Cop’s illegal firework caused July 4th accident

When off-duty Humboldt County Sheriff’s Deputy Joe Marsh asked a 10-year old girl to help light a firework, he knew the item was illegal.  So says today’s Times-Standard.

Marsh apparently thought he had a type of firework — a Roman Candle, which are illegal in California — that send sparks and embers shooting into the air.

But that’s not what happened.  Marsh lost “several fingers” in the blast that emitted from the explosive — whatever it was.  The girl, Jessi Shinn, was left with only her pinkie. Both were holding the firework when it was lit thanks to Marsh’s boneheaded instructions.

Why would a law enforcement officer take an illegal firework to a family picnic?  Why would he ask a child to help him light it?  Where did he get it? What was he thinking?

It doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict terrible things will happen every 4th of July.  Pets are lost or killed and people are maimed in order that Americans can celebrate the “bombs bursting in air” as they currently do in Iraq and Afghanistan courtesy of US taxpayers.

Often it’s drunk revelers or dumb, young, careless kids that cause firework mishaps. But a cop enlisting the help of a child to light an illegal firework while holding it in her hand is an amazing display of bad judgment. One wonders how such wisdom surfaced in his police work, or if it’s possible he was just having an extremely moronic day.

A fundraiser to help with Jessi’s medical bills will be held at the Fortuna HealthSport on Saturday from 2pm – 9pm.  Details here.

Marina Center mobsters get organized

Local conservative Chris Crawford is stepping up to head the campaign in support of Measure N, which will take Eureka’s temperature on the proposed Marina Center development.  The Journal has the details.

Crawford sent out a call to arms that included the following:

Passing Measure N is a necessary first step in transforming this blighted property into the Marina Center.

“Necessary” is a funny word since it’s — well — not.  It could be passed by a vote of the city council, and there is no question the council would approve it pronto.

Measure N will change the land use designation – it is now zoned public which would allow a cemetery, jail or sewage plant to be placed there. If passed, the zoning would be changed to one which would allow the Marina Center development

Again, not true.  A majority “Yes” vote will not ensure the zoning change.  That’s up to the Coastal Commission.

while excluding a “supercenter discount store.”

Big deal.  As written, if approved by the Coastal Commission, the exclusion would still allow a WalMart as proposed and voted down by Eureka residents in 1999.

The first Yes on N event will be Saturday, Aug 7 from 10am-noon at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts.

Rural residents too busy smoking pot to keep up with GPU?

Dennis Mayo.

Tuesday’s KMUD news reported on the July 22nd Humboldt County Planning Commission meeting which focused on the General Plan Update (GPU).

Commissioner Ralph Faust expressed frustration by complaints that Southern Humboldt residents aren’t included in the Update process.  He asked how the Commission can reach out to people who don’t read newspapers or listen to the radio, don’t have email, don’t go to the library or communicate with county staff or use the internet.

“There is some supposition in government that the public will pay some attention to something,” Faust said.  “If they are totally disconnected from any form of media then it’s going to be hard for them to know in any sense what government is doing in any of its branches, in any of its actions.”

SoHum resident Tom Grover said outlying residents would be helped by printed materials and handouts made available in various outlets.

Commissioner Dennis Mayo then piped up with a seemingly sideways suggestion that “maybe we can get [printouts] into the 215 clinics.”

Of course!  The reason rural residents can’t stay abreast of the GPU is they’re busy updating their Prop. 215 recommendations which allow use of medical marijuana.

Mayo’s HumCPR supporters must be overjoyed by that insinuation.

Journalist panel at ganja gathering

Northern Humboldt hosted an afternoon-long marijuana meeting Saturday at the Bayside Grange, organized by some of the same folks who put together the now famous “What’s After Pot” confab in Redway earlier this year.

The above clip features Southern Humboldt blogger Kym Kemp, and NoHum editors Hank Sims and Kevin Hoover.

Other panels include pot lawyers Ed Denson and Mel Pearlston, and local electeds Mark Lovelace, Bonnie Neely, and Susan Ornelas.  More clips available at Arcatatv.com.

If you’d rather read than watch see Kym’s report, Humboldt Pot Growers Look towards the Future, or John Osborn’s Exploring the Future of Humboldt and Marijuana.

EPD gets help with domestic calls

Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen.

Despite efforts by the City of Eureka to cripple its police department, EPD is improving its responses to domestic calls.  From the Times-Standard:

The pilot project — which began in earnest a couple of months ago — places a domestic violence advocate on patrol with an EPD officer to offer a different skill set and a different perspective on what can be some of the more challenging calls that law enforcement officers have to deal with.

”It gives the officers another tool to use in situations that they’re not particularly trained to deal with,” [Police Chief Garr] Nielsen said.

This is a profound turn-around from the EPD we knew and feared just a few short years ago.  Imagine the possibilities if the city actually worked with EPD rather than undermining the department that has matured so notably under Chief Nielsen.

Local tribal lands in National Geographic

The latest National Geographic features examples of “Tribes whose lands were once taken from them … setting an example for how to restore the environment.” The below image is from the Intertribal Sinkyone Wilderness.

NG photo caption: “The ‘sacred ecosystem,’ as executive director Hawk Rosales calls it, is threaded by waters like Wolf Creek, focus of a project to restore salmon habitat.”

A 2007 article from the Trees Foundation explains:

In December 2006 the InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council celebrated its twentieth anniversary. The Council may be the best-known example of Indian land conservation in the U .S. It was formed in 1986 to protect threatened Sinkyone coastal redwoods from further logging and to return local Indian stewardship to this land. In 1997 the Council purchased 3,845 acres for the first InterTribal Wilderness area, which has been permanently protected through conservation easements. The Council conducts its work in collaboration with a wide variety of project partners.

Full set of National Geographic photos.

Local figure arrested on child porn charges

Humboldt County Sheriffs arrested community organizer Cole Machado on porn charges.  Press Release:

EUREKA – Humboldt County Sheriff’s Detectives arrested a Eureka man Tuesday after finding him in possession of child pornography. Detectives were made aware of the case after receiving a report from a concerned citizen. After an initial investigation and developing additional information, Detectives obtained a search warrant Tuesday for the residence of Cole Jack Machado. Upon serving the warrant at Machado’s Quaker Street residence, Detectives confiscated personal computers, cell phones, and other evidence. The electronics will be analyzed by a computer forensic specialist with the District Attorney’s Office.

Detectives arrested Machado at his residence and booked him into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for possession of child pornography. Machado posted bail and was released. He is scheduled to appear in court August 3, 2010.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about this case should call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251.

More at the Journal.

The day before his arrest Machado updated his twitter page:

At the courthouse in court 8 people charged with illegal camping and illegal campfire. What has the world come to?

Environmental Groups File Suit Over Balloon Tract Ballot Initiative

[Press Release from Humboldt Baykeeper.]

EUREKA – Humboldt Baykeeper, a local Humboldt Bay advocacy organization, and the Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) have filed suit against the City of Eureka for failure to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it approved placing an initiative to change zoning on the Balloon Track, the site of the proposed Marina Center project, on November’s ballot.

Under California law, government-sponsored ballot measures are subject to environmental review under CEQA. Humboldt Baykeeper and EPIC assert that the environmental review that the City conducted for this project is seriously flawed and not in compliance with the requirements of CEQA. “The hasty decision by the City of Eureka to place this issue on the November ballot without considering the potential environmental impacts is a disservice to the citizens of Eureka,” said Pete Nichols, Executive Director of Humboldt Baykeeper. “The voters should know the ramifications of their decisions at the ballot box,” he continued.

Jager and the EPD

With ex-cop and current Eureka City Councilman Frank Jager running for Mayor, one wonders how much support his former fellows at the Eureka Police Dept. will offer now that he’s reneged on support for public safety.

When Jager announced his 2008 campaign for City Council, he said his “top concerns [were] the proposed Marina Center, traffic issues and police and fire protection,” according to the Times-Standard. “Public safety needs to be a priority,” Jager wrote on the smartvoter website.  “Eureka should have fully staffed police and fire departments.”

However, Jager gave the proverbial finger to EPD and EFD Tuesday night by approving what may be unprecedented cuts for those departments.

Police Chief Garr Nielsen told the council he doesn’t know of any other police department that has “totally knocked out it’s command staff.”  He said EPD can’t lose that kind of experience without it having an impact.

“Slashing this number of positions drastically impacts level of service we can provide to the community,” said Bill Nova, Vice President of the Eureka Police Officers Association. He also warned that budget cuts and reduced service would open the city to civil liability.

Residents and Old Town business owners also spoke during the public comment period, and not a single speaker supported the cuts to police and fire.

Jager says he’s running for mayor because he’s “tired of all the partisan stuff that goes on in the council and the community in general.” That’s double-speak from a man who calls those he disagrees with “extortionists.”

With the budget approved and the knife in the back of public safety, Jager can get back to the one priority he still supports — the “Marina Center” charade.  Watch for that divisive ballot measure to be center stage in his fall campaign.

Cutten Realty ranks no. 3

If you’re wondering about the state of home buying and selling in and around Eureka, here’s a clue.  Coldwell Banker Cutten Realty took the number 3 spot “among 406 Coldwell Banker affiliate offices in its office size category,” according to the Times-Standard.

Perhaps it’s a sign that the rest of the country is really in the dumpster.  Or maybe it means Humboldt County is a desirable place to live and they are coming.

But fear not. Humboldt County will never look like Santa Rosa. And surely the people gobbling up resource lands for home sites are using only the eco-grooviest materials for their fresh new roads and compost shitters.