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If you’re a whale, it’s really not that bad to have your skin infested by thousands and thousands of tiny arthropods that are continuously eating away your dead flesh from the inside. In fact, it’s actually quite a boon!

Find out why in this disgusting episode of Humboldt Baywatch, that regular KHUM-FM feature in which DJ Midge talks with some knowledgeable person about a particular example of local wildlife. This week it’s Michelle Kunst, executive director of the Trinidad Coastal Land Trust! 

Michelle is the knowledgeable person, I mean. Not the example of local wildlife. Though I suppose she is that, too.

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The first statewide snapshot of California’s homelessness crisis since the pandemic hit reveals that the number of people without a stable place to call home increased by at least 22,500 over the past three years, to 173,800.

That’s based on a CalMatters analysis of the federal government’s point-in-time count, a biennial headcount of people sleeping on the streets and in shelters tallied by California cities and counties earlier this year for the first time since 2019.

Homelessness experts mostly attribute the rise to precipitous drops in earnings during the pandemic among Californians already teetering on the edge. They also point to a worsening housing affordability crisis that is decades in the making.

“We have to solve this rotting core in the center of California, which is that we are a million units short of housing for extremely low-income workers,” said Margot Kushel, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.

While homelessness grew by 15%, roughly the same pace as in recent years — something experts credit to pandemic-era safety nets like rental assistance, eviction moratoria and stimulus checks — the data also indicates the problem has gotten worse for the state’s Latino population.

Critics are quick to point out the state is spending more than $14 billion on homelessness. But advocates say its response is just now beginning.

“​​The price tag is bigger now,” said Tomiquia Moss, founder and chief executive of All Home, a San Francisco-based homeless policy organization. “Meanwhile, the inflow is killing us.”

The numbers show the state’s investment in shelters is bearing fruit. California created more than 14,000 shelter beds between 2019 and 2021, federal data shows. And local organizations reported this year the number of people staying in emergency and longer-stay shelters ballooned by nearly the same amount, from 42,800 to 57,200 people — a 33% increase since 2019.

But there still isn’t nearly enough permanent, affordable housing to bring people indoors for good.

“Most people, most politicians, when they talk about homelessness, it’s, ‘We’re going to build X number of shelters.’ It’s shelter, shelter, shelter,” said Christopher Weare, president of the Center for Homeless Inquiries. “Well, all of this construction of shelters doesn’t really change the scope of the problem.”

Meanwhile, the unsheltered count, or the number of people staying in tents, tarps, cars and other spaces unfit for human habitation, grew by about 7% between 2019 and 2022, to 116,600 people. That’s a bump, but perhaps not reflective of the growing palpability of the crisis that dominates local headlines, political debates and neighborhood discussions.

Can we trust the numbers?

Not completely.

The unsheltered numbers are collected by volunteers every other year on a given winter’s night, and depend largely on their untrained eyes. That means people who are couch-surfing, crouched in less visible spots, or staying in cars without telltale signs of habitation go undetected. The sheltered counts, collected by service providers, are more accurate.

The accuracy of the tallies depends largely on how many people show up to count. When local agencies rallied volunteers in the early months of the year, the Omicron variant was still tearing through the state. Technical glitches in apps used to count people also threw things off: The unsheltered count in Venice, a postcard example of homelessness in Los Angeles, inexplicably dropped from 509 people in 2019 to 0 amid reports of user errors and poor internet connection.

“I was surprised that the increase wasn’t larger across the state,” said Arturo Baiocchi, an assistant professor of social work at California State University, Sacramento. “Communities reported many more vehicles that are being used for shelter, and larger encampments, and that didn’t necessarily correlate with a larger unsheltered count. For me, I’m going to wait until 2023 before I feel pretty confident about what’s going on across the state.”

Baiocchi, who helped conduct Saramento’s point-in-time count, documented a startling 67% jump, or an additional 3,700 people experiencing homelessness in the city and county since 2019.

While far from perfect, the count offers the only statewide look at unsheltered homelessness in California, particularly among people who aren’t enrolled in services and therefore overlooked by their tracking metrics. The federal government also takes it seriously: The numbers help determine how much funding flows where.

The feds expect to release their report on the national tally to Congress in early- to mid-December, which gives them time to iron out the kinks presented by the mish-mash of local methodologies. The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state housing department declined to comment on the data, citing pending final results.

Latino homelessness on the rise

More detailed local reports reveal a troubling trend. While Black people continue to be overrepresented on the street, more and more Latinos are falling into homelessness.

The city and county of Los Angeles, for example, saw its total homeless population rise by 4% from 2020 to 69,000 people, an increase of 2,700 people. But its homeless Latino population spiked by 26%, or nearly 6,000 folks. Los Angeles is home to 40% of the state’s homeless population and is seen by experts as a bellwether for homelessness in the state.

Latinos were long on the economic brink before being disproportionately sickened, killed and economically devastated by the pandemic, said Melissa Chinchilla, health services specialist and associate investigator at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.

“I think for a long time, the Latino advocates in homeless services felt that the numbers were actually not reflective of how bad the situation was or how high the need was,” Chinchilla said.

When state and local governments implemented pandemic programs to help people stay afloat, many Latinos were shut out, she said. Some people paid under the table, like house cleaners or field workers, may have struggled to qualify for unemployment insurance, while others with informal leases or language barriers ran up against similar problems with rental assistance.

And while California had laws to guard against eviction during the pandemic, undocumented immigrants were less likely to use them because of their precarious legal status. Plus, thousands of people got evicted during the pandemic anyway.

“My daughter keeps her room clean and she thinks she owns the room for ever and ever. It’s not even like a (full) room but it’s her side, you know?”
— Juana Velasquez, tiny home resident

As those safety nets dissolve, experts worry the trend could play out at scale.

“Is (the rise in Latino homelessness) a harbinger of what increases could look like in the broader population, as some of these pandemic relief measures fade away? As eviction restrictions are rolled back?” said Alex Visotzky, senior California Policy Fellow at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Latinos might be especially leery of turning to the government for help, too, said Juana Velasquez, a single mother of three born to Mexican parents in San José, California. She asked to be identified by her birth name to protect her family’s identity.

“Hispanic families, my family for example, they’re like stuck in the past,” she said.

Velasquez said she was furloughed by her retail job when the pandemic hit and could no longer afford to pay the room she had been renting following a divorce. She and her three young kids bounced from their car, relatives’ couches and motels for about a year, making them the type of homeless family most likely to go unnoticed by official metrics.

Last summer, they landed a spot in a gated community of tiny homes funded by the city of San José. The spot is not permanent, but instead defined as transitional housing, a form of shelter. Velasquez recognizes the two-bedroom, 235-square-foot tiny home is not a long-term solution, but calls it a stepping stone as she lingers on multiple waitlists for low-income apartments.

“My unit is nice and clean, it’s colored white,” she said. “It makes it relaxing. My daughter keeps her room clean and she thinks she owns the room for ever and ever. It’s not even like a (full) room but it’s her side, you know?” she said.

She peppers descriptions of the tiny home with words like safety, security, doors and locks.

“Nobody can walk into my house, just barge in and kind of hurt us,” Velasquez said. “I come from a divorce. That left me a lot of black holes. But somehow I patched them up and now we have security.”

‘The housing doesn’t exist’

Experts attribute the impressive bump in shelter capacity to Project Roomkey, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature program to shelter people most vulnerable to the virus in underutilized hotel and motel rooms during the pandemic. The state secured more than 16,000 rooms at the program’s height in August 2020, which has dwindled to about 5,000 beds, according to the state Department of Social Services.

“The governor deserves a lot of credit,” said Weare, from the Center for Homeless Inquiries. “They mobilized. The problem is that that’s over.”

Project Homekey, Newsom’s longer-term initiative to convert hotels, motels and office buildings, is expected to create more than 12,000 interim and permanent homeless housing units in the next few years.

Shana Funderburk, who goes by her middle name, Sunshine, stayed in a Project Roomkey unit in Sacramento when the count was carried out in February. But after they shut down her motel this spring, the 52-year-old woman who has been homeless for more than 11 years went back to the street.

“The protocol is to get us into a shelter and then I guess somebody picks up the ball from there, and then they help you get housing, or something,” she said. “It just seems like we’re being thrown into shelters and then forgotten.”

About a fifth, or 12,000 of more than 55,000 people who left Project Roomkey, graduated to permanent housing, while about 9,000 people returned to the street, according to the state Department of Social Services. The majority of participants moved to either congregate shelter, temporary housing, institutions or unknown destinations.

“It just seems like we’re being thrown into shelters and then forgotten.”
— Shana Funderburk, former Project Roomkey resident

Funderburk is now staying in what the city refers to as safe grounds, city-sanctioned camps where people get meals, security and services, like mental health counseling. Her tent is lined up against a chain-link fence, which makes her feel like a zoo exhibit as she brushes her teeth in the morning.

“I’m sure it’s not good for the folks that have to drive by and see that and it’s not exactly comforting for us either,” she said.

But the case workers — her “Jiminy Crickets” — keep her motivated to treat her PTSD and other health issues and search for housing. Funderburk hopes she can eventually move into an apartment, mainly so she can help other people get indoors. That dream remains elusive.

“It’s multiple-year waitlists. It’s having a voucher and you can’t find a place and you have to file extensions,” said Kaylee Hrisoulas, a local social worker who works with Funderburk. “It’s deposits that are just so high. The housing doesn’t exist. That prolongs how long people have to be out here.”

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

WHAT WOULD IT DO?

Prop. 26 would allow tribal casinos and the state’s four horse race tracks to offer in-person sports betting. At race tracks, sports betting could only be offered to people 21 or older. Age restrictions on sports betting at tribal casinos would need to be negotiated by California’s governor and each tribe, and written into each tribe’s compact with the state.

The proposition would also allow tribal casinos to begin offering roulette and dice games, including craps.

It taxes sports bets placed at horse race tracks. It doesn’t tax tribes, which are sovereign nations, but it requires tribes to reimburse the state for the cost of regulating sports betting.

The proposition also creates a new way of enforcing some gaming laws, allowing anyone to bring a lawsuit if they believe the laws are being violated and the state Justice Department declines to act. Any penalty and settlement money that results would go to the state.

State analysts say the proposition could generate as much as tens of millions annually for the state. It’s difficult to know the exact amount for a few reasons. New tribal-state compacts might require tribes to pay more to local governments, for example, and it’s unclear how much money will result from the new private lawsuits. The revenue would first be spent on education spending commitments and regulatory costs. If there’s any money left over, it would go to the state’s discretionary fund, as well as to problem gaming and mental health research, and the enforcement of gaming rules.

WHY IS IT ON THE BALLOT?

Tribes have long had the exclusive right to offer certain forms of gambling in California, including slot machines and certain card games, such as 21 and baccarat. But sports betting — besides horse racing — isn’t legal in California currently.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could legalize sports betting in 2018, 35 states plus Washington D.C. have made the leap. In California, lawmakers tried to negotiate a deal on sports betting in 2020, but weren’t able to work it out in time to get a measure on the ballot.

Elsewhere it’s proven popular — and lucrative. Americans bet more than $57 billion on sports in 2021. The massive expansion has also concerned advocates, who say that gambling addiction will increase, and that research into the long-term effects of legalizing sports betting has fallen short.

Two different sports betting measures made it onto the ballot for the 2022 election. Prop. 27 would allow online sports betting across the state, while Prop. 26 would allow in-person sports betting only at tribal casinos and horse race tracks. If both pass, both could go into effect, but in all likelihood a court would decide.

ARGUMENTS FOR:

Supporters argue it will increase tribal self-sufficiency by bringing more business to tribal casinos. Tribal casinos create jobs, and help tribes pay for services like health care and education. Supporters also say it will protect against underage gambling by requiring people to be physically present to make bets, and by prohibiting advertising to people under 21. They also say it will also generate money for the state of California.

Supporters

• Yes on 26 committee
• 27 tribes and tribal organizations, led by tribes with casinos including Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, Pechanga Band of Indians, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation
• NAACP, California-Hawaii state conference
• Labor leader Dolores Huerta, and Communications Workers of America
• Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis
• Treasurer Fiona Ma
• California Young Democrats, and many local Democratic committees
• California District Attorneys Association

ARGUMENTS AGAINST:

Opponents argue the new gaming law enforcement mechanism will be used by tribal casinos to sue competing card rooms and drive card rooms out of business. If that happens, they argue, it will lead to lost jobs and tax revenue, often in communities of color. Some casinos allow 18 year olds to gamble, so opponents argue the initiative could lead young people to develop gambling addictions. They also argue it will revive the shrinking horse racing industry, which they say endangers horses.

Opponents

• No on 26 committee
• Cities including Clovis, Commerce, Compton, and Huntington Park
• California Republican Party
• American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees California
• Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals chapters and local humane societies
• California Black Chamber of Commerce and California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Born in January 26, 1994 in Kingman, Arizona to Marlene Fowler and Keith White, Tyler James White was a super-loving and caring father/man.

Tyler’s favorite things to do were work for Beacom, watch “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” work on vehicles with his wife, do his woodworking and spend time with his family.

A very hardworking employee of Beacom Construction in Fortuna for seven years. Super-shy when you’d first meet him but when you got to know him Tyler was a funny character.

Tyler is survived by his mother, Marlene White; his brother and his brother’s wife, Ryan and Natasha White and their children Ambroze Robert Lee White and Jade Pearl White; his wife, Olivia White; the mother of his children, Skye Davison; his three children Azaria Davison, Lyla Everly Lynn White and Granger Keith White. He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Keith White, and his sister, Kristina White.

His celebration of life is pending. All his friends and family being able to make it to Humboldt County. For more information please contact his wife, Olivia White tealolivia015@gmail.com.

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

Lora Carswell passed away in her home September 27, 2022. 

Lora was born February 22, 1935 to Roy and Viola Hemphill in Wallace, Idaho. She moved to Spokane, Washington in 1942 where she lived until 1955 when she married the love of her life Bill Carswell. After she married, they moved to Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada. 

They took a giant leap of faith and moved to McKinleyville in 1965. They then moved to Eureka where they raised their two boys.  They then moved to Sonora and then back to Eureka for a short time before moving to Burney. From there they moved to Myrtle Creek, Oregon, then retired and settled in Port Angeles, Washington. With her husband’s line of work they lived in a lot of places.

 Lora was very active in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts with both of her sons. She was a den mother for both. She said “I sewed a lot of patches and badges” with both boys going all the way through Boy Scouts. She also spent a lot of cold Humboldt County days and nights in the stands watching her sons play a variety of sports, from Pee Wee sports to high school sports.

Lora worked at the unemployment office with her good friend Shirley Moore.  They were such good friends that they took an unforgettable cruise to Alaska in their later years. Lora was an avid gardener. She loved her flowers. In Lora’s later years she began following the Seattle Mariners. She would have the game on while doing things around the house. When she didn’t have that on,  she loved to play her Christmas music year round, much to her son Roy’s chagrin. She also didn’t mind taking money from him when they played cribbage.

Lora is preceded in death by her parents Roy and Viola Hemphill, her husband Bill Carswell and her oldest son Ron Carswell.  She is survived by her sister Joan Fager, son Roy (Nancy) Carswell, daughter in law (Verla), and grandsons Joe, Tyler, Kenny and Bryan Carswell.

Lora was a loving wife, mother, sister and grandmother.  She will be greatly missed by everyone that knew her.  A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Eureka.

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

PREVIOUSLY: Arcata High on ‘Modified Lockdown’ This Afternoon, After Discovery of Threats Posted to Instagram

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Arcata Police Department release: 

On Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at approximately 11:00am, the Arcata Police Department responded to Arcata High School to investigate school threats posted to social media. School staff and investigators identified a 14-year-old Arcata High student as the subject who posted the threat. APD took the juvenile into custody, off-campus, without incident. He was booked into the Humboldt County Juvenile Hall for a violation of Penal Code section 422-Criminal Threats.

The Arcata Police Department would like to thank Arcata High School staff, the FBI Fortuna Field Office, and the Fortuna Police Department for their assistance in bringing this incident to a successful resolution.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation, or any known school threats, is encouraged to contact the Arcata Police Department’s Investigations Division, at 707-822-2424, or the law-enforcement agency of jurisdiction where the threat is occurring.     

PREVIOUSLY:

• Arcata City Council to Discuss Big Water/Sewer Rate Hikes, Coronavirus-Related Grant Applications and Oh So Much More Tonight
• TONIGHT at ARCATA CITY COUNCIL: Council to Review Request for ‘Gateway Plan Advisory Committee’, Receive Update on Wastewater Treatment Plant
• Coastal Commission OKs Critical Improvements to Keep Arcata’s Wastewater Treatment Facility Up and Running; Staff Have Five Years to Develop Long-Term Strategies to Address Sea-Level Rise

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After years of discussing and planning for upgrades to Arcata’s Wastewater Treatment Facility – the part of the Arcata Marsh that treats the city’s wastewater before pumping it into the nearby wetlands – the City is finally ready to begin Phase 1 of the improvement project. The Arcata City Council will consider awarding a $54,584,700 construction contract to Wahlund Construction, Inc., for competition of the first phase of upgrades during tonight’s council meeting. 

The treatment facility is badly in need of these upgrades. The infrastructure is old, parts of it are failing and Arcata has been cited multiple times by the Regional Water Quality Control Board for failing to comply with state-mandated discharge requirements. On top of that, sea level rise is a looming threat to the facility.

Phase 1 of the improvement plan includes a long list of upgrades, just to keep the facility up and running and bring it into compliance with state requirements. A few of the major upgrades include replacing the current chlorine disinfection system with an ultra-violet disinfection system, laying a new discharge pipe into the brackish marsh and construction of a new electrical building. Plans also include raising the levees to meet FEMA and City requirements to plan for sea level rise. 

Map of the treatment facilities from the City of Arcata

The City received two bids for construction – one from Wahlund Construction, and the other from North Coast Constructors. Staff recommends going with Wahlund Construction, which estimated the total cost of construction at $51,495,000. As part of tonight’s discussion, the Arcata Council will be asked to approve increasing the contract amount to  $54,584,700, to cover unforeseen costs and additional work that may be necessary. The costs would be covered by a combination of state grant funding reimbursement and city sewer funds. 

If the contract is awarded tonight, construction could begin as soon as Oct. 24, the staff report says, and would be complete in about three years. 

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Prior to the wastewater treatment facility discussion, the council will open a public hearing to receive comments on the community’s unmet transit needs. The hearing is part of HCAOG’s annual unmet transit needs assessment, during which the agency tries to gather as much public feedback as it can and determines how to distribute Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds to help improve our local public transit services. 

So, if you have complaints about our public transportation system, now is the time to share them! If you can’t make it to tonight’s hearing, there will be several other meetings over the next month or so. You can see a full list here. You can also submit comments by emailing stephen.luther@hcaog.net or calling 707-444-8208. Or you can fill out this online survey. Comments must be submitted by Dec. 31. 

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The Arcata City Council meets tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 5) at 6 p.m. at Arcata City Hall – 736 F Street. You can view the full agenda and directions on how to participate here.