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After decades of neglect, Humboldt County’s aviation facilities will soon see some much-needed improvements thanks to an $18.2 million federal grant through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Funding Project Plan. 

The CARES Act funding is broken into three areas of focus: reimbursement of personnel costs for Department of Aviation staff to the tune of $7.1 million; general improvements of hangar infrastructure at Murray Field, Rohnerville and Garberville airports in the amount of $5 million; and $6.1 million for parking rehabilitation at the Humboldt County Airport (the main one north of McKinleyville). The funds must be spent by June 2024.

“We’ve had certain situations, primarily around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday last year in 2021, where we were way over on demand compared to our capacity [at the Humboldt County Airport],” Director of Aviation Cody Roggatz said during a presentation to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning. “…Between short and long-term there are approximately 375 spaces. This design here would bump that up to 575 spaces.”

The aviation department was unable to utilize the CARES Act grant funds when they were made available in April 2020 due to an ongoing lawsuit with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

The lawsuit, which was spurred by multiple regulatory compliance issues related to past management practices of the county’s six-airport system, was dismissed in January. Since the anonymous whistleblower complaint was filed in 2018, the Department of Aviation has worked to get back into compliance with FAA rules to resume the county’s access to federal grant funds.

“The changes we had to make – specifically those around adjusting rents – were even more unpopular due to the lack of maintenance and infrastructure improvements implemented at the county’s six airports over the past several decades,” Roggatz said during the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday. “However, these changes were made to ensure our compliance … and ensure our eligibility for tens of millions of dollars in federal funds today and moving forward.”

The county is also competing for approximately $12 million in federal funds to repave the main runway at the Humboldt County Airport and upgrade the airport’s antiquated electrical systems, he said. “These improvements will equate to approximately $30 million in investments in our airports over the next two years.”

“We’re trying to get additional federal funds on top of the $30 million…for completely reconfiguring, reconstructing and expanding our terminal facility,” he added. “…We intend to pursue as much federal funding as possible. …And when I say federal funds, I’m talking about the infrastructure [bill] that was just passed by Congress a few months ago.”

The grant funds will also go towards replacing the fuel system at Murray Field, one of the top priorities identified by the local aviation community, Roggatz said.

“We are working as quickly as we possibly can to get that infrastructure removed, replaced and moving forward to better serve that [general aviation] community,” he said. “…The records that I’ve found as it relates to the installation of that [tank], I believe it was done in 1978 and we have not maintained it between 1978 and now.”

Even with proper maintenance, the tank has surpassed its normal life due to the salty ocean air, First District Supervisor Rex Bohn noted.

Alex Stillman, a longtime member of the Aviation Advisory Committee, credited Roggatz for making progress on the much-needed improvements at the county’s airports. “I know that Cody had a lot of work to catch up on…but now it’s time for us to move and get things fixed in the other areas that our aviation community has been very, very patiently waiting for.”

While local airports are an important part of public safety, Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson said the aviation community will likely face some difficult discussions about maintaining these infrastructures due to the low population density relative to the number of local airports.

“I feel like a bit of a turd in the punchbowl in this conversation, but we really have to understand that even when we take monies for capital costs … there may be general funds, allocations and decisions that we’re going to have to make in the future that are relative to long-term maintenance,” he said. “…It’s a challenge for rural communities for sure.”

Wilson ultimately made a motion to receive and file the report which was seconded by Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone. The motion passed unanimously 5-0.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• Huffman Announces More Than $18 Million in CARES Act Funding for Humboldt County Airports
• Why Is Humboldt County’s $17M Windfall in CARES Act Funding for COVID Relief Going to the Airport, Of All Places?

Press release from Humboldt Bay Fire:

At 3:28 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, Humboldt Bay Fire units were dispatched to report of a home on fire on the 1400 block of Ridgewood Drive.

Engine 8112 was the first of six units to arrive on scene and found a moderate amount of dark smoke drifting from the front door. The homeowner had already evacuated and stated there was no one else inside which crews confirmed with a thorough search.

The crews attacking the fire found that it was confined to the kitchen and, after mitigating some hazards in the area, crews were able to knock down the fire quickly. Once the fire was completely extinguished they cleared the residence of smoke and the building was turned back over to the homeowner.

After an investigation, it was determined that cooking oil had been left heating on the stove which led to smoke and, eventually, an accidental fire. The damage to the home is estimated to be a total of $45,000 including damage to the structure itself and its contents.

Humboldt Bay Fire would like to remind the public to never leave your cooking unattended. Cooking fires are the #1 cause of fires both here in HBF’s jurisdiction and across the nation. Cooking fires are largely accidental and can happen to anyone. Don’t let it happen to you – stay in the kitchen while you are cooking and always set timers to remind you to check on your food.

Humboldt Bay Fire would also like to thank our partners at California Highway Patrol and Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office who helped assist us on this incident.

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The Northwest Pacific Tsunami Center says that a large earthquake near Fukushima, Japan early this morning did not generate a tsunami. 

This morning’s earthquake was 7.3 in magnitude. Its epicenter was close to the last earthquake that generated a significant tsunami that struck the Pacific Northwest almost exactly 11 years ago, on March 11, 2011.

Read the Tsunami Warning Center’s message on today’s earthquake here.

PREVIOUSLY:

• PR PR: Humboldt Won Some Odd, Poppy-Shaped Award With Help From Bigfoot and Tony Hawk Got One Too

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Press release from Eddy Alexander:

[Last night] at the city of Eureka’s City Council meeting the tourism marketing agency of record, Eddy Alexander, presented an update on the community’s marketing, placemaking, and promotion efforts.

Eddy Alexander reported Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), a measure of local tourism traffic and revenue, had increased 130% between the start of their contract in 2019 and the end of calendar year 2021. This improvement was driven in large part by a measurable increase in the average length of stay for visitors leveraging area hotels and accommodations.

They also noted that the city was doing a better job increasing the number of assets that visitors enjoyed while in the area and attracting more people from more places, a shift that can both be attributed to the disruption of the pandemic and one that an Eddy Alexander representative said, “positions the city for continued growth as a destination in the years to come.”

In the last year, the city of Eureka, and its new Redwood Sky Walk attraction, have been featured in more than 200 outlets achieving an estimated viewership of 3.73 million people, racking up 108,000 article social shares - across 11 different countries and six languages. High profile placements include The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler Spain, Lonely Planet, National Geographic, and the current cover of Sonoma Magazine, which Eddy Alexander President Jennifer Eddy shared during the presentation.

The firm reported that they had worked with more than 200 media outlets and more than 2,000 freelance travel writers, bloggers, and influencers and had facilitated Eureka features across more than 400 radio stations. The total estimated value of the recent earned media attention exceeded $4M and the efforts helped increased traffic to the Visiteureka.com website by ~600% year over year.

At the end of the presentation, Eureka City Council was presented with a Visit California Poppy Award for “Best Public Relations Campaign” which was recently awarded at the California Tourism Outlook conference in San Francisco.Visit California recognizes the leading tourism marketing efforts that have best contributed to the state’s reputation, economy, and standing as a leading global destination over the previous 24-month period and the city of Eureka was honored for the campaign to open the new Redwood Sky Walk at Sequoia Park Zoo.

At the same event, Eureka and Eddy Alexander were also honored as finalists for best Overall Destination Marketing Brand.

The full recorded City Council presentation includes additional details about Eddy Alexander’s recent and upcoming projects and will be made available for public viewing on the city of Eureka’s website.

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Californians used 2.6% more water in January compared to before the drought emergency was declared, a sign that urban residents are ignoring the state’s pleas to take the drought seriously and cut back.

The increased water use in California’s cities and towns came during the second-driest January on record, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack continues to dwindle — and another dry summer looms.

The new data, which details urban water use statewide, shows that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s repeated pleas for a 15% voluntary cutback in water use are failing to reach people in cities and towns. Yet Newsom has stopped short of issuing a mandatory order.

“With the voluntary call, some areas were doing okay, others not so well. The message gets pretty garbled. With a mandate, it’s a very clear message about the need,” said Heather Cooley, research director with the Pacific Institute, a global water think tank.

Newsom spokesperson Alex Stack declined to answer whether Newsom intends to set a mandatory conservation order.

In January, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted emergency regulations allowing water providers to bar certain wasteful water uses, such as hosing down sidewalks with drinking water.

But water use nevertheless ticked up statewide in January compared to January 2020. The biggest increase was 19% in the desert region that includes the Palm Springs area and the Imperial Valley. The South Lahontan region, spanning the Sierra Nevada, mountain communities of Southern California and Death Valley, had the second highest increase, at 9%. Residents of the Los Angeles basin and San Diego County used 1.8% more water, while those in most of the Central Valley used 6 to 7% more.

The only regions that slightly reduced water consumption were the San Francisco Bay Area, which used 1.4% less, and the southern San Joaquin Valley, which used 0.2% less.

Overall, Californians from July of last year through January conserved about 6.5% statewide compared to 2020, according to state data — falling far short of Newsom’s requested 15%.

Several years into the last devastating drought in 2015, Gov. Jerry Brown authorized state regulators to order reductions from water suppliers to conserve 25% more water across California.

Now, a year after Newsom declared a drought emergency in hard-hit northwest counties, some experts say a state mandate is critical to keeping enough water in storage to survive a drought that could last a number of years.

Newsha Ajami, a longtime water researcher, said the mandate should have happened months ago, when reservoirs were low and there was no precipitation in sight. “Having a mandatory water restriction is in everyone’s benefit,” said Ajami, who is the chief strategy and development officer for research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The new state data only includes water use from urban water districts, not rural irrigation districts that serve farms.

At a Sacramento press conference last week, California’s Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot thanked residents for their efforts but reiterated a plea for voluntary cutbacks.

“I’m also here on behalf of Governor Newsom to ask all of us to do more,” Crowfoot said. “It’s once again time for Sacramentans, residents of this region, Californians to step up and help us navigate through this drought.”

“With the voluntary call, some areas were doing okay, others not so well…With a mandate, it’s a very clear message about the need.”
— Heather Cooley, the Pacific Institute

Under the statewide mandate issued during the last drought, water suppliers were required to conserve 25% statewide — with regions assigned a certain percentage of water depending on their existing use — or face escalating consequences that could result in fines.

Californians responded: They cut their water use by 23.9% between June 2015 and February 2016, compared to the same months in 2013, according to water board staff. Cities and towns still use less water daily than they did before the last drought began: about 17% less per person.

This time, however, many water suppliers have relied on ramping up outreach and rebates rather than imposing new restrictions or fines.

Ordering California’s water suppliers to cut back further is likely to be a controversial move.

State Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Democrat from Hanford, is skeptical that it would work.

“If we’re still not even over the (COVID-19) vaccine mandate and the testing mandate, and now you’re going to ask people to cut down on water consumption? That you should take less showers and you can’t get a new pool or whatever it may be?” she said. “Yeah, no, that’s going to make people really angry.”

Hurtado called for structural and technological changes — like developing more drought-resistant crops and fixing canals damaged by subsidence — over behavioral ones. Those, however, take time.

Water providers caution against reading too much into the low January conservation numbers: It’s harder for Californians to squeeze out additional savings during the winter, when many already cut back on watering their yards.

In December, which had record-setting storms, Californians used 15.6% less water compared to the previous year, with the greatest savings in southern parts of the state. It was the first time Californians statewide crossed the 15% water conservation target that Newsom urged residents to meet last July.

Since July, the greatest savings came from the hard-hit North Coast and the San Francisco Bay Area. The least, from the inland mountains and deserts of central and southeast California.

Water systems on the North Coast “were the canary in the coal mine,” said Marielle Rhodeiro, research data specialist with the water board’s conservation program. “They were the first to start running out of water. I think there’s a little bit more awareness up north, probably because we’re closer to the immediate problem.”

Some water suppliers crack down, others coax

For some local water agencies, voluntary calls for conservation have come close to meeting their own goals, though not the state’s 15% target.

In the Bay Area, the East Bay Municipal Utility District upped its rates to fund improvements and asked residents to voluntarily cut water use by 10%.

The district ramped up rebates for replacing turf in yards and street medians, and launched an advertising campaign on streaming audio platforms and social media recommending five-minute songs for people to listen to while they showered.

It worked, to a certain extent: Water use decreased by more than 10% from July through December compared to last year, the district reported to the state. But now the savings are slipping; water use increased in February, according to water conservation manager Alice Towey.

“Clearly, it’s becoming difficult (to conserve) this time of year, when nature is normally watering our East Bay gardens,” Towey said. February was California’s second driest on record.

Farther south in San Jose, insufficient voluntary conservation prompted the local water company to institute surcharges for those who exceed mandatory limits based on 15% cuts to water used above a minimum threshold in 2019. In November, the California Public Utilities Commission approved the district’s mandate, which took effect in December.

“Clearly, it’s becoming difficult (to conserve) this time of year, when nature is normally watering our East Bay gardens.”
— Alice Tomey, East Bay Municipal Utility District

Residents saved 20% more water in November compared to 2019 levels. With little outdoor irrigation to cut back in winter months, however, the savings evaporated in December and January.

The area lost about half of its above-ground water storage capacity due to earthquake retrofits for the region’s largest reservoir.

For Liann Walborsky, San Jose Water’s director of corporate communications, a statewide mandate would reinforce their efforts and drive home the message that conservation is critical. “I think it would just help validate all the work we’ve been doing since June,” she said.

In the aerospace hub of Palmdale in the Mojave Desert, after the area received less than two inches of rain, local water officials faced the possibility of mandatory cuts last summer. Then they bolstered their supplies enough to make it through the dry months.

The district called for 15% voluntary cutbacks to reverse increasing water use as residents weathered the COVID-19 pandemic at home, stepping up outreach and advertising for its rebate program to replace thirsty landscapes. Rebates increased by almost 70% from around $53,000 in 2020 to more than $89,000 in 2021.

In the first half of 2021, residents used about 11% more than in 2020. But the latter half ended up about 5% lower.

Still, the water district’s director of resources and analytics Peter Thompson is torn about whether it’s time for a statewide mandate.

“The momentum of having the state come out with a mandate makes our jobs easier,” Thompson said. “But California is huge. And it’s diverse in terms of the different water agencies and their available water supplies. So it makes a lot more sense to make that an individual choice for each agency.”

Mandates may not be enough

For some water systems, even mandatory calls for conservation haven’t been enough to weather water shortages.

By May 2021, in the small coastal hamlet of Mendocino, residents and businesses were required to use 40% less water than their allocations. Wells still went dry, water trucked from other districts climbed in cost when it was available, and restaurants in a town reliant on tourism were forced to weigh whether staying open was worth the expense of washing the dishes.

Ryan Rhoades, supervisor for the Mendocino City Community Services District, said he filled buckets of creek water to keep relatives’ toilets flushing. He said most residents managed to stay below the mandatory target, but estimates that about 5% didn’t.

The county and state stepped in to help, subsidizing trucks to haul water 60 miles from Ukiah to a reservoir in nearby Fort Bragg to bolster the coastal towns’ supplies. And though the conservation mandate was lifted after early winter rains, replaced by a call to voluntarily reduce use by 15% of each well owner’s allotment, the city is bracing for another dry summer — and hoping to prevent more shortages ahead.

Rhoades said he’s awaiting word from the state on possible funding to tie into the local school district’s water supply, drill more wells and increase storage. The wait, he said, is “frustrating and challenging, because people are aware that we have a problem, and we need help.”

The state budget last year included $5.2 billion for drought response and water resiliency. Since the drought began, the Department of Water Resources has awarded more than $195 million to projects aimed at addressing shortages and bolstering emergency and longer-term supplies, including those supporting disadvantaged communities and tribes with well repairs, securing hauled water, and other efforts.

The State Water Resources Control Board tallies $9.75 billion in loans and grants for drinking water, wastewater, groundwater cleanup and stormwater capture since 2014, board chair Joaquin Esquivel said at a press conference last week.

Legislation enacted after the last drought called for urban water providers to develop water budgets based on a number of factors, including indoor and outdoor water efficiency standards. Calculating water budgets is expected to take through the end of 2023, but could pave the way for more sophisticated, targeted mandates going forward, said the Pacific Institute’s Cooley.

But urban water use is just a small part of California’s water supply problem.

Of all the water Californians use, about 20% flows through urban taps, hoses and sprinklers. Almost all of the rest is for agriculture, which pumps water from wells and also gets supplies from rivers as well as state and federal aqueducts.

During the last drought in 2015, Brown was criticized for not imposing conservation orders on agriculture.

“We should be doing more conservation in general, and particularly in drought years,” said Jay Lund, a University of California, Davis, professor of civil and environmental engineering. “But the quantities of water that we will save from this conservation will not be enough to take a tremendous amount of pressure off of farmers or off the environment.”

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CalMatters environment coverage is supported by the 11th Hour Project and Len and Mary Anne Baker. CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Alan Ray Fletcher, retired Cal Poly Humboldt philosophy instructor and longtime North Coast resident, passed away March 1 following a brief illness. He was 73.

Alan was born on Sept. 19, 1948 in Eugene, Oregon. A 1966 graduate of Eureka High School, Alan served with the Marines in Vietnam in 1967 as an infantryman and interpreter. He was wounded in action and awarded the Purple Heart.

Alan returned to Humboldt County to study philosophy at what was then Humboldt State University, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1972. Alan went on to do graduate study in philosophy at the University of California, Davis, earning a Masters Degree and becoming a Ph.D candidate in 1976.

That year Alan joined the HSU philosophy department faculty, teaching philosophy classes until his retirement in September 2010.

“Alan Fletcher was the best teacher our department ever had,” said Cal Poly Humboldt philosophy department faculty member Michael Goodman. “And believe me, we have had some stellar teachers in our department over the thirty-seven years I’ve been there.”

As a child Alan was adventurous and musical. As a teen he had a motorcycle paper route that earned him enough money to purchase a 1955 Chevy Bel Air. It was a two-door and navy blue in color. His sister recalled the time he took it to Tijuana to get a black tuck and roll interior. When he returned, he and his buddies and a cousin, Sandy Sandlin, formed a band with Alan as their manager. They were called Us Incorporated and were popular locally.

Alan was a loyal sports fan and closely followed the San Francisco Giants, the 49ers and the Golden State Warriors. He also loved roses, hiking in the Trinity Alps and the redwoods and listening to the ocean. He was a fan of the blues and classic rock and particularly fond of rock bands like the Beatles, the Moody Blues and the Grateful Dead.

“He was a wonderful father, who never hesitated to provide for us,” said Alan’s daughter, Amy Lynne Baker. “He was always there when we needed him.”

As long as he was able, Alan cherished the time he spent in the wilderness. He also loved live music and enjoyed evenings at both The Jam in Arcata and the Six Rivers Brewery listening to the blues. He loved playing cards with friends and was particularly fond of good science fiction.

Alan enjoyed discussing his spiritual beliefs with his family. His abiding interest in philosophy led him ultimately to the teachings of Ishwar Puri Sant Mat. Alan described himself as “stunned” by Ishwar’s lectures that seemed to transcend the limits of Western philosophical thought with a fresh understanding derived through love and devotion. Ishwar’s teachings were a comfort to Alan during his last days as he expressed to his family a confidence he was going to “a better place.”

Alan is survived by his loving daughters, Amy Lynne Baker and Kirsten Renae Fletcher; by a grandson, Luke Alan Combs, and a granddaughter, Lucy Rae Combs; sisters Sheila Yates and Cindy Haberly; and a brother, Randy Fletcher.

Alan was predeceased by Cheri Lynne Fletcher, his dear wife and the mother of his daughters; his mother, Beverly C. Lloyd and father, Thurman Fletcher; by a sister, Sandra Vanden Bos; and by his very close friend Peter Bryan.

A celebration of Alan’s life is pending. Arrangements are being handled by the Humboldt Cremation and Funeral Service in Eureka.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Alan Fletcher’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

Betty Jean Brown passed away at home in the company of her family on March 11, 2022, after a brief bout with cancer. Born March 23, 1939, in Eureka to Lars and Eleanor Stromland, Betty attended Eureka City Schools and graduated EHS class of 1957. She received her Bachelor of Arts in teaching from Humboldt State College in 1961. Her first teaching job was at South Bay Elementary. Betty married Allen F. Brown in July 1961 and they had three children. She returned to teaching after her children entered school, teaching second grade at Lincoln Elementary (1970-1981) and Alice Birney (1981- 1995). After retiring in 1995 she continued to substitute teach and offer reading intervention at Washington Elementary.

Besides teaching, Betty considered her children and grandchildren her greatest joys in life. She had a tenderness for children and animals, taking in many neighborhood stray kitties. Betty was a lifelong, active member of The First Covenant Church of Eureka, where she sang in the choir. Her church family was very important to her. She maintained many long-term friendships with several of her high school and teacher friends with whom she enjoyed many gatherings. She also was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma and The Retired Teachers Association.

Friends and family celebrated many holiday and birthday picnics at Betty’s childhood home in Cutten, “down back” in the redwoods, enjoying the best burgers and steaks on the wood-fired grill. Many of her second-grade students likely have fond memories of yearly picnics and treasure hunts there.

Betty is survived by her sister Lorene Wilson, daughter-in-law Kim Brown, daughters Michelle Smither and Margo Ridout (Ron), grandchildren Jessica Wilhelm (Thomas), Kyle Brown (Sarah), Matthew Brown (Meegen), Laura Rice (Nick), Alex and Mariah Smither, Samantha, Zachary, and Lilianna Ridout, and great-grandchildren Amelia Rice, Mason Brown, and Carter Brown. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their children.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents Lars and Eleanor Stromland, parents-in-law Ralph and Winfred Brown, husband Allen Brown, son Mark Brown, son-in-law Dean Smither, brothers-in-law Howard Wilson and Melvin Brown, and sister-in-law Stella Claire Delaney.

Betty will be laid to rest at Oceanview Cemetery. Services to be held at The First Covenant Church on Friday, March 25, 2022 at 11 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Hospice of Humboldt or your favorite charity.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Betty Brown’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.