Leon Thomas Warmuth was born into the depression in 1933 near the town of San Joaquin California, not far from Fresno. His dad, Otto, was a share cropper. His mother, Leona, picked cotton.  He was the fifth of six children and had three sisters and two brothers.  

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

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Keith Hess, who died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Keith was a beloved husband, father, friend, son, brother, and uncle. He leaves behind happy memories in so many hearts.

Keith grew up in the East Bay, where he enjoyed hunting with his dad and dad’s friends at Elk Creek. His father also taught him how to navigate the San Francisco Bay in their Boston Whaler, “the Kraken.” That love of fishing extended into Humboldt, where he fished the six rivers, Humboldt Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. In recent years, “the Kraken” became one of Keith’s favorite hobbies.

He had a tight-knit family and spent his childhood playing ball with cousins and neighborhood friends. He loved his Gramma and Grandpa Hess, staying over, drinking Dr Pepper at night, and having coffee in bed in the morning. He masterminded a French fry competition between both sets of grandparents to ensure he and Jen always had the best fries. He loved his father, Dean; mother, Karen; and sister, Jen, fiercely.

His high school friends, the Vagrants, from Bishop O’Doud got into all kinds of mischief and fun. Keith had a talent for making friends with just about anybody, a stranger to nobody. He was fiercely loyal and always willing to help a friend in need without question.

He graduated from Humboldt State University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Planning. While at HSU, rugby became a passion. At one point, the only class he was taking was rugby. Keith became a legend among the rugby community. He played Division I for HSU in the late ‘80s when Humboldt would play against teams like Cal Berkeley and Stanford. After graduating, Keith and other graduates started the Old Growth Men’s program. In those days, eleven guys would travel to play games without ever practicing, finding players on the way. His familiar knock on the door, accompanied by his characteristic exclamation, “Hey fool, we are going to Chico!” will be etched in the memories of all who experienced his enthusiasm. Every year at alumni events, you would find Keith helping the youth learn the game (well, the game as he saw it). He enjoyed traveling with the Bald Eagles Over 45 team, touring with the select side.

The relationships he built were always at the forefront of his career in natural resources. He worked on many projects in both private consulting and with the Army Corps of Engineers, including wetland delineations, gravel extraction permitting, environmental impact reports, statements, and fire cleanups in California. He worked on so many sites for so many people that the number of keys hanging from his keychain broke the ignition in his truck. He was most proud of his extensive work within the gravel community in Humboldt County, and his dedication to them is beyond description.

Keith was an extraordinary and generous man who lived life with passion and kindness. He was always available to help the down-and-out. He will be fondly remembered as a rugby legend and cherished friend, at times an ass, but always loyal. But most of all, he loved his children, Jade, Rachel, and Jessie, and his wife, Karna. His family was his greatest and fiercest passion and joy. They remember him as the loudest man on the sideline, cheering them on and pushing them to be better, arguing while watching TV, and knowing the depth of his love. As the coach of a Fortuna High rugby team he helped found for his kids, he was a passionate man who lived and loved big.

A memorial to honor Keith’s life will be held on August 5th, on the Van Duzen River, Exit 685, at 5 p.m. Please bring a camp chair, blanket, all-wheel vehicle, and a dish to share. Signs will be posted at the exit, or you may send a message to khessmemorial@gmail.com for more information.

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

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Press release from Rotary Club of Eureka:

In honor of its centennial year, the Rotary Club of Eureka is offering a single $100,000 grant from the Glyndon “Sign” and Ruth Smith Endowment Fund to a community project that benefits residents in the greater Eureka area.

The purpose for the grant, through Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation, is to support charitable organizations and projects. International projects will be considered providing a non-USA Rotary Club is involved. Applications will be accepted from July 24 through Sept. 4. 

In years past, the Rotary Club has distributed “Sign” & Ruth Smith grants for numerous community projects with grantees including the Northern California Blood Bank, Food For People, Redwood Art Association, and Humboldt Trails Council.

The Rotary Club of Eureka, which celebrates its centennial in October, will consider projects that may need other sources of funding to complete the work, providing that there is sufficient funding from all sources to complete the project in a reasonable amount of time.
About the fund:

In 1996, the Rotary Club received a gift of nearly $700,000 from the estate of one of its former members, Mr. Glyndon “Sign” Smith and his wife, Ruth. The funds are held and invested by the Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation. The annual proceeds are awarded as grants each year.

Visit the Rotary Club of Eureka website at www.rotary1.org/

For more information about HAF+WRCF, visit hafoundation.org.

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Press release from the Humboldt County Elections Office:

The Humboldt County Office of Elections is seeking input from Humboldt County voters on the county’s draft Election Administration Plan (EAP).

Background

The County of Humboldt will soon be transitioning to the California Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) elections format. Approved by California lawmakers in 2016, and established by Senate Bill 450, the VCA expands voters’ options for how, when and where they cast their ballots by:

• Mailing every voter a ballot.
• Expanding in-person early voting.
• Allowing voters to cast a ballot at any vote center within the county.
• Providing secure ballot drop off locations throughout the county.

Under California law the Office of Elections is required to submit an EAP that describes how the County of Humboldt will administer elections under the VCA. To meet the state’s requirements, the Office of Elections must engage voters on the draft EAP and gather public feedback.

The county’s draft EAP can be reviewed at humboldtgov.org/VotersChoiceAct.

Public Comment

Public comment on the draft EAP will be accepted until Wednesday, Aug. 16 at noon. Feedback can be submitted through the online submission form, by email at humboldt_elections@co.humboldt.ca.us or over the phone at (707) 445-7481. 

Additionally, the Registrar of Voters will hold a public hearing to discuss the draft EAP on Thursday, Aug. 17 from 6 to 8 p.m.at Arcata City Hall in the Council Chamber, located at 736 F St., Arcata, CA. Community members are invited to attend and participate in person or on Zoom to share their input. For more information on the public hearing, call (707) 445-4841.
For more information on the Voter’s Choice Act, please visit the California Voter’s Choice Act website.

About the Humboldt County Office of Elections

The Humboldt County Office of Elections is committed to ensuring all eligible residents have an opportunity to exercise their right to vote; conducting elections in a fair, accurate, and efficient manner; and providing reliable information and the best possible service to voters, districts, candidates, and other interested parties. For more information, visit humboldtgov.org/elections.

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Press release from Coast Central Credit Union:

Coast Central Credit Union (CCCU) announced that the fall 2023 round of its Community Investment Program is now open. With the Board of Directors’ approval of an increase up to $300,000 in grants annually, $150,000 is available this round to support local organizations throughout Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity counties. Grant amounts generally range from $3,000 to a maximum of $25,000, and there are usually 8 to 12 recipients. The giving program was created in 2008, and since then has awarded a total of over $2 million to more than 200 organizations throughout its tri-county service area. 

New change: applications are now due directly to Coast Central via email at marketing@coastccu.org or by mail to Coast Central Credit Union Marketing Department, 2650 Harrison Ave., Eureka, CA 95501. To apply and for more information, visit coastccu.org under the Community tab. For question, contact VP Marketing & Communications Colleen Toste at (707) 445-8801 x 1309 or ctoste@coastccu.org. Applications must be received by 5 pm on Thursday, August 31. Recipients will be announced mid-October. 

In 2023 CCCU is on track for an unprecedented $650,000 in total community giving through its grant, sponsorship, and college scholarship programs. Additionally, its employees have volunteered over 3,000 hours year to date throughout its three counties. Through banking with CCCU, individuals and businesses directly support these efforts.

Coast Central Credit Union is the largest member-owned financial institution in the area, with $2 billion in assets, nearly 77,000 members, and operating 11 Member Services Branches throughout Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties, including McKinleyville, open six days a week and Bayshore Mall, open seven days a week. Members also have free access to Online and Mobile Banking and a fee-free network of 30,000 ATMs nationwide. More information is available at coastccu.org, facebook.com/coastcentral, @coastccu on Instagram, or by calling (707) 445-8801.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Alan Wayne Mills Booking Photo | Humboldt County Correctional Facility

On July 30, 2023, at about 11:28 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the Swimmer’s Delight Campground near Carlotta for the report of a disturbance.

While enroute, deputies learned that two adult female victims had been privately transported to a local hospital for treatment of moderate injuries.

At the campground, deputies contacted numerous involved individuals, including 22-year-old Alan Wayne Mills. During their investigation, deputies learned that an argument occurred at the campground between Mills and another male, which escalated to a physical altercation. During this altercation, Mills reportedly began throwing camp chairs, striking and injuring the two adult females.

Mills was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of battery with serious bodily injury (PC 243(d)), assault by force likely to produce great bodily injury (PC 245(a)(4)) and causing injury to an elder adult (PC 368(b)(1)).

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.

Ashley Hooks always planned to retire at Lakewood Regional Medical Center, where she has been a nurse for 12 years. But now, Hooks said, staffing issues are so bad and burnout so severe that she’s rethinking how she wants to spend the rest of her career.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the number of nurses at the hospital dropped from just below 500 to 330 according to her union’s roster, said Hooks, who is 53.

“It wasn’t even this difficult during the height of the COVID pandemic,” she said.

Hooks’ stress reflects pressure many California nurses are under because of steep understanding that she and others say is driving many professionals out of the industry.

According to the Hospital Association of Southern California, nursing vacancy rates among local hospitals exceed 30%. Prior to the pandemic the average vacancy rate was 6%.

“Within the last year and a half or so, it’s really gotten worse,” Hooks said.

Now the Legislature is looking at several ideas to address the nursing shortage by bringing more early-career nurses into the field. But so far, the groups with most to gain — or lose — are at odds over how to solve the staffing problems afflicting California’s health care workforce.

Labor organizations and hospitals want nursing schools to prioritize certain applicants for admission, such as people who already have experience in the industry.

“We don’t have enough nurses entering the system as opportunities are opening up for them to leave the system,” said Peter Sidhu, a nurse and executive vice president of United Nurses Associations of California/United Health Care Professionals.

But the schools say that won’t help them graduate more nurses. They need more faculty and more hands-on training opportunities to increase class sizes.

Hospitals and unions say they don’t have much time to waste. Estimates show California faces a shortage of about 36,000 licensed nurses, according to the UC San Francisco Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care.

Preliminary data from a statewide survey conducted in 2022 shows nurses cut back on the number of hours worked per week since 2020, and nearly half the workforce reports symptoms of burnout, said Joanne Spetz, director of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UC San Francisco, who has studied nursing workforce issues for more than a decade.

More nurses, even those as young as 35, are thinking about leaving the profession entirely or retiring within the next two years, and half of the workforce had at least one patient die of COVID-19, Spetz said.

“There is a lot of trauma in the nursing workforce,” Spetz said. “The numbers are not good.”

Union-backed bills for nursing shortage

Labor advocates say the nursing shortage creates a vicious cycle. The nurses on shift wind up doing more work. They get burned out and flee the industry, worsening the problem.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the United Nurses Associations of California/United Health Care Professionals turned their attention to the state’s community college system, where graduates can earn degrees to become nursing assistants, licensed vocational nurses or registered nurses. Both groups say community colleges offer the most affordable and efficient way to earn a nursing degree.

One of their ideas aims to help high school students get into nursing schools faster. Another would give entry-level workers the chance to move into more skilled and higher paid positions like nursing.

Kaiser Permanente health care workers strike outside a Kaiser facility in Sacramento on July 25, 2023. Workers are on the picket lines to protest patient care crisis and unsafe staffing at Kaiser hospitals. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Sidhu’s union is sponsoring a bill that would create a pilot program for high school students who take extra classes to have preferential admission into a community college nursing program.

A second measure, which is co-sponsored by SEIU and the California Hospital Association, would require community colleges to set aside 15% of enrollment slots for health care workers looking to further their education with a more advanced degree. They say helping current workers get higher-paying jobs within health care will help with retention.

“When we talk to our hospital members, workforce issues are the number one thing that keep them up at night,” said Jan Emerson-Shea, spokesperson for the California Hospitals Association. “We also hear from employees that they’ve tried getting into community college programs, but because they’re so impacted, it can take them three, four or five years to get into the program.”

California colleges skeptical of union bills

But community college and some university nursing school leaders contend neither bill will boost the number of graduates. Nursing programs are full, they say, and the proposals do nothing to expand the number of admission slots.

“These bills come up and I wonder who on earth would propose something like this to impact the community colleges without getting our input,” said Tammy Vant Hul, south region president of the California Organization of Associate Degree Nursing Program Directors.

Vant Hul is also dean of nursing at Riverside City College, the second largest community college nursing program in the state. High school students would not have completed enough prerequisites to apply directly to a nursing program, much less be guaranteed admission, Vant Hul said, and existing health care workers already get additional points during the admissions process.

The problem isn’t generating career interest in nursing; it’s creating more spots, program leaders say.

Karen Bradley, president of the California Association of Colleges of Nursing, said nursing programs have an overabundance of competitive applicants.

“We have not had a dip at all in enrollment in my program. I have a waiting list,” said Bradley, who is also dean of California Baptist University’s nursing program. “Every dean is going to tell you that they have a waiting list or enough qualified applicants that they turn away students.”

About 14,000 new students enrolled in nursing programs during the 2020-21 school year, according to the Board of Registered Nursing’s annual school report. That’s about 1,000 fewer students than the previous two years due to smaller class sizes, but schools across the state received more than 55,000 applications, a 10-year record.

The bills’ sponsors say they have spoken with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, which has not taken a position on any of the workforce bills.

Separate from the bills, United Nurses Associations of California/United Health Care Professionals lobbied for a $300 million investment over five years to double the state’s nursing school capacity. It was included in the state budget Gov. Gavin Newsom signed earlier this summer.

The details of how the money will be spent have not been decided, Sidhu said, but it could be used to increase faculty salaries and overcome other factors that limit class sizes.

More room needed for California nurse trainees

Representatives for nursing programs say the money will be helpful, but they’re worried about other bottlenecks that they say prevent them from enrolling more students.

Lack of nursing faculty caps class sizes, for instance, with potential educators instead choosing to make more money working in health care. They also say hospitals are not offering enough opportunities for their students to get hands-on training.

“As we move forward with the nursing shortage, clinical placements are an issue. So many hospitals kind of downsized their willingness to bring on students during the pandemic, and those spots never came back,” said Linda Zorn, legislative chair for the California Organization of Associate Degree Nursing and executive director of economic and workforce development for Butte-Glenn Community College District.

A third proposal in the Legislature attempts to clear that hurdle by guaranteeing clinical placement spots for community college students. A mix of opponents are fighting the bill, including hospitals, four-year universities and some community college advocates who say it will take spots away from other students and overwhelm nursing staff.

“Some hospitals aren’t big enough. They can’t take on hundreds of students. They have 25 beds,” said Sarah Bridge, senior legislative advocate for the Association of Health Care Districts, which represents primarily small, rural hospitals in the state.

During the 2020-21 school year, the most commonly cited reason by nursing schools for decreasing class sizes was “unable to secure clinical placements,” according to the Board of Registered Nursing’s annual school report, in part due to workforce challenges resulting from the pandemic. The report states that more than 15,000 students were impacted by restricted training spots compared to roughly 2,200 students during the 2018-19 school year.

Bridge said many small and rural hospitals also are teetering on the edge of a financial crisis. It costs about $7,000 to train one student, not including the salary cost of nurses who supervise students. Multiply that by the number of student trainees accepted and some hospitals can’t foot the bill, Bridge said.

Zorn said nursing schools know they have to be sensitive to how many students get sent to any one hospital, which is part of the reason many are skeptical of the bill. The number of student training spots recently has been limited by the profession’s thinly stretched workforce.

“It can close down the rural hospitals if you don’t have the correct staffing,” Zorn said.

Leaders from four-year degree programs also say the proposal would displace their nursing students in favor of community college students.

The bill sponsors say the intent of the legislation is to create more training capacity, not to displace existing students, as some critics have claimed, said Eric Robles, legislative director for United Nurses Associations of California/United Health Care Professionals.

“If hospitals are getting bailouts, I would sure hope everybody believes our nurse workforce needs a bailout too,” Robles said. “And that bailout can come through strengthening the pipeline, growing the workforce and maintaining the workforce.”

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