UPDATE, March 16: 

Director Conor Fitzgerald informs us that his documentary will screen twice on June 6 at the Minor Theatre, with a matinee at 11 a.m. and a late show at 9 p.m.

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Original post:

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Like many youngsters who grew up playing baseball and watching Humboldt Crabs games each summer, Conor Fitzgerald dreamed of making it to the Major Leagues. Unlike most kids, he did — just not in the way he expected. 

Fitzgerald is a cameraman and filmmaker. Since graduating in 2020 with a film degree from the University of Notre Dame he has shot footage for the NBA on TNT, college football on Fox, college basketball for ESPN and most other major NCAA sports, including baseball, golf and hockey. And for the past four years, he has operated a camera for live broadcasts of A’s games.

“So I guess I made it to the majors as a cameraman instead,” he said during a phone interview this morning. 

Fitzgerald. | LinkedIn.

We reached out to Fitzgerald yesterday after finding an online trailer for his new feature-length documentary, “Lou’s Team: The Story of the Humboldt Crabs” (above). As the title suggests, the film examines the 80-year history of the country’s oldest continuously operated summer collegiate baseball team, based right here in Arcata.

After graduating college during the pandemic, Fitzgerald had time to wrap up production and editing on his first documentary feature, “PLUM: A Baseball Life.” It’s a profile of his friend Bill Plummer, who was Hall of Famer Johnny Bench’s backup on the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s. 

“As I was finishing that one up I told myself, ‘That was a lot of work, to do the whole project and edit and all of this. I might not do another one.’”

But then he realized that the Humboldt Crabs were approaching their 80th birthday, and he couldn’t think of any project that really dug into the team’s early days. So he reached out to some friends on the board of directors and other people he’d known growing up, including former Crabs players. The project really took off after he landed an interview with Yankees bullpen coach and former Major League player Mike Harkey, who was on the 1985 Crabs squad.

“Once I got that interview set I was like, ‘OK, I can build around this.’”

Fitzgerald was born in Eureka but spent most of his childhood in Redding, coming back to Humboldt each summer. His mom worked for the Simpson Timber Company and was friends with several Crabs board members, including volunteer treasurer Mary Ellen Barthman. 

These connections helped Fitzgerald secure a few old photos, programs and other memorabilia. Eventually he was put in touch with Maria Briggs, daughter of Crabs legend Lou Bonomini, the team’s co-founder, longtime manager and eventual namesake of the documentary.

Briggs had the goods.

“She has the whole history of the team that her parents kept: the newspaper clippings all the way back to the ‘40s, all the programs, a lot of a lot of old news file photos, some old archive footage. Without what she gave me [the film] would be a fun little project to do, but it wouldn’t be what it is now,” Fitzgerald said.

With a runtime of just over two hours, the documentary includes interviews with many notable former Crabs, including Bob Milano, who would go on to coach college baseball at Cal; Mark Marquess, the first Crabs alum to make it to the majors and, later, a legendary coaching career at Stanford; and former Santa Clara head coach John Oldham, all of whom have since passed away. [CORRECTION: Oldham, not Marquess, was the first Crab to make it to the majors.] 

“I was able to interview them all at their houses and talk for hours about their time playing for the Crabs and sending their college players to play for the Crabs as well,” Fitzgerald said.

His favorite story in the film is that of Jack Fimple, a local Coast Guardsman who, in 1979, attended an open tryout for the Crabs. He landed a spot on the roster, and his standout play earned him an invitation to play college baseball at Humboldt State University. After just one season as a Lumberjack, Fimple was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 29th round of the 1980 MLB draft. He would go on to play for the L.A. Dodgers and California Angels.

Fitzgerald said stories like Fimple’s could help his documentary appeal to an audience beyond local Crabs fans and other baseball diehards. 

“I think it’s those kind of stories that anyone can look at [as] just a good, fun story,” he said. 

Fitzgerald is currently trying to line up a screening at one of Arcata’s movie theaters in early to mid-June. His hope is to host a Saturday matinee sandwiched between the Arcata Farmer’s Market and an evening Crabs game at Arcata Ball Park. 

He’s nearly done with editing the film but said he’s still open to squeezing in some more footage.

“If there is anyone out there who happens to have footage from 1995 or earlier” — whether that’s home video shot by family members of players or old TV news clips — “if anyone does have any old footage, I’ll still take it,” Fitzgerald said.

He can be reached via the “Contact” button on his website, where you can find historical Crabs photos and more information about “Lou’s Team,” among other projects.

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From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Mar 10 and 11, 2026, deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET) served a series of three search warrants as part of an ongoing investigation into labor trafficking at a state-licensed cannabis cultivation site. Two warrants were served on remote properties in Bridgeville, and one warrant was served on a remote property in Garberville. The Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Cannabis Control assisted in the service of the warrants.

This investigation began on Feb. 20, 2026, when the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) received a call from the Mexican Consulate. Consulate officials were communicating with a victim who reported they were working on a cannabis cultivation site and had been left stranded alone on the property without food and without payment of owed wages.

HCSO MET initiated an investigation and determined the victim was located on a licensed cannabis cultivation site on a remote property northeast of Bridgeville. Deputies attempted to reach the victim but were unable to make contact due to environmental conditions and significant flooding in the area. Assistance was requested from the HCSO Search and Rescue Swift Water Rescue Team.

On Feb. 25, 2026, HCSO MET, with assistance from the Swift Water Rescue Team and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, were able to navigate the flooding and serve a search warrant on the cultivation site. Deputies located the victim and safely removed them from the property. Following the extraction, the victim was immediately connected with support services and resources through the Northern California Coalition to Safeguard Communities.

During the service of the search warrant, MET deputies observed failing, unsanitary, and inhumane infrastructure related to the living and working conditions on the site. Deputies also observed several regulatory violations related to the licensed cannabis operation. Based on the victim’s statements and the conditions observed on the property, investigators identified indicators consistent with labor trafficking.

Department of Cannabis Control investigators were not made available for the initial contact with the victim or inspection of the licensed premises. As the investigation continued, MET determined the licensee was not following state labor laws or worker requirements.

On Mar. 10, 2026, as part of the ongoing investigation at the Bridgeville properties, deputies located a primary suspect connected to the human trafficking allegations. Georgi Tonev, 45, of Bridgeville, was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for violation of California Penal Code 236.1 - Human Trafficking.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Marijuana Enforcement Team and its partner agencies remain committed to investigating human trafficking and labor exploitation occurring within both licensed and unlicensed cannabis cultivation operations.

This investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information about this case or other cannabis or human trafficking violations is encouraged to contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Mar. 11, 2026, at approximately 2:50 a.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center received a report of an individual inside Babe’s Pizza & Pasta restaurant located at 4015 Walnut Dr. in Cutten.  
 
While deputies were responding to the scene, dispatch advised that the restaurant’s alarm company had also reported an alarm activation at the business. 
 
Upon their arrival, deputies met with the business owner.  After conducting an initial investigation, deputies determined the suspects had fled prior to their arrival. Deputies reviewed video surveillance from inside the restaurant and obtained a physical and clothing description of the two suspects.
 
One deputy conducted a search of the area and located two subjects matching the suspects’ descriptions at Redwood Fields.  When the deputy attempted to contact them, the subjects fled on foot.  A brief foot pursuit ensued, resulting in the apprehension of one 16-year-old male.  The second suspect was not located.  
 
Based on the physical evidence located at the scene, deputies arrested the 16-year-old and transported him to the Humboldt County Juvenile Hall where he was booked for the following charges:

• PC 594(b)(2)-Felony vandalism
• PC 182(a)(1)-Conspiracy to commit crime
• PC 459-Burglary
• PC 487(a)-Grand Theft
• PC 148(a)(1)-Obstruct/resist peace officer
  
  

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.

PREVIOUSLY:

• One Person Hospitalized With ‘Life-Threatening’ Injuries Following Yesterday’s Shooting in Hoopa; Suspect Remains At-Large, Says HCSO
• Hoopa Valley Tribe Offers $10K Reward for Information Leading to Arrest of Suspect in Tuesday’s Shooting; Emergency Community Meeting in Council Chambers Tonight
• 15-Year-Old Arrested in Connection With Hoopa Shooting, Sheriff’s Office Says; Two Other Teenage Suspects Still at Large

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Mar. 11, 2026, at approximately 8:20 p.m., the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office took 18- year-old William Randolph-Billy Warren of Hoopa into custody without incident after he was located at a hotel in the 1900 block of 4th St. in Eureka. 

Warren was transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where he was booked on the following charges:

• PC 664/187 Attempted Murder (5 counts)
• PC 182(a)(1) Conspiracy to commit crime
• PC 12022(c) Armed with firearm during commission of a felony

Anyone with information about this case 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.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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The man in charge of California’s Department of Motor Vehicles finally had to face tough questions Tuesday about what his agency is doing to address an increase in road deaths in recent years.

Though he didn’t provide many answers.

DMV Director Steve Gordon told lawmakers that he didn’t know if his agency had the ability to speed up license suspensions, didn’t know if he could get data for lawmakers on how often the agency takes action against dangerous drivers, and wasn’t familiar with numbers – that his agency provided CalMatters just last week – showing the DMV rarely investigates motorists who get in crashes seriously injuring or killing people.

Gordon did, however, assure lawmakers at various times that the seeming lack of details or direct response to questions was because the DMV’s operations are “complex,” “very inside baseball,” and “extremely nuanced.”

“I can follow up in detail with your office,” he told one senator.

Gordon’s grilling came at a state Senate informational hearing jointly held by the public safety and transportation committees. It appears to be the first such legislative hearing focused on DUIs, traffic laws and roadway fatalities in decades.

Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from San Jose, cited CalMatters’ License to Kill series as the inspiration. The project has found that the state of California – led by the DMV – routinely allows dangerous drivers with horrifying histories to continue to get behind the wheel, where they go on to kill. The series also revealed that California has some of the nation’s weakest DUI laws and courts across the state failed to report vehicular homicide convictions to the DMV.

Legislators this session have so far introduced a dozen road safety bills aimed at addressing the issues and cracking down on dangerous driving. Tuesday’s hearing was an opportunity to press officials, researchers and advocates on these and other possible solutions. For close to four hours lawmakers talked to road safety and legal experts including a judge, a police chief, a prosecutor, a defense attorney and an advocate with Mothers Against Drunk Driving whose own son was killed.

But the senators saved their most pointed questions for the director of the DMV.

During an extended back-and-forth with Gordon, Cortese repeatedly asked why it was so hard for his staff to get basic data from the DMV as lawmakers weigh new DUI laws. Sen. Caroline Menjivar, a Democrat from Van Nuys, wanted to know how drivers with 15 offenses can keep their licenses. Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat from Encinitas, questioned why the agency can move quickly on things like road tolls, but “puts up a wall” on potential life-saving measures, such as expanding in-car breathalyzers to block drunk driving.

“The DMV, when they feel it’s important, can act quickly. But then there are these other things that seem to be really stuck in molasses,” Blakespear said.

Gordon has avoided talking about the issue in the nearly year since the series launched, declining repeated interview requests and showing no signs publicly that it’s a top priority. In his first public comments, he often dodged questions and said the DMV’s work involves juggling multiple antiquated technology systems.

Gordon said the agency’s driver safety division was not his first priority when he was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019, but that it has since emerged as an area of focus.

“I’ll admit that wasn’t the first team we attacked, because we were worried about lines and Real ID and a bunch of other things that were occurring,” Gordon said. In the three years since, he said the department has begun to update its processes but that “there’s still much more to do.”

Multiple lawmakers pressed Gordon on specific ways the DMV’s systems fail to hold deadly drivers accountable.

Menjivar, who last month proposed a bill to lengthen suspensions for reckless driving, zeroed in on drivers who “slipped through the cracks” while amassing horrifying histories of reckless driving.

Since state law says the DMV “may conduct an investigation” after a fatal crash, she asked why the department told CalMatters it opened only around 3,300 “negligent operator cases” from 2022 through 2024, when state data shows nearly 55,000 fatal or serious injury crashes. Would it help, she asked, if legislators changed the law to say that the DMV “shall” investigate major crashes?

“It’s not a question of a ‘shall’ or a ‘may,’” Gordon said, adding that he could not recall specific investigation numbers on the spot. “I believe we have the capacity we need to investigate every case that comes to us.”

Sen. Jesse Arreguín, an Oakland Democrat who chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee, focused on the case of Kostas Linardos, who drove a three-ton pickup truck at high speed into the back of a sedan in late 2022 after years of wracking up tickets for speeding and reckless driving.

“The case that was in CalMatters yesterday, you know, a toddler lost their life because we didn’t flag this earlier in the process and this person was allowed to drive,” Arreguín said. “We’re talking about people’s lives. That’s what we’re trying to protect here.”

From left, state. Sens. Dave Cortese and Jesse Arreguín co-chair a joint informational hearing on California’s DUI and traffic safety laws at the Capitol Annex Swing Space in Sacramento on March 10, 2026. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

Gordon told lawmakers that his agency is conducting a review to make sure the unit responsible for driver safety is getting all of the information on drivers that it needs to act from other parts of the agency. However, he offered no details and when approached by a CalMatters reporter as he left the hearing Gordon would only say, “we’re not doing press today,” before exiting the building.

In the hearing room, lawmakers continued to listen to horror stories.

Napa District Attorney Allison Haley recounted a recent case in her office where a driver had 13 DUIs. In another, she recalled, a driver killed two people but served virtually the same amount of time as if he’d killed one. Proposed legislation would address these issues, adding prison time for repeat DUI offenders and drivers who kill multiple victims in a crash.

“This isn’t Costco. We don’t want a system where you can kill one person and kill another person — or more — for free,” Haley said. “And that’s currently the situation that we have.”

Other witnesses at the hearing pushed back on the need for stronger criminal sentencing, focusing instead on ways to redesign roads or encourage more proactive substance abuse treatment. Ramping up jail time or other punishment, they argued, may have disproportionate impacts on first-time offenders or poor defendants.

For Tara Repka Flores, none of this is theoretical. She lived through the horror one day in 2019, when she got a call that Alec — a magnetic 13-year-old athlete, meal prepper and her beloved son — was run down on his way to school in Sutter County. He was hit by another school parent who was driving her own three kids to school drunk.

She urged the assembled senators to do absolutely everything in their power to try to save as many families as possible from a similar fate.

“Ignition interlock? Yes. Stronger sentencing? Yes. Accountability for hit and run drivers? Yes,” she said. “Yes to all of it. Stop other people from getting killed.”

Timothy Paul Cissna passed away on February 16, 2026 from Lewy Body Dementia. He was at home in Arcata with his wife and son at the time of his passing.

Tim was born in San Francisco on July 24, 1950 to Norman Clark Cissna and Jeanne Miller Cissna. He moved with his parents and older brother, Ken, to Eureka in 1952. His younger sisters Kathy and Eileen were born in Eureka.

Tim was a happy baby and friendly little boy. Family photos always showed him with a huge smile. His parents instilled the love of the outdoors in all four children. They had many camping, backpacking and horse packing trips, as well as long family trips in the station wagon with all four kids in the back seats. They fished, swam and had adventures while playing in the water and outdoors.

Tim loved sports; he played football in junior high and then swam butterfly on the Eureka High School swim team. He graduated from Eureka High School in 1968 and then attended Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt), where he graduated in 1972. He was captain of the water polo team at Humboldt State and swam butterfly on the swim team. He enjoyed golfing for many years and even had a hole in one at Baywood on Hole #5 in 1981. He also served as president at Baywood, as well as spending time on the board. Tim and Sharon were long-time supporters of Humboldt athletics and enjoyed attending football and basketball games and getting to know the student athletes. He enjoyed watching the Giants, Warriors and 49ers, and took his family on many trips to catch a Giants series.

He started dating his wife, Sharon, while attending Humboldt State. He took her to a party on one of their first dates and told his sister Kathy, “this is the woman I am going to marry.” Sharon didn’t hear the story until after they were married. Tim and Sharon were married in Eureka in 1972. They lived in San Francisco while Tim attended Hastings College of Law, where he graduated in 1976. They then moved to Bayside, where they lived until 2001, before moving to Arcata. He practiced law as a defense attorney for 20 years before he was appointed as a Superior Court Judge, where he served for the next 20 years.

Their son, Kevin, was born after Tim finished law school and he and Sharon had moved back to Eureka. Tim loved attending Kevin’s school activities and never missed one of his sporting events. He kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings from every time Kevin made the local newspaper. He was honored to be the officiant at Kevin’s wedding to his wife Kat in 2017. He was so proud of Kevin and loved watching him become a wonderful person and loving father and husband. He loved his grandsons Ryan and Eli and enjoyed making them laugh. He was so happy watching them learn to walk and talk and become beautiful little boys.

Tim was a strong believer in ethics and fairness, and as an attorney and a judge, he took the responsibility to uphold those beliefs very seriously. He also said that one of the best parts of being a judge was performing adoptions and weddings because everyone was always so happy.

Tim loved the outdoors and he loved to travel. Tim, Sharon, Kevin and their friends enjoyed many backpacking trips in the Trinity Alps and Marble Mountains, where Tim passed on his love of the outdoors and wildlife. Tim and Sharon loved kayaking in the local lagoons and Humboldt Bay with a group of special friends. Their travels took them to many amazing places all over the world. Tim’s favorite was Africa, and they were able to travel there multiple times on various photo safaris. They were fortunate to be able to travel, and he always believed it was important to not wait until you were retired, or the time was just right. He lived this belief while sitting with gorillas, watching polar bears and dogsledding through Wyoming.

Tim loved his family, he loved his friends and he loved having fun. He had such a wonderful group of friends, and he enjoyed travel, adventures and laughter with all of them. Kevin and his cousins remember much laughter as he played “Red Light, Green Light” with them when they were young. Friends have memories of the secret delivery of a decorated Charlie Brown Christmas tree on their front porch, and he was infamous for his gas operated blender at the Humboldt tailgate parties before the football games. Even though his disease took away so much from him he still loved going to lunch with friends, attending the Humboldt Basketball games and talking to people at the gym or in the woods. He leaves behind an incredible group of friends. Wherever he went he would always see a friend and they would laugh and enjoy a good memory. Thank you for being his friend.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Norman and Jeanne Cissna and his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Jim and Helen Berg. He is survived by his loving wife, Sharon, his son, Kevin, his daughter-in-law, Kat, and his two beautiful grandsons, Ryan and Eli. He is also survived by his brother, Ken Cissna (Beth Roberts), sisters, Kathy Dias and Eileen Stocum (Robin), sister-in-law, Bonnie Rahm, nieces Megan Dias, Shelby Dias, Carrie Bibonge (Ali), Jennifer Jones (Charles), Kirsten Chappell (Tim) and nephews Tristan Dias (Julia) and Daniel Rahm (fiancée Jess Orozco). He is also survived by his great nieces and nephews, Cecilia Thompson (O’Riley), Zuri Bibonge, Barack Bibonge, Kira Bibonge, Charli Jones and Jacen Jones.

We want to thank Doctor Iverson, Doctor Cataldo, Doctor Fischer and Hospice of Humboldt for their support and kindness.

We miss him dearly and we hope the memory of his strength and his love will continue to live on in all of us.

A celebration of life will be held at Elk’s Lodge, 445 Herrick Avenue, Eureka CA, on Sunday, April 26, 2026 from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to The Walk to End Alzheimer’s, The Lewy Body Foundation, Hospice of Humboldt or a charity of your choice.

PREVIOUSLY:

• One Person Hospitalized With ‘Life-Threatening’ Injuries Following Yesterday’s Shooting in Hoopa; Suspect Remains At-Large, Says HCSO
• Hoopa Valley Tribe Offers $10K Reward for Information Leading to Arrest of Suspect in Tuesday’s Shooting; Emergency Community Meeting in Council Chambers Tonight

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Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 15-year-old Preston Lee Ruiz II, on a no bail warrant in connection with the shooting that occurred in Hoopa on Mar. 10, 2026.  Ruiz was taken into custody after being located at residence located off State Highway 169 near Wautec.  

Ruiz will be booked into Juvenile Hall on the following charges:

• PC 664/187-Attempted murder
• PC 182(a)-Conspiracy to commit a crime
• PC 12022-Armed during the commission of a felony

 As a result of the ongoing investigation, detectives with the Humboldt County Major Crimes Division have obtained No Bail warrants for the following individuals:

• Tse-Lin Qhaba Red Cloud Perry Wayne Lincoln, Indian male Adult 19-years-old of Hoopa
• William Randolph “Billy” Warren, also known as William “Bubbz” Lincoln, Indian Male Adult, 18-years-old of Hoopa

They are wanted for the following charges:

• PC 664/187-Attempted murder
• PC 182(a)-Conspiracy to commit a crime
• PC 12022-Armed during the commission of a felony

This investigation is active and anyone with any information about this case or the whereabouts of the listed suspects is asked to contact the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or by calling the Sheriff’s Office Tip Line at (707) 268-2539.