Archives September 2007
Indoor Marijuana Cultivation is Out of Control in Arcata
Thursday night a fire caused $20,000 damage to a house just outside Arcata city limits. The home had recently been renovated at a cost of $30,000, with new floors, paint, roof and more. “It was spotless,†said owner LaVina Collenberg (mother of the late Randy Collenberg of “Cab 10″ fame).
The tenant, Cody Nehring, said that the grow was a “cooperative†for five medical marijuana patients. Indeed, five Prop 215 certifications were posted on the living room wall, one with Nehring’s name on it. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reportedly will not charge the occupants with anything, as they were duly covered by Prop 215.
In Arcata, neighbors and police have become increasingly concerned about the proliferation of grow houses. Apart from the danger of fire, there have also been home invasion robberies with violence. In subdivisions where the houses look alike (especially at night) neighbors are concerned about robbers getting houses mixed up. Oh, and that smell.
Surfer Survives Great White Shark Attack at Moonstone Beach
On Thursday, September 27th, Sue Snyder's 9'6" longboard was struck and bit by a great white shark at Moonstone Beach in Humboldt County at about 8:15 a.m.
According to Sue and others in the water, this is the scenario that we pieced together. Sue said she felt her board get bumped, but not violently, as she was sitting waiting for a wave. The force of the "bump" knocked her off the board. As she fell off, her arm ran along the length of the shark as it swam by her. At this point she began kicking the shark before jumping back on her board and paddling to shore.
Arcata 215 Pot Grow Causes House Fire, Landlord Angry
A malfunctioning fan in a bedroom where marijuana was being grown is believed to have started a fire that scorched the room and stunned the homeowner -- who had no idea her tenants were using the entire house to grow pot.
â€I had no idea,†said Lavina Collenberg, who was called to the home on Alice Avenue just before 8 a.m. Thursday.
Arcata Fire Protection District Chief John McFarland said someone saw smoke pouring from the home and called.
â€It's the typical destroy your landlord's home to grow your marijuana,†McFarland said. “About 80 percent of Arcata house fires are related to dope growing.â€
Hate and Racism Alive in Humboldt County
"Usually, when I'm upset, I give myself time to cool down. I figure if I sleep on it, the next morning it won't be so bad. But I can't, not this time. Today I was hurt to hear my niece and nephew, no older than four years of age, were called niggers by a white man with a son in arms at Hiller Park in Mckinleyville. My mother, who was watching them at the time, took them home in fear of their safety.
"Later, she felt remorse for not speaking up. While she teared I told her that she had done the right thing, considering the situation. Even so, doing the right thing did not give her comfort. Nor to I.
"I am a Hispanic resident of Humboldt County, and I've lived here for 15 years. My niece and nephew are half Liberian. Their father came to this country because he had heard wonderful things of America. Yet, people like the man at Hiller Park destroy what a wonderful place this nation really is."
Salvador Garcia
Resident of Mckinleyville
Deputies Bust Another Indoor Marijuana Grow Operation
On Tuesday morning, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office and Humboldt County Drug Task Force searched two properties in the Woods Ranch area of Redway.
Officers located a commercial indoor marijuana-growing operation at one of the locations and arrested a female subject for cultivation and possession for sales of marijuana. The female was identified as Christina Mary Dowling, 44, of Redway.
Officers seized 1,115 marijuana plants and a 45-kilowatt diesel generator that was supplying electrical power to the indoor growing operation.
A residence associated with the marijuana-growing operation was also searched, though nobody was located at the site.
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=28787
City of Eureka Wants City-wide Muni Wi-Fi Broadband Internet
EUREKA, CA - The City of Eureka is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to assist the City in determining the feasibility of deploying a citywide wireless broadband network.
The City views broadband wireless technology as a valuable resource for promoting and stimulating broad-scale social, economic, and educational development for all constituents. The City therefore seeks to take an active leadership role in the development and deployment of a citywide wireless broadband network. To that end, the City of Eureka’s Information Services Division of the Finance Department seeks a qualified consultant to assist with achieving this goal.
The City is seeking proposals from market-leading consulting firms with municipal wireless broadband initiative experience to participate in this RFP process by proposing a plan and process to assist the City in achieving this mission.
Humboldt Cop Shoots Dangerous Drunk Driver
A man suspected of driving under the influence was shot Sunday after a vehicle pursuit that ended with the driver’s alleged attempt to back over an officer from the Humboldt Area Office of the California Highway Patrol.
Rodney J. Bartow, 53, was airlifted to Redding for medical treatment, but was subsequently transported back to Humboldt County and booked into the correctional facility in Eureka.
The incident began around 5 p.m. Sunday with an anonymous tip reporting a DUI driver near the 76 gas station in Blue Lake.
A news release issued by the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office stated that a CHP unit responded to the gas station, located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop.
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=28728
Missing Children Rescued by Search Party
FICKLE HILL, Calif.—Three boys who'd been reported missing over the weekend were found uninjured on Monday by search and rescue workers.
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Department said the Fickle Hill boys—two 15-year-olds and one 9-year-old—had been reported missing Sunday night after not coming home from a walk.
California Senator Runs with High Schoolers Today
State Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) is visiting Arcata today for a run through the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary with the Arcata High School cross country team at 8:30 a.m.
Torlakson, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Schools and Community, has convened hearings over the past two years throughout California to examine both expanding career tech classes and school meal programs. As a result, he has authorized legislation this year to ban trans-fats from school meals and expand career tech classes throughout the state.
North County Fair in Arcata is a Success
Residents poured onto The Arcata Plaza Saturday for the first of two days of arts, crafts, food and fun at the North Country Fair.
About 190 vendors from throughout the Northwest displayed a variety of handmade goods, while residents could be seen dancing, juggling or just kicking back and enjoying the numerous types of cuisine.
At about 1 p.m., a parade of capoeira and samba performers danced through the crowd, stopping frequently to give the audience a show.
Vendors sold everything from clothing, jewelry, paintings and candles, to food and other homemade products.
300,000 Marijuana Plants Siezed in Humboldt County - 2007 Outdoor Growing Season
This last week, CAMP and the Sheriff's Department, assisted by the Humboldt County Drug Task Force, the Eureka Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management eradicated 34,000 plants.
Eight warrants were served, leading to the discovery of 4,600 plants on Bureau of Land Management property in the Redwood Valley, 11,500 plants on Forest Service land about 22 miles south of State Route 299, and 12,000 plants on Pacific Lumber Co. land in the McCann area of southern Humboldt County.
A large chunk of those 300,000 plants came during a four-day raid last month about 35 miles south of Berry Summit, when 134,082 plants were found on Green Diamond property.
Furtuna Man Kills Shark with Boat Motor
FORTUNA, Calif.—A man who was out with his family on his motorboat believes they may have run into and killed a great white shark that washed up in a Humboldt County beach last weekend.
Chris Justice, of Fortuna, believes a thud that shook the boat during the family's Labor Day weekend outing, lifting the outboard motor from the water, may have been the shark.
His wife, Mary Justice, who was closest to the engine, saw a pectoral fin and the shark's mouth, he said. Justice got a glimpse of the shark, estimating it was between 15 and 18 feet.
Coast Guard Air-lifts Injured Logger
McKinleyville, Calif. -- The U.S. Coast Guard safely hoisted an injured logger, Roy Webster, from the Redwood forest this afternoon.
Group Humboldt Bay received a call from "Green Diamond" stating that Mr. Webster had possibly fractured both of his legs.
An anonymous Humboldt County logger of 30+ years who knew Webster said that he was known for "taking risks" and positioning himself unsafely while cutting the enormous redwood trees located throughout this area.
University Accepts One Million Dollars
Two Humboldt State University alumni have promised a $1 million dollar donation toward the construction of a self-sustaining, long-term shelter for battered women and their children.
Byron Turner and Allison Minch, who finished postgraduate studies at Humboldt State in the early 1990s, pledged the gift to help build the Oasis Project in Humboldt County by the end of the decade.
The money comes from the $2 million sale of instructional software written for Created Equal, the non-profit Turner and Minch founded in 1995.
Invasive Weed Spray Sparks Environmental Lawsuit
EUREKA, California, September 18, 2007 (ENS) - A California citizens group Friday filed a lawsuit against the state and Humboldt County for not allowing adequate public input before spraying herbicides along the Eel River to eradicate invasive weeds.
Californians for Alternatives to Toxics, CATs, sued the Humboldt County Agricultural Commissioner and the California Department of Parks and Recreation for their decision to use herbicides to kill purple loosestrife plants for as many as 10 years without first consulting with the public.
The suit, filed in Humboldt County Superior Court, claims the agencies failed to consider safer and more effective methods such as biological weed control programs, already used successfully throughout the country.
Humboldt Sheriff's Department Busts Pot Growers with Google Earth
Todd Fulton, a deputy in the Humboldt County, Calif., sheriff’s department, said his agency is also using Google Earth as one piece in its marijuana interdiction activities, albeit a small one. "We’ll use GPS (devices) and transfer the GPS data over to Google Earth," Fulton said, "to get an idea of the terrain we’re dealing with."
That’s particularly useful in a region like Humboldt County–one of the largest marijuana-growing regions in the United States–given that it consists of millions of acres of rough, hilly terrain. So being able to use Google Earth to do something that previously might have required flying around in a helicopter is much more efficient, Fulton suggested.
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