Rob Gunsalus answers some questions

If you read Kevin Hoover’s report in this week’s Arcata Eye about on what’s going on at KHSU, you came away with some unanswered questions. Hoover raised a slew of concerns and put them to HSU V.P. for Advancement Robert Gunsalus via cell phone (Mr. G is on vacation).

Hoover noted, “During a fragmented conversation marked by static and dropouts, Gunsalus declined useable comment on most questions. Most responses were, at his insistence, off the record and unreportable. On-the-record comments tended to be somewhat bland and inspecific.”

Apparently, Gunsalus has taken some time since then to craft some more specific answers to concerns expressed by many listeners. The VP’s official followup to the initial announcement of Elizabeth Hans McCrone’s departure came out today:

Open Letter to the Redwood Coast Community

Dear Friends,

I’ve been looking carefully at the many questions that have come up since the July 16 announcement of Elizabeth Hans McCrone’s departure as KSHU’s [sic] general manager. It seems to have caused unfounded fear and rumors about the station’s future.

I want to put that fear and those rumors to rest.

As soon as it was possible, I met with the station’s staff and I sent a personal message to the station listserv. A press release was also sent to all local media. However, many questions have been raised since then, and I thought it would be helpful to address what seem to be the main concerns.

First and foremost: Humboldt State University is fully committed to KHSU, and will remain so for many years to come. KHSU’s license is not up for sale and the station has a bright future ahead of it as the most listened-to station on the Redwood Coast. We are proud to provide this public service to our community.

There are also no immediate plans for changes in the programming at KHSU. I cannot stress that enough. At the same time, we are constantly reviewing, revising and questioning our programming, striving to better meet the needs of our listeners.

 

Live Folk! And More!

It’ll be up and running on northcoastjournal.com at 7:30 p.m. — “Flying Fingers” night at the Humboldt Folklife Festival! This’ll be the first of four consecutive nights of live music from the fest, streamed to your home. Then, on Saturday — all-day folk bonanza!

If you read this before 7:30, go on and over now to check out a promotional video from John Henry of the top-secret Venue Project, of which the NCJ is a proud inaugural member. We’ve worked out the kinks with a couple of test broadcasts — Tim Robbins at Dell’Arte, music from Muddy’s Hot Cup — and now we’re ready to go full-bore with this thing.

John Henry lets slip the big secret. After Saturday’s folk events, we are thrilled and honored to be broadcasting leeeeeeee-iiiiiiii-ve from the Roller Derby bout of the year — The Bad Axes v. The Tree Sluggers! Live from Redwood Acres, 8 p.m. on a hot Saturday night!

If only their mothers could see them now! Thanks to The Venue Project, and the North Coast Journal, they can! And so can you!

Hosannas!

 

From the More-To-The-Story Dept.

More turmoil at the ever-tumultuous KHSU …

Hans McCrone Departs KHSU-FM

Rob Gunsalus, Vice President of Advancement (external affairs and fundraising) at Humboldt State University, announced today that Elizabeth Hans McCrone, General Manager of KHSU-FM, has submitted her resignation to pursue other endeavors.

Dr. Gunsalus thanked Ms. Hans McCrone for her many years of service, not only to KHSU but also to the University. Prior to her appointment as the station’s General Manager, Ms. Hans McCrone was Director of the former Office of Community Relations.

Katie Whiteside, KHSU Program Director, and Pam Long, the station’s Director of Development, will share Ms. Hans McCrone’s responsibilities until a successor is named.

KHSU is the most listened to radio station on the North Coast and I know Elizabeth’s many colleagues and supporters join me in expressing our appreciation for her efforts on behalf of HSU and KHSU,” Dr. Gunsalus said.

 

Breathe. Two (2) Bigfoot updates

The Cupertino Courier (via the S.J. Mercury News) has a story about a private investigator named David Paulides, who has a book coming out Aug. 1: “The Hoopa Project: Bigfoot Encounters in California.”

Paulides is head of North American Bigfoot Search, an outfit devoted full-time to researching our friend. (Even if you absolutely loathe Bigfoot, or Bigfoot news, or both, check out the website to see the poignant painting of Bigfoot as well as a bitchin’ badge.)

Paulides has been full-timin’ on the Bigfoot beat for four years, a healthful portion of that time spent in the Hoopa Valley talking to tribal elders and others. He seems to be a real stickler for credibility: He made every purported Bigfoot-sighting witness sign an affidavit before he and his team would bother to research the sighting. He told the CC:

The witnesses appreciated the professionalism.

Meanwhile, in related Bigfoot news (’tis the season, with the anniversary of Bigfoot’s christening coming up, and we wonder is the T-S throwing a party?), someone is trying to hawk his/her superior Bigfoot researcher skills on ebay, according to a post yesterday on Boing Boing. And, whereas our fellow above, Paulides, approaches his game with an eye for delicacy and detail, and skillful promotion we might add, our “big game hunting outfitter in Wyoming” bluntly states his qualifications, and you can take ‘em or leave ‘em dammit but just send the money:

With all the stories and rumors surrounding the legend of Bigfoot,I think it is time to have the right person hunting (searching) for the real answers.Most of the Tv shows,books,and articles covering the search for Bigfoot are a joke.Nothing but pure amatuers.Most searches involve people setting up trail cameras,etc.,in stationary settings,this is totally the wrong approach.My methods would be covering lots and lots of territory in very remote country.I have been a big game hunter nearly all of my life and am an experienced big game hunting guide and am currently employed by a big game hunting outfitter in Wyoming.Contact me if you would be interested in funding an expedition that will get results.

Starting bid: $150,000. Alas, bidding ended today. (No bids. Maybe NABS is hiring?)

 

Live on the Web

Sorry for the short notice, but if you and your demented loved one are kicking around at home tonight and looking for something to do, you might want to check the live webstream of Gabe Lubowe and Fortress of Attitude at Muddy’s Hot Cup tonight.

Lubowe’s a classical pianist, and he’s rocking a lovely version of “Rhapsody in Blue” as I type. Whereas Fortress of Attitude, up later, are comedy rock’n'rollers from L.A. There must be some kind of a connection.

Stream by StreamGuys. Catch it at northcoastjournal.com.

UPDATE: I think the stream’s going to be off and on until about 8 p.m., at which point it will be all the way on.

 

Tawdry sordid quote of the day

from Thadeus Greenson’s story in today’s Times Standard about Chief Gunderson’s lawyer seeking a change of venue:

”The bottom line is that Humboldt County has been saturated with innumerable articles, broadcasts and cyber chat relating to this case,” [lawyer Russ] Clanton wrote. “The opportunity for a fair trial has been compromised by the tawdry, sordid themes that commercial journalism promotes in pursuit of profits.”

 

Grip and Grin

Why are these people smiling?

 

Such As…

When the Arcata City Council met tonight to consider putting a 3/4 cent sales tax on the November ballot, they shifted gears considerably from the tax they’d previously been discussing.

A new plan, put forward by Mayor Mark Wheetley and Vice Mayor Alex Stillman (and news to some on the council) changed what had been a specifically ear-marked sales tax that would have put 1/2 cent towards public works (road repairs and such) and 1/4 cent to help pay for increased police staffing. Instead they proposed a “general” tax, which would put the money collected into the general fund.

The big difference is in the majority required for passage.  While a 2/3 “super” majority is required to pass a special use tax (the one they’d been talking about), a general tax only requires a simple majority: 50 percent plus 1. They did not come right out and say it, but Alex seemed to be hinting that results of a recent survey commissioned by the council show that the special tax may not get the votes to pass.

The trick here, if you want to call it that, is wording in the measure that specifies “such as” this and that. Where the special use tax is specific, the language in the general tax measure will include a number of “such as” items that basically boil down to police and potholes.

Councilmember Harmony Groves took a minority position, pointing out several things: that the original purpose was to cover a $14 million shortfall in public works and that police services were added later, that by its nature, a sales tax in a regressive tax, and that the proposed term of the tax, 20 years, means the money collected will be controlled by a number of different councils down the line, who might have a different idea on how to spend the taxpayers’ money.

Councilmember Michael Machi made a good point noting, “Obviously there are people who will be unhappy with any tax.” (Fred, would you care to chime in here?)

Harmony was the sole nay vote on the various changes put forward.

The shift in the tax means that language in the motion has to be rewritten. City Attorney Nancy Diamond will be up either late or early to do so, since the council will be meeting to vote on the final motion tomorrow morning (Thursday, July 3) at 9 a.m. They have to have the whole thing done by noon tomorrow to met an elections office deadline, so time is of the essence.

Incidentally, a little later in the meeting Harmony dropped a bombshell by announcing that she will not be running for council again. She encouraged anyone who wants to serve the community to step forward. Any takers?

 

Sweep: Land could be seized

Federal agents: They came, they searched, they left — but not before filing documents at the county courthouse that may allow them to seize about 2,000 acres in Humboldt and Mendocino counties.

Federal and local law enforcement confirmed that the land was the target of the raids conducted last week in a massive show of force — 450 agents — primarily in rural southern Humboldt with the exception of a house in Arcata and a property in McKinleyville.

“All of the investigation focused on residences and individuals tied to the 2,000 acres” known as Lost Paradise or “Buddhaville,” said Humboldt County Sheriff’s Lt. George Cavinta.

The court papers recorded Thursday reveal that the 2,000 acres belong to the Lost Paradise Land Corp. While the stockholders remain unknown, the papers name the corporation’s officers and some others related to the busts.

The North Coast Journal hits the streets today with the full version of the story (available on-line Thursday).

 

Benbow fireworks and party off

Considering the fact that the hills of SoHum are still on fire, shooting off fireworks for the Fourth did not seem like a good idea. Fire officials didn’t think so anyway.

This from Dee Way, executive director Garberville Redway Chamber of Commerce:

The 6^th Annual 4^th of July Community Picnic and Fireworks Display has been canceled. Cal Fire (formally known as CDF) sites fire danger and lack of resources for not issuing the permit required for the show. The Garberville Redway Area Chamber of Commerce will not be putting on any activities at the lake. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and wish you all a happy and safe holiday.

 

Tsk, tsk DMV

Assemblywoman Patty Berg called Monday to say that she’d prodded the Department of Motor of Vehicles into reinstating Salyer Volunteer Fire Department’s Dave Murphy as the guy who gives fire fighters their driving tests so they can drive the fire engines and water tender trucks.

We wrote about this in the June 19 Journal.

To recap: Murphy’s been testing firefighters up and down the mountains of Humboldt and Del Norte counties, from Orleans out to Weaverville, for 10 years under an employee testing program set up by the DMV. The set-up streamlined things for firefighters in the sticks, making it more convenient and efficient for them to get firefighter driver’s licenses. But suddenly the DMV shut down Murphy’s program, because of a law change. Some firefighters, who’d been scheduled to take the driving test, had to make new arrangements to go to Eureka — the ridiculous logistics that would entail meant some couldn’t get it done in time before their permits expired.

Berg wrote to DMV Director George Valverde asking him to reverse the decision, but she never heard back. “So then I phoned him,” she said. And she got Valverde to reinstate Murphy as the employee tester for his region.

No doubt the fires consuming acreage out there in the hills helped with the decision.

“We depend on these firefighters,” Berg said. “And Salyer has been doing [these tests] for nearly 20 rural fire departments.”

So Murphy can test for now. But Berg said likely there’ll need to be some legislative action in the future to fix the law that caused the whole problem in the first place.

Meanwhile, however, Willow Creek VFD firefighter Tom Smithey called us to say that the window of opportunity for Murphy to conduct the tests has, alas, probably closed for this season. Murphy leads convict fire crews, which travel all over the state to fight fires.

“He could be anywhere now,” said Smithey.

 

Ain’t it Grand part 2 (police, jails and Martin)

Some law enforcement factoids courtesy of the 2007-’08 Grand Jury Report:

The Fortuna Police Dept. is housed in a “well maintained” city building. “It has a well-stocked first aid kit,” and “three fire exits are clearly marked and accessible.”

The Hoopa Station “does not have adequate janitorial services,” and their garage is a mess.

The Trinidad Police Dept. is housed in a remodeled home, which is “spacious and suitable for police operations,” but they have no holding cells, so perps are locked in police cars until taken to jail.

The building housing the Eureka Police Dept. is showing its age and needs to expand.

Inmates housed in the Eel River #31 and High Rock #32 Conservation Camps earn $1.45 a day until they are “skilled,” and potentially get a raise to $3.90 a day. When they risk their lives fighting fires that get $1 an hour. Half of that money is earmarked for “any required restitution.”
It costs $14,000-$16,000 a year to keep an inmate at a camp, as opposed to around $45,000 a year for prison.
The inmates provide around $500,000 a year in community service. Public agencies including schools, citys, the county and the state can hire crews for $160-$200 bucks a day, but sometimes they work for nothing.

Major findings re: the County Jail: “Video images of sobering cells may not always be clear.” Camera housings should be cleaned more often. Also: “There is no procedure to routinely monitor computer use of on-duty correctional officers.” Periodic and random monitoring is recommended.

The 18 kids in the well run juvenile hall ( aged 12 to 18 ) get points for “positive behavior,” and can earn “extra privileges.” “The staff expressed that the point system is very effective in behavior modification.” (I wonder if they ring a bell at mealitime.)

Would you be surprised to hear that citizen complaints at the Blue Lake Police Dept. weren’t handled all that well? Probably not since it’s been disbanded and the former chief is in the slammer, so that’s not exactly a revelation. The GJ notes that, “The city manager apparently has not fulfilled his responsibilities concerning the police,” particularly in supervising the chief.  Hmm, maybe he should be dismissed. Oh, he was? The chief too? Well, nevermind.

OK. let’s get serious for a minute. The Grand Jury looked into the death of Martin Frederick Cotton II, who died while in police custody, and, according to a tox screen, under the influence of LSD.

While they could not say for sure how he died, their investigation “uncovered possible police procedural violations,” specifically witnesses reported that police punched Cotton in the head and kicked him in the lower back and/or kidney area.

 

Ain’t it Grand?

It’s here! Yes, the 2007-2008 Final Report from the Humboldt County Grand Jury is out. Not that you’ll find it on their website. And no, you can’t ask them for one until tomorrow morning when they present the 44 page document to the Supes. However, since it’s on the Board agenda, the county posted it on their website .
What is it? Well, kind of like a report card for various county agencies, and about as exciting. Sorry, but we’re mostly underwhelmed.

Highlights? Well, it starts with something tantalizing: “Board of Supervisors Settlement with Tamara Falor,” and you’re thinking, wow, that mystery is finally solved, but guess what, the Supes were as tight-lipped about the terms with the Grand Jury as they have been with everyone else, once again citing the old personnel issue dodge, so we learn zip from them. The grand conclusion? The Supes “may have settled with Falor to avoid more costly and time consuming litigation,” um, then again maybe it was something else. With that they throw up their hands.

Next they tackle the pressing issue of County Dept. head evaluations. Turns out they’re pretty much non-existent. Improvement needed.

Sewers are examined (who volunteered for that committee?) and it was found that shit happens, and escapes various systems. Again, improvement needed.

It’s too bad Hank isn’t around to read the scintillating GJ report on his beloved North Coast Railroad Authority. The grand conclusion: “The principal objection to the restoration of the rail line is the enormous cost likely to be incurred. Any benefits from such a project would be other than monetary and limited in scope in the foreseeable future.” (Have they perhaps been following our Town Dandy?)

They took some time investigating a citizen complaint of wrongdoing by Big Lagoon School District regarding the Big Lagoon Charter School, but found no substantiation. Hmmm.

The GJ also looked into fencing at Murray Field Airport, which apparently is needed to keep out deer who get in the way of emergency medical flights. Pending environmental review, a $600,000 fence should be built in spring/summer of next year

The G. Jury looked at Public Transit and the Humboldt Transit Authority and offered a fairly detailed explanation of transit financing that we will not go into at this time. Overall the GJ commends the HTA and associated agencies for doing what they can, but with some provisos regarding a couple of points that turned up:
One is that a fair amount to the Transportation Development Act (TDA) funding we receive is not used for public transit at all — in Rio Dell and Fortuna the money goes toward road maintenance.
The report noted something that might seem obvious: “Ridership is higher in the main transportation corridors and reduced on the periphery,” especially those areas (Garberville for example) that no longer have bus service.
The county figures that 32 percent of those in incorporated areas live outside the reach of public transit and/or have no access to specialized services like Dial-a-Ride.
And, to sum up a bunch of findings, considering gas prices, insurance, and emissions standards, it’s going to be increasingly expensive to move people around.
The GJ “encourages” improvement in meeting unmet needs and suggests using more TDA funds for public transit. However, no response is required.

The report includes a frequency chart showing how often the GJ investigates various subjects. Since the turn of the century (and perhaps earlier) they’ve looked at our jails and juvie every year. They did so again this time around. And they checked in on the police. We’ll address those in Part 2.

 

“I’ll have the salmon, please.”

The juicy news today from kabazabagazillionaire-land is that a Chinese investor has made the winning bid – $2.1 million — in a charity auction for a lunch date with Warren Buffett, head honcho of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. which owns PacifiCorp which operates certain dams on the Klamath River that cause quite a few salmon to have a major, major headache.

OK, it is for charity. Still, good taste might suggest that Zhao Danyang of Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund order something other than the anadromous entree.

 

 

Lightning!

Destiny Young shot this photo last Friday night in Boonville.