, and neglect inflicted upon them,” the bill reads.

The state has moved to apologize to the Indigenous people of California before. In 2019 Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order apoligzing for violence, maltreatment and neglect. A separate Assembly Bill introduced this year calls for a similar apology from the Legislature, which agreed to pay bounties for the heads of Native Americans in the 1850s.

“AB2218 simply acknowledges what we all know to be true, what we have already understood. It creates a space at the table for the future,” Frankie Myers, former Vice-chair of the Yurok Tribe, speaking in support of the bill at an April hearing.

According to AB2218’s author, San Jose Democrat Ash Kalra, the bill will address past state policy harms through meaningful measures “including protection of tribal water uses and consultation on water projects, plans, and policies,” according to his prepared statement in the press release.

The bill is co-authored by Democrat Chris Rogers, who represents the North Coast.

A joint press release from the Karuk Tribe and the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians pointed to continued barriers to accessing and controlling ancestral lands, water rights, and cultural resources.

The tribes say historic redistribution of water has reduced or eliminated access to healthy traditional food sources such as smelt, salmon, freshwater mussels and freshwater plants. Lack of flows also prevent cultural, spiritual and subsistence practices, the press release said.

If signed into law, the bill will come with a financial cost to the state, amid estimated General Fund structural deficits of around $35 billion per year in the 2027-28 fiscal year.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee estimates $5.3 million for about 21 new staff to serve as dedicated tribal coordinators within the Regional Water Boards and in the State Water Board′s major programs to better coordinate with tribes, with additional unknown contracting dollars.

Other state agencies estimated added costs for staff and possibly for grants, intended to be used for tribal participation in policy decisions.

Two associations that represent water organizations across the state, California Municipal Utilities Association and Association of California Water Agencies, oppose the bill, along with the California Farm Bureau and California Chamber Of Commerce.

In comments submitted to the Assembly, opponents criticized the bill as vague or difficult to implement, without clear standards for agencies to put in place.

A spread of environmental organizations have noted their support for the bill, which awaits assignment to committee in the Senate.

“This bill doesn’t right all the wrongs of the past, but it’s a step in the right direction,” said Tucker.

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Here’s something you don’t see every day. 

Say cheese!

LoCO reader Lilykoi Leilani sent along some photos of “this crazy fish” she found washed up on Mad River Beach Thursday evening. Leilani used Google image search to identify the toothy beast as a longnose lancetfish, and the Outpost verified that determination with Cal Poly Humboldt fisheries biologist Dr. Cynthia M. Le Doux-Bloom.

“Cool find!” Le Doux-Bloom said.

This big-eyed, sharp-fanged predator is one odd fish: Not only is it a voracious cannibal and a hermaphrodite (meaning it possesses both male and female sex organs simultaneously); it literally comes out of the twilight zone — not the T.V. show but rather the layer of ocean that extends from 200 to 1,000 meters (650 to 3,300 feet) below the surface (also known as the mesopelagic zone).

Lancetfish live mainly in tropical and subtropical waters, but they migrate as far north as subarctic areas like Alaska’s Bering Sea to feed, according to NOAA Fisheries. 

With gaping fanged jaws and enormous eyes, they eat a wide variety of prey, including octopods, squid, tunicates, crustacea and other fishes. Their own flesh is described as “watery and gelatinous and not appetizing to humans.” They usually have large, ribbed, “sail-like” dorsal fins, though the one on this particular lancetfish appears to be either folded over or missing.

Lancetfish are one of the longest deep-sea fish species. Leilani estimated the specimen she came across as measuring between three to four feet long, but they can grow to more than seven feet in length.

While it’s rare to see one washed ashore like this, it’s not unheard of here in Humboldt. More than two dozen local sightings have been reported to iNaturalist (though some of those could be duplicates), and they’ve also been found along the Oregon Coast. 

Tuna fishermen consider them bait-stealing pests, and data from longline fisheries has shown an apparent increase in bycatch in recent years, which researchers attribute to population reduction in commercial species such as yellowfin and bigeye tuna.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On June 5, 2026, at approximately 3:05 a.m., a Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Hoopa Saturation Patrol conducted a traffic stop for a stop sign violation at the intersection of Tish Tang Road and State Highway 96 in Hoopa. Upon contacting the driver of the vehicle, the deputy observed a loaded firearm magazine inside the vehicle. 

 The driver failed to cooperate with the deputy and drove away. A brief vehicle pursuit ensued, and the vehicle eventually yielded on Tish Tang Rd. Once additional deputies arrived on scene, the occupants of the vehicle surrendered without further incident.

 A Sheriff’s K9 was deployed and alerted to the presence of narcotics within the vehicle.  A subsequent search resulted in the discovery of suspected narcotics, drug paraphernalia, and additional ammunition. 

 Deputies also located a loaded 12-gauge shotgun inside the vehicle. During the investigation, a loaded Glock pistol was found in the possession of the vehicle’s passenger.

The passenger, identified as 26-year-old Anaiah Amber Smith of Hoopa, cooperated with the investigation and was cited and released at the scene. The driver was identified as 34-year-old Timothy Robert Ulrich, Jr. of Hoopa.  He was arrested and transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where he was booked on the following charges: 

• PC 29800(a)(1) Felon/Addict in possession of a firearm
• PC 30305(a)(1) Prohibited person own/possess ammunition
• PC 148(a)(1) Obstruct/resist peace officer
• PC 12022.1 Commission of a felony while out on bail
• HS 11370.1(a) Possession of a controlled substance while armed with a loaded firearm
• HS 11377(a) Possession of a controlled substance
• VC 2800.1 Evading a peace officer

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to proactive patrol operations within the Hoopa area. These efforts are strategic and directly address community concerns regarding ongoing criminal activity impacting the Hoopa Valley. We will continue to strengthen and support our partnership with the Hoopa Tribal Community as we work collaboratively to enhance public safety and protect residents throughout the valley.

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.

Press release from the Humboldt County Office of Education:

Crystal Fennell, a 6th – 8th grade English Language Arts teacher at Stanwood A. Murphy Elementary School in the Scotia Union School District, has been named the 2026-27 Humboldt County Teacher of the Year by the Humboldt County Superintendent of Schools, Michael Davies-Hughes.

”Crystal Fennell shows what great teaching looks like,” said Davies-Hughes. “She builds strong connections with students, creates a classroom where students feel they belong, and uses stories and community to help them learn. She cares deeply about her students and helps them grow every day. She is a wonderful choice for Humboldt County Teacher of the Year.”

Fennell, who has been teaching thirteen years, was one of five educators honored by the Humboldt County Office of Education with the Excellence in Teaching Award in May. The Excellence in Teaching Award recognizes classroom teachers from Transitional Kindergarten through 12th grade who have been identified as exemplary by their colleagues, students or school communities. Honorees must have a minimum of five years teaching experience.

“I grew up believing in the power of relationships, storytelling, and community, and those values continue to guide my work in the classroom,” said Fennell. “Receiving Teacher of the Year is an incredible honor, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from and grow with my students every day.”

Amy Gossien, Superintendent/Principal of Scotia School District, was thrilled to see Fennell honored with the award.

“What truly sets Crystal apart is her genuine passion for teaching and learning,” Gossien said. “She approaches her work with enthusiasm, creativity, and a genuine desire to make a positive impact on the lives of her students. Crystal goes beyond merely imparting knowledge; she instills a love of learning that extends far beyond the classroom.”

As the Humboldt County Teacher of the Year, Fennell now has the opportunity to be considered for the California State Teacher of the Year, traditionally announced in October.

For more information regarding awards programs visit www.hcoe.org/awards

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Facebook post from Caltrans District 1:

HEADS UP, RIO DELL: Starting Monday morning (6/8), crews plan to begin shifting U.S. 101 northbound traffic over to the southbound Eel River Bridge as part of the Eel River Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project. CHP will be present, so please slow down for the safety of our contractors and crews.

This project has progressed over the years as the northbound bridge in Rio Dell was identified as having seismic vulnerabilities. The project includes seismic retrofit work, replacing portions of the bridge structure, and improving the bridge approach so this key North Coast connection is better prepared for the long haul.

Travelers should expect lane closures and slowdowns in the area while traffic is shifted and crews continue work. Construction is anticipated to continue in phases through 2030, so thanks for slowing down, staying alert, and giving crews room to work safely.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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When is a minimum wage hike of more than $11 per hour actually a pay cut?

That question has dominated the debate over a current California housing bill that has riven the state’s two most powerful construction worker unions and many state legislative Democrats reluctant to get on the wrong side of either group.

Assembly Bill 1751, authored by Fullerton Democrat Sharon Quirk-Silva, would kick aside regulatory barriers to building townhouses — tightly clustered, multistory homes. In exchange for this fast-tracked approval process, townhouse developers would be required to pay their workers at least $28 per hour.

That’s a significant pay bump over the statewide minimum wage of $16.90.

But the fiercest opposition to the bill has come from what might seem like an unexpected source: The State Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization that represents electricians, plumbers, sheet metal workers and other skilled construction trade unions.

The trades — as the council is colloquially known — argue that the new wage floor could have the paradoxical side-effect of driving down the “prevailing wages” enjoyed by many of their members. Prevailing wages are mandatory minimum pay rates for publicly-funded or supported construction projects, which include many affordable housing developments and other projects propelled forward by recent state law in California. State and federal regulators set prevailing rates based on surveys of the most common wages in each field and geographic area. Because union pay scales can cover hundreds of similarly employed workers, those union-level wages often set the prevailing wage.

In a testy debate on the Assembly floor earlier this month, Quirk-Silva stressed — repeatedly — that the bill would in no way affect the state-set wage rates.

“It does not replace prevailing wage,” she said. “It does not undercut prevailing wage. This bill leaves prevailing wage exactly where it stands in current law.”

The trades aren’t buying it, noting that the federal government sets its own rates for federally-supported projects. But the group’s bigger beef may boil down to precedent.

For years, the building trades have battled any legislation aimed at easing regulations on the construction of new housing unless it also included pro-union guarantees. Those are either union-level prevailing wage pay requirements or, in more recent years, even more restrictive “skilled and trained” rules that require developers to hire apprenticeship program graduates, the vast majority of whom are union members.

Quirk-Silva’s townhouse streamlining bill introduces a new standard: a minimum wage far lower than what most trades members already make.

Making a meager minimum wage hike the new bone that pro-housing bills throw to construction workers would “signify the new norm,” said Chris Hannan, president of the Trades Council. “When you start a trend of doing a minimum wage, then that becomes the new go-to.”

The trades and carpenters, at it again

Standing on the other side of the debate, supporting the new wage standard, are California’s unionized carpenters.

The trades battling the carpenters is a familiar face-off in Sacramento. This isn’t even the first time the groups have publicly locked horns over this specific wage proposal.

Last summer, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat and longtime ally of the carpenters, inserted residential construction worker minimum wage of between $28 and $40 per hour into a budget bill in the final hours of the fiscal year. Aside from high-rise construction developments where the use of steel and concrete tend to draw more specialized workers, unions represent relatively few laborers who build California homes, the carpenters argued at the time. The new wage standard would be a modest corrective for those non-union laborers whose current wage floor is the state minimum wage.

For years, carpenters union leaders have argued that improving working standards for low-wage workers presents an “organizing opportunity” for the union.

The trades were apoplectic. Dozens of union members crowded in the budget bill hearing to decry what they saw as an anti-union reversal of state labor policy. One representative likened the measure to “Jim Crow” laws. Many labor-friendly Democrats on the committee recoiled; the proposal was shelved.

This year, the idea has been given a bit more time for debate, though the trades and some lawmakers have still complained of a process they see as rushed.

When Quirk-Silva’s bill was introduced in early February, it focused solely on townhouse regulations. The wage language was added only in time for its second committee hearing in late April. (Quirk-Silva’s staff declined to make her available for an interview to explain that delay or discuss the bill in general, citing personal family matters. On the Assembly floor, she explained the late addition in part by noting “severe health issues” among staff and family members.)

Since then the entirety of the legislative debate has been focused on the wage issue.

That itself is a notable development: The bill exempts the construction of townhomes from both environmental review and the jurisdiction of elected local city councils and planning boards. Just a few years ago, such a proposal would have made for a capitol-shaking, headline-grabbing fight. But a year after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law exempting most urban housing developments from environmental litigation, the land-use implications appear to be an afterthought.

At an Assembly floor vote last month, San Diego Assemblymember Chris Ward referred to the minimum wage issue as the “900 pound gorilla.” He, like many Democrats who spoke on the bill, said that he supported the legislation in general, but that he remained wary of the “unresolved” questions about how the new wage rate would affect existing labor standards.

The bill needed 41 out of 80 “yes” votes to move onto the Senate. It passed with just 47.

Hike or pay cut?

Quirk-Silva’s office tried to get around the prevailing wage fight early on.

Prevailing wages are required of publicly funded works, including many affordable housing projects. They are set by the California Department of Industrial Relations, which sets its rates based on the most common wage for each job type in each region of the state.

Quirk-Silva’s bill specifically bars the state department from taking the new $28 per hour townhome wages into account when running those calculations, lest a glut of townhome builders inadvertently bring down the wages owed to union roofers and plumbers.

The trades aren’t satisfied with that concession. That’s because the federal government conducts its own wage surveys and set its own prevailing wage for federally-funded infrastructure projects.

The current federal prevailing wage required for a residential roofer in Sacramento, for example, is $46.73 per hour plus benefits. That number is based on the most common wage paid for that job in the area or — if no single rate is paid to at least 30% of the workers in the survey — on the regional average.

“The federal government won’t give a rat’s ass about what this bill says,” Scott Wetch, a lobbyist for Trades-affiliated unions, said at the bill’s April hearing. “And they will set the prevailing wage rate for all the crafts at $28.”

The trades “have a case” in this argument, said Kevin Duncan, an economist at Colorado State University Pueblo who has studied prevailing wage policy’s effect on construction costs. Imagine a smaller market with a relatively low unionization rate. If the bill uncorked a geyser of contractors paying all their low-wage workers exactly $28 per hour, “that would be the prevailing rate — and with zero benefits,” he said.

Backers of the bill dispute that, saying such a specific outcome is unlikely given how many contractors are likely to use this specific townhouse bill. They also argue that vanishingly few residential roofers do federal public works jobs in Sacramento — or anywhere in California — so changes in the federal prevailing wage for residential projects aren’t likely to affect many workers anyway. Instead, most roofers are non-union on privately-funded projects and many are being paid less than $28 per hour, said Danny Curtin, director of the California Council of Carpenters.

To say that raising those wages “will actually bring everybody else’s wages down, defies comprehension,” he said at the hearing.

PREVIOUSLY:

• ELECTION NIGHT FINAL: Despite a (Probably) Large Number of Votes Left to Count, Mary Burke and Audrey Hanks are Certain Shoo-Ins 

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Press release from the Humboldt County Elections Office:

Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes and the Humboldt County Office of Elections is committed to keeping voters informed about ballot processing and election results reporting for the June 2, 2026 Statewide Direct Primary Election and is providing the following update:

There are 84,944 registered voters in Humboldt County who were mailed ballots for the election on June 2. Out of these ballots, as of midday on Thursday, June 4, the Elections Office has received and processed 19,370 ballots and has approximately 21,151 ballots left to process.

Ballot Type	Number of Unprocessed Ballots
Provisional	286
Vote-By-Mail	20,823
Ballots from Voting Locations	42

Election Results Reporting

Election results updates will be released twice a week, beginning Friday, June 5 at 5 p.m. Additional updates are anticipated to be released around 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday each week until the election is certified.

The election’s canvass period began Thursday, June 4, and provides a 30-day window after Election Day to ensure all legal votes are counted accurately. During this time, the Elections Office verifies voter eligibility, confirms mail-in ballot signatures, processes provisional and conditional ballots and conducts the manual tally of one percent of all precincts.

All valid vote-by-mail ballots will be counted regardless of the outcome or closeness of any race if they are postmarked by Tuesday, June 2 and arrive by Tuesday, June 9.

For more information on ballot processing or election results reporting, please contact the Humboldt County Office of Elections at 707-445-7481 or email humboldt_elections@co.humboldt.ca.us.

About the Humboldt County Office of Elections

The Humboldt County Office of Elections is dedicated to conducting fair, accurate and transparent elections, ensuring the voice of the community is heard and that electoral integrity is maintained. The Elections Office is committed to upholding the democratic process, providing reliable information and maintaining an open line of communication with the public. For more information, visit humboldtgov.org/elections.