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PREVIOUSLY: 

• Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court — With Help From Eureka’s Rob Arkley
• U.S. Senators Ask Rob Arkley and Other Donors for Itemized Lists of Gifts to Supreme Court Justices

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Democrats in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee are losing patience with Rob Arkley. 

In a letter issued this morning to one of Arkley’s Security National business offices in Baton Rouge, La., 10 majority members of the committee note that Arkley has declined to provide information they requested from him back in July.

“You also declined to provide any justification for your failure to provide the information we requested,” says the letter, which is signed by prominent senators such as Dick Durbin (majority whip and committee chair), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and former presidential candidates Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cory Booker (D-NJ).

To recap the background here, the Senate Judiciary Committee is following up on a string of investigative stories (primarily from nonprofit outlet ProPublica) examining the cozy relationships between conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court and billionaire donors such as real estate tycoon Harlan Crow and hedge fund manager Paul Singer. 

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, in particular, have failed to disclose lavish gifts from such patrons, including luxury vacations on yachts and private jets, leading to what members of the Judiciary Committee call a “judicial ethics crisis overshadowing the Supreme Court.”

Arkley was implicated through a ProPublica investigation published in June, which detailed a luxury Alaskan fishing vacation Alito took in 2008. The trip was planned and attended by conservative activist and Federalist Society executive Leonard Leo, and the VIP guests reportedly stayed for free at a luxury fishing lodge owned by Arkley.

“A planning document prepared by lodge staff describes Alito as a guest of Arkley,” the ProPublica story says. “Another guest on the trip told ProPublica the trip was a gift from Arkley, and two lodge employees said they were told that Alito wasn’t paying.”

Arkley also flew late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia to Alaska in his private jet in 2005, according to ProPublica’s reporting, and in a memorable anecdote, Scalia mixed martinis with ice chipped off the Hubbard Glacier while aboard a chartered fishing vessel called the Happy Hooker IV.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is now considering legislation to strengthen ethics rules and standards that apply to the Court, and in its July letters to Arkley and Leo, the Democratic committee members requested itemized lists of the gifts they’ve bestowed on justices of the Supreme Court.

According to today’s follow-up inquiry, Arkley did respond via letter on July 25, though rather than providing the information requested he referred the committee to a response from Leo, who is also stonewalling investigators.

In his own reply to the committee, Leo argued that the inquiry lacks a valid legislative purpose and amounts to political retaliation against him. In a letter sent to Leo today, the committee members who responded to Arkley describe Leo’s claims as “frivolous” and “unreasonable,” and they give him until Oct. 19 to submit the information they’ve requested.

Arkley has been given the same deadline, which presumably comes with the implied threat of a “contempt of Congress” charge. 

Arkley did not immediately respond to an email requesting more information. We’ll update this story if he does so.

Below is a link to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s letters to both Arkley and Leo.

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DOCUMENT: Senate Judiciary Committee letters to Arkley and Leo

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Oct. 5, 2023, at about 1:52 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies on patrol in the McKinleyville area conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation in the area of North Bank Road and Hunts Drive.

Deputies contacted the driver and single-occupant of the vehicle, 57-year-old Lawrence Edward Vaughn, who was found to be driving with a suspended license. While speaking with Vaughn, deputies observed a firearm in plain sight.

Upon inspecting the firearm, deputies found it to be loaded. Deputies also located an additional firearm inside the vehicle and drug paraphernalia.

During a search of Vaughn incident to arrest, deputies located approximately 1.53 grams of methamphetamine.

Vaughn was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of a controlled substance while armed (HS 11370.1(A)), possession of a controlled substance (HS 11377(a)) and possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia (HS 11364(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.

Saying the targets to cut water use in cities and towns will be costly and difficult to achieve, water agencies throughout California have raised concerns about an ambitious state proposal that would require more water conservation statewide beginning in 2025.

The State Water Resources Control Board’s proposed regulations would mandate conservation measures by more than 400 cities and water agencies that serve about 95% of Californians. The measure could wave about 413,000 acre-feet a year by 2030, enough to serve about 1.2 million households per year.

During the last three-year severe drought, which ended this year, the Newsom administration set voluntary conservation goals that were largely ineffective. Californians used only about 6% less water from July 2021 through the end of last year compared to 2020, far less than Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 15% goal.

The new rules are mandated by a package of laws — enacted in 2018 by the Legislature and former Gov. Jerry Brown — that aim to make “water conservation a California way of life,” not simply an emergency drought measure.

Water providers from the Mojave Desert to Sonoma County and beyond warned at a board workshop on Wednesday that the regulations would be a challenge, particularly because many would have to make steep cuts to outdoor water use. About 80 people, mostly representing water agencies, spoke during the meeting, which lasted longer than eight hours.

The regulation would cost water suppliers about $13.5 billion from 2025 to 2040 — more than 40% of which would fund rebate programs and other efforts to cut residential water use, according to the water board. But the benefits are anticipated to reach about $15.6 billion between 2025 and 2040, largely from reduced water purchases by both suppliers and customers.

“It’s awkward, because we are committed to water use efficiency,” said Ryan Ojakian, government relations manager for the Regional Water Authority, which represents Sacramento-area providers. “It really comes down to, are the regulations feasible? Are the costs worth the benefits? And what are the consequences in achieving the regulations?”

The water board is expected to vote by next summer on the rules, which could go into effect next fall.

“Even if we had all the money, we would not be able to convince our customer base to participate at the rates we need them to. We can build it, but they don’t necessarily come.”
— Joe Berg, Municipal Water District of Orange County

Water suppliers, not individual customers, would have to meet the targets — and each supplier would need to figure out its own strategy. These could include rebates that encourage customers to swap out thirsty lawns for more drought-proof landscapes or rate structures that penalize heavy water users.

Water providers said it will be difficult to squeeze more conservation out of their customers.

“They want us to save water at such an accelerated rate, that even if we had all the money, we would not be able to convince our customer base to participate at the rates we need them to,” said Joe Berg, director of water use efficiency at the Municipal Water District of Orange County. “We can build it, but they don’t necessarily come.”

The state agency’s formula sets targets for each water agency based on goals for indoor and outdoor residential water use, business landscapes with dedicated irrigation meters, losses like leaks and other variables, such as the presence of livestock in a region.

In the rules, the state’s targets for indoor and outdoor water use in residential areas ratchet down, beginning in 2030 and then again in 2035.

Suppliers that fail to live within their prescribed water budget could face escalating consequences that could eventually lead to fines of $1,000 a day starting in 2027 or $10,000 a day during droughts.

Tracy Quinn, CEO of the environmental group Heal the Bay, told the board that water conservation measures are critical as California stares down a water-scarce future.

Between the declining snowpack, ongoing haggling over Colorado River water, groundwater regulations and projections that climate change could dry up 10% of the state’s water supply, “there is an incredible need for us to do a rulemaking that’s going to require the efficient use of water,” she said.

About 231 agencies serving nearly 27 million Californians are already on track to meet the 2025 objectives without reducing their water use, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. And 71 agencies serving 8.5 million Californians are expected to meet the 2035 standards as well, including the city of San Diego, the San Jose Water Company, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Irvine Ranch Water District and city of Santa Ana.

Cumulatively, the rules are expected to save about 6.3 million acre-feet between 2025 and 2040, mostly from residential measures.

“There is an incredible need for us to do a rulemaking that’s going to require the efficient use of water.”
— Tracy Quinn, Heal the Bay

Berg said the regulations could cost Orange County water agencies more than $707 million over 11 years to implement. But more than that, he said, he’s concerned that the standards for outdoor water conservation accelerate too quickly.

“If an agency were to look at the cost to comply and compare that to the cost of the fines, it wouldn’t surprise me if an agency just says, ‘Okay, we’ll just take fines,’” Berg said.

Claire Nordlie, water use efficiency supervisor for the city of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, echoed those concerns during the workshop.

“I really want to emphasize that sustained water savings are difficult to achieve. It takes decades of time, and a significant investment of resources, as well as a population and a culture within your service area that want to participate,” she said.

Nordlie said fewer and fewer people are participating in the city’s rebate program for removing lawns, which offers $1 for every square foot of grass removed. Customers surveyed say that it costs about $7 a square foot to tear out their lawns. That cost, Nordlie said, is a major barrier.

“If customers don’t want to participate, we can’t force them to,” she said.

Jay Lund, director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California, Davis, told the board he’s concerned that the regulations could affect public trust.

“Certainly some aspects of our society are really upset every time you come in there with a new regulation, and so I think we have to bear that in mind,” Lund said. “Because that blowback can be very bad for a lot of more important things than this.”

Smaller water agencies, especially in inland regions, will be the hardest hit. Ten suppliers serving about 200,000 Californians are expected to face cuts upwards of 30% in 2025, but the number increases to 84 suppliers serving 3.7 million Californians in 2035. Included are the cities of Atwater and Kingsburg, the Oildale Mutual Water Company and the West Kern Water District, according to state data.

“There’s not a lot of opportunities for savings in our community, because we’ve done so much already. A lot of folks don’t even irrigate their homes.”
— Jennifer Cusack, Hi-Desert Water district

Jennifer Cusack, director public and government affairs with the Hi-Desert Water District in Yucca Valley on the edge of Joshua Tree National Park, said the water agency has long struggled with its water supply and there’s little room for additional conservation. Many ornamental lawns are already gone and indoor water fixtures have been improved.

“There’s not a lot of opportunities for savings in our community, because we’ve done so much already,” she said. “A lot of folks don’t even irrigate their homes. They have dirt lots or maybe some trees.”

Even so, the desert water supplier is expected to be out of compliance with the 2030 and 2035 targets, which, she said, “just raises a red flag.”

In response to earlier calls for increased flexibility, state regulators offered an alternative pathway that would give some providers, such as those serving disadvantaged communities, extra time to meet a 2035 outdoor water-use target, provided they meet certain criteria.

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

Richard Randolph Stockwell passed away on October 1, 2023 at home, peacefully in his sleep, due to complications from heart failure. Richard was born August 9, 1954 at Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii to his military parents, Jerald (Marines) and Dorothy (Navy) McGee Stockwell. After the birth of his sister Virginia in 1956 the family moved to California and Richard lived and grew up primarily in the Oakdale area. He attended local schools and graduated from Oakdale Union High School in 1972. He enjoyed attending the 50th class reunion in 2022 and meeting up with old friends.

After high school he attended Columbia Junior College for a year, and lived in Tuolumne City. When the house he rented went up for sale, he moved to an apartment above a bakery in Twain Harte and remembered enjoying the wonderful smells of baked goods wafting upwards while living there.

In the Fall of 1973 he happened to go to Yosemite with his friend Wendell Larson and Wendell’s dad Harold when Wendell reapplied for work there. Harold told Richard that he should apply too. Three months later he had a job as busboy at the Ahwahnee Hotel and was eventually promoted to the position of waiter. He moved to Yosemite in 1974. In the Fall 1975 he left the Ahwahnee and went to Park City, Utah, where he worked at the Christopher Restaurant and became a ski bum until July 1976, when he returned to work at Yosemite. He dearly loved Yosemite and his face would come alive when he spoke of his time there, the shear magnificence of the park, the overwhelming beauty, the people he met there. His heart belonged to Yosemite.

Richard was a man of many interests and talents. In 1978 he left Yosemite for Humboldt and took a full time position with the US Forest Service as an irrigation specialist at the USFS nursery in McKinleyville, where he worked for 12 yrs. He then attended College of the Redwoods for two years, graduating in 1992 with a degree in plant science. He went to work as a groundskeeper at Ocean View Cemetery for 8 years until 2000, when he joined the UA 290 plumbers union and worked 2 1/2 years at then Humboldt State University as landscape and irrigation foreman. After the job finished, he started his own landscaping contracting business for several years but stayed in the union and eventually worked for Maples Plumbing for almost 7 years, on the underground crew. He eventually went back to school for water treatment/waste water treatment licenses and his last job was as a waste water treatment plant operator at College of the Redwoods.

A very artistic and creative man, Richard loved art and in 1983 he began collecting paintings from many local artists. He was particularly fond of the works of Jim McVicker, Stock Schlueter and George VanHook, and later also collected many paintings from numerous other local artists. An event in 2017 would change him late in life when Floyd Bettiga gifted him a painting and Richard painted him a pastel thank you card in return. Floyd, who had been his art teacher many years before at CR, loved the card and encouraged him to start painting again, insisting that he should have a show at the Morris Graves Museum of Art. At the time, he didn’t even own a paint brush. In April 2018 Richard’s first ever art show premiered in the Floyd Bettiga Gallery at the Morris Graves. And he never looked back. He switched from pastel to oil by the end of 2018 and was a very prolific painter. He had a natural eye for composition and color and he painted every chance he got. He loved being part of the local painting community he had long admired.

Richard learned about fine wine while working as a waiter at the Ahwahnee and was always interested in having a winery. In 1999 bought 40 acres in Blocksburg to plant his own vineyard. He went to winemaker seminars and studied viticulture in his spare time, and soon planned his own vineyard, breaking ground and planting grapes. He eventually built a cabin in 2004 with the help of friends and spent many weekends out there working the grapes and enjoying the panoramic views of sunrises and sunsets. He remembered that he and friend Pete nailed down the cabin floor on his 50th birthday.

Richard loved many things including fishing, art and music (particularly blues), skiing, gardening, playing harmonica, making wine. He learned to fly, he could work with bricks, blocks, build beautiful exposed aggregate walls and steps, prune fruit trees, graft fruit trees, coax any flower to grow and he loved his cats and dogs. Richard had a crusty exterior at times, but inside he was mush.

He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Virginia. He was also preceded in death by his dear friend Pete McArdle, several other friends gone too soon, and his beloved Shepherd, Chip. He is survived by his wife Diana; his bonus kids Holly, Ricky, Matt, Amy and Eleanor; his sister Dee Anne (Willie) Jacobs; brother Jeff (Terry) Stockwell, niece Helena McGee (Matt McMahon) and nephew Robert McGee. He is also survived by a huge and loving group of friends he’d known for many years, and a huge and loving group of artists that made him welcome and encouraged and supported his painting. He was loved and admired by so many people and will be remembered fondly and missed.

There aren’t enough words to thank Hospice of Humboldt for their kind, nurturing, compassionate care these last few months. Each and every one of their employees truly cares. In particular we would like to thank Nurse Christie and Hospice Aide Travis for helping us navigate this difficult time.

Please donate to Hospice of Humboldt in honor of Richard, or plant a tree or flower to remember him by.

A celebration of life is planned for June 2024, at home in the garden that he loved so much.

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Anthony Joseph (A.J.) Holberg
Aug. 13, 1986 – Sept. 25, 2023

AJ passed away unexpectedly in Fields Landing on September 25, 2023. He resided in Eureka.

AJ was born in Sacramento. He was the son of Andy and Laura Holberg.

He is survived by his parents Andy and Laura, in addition to his parents he is survived by his brother Aric Holberg, his daughter Haylee Jane Holberg, nieces Autumn and Montana. His dog Meadow whom is still looking for him. He also leaves behind many family members and friends who will sadly miss him.

AJ had a wonderful sense of humor and an enormous heart. He cared endlessly and loved dangerously.

AJ attended South Bay Elementary, Zane Junior High and Eureka High School. He had left high school to start working in construction. Eventually he left construction work and had many jobs off and on — including commercial fishing for a short time with his brother. He then again returned to construction with his most recent job, which he truly enjoyed, along with the people he worked with.

AJ enjoyed the outdoors. Learning at a very young age how to hunt, fish and abalone dive from his father He absolutely loved to fish with his kayak. He also loved motorcycle riding, gaming and camping out at Ruth Lake with all his family. He would always make it to Ruth Lake for the numerous family get-togethers.

He wasn’t perfect, but are you?

“I will love you everyday . And now I will miss you everyday. “

— Mitch Albom

A private family memorial will be held at a later date at Ruth Lake.

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PREVIOUSLY: Eureka Council Votes to Proceed With Plan to Reduce Car Lanes on H and I Streets

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The transformation has begun.

Work crews have started construction on a $5.4 million road improvement project that will remake four of Eureka’s busiest thoroughfares through a variety of renovations designed to improve safety and mobility for all modes of transportation, including pedestrians and bicyclists.

The most noticeable changes will be made to H and I streets. These parallel north-south routes will be reduced from three lanes of car traffic to two in order to accommodate the city’s first buffered bike lanes — “buffered” meaning they’ll be separated from motor vehicle traffic by a four-foot dividing lane, like so:

The city collaborated with the Redwood Community Action Agency to develop the “Eureka North-South Multimodal Corridor Plan,” with public outreach performed via presentations to the Transportation Safety Commission and City Council. A final design for H and I was approved by the council in 2018.

Other improvements to H and I will include the construction of sidewalk bulb-outs at intersections (designed to improve pedestrian visibility while reducing crossing distances) and new thermoplastic crosswalk striping, plus rapid-flashing “pedestrian crossing” beacons and dynamic speed feedback signs at select locations.

The other two roadways slated for renovations are 6th and 7th streets, which run east-west across the city. More bulb-outs will be among the measures designed to increase pedestrian safety, according to staff reports. In all, the city plans to add 170 new bulb-outs. (See photo at the top of this post for an example.)

These road construction projects are funded almost entirely by a pair of Highway Safety Improvement Grants from Caltrans, with the city providing about seven percent of the project costs, which will be met, in part, through staff time.

“Additional paving work not covered by the grant will be completed on H and I Streets and funded through Measure H and Gas Tax road repair funds,” city staff says in a recent staff report.

Eureka-based Mercer-Fraser Company won the competitive bid to complete the work, which has been budgeted at $5,429,500.00, including a contingency of about five percent.

Reached by phone this morning, Eureka Public Works Director Brian Gerving said the roadwork will continue through the winter, and for now the city is prioritizing the bulb-outs on I Street because it’s slated to be repaved soon.

“The goal is to get those done and complete the paving before the weather turns,” Gerving said. Even if the rain starts before too long, work will continue during windows of dry weather, he added.

Here’s one more design image showing details of some of the planned improvements. Click on the image to enlarge.

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During Tuesday’s meeting, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted, with Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell recused, to reinstate the Measure S cannabis cultivation tax at 10 percent for the 2024 cultivation year, with taxes due in the 2025 tax year. Cannabis farmers with outstanding balances will be expected to establish a payment plan with the county by June 30, 2024, to prevent the suspension of their permits.

Bushnell, citing guidance from the Fair Political Practices Commission, said she was obligated to recuse herself from the discussion because of her own cannabis operation. “I have excise tax that is in my name,” she said. “As such, financially, I have a direct interest, so this is the one thing cannabis – and the only thing – that I do have to recuse from.”

The decision to partially reinstate the cultivation tax comes nearly one year after the Board of Supervisors voted to temporarily suspend Measure S taxes for two years to provide relief to hundreds of struggling cannabis farmers. 

“This gave a bit of a reprieve for folks to get caught up if they had any outstanding balances … when they were not being assessed any additional excise taxes,” County Administrative Office (CAO) Elishia Hayes said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Furthermore, through collaboration with your Treasurer-Tax Collector … the county is now accepting partial payments and payment plans on outstanding balances.”

Since November 2022, the Treasurer-Tax Collector has collected $514,662, according to the staff report, with six accounts making partial payments to the tune of $27,216. “There are 962 accounts with outstanding balances totaling $14.19 million,” the report continues. “To date, neither the Treasurer-Tax Collector nor [the] Planning and Building Department have taken an adverse (other than assessing penalties) or revocation actions on approved permits for failure to pay Measure S taxes.”

Hayes asked how staff should enforce outstanding tax balances once the tax is reinstated and whether cultivators who owe back taxes should continue to hold a permit.

Speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting, Craig Johnson, co-owner and operator of Alpenglow Farms, asked that the board continue the tax suspension for another two years. 

“We’re one of the farms that have paid our taxes in full, and we’re currently current,” he said. “With the [Humboldt County Reform Initiative] HCRI, or Measure A, looming over us for the past year and a half or so, it has really put a freeze on how we pursue and look into our future because it’s uncertain at this time. So, until we can get past that, we really need to put a freeze on this thing until we can figure out how to move forward. … One year is great but we still need to react to the HCRI and, after that, start figuring out our future. So, I’m gonna ask for two years at this moment.”

Measure A, set to appear on the March 2024 ballot, came up several times during Tuesday’s board meeting. If passed, the controversial ballot measure would place new restrictions on commercial cannabis cultivation across the county. Proponents of the initiative believe the added restrictions will promote small-scale farming and environmentally responsible cannabis cultivation practices across the county. However, many local cannabis farmers fear the ballot initiative would decimate their livelihoods and destroy what is left of Humboldt County’s storied cannabis industry. 

Ross Gordon, policy director for the Humboldt County Growers Alliance, echoed Johnson’s concerns about Measure A and spoke in favor of an additional one-year suspension of the tax measure. 

Gordon | Screenshot

“Because Measure A is going to be on the ballot in March, we really don’t know the viability of the cannabis industry headed into 2024 and we feel like it provides a really strong reason to sort of kick this conversation into next year and then reconsider,” he said. “On the question of enforcement … we’d ask that you really give cultivators an opportunity to get on a payment plan and that enforcement is reserved for cultivators who are past due who either are not getting on a payment plan or are not following through on a payment plan in good faith.”

Gordon also provided some stats from a recent survey of market conditions. At this time last year, “65 percent of cannabis farmers were selling below cost of production, meaning essentially they were paying money to grow cannabis.” Twenty percent of cultivators were breaking even, and 15 percent were “returning a small profit,” he said.

“If we look at how market conditions have changed over the past year, we do hear anecdotally from some farmers that the market has picked up a little bit, but if you look at the data … the weighted wholesale average for cannabis actually dropped from $815 a pound to $765 a pound in California [between August 2022 and July 2023]. … And, for reference, this is compared to $1,489 a pound in July 2021. We’re still seeing the market cut about in half from where it was at its peak.”

First District Supervisor Rex Bohn also spoke in favor of extending the tax suspension for another year, noting that “there has been a small bit of stability in the industry this year.” He also asked staff to keep permits active wherever possible. 

“The people that have stepped up and legally entered the market, we kind of made a contractual agreement with them that we would work with them,” he said. “Not necessarily [for] late payments, but things happen and I would much rather keep those permits active because they’ve got a permit, they’ve actually gone through the lengthy process to become legal. If they have a payment plan in place, suspend for one year and put a payment plan together … I think that would probably be the best option for right now.”

Third District Supervisor Mike Wilson suggested the board partially reinstate the tax at a rate of 10 percent. 

“I think that would bring in enough revenue that, actually within a couple of years, we would be able to recoup from some of the losses associated with this, and it would keep people in the process,” Wilson said. “[G]etting people back into [the] system is pretty difficult as we’re seeing today.”

Fourth District Supervisor Natalie Arroyo agreed, adding that a small tax increase could serve “as a nice middle ground” for cultivators and the county.

“I agree that a small percentage – whether that’s 10 or 15 percent – could be something that could help while recognizing that people’s profits have been cut by a significant amount due to the downturn in the industry,” she said, adding that the industry was in a very different place when Measure S was passed in 2016. “I don’t think we can fully defer over and over and over again while still respecting the will of the voters.”

Fifth District Supervisor and Board Chair Steve Madrone also spoke in favor of reinstating 10-15 percent of the tax, adding that the board has a responsibility to balance the county’s budget.

“Our budget this year was $17 million in the hole,” he said. “We took that out of our reserves [which] were only about $27 million. So, we have maybe about $10 million or so left in our reserves. We can’t do that again. … We too have to consider how we’re going to balance our budget.”

Madrone noted that he was never supportive of Measure S because, he felt, the tax should have been imposed on dispensaries rather than cultivators.

“I just think the tax should have never been applied in that way,” he said. “Because the consumer is going to pay that [tax] no matter what. Whether it’s on the farmer or the distributor or the dispensary, the consumers pay for it. And I thought it was quite interesting that when the price of cannabis dropped, in many cases down to $400 or even $200 a pound … the eighths at the dispensary certainly didn’t go down to $5 or $10 an eighth. So who’s making money here? Not the farmers.”

Speaking to the issue of payment plans, Planning and Building Director John Ford said his department “basically stopped” new payment plans because it became “overwhelming” for staff.

Ford | Screenshot

“One of [our finance] person’s primary role roles is to make sure invoices are going out and payments are being received,” Ford said. “He was essentially at the counter all day every day working with people to make payments and it just was not getting us where we needed to be until we stopped taking new payment plans.”

CAO Hayes reiterated that cultivators can establish a payment plan with the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office.

Bohn made a motion to reenact 10 percent of the cultivation tax and asked staff to come back to the board with a payment plan option that would be more effective. Arroyo seconded the action. 

Bohn also asked if staff could impose a deadline for cultivators to establish a payment plan with the county. “[For example], if [they] don’t make a payment within 12 months, we will suspend your license – not cancel – but we will suspend your license till all fees are paid and cultivation will not be able to take place on said parcel.”

Ford reminded the board that staff “does not have the ability to suspend permits.”

“I know this is a bureaucratic thing, but the ordinance does not give us the ability to simply suspend a permit,” he said. “It’s either it’s approved or its revoked.”

Bohn asked if the board could stipulate that permits would be suspended, not revoked, and modify the ordinance as a part of the motion. Ford said yes. Arroyo agreed to the amended action.

The board approved the motion in a 4-0 vote, with Bushnell recused.

Moratorium on Cannabis Permits

The Board of Supervisors also explored the possibility of imposing a moratorium on new cannabis applications. The item, initiated by Supervisor Bushnell, asked the board to consider how interim permits ought to be handled moving forward and whether a moratorium on new cannabis cultivation applications should be implemented.

Bushnell | Screenshot

“The items are really for discussion and information,” Bushnell said. “[T]he state is … going to be closing out some of interim [permits] and I wanted Director Ford to give us an update on that. And, given the narrative [surrounding] the … ballot measure that’s coming in March, the moratorium conversation is more around, what does our board think that looks like? Do we think it is appropriate? Are there new permits coming through?”

Since September of last year, the county has received nine new permit applications, Ford explained in a presentation to the board. Of the 1,281 cannabis cultivation permits that have been issued since legalization, 1,020 remain active. A little over 100 of those permits were canceled or withdrawn, and 155 are considered non-cultivation. There are also 1,312 state licenses in the county which “do not directly correspond to county permits.”

“State licenses would also include interim permits,” he said. “Some people who have an acre could have two medium-sized licenses, so they have multiple licenses for one permit. … We currently have 388 permitted sites that have no state license. That could be because they are not cultivating this year. So, we’re not saying those are out of compliance, they just currently do not have a license.”

There are currently 126 active interim permits in the county, five of which would be subject to new state guidelines.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2024, the state Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) will no longer issue provisional licenses to large-scale cannabis farmers, including outdoor grows with more than one acre of total canopy and indoor/mixed-light grows with more than 22,000 square feet of total canopy. In anticipation of the new state guidelines, the county Planning and Building Department will not renew interim permits for any cultivation that falls into one of these categories, according to the staff report.

Jan. 1, 2025, is the last day for the DCC to renew a provisional license. Jan. 1, 2026, is the last day for any provisional license to be in effect.

Speaking during public comment, Holly Carter, a consultant with Oxalis Services, asked the board to extend the process for interim permits.

“If someone has an interim permit and a state permit that is active, those are two of the major components that [demonstrate that] they are in compliance and working in the legal industry,” Carter said. “I feel sad to hear that people are still having this assumption that there’s a desire to just kick things down the road. If someone applied for a project six years ago and they’re hanging in there, they’re hanging in there for a reason. We’re not looking to drag things out just to pull one over on you.” 

Shifting to the moratorium aspect of the discussion, Natalynne DeLapp, Executive Director of the Humboldt County Growers Alliance, encouraged the board to allow for flexibility. “There’s nothing about cannabis that should be set in stone.”

DeLapp | Screenshot

“We do not support closing the door on accepting applications for smaller and medium-sized, – as defined by the state – cultivation,” she continued. “We should continue to provide a pathway forward for legal cultivation to enter the market. If we are going to do a moratorium, keep it simple. Voter initiatives and referendums ought to be a single page or less. If we are going to make amendments to the ordinance that is through a legislative process that would be best done next year.”

Following public comment, Bushnell reiterated that she initiated the item to provide information to the board and local cultivators, adding that the board was not obligated to make a decision on the matter right away.

After a bit of discussion, Bushnell made a motion to accept the report and directed staff to return to the board in the next 60 days with additional information on the subject, with Madrone offering a second. 

The motion passed in a unanimous 5-0 vote.

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Other odds and ends from Tuesday’s meeting:

• The board approved a resolution authorizing the Humboldt County Clerk, Recorder and Registrar of Voters to not list supporters/opponents of local measures on county ballots in future elections, as required by Assembly Bill 1416. The bill, passed by the California Legislature last year, gives counties the option of printing the list of supporters and opponents of local measures on the actual ballot, which is limited to 125 characters. Humboldt County Clerk, Recorder and Registrar of Voters Juan Pablo Cervantes noted that the information is readily available in the voter information guides that are accessible at polling stations. The board approved the item in a 5-0 vote.
• Several members of SEIU Local 2015 spoke ahead of closed session to urge the board to support in-home supportive care workers and ensure seniors and people with disabilities can access the life-saving care they need. 
• Three members of the Shelter Cove Volunteer Fire Department were presented with Life-Saving Awards to recognize their heroic efforts in an ocean rescue and recovery that took place last year.