HUMBOLDT TODAY: Fortuna police conduct a sting operation, a pair of suspected mail thieves are arrested, plus weekend happenings, weather and more in today’s newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.

FURTHER READING: 

• INTRODUCING CUB TRACKS! Arcata’s New Nature-Based Education Program for Little Kiddos
• One Arrested For Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor in Fortuna
• California Lawmakers Try Again to Cap Insulin Costs
• Two Face Charges In Connection With Mail Thefts; Roughly 60 Community Boxes Were Broken Into, Postmaster Says

Want to LISTEN to HUMBOLDT TODAY? Subscribe to the podcast version here.

Press release from the City of Eureka:

During the December 20, 2022 M6.4 earthquake, the Lloyd Building sustained significant damage, in addition to historic damage to and deterioration of the structure. In consultation with a structural engineer, the City of Eureka determined the building to be a danger to passersby and first responders, ultimately necessitating its demolition. As such, the City is preparing for demolition of the Lloyd building in the coming weeks.

In advance of the actual demolition, certain preparatory work must be completed, including asbestos and lead abatement, which will continue until February 17th. This will allow demolition of the building to start on Monday, February 20th and last until the end of March.

The parking lot at 5th and D Streets will also be closed starting Monday, February 6th and will remain closed through the completion of demolition.

This work requires lane closures and will typically be performed between the hours of 7:00 am to 6:00 pm daily, WEATHER PERMITTING. There will be controlled traffic and detours in the vicinity at certain times, and motorists should expect short delays. Alternate routes are advised. The patience and cooperation of motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians in the vicinity of the work is greatly appreciated.

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Preschoolers and kindergarteners are unique creatures, generally bursting with curiosity, creativity and energy. Lots and lots of energy! With children that age so eager to explore, learn and move their bodies, it might be a good time for parents to sign them up for a nature-based program, where kids can learn while getting the fresh air and exercise they need. 

Brendan Sloan Clarke, an educator and nature guide, is partnering with the City of Arcata’s Recreation Division to offer Cub Tracks – a nature-based education program for children ages four to six, where children get to learn by connecting with their local natural environment, something Clarke says is very important for children of that age. 

“I think [nature-based education] is important at every age,” Clarke told the Outpost in a phone interview earlier this week. “Specific to four-to-six-year-olds, there’s a lot of amazing biological growth happening. Something like 90 percent of the brain is developed by age six.”

Clarke

Clarke has been teaching for 15 years and has spent more than a decade working in nature-based education. Like it sounds, nature-based education focuses on learning through interacting with nature and incorporating natural elements into the curriculum. Nature-based education – sometimes called outdoor education or nature-based learning – is becoming an increasingly popular model for early childhood education, with more  outdoor preschools sprouting up across the country. Some schools and daycares started meeting outside during the pandemic, when it was a safer way to gather, and have continued the practice because of how well the children respond to increased outdoor activities.  

Living and educating all around the country, from the East Coast, to Chicago, to Southern California and the Bay Area, Clarke came to Humboldt County after he was offered an opportunity to work with the Yurok Tribe and bring more nature-based education to the Klamath Trinity Unified School District. Of course, Clarke loved the natural beauty of the area – a perfect place to pursue his passion, and eventually relocated to the area with his wife and four-year-old son and is working to offer his nature-based education programs to different parts of the county. 

Cub Tracks, offered through the City of Arcata, is a four-week program that meets at the Arcata Community Forest on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The childrens’ time will be spent both indoors at the Redwood Lounge and outdoors in the park and on the forest trails. Activities will include things like playing games, sharing stories and crafting using natural materials. For example, Clarke will teach the children to make cord out of plant fibers. 

Of course, one of the main focuses is spending time outdoors and the children will spend a lot of time going on “wanders” through nature. Clarke explained that unlike a hike, a “wander” focuses on letting the children explore their surroundings and allows them to move at their own pace. They will learn names of flora and fauna and important things like what plants are edible, but also focus on feeling connected with the surroundings.

“We’re not focused on a destination, but rather on letting curiosity guide what we do,” Clarke told the Outpost. “We gently steer [the children] toward observing, listening, touching, tasting, feeling – in a way that’s less about information and more about intimacy.” 

Clarke is working on a larger scale program called Inspire Education, which focuses on intertwining education with nature connection and social justice issues. Eventually, Clarke hopes to open a school with a K-12 curriculum that supports “education for whole communities and a healthy planet…designed to foster social equity and climate resilience.” You can learn more about Clarke’s program vision on Inspire Education’s website. 

The first session of Club Tracks will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 7, with more sessions being added in the future. The program can hold eight children, and when we last spoke with the City, the enrollment was completely open. The cost is $720 for local residents and $732 for non-residents. That may seem like a hefty fee to some, so the City can help by offering a 30 percent discount to income-qualified families. You can sign up for the discount through the City of Arcata’s Youth Development Scholarship program. If you qualify, the 30 percent scholarship will apply to all the youth activities offered through the City of Arcata. 

You can find more info and sign up for the Cub Tracks program here. 

Fortuna Police Department press release: 

This operation was conducted as part of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s Minor Decoy / Shoulder Tap Grant Project. The project is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

On Monday January 30, 2023, the Fortuna Police Department with assistance from the Alcoholic Beverage Control conducted a Decoy Shoulder Tap Operation within the city limits of Fortuna. The operation was conducted to help reduce youth access to alcoholic beverages and make the community safer.

Under the program, a minor under the direct supervision of a peace officer will stand outside a liquor or convenience store and ask patrons to buy them alcohol. The minor indicates in some way he or she is underage and cannot purchase the alcohol. If the adults agree, and purchase alcohol for the minor, officers then arrest them, issuing them a citation for furnishing alcohol to the minor. The penalty for furnishing alcohol to a minor is a minimum $1000 fine and 24 hours of community service. The program is intended to reduce the availability of alcohol to minors.

As a result of the operation, 18 patrons were asked to purchase alcohol for the minor. Of the 18 patrons, only one of those patrons agreed and was arrested. Jason Fredrick Dean Matthys (Age 52) of Fortuna was arrested and released with a citation for violation of Business and Professions Code 25658(a) – Furnishing alcohol to a minor.

The Fortuna Police Department remains committed to public safety and transparency. Any questions regarding this grant program or incident can be directed to the Patrol Sergeant, Gabe Charlton at (707)- 725-7550.

As many diabetics across the Golden State struggle with insulin costs, California’s efforts to make the medication more affordable have yet to yield results. This year, lawmakers will revisit legislation that would address at least one piece of the affordability puzzle.

Senate Bill 90, by Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, would limit what diabetics pay out of pocket for their insulin — prohibiting state-regulated health insurance plans from imposing a deductible on those prescriptions and capping the copay at $35 for a 30-day supply. The current copay limit is $250.

The bill, advocates say, is meant to provide some immediate relief to consumers as the state works on a more ambitious plan to develop its own low-cost insulin. That’s expected to take at least two to three years.

California legislators have tried passing cost-sharing caps in the past without success. Last session’s bill, carried by former Republican Sen. Patricia Bates of Laguna Niguel, died in an Assembly committee. Despite bipartisan support, the insurance industry pushed back, arguing that capping costs only on the consumer’s end does little to tackle the underlying issue: the list price of insulin.

“I would never suggest that the only problem is copays; overall cost is also a problem,” Wiener said. “We absolutely need to limit what consumers are paying out of pocket at the same time that we do this other structural work around the cost of insulin.”

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have enacted caps on copays, ranging from $25 to $100 a month, said Dr. Francisco Prieto, a family physician and advocacy chair for the American Diabetes Association, which is sponsoring Wiener’s bill.

“We are the largest state in the union, so we are also the largest target,” for the opposition, Prieto said. “We have not been able to get this through, but I fully expect that we will, hopefully this year.”

In California, an estimated 3.2 million people are diabetic, and many of them rely on insulin. An analysis for last year’s similar copay cap bill estimated that there are about 118,000 diabetics with insurance plans that would be subject to the state cap.

Last year, Congress passed a cap of $35 a month for diabetics covered by Medicare, the federal insurance program for seniors and people with disabilities, but abandoned a similar effort for people covered by private insurance. That law went into effect on Jan. 1, and in California it is expected to benefit about 108,000 people. Each patient is expected to save about $339 a year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The burden of insulin costs has a long history — stories about people rationing their medication and relying on the emergency room for their uncontrolled diabetes are common throughout the country. A recent national survey found that approximately 16.5% of insulin users ration their medication, usually by delaying the purchase of it. Rationing insulin leads to poor control of diabetes and is linked to increased instances of strokes, heart failure and kidney failure.

Compared to other countries, the U.S. is known to have the highest price tags for insulin — an average of $98.70 per vial, compared to $12 a vial in Canada, according to a 2020 analysis by the Rand Corporation, a public policy think tank. People usually need two to three vials a month, and some may need more. What people pay at the counter depends on their insurance coverage. People without insurance are on the hook for the full cost.

One recent drug spending report from California’s Department of Managed Health Care noted that among the 10 costliest brand name drugs insurers paid for in 2021, half were diabetes medications and three of those were insulins. Humulin, a short-acting insulin, was the most prescribed brand name drug after the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, according to the report.

To address costs on the manufacturing side, the state allocated $100 million in the 2022-23 budget for its CalRx Biosimilar Insulin initiative, which is the state’s plan to develop, manufacture and distribute its own insulin products. Half of that money is reserved for the development of insulins and the other half is reserved for a manufacturing facility in California. That money is available to be used through 2025-26.

The idea is that if the state can produce its own insulin — with the help of a pharmaceutical manufacturing partner — then it can set prices below current market rates.

So far there have been few updates from the state on the progress of the initiative, and the state hasn’t announced who it will partner with to manufacture its insulin. Experts say that because no other state has attempted this before, a manufacturing partner will be key in guiding the state through the approvals it needs from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

How long would this take? In a conversation published in December’s American College of Physicians Journals, Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s health secretary, said the plan is for California to have insulin on the shelves in the next 24 to 36 months.

A recent analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association noted that if California succeeds, CalRx insulin could potentially be sold throughout the country, driving competition beyond state lines.

Among the initiative’s potential challenges: sufficient funding to go forward. The initiative was launched in a flush budget year, but as California builds up its program, it will need ongoing dollars to sustain it and counter any potential backlash from other insulin makers, the analysis authors wrote.

As part of California’s push against high prescription drug prices, state Attorney General Rob Bonta last month announced he is suing drugmakers Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, along with pharmacy benefit managers CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRX. The suit cites unfair and deceptive business practices that inflate the price of treatment. Benefit managers serve as middlemen, negotiating prices with drugmakers and pharmacies on behalf of an insurer.

Wiener said he is watching both the attorney general’s case and the administration’s insulin initiative, but in the meantime he hopes this is the year the state passes its own caps on what consumers pay at the counter.

“We want to provide relief now,” he said.

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

On January 28, 2023, Linda Rae Woodruff Spallino entered the gates of heaven to join her husband and our Lord.

Linda was born December 17, 1939 to Marvin and Adah Woodruff in Redding, California.

While in high school, Linda and her family moved to Moonstone beach into a house her dad built. Linda attended Arcata High School, then Humboldt State where she eventually met and married her husband, Jim.

After college she began her teaching career. She was a teacher for a short time before she started her family. She raised two children but helped raise many. She was fondly known as “Nonni” or just “Nana”.

Linda was a proud parishioner of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Arcata. She loved helping at chicken and polenta dinner, cooking dinners for the homeless, making dinners for clergymen, and so many other church functions. She always loved serving her community and our Lord.

Linda was preceded in death by her sister Diane, father Marvin, mother Adah, niece Susan, and husband Jim.

She is survived by her children Kathy (Scott) Hicks, and Chris (Nancy) Spallino; grandchildren Nicole Morgenstern, Ashley Whipple, Miranda Taylor, Kristen Hicks, Marissa Spallino, Anthony Spallino, Jackson Hicks, and Joshua Hicks; and several nieces, nephews, and great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers or monetary donations, our family would like you to love and cherish one another and remember you are perfectly loved.

A viewing and rosary will be held on Friday February 10, 2023 at 5 p.m. at Sanders Funeral Home in Eureka. A funeral will be held on February 11, 2023 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Arcata with a small reception to follow.

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

A golden heart stopped beating and hardworking hands are now at rest.

Our loving mom, Charlene Yvonne Barto peacefully passed away on January 27, 2023 in Redding with family by her side.

She was born April 14, 1943 in Oroville to Charles Bryant and Eva “Ramsey” Bryant. Mom’s life started in Oroville, with her parents and three siblings later moving to Korbel, where she met and married Bill Barto, her husband of 40 years until his passing in 2001. They moved to Willow Creek in 1965 with their three children, Ronnie, Renee and Billie. They bought their first home in 1969 in Salyer, where mom resided until her passing.

Charlene was a wonderful, kind mom, grandma and great-grandma who was always there when any of us needed her. She loved her family and spending time with them. There is truly nothing she loved more than family and friends. She liked visiting people, and to Mom, no one was a stranger. She was a hard worker all of her life, never complaining. She liked working and had many different jobs in her lifetime. She worked in the mill pulling green chain and later becoming a clipper operator. She also worked in construction flagging. She would often mention how much she missed being a waitress, and talking and visiting with customers and friends. She prided herself in being a damn good waitress and she was. Many lifelong friends were made along the way, whether they were people passing through, or people she worked with. She always had a smile on her face and a funny story to share with anyone who would listen. One of moms favorite things to do was go to the casino and gamble. She loved the slot machines, and most of the time she was pretty darn lucky.

Mom was a gem of a lady. She was loved by many and will be remembered for her way of being funny without even trying, her outrageous stories that made your checks hurt you laughed so hard, her honesty, and her kindness to all.

We want to thank Rufus “Dick” Guffie for being moms partner and part of our family for the past 17 years. Thank you for loving her and taking care of her.

Charlene is preceded in death by her father and mother, Charles and Eva Bryant, her husband of 40 years Bill Barto, her Sister’s Arlene Skinner and Shirley, Brother, Ronnie Bryant, Nephew Ed Marmon. Charlene is survived by her children, Ronnie Barto (Sandra Barto), Renee Robinson (Jim Schrom), Billie Sanderson (Roger Sanderson).Grandchildren Christopher Barto, Tara Pulsipher (Jeffery), Alyssa Bengaua, (Euniel), Dustin Barto (Rutchel), Jessica Nulph, Richie Nixon (Erica), William Nixon (Cyndi), Whitney Sanderson, Ben Sanderson (Stella Jarnaghan), Her Great Grandchildren, Saige and Addison Pulsipher, Peyton, Jayden, Landon and Thomas Bengaura, Sam and Dean Barto, Devin and Haylee Young, Elijah, Noah, Wesley, Adriana and Riley Nixon, Niece Susie Leo, and Tina Bryant, Nephews, Larry and Gary Mormon, and Melvin Bryant.

Mom in life, we loved you dearly. In death we love you still. In our hearts you hold a special place, no one else can fill.

We are planning a celebration of life for Mom on Saturday, February 18, 2023 at the Willow Creek VFW hall at 2 p.m. Feel free to bring a favorite side dish or dessert and a memory or story to share as we honor this one-of-a-kind lady.

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