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Nordic Aquafarms has cleared yet another hurdle in the extensive permitting process for its land-based fish farm planned for the Samoa Peninsula. During today’s monthly meeting, the California Coastal Commission unanimously approved a coastal development permit, with special conditions, for wastewater discharge for the proposed project. 

The Norwegian seafood company plans to raise yellowtail kingfish at the massive aquaculture facility, which would discharge more than 10 million gallons of “tertiary treated wastewater” per day through the existing Redwood Marine Terminal II outfall pipe located 1.55 miles offshore. To put that into perspective, when the Samoa Pulp Mill was operational it would produce 70 million gallons of untreated wastewater per day, according to Coastal Commission staff.

“The proposed discharge has the potential to adversely affect several coastal resources, including water quality and fisheries,” according to the staff report. “However, a review of available information by Commission staff indicates that such effects would be unlikely. A dilution study commissioned by Nordic found that water quality targets for salinity, ammonia, and temperature would all be met within no more than five feet of the outfall pipe’s diffuser array. The dilution study also found that nitrates, the largest constituent in the discharge, would reach the same concentrations as background coastal waters fifty percent of the time in the immediate vicinity of the diffuser.”

In staff’s projected worst-case scenario, the “discharge plume” could extend up to 1.5 kilometers, or 0.93 miles, away from the diffuser array, but it would not enter Humboldt Bay or other sensitive marine areas, according to the report. “Moreover, the rapid dilution of nutrients expected to occur in coastal waters would reduce the likelihood of eutrophication, hypoxia, and harmful algal blooms.”

The staff report includes five special conditions to further reduce potential impacts on water quality and coastal fisheries through extensive monitoring and review.

Brenda Chandler, chief executive officer for Nordic Aquafarms, spoke in favor of staff’s recommendation, adding that Nordic would be willing to implement the special conditions requested by Coastal Commission staff.

Chandler | Screenshot

“We rely [on] and must preserve the very marine resource that your commission is tasked to protect. Our values are aligned,” she said. “We think that locating the farm in the coastal zone makes sense and [would be] an excellent use of the property. [It would] provide for further cleanup of the land, modernize the stormwater systems and provide water monitoring, as mentioned, two years before and after we start to discharge.”

Chandler noted that Nordic has held over 50 site tours and hundreds of public meetings since the project’s inception, all of which have allowed Nordic to “make this a better project.”

“These interactions truly have molded and shaped what you see today,” she said. “We may not have always agreed with one another, but we have certainly always listened.”

Speaking on behalf of the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District during the public comment portion of today’s meeting, outgoing Executive Director Larry Oetker underscored the district’s “strong support” for the project.

“The former [Samoa] Pulp Mill is one of the most contaminated pieces of property on the entire California coast, and it also contains a host of blighted buildings. … Nobody would touch it with a 10-foot pole,” Oetker said. “[When] we acquired this property [in 2013], we set out a vision for how could we adaptively reuse this property and clean up the contamination. And at the end of the day, aquaculture was the primary anchor tenant that we felt like we could [host] … .”

Jennifer Kalt, executive director of Humboldt Waterkeeper, spoke on behalf of the Surfrider Foundation, the Northcoast Environmental Center and the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC), and offered her support for the permit application. She credited Nordic for its “commitment to 100 percent renewable energy” and the company’s “willingness to discuss, negotiate and compromise” throughout the project development process.

“We view the project’s potential impacts along with its benefits – namely that it would begin by removing contaminated structures, including the smokestack and chemical tanks abandoned in 2008 by the pulp mill that operated there since the 1960s,” Kalt continued. “We strongly support staff recommendations, and we urge you to approve the [coastal development permit] with special conditions.”

Scott Frazer, a representative of Citizens Protecting Humboldt Bay, asked the commission to table its decision on the permit application until after next month’s appeal hearing.

Citizens Protecting Humboldt Bay, an informal group of local residents, sued the County of Humboldt and the Board of Supervisors last year following the board’s decision to uphold the Planning Commission’s decision to certify Nordic’s Environmental Impact Report and approve a coastal development permit for the project. The group subsequently filed five appeals with the Coastal Commission that challenge the county’s issuance of a Coastal Development Permit. 

“The action proposed today should be delayed until after the five appeals of the [permit] approval by Humboldt County have been heard by your commission,” Frazer said. “Additionally, the approval by Humboldt County of the Nordic Aquafarms [permit] has been contested at every administrative level, and is now subject to litigation in Superior Court due to numerous California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) statute violations.”

Following public comment, Commissioner and Third District Humboldt County Supervisor Mike Wilson provided a bit of background on the defunct pulp mill site and how it has evolved in the last decade. “There’s been a lot of work that’s been done on this site,” he said, adding that more than $22 million has been spent on clean-up efforts since the Harbor District acquired the property in 2014.

Speaking specifically to outfall impacts associated with the project, Wilson said there are already aquaculture facilities operating at the site, including Coast Seafood’s oyster farming project.

“Are we talking about something that will that could have an impact? Sure. We have to talk about the significance of that, and I think staff has talked about that pretty specifically,” Wilson said. “I will say, when we say it’s massive, it is probably the biggest indoor [aquaculture] facility maybe on the planet. I mean, it’s only 30 acres, right? But if you do outdoor fish farming, then they can be hundreds of acres and they’re all over the place. This [project] is very unique in that space.”

Wilson also expressed support for the additional monitoring requirements implemented by Coastal Commission staff.

Commissioner Justin Cummings thanked staff for bringing forward recommendations “that minimize environmental impacts to the greatest extent possible.”

“To Commissioner Wilson’s point, there are going to be impacts and trade-offs, but I think for this – especially because it’s taking a former brownfield site, something that’s been heavily contaminated and putting it to a new use – I think that this is a really great model project,” Cummings said.

Commission Chair Donne Brownsey also expressed support for staff’s recommendation, adding that it is “encouraging to see present and future industries being proposed with elements, conditions and requirements that were not present in the past.”

After a bit of additional discussion, Cummings made a motion to approve staff’s recommendation, along with the special conditions listed in the staff report. Wilson seconded the action. 

The motion passed with a unanimous 12-0 vote.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• Massive New Fish Farm in the Works for Samoa Peninsula; Harbor District Expected to Bless Project Helmed by Norwegian Firm at Special Meeting Monday
• Humboldt Baykeeper Says: Samoa Fish Farm Proposal Looks Good So Far, But the Devil Will Be in the Details
• Let’s Take a Closer Look at This Big Fish Farm Proposal for the Samoa Peninsula
• In a Surprise Move, Nordic Aquafarms Agrees to Conduct Full Environmental Impact Report for Its Land-Based Fish Farm on the Samoa Peninsula
• Planning Commission Set to Consider Permits for Nordic Aquafarms Project Tonight
• Fishermen and Conservation Groups Appeal Nordic Aquafarms’ Environmental Report Certification to Humboldt County Supervisors
• Nordic Aquafarms Celebrates ‘Monumental Step Forward’ After Supes Deny Project Appeal
• Salmon OUT, Yellowtail IN: Nordic Aquafarms Announces Species Switch-Up at its Planned Humboldt Facility
• Water Quality Board Awards Wastewater Discharge Permit for Nordic Aquafarms’ Planned Peninsula Facility

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Years in development, Open Door Community Health Centers’ sparkling-new Arcata location has experienced some delays — caused primarily by the COVID pandemic and subsequent supply chain issues — but it’s now expected to start welcoming patients the first week of January, according to Cheyenne Spetzler, the nonprofit’s senior vice president of development.

“A lot of things are happening simultaneously,” Spetlzer said when we reached her by phone earlier this week. “Medical equipment is arriving tomorrow.”

The new health center, located just west of the intersection of Foster and Sunset avenues, near the Arcata Skate Park, will replace the organization’s two existing Arcata clinics — Humboldt Open Door Clinic on 10th Street and NorthCountry Clinic on 18th Street.

For Spetzler, the transition can’t come soon enough.

“We did want to replace our two aging buildings because it’s so hard to get a building license that if we lost either of those clinics, we wouldn’t be able to replace that [patient-serving] capacity,” she said. “So, to me, there has been a rush to get the new building built before we experienced a catastrophic failure in one building or the other.”

The new location is just slightly larger than the two it will replace, and patient capacity in Arcata is expected to rise modestly as well — from 43,306 to 44,000 annually. 

That doesn’t mean that the clinic will be able to admit hundreds of new patients, though. There is unmet demand for medical services across the county, particularly for primary care, and Spetzler said Open Door has patient waiting lists at all 10 of its locations. 

“We’re limited by the number of primary care providers we can recruit, mostly physicians,” she said. Open Door operates a family medicine residency program in collaboration with Providence-St. Joseph Hospital, and Spetzler said that program is “starting to hopefully generate some physicians who have an interest in being here long-term.”

The organization is already reaping benefits from its Advanced Practice Clinician Residency Program, which serves newly graduated family nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

“We do get to retain many of those grads, so we’re sort of growing our own,” Spetzler said, “but there is still a bit of a shortage. We knew for 25 years there would be, and here we are.”

She and her late husband, Herrmann Spetzler, who led Open Door for more than four decades, long predicted that Humboldt County would have difficulty recruiting and maintaining enough primary caregivers, though they hoped to alleviate some of the burden through telemedicine services. 

Open Door has done that, to a certain extent, but it’s not enough to meet demand.

”We have a pretty large department now that does full-time recruiting, and we still struggle,” Spetzler said. “We have openings.”

There’s a healthcare worker shortage affecting the entire country, and Spetzler said rural areas are suffering the most, though she added that Humboldt does have a lot of advantages, including the pleasant climate, relatively low housing costs (by California standards, anyway) and the presence of Cal Poly Humboldt.

And soon, Open Door will have a brand new clinic to attract applicants.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• NEW CLINIC COMING! Open Door Planning Big, Modern Arcata Medical Center to Replace Old Facilities Downtown and in Northtown
• Planning Commission Delays New Arcata Health Center Project Recommendation After Wiyot Tribe Requests Additional Archeological Survey
• New Arcata Clinic Back on Track: The City Has Reached an Agreement With Tribal Historians, and the Project Will Again Go Before the Planning Commission Tonight
• Arcata’s New Open Door Health Center Will Open This Fall, Replacing the Two Old Clinics in Town

Friend o’ the LoCO Rob Christensen sends along this photo, snapped today down at the Eureka Public Marina by the Wharfinger Building.

Yes, that is the Catalina Flyer — a 600-seat catamaran, round-trip service between Orange County and the town of Avalon, on Santa Catalina Island. 

What is going on here, buddy! Wrong turn? Did you just set sail that day for a three-hour tour?

As it happens, no less an authority than Wikipedia itself has the answer. To wit:

From Oct. 2022 to Nov. 2023 the Catalina Flyer underwent an extensive refit at Nichols Brother Boat Builders (the original builder of the vessel). The engines were upgraded to MTU 16v4000 m64 EPA tier 3 units. The interior cabin was fitted with USA built seats made by UES seating. 

Nicholas Brothers Boat Builders, we note, is located in Freeland, Washington, on Puget Sound. So it seems that the newly respiffed Flyer is just paying us a call on its trip back south. 

For six generations since emigrating from Mexico to America, Clarissa Renteria’s family never voted.

If any campaign mailers arrived during election season, Renteria’s parents — who both worked as warehouse workers in Woodlake, an agricultural town of 7,600 in California’s citrus belt — would throw them away. When their neighbor was elected mayor of Woodlake, Renteria’s father shrugged it off. “Look at him trying to fit in,” Renteria remembers her father saying.

“My family just didn’t feel included in the politics, didn’t feel seen,” Renteria, 25, said in an interview at a voter registration event in Tulare. “It was just like: ‘You guys obviously don’t care about me. I don’t care about you, and I’m not going to vote. I’m just going to work to live and that’s it.’”

Lack of engagement is common among millions of eligible Latino Californians who miss out on voting each year. Latinos are the least likely to vote, though they comprise the single largest racial and ethnic group statewide, research shows. They account for just 25% of the state’s likely voters despite making up 36% of the adult population statewide, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

But they could hold the key to the 2024 U.S. Senate race since they’re a voting bloc largely untapped by the leading candidates.

“Whoever wins over Latino voters is going to win the March primary in 2024,” said Christian Arana, vice president of policy at the Latino Community Foundation.

But who’s that going to be? With less than four months until the March 5 primary, many Latino voters aren’t sure yet.

The leading Democratic candidates — U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff — are polling mostly less than 20% among Latino voters, while 30% to 40% remain undecided, according to surveys conducted this year. In an October Latino Community Foundation and BSP Research poll of 900 Latino voters, roughly half said they did not have an opinion about the Senate candidates yet or did not know enough about them to form one.

“We are not seeing yet any of the Latino electorate connect with any particular candidates for U.S. Senate,” said Matt Barreto, founder of BSP Research and the Latino Policy and Politics Institute at the University of California Los Angeles.

“I think all of these candidates who are running right now are behind.”

Among all voters, Schiff and Porter are the frontrunners in polls in the past two months, well ahead of Lee and Republicans, though roughly one third of those surveyed are still undecided. The top two vote-getters on March 5, regardless of party, advance to the November general election.

Candidates have met with Latino leaders, conducted listening tours in communities of color and visited Latino business owners around the state, some as early as February, according to the campaigns. They have also been racking up endorsements from Latino leaders locally and nationally. On Nov. 4, the three top Democrats — Lee, Porter and Schiff — participated in a forum on immigration issues hosted by The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Action Fund.

But political experts say it requires much more to gain support from Latino voters: Early, consistent and aggressive campaign outreach, but more importantly, issues resonating enough to persuade Latinos to not only vote, but vote for them.

“Low voter turnout is almost as significant an indicator of a lack of appeal of a message as voting for another party,” said Mike Madrid, former political director for the California Republican Party and a political strategist with expertise on Latino voting.

“I don’t care how early you start. If you don’t have a message that resonates, it doesn’t matter.”

Population-wise, the potential political power of Latinos in California seems unmatched.

They are the biggest racial and ethnic group, accounting for 40% of the state’s population. California is also home to 8 million — or one quarter — of the nation’s eligible Latino voters, more than any other state, according to the Pew Research Center. And that number is growing due to young Latinos coming of age, increasing their share of the state’s eligible voting population.

But Latinos are significantly underrepresented in voter registration and turnout statewide and nationwide.

They made up just 14% of “frequent voters” (those who voted in at least five of the seven most recent elections), while white voters made up 71%, according to an August poll from the University of California Berkeley Institute of Government Studies.

Latinos also had the lowest turnout rate of all groups in the 2020 election statewide and nationwide, according to a 2022 analysis by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. Just 60% of eligible Latinos in California registered to vote, and just 55% of eligible Latinos voted, the data shows. They accounted for 32% of California’s eligible voters, but only 27% of those who voted that year.

Poorer + younger = less engaged

Why are Latinos less likely to vote?

One contributing factor: Latinos are disproportionately poorer, especially in California, which is among states with the highest income inequality, Madrid noted.

More than half of Californians living in poverty are Latinos, according to data from the Public Policy Institute of California. Only 1 in 10 Latino households can afford a median-priced home in the state — a percentage lower than their white and Asian counterparts, according to the California Association of Realtors.

“When you have no upward economic mobility … that’s a very big problem for turnout,” Madrid said.

Jovonna Renteria, a 26-year-old Latino voter in Tulare County, said working-class Latinos in her neighborhood prioritize their immediate needs — such as housing, food and childcare — over voting. Her mother works in a warehouse, and she is a first-generation college student majoring in social work.

“When people are so focused on just trying to survive, (voting) gets pushed to the side,” said Renteria, who is not related to Clarissa Renteria.

Latinos in California also tend to be younger, and more than half of the state’s population ages 24 and younger are Latinos, research shows. Nationwide, 34 million young Latinos will be qualified to vote next year.

But younger voters are less likely to participate, political experts say. They tend to be less affluent and motivated to vote not by habit, but by issues that matter to them, said Mark Baldassare, survey director at the Public Policy Institute of California.

Youths also have a lower “stake in society” since they are less likely to be parents or homeowners, who tend to be more invested in local politics such as property taxes or school bonds, Madrid said.

“If you don’t do that, you have a very transient mobile society, and that is a very civically disengaged one, which is not good for democracy,” he said.

‘Disenfranchised’ and disconnected

Mateo Fernandez, 17, will be a first-time voter next year. While he is excited, the San Diego native said no one around him talked about voting until he was in eighth grade.

“A lot of people will tell you: ‘I just don’t know … how that works.’ Or they feel hopeless, like they have no power in what’s going on around them because everyone else seems so much more powerful,” he said.

Jovonna Renteria saw the same in her community. She said Latinos feel “disenfranchised” and have “lost faith in the system” since they don’t see how they can benefit from those elections.

The feeling of disconnect is partly due to a historical and current lack of outreach from political campaigns, said Mindy Romero, founder and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy and a political scientist who studies voting and underrepresentation among communities of color.

It’s a chicken-and-egg problem echoed in other states such as Texas: Latinos are less likely to vote because campaigns rarely reach out to them, but campaigns are less inclined to reach out to them because they focus on likely voters, Romero noted.

“We know that often in the Latino community … that you need to make the case and build trust and use trusted messengers,” she said. “We still don’t see candidates doing it, or at least not in a sustained way.”

But when campaigns do reach out, some rely on stereotypes about the Latino communities, holding events featuring mariachi bands, sprinkling in a few Spanish words and “parachuting” in and out, Romero said.

Organizers inform attendees about their rights as voters and the available community resources at a voter registration event in Tulare on Nov. 1, 2023. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters.

Presidential campaigns are also known to hold events at taco shops to rally the Latino vote, running the risk of what Barreto called “Hispandering.” Both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden dined at King Taco — a famous Los Angeles joint — during their presidential bids.

“But there’s so much more to our community than that one particular taco shop in East L.A.,” Arana said.

The inconsistent outreach makes Latino voters feel ignored, said Jose Barrera, national vice president for the Far West at the League of United Latin American Citizens.

“Come every four years, it seems like everybody wants our vote,” he said. “But once elected, candidates seem to forget about us. …Why should we as a community support some people who really promise everything but never deliver?”

A wide-open race

When asked by CalMatters how they have connected with Latino voters, the leading U.S. Senate candidates pointed to their outreach efforts, endorsements and track record.

Schiff and Porter have both met with Latino business owners and leaders in Southern California, the Central Valley and the Bay area, holding most events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno or nearby areas, according to their campaigns.

Both Schiff’s and Porter’s campaigns pointed to their advocacy in Congress for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, their fight against corporate interests and support for equitable health care.

Along with Lee — whose spokesperson did not respond to CalMatters’ inquiry for this story — they are all co-sponsors of the House version of the “Registry Act,” which would allow some undocumented immigrants to qualify for lawful status.

Schiff’s campaign highlighted his support for expanded child tax credits, affordable housing, clean energy and more as well as his role leading the first impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump. He also introduced the Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act, which would invest billions in providing services to children from low-income families.

Porter’s campaign also noted she pushed for more language assistance for non-English speaking voters and advocated for free COVID-19 testing for all. She was also the first Senate candidate to launch her campaign website in multiple languages including Spanish, her campaign said.

Lexi Reese, a Democratic candidate who is barely registering in polls, said her background as a business owner helps her understand the struggles of small businesses. She said she is the only fluent Spanish speaker in the race and conducted listening tours in both languages.

A spokesperson for Eric Early, a top GOP contender, said that Latino voters he spoke to want a lower cost of living, tougher regulations on violent crimes and a stop to “the indoctrination of our children in schools” and “the flood of illegal immigration and fentanyl across the southern border.” He also touted his lawsuit against the Santa Barbara Unified School District for diversity training, which was thrown out in federal court.

Republican Steve Garvey, the L.A. Dodgers legend who entered the race last month, did not respond to a CalMatters’ inquiry.

While Latino advocacy groups haven’t announced or don’t plan endorsements, some notable community leaders have made up their minds.

Schiff, who has received dozens of endorsements from Latino lawmakers and leaders, gained support from state Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, chairperson of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Porter’s campaign stressed her support from nearly a dozen Latino leaders, including U.S. Rep. and former Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia, as well as Eddie Martinez, executive director of Latino Equality Alliance and mayor of Huntington Park. Lee also received endorsements from Dolores Huerta, longtime activist and co-founder of United Farm Workers.

Rosalinda Avitia, 73, listens to organizers as they review voter registration information in Tulare on Nov. 1, 2023. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters

But despite the months-long outreach by some campaigns, a sizable portion of Latino voters are still undecided, polls show. That’s partly because none of the top candidates have been on a statewide ballot and therefore have low name recognition, some experts say.

“I don’t think that any of the candidates come with a natural advantage,” Baldassare said. “(Schiff) has been high-profile in Washington, but that doesn’t mean he’s high-profile with the California voters.”

Additionally, campaigns must expand beyond immigration as a top issue, which is a “relic of the past,” Madrid said. A fast-growing portion of the electorate are U.S.-born Latinos who are not as motivated by the issue, and polls have shown that the economy, inflation and joblessness — not immigration — are consistently the top issue among Latinos, he said.

“How do you have the largest ethnic group in the state with the lowest voter turnout rates when they are telling you … that the No. 1 issue they have is jobs and the economy, and yet, all the Latino advocacy groups are talking about is immigration?”

The Nov. 4 forum was focused almost exclusively on immigration. Madrid argues that while the issue was important, it shouldn’t be all there is.

Fatima Flores, a spokesperson for the coalition that hosted the forum, said it was to “uplift the intersections of other issues within immigration” so members could “walk away informed and knowledgeable.”

And Angelica Salas, the coalition’s executive director, said it wants to see a “torch bearer” on immigration issues among the Senate candidates seeking to succeed the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who Salas deemed a “vanguard” of immigration reform.

“Yes, they are all supportive,” Salas said of top Democrats in the race. “But we are looking for the leader who is going to advance this cause, but more importantly, is going to finally be part of the leadership that’s going to get immigration reform over the finish line.”

Arana said he is glad candidates have been out engaging Latino voters. But they must make sure the outreach is consistent and the message is on point, he said, pointing to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ win in the California presidential primary in 2020.

Sanders proposed debt-free public colleges and universal health care, which resonated with young Latino voters, Arana said.

“He opened offices in areas where campaigns … normally wouldn’t,” he said. “Not only did he open that office, he hired people from the community, so it almost made it seem like it was a partnership to change the country.”

Clarissa Renteria, 25, at a voter registration event in downtown Tulare on Nov. 1, 2023. Photo by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters.

As for now, things have mostly been quiet in the city of Tulare.

At the local voter registration drive and Día de Los Muertos celebration hosted by several Latino advocacy groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, two dozen residents showed up, some drawn by the free food. Half a block away, a train whooshed by every few minutes on the railway track that sliced through the city, the blaring horn in contrast with the sleepy downtown.

“I thought it was not real,” Clarissa Renteria said outside the event venue, joking about when she first heard about it. Such events are rare in Tulare, she said. No one has knocked on her door for the Senate candidates, and she has seen no signs of campaign outreach in the area.

“We don’t really have a lot of that around here,” she said. “But I feel like as soon as you get other people who are also Mexican, like myself, to see: ‘Hey, I’m talking about these issues,’ maybe they’ll get more engaged. I think that’s what we need to see.”

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

Hundreds of scientists working for the state of California to protect water supplies, respond to oil spills, study wildlife and track foodborne outbreaks marched in Sacramento yesterday in what’s being called the first-ever strike by state civil servants.

Yesterday was the first day of a three-day “Defiance for Science” rolling strike by more than 4,000 rank-and-file state scientists, who are seeking to close pay gaps with their counterparts in local, federal and other parts of state government.

“This is something that needed to happen. And it’s unfortunate that the state put us in this position,” recently-elected union president Jacqueline Tcak, 29, a state scientist who works on water quality in the Central Coast, said over the din of chants and rattles. “We want equal pay for equal work.”

Many of the workers picketing at the headquarters of the California Environmental Protection Agency carried signs reminding Californians what they do behind-the-scenes: “I am a scientist and I give you safe food,” read one. “No science? No salmon!” Others called for the Newsom administration to “Smash the sexist gender pay gap!”

The strike comes after more than three years of negotiations between the California Department of Human Resources and the California Association of Professional Scientists union, which represents about 5,600 hundred state scientists, including about 4,600 that are subject to collective bargaining, according to union spokesperson Jon Ortiz. Their contract expired in 2020.

Last week, the California Department of Human Resources filed an Unfair Practice Charge with the Public Employment Relations Board, seeking to quash the strike, according to a document shared with CalMatters.

“These antics smack of an illegal pressure tactic,” the human resources department said in the charge, calling the strike unlawful “because the evidence shows it is actually an economic strike for the sole purpose of placing undue pressure on the state at the bargaining table.”

The governor’s office routed CalMatters’ questions to the human resources department. Camille Travis, the department’s deputy director of communications, said the state will continue to bargain in good faith and work with the union to reach a fair agreement.

She said the state “has taken steps to ensure that service to the public continues with as little disruption as possible” during the strike.

“The state views the strike activity with disappointment,” Travis said. “(The union) sought mediation and then called for a three-day rolling strike before mediation concluded.”

Workers carry signs during the scientists’ union strike. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

In 2020, members of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cabinet warned the human resources agency that scientists in their agencies were dramatically underpaid. Environmental scientists, in particular, earned less than the market average that year, though other positions earned more.

One of the union’s major concerns is that scientists make considerably less than engineers, even though they both require specialized expertise and education and at times do similar work.

Full-time, rank-and-file state scientists on average earned about $83,586 in 2020, 27% less than state engineers, who earned an average of $114,012, according to a state assessment published last year. About half of state scientists are women, while more than three-quarters of state engineers are men. (No other gender options were included in the state’s data.)

At the strike, scientists working for state water agencies, the public health department, pesticide regulators and more described the economic pressures they face in their daily lives.

Union president Tcak teared up when she recounted having to ask her boyfriend for help to buy a plane ticket to visit her father with cancer.

“I’m 29 years old, I thought that I would be past that. And it’s embarrassing,” she said.

Christina Burdi, who assesses how water use in California affects vulnerable species and ecosystems, works as a dog walker on the side so she can afford to live in Sacramento.

Molly Shea, center, a scientist with the California Department of Fish and Game, joined the picket line. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

One state scientist who asked that her name not be used because she was concerned about retaliation said with her current pay, she can’t afford childcare for her kids as she juggles parenting and work for the state’s pesticide regulators, despite her PhD. She also said the lack of a fully-paid family leave program meant she was back at work part-time on a Monday, after giving birth on a Friday.

Kaylynn Newhart, an environmental scientist who has worked for the state for more than 30 years and hopes to retire soon, said she lives paycheck-to-paycheck and doubts she’ll be able to stay in California after she retires.

“It’s definitely made it impossible to have that ‘American dream’,” said Newhart, who monitors water for pesticide contamination.

Many were concerned about going three days without pay during the strike because they cannot use vacation time or sick leave, according to Ortiz.

“We worry about what we’re gonna buy for groceries,” said Brandon Adcock, who investigates foodborne illness outbreaks and contamination at a state agency.

Some carried babies on shoulders or pushed them sleeping through the din in strollers as marching workers chanted: “Lead with science, it’s not too late!”

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

Bernadette Cheyne, 74, passed away surrounded by her loved ones on Oct, 30 after a brief battle with brain cancer.

Bernadette was born on June 12, 1949, in Menomonie, Wisconsin, to dairy farmer Ronald Buss Sr. and New Zealand immigrant Laurie White. Bernadette was blessed with a passion for theatre - she acted in many productions at the local playhouse while growing up. After attending Northwestern University she traveled to Alaska. While in Alaska, she married, had two daughters, created life-long friendships and completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Theater at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Following her passion for acting, she and her two daughters moved to Austin, Texas where she completed her Master’s Degree in Fine Arts.

With her Master’s Degree in hand, Bernadette became a professor at Humboldt State University (HSU) in Arcata, where she taught classes in acting, directing, vocal production, dialects and theatre history/theory/criticism. During her 20+ years at HSU, Bernadette was a valued professor, Chair of the Theatre Film and Dance Department, member of the Statewide Senates, worked in multiple capacities with the California State Summer School for the Arts, and was the Vice-Chair of the California State University Board of Trustees. She retired as Professor Emerita in 2013.

As an actor and teacher of acting, Bernadette attained both regional and national prominence as cited in two Kennedy Center awards that recognized her extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre.

After retirement, Bernadette stayed active within the California State University Emeritus & Retired Faculty & Staff Association, mentored children in the CASA program and became involved with the Humboldt County Grand Jury as a juror, foreperson, and then trainer. She also continued to act and direct at Redwood Curtain Theater.

Bernadette was preceded in death by her parents, Laurie White and Ronald Buss Sr., beloved husband Ivan Hess, and sister, Rosemary Buss. She is survived by her siblings, Ronald Buss Jr. and Duane Buss; two daughters, Ariana Chapanar (spouse Jene Chapanar) and Niesje Walton (spouse Keith Walton Jr.) and step-son Jed Hess (spouse Janeen Hess); grandchildren, Alexis Walton, Cheryl Walton, Kenneth Walton, Chase Hess, Amber Tatro, Gage Karr, Brandon Evans and the many people whose lives she touched in important and memorable ways.

Family, friends, and acquaintances are invited to celebrate the life of Bernadette Cheyne on Dec. 2, 2023, 12-4 p.m. at the Moonstone Beach House – formerly Merryman’s Beach House – located at 122 Moonstone Beach Rd, Trinidad, CA. Many delicious refreshments will be served and stories will be shared. Please RSVP to celebratebernadette@gmail.com.

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“Let me tell you something…!” followed by a very important life lesson, was the trademark saying from the man we called Pop & Poppa, to most who called him Boxy, and to those very special few that called him The Box.

Robert Helge Johnson was reunited with his beautiful bride, Irene, on November 8, 2023. He’s currently sweeping her off her feet as they dance to Kenney Rogers “Through the Years,” with his parents, Helge & Margaret Johnson, and his loving sisters, Dorothy (Betty) Waterman and Joanne Nord, nearby. Along with his admiring family, many close friends that passed before him are up on their feet, and in true Boxy style he has them all dancing. To keep the love, laughter and dancing going here on Earth, he is survived by his older brother, Edward Johnson, and has left his legacy to his three sons, three daughters-in-law, two daughters and two sons-in-law, 13 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and a bonus of innumerable friends.

Boxy was many things in his life. Besides being a remarkable husband, father, grandfather and friend, he was a corporal Army veteran and a barge captain/superintendent.

Some may wonder where he got his nickname “Boxy.” Robert is of 100% Swedish descent and if you ask his brother, he would say its short for “Boxhead.” But as years passed, Robert was known for always standing up for the “little guy.” Whether it was in Germany or on the docks in the states, it didn’t matter the color or creed, if someone was hurting another human being unjustly, Robert stepped in and provided a “1-2” life lesson to the oppressor — and because of those moments he will always be remembered as Boxy!

Pop was adamant about not having a celebration of life but if you knew him, he loved to BBQ, so we’re having a Boxy’s BBQ November 18 at 1 p.m. Come with stories, come with a zest for life, come with your dancing shoes and come with love in your heart for the man we called Pop/Boxy/The Box!