Dianne Feinstein, who has represented California in the United States Senate since 1992, has died at age 90.

Feinstein, who faced serious health problems and experienced rapid deterioration in recent months, decided not to run for reelection in 2024, but had brushed aside calls for her to step down from office.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has the power to appoint someone to fill out the rest of Feinstein’s term, which ends in January 2025, and will likely do so soon. 

Statement from Rep. Jared Huffman:

Dianne Feinstein leaves a profound and enduring legacy on so many big issues, from gun safety to reproductive choice, to human rights, to Lake Tahoe and the California Desert. Her contributions to California and the nation are unmatched, and I’m honored that I had a chance to serve and work with her.

Statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom:

Dianne Feinstein was many things – a powerful, trailblazing U.S. Senator; an early voice for gun control; a leader in times of tragedy and chaos. But to me, she was a dear friend, a lifelong mentor, and a role model not only for me, but to my wife and daughters for what a powerful, effective leader looks like.

She was a political giant, whose tenacity was matched by her grace. She broke down barriers and glass ceilings, but never lost her belief in the spirit of political cooperation. And she was a fighter — for the city, the state and the country she loved. Every race she won, she made history, but her story wasn’t just about being the first woman in a particular political office, it was what she did for California, and for America, with that power once she earned it. That’s what she should be remembered for.

There is simply nobody who possessed the strength, gravitas, and fierceness of Dianne Feinstein. Jennifer and I are deeply saddened by her passing, and we will mourn with her family in this difficult time.

Earning $17 an hour at a Los Angeles Jack-in-the-Box, Anneisha Williams has struggled for years to keep up with rent and bills. The Inglewood native is facing eviction, she said.

She teared up describing how Assembly Bill 1228, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in Los Angeles on Thursday, will affect her life by raising her hourly minimum wage to $20 in April.

More than half a million fast food workers will get the wage increase, most of them minorities and women, Newsom said during the signing event.

Williiams said she hopes it’ll allow her to save some money and maybe take her six children to Disneyland someday.

But not all fast food workers are as hopeful about the financial impact of the new law on their lives. Some workers said the wage hike will allow them to keep up with basic bills and rent, but no more than that.

“It’s a relief, yes, but our fight continues,” said Laura Pozos, who works in an East L.A. McDonald’s.

“Sometimes I didn’t have enough to feed my children. Honestly, it’s so sad to go through that, to be in a country that is rich in everything and to go through that.”
— Angelica Hernandez, fast food worker in Monterey Park

The average hourly wage for fast food workers in California last year was $16.21, according to a report by the Harvard Kennedy School and UC San Francisco.

The new law would raise base wages for so-called quick-serve restaurants to at least $20 an hour and create a restaurant industry council that would set future pay raises and advise on working conditions.

Minimum wage deal

The law is the product of compromise. Restaurateurs agreed to withdraw a proposed November 2024 ballot measure that would have undone a just approved, landmark law creating a fast food industry council.

In exchange, labor advocates withdrew a proposed bill that would have linked the legal liability of franchisees’ labor violations to the franchisor corporations.

Newsom said negotiating to get the restaurant industry referendum off the ballot was like moving “a tectonic plate.”

“I can assure you, this wasn’t easy,” Newsom said. “It was a profoundly consequential prospect. Tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars, would have been spent on that ballot to roll back the progress that the Assembly members had made.”

The law establishes a state-run council for five years, with business and worker representatives and a member of the public. They will set wage standards and advise on work conditions, scheduling, and health and safety standards in fast food restaurants, which labor organizers have mostly failed to unionize.

The state’s labor and commerce staff can sit in but cannot vote.

Restaurant industry officials said the newly signed law is the best outcome possible. The industry had been preparing to spend $120 million on the referendum.

Matt Haller, president of the International Franchise Association, said in a statement the new law “preserves the franchise business model.”

“Common sense has prevailed, as franchising is responsible for creating opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people to become small business owners, and this agreement eliminates the existential threats our members faced,” he said.

Working for change

Assemblymember Chris Holden, a Democrat from Pasadena who authored the original and compromise legislation, thanked franchise owners for their willingness to negotiate a deal and the workers who advocated for the law.

“I saw firsthand all of you who gave your blood, sweat and tears,” he said. “To see so many of you today who were there through the process, knocking on members’ doors, sleeping out on Capitol Park, walking out in the morning with bells and whistles to make sure all of us were paying attention. I say, to God be the glory.”

Some workers said they were proud their hard work finally paid off.

“Little old me, Anneisha Williams, mother of six, never thought I could move mountains with the help and support of so many people,” Williams said. “There were so many people against us that told us ‘No.’ They sent these people out there with this referendum and told us ‘No.’ But guess what? We told them ‘Yes we can.’”

While the wage increase was welcome, some workers said they were more excited about getting a seat at the table with the fast food council, even though the deal pared back some of the council’s power. Now the fast food council has authority over minimum wage increases, but it has an advisory role over other issues.

A living wage?

Pozos, the McDonald’s worker, said that $20 an hour is still not enough to thrive — it won’t even help her save money — but the legislation was about winning against multi-million-dollar corporations like her employer.

Pozos lives with her husband, a teenager and an adult daughter with special needs. The family struggles to pay the $3,600 rent, she said.

“This is going to help me to be able to pay the bills with my husband, to have more groceries for my daughters and, more than anything, it’s an important accomplishment since we’ve been going out on strikes, going door to door to talk to legislators, visiting Sacramento for this law to be passed,” she said. But “my life will continue as normal.”

Fast food workers chant at a press conference where Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation boosting wages to $20 an hour at SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles on Sept. 28, 2023. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters

In general, $20 an hour is not considered a living wage in California. For a working couple with one child, that would be $23.81 an hour and for a single adult with no children, it would be $21.24, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator.

Pozos said she still hopes her workplace, and the fast food industry in general, will one day be unionized, so workers gain power over schedules and working conditions and can fight workplace retaliation and wage theft.

Pozos added she is worried that the wage increase will motivate employers to reduce workers’ hours.

Living free

After Newsom signed the bill, Pozos celebrated with her friend Angelica Hernandez and other workers as a mariachi band played at the Service Employees International Union Local 721 office in downtown Los Angeles.

Hernandez said she was “super happy, super proud” to have supported the legislation. A fast food worker in Monterey Park, Hernandez said she has worked for McDonald’s for 19 years, earned minimum wage at times, and struggled to stay housed.

“I’ve lived with my children and husband in a car or a cheap hotel that had cockroaches,” she said. “Sometimes I didn’t have enough to feed my children. Honestly, it’s so sad to go through that, to be in a country that is rich in everything and to go through that.”

Hernandez said a raise from her current $18.18 hourly to $20 won’t be life-changing, but it’ll allow her to buy a candy bar while grocery shopping without overdrawing her account.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to save with this, but I’ll be able to live more freely,” she said.

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

This is a glimpse into the life of Shirley Hammack-Jones, quilter extraordinaire, who has left this world and will continue sharing her amazing gifts in heaven. She is currently blessing God, our creator, with her own artistry, and is certainly enjoying laying her precious, colorful quilts, at the feet of Jesus. Here on earth, if you are a friend, nurse, or animal in need, you are likely the recipient of her skill and generosity and received a quilt, from our sweet mom and grandma. She enjoyed making quilts for veterans, newborn babies, animal rescues, and kids in need, including CASA and orphanages. So many of us are warmly covered with the amazing work of her always-busy hands. 

Shirley met Marvin Jones in Myrtle Point, Oregon, where she was born and raised. She was married for 71 years to Marvin, who sadly said, “So long, honey. So long,” while he patted her arm for the final time on August 23, 2023, when she passed at their home. 

Marvin and Shirley were married in 1952 when she was 16 and he was 20. In only ten months, she became mom to her first beautiful daughter, Rhonda Ann Jones. Five more kids quickly followed: Marvin (Bub) Levi, Thomas Leroy, Susan Faye, Kaylene Louise, and Lavonne Ellen until Shirley was a young mother to six joyously, rambunctious kids under eight years old, all at the tender age of 25. How she managed to keep us all safe was a mind-boggling feat, but if anyone could do it, our capable mom could. With a husband who worked nights, and six exuberant children running wild back in the 1960s, it took an iron-will to stay strong.

We all enjoyed mom’s delicious, depression-style home cooking. Despite struggling to feed us all on a mill-worker’s wages, our young mom made meals from scratch that we devoured, because active, scrappy children are always hungry. Most of our dinners consisted of a fried meat (usually venison provided by dad), potatoes, and a can of vegetables. Some of our favorites included fried chicken, or chicken fried steak, with mashed potatoes and gravy and mom’s own version of Chinese noodles, topped with fried pork, scrambled eggs, and green onions. We also loved potato salad and potato soup, which could also be called clam-less chowder. We had beans and cornbread multiple times per week. Sometimes, we would put beans on buttered bread and make sandwiches. Dad fished and mainly came home with salmon, trout, or surf fish. Mom didn’t love preparing or cooking fish, but she did it, and it was also usually fried. 

Although she wasn’t an outdoor person, like our dad, mom did give it a few tries. She caught a sturgeon, and reeled it in on her own, even though it was over five feet long. Dad was an archery hunter, so she decided to learn how to shoot, too, and she ended up with a beautiful aqua bow. She grudgingly went to agate beach, but not surprisingly always found more of the beautiful rocks than anyone else. Cold hotdogs were the menu of the day.

Mom and dad took up bowling in the 1970s. Like everything else she set her mind to do, she became accomplished and was on a women’s team that won first place at the California State Championship level. She often got the high average award on her bowling leagues with an average that hovered around 176. She had a lot of fun coming in 2nd Place on a mixed doubles team with her son Bub, only missing first by about three pins, which certainly annoyed her. She also bowled a 289, which is only one strike away from a perfect 300 - the ultimate goal of every bowler. 

Mom’s most rewarding and loved hobbies were creating with her hands. She crocheted doilies and afghans while us kids played and fought nearby. She also sewed to save money by making us kids clothes, back when fabric was cheap, and it was embarrassing to wear homemade clothes, because it meant you were poor. 

When she had no choice, Mom often dragged some of the younger kids with her to the fabric stores where we would cause trouble by playing hide and seek among those bolts of draping cloth that were so easily knocked over. Fabric stores were boring to us, but to mom they were colorful escapes. They held promise.  

When making clothes for us was no longer a necessity, mom happily began her joyful journey into quilting and turned scraps of fabric into hand-pieced quilts. She had to learn quilting from trial and error, since her own mother died when mom was six. One of mom’s only memories of her own mom was a sugar pie she had eaten with her. Even though we searched for years to find a recipe that would duplicate the memory of the war-time era pie with minimal ingredients, we never succeeded, because Mom would taste it, and say, “Nope. Not it.”

After her mom died, Shirley, was passed from relative to relative for about three years, until her dad remarried when she was nine years old. Mom said she wasn’t an easy child: it seemed she was feisty from the start, which is what gave her grit and determination in life. 

Mom was eventually able to take an official quilting class at Eureka Adult Ed, and after that she excelled at the precision craft. It was there she learned how to piece by hand using the quarter inch seam rule, which prior to this, she didn’t know existed. She also became proficient with quilting the tops, batting and backs together, with tiny beautiful stitches. But, it wasn’t long before she tried machine piecing and quilting.

At first, Mom worried that if it wasn’t by hand, it wasn’t an authentic quilt. But, common sense convinced her that the only reason women originally quilted by hand is because there were no machines available. Any woman who quilted from necessity, would have loved to use a machine to speed up the process. And, so did mom. She eagerly and happily quilted nearly 200 quilts in one year, proudly using her long-arm quilting machine. This helped her develop an unexpected little business where she quilted for her community, and even better, she gained cherished friends like Carol, Mindy and Geri who had the same passion for quilting, and they spent many fun hours with her sewing, sharing, and giggling together.  

Shirley spent lots of time sharing her skill with all of her kids, and taught most of her daughters and granddaughters how to sew and also quilt, hopeful they would carry on her legacy. 

Distance prevented Shirley from meeting all of her 55 descendants, but she would have loved seeing all of them in a chart like this.

Shirley is survived by her husband, Marvin, Rhonda and Craig Scott from Oklahoma, Marvin Jones, Jr. from Arizona, Thomas Jones, from Eureka, Kaylen McCurry from Redding, Lavonne and Tom Cookman from Eureka, twelve grandkids, 33 great-grandkids, and four great-great grandkids. One great-granddaughter preceded her in death. Shirley also leaves behind her beloved 18-year-old dog. Max, who was more than just a pet, he was her loyal companion who never left her side, with his sweet little wagging tail and soulful eyes, he was always with mom. Whenever we see him, we are reminded that he was a constant, faithful and gentle presence in her life.

We remember mom singing “In the Garden” as special music in church. It was so beautiful. She also sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Up On the Housetop” when she was helping put kids to sleep. These songs will always make us think of her and will help us to remember her not with tears of sorrow, but with smiles and laughter. Shirley’s sprit will live on in the stories we share, the quilts she made, and the warmth of her enduring love.

We’d like to thank Ayres’ Family Cremation for following our mom’s wishes, and for your kindness and understanding. Thank you to Hospice of Humboldt for your care and compassion. We will be honoring the life of Shirley, our mom, grandma, and friend, on October 7 at 2 p.m. at 1920 Freshwater Road, Eureka. Parking is limited, so please carpool, if possible.

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Sandra Jean Holcomb, age 65 of Eureka, passed away suddenly at St. Joseph Hospital on September 2, 2023 just after midnight. Sandra’s last day was spent doing the things she loved with her older sister. Later that evening she was taken to the hospital where the doctors found a massive brain bleed, which was Irreversible; with her sons at her side, Sandra passed away peacefully.

Sandra was born on May 24, 1958 to Corky and Billie Holcomb in the state of New Mexico. She graduated high-school in 1976. She went on to do a multitude of jobs, including working at the mill. Sandy was a Jill of all trades.

Fast forward to meeting Gary Croan, the father of her two sons, Nathan and Ethan. Sandy also cared for Gary’ eldest son, Cameron. Through Nathan’s cancer and raising three wild boys, Sandy saved both Nathan and Ethan’s lives by catching mistakes made by our health care system. She was our hero.

From painting houses to managing our properties, Sandy was also a caregiver to many people throughout her life. She felt best when helping those in need. Although small in size, she had the biggest heart, most warming smile and a great passion for whom she loved.

Sandy spent her life going to church with her family, particularly Faith Center Forsquare Church and Eureka The Pentecostal church where she could hear her niece sing. She often went to the beach at King Salmon to look for shells or to the thrift shops to search for treasures.

Sandy is survived by her son Nathan and his wife, son Ethan Croan, five grandchildren, sister Colleen and her husband Bill Maynard, sisters Kate Mcmurray, and Terry Holcomb, brother Steve and his wife Dana Holcomb and numerous nieces and nephews.

Sandra Jean will forever be in out hearts and deeply missed by every life she touched. She is with all she loved and lost in her life, smiling down and watching over us. No sorrow or no pain . Until we see you again, May you rest in peace.

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office needs the public’s help to locate two missing persons last known to be at a property in the Berg Road area. 

Blunt.

Bailey Faye Aralene Blunt, age 28, was reported missing on Sept. 25, 2023. Blunt was last seen on September 22 when she reportedly went to retrieve her belongings from a property on Berg Road, off State Route 299, associated with her ex-boyfriend 24-year-old Tyler Thomas Burrow.

On September 26, a family member of Burrow’s contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report him missing. According to the family member, their last phone contact with Burrow was on September 23. Repeated attempts to call him have gone unanswered. Neither Blunt nor Burrow were located at the Berg Road property when checked by friends and family.

Burrow

Blunt’s green Dodge Ram (CA License Plate Number 8T73126) was detected by a license plate reader in the Redding area on September 24. No additional detections of the vehicle have been received.

Blunt and Burrow’s whereabouts are unknown.

Bailey Blunt is described as a white female, approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall, 200 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Tyler Burrow is described as a white male, approximately 5 feet 11 inches tall, 220 pounds, with red/brown hair, hazel eyes and a beard.

Anyone with information for the Sheriff’s Office regarding Blunt or Burrow’s possible whereabouts is asked to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251, reference case numbers 20230449 and 202304457.

Missing Person Flyer

Eureka Police Department press release:

On September 11, 2023 at approximately 5:18 p.m., Officers with the Eureka Police Department (EPD) were dispatched to a report of shots fired in the alley located in the 600 block of 16th Street. During the investigation, officers located numerous shell casings in the alley and contacted the occupants of a near-by apartment complex. The apartment complex had been struck by numerous bullets, but none of the occupants were injured. An EPD Detective and Evidence Technicians responded to the scene and took over the investigation.

Through the investigation, the Detective was able to identify Ray Madrone, 22 years old of Eureka, as a person responsible for firing shots into the apartment. A Ramey Warrant was obtained for Madrone.

On September 27, 2023 at approximately 5:25 p.m., Detectives located Madrone in a vehicle traveling on Harris at B Streets. A traffic stop was conducted on the vehicle and Madrone was taken into custody without incident. A search warrant was then authored for a residence in the 2900 block of California Street in Eureka. Upon execution of the search warrant and subsequent search, firearms and narcotics were located and seized. Detective believe they have located the firearm used in the September 11th shooting.

Madrone was transported and booked at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for the following violations: Shooting at an inhabited dwelling, Masked while in possession of a firearm in public with the intent to conduct a criminal offense, and Carrying a loaded firearm with the intent to commit a felony. Madrone is being held without bond. Additional weapons and narcotics charges against Madrone will be filed with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.

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• POLL! Humboldt! Do You Still Care About Cruise Ships Or Are You Over It?

Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District release:

Eureka will welcome the Seabourn Venture with 161 guests and 240 crew to Humboldt Bay on Monday, October 2nd, docking around 7:45 AM. The ship will enter Humboldt Bay at 6:30 AM and be led into the harbor by a boat parade followed by a private welcome party at Schneider dock. The ship is expected to depart at 5:00 PM.

Ship guests will have the option to experience Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Old Town Eureka, and a tour of the Victorians of Eureka and Humboldt.

The cruise visit and welcome party are a collaborative effort planned by the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District, the City of Eureka, Eureka Main Street, Humboldt County Office of Economic Development, Visit Humboldt, Petrusha Pilots, Coos Bay Tugs and Zerlang and Zerlang Marine Services. Special thanks to Chet Albin, Dave Schneider, and Schneider Dock.

The Seabourn Venture departed from Vancouver, BC on September 28th and traveling south along the Pacific Coast on a 17-day cruise ending in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

The ship is expected to be visible around 6:30 AM on Monday; local citizens can watch the arrival from the Del Norte Street pier, the Park and Ride at Herrick Avenue and the Samoa boat ramp at the north jetty.

One more cruise ship will be arriving in Humboldt Bay on October 7th, more information to follow.