Trespass cannabis grows, those rogue operations of pot production on public land and large timber holdings, often employ chemicals banned for sale in the United States. Past research has demonstrated that these chemicals have poisoned rare and endangered species like the Pacific fisher, Humboldt marten and northern spotted owl.

But what are they doing to our aquatic environment? Dr. Mourad Gabriel of the Forest Service and Ivan Medel of the Integral Ecology Research Center join Gang Green to talk about their new report which found really nasty pesticides, like carbofuran, downstream from trespass grow sites.

We often assign trends to a particular moment in time. Take the 1980s, for example. We often identify that decade with leg warmers, big hair and synth-pop.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen trends rush in and out of our collective hive-mind at the speed of light. We all made sourdough bread boules and sang the same sea shanty. But it’s rare for most of us to take one of those trends and start making a living out of it.

Holly Hall, 35, did just that by starting her business Ghee Well out of her rented kitchen at Redwood Acres.

Ghee is a type of clarified butter originally created to prevent butter from spoiling in warm weather. It does not require refrigeration and can be kept at room temperature for several weeks or months in an airtight container. It is made by simmering butter to the point that its water and milk solids have been removed.

It sounds like a relatively easy thing to make, but one jar of the stuff will sell anywhere between $8 and $40. You can grab a 12 ounce jar of ghee for $27 from Hall’s website or at some of our local stores.

A Fresno native, Hall is a boxing instructor at Bayside Barbell, a personal trainer and a ghee maker. Hall came to Humboldt in 2008 to earn a degree in kinesiology and has hustled every way she could.

“I was trying to teach exercise classes. Even trail running, even though I hate to run,” Hall said. “I worked nearly full time while I was a student.”

Leading up to graduation she worked seven days a week; three days as an intern for Arcata Recreation and four days a week at Pacific Paradise. After graduation she began her search for a job with growth, and in the meantime took an extended housesitting gig.

Hall in boxing mode.

“It was me and three guys in this double-wide trailer. I was mostly the house mom to do the things that needed to be done,” Hall said. “And also ensure that the three dogs and a dozen chickens were well taken care of.”

Hall emphasizes that she was vegan at the time and her excessive exercise led to her to detriment. She began experiencing heart palpitations and panic attacks, and occasionally passed out. Notably, she experienced a seizure going up a flight of stairs.

While on the house-sitting gig, she realized that the chickens were laying eggs and no one was eating them. Beginning to eat those eggs was the gateway to ghee. After a while she started working at Wildberries, where she met her now-husband. He was on a paleo-ish diet and made a treat with ghee for the both of them.

“He would buy this stuff from Ancient Organics and put a little bit of it in his coffee,” Hall said. “I tried it and it was amazing. And I was like: We gotta order more.”

They ordered it for a while, but because ghee can be expensive she thought she could try making it instead. Quickly, one batch turned into many and she began experimenting with adding flavors. While making it at home, each batch was made for her own personal stash, or she would give it out as a gift to her circle of friends.

Before long, her ghee was in more and more peoples’ coffees and they began to ask if she would consider making it regularly for them to buy. At this point both Holly and her husband went looking for new jobs and her husband was laid off.

Hall began to look into operating out of a home kitchen, but as it turns out she could not. Even though ghee is shelf-stable, the problem is that butter is a perishable product.

“I wouldn’t want to do it at home anyway. I buy 40 pound blocks of butter. How am I gonna store that? Especially when we rent in Arcata,” said Hall.

Holly got injured and her day job became difficult.

Then in between late 2017 and early 2018, some friends told Hall that a kitchen at Redwood Acres was opening up and she should get it. They convinced her that if she did not rent out the kitchen immediately, someone else would.

So she contacted the folks at Redwood Acres, signed the lease and began to buy the equipment she needed.

“I filled it with racks, tables, burners and fridge,” Hall said. “It was just a room with a sink when I first got it.”

Right as she started ramping up the start of Ghee Well, she began working full time at a local cheese factory, all while training with clients part-time and teaching jiu-jitsu.

“The kitchen was so affordable and I pushed it back to do everything else. I was working about 60 hours a week,” Hall said.

Then in 2020, Hall lost her job due to COVID-19. All the gyms shut down and there was not any work left for her. Until then, Hall had never taken time off, been unemployed, or just had only one job her whole life. This seemed like the perfect time to get back to Redwood Acres and commit to the ghee.

And yet, another obstacle came with a butter shortage. Because Hall had not been regularly ordering butter, her supplier was not going to prioritize her.

“I was grateful that unemployment exists because it allowed me to hold onto the kitchen til I could finally get butter at the end of the year,” Hall said.

When she finally managed to get butter, everything seemed to line up quickly. Hall thought about selling her ghee at the Arcata Farmers’ Market.

“The person I house-sat for told me it was impossible to get a booth at the Farmers’ Market. There’s a waiting list and they prioritize farmers,” Hall said. “I also think that they don’t allow two booths to sell the same thing.”

She tried anyway, and got into the winter market. Since then she works multiple markets a week and distributes to local stores to sell her ghee.

When she first started, she was selling four flavors. Now she carries 30 flavors on her menu and rotates them. Ghee Well also featured special flavors for events like Oyster Fest, and marketed them with one of her promotional alter-egos.

Take a look for yourself. Here is Fishi Minaj:

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Got an interesting story about living the Humboldt Hustle? Email eddie@lostcoastoutpost.com. He’d love to hear it!

Our beloved mother was 86 years young when she passed — Sept. 20, 1936 to Nov. 26, 2022

She was born in El Cerrito but was raised in Sacramento by her Aunt Ag and Uncle Don. She later moved to Eureka with her husband Jim, to whom she was married for 61 years, and has lived here from 1956 to the present. Beverly worked for AT&T/PacBell for over 30 years and then continued her career at Cox Cable for an additional 10 years. She had an incredibly strong work ethic, but her family was number one! That was her greatest joy. She was a kind, generous and loving mother, always putting others’ needs first. She was proud of all her kids and their accomplishments! That went for her grandkids too! She was lucky to have all four of her children live nearby her entire life. She spent many years camping, boating and skiing up at Trinity Lake and loved it. She was an avid walker and gardener. She loved the Giants and did get the chance to attend a game at their new stadium on her 80th birthday. She always watched all their games. She will be sorely missed.

She was preceded in death by her husband, James Steinke, in December of 2018. She leaves behind her children — Scott (Leslie), Mark (Patrice). Laurie (Jeff) and Shelly; her grandchildren; Ryan, Joel (Melissa) Graham, Brandon, Amanda, James and Michael; her great-grandchildren; Brayden, Dylan, Maeva and Emmajean.

A special thanks to Shelly, who was Mom’s devoted caregiver these past three years, and a thank you to Glenda Hays, who was her hairstylist and treated her with great respect and care. We also want to thank Hospice of Humboldt for their kindness and support during this difficult time.

To remember Beverly, donate to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for a cure for Parkinson’s, go for a brisk walk, watch a Giants game. work in the garden or better yet, call up your Mom and take her to lunch.

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

Press release from the California Highway Patrol:

On December 23, 2022, at approximately 8:25 am, the subject, later identified as Daniel Robert Logan Fernandez Ralls, was traveling on US-101 northbound, south of SR-299, in his 2014 Mercedes C350 when he was involved in a freeway violence incident with another motorist.

Mr. Fernandez Ralls brandished a semi-automatic handgun and fired one round toward the other motorist. Mr. Fernandez Ralls fled the scene before being apprehended a short time later. With the assistance of deputies from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Fernandez Ralls was taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and booked into the Humboldt County Jail. The victim was uninjured and there was no damage reported or claimed as a result of this incident.

The CHP asks if anyone witnessed this incident to call the Humboldt Area CHP office at (707) 822-5981. The mission of the California Highway Patrol is to provide the highest level of Safety, Service, and Security.

Press release from California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office:

California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert following the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency for Humboldt County following a 6.4 magnitude earthquake near the Cities of Ferndale and Rio Dell.

The earthquake resulted in two fatalities, injured multiple people, caused power outages, and damaged roads, bridges, buildings, and critical infrastructure, including water lines and gas lines. In today’s alert, Attorney General Bonta reminds all Californians that price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal under Penal Code Section 396.

Californians who believe they have been the victim of price gouging should report it to their local authorities or to the Attorney General at oag.ca.gov/report.

“My heart goes out to residents and local business owners in Ferndale, Rio Dell, and the surrounding community as they grapple with the damage caused by yesterday’s earthquake and the nearly one hundred aftershocks that followed,” said Attorney General Bonta. “It will be a while before we know the full extent of the damage, but as Humboldt County begins to recover, I want to remind residents and businesses that price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal. If you see businesses raising the price of food, gas, or other emergency supplies, report it to your local authorities or to my office at oag.ca.gov/report.”

California law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds, by more than 10%, the price of an item before a state or local declaration of emergency. For any item a seller only began selling after an emergency declaration, the law generally prohibits charging a price that exceeds the seller’s cost of the item by more than 50%.

This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials, and gasoline. The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, certain transportation services, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations, and rental housing. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business.  

Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to criminal prosecution that can result in a one-year imprisonment in county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000. Violators are also subject to civil enforcement actions including civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation, injunctive relief, and mandatory restitution. The Attorney General and local district attorneys can enforce the statute. 

For additional information on price gouging, please see oag.ca.gov/consumers/pricegougingduringdisasters.

PREVIOUSLY: Arcata Police Arrest 31-Year-Old Man in Connection With Valley West Shooting Incident

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District Attorney Maggie Fleming announced that today a Humboldt County jury found Joshua Lee Harris (31) of Arcata guilty of assault with a firearm, including the special allegation that he personally used a firearm in the commission of the crime.

The case arose from an incident near Carlson Park in Arcata on June 3, 2022, when Harris got into an argument with another male. Harris then drew a .22-caliber revolver, shot twice at the victim (without hitting him), and fled the scene. Shortly thereafter, officers from the Arcata Police Department apprehended Harris and found the firearm used in the shooting concealed in Harris’ waist band.

Judge Christopher Wilson presided over the 2-week trial. Deputy District Attorneys Roger Rees and Trent Timm prosecuted the case with assistance from District Attorney Investigator Martin Morris. Deputy Conflict Counsel Owen Tipps represented Harris.  

Sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2023, when Harris could receive up to 14 years in prison.

PREVIOUSLY: Search Warrant Leads to Arrest of Cher-Ae Heights Casino Armed-Robbery Suspect

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Press release from the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office:

Ross booking photo

Yesterday, a Humboldt County jury found 29-year-old Aubrey Ross guilty of second-degree robbery of Cher-Ae Heights Casino on November 17, 2016.

Surveillance video showed a masked, hooded person jumping a counter in the casino while wielding what appeared to be a handgun. The person held a casino employee at gun point and forced him to fill a backpack with tens of thousands of dollars from the casino vault before fleeing.

Mr. Ross, a former casino employee who had walked off the job the night before, was identified as a suspect when he returned to the scene about an hour after the robbery. Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department investigators found Mr. Ross’ DNA on a mask discarded on the side of the road near the casino.  The backpack used in the robbery and $27,000 in cash was found in Mr. Ross’ room.

After Mr. Ross posted $200,000 bail, the case was delayed multiple times primarily due to changes in defense attorneys.  Covid-related restrictions further delayed the case. Mr. Ross was remanded into custody following yesterday’s verdict.

Judge Hinrichs is scheduled to sentence Mr. Ross on February 9, 2023. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Deputy District Attorney Luke Bernthal prosecuted the case with the assistance of Senior District Attorney Investigator Steve Dunn. Private attorney Andrea Sullivan represented Mr. Ross.