Joel John Roberts, born in Eureka, April 16, 1939. Peaceful passing May 9, 2023 at St. Joseph Hospital.

Joel was a local longshoreman for 35 years in Eureka local 14, until he retired.

Survived by his wife of 63 years, Priscilla Ramsey Roberts, grandson Mathew John Roberts and Mathew’s sons Darian and Bentley; his sister Roseann Straw and her daughter Jeannie Rush of Mad River; cousins Wesley Fulton of Arcata and his sister Titia Fulton, of Campbell, Calif.

He was preceded in death my his parents, Albert and Kathleen Johnson Roberts and two sons, Kenneth and Dennis Roberts.

Mathew recently married Jessica Roberts and became stepfather to Jessica’s four daughters. Finally, girls in the family. 

Visitation is on Saturday, May 13, 2023, 2 p.m. at Paul’s Chapel in Arcata. Sorry for the lateness of this timing. Private burial Ocean View Cemetery.

Give our boys a hug. I love you, Priscilla.

###

###

Press release from Cal Poly Humboldt:

Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom shared a revision of his administration’s proposed state budget for 2023-24 fiscal year.

As highlighted in the CSU Statement on Governor’s May Revision 2023-24 Budget Proposal, the May Revision maintains the $227.3 million ongoing funding increase to the CSU that was included in the Governor’s initial budget proposal. Newsom’s plan also includes a new approach to funding a portion of the investment in Cal Poly Humboldt’s polytechnic transformation.

Under this proposal, Cal Poly Humboldt would still be able to deliver the critical projects needed to support enrollment growth, expand access to affordable housing, and build infrastructure for new programs.

The proposal calls for shifting $201 million in General Fund support for Cal Poly Humboldt infrastructure projects to bonds issued by California State University. In exchange, the state will provide $16 million in new, ongoing funding to cover the cost of servicing the debt for polytechnic infrastructure projects. This proposed change is related to one-time funding, and does not impact the ongoing polytechnic funding of $25 million.

The issuing of state revenue bonds is a standard process in the CSU to support infrastructure projects. Currently, for example, Cal Poly Humboldt is strategically using system revenue bonds to fund part of the new Student Housing Project at St. Louis Road.

In 2021, Gov. Newsom and the state legislature approved $458 million ($433 million in one-time funding and $25 million in ongoing funds) to help support the polytechnic vision.

Funding from that historic investment was allocated to launch academic programs. It was also allocated to fund extensive infrastructure improvements and new facilities that directly support student success and retention and allows Cal Poly Humboldt to build out new programs and enhance current academic offerings.

HUMBOLDT TODAY: There have been multiple arrests for felony sexual crimes this week; law enforcement have released an image of the suspect in a recent Hoopa bank robbery; plus, San Marino week continues! Catch up on the Humboldt day that was in today’s online newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.

FURTHER READING: 

• Arcata Man Arrested on Suspicion of Sexually Assaulting Two Children, Sheriff’s Office Says
• McKinleville Man Arrested for Possession of Child Pornography After Weeks-Long Investigation, Sheriff’s Office Says

HUMBOLDT TODAY can be viewed on LoCO’s homepage each night starting at 6 p.m.

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

###

Representatives from Cal Poly Humboldt, California State University, the City of Arcata and more gathered at the long-vacant Craftsman Mall site in Arcata Friday morning to celebrate the official groundbreaking of the university’s largest-ever student housing development. 

“This project underscores Cal Poly Humboldt’s exciting future as a polytechnic,” Tom Jackson, president of Cal Poly Humboldt said during the ceremony. “Student housing will be the first facility built as part of our polytechnic agenda, and also demonstrates our commitment to honor the designation with great responsibility as we continue to maintain the commitment to invest infrastructure resources for our polytechnic transformation.” 

The university (back when it was still HSU) purchased the property in 2020, saying that it would be set aside for some kind of future development. Many Arcata residents no doubt remember that for several years the property was slated to be developed into a large-scale housing development known as “the Village” — a proposed project that was met with controversy, community debate and seemingly endless deliberations from the Arcata City Council, until the developers withdrew their application in 2020. 

As many people would have guessed, the university decided to use the property to build additional student housing and announced plans for the roughly $200 million project earlier this year. Developers Sundt Construction and SCB Construction expect to complete the project by 2025. 

The facility will consist of two large buildings, hold 241 units (a combination of two, three and four-bedroom apartments) and will house up to 964 students.  In addition to the housing units, the site will hold 328 parking spaces, a covered bike storage, recreation facilities, a fitness center, a courtyard, common lounges, study and conference spaces and a café/market that will be available for students, university employees and other members of the community. The facility will also meet LEED sustainability standards, with electric vehicle charging stations and a high-efficiency irrigation system for the landscaping.

President Tom Jackson and Larry L. Adamson, alumni trustee

Mike Fisher, associate vice president for facilities management, said during the ceremony that the university will also be creating an “accessible shuttle service” that will provide transportation between the new student housing site, campus, off-site parking and the university’s new Health Care Education Hub, which will take over the old warehouse on Samoa Boulevard. 

Fisher added that Cal Poly Humboldt partnered with the City of Arcata to complete a segment of the Annie and Mary Trail, which will run alongside the housing site and connect to Sunset Ave. The entire trail is planned to eventually connect from the Bay Trail all the way to Blue Lake. 

Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer told the Outpost that developers should complete the segment of the trail by the time the housing development opens in 2025 and that the city and the university will likely share trail maintenance duties. Diemer added that she is excited to see a housing project finally moving forward on the Craftsman Mall site. 

“People talk a lot about the relationship between the university and the city and the truth is we are completely interwoven,” Diemer said during the ceremony. “Building and partnering on this future housing for students is just one really natural extension of that partnership.”

Trinity Bowie with her award-winning painting.

Press release from St. Bernard’s Academy art teacher Maya Makino:

When Trinity Bowie got a call from an unknown number she assumed it was a spam call. Luckily, she picked up, because U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman was on the line. He was calling to congratulate Trinity, a 17 year old junior at St. Bernard’s Academy in Eureka, for winning the Second District congressional art competition, a nationwide high school visual art contest.

The winning piece from each district is displayed at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. for one year. Trinity and the other winners will be flown to D.C. to be honored at an awards ceremony.

Trinity’s painting, “Balance in Two Worlds”, was created as part of her Advanced Placement Art portfolio, which focused on modern indigenous culture. Trinity is a member of the Bear River Band Rancheria.

In her artist’s statement Trinity wrote: “This is a painting of myself after a ceremony in my traditional regalia, that is all hand-made. As I stand looking at a modern world it feels like there is no place for Native Culture anymore. The church is a major element (considering the decades of damage the catholic church inflicted on my people, especially during the boarding school era.) The blue jays in the tree show significance because their feathers are important and used to make the veil in the flower dance (women’s coming of age ceremony) Which I will be having for myself very soon.”

Maya Makino, Trinity’s art teacher at St. Bernard’s Academy, said, “Trinity is an exceptional artist and student. She is a focused artist who creates pieces with deep layers of meaning. I’m excited for Trinity’s bright creative future.”

It happens that Trinity will fly to D.C. on her 18th birthday. What a way to celebrate!

California’s estimated budget deficit has grown by $9 billion since January, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today, though the governor downplayed the severity of its potential impact on critical government services and programs.

During a press conference at the California Natural Resources Agency in downtown Sacramento, Newsom unveiled a revised spending plan that will rely on some additional fiscal gimmicks — including shifting funding sources and internal borrowing — to address a projected $31.5 billion gap in the 2023-24 state budget.

“We have a $31.5 billion challenge, which is well within the margin of expectation and well within our capacity to address,” Newsom said.

Despite the growing shortfall, California’s overall budget is now expected to be $306 billion, including special funds, less than a 1% decline from the current fiscal year, a record $308 billion.

Newsom proposes to close the deficit by shifting $3.3 billion in existing commitments out of the general fund, including paying for $1.1 billion in climate spending and $1.1 billion in college student housing projects with bonds, and pulling back another $1 billion in unused money from programs such as middle class tax refunds and utility bill support for low-income residents.

Under the governor’s plan, the state would also borrow $1.2 billion from special funds and extend a $2.5 billion on managed care health plans to address the spending gap. Extensive savings would remain largely untouched, though Newsom did propose to make a $450 million from one reserve account.

California’s fiscal picture has largely worsened since January, when finance officials projected the state would face a deficit of $22.5 billion. Newsom called it a “modest shortfall” and proposed to delay some spending commitments, reverse recent steps to shore up the state’s fiscal health and shift around funding sources to limit program cuts.

Enduring high inflation, turmoil in the regional banking sector and a showdown in Washington, D.C., over raising the federal debt limit have all deepened the economic headwinds. Monthly tax revenues came in billions of dollars below forecasts this spring, and fears of a recession continue to loom, which Newsom said could reduce state revenues by tens of billions of dollars even in the mildest scenario.

“That is an uncertainty that we must take very seriously and very soberly,” he said.

Adding to the unpredictability, most Californians don’t have to file their income taxes until October because of the intense damage and disruption from winter storms. Officials estimate that $42 billion in payments will be delayed until the new deadline.

The governor’s updated budget proposal kicks off a month of negotiations with the Legislature, which must pass a budget by June 15 to get paid.

Legislative leaders have been largely optimistic about the budget situation, arguing that they have plenty of fiscal tools at their disposal to avoid deep spending cuts. Last month, Senate Democrats pitched raising taxes on large corporations, an idea that Newsom quickly rejected.

With less money to go around, however, the challenge is getting everyone to agree about what should take the hit. Some lawmakers have already raised objections to potential cuts for climate programs and public transit funding that the governor proposed in January.

It will be the first budget process for many of them; nearly a third of the entire Legislature was newly elected in November. And aside from a brief downturn at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, most have faced only surpluses and growing revenues during their tenures. Because of term limits, there are only a handful of legislators who were around during the last recession more than a decade ago.

###

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

New signs for the times have popped up in Arcata. Cal Poly Humboldt, you are now fully christened. Details from Caltrans below:

JUST IN TIME FOR GRADUATION! Our North Sign Crew replaced Humboldt State signs with new Cal Poly Humboldt signs on U.S. 101 in Arcata. Please be mindful to watch out for visitors and increased traffic this weekend for commencement on Saturday at Redwood Bowl.

From Caltrans District 1, we congratulate all the graduates on your outstanding accomplishment!