Press release from UIHS:

Lara-O’Rourke

Liz Lara-O’Rourke has been named the new CEO of United Indian Health Services (UIHS.) Lara-O’Rourke has served in multiple roles at UIHS over her 34 year career at UIHS, and is excited to begin her tenure.

“UIHS is special to me for the unique services we are able to provide to our American Indian community,” Lara-O’Rourke said. “It is an honor to be selected as the next CEO and I look forward to continuing our growth in services to serve our community.

Outgoing CEO John Reeves expressed support for the selection, saying that he “could not ask for a better person to usher UIHS into its future!”

UIHS is entering it’s 51st year of service to the American Indian community on the north coast and serves thousands of patients annually at their seven locations in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom will soon get to make yet another appointment with far-reaching implications: Who should lead the independent agency tasked with evaluating the performance of his own administration?

Elaine Howle — who has led the California State Auditor’s office for 21 years — announced last month that she plans to retire at the end of the year. The news sent shock waves through Sacramento: “I’m not sure I’m ready — the institutional knowledge and the framework that it’s taken us to get here, I think is so incredibly important,” Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, a Laguna Beach Democrat, told Howle last month after she testified on the progress California’s beleaguered unemployment department had made on key reforms.

Howle became the first woman to be appointed California state auditor in 2000, when then-Gov. Gray Davis named her to the position. She was subsequently reappointed by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democrats Jerry Brown and Newsom.

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters wondered whether lawmakers — charged with recommending replacement candidates to Newsom — would “select a worthy successor who will maintain the office’s tradition of telling it like it is, not like politicians wish it to be.”

And Republican lawmakers — who make up a small minority of the California Legislature — are raising alarms that they will be shut out of the process altogether. In a Wednesday letter to Assemblymember Rudy Salas, the Bakersfield Democrat who leads the committee responsible for sending nominations to Newsom, seven Republican legislators asked that “one Democrat and one Republican from each house” be “assigned to a subcommittee to review applications, vet candidates, and make a recommendation to the full committee.”

“Government inefficiency, along with waste, fraud, and abuse, affect all Californians, so it only makes sense that this process should be open, transparent, and enjoy bipartisan cooperation from the start,” the GOP lawmakers wrote.

Committee staffers said Thursday that both Democrats and Republicans will review applications, vet candidates and decide which names will be sent on to the governor, but staff for Republicans said there was no statutory guarantee of a bipartisan process.

In recent months, Howle’s office — the only agency that under state law has full access to all records, accounts, correspondence, property and other files of any publicly created entity — has unleashed a series of blistering reports on California’s pandemic response.

Among other things, Howle and her staff uncovered rampant fraud at the Employment Development Department, inequitable distribution of federal relief funds among cities and counties, delays in getting federal rent relief to struggling tenants and homeless Californians, insufficient oversight of school districts’ use of federal relief funds, delays in delivering food assistance to vulnerable families, ineffective use of federal funds for COVID-19 testing and contract tracing, and mismanagement of federal money at the state’s prison oversight board.

In recent years, Howle’s office also found that California is unlikely to meet its ambitious climate goals, that the University of California admitted unqualified students based on wealthy connections and its Office of the President accumulated more than $175 million in undisclosed reserves, that the state’s “disjointed” approach helped cause the largest homeless population in the nation and resulted in the squandering of $2.7 billion for affordable housing, and that the state lottery failed to maximize funding for education.

This week, Howle sat down with CalMatters to discuss her 38-year career at the state auditor’s office, her blockbuster EDD investigations, the political pressures she’s faced, the most challenging organizations she’s worked with and the qualities she hopes to see in her successor. This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

CalMatters: “We wanted to get your thoughts on the last 30-plus years that you’ve been doing this … and what prompted this transition.”

Howle: “I graduated from Sac State in 1982 and I was struggling to find a job. And my brother actually had worked at the Capitol as a legislative staff. And he’s like, ‘Why don’t you work for the auditor general?’ … I got the job and I thought, ‘Oh, OK, yeah, I’ll learn about state government and then figure out what I really want to do.’ Because my real dream job was to be an athletic director at a major university. I was an athlete in college — soccer, basketball and softball. … Anyway, long story short, I tried. It’s the ’80s. How many women were getting jobs in collegiate administration in ’82, ’81? Forget it. … Anyway, I got out here, got the job with the auditor’s office and started working on some audits. This organization — it may sound, I don’t know, odd — but it’s like a family.

A few things prompted the transition — 21 years is a long time. I think it’s time for the next generation of leaders to take over the office. … There are a lot of people in this organization that worked here for a long time who I think are ready … for me to hand off the torch to them and have them run with it. And then just personal. It’s a demanding job, very difficult job, rewarding job. But, you know, I’m in my 60s now. It’s time to dial it back a little bit and enjoy life and have a little bit more balance.”

CalMatters: “I’m curious if in the 20 years you’ve been leading this agency, if any patterns have emerged among specific agencies or (political) parties that, you know, are maybe receptive or not so receptive to the things that you’re saying?”

Howle: “Of course, no one wants to get audited and be criticized, but all of the administrations consistently were receptive to the results of the work. … They didn’t necessarily like perhaps the tone of the report, the timing of the report, things like that. But I think they were all committed, and I feel the Newsom administration, same thing, is committed to trying to improve government in California.

It’s not an easy thing to do with big agencies like EDD. … The frustration that we have had — or I have personally felt — with that situation is we issued audits 10, 11 years ago about concerns we had with … their ability to process unemployment claims. We made some recommendations. Things weren’t implemented. Pandemic’s unprecedented, but … if you had made some improvements, perhaps the impact wouldn’t have been as bad on Californians as it has been. .. It’s gotten better, but it’s still a problem out there.” “Of course, no one wants to get audited and be criticized, but all of the administrations consistently were receptive to the results of the work.”

“Of course, no one wants to get audited and be criticized, but all of the administrations consistently were receptive to the results of the work.”

CalMatters: “Based on your audits of high-speed rail, do you have any thoughts about that project’s ability to succeed?”

Howle: “I think it’s been slow going. … We looked at that project over multiple audits and from one audit to the next, you’re seeing improvement, but not enough. You know, it’s been a long, long process and it’s just incredibly expensive. Nobody is going to suggest that high-speed rail is not a good idea, but the fact that the state has had to rely so much on contractors … Clearly, you need to rely on contractors for certain types of expertise, but we need to have our own control — state employee control — over certain processes.”

CalMatters: “Are you willing to name your favorite agencies and your least favorite agencies in terms of the level of cooperation?”

Howle: “Local governments are difficult because they’re not familiar with the state auditor’s office. Local law enforcement on occasion can be difficult, but … once they understand … how our process works, that they are going to have the ability to see a draft long before it goes public, then they start to settle down a little bit.

I would say one of the challenging audits was the University of California. … When we were conducting the audit we did a few years ago and we found out that the Office of the President was interfering with our ability to work directly with campuses, that was a major issue for me. … Most agencies don’t do that. … I think that’s the one and only time I ever had to inform anybody that an entity directly interfered with our ability to do our work independently.”

“I’m aware that there are no-bid contracts out there — I wasn’t aware of a contract that size that auto-renewed.”

CalMatters: “You’ve been doing a lot of audits on the high-risk spending during COVID. … The state has this COVID lab that they built down in Valencia, and they recently auto-renewed this $1.7 billion contract for it, even though there have been a lot of reports about inaccuracies and problems. … There was supposed to have been a report investigating it, but then they didn’t release that report. I was wondering if you think that’s something that is worthy of looking into what’s going on, and also some of the other … no-bid contracts that the state has made during the pandemic.”

Howle: “I’m aware that there are no-bid contracts out there — I wasn’t aware of a contract that size that auto-renewed. Certainly, we have done an analysis of … all the federal money coming into California. … We didn’t look at no-bid contracts. Certainly, that’s something that the office could look at. … It certainly sounds like it … may be something that’s concerning, particularly if, as you say, there were some reporting requirements and those weren’t met.”

CalMatters: “You are pretty much the only person in state government that can be like, ‘You’re doing a bad job,’ and that’s your job to say that. And no one wants to hear that they’re doing a bad job. What are the political pressures that you may face behind the scenes?”

“The minute anybody in this position agrees to, ‘OK, I’ll wait and issue it a week later,’ or, ‘OK, I won’t say that,’ the integrity and the credibility of this organization is destroyed.”

Howle: “Have I received phone calls from people saying, ‘I don’t like this text’ or ‘I hope you’re not issuing this report next week’? Absolutely. But the answer is always, ‘Yes I am issuing the report next week,’ because our responsibility is … to speak the truth to power. And so whether UC doesn’t like it or whether the Newsom administration, the Schwarzenegger administration, the Gray Davis administration, didn’t like what we were saying, we did our due diligence, had the evidence to support what we were going to say and what we were going to recommend.

The minute anybody in this position agrees to, ‘OK, I’ll wait and issue it a week later,’ or, ‘OK, I won’t say that,’ the integrity and the credibility of this organization is destroyed, and we can’t afford to let that happen. And I hope my successor understands that that cannot happen.”

CalMatters: “Looking back on your long career here, what do you feel like has been your biggest accomplishment or proudest moment?”

Howle: “There’s a program that we audited like 10, 11 years ago. It’s called Every Woman Counts, and it’s a program … that provides mammography and cervical cancer screenings for low-income women. … We audited the program and we said, ‘Yeah, you could cut back on how much you’re spending on contracts, use some of that money to be able to provide more screenings.’ And so that’s what happened. And so, you know … I have no doubt there are some women out there who received those services whose lives were saved. … You’re looking at the efficiency of the program, but there are real people who are impacted by that. And that’s the rewarding part of the job for me personally, and I hope for my staff.

I’m really proud of how much this office has been able to — I don’t want to say influence — I suppose you could say influence public policy. We don’t make policy, but we’re giving the information to the administration, to the Legislature and to the public to hopefully affect change in California.”

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

Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr.

It took weeks of long, late-night meetings full of wonky debate and digital line drawing — as well as a haiku and at least two songs as public comment.

But Wednesday night, California’s independent redistricting commission reached a key milestone: Its first official maps are out.

The citizen panel voted unanimously to release preliminary congressional, state Senate and state Assembly districts for public comment.

The commission’s work is far from done, however. It acknowledges that these preliminary maps are far from perfect, and that it will need the six weeks before its Dec. 27 court-ordered deadline to fix them before adopting final districts for the next decade, starting with the 2022 elections. On its schedule: At least four public input meetings starting Nov. 17 and 14 line-drawing sessions between Nov. 30 and Dec. 19.

“It’s messy. It’s very slow,” commissioner Linda Akutagawa said Wednesday evening just before the vote. “But I do believe that it is a process that has enabled as many people who seek to be engaged in this process to be engaged.”The commission is working toward “final maps that will best reflect everybody,” added Akutagawa, a no party preference voter from Huntington Beach who is president and CEO of Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics.

Some key questions as the 14 commissioners start their next phase:

How much could the maps change?

A lot, commissioners concede.

While they’re required to follow a specific set of criteria, with equal population numbers being the highest priority, there are different ways to achieve those goals.

The draft maps that were approved Wednesday night are generally along the lines of the final round of “visualizations” that the commission worked on this week. They include reworked congressional districts in Northern California, the Central Valley and San Diego in response to public feedback.

For example, the progressive city of Davis was moved from a U.S. House district with politically conservative, rural areas in Northern California in earlier maps into a more urban, liberal district that includes parts of Yolo, Solano and Contra Costa counties.

To meet its self-imposed deadline so it could avoid meetings around Thanksgiving, the commission also put a pin in several areas that need further work, including congressional and legislative districts in Los Angeles.

Who are some early winners and losers?

The commission responded to concerns about earlier maps that combined two congressional districts represented by longtime African American representatives into one, and kept them separate in the latest maps. Commissioners were also able to keep the Hmong community united in congressional maps, and kept Native American tribes mostly united in Congressional and state Assembly maps.

The commission also addressed concerns from community members in Orange County’s Little Saigon by ensuring they were in the same state Senate district. San Joaquin County community leaders who wanted less divided districts are also likely happy with the draft maps.

Meanwhile, voters in and near Tracy who were disappointed with being grouped into a congressional district with the Bay Area were relieved to see their city placed back with the Central Valley.

But other areas and advocacy groups are on the losing end so far.

Inyo and Mono counties, where officials asked to be kept together, were split in congressional and Senate districts, as was the city of Santa Clarita in Senate maps.

“Losers” also include voters in Sacramento County, which hasn’t been as vocal in the process and is in danger of being sliced into several congressional districts, according to Jeff Burdick, a political blogger and 2020 congressional candidate.

And the uncertainty surrounding the districts is making it difficult for candidates and campaigns to get going for the June primary, some political professionals told Politico.

Which incumbents should be most worried?

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, who hopes to become speaker after next year’s midterm election, argues that congressional Democrats who won by 16 percentage points or less in 2020 would be in competitive races in 2022.

One factor that could help tip the balance in favor of Republicans: voter concerns about the economy. A poll released this week by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that majorities in the Central Valley, the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego are more pessimistic about the economy. And those are areas where some seats are already closely contested.

One seat that could flip from blue to red is held by Rep. Ami Bera of Elk Grove, who has narrowly won since 2012. In the current maps, his district includes more of Placer County, where Donald Trump won by 6.5 percentage points last November. It also now includes Kevin Kiley, the state assemblymember who ran in the Sept. 14 gubernatorial recall election and is now asking supporters whether he should run for Congress.

What are outside observers concerned about?

Transparency, or the lack thereof, has been a recurring complaint during the process so far.

Some experts have raised concerns that one data set — known as the Racially Polarized Voting Analysis — is not made public. It drives much of the decision-making around Voting Rights Act districts — ones where minorities make up more than 50% of the voting-age population — but those conversations happen in closed session.

Despite the advances in technology the commission is able to use, such as a public line-drawing tool, the panel didn’t post its preliminary maps until hours before voting, giving the public less time to review them. And the ones it posted, as with some earlier maps, were not easy to decipher.

Commission spokesperson Fredy Ceja responded that the commission posted maps as soon as possible and that with the draft maps approved, “the public will be able to use our map viewer on the website to zoom in and out of districts.”

In addition, some complained about the lack of a clear schedule — specifically, when public comment would be allowed. For some, that meant waiting on the phone for hours to speak, though the commission issued frequent reminders that comments submitted online were also reviewed.

Ceja said that while the commission tried to start with an agenda, things changed “quickly and constantly.” “We communicated changes as they arose,” he said via email.

But, at times, even some commissioners have been exasperated. During the Nov. 7 meeting, Sara Sadhwani tweeted only an emoji: the face screaming in fear.

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

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Nov. 10, 2021, at about 9:19 p.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a residence on the 700 block of Poole Road, in the county’s jurisdiction of Ferndale, for the report of a burglary in progress.

Dustin Beau Campbell Booking Photo | Humboldt County Correctional Facility

Deputies arrived on scene and observed an elderly female in possession of a firearm, detaining a male suspect. The resident complied with deputies’ requests to set aside the weapon and the firearm was rendered safe. The male, identified as 21-year-old Dustin Beau Campbell, was then taken into custody by deputies. 

Through their investigation, deputies learned that the resident arrived home to find the door open and several items out of place. While inside the home, the resident located Campbell. At that time, the resident drew her personal firearm, holding Campbell at gunpoint until deputies’ arrival.

Campbell was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of first-degree burglary (PC 459/461(a)). 

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

A look at Cosce’s next opponent Mike “Blood Diamond” Mathetha.

Humboldt born MMA pro Orion Cosce is set to return to the octagon for his second official UFC bout on Feb. 12.

Cosce told the Outpost that he has agreed to fight UFC newcomer Mike “Blood Diamond” Mathetha at UFC 271.

Orion Cosce. | Photo provided by Orion Cosce

“I got offered [the fight] about a month ago,” Cosce said. “I’ll be doing what I always do to prepare: train my ass off and make sure my technique is on point.”

After losing his first official UFC match to Philip Rowe in July, Cosce now faces an opponent who’s making his own UFC debut.

Mathetha, a champion kickboxer, is set to enter the octagon for the first time after training under the tutelage of UFC superstar and current UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.

Adesanya is also rumored to be headlining the event in a rematch title fight against former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker.

Cosce said that he’s excited to test his skill against a competitor from Adesanya’s camp, but that he’s mainly focused on getting his first win in the UFC.

“I’m more excited just to be able to compete again sooner than later,” he said. “I want to redeem myself.”

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PREVIOUSLY: Orion Cosce Loses First Official UFC Bout By Second-Round Knockout

Loberta Bartlett Gwin passed away on November 2, 2021 at Timber Ridge in McKinleyville at the age of 98.

Loberta was born in Rio Dell (Stephenson Hollow) on December 19, 1922. She had two sisters and a brother, both sisters are deceased, one just recently. She lived in Lake County for a short time, but resided in Humboldt County most of her life. Loberta attended elementary school in Rio Dell, Yager Creek, Hydesville, and graduated eighth grade at Rohnerville Elementary School. She graduated from Fortuna Union High School in 1940.

After graduation, Loberta worked as a secretary/clerk for Robert Newell in Fortuna and later as a waitress in Fortuna. She spent a year at Asilomar on a government project, was a telephone operator in South San Francisco, and worked for the California Barrel Factory in Arcata.

Loberta married Donald W. Gwin after World War II. They lived in Arcata and Blue Lake before moving to McKinleyville in 1950, where their three children, Barry, Gerald, and Donette were born. While the children were growing up, Loberta attended College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State University obtaining her AA in Library Technology. She was subsequently employed as the librarian at the McKinleyville Elementary School, where she enjoyed her job and the students for 28 years.

Loberta traveled extensively. In Norway, she and her husband, Donald, visited his relatives. She has made several return trips to Norway. Loberta and Don toured many parts of Canada and the United States. After her husband passed away, a teacher friend, Pauline Webster, became her traveling partner touring the British Isles and eight of the European countries. She and Pauline also visited China, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Hawaii. She also took a cruise up the Inland Passage to Alaska and with Pauline took a guided tour in South America. Africa is the only continent she didn’t visit. She made several attempts to tour a part of Africa, but something always foiled her plans.

During her children’s school years, Loberta belonged to the PTA (Parent Teachers Association), was a den mother for Cub Scouts and a member of CSEA. After retiring from school in 1991, she belonged to the state CSEA and helped organize the retiree luncheons for the McKinleyville Elementary School. During her working years, Loberta attended quite a few of the state CSEA conventions and most of the local conventions.

In the past, Loberta attended the United Methodist Church in Arcata for many years, was a member of the Humboldt Historical Society, the Humboldt Pioneers, and was on the board of the Humboldt County Library (McKinleyville Branch). For 20 years, she was chairperson and organized the drivers for the library’s Author Festival.

Loberta was very active with the Fortuna High School Class of 1940. For several years, she helped with the class reunions and kept in touch with most of the remaining graduates.

A couple of her claims to fame: Loberta rescued the old Washington School bell, which has been placed by the McKinleyville School District Office. She also rescued the old Dows Prairie School bell, which is now located in its proper place at the Dows Prairie School.

Loberta completed a life-long dream by writing and publishing a book entitled “Dow’s North of Mad River” and another book entitled “Hills of Rohnerville”. She was a historian at heart and was always looking up information, especially local history, which kept her busy for many years.

Loberta is survived by her three children, son Barry Gwin currently in Boise, Idaho, son Gerald and his wife Julie Gwin of Santa Rosa, California, and daughter Donette and her husband Ken Morris of Anderson, California; and one grandson Philip and his wife Jennifer Gwin of Brightwood, Oregon. She is also survived by her brother, Elwood and his wife Deanna Bartlett of Arcata, California, and many nieces and nephews.

Loberta was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Gwin, parents Irving and Dora Mary Ransdell Bartlett, her sisters Juanita Bartlett Waggoner and Jean Bartlett Gwin.

Loberta made many special friends throughout her life.

If desired, memorial contributions may be made to the Humboldt County Historical Society, Humboldt Library Foundation, or a charity of your choice.

No services are planned at this time. A celebration of her life in combination with her sister, Jean, will follow at a later date. Loberta’s family would like to thank the staff at Timber Ridge of McKinleyville and Hospice of Humboldt for their caring and compassionate support.

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

Fortuna Police Department press release:

On Wednesday at about 11 a.m., detectives from the Fortuna Police Department located 47-year-old Von Eric Keener of Fortuna.

Von Eric Keener. | FPD

Mr. Keener, who was wanted by police on outstanding warrants, was located and taken into custody in the Loleta area.

Von Eric Keener had two active felony warrants for his arrest charging him as an accessory in a homicide investigation. Keener was also arrested for a violation/revocation of parole.

Keener was transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where he was booked without incident.

The Fortuna Police Department remains committed to public safety. Any questions regarding this incident can be directed to the Patrol Commander, Lieutenant Matt Eberhardt at (707)-725-7550.