Eureka businessman Rob Arkley followed up his recent KHSU interview with another stop on campus. Humboldt State University is the latest recipient of a charitable Arkley gift: Behold the Security National Reserve Section for indoor sporting events.
This 7-minute interview sheds new light on old issues while raising still more questions.
Longtime readers will be happy to know that the historic building Arkley tore down in Baton Rouge and replaced with a sprawling modern McMansion isn’t for personal use. Nope, Arkley tells JB Mathers that Humboldt County is the greatest place in the world to live and that he has “no plans to go anywhere, we love this area.”
But the strangest statement came during Akley’s pep talk for students. “You don’t have to go to work for a huge corporation out of the area,” he said. Especially, perhaps, since he’s bringing the huge outside corporations here to Humboldt County and creating a special place for them right on the bay.
Looking for a job? Arkley offers this: “Never overlook our company,” he said. “We’re hiring.”
Nice interviewing by JB, but this smacks of classic marketing… take one of your weaknesses and persuade people the opposite is true… namely, when you graduate HSU, there will be a job waiting for you in the local community, that Humboldt doesn’t have a depressed economy.
What any of the interview has to do with sports I don’t know, other than seeing the shiny new seats in the background.
So is this bad?
This 7-minute interview sheds new light on old issues while raising still more questions.
which new questions are raised?
The Best Way to “Rob” a Bank is to Own One.
You, Heraldo, really have a major thing about Rob. Have you considered that it has moved beyond being rational? Since we all now know the two people that assume the “Heraldo” name, I can understand the thinking.
he is hiring and donating money to the community and loves the area put a bad spin on that Heraldo
Jealousy, pure and simple.
Please Rob, no big box on the waterfront
Behold the PR campaign to create enough public sympathy to get the Marina Center approved for the waterfront.
Rob must get revenge!
If Heraldo is “jealous” of Rob Arkley, Rose, what do you call your obsession with Paul Gallegos? Notice that Heraldo didn’t name his blog WatchRob.
Rob could use a new ‘doo.
That comb-over makes me wonder “what’s livin’ under there?”
Rose is more jealous of Heraldo than Paul or Richard
Come on Heraldo, you got so many other good story lines and PR to push…
Christ- we need jobs desperately, the City needs tax revenues desperately and there’s noone else on the horizon to do anything positive around here. I guess I just don’t understand why this project is so demonized. I’d understand maybe if there was a competing project that had some value to us all. But there’s not.
“Progress” sure comes at a cost. The short term fix will not solve any long term job or tax revenue issues.
The jobs generated beyond the construction phase should be long term and the sales taxes would be long term wouldn’t they?
Not if these jobs simply replace existing jobs. Same for the tax revenue- much of it would simply shift from existing businesses.
Urban decay will follow
Three years ago, according to the Journal,
It appears from the interview with Mathers that Arkley is putting a lid on his previous statements.
So, what was the point to tearing down a historic building and angering the locals of Baton Rouge to build a dream house that you’re not going to live in. Rich man’s whimsy?
I disagree 8:54. There’s room for Home Depot as well as Pierson’s and if it’s not built here it will be built in Fortuna. That will draw off more tax revenue from Eureka. I believe the majority of Eurekans do want this project to go- not because they love Home Depot but because they are tired of nothing ever happening as we spiral downward economically.
There is many more businesses than just Pierson’s that will be affected
Not a fair comparison. Mr. A isn’t in a position to be soft on crime, slapping peoples’ wrists left and right.
Nonsense. Arkley wouldn’t use a little-viewed Youtube video to put a lid on previous statements that were pervasive in the community. This isn’t a subtle presidential administration manipulating the national media with planned leaks and having newspaper columnists drop names, etc.
Reality check! It’s JB Matthers on Youtube! The video has 40 views as of the moment. This wouldn’t be a subtle venue to send signals unless you had a blogger who journalists read that was willing to work with Mr. A to slip the video into their reading material… hmmm.
If long term jobs are desireable, then Home Depot or Wal-Mart or whatever should be required to put in a distribution center utilizing the port. Arkley already owns a dock and the Marina site. Could supply all the stores in southern Oregon and Northern California.
heraldo,
so what? he talked about moving, maybe he changed his mind? i believe after the article you quoted cherie is quoted as saying they weren’t going anywhere. is it a crime to have a second home? again, so what?
Oldphart- plop your money down, buy the Ballon tract, take the business risk and then you can require whatever you want. It’s almost that easy. Then of course comes the Planning Commission, the Coastal Commission and so on and all of the folks without a stake that still want to tell you what to do with your property.
They would have had to modify the “historic pink mansion” they bought in BR so much, just to make it useful, it wouldn’t have looked the same anyway. Being old doesn’t always make something historically significant or deemed worth saving. Nostalgic perhaps to some, though I don’t believe there were big repercussions from it’s destruction. The new home is beautiful, and is used as Arkley’s home when they are there at the Baton Rouge office, and other family members use it as well.
I know someone who was recently offered a job in the Eureka location. Although I think they are proceeding cautiously, the business is forging ahead and trying to make the best of the times.
Why can’t JUST ONCE we see a business person donate money to a college and just say “We did it because it needed doing.” And leave it at that. The ego of this guy……………wow.
You make far too many assumptions. More likely, Arkley donated the money and HSU had to figure out some way to thank them and the best they could come up with was a youtube video and a game ceremony.
How does the donation benefit Arkley except for some seats for the company to use? I look at all of his contributions to our area and I don’t see personal benefit to the Arkleys or to their company in any of them.
Blagojevich?
Bingo! We have a winner!
Richardson Grove
A lid with spin.
Très fair: the comparison isn’t about crime: it’s about obsession.
Definitely! Or maybe even not say anything about the donation, just do it:
“Charity vaulteth not itself, is not puffed up.”
Da Man – I don’t need to plop my money down as Arkley already owns both the Balloon Tract and a deep water trans-shipment spot on the bay (the old Fairhaven pulp mill site). I was suggesting that if he wanted to create the most amount of jobs to combine the two by having distribution center out on the North Spit as a part of any deal to build a Home Depot or Wal-Mart on the other spot.
If I saw some thankfulness for all of the projects Arkley has funded without personal benefit I would give more credibility to comments seen here. It’s so much “sour grapes” . Some complaints and issues regarding Arkley are valid, and some are just not.
And that’s the thing, Anony.Miss, when Arkley gave money to the “cause” – there was none of this bad-mouthing. What was it, some $17,000 to help get Gallegos elected and keep him in office?
This seems to have more to do with the fact that they aren’t getting their grubby paws on his money anymore.
It was $12,000 donated during the recall, not an actual election (you of all people should remember). The Humboldt Herald didn’t exist during the recall, but we do appreciate Mr. Arkley’s efforts to oppose Maxxam’s total domination of Humboldt County politics.
I am sure Arkley also donated to get Gallegos elected in the first place. I remember an event years ago at the Arkley home where Gallegos was present.
Thus confirming Gallegos can be trusted about as much as we trust Arkley.
Arkley’s donation’s to Gallegos’ original campaign had their usual purpose — a personal vendetta. The target of this vendetta was District Attorney Terry Farmer, a high-profile Democrat. He is the husband of Bonnie Neely, whom Arkley has also spent large amounts of money trying to unseat, without success.
I believe that to be true. I also think Arkley will support whoever will run against Gallegos next time.
I agree with Ben; you are obsessed with Arkley.
It’s kind of creepy in a stalker sort of way…
maria:
Who’s more obsessed:
Heraldo with Arkley or
Rose with Paul Gallegos? http://watchpaul.blogspot.com/
Yeah, just like the US being obsessed with Osama Bin Laden is creepy. Did you ever get a sudden scary feeling, where the hair on the back of your neck comes up?
Arkley destroys a aparent “historic” building in baton rouge, but he restored and fixed up the “arkley center for the performing arts” building witch was also historic and he has preserved it!
Bull Moose, I’d have to say Heraldo hands down is more obsessed, although H says more positive stuff about Arkley than negative. Today’s post was a gimme.
Arkley is a deadringer for Peter from Family Guy
I don’t think that is a comb-over…just a dated hair style. Or *maybe* trendy conservative?
The HSU donation was probably pledged long ago – before the current economic downturn – and, if so, kudos to Rob for following through.
On another note, we can all hope SN is really hiring because a lot of people need jobs right now.
As for the Baton Rouge home, there was initial controversy about the tear-down but now the new home is constructed…and life goes on whether you like the home or not. Let’s hope someone is enjoying living there.
There have been HSU donations but this one was all about buying seats in the new gym, which you can see in the background.
That interview happened awhile ago- right? The event where Rob and Cherie were honored was in the past couple of weeks?
Arkleys and family and in and out of the BR home, depending on needs to be in Louisiana.
How dare such a man draw breath and take up space on this planet or any other planet in this or in any other solar system wherever in the universe it may be?
How dare you even take up space in your blog mentioning his name?
How dare your readers even take up space in their brains holding his name in memory?
freaky person.
Too funny about that “historic” home.
It was a 72 year old dump. The paint was not only pink, but it was peeling off.
The foundation was crumbling.
The list goes on.
The article that was linked here had a 20 year old picture of the house to try to make it look better than it was.
The article called it a “landmark” home.
Somebody (Heraldos) tried to make Arkley sound more evil by calling it an “historic” home.
Sounds good huh?
Arkley destroys historic landmark!
Believe me, if it was worth saving, it would have been remodeled in stead of “bulldozed.”
Obsession is a weird and disturbing thing.
Got the personal tour, did you?
FYI, it was LSU’s paper, the Daily Reveille, that called the home a “landmark.”
Which is why I said “The article called it a landmark home.”
And yes, I saw the before and after in person.
The Arkley home in Eureka was quite a relic and they chose to restore. The one in Baton Rouge was beyond help.
Not everyone agrees. From the article:
I’m sure it was beautiful living for free on the waterfront.
Did it say somewhere that he lived there free of charge?
What a boring “interview”. Anony.Miss writes like he/she works for Mr. A or one of his affiliates. Why is this guy doing the media tour? Is he planning on running for public office, trying to improve his image in the community, or just looking for attention?
Oh, THAT Sunshine.
Arkley may have a rare gene that requires his ass to be kissed on a regular basis. Please be kind.
must have been in great shape, being sold at a sheriff’s auction.
Do people really think Arkley is looking for attention?
You are actively seeking him out.
Sunshine, no, I just see both sides of some of these issues, have some personal knowledge. It’s hard to read things you know to be untrue or you think are misunderstood without commenting. I see the reasons for people not liking the politics and not liking the projects, but the need to be personally nasty or tell lies, or contribute to gossip is annoying to me. I agree with a lot of what is said. I usually don’t comment on that. There are plenty others who will!