A group working on a fall ballot initiative that would limit the rights of transgender students lost a round in court Monday when a judge sided with the state in its description of the measure. Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto ruled that Attorney General Rob Bonta’s title, “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth,” is a fair description of the initiative, which would require schools to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender, ban gender-affirming care for those under 18 and place other limits on students who identify as a gender other than what they were ass ..read more

In response to his daughter receiving a swastika on social media, a California Jewish lawmaker is pushing for a bill that would give school administrators authority to suspend or expel students if they cyberbully fellow students away from school and outside of school hours. But Long Beach Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal’s Assembly Bill 2351 is coming into conflict with California’s recent reforms intended to prevent students of color from being expelled and suspended at disproportionate rates. The ACLU and other social justice organizations oppose Lowenthal’s bill. The bill’s critics told the As ..read more

In a devastating blow to California’s fishing industry, federal fishery managers unanimously voted to cancel all commercial and recreational salmon fishing off the coast of California for the second year in a row.  The April 10 decision is designed to protect California’s dwindling salmon populations after drought and water diversions left river flows too warm and sluggish for the state’s iconic Chinook salmon to thrive.  Salmon abundance forecasts for the year “are just too low,” Marci Yaremko, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s appointee to the Pacific Fishery Manage ..read more

UPDATE: Ferndale Police Sgt. Robert Lindgren says the artillery shell that prompted the evacuation of a building and the partial closure of Main Street this morning while the county bomb squad responded was empty. Lindgren also corrected some inaccurate information initially disseminated to the Journal by police amid the dynamic events of the morning. Lindgren says police were notified this morning of a possible explosive ordnance at a book store on Main Street and he responded, taking some pictures of the device to send to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad, which then asked hi ..read more

The Humboldt County Planning Department will soon be suspending the permits of hundreds of cannabis farmers who failed to enter into a payment agreement for owed Measure S taxes by the March 31 deadline, Planning Director John Ford told the Journal. The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted in October to give cannabis farmers until March 31 to enter into payment plans for a total of $14.1 million in unpaid excise taxes, and until March 31, 2025 to pay their bills in full. Ford said his department is awaiting a list from the Humboldt County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office of farmers who ..read more

The Earth flag’s future at the top of three municipal flagpoles in Arcata is in question after a judge found this week that voters there “do not have the power to exempt” the city from following state laws mandating the U.S. flag fly above all others. Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Canning’s ruling on Measure M comes a year and a half after the citizen-led initiative directing the placement was approved in the November 2022 election with a final vote of 3,051 to 2,781, with around 52 percent having cast ballots in favor of putting the Earth flag on top. Canning noted the princ ..read more

The Society of Professional Journalists NorCal announced its winners of the James Madison Freedom of Information Award this week, "recognizing people and organizations who have made significant contributions to advancing freedom of information." Among the recipients is the Journal's own news editor Thad Greenson, for his investigative story "The Soeth Files" (May 4, 2023). The story, which last month garnered a Free Speech and Open Government Award from the First Amendment Coalition, tracks the questionable use of force, including shootings, over the career of Maxwell Soeth, who still serves ..read more

A 79-year-old Eureka man was killed yesterday in a single-car crash on U.S. Highway 101 near Humboldt Hill, the California Highway Patrol reported. According to a press release, CHP's dispatch center received a report of an overturned vehicle in the highway's northbound lanes around 12:40 p.m. and personnel responded to find a 1998 Nissan Pathfinder had rolled, coming to rest on its wheels. The driver, identified as Dennis Katri, was fatally injured in the crash. CHP is still investigating the cause of the crash but reports it appears for unknown reasons Katri allowed his car to drift into ..read more

Amid an upwelling of Native opposition to plans to build offshore wind farms, including one off the coast of Eureka, United States Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and North Coast Congressmember Jared Huffman will be visiting Humboldt Bay later this week, in part to meet with local tribes and hear their concerns. Reached this morning to ask about growing tribal opposition to federal plans to build a floating, deep water wind farm 21 miles east of Humboldt Bay — the latest of which came from the Trinidad Rancheria — Huffman said he remains committed to both pushing offshore wind forward but add ..read more

The Humboldt Community Services District is advising customers in the areas of Mitchell Road, Myrtletown, Ryan Slough and Freshwater that they should use boiled or bottled water for drinking and cooking until further notice. The problem stems from a transmission main break near Indianola and Old Arcata roads in the city of Eureka’s system, which supplies some water to the community services district, on the evening of March 20. After the transmission line failure, the district was notified around 1 p.m. today that “some cloud water” may have been delivered into its system and that it could p ..read more