News

Public voices support for opening up coastal lands for business

7/6/16

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors heard testimony from business owners, government officials and local residents on its proposal to open up coastal industrial areas around Humboldt Bay to new businesses. Most speakers were in favor of the change.

“It’s a clear choice between continuing stagnation and blight or moving forward with jobs and environmental cleanup around Humboldt Bay,” Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation Commissioner Mike Wilson said after the meeting.

Arcata wastewater facility update underway

City examines issues with aged facility

6/26/16

As the Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility continues to age and resulting compliance issues arise, the city is preparing for a 10- to 20-year remodeling project. The effort will take its next step Monday when Arcata’s Environmental Services Department, which manages the facility, meets with the state’s Regional Water Quality Control Board to discuss the project’s future as city officials work to have a completed plan in place by their December deadline.

The Train Dream Lives! Caltrans Gives $276k in Public Funds to Trinity County Agency for Yet Another East-West Rail Study

6/24/16

The California Department of Transportation, better known as Caltrans, today announced that it has awarded a $276,000 grant to the Trinity County Transportation Commission, which will spend that moolah studying the feasibility of constructing a brand new railroad from Humboldt Bay across the Trinity Alps to the Central Valley.

Snowy plovers and massive condos — opposing forces we'll meet on our coastal road trip

6/22/16

Imagine this:

A stunning, untouched beach, marked by crashing blue surf and a broad shoulder of dunes that are home to native plants and wildlife.

Now imagine this:

A massive condo-and-hotel monstrosity carved into the wall of sand, permanently scarring the landscape and, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, destroying the habitat of birds protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Coastal Commission vote rattles far north

6/21/16

On Feb. 10, the peace and quiet of Morro Bay, an idyllic beach town and state park along the central coast, was swept away by the tide of coastal conservation politics. The town’s community center was flooded with activists fighting the California Coastal Commission’s move to terminate its executive director, Charles Lester. After hours of passionate testimony, almost exclusively in support of the beleaguered bureaucrat, the commission eventually voted 7-5 to fire him.

Four months later and 600 miles to the north, the aftershocks of the Commission’s political earthquake are still being felt.