Broken windows and burglarized businesses aren’t exactly unusual in Eureka, but a rash of crime along F Street in downtown Eureka over the past few days has been particularly unsettling. 

Early Friday morning, some jerk threw a Molotov cocktail at Sangha Tattoo Studio’s new location. Hours later, in what is believed to be an unrelated incident, it was discovered that a separate jerk broke into the Eureka Theater and stole a laptop. Also, in that same general time period, another-or-possibly-the-same jerk tried to break into Dalianes Travel but was unable to gain entry into the business.

Jackie Silva, body piercer and co-owner of Sangha, told the Outpost she got a call from Advanced Security Systems around 1:50 a.m. on Friday notifying her that the motion sensor had gone off and the building was on fire. 

“I literally jumped out of bed in my robe and pajamas, threw shoes on and hauled down to the shop,” she said. “At that point, I was just thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, my livelihood is on the line – our livelihoods are all on the line.’ When I got there I saw flames, shattered glass and smoke had just engulfed the whole shop. …You hear about businesses getting broken into but something to this extent is devastating. It’s so surreal.”

Humboldt Bay Fire and the Eureka Police Department responded to the scene. EPD Captain Brian Stephens confirmed that “some type of device containing an accelerant” was thrown at the building. “We located evidence at the scene that indicates this was a targeted event, not just a random act,” he added.

Spray painted on the sidewalk in front of Sangha is a note that appears to say, “3 years fix my tattoo.” When asked if any disgruntled customers came to mind, Silva said, “We have absolutely no idea.”

(See more of the damage done to Sangha Tattoo in the embedded Instagram post at the end of this article.)

“We have no idea who would’ve written that or if they even have a legitimate beef,” she said. “We’ve been turning it over in our heads trying to think of who could have done this to our shop, who would have had a problem. I mean, we stand by our work. If anyone has ever been unhappy with something we will do everything we can to correct it, to make sure that at the end of the day that person gets taken care of and they walk out our door extremely happy. We’re very accomodating to our clients and our reputation in the community is super positive.”

Had the fire spread, it could have impacted the neighboring businesses, she added. “If this was personal, whoever did this did not take into consideration that we are not the only ones that got impacted. We have neighbors who have been there for years and their livelihoods could have been taken as well.”

The fire did not spread far beyond the entrance but there is extensive smoke damage throughout the shop.

“New Life Service Co. boarded everything up for us yesterday and set up fans and ozone generators to run over the weekend to get the smoke smell out of there,” Silva said. “The next step is for them to come in and do a cleanup because they’re trained for this kind of thing. It’s super critical that every single bit of soot is cleaned up because this is a tattoo and piercing shop and we have to be able to maintain a sterile environment. …Unfortunately until then, none of us can work so we’re all financially impacted.”

Randy Meyer, tattoo artist and co-owner of Sangha, thanked the community for their support during this difficult time and said any information leading to the culprit could earn someone a free tattoo.

“A couple of people from the shop have offered up free tattoos for information,” he said. “We would gladly help anyone with a tattoo that can provide any viable leads to who did this.”

Fast forward to 9:40 a.m. when EPD responded to a reported break in at the Eureka Theater.

“We got called to come down and do a security check of the building,” Stephens said. “I think it was reported initially as a broken door but it ended up being a broken window. Our officers went and cleared the building. They did locate another broken window on the third story. The responsible told us that the only thing taken was a laptop from the projection room.”

It is believed the suspect broke into the theater from the third story window.

“The assumption is that someone got all the way up a solid concrete building, which was a feat of persistence and strength if nothing else,” Gregg Foster, president of the Eureka Theater board of directors, told the Outpost. “They broke into the projection room and took the laptop, which was not alarmed. We don’t know this for sure, but we think they came down the stairs to the second floor lobby and that’s when the alarm went off. It’s pretty loud so they probably ran downstairs and broke out one of the windows of the interior doors so they could get out.”

Thankfully, the historic etched glass was not damaged, he added. 

“We were just really fortunate that they look like they’re more interested in getting the heck out of the building rather than trashing the place or trying to find another thing to steal,” he said. “The unfortunate thing is we rely upon donations, revenue and grants to restore the building and now we’re going to be spending more money on upgrading our alarm system, getting interior cameras and fixing our windows.”

EPD, with assistance from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, responded to the theater this morning after the alarm was tripped again but it looks as though it was a fluke.

“We found no signs of forced entry into the building this morning so we’re not sure what set that alarm off,” Stephens said. “It’s a very large old building and sometimes doors could swing open or something could trip the motion alarm on the inside today. We found no signs that anything was taken or tampered with.”

The Eureka Theater hosted the premiere of The Craftsman on Friday night, a new series featuring Eric Hollenbeck, the owner of local business Blue Ox Millworks. Foster said the latch on the door is “kinda funky” and could have been disturbed during the event. “The door could have blown open. Nothing was disturbed, nothing was touched.”

There was an attempted break in at Dalianes Travel just down the street from the theater on Friday morning as well. Stephens said the alarm went off but the suspect was unable to gain entry into the businesses.

It is unlikely that the incidents are related, but Stephens encouraged community members to contact EPD with any information about the aforementioned incidents.

“If anybody has seen anything suspicious or were in the area at the time of these incidents, please just give us a call and let us know what you’ve seen,” he said. “This could be anything from someone walking away [from the scene of the incident] and which direction they went so we can try to find additional surveillance cameras that may catch them.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Eureka Police Department at (707) 441-4044.

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Humboldt County is faced with some important and difficult decisions regarding our energy future, and if the TerraGen project taught us anything it’s that the public needs to be involved as energy projects are planned.

But civic engagement requires an educated populace, so the Northcoast Environmental Center is working to figure out what folks do and don’t know about renewable energy sources and how to fill those information gaps to make sure we move forward with the best possible energy sources for our future.

In this episode Gang Green are joined by CalPoly Humboldt graduate students Lorelei Walker and Alexander Brown to talk about our energy past, our energy future and the survey they are working on with the NEC to learn Humboldt County residents’ perspectives on renewable energy sources.

Take the survey by March 31 at this link. 

AUDIO:

“The EcoNews Report,” March 19, 2022.

The Humboldt County Drug Task Force has released its annual interdiction summary for calendar year 2021. In it, the task force says that it confiscated around $1.4 billion million worth of illicit substances (retail value)— mostly heroin, meth and fentanyl. [ED. NOTE: Apologies for this boneheaded error, which has been corrected.]

In addition, the DTF says it seized 90 weapons and almost a million dollars in cash.

The report breaks down the amount of drugs seized by four geographic areas — the city of Eureka, the city of Arcata, the city of Fortuna and the county’s unincorporated areas.

The Eureka numbers include a large amount of seized MDMA — most of it, presumably — from this large bust in October, in which the Drug Task Force was alerted to a large shipment of the substance from France by federal authorities.

The great bulk of the county’s fentanyl busts have taken place in the county’s largely rural unincorporated areas, according to the report.

Check out the slides below, or download the entire report at this link.

From the Humboldt County Drug Task Force:

This report details drug seizures, weapon seizures, and arrests made throughout 2021.

As a reminder, the Humboldt County Drug Task Force is comprised of Special Agents from the following agencies:

• Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office
• Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office
• Arcata Police Department
• Eureka Police Department
• Fortuna Police Department
• California Highway Patrol

A Crime Analyst is provided by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office.

A Sheriff’s Sergeant and Commander is provided by the Sheriff’s Office.

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Earlier this week President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 2471 – a big spending bill that includes $11.5 million in funding for community projects in Northern California, more than $6 million of which will go towards projects in Humboldt County.

“The projects we put forward address some of the most pressing needs facing our region — from climate resilience and increased affordable housing to critical infrastructure improvements and disaster preparedness,” Rep. Jared Huffman said in an announcement about the bill earlier this week. “After almost a year of advocating on behalf of California’s Second District, I’m excited to say this funding is officially on its way to being signed into law.”

Since Huffman’s announcement, the bill has officially become law, which means that several large-scale Humboldt County projects will soon receive the funding they badly need. The heftiest chunk of money – $5 million – will be used for replacing the Hammond Trail Bridge, something county staff has been pushing toward for a long time. 

Hammond Trail Bridge Replacement

Hank Seemann, Humboldt County’s deputy director of environmental services, told the Outpost that the bridge – which serves as a segment of Hammond Trial and crosses above the Mad River, providing a non-motorized connection between McKinleyville and Arcata – has had multiple repairs to keep it functioning over the years, but the bridge is starting to deteriorate beyond repair. Originally a section of railroad, the bridge was converted into a pedestrian walkway in the early 1980s, something Seemann said was very innovative for its time. Unfortunately, the steel bridge has not been able to withstand the elements and, because of its close proximity to the ocean, is very susceptible to severe rust.

Seemann said that the county has applied for grant funding to replace the bridge in the past, but has been unsuccessful, adding that he was very thankful for Huffman’s hard work in helping to secure this funding. The $5 million isn’t quite enough to complete the entire bridge replacement, Seemann said, but it does get the project team very close. Seemann estimated that the project will cost at least $6 million to complete. The $5 million is a very good start though and Seemann said that this money can be used, at the very least, to fully fund the necessary technical studies and engineering components, and that will help the county to leverage the additional funding, most likely from the state.

As for when the community can expect a new bridge, Seemann told the Outpost it will probably be a while. “It’s going to take a little time to get the funding agreement in place and initiate the whole process,” he said. “It’s probably going to be at least two or three years before construction can happen.”

Burre Dental Center Expansion

Another project that will see some of this sweet, sweet federal funding is the Burre Dental Center expansion project. The dental center – a branch of Open Door Community Health Services – will receive $1 million, which will be used to add six additional operatories, hire two additional dentists and to train one additional dental resident each year, according to Huffman’s announcement.

With these expansions, the Burre Dental Center expects to expand capacity by 8,000 visits per year. “This additional dental capacity would be focused on children’s dental health improvement,” the announcement states. 

Project Rebound — Humboldt County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

Additionally, $218,000 will go toward Project Rebound - an effort to retool Humboldt County’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), which is a countywide plan used to help guide economic development.

Humboldt County’s current CEDS was adopted in 2018 and focuses on six industries that were identified and targets of opportunity: building and systems construction, diversified health care, investment support services, management and innovation service, niche manufacturing, and specialty food, flowers and beverages.

Of course, since the pandemic, the county’s economic needs and priorities have shifted. According to Huffman’s statement, the $218,000 will go toward Project Rebound’s community-wide effort to “deconstruct and rebuild the county’s comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) with an eye toward creating specific, measurable, and actionable economic strategies which emphasize economic recovery, economic self-sufficiency, and economic equity.”

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The lineups are set! Your candidates for public office have assembled and submitted the necessary paperwork, setting the stage set for another primary election season here in Humboldt County.

With a mere 81 days before the June 7 election, campaigns can now shift into high gear, though for a handful of lucky candidates, the race should be a breeze. In fact, the Outpost is prepared to call four races right now.

Congratulations to Humboldt County Sheriff William “Billy” Honsal and Superintendent of Schools Michael Davies Hughes, who will both win re-election, barring any wildly unlikely late write-in campaigns, as they are running unopposed.

Congrats, also, to Humboldt County’s next assessor, Howard LaHaie, and its next treasurer-tax collector, Amy Christensen, both of whom positioned themselves as the heir apparent No. 2s in their respective offices, having earned the trust of their bosses, Assessor Mari Wilson and Treasurer-Tax Collector John Bartholomew, both of whom are retiring from their positions.

Now, on to the contested races:

District Attorney

With the late qualification of Eureka attorney Michael Acosta, whose trial for felony charges for allegedly selling drugs and maintaining a drug house remains ongoing, this is now a three-way race between Acosta, Assistant District Attorney Stacey Eads and Deputy Public Defender Adrian Kamada.

Auditor-Controller

On paper, this, too, is now a three-way race, but administrative analyst Mychal Evenson has announced that he’s no longer actively running and will instead support challenger Cheryl Dillingham, the finance director in Rio Dell who spent 30 years working for the county. She’s facing off against incumbent Karen Paz Dominguez.

Recorder-Clerk/Registrar of Voters

Unexpectedly, there are also three candidates running for this position, which will be wide open due to the retirement of incumbent Kelly Sanders. All three come from within the dual offices overseen by this position. They are: Deputy County Registrar Juan Pablo Cervantes, Deputy Recorder-Clerk Tiffany Hunt Nielsen and Fiscal Officer Benjamin J. Hershberger. 

County Supervisor, District Four

Yet another three-way race! Here, looking to take over representation of the Eureka-dominated Fourth District from incumbent Virginia Bass, who’s not running, we have two current Eureka city councilmembers — Natalie Arroyo, a resources manager with Redwood Community Action Agency, and Kim Bergel, an instructional assistant at Eureka City Schools — and one former Eureka city councilmember, insurance broker Mike Newman.

County Supervisor, District Five

Up north, in the expansive McKinleyville-to-Orick-to-Willow Creek Fifth District, incumbent Steve Madrone will face off against challenger Larry Doss, a realtor and rancher.

Superior Court Judge, Dept. 5

There’s one judgeship up for grabs this election cycle, and the two candidates seeking that black robe are Deputy District Attorney Steve M. Steward and Eureka attorney Ben McLaughlin.

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Election Day is June 7. The Outpost will have plenty of coverage between now and then. Happy (and safe) campaigning to all the candidates!

Judge Kaleb Cockrum dismissed an arson charge this morning against Ryan Anthony Tanner, who remains accused of kidnapping and murdering Jason Todd Garrett more than two years ago in the Ettersburg area.

Cockrum, responding to a defense motion, denied the request to dismiss all charges but agreed evidence of arson of an inhabited structure was “contradictory and largely circumstantial.”

Tanner.

The jury trial for Tanner, 34, is expected to begin Monday and last six to eight weeks. He allegedly shot the 33-year-old Garrett to death after forcing him into a bathtub in a remote cabin. Afterward the cabin burned to the ground.

During Tanner’s 13-day preliminary hearing, key prosecution witness Christopher Champagne said he witnessed the shooting and helped dig Garrett’s grave under a water tank on Tanner’s property. Champagne made conflicting statements about the cabin where the shooting occurred, saying both that it appeared to be lived-in but also that items in the house were moldy, as if they hadn’t been touched in a long time.

Defense attorney Russ Clanton filed the dismissal motion based on his contention that Champagne, whose preliminary hearing testimony was sometimes hallucinatory, is not a competent witness.

Champagne provided some testimony corroborated by others. But he also said the cabin where Garrett was killed had been transformed into a torture chamber, complete with a human hand stuck in a vise. And Champagne claimed Tanner murdered numerous law enforcement officers, piled up their bodies and set them on fire.

Champagne, the son of Tanner’s former girlfriend, also testified both Garrett and his dog were killed by a single shot. He remembered wrapping the dog’s body in a shower curtain. In fact, the dog was alive and well. Also, Champagne believed Tanner at one point slashed Garrett’s throat so brutally, his jugular vein was hanging out.

An investigator testified during the preliminary hearing the wound “was just a scratch.”

Judge Cockrum, in his written ruling, said the standard for witnesses is capability, not competence. Champagne “was capable of expressing himself and did so for the better part of five days” during the preliminary hearing, the judge stated.

This morning was scheduled for a trial-assignment hearing, and Cockrum announced the case would be assigned to Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreiss. Then Clanton made an oral motion to disqualify Elvine-Kreiss, so Cockrum assigned it to himself.

Attorneys will be back in court Monday morning for some pre-trial work, including going over questionnaires for potential jurors. Also, Cockrum will rule on a motion, filed by Deputy District Attorney Whitney Timm, to modify a special allegation against Tanner.

Timm said outside court the special allegation of using an assault rifle should be changed to simply “a rifle.”

Timm is the trial prosecutor, with assistance from Deputy District Attorney Jessica Acosta. This morning Cockrum appointed private attorney Zack Curtis to assist Clanton.

Tanner, who remains in custody, was arrested in Briceland by a SWAT team five days after he allegedly murdered Garrett. He has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• HOMICIDE IN ETTERSBURG: Sheriff’s Office Arrests One After SWAT Operation Yesterday
• Investigators Locate Ettersburg Suspected Homicide Victim’s Remains
• Ettersburg Murder Suspect Enters Not Guilty Plea; Also Charged With Assaulting Two Other Men With AK-47
• Suspect in Homicide Near Ettersburg is Sane Enough to Face Charges, Judge Rules
• Witness Describes Execution-Style Murder of a Man and Dog in a Bathtub During Ryan Tanner Prelim Hearing
• Main Prosecution Witness Garbles Testimony
• Witness Provides Gruesome, Hallucinatory Testimony in Ettersburg Murder Trial
• Girlfriend of the Accused Testifies That He Abused Her and Threatened Her With Death
• Another Neighbor Testifies That the Accused Had Been on a Paranoid, Violent Rampage for Weeks Before the Killing
• Police Investigators Testify to the Discovery of the Body and Possible Murder Weapons
• Defense Attorney Grills Lead Detective, Attempts to Cast Doubt on Witnesses, Evidence, Investigation
• ETTERSBURG MURDER CASE: Judge Rules That Ryan Tanner Must Stand Trial For Murder
• ETTERSBURG MURDER CASE: Trial Date Set for May; Accused’s Laywer Enters Pleas of Not Guilty
• SoHum Murder Suspect Changes Plea to Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

Next week is Tsunami Preparedness Week! The big water is gonna hit us sooner or later, so it’s as well that we should be prepared.

The first event of the week comes tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., when the Office of Emergency Services will lead a drill in one of the most tsunami-prone communities in the county: Manila. The “hi-lo” sirens should start sounding right about then, and if you’re a Manila resident maybe you want to practice getting yourself to higher ground. See the map below.

Also: Consider signing up for the emergency alert system, as detailed in the following communique from HumOES.

Have a fun, safe, successful drill, Manila friends! Shelter Cove, your turn is coming on Thursday. And the big, county- and region-wide drill happens Wednesday, 

From the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services:

Do you know what to do in the event of a tsunami? Tsunami Preparedness Week is set for March 21-25, 2022, and the community is invited to take part in any of the several events happening this month to bolster your personal preparedness for a local tsunami.

Kicking off tsunami week, on Saturday, March 19, the community of Manila will undergo a walking evacuation drill beginning at 9:30 a.m. As part of this drill, Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies will patrol several neighborhood streets sounding the Hi-Lo Evacuation Siren and Office of Emergency Services staff will conduct a test of Zonehaven AWARE, the county’s new evacuation mapping tool. Residents in Manila are encouraged to walk to higher ground, as designated in the included map, upon hearing the Hi-Lo siren. This drill is being organized by the National Weather Service in coordination with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the Manila Community Services District.

On Wednesday, March 23, a test of the Tsunami Warning Communications System will be conducted for Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties. Beginning at about 9 a.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) will conduct a test of Humboldt Alert, the county’s emergency alert system. Residents who are signed up for Humboldt Alert, will receive an alert to their cellphone, landline, or email as part of this test. Later that morning, at 11 a.m., the National Weather Service will then conduct a test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS). As part of this test, alerts will be sent out via radio and TV broadcasts, weather radio, reverse 911, and tsunami sirens may be activated in some areas. People on the coast may also hear test broadcasts from airplanes.

Finally, on Thursday, March 24, the town of Shelter Cove will undergo a walking evacuation drill. During this drill, the town will also test their tsunami sirens. For more information about this drill, please contact the Shelter Cove Fire Department.

“Humboldt County is prone to a variety of natural and human caused disasters,” said Ryan Derby Humboldt County Sheriff’s OES Manager. “Your best tool to effectively respond to and recover from a disaster is your personal preparedness.”

Humboldt County residents are encouraged to utilize Tsunami Preparedness Week to review your personal preparedness plans for a local disaster.Find out if you live, work, or recreate in a Tsunami Hazard Zoneand create a plan for how you will respond should a tsunami occur. Create and discuss your emergency plan with family, friends and co-workers.

Residents are also encouraged to sign up for Humboldt Alert, the county’s opt-in emergency alert system, and tofind their pre-designated evacuation zone using Zonehaven AWARE, the county’s new evacuation mapping tool. Remember, we can’t alert you if we can’t reach you.

“Recent events like the December 6.0M earthquake and January tsunami advisory really served as a wakeup call to some of our coastal communities regarding the very real threat of a destructive tsunami,” Derby said. “Whether you are on the coast or inland, now is the time to begin getting yourself and your family prepared for whatever disaster the future may have in store.”

Find out more about preparing for earthquakes, tsunamis or any other disasters on the North Coast at https://rctwg.humboldt.edu or Ready.gov.