North Coast Journal

06/04/2026

The boys are back in town and Crabs fans are ready.

Jason Arriola stands at the plate, bat ready to swing, and the crowd’s humming dims briefly as everyone watches. The Novato Knicks player facing him throws the ball and Arriola’s arms move like rubber as he swings, sending the ball into the far corner of the field. The crowd grows louder the far...

05/28/2026

What are you doing Friday?

In case last year’s season of Friday Night Markets in Old Town have been pushed down in your mental feed by the crushing cavalcade of events over the past months, here’s a quick refresher. The start time is 5:30 p.m. and lines for food stalls vary wildly. Parking is at a premium, so carpool if [...

05/28/2026

Take a look back at the glorious weekend that was the Kinetic Grand Championship.

The 2026 Kinetic Grand Champions who made it across the finish line on Ferndale’s Main Street arrived soaked, sandy, sweaty and swathed in Glory. The three-day pedal and paddle 50 miles in a human-powered contraption race from Arcata to Ferndale with side quests in the dunes and Humboldt Bay drew ...

05/27/2026

This week's Field Notes looks at Darwin, evolution and Wallace's Problem.

In an ironic turn of history, two of Charles Darwin’s most ardent supporters ended up disagreeing with him. The first was Robert FitzRoy, captain of the HMS Beagle and Darwin’s senior by four years, with whom Darwin had a great relationship during the sloop’s 1831-1836 round-the-world voyage o...

05/22/2026

The discovery of the secured but uncounted votes on May 4 comes as mail-in ballots used in elections across the nation are facing a renewed attack by the Trump administration.

UPDATE: The Humboldt County Elections Office announced Friday that hundreds of ballots from the November special election found earlier this month in a secured drop-off box will be processed. According to a release, the county requested and was granted permission by the superior court to “count th...

05/21/2026

In a pair of covens here in Humboldt County, one private and one open to the public, member witches have found faith, community and connection to nature in traditions with roots predating history.

The circular meeting room in the Humboldt Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Bayside is a bright, airy space. Seated in a ring of chairs are a dozen people, mostly members of the Grove of Hekate coven, who’ve come for the monthly full moon ritual. A few people are dressed office casual, while on...

05/21/2026

On stands and online now.

05/14/2026

“I think it’s important to put it at the forefront because this issue affects all of us in the community and a lot of families, so we want to make sure that our family members are recognized and they’re not forgotten."

In between the moments of prayer and heart-wrenching stories of missing loved ones, Laura White-Woods, a Yurok Tribal Court community outreach manager, found the space to insert a beacon of hope into the otherwise somber room. She shared her dream of a day when there would be no more missing and mur...

05/14/2026

Sequoia Park Zoo bears Tule and Ishŭng are sharing space as Nabu settles in and finds out he loves a good bubble bath. We hear you, Nabu.

Tule and Ishŭng are taking their relationship to a new level — proximity wise. As of early last month, the two are now sharing habitat space without any barriers following a slow introduction process in which the bears got to “set the pace.” According to Sequoia Park Zoo animal curator Amanda...