The 17th annual Family Fun Series at the Arcata Playhouse begins with the Honolulu Theatre for Youth performing In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson on Saturday, March 25, at 2 and 7 p.m. ($40 families, $15 general, $10 kids). The play, adapted from an award-winning novel by Bette Bao Lord, tells the story of a young girl and her family moving from China to the United States in 1947. The show is sponsored in part by Humboldt Asians and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, and with funding from Western States Arts Federation. Tickets are available online at playhousearts.org, at Wildberries ..read more

RampArt is generally known for putting on punk and metal gigs, but tonight at 8:30 p.m., the marsh-adjacent skate warehouse in Arcata offers another kind of gig. DJ and impresario Henry Fong and Arcane Artists presents the Circtus, which, as far as I can tell is a night of house and dubstep music with a circus atmosphere. Performances by GMNIITE, Mikey Bones, The Vagabond Dancers and more will be on deck. Pricing ranges from $20 for advance tickets, $35 at the door and $60 for VIP admission ..read more

Celebrate Sunshine Week with us (despite the rain) by reading this year's Foilies, highlighting the worst in government transparency across the nation. Also worth celebrating is the release of McKinley man Jeff Woodke, who'd been held hostage in West Africa for six years. We'll also touch on some turnover at the Humboldt County Fair Association, talk about folks teaching and learning Native boat building at Mind's Eye in Ferndale, as well as how to refresh your salad skills. Hit subscribe for weekly updates on Humboldt stories.  ..read more

Every now and then a show comes along that allows for some audience participation and behavior that would be misapplied elsewhere. Anything from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to a performance by GWAR. Tonight’s gig at Savage Henry Comedy Club is one such show. It’s called the Heckler’s Paradise and, as the name suggests, it’s a safe space for live feedback from the cheap seats. However, be warned: The comedians, hosted by Eric Fitzgerald and Jason Merritt, heckle back. 9 p.m. ($10 ..read more

Ash Davidson's Damnation Spring Ash Davidson showed up in Klamath in March of 2014 to interview people for her book about the last years of old-growth logging. But even though she had lived in Klamath as a child, she didn't know anyone there anymore, and few of her would-be informants even returned her phone calls. Fortunately, her mother had come with her on the research trip. Susan Davidson had taught at the local Margaret Keating Elementary School, and when she and her daughter attended a community dinner, a former colleague recognized her and invited mother and daughter to sit. After that ..read more

Other than the Smith and Chetco, all of the coastal rivers are currently running high and off-color due to an extremely wet few weeks. And with the potential for more rain and plenty of snow left in the hills still to melt, it's likely most of the rivers won't clear in time prior to closing for the season. These extremely wet winters may not bring much joy to steelhead anglers, but they're a blessing for the fish. The extra water will go a long way in helping the steelhead reach their spawning grounds and also provide a helping hand for the juvenile salmonids as they begin their journey down ..read more

Editor: Nursing home reform advocates describe recent reform legislation as, "limited and without significance" ... "overwhelmingly (due to) operators continuing to find ways to game the system" (Mailbox, March 16). Nursing home operators hardly act alone. During their public service careers, top local officials were silent, negligent or both, allowinge Brius Healthcare to monopolize county nursing homes despite headlines of injurious and corrupt practices continuing to this day. Upon retirement, however, some former officials have found their voice, not for reforms but to vociferously demand ..read more

Terry Torgerson ..read more

When I see the river again It will be a new river. Not just the never ending youth of Flowing water, But a path carved anew A canyon deepened, Newly sculpted By the bold hand Of the raging torrent Dottie Simmons ..read more

McKinleyville man freed after six years held hostage in Africa A McKinleyville man kidnapped and held hostage for more than six years in Africa has been freed, President Joe Biden and other U.S. officials announced March 20. "Today, I am gratified to share that American Jeff Woodke was released from captivity in West Africa," Biden said in a statement. "Jeff was kidnapped while serving people in the Sahel as an aid worker, and I am grateful that he will soon be reunited with his wife, Els, and their family after spending more than six years held hostage by terrorists." Woodke, a graduate of H ..read more