[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:08] Speaker B: Welcome to the KMUD News. I'm your news Director April Lewis and I'm glad to be with you for this broadcast.
Tonight we'll have in depth coverage on cannabis. Moving to Schedule 3, a tree protest in Redway, the Amazon meeting in McKinleyville, and this week's sports report.
But first, a rundown of today's top stories and headlines. This is KMUD News.
Starting off with some breaking local news. According to reports, a planned burn in Covelo in Mendocino county went out of control today, May 1, causing multiple injuries. The burn was being conducted by Cal Fire, Mendocino, in order to treat approximately 1,000 acres of overgrown vegetation intended to reduce fire risk. Two individuals reportedly were injured with second degree burns and were airlifted in separate helicopters for medical transport. Two other individuals suffered minor burns and were driven to a nearby hospital for treatment. There is no response from Cal Fire on this event as of press time. Also in Mendocino, the Willits Unified School District sent out an email alert on possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement, AKA ice, activity in the region.
Multiple advocacy groups also put alerts out on social media and elsewhere. According to the Mendocino County Rapid Response Network, the Enforcement activity quote seems to be a targeted incident regarding one person In Humboldt county, we have a press release from the Sheriff's Office on a large scale series of arrests in arcata conducted on April 30. Part of the report reads, upon arrival at a residence, deputies located 14 individuals. Two of these individuals were found to be victims of elder neglect and were provided resources through Adult Protective Services.
As a result of this investigation, it was determined that 11 subjects located on scene were in violation of a litany of drug related charges as well as crimes against elderly people. During the service of warrants, deputies seized drug paraphernalia, scales and user amounts of methamphetamine. In Eureka News, the Board of Supervisors will have to conduct their hearings again on the issue of police oversight. This is due to the Brown act and its strict provisions on members of the public being able to participate in local government meetings. Zoom Software during this week's Board of Supervisors meeting glitched during the proceedings along with other audio issues, leaving citizens unable to comment. If you would like to publicly comment on the issue of whether to establish a Citizen Oversight Committee for the Humboldt Sheriff's Department, the County Board of Supervisors will be rehearing the item On Tuesday, May 12th in Southern Humboldt, the Reggae on the River 2026 lineup is officially here and it's bigger than ever.
This year's event is August 14th to the 16th for three unforgettable days of music, sunshine and camping beneath the Redwoods. Featuring legends like Burning Spear and Don Carlos along with modern icons Kabaka Pyramid and the Movement and High Energy favorites Cham and Ding Dong and Ravers Clavers. This year brings the full spectrum of reggae from roots to dancehall and beyond. With powerful voices like Mystic Marley, Big Mountain, Devin the Dude and many more. The Vibes will be nonstop all weekend long. Tickets are
[email protected] moving now to in depth reporting with our main stories. We begin with an interview on possible cannabis market impacts due to the Schedule 3 transition with Nabeel Al Aziz of Nasha Hashtag Cannabis Moving to Schedule 3 under the DEA classification system has been in the news this week. President Trump's Justice Department has officially begun implementing the change based on a previous executive order. In December we spoke with Nabil Al Aziz, Marketing Director for Humboldt based Nasha Hash. We began the conversation with a discussion of what positive or negative changes Schedule 3 could bring to the cannabis industry
[00:04:34] Speaker C: from a, I would say an internal team take. We view it as a very positive, like a very positive move forward. I think any, any progress to legalization, to full legalization and destigmatation is positive, but we completely understand both sides of the argument. I think at this, at this point in time we don't know like we really don't know what the future is going to look like. We're optimistic. If it can solve some of the banking issues, some of the tanks, tax issues, some of the interstate commerce issues that would be huge. But we don't know because it can also turn the other way which some people are, I would say the fear mongering side where it's going to be put behind a pharmaceutical counter and will be prescribed. So it's hard to tell right now, at least from what I've I've personally read is right now the rescheduling is specifically tied to medical licenses and I think they're going to have a hearing on June 29 expedited to recreational but everything I'm saying regarding tax relief at least 280e is from what I've read is already being implemented in the medical side. So if that helps with if that eventually makes its way to the recreational side, I think that alone itself would help will help a lot as retailers and brands that the potential negatives could be, you know, if they a lot of people think pharmaceutical pharma, big pharma is going to step in and kind of take the, take the ball and just run with it and everything's going to be prescribed so everything's going to have to be related to a medical diagnosis. A lot of people are worried that there's going to, they're going to be put a doctor in the middle of this, in the middle of the customer journey. Know again like the negatives, it's just from, from what I've heard people say, it's not from anything I've seen.
[00:06:15] Speaker B: Tax changes are also a major part of the move to Schedule 3. It theoretically allows licensed cannabis businesses to gain tax deductions off their business expenses at the federal level, something that wasn't possible under Schedule 1.
[00:06:29] Speaker C: I'm not, I'm not a tax accountant or accountant in general, but just from a marketing perspective I already see so many things that we could that could help alleviate some of the costs and you know, almost incentivize us be a little bit more of incentive to spend on it. I think the cannabis industry in general has like a weird play between spending marketing dollars and not marketing dollars because we can't write it off which I hope hopefully this will help ease it. And there's lots of marketing incentives. We can be a part of that now that we have this like break in tax, this tax break that would be more incentivized to be part of next.
[00:07:06] Speaker B: Nabil spoke on potential impacts of Schedule 3 on the Humboldt cannabis industry and possible new markets for brands like Nosha. We also discussed the influx of cash from the 2018 cannabis boom and how new funding sources may become available again
[00:07:21] Speaker C: with rescheduling if rescheduling does make its way to recreational and we're talking about like rescheduling to like schedule three and we see all the things we talked about like banking tax relief, I think you would also inherently get increased investment situations where if it is, if they do ease banking restrictions probability to take out business loans for the businesses. So yeah, I would say in those situations it would definitely help out the small farms too. If it starts bringing investment money back like we started seeing early on in 2018, I'm not going to say it's the, the best situation to look at because there was a kind of a. This is from my experience I'm not going to act like I'm the know all be all of the industry but from my experience is that there was a almost golden rose colored glasses outlook on the industry where everyone was seeing, you know, high, high ticket prices on a pound. They thought that that was going to continue into the future. So there. So a lot of people were investing into giant facilities and the giant square footage farms, trying to. And then, you know, obviously that led to the over oversupply issue. And then we had like a ton of cannabis for really cheap and then, you know, overcorrected.
So I don't necessarily think looking at 2018 is the best example, but the amount of money that came into the market is a good example. Like you started seeing with a couple stocks, IPO'd, I believe in 2018, 2019, you had a ton of money coming into big MSO operations in Canada, in California. And I'm not saying they all worked out. A lot of them didn't. But the opportunity to the cash injection creates that opportunity to expand the business or to keep even to keep a business alive during hard times. When I talk to people in different countries, they tell me, they already tell me like, hey, United States is very behind because like Australia is already doing, importing, exporting cannabis at a government level. Colombia is already doing it. South Africa is already doing it. Portugal and Australia, like a bunch of places in Europe are already doing it in America's, not Canada's already doing it. They're exporting tons of, importing, exporting tons of cannabis. If we're saying, if we're all saying that it's going to open that door for porting, exporting cannabis to different countries, that's the step after interstate commerce, then, yeah, that's huge. I feel like that would be huge. Unfortunately, that might be limited to, you know, giant grows who can supply the government with whatever. Humble farms can ship their products out of state. Then, yeah, I feel like, I feel like it'll be like craft beer. They'll just have a bigger market and they'll be able to. It'll be much better for Humboldt Farms too. They can ship their flour out to the other states.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: We truly appreciate Nabil and his Insight on Schedule 3.
If you are part of the cannabis industry and would like to comment on these developments, give us a call at 707-923-2605 or email newsmud.org Reporting for KMUD, I'm April Lewis.
Amazon was met with heavy opposition in the first public meeting on its plans to develop a delivery center in the business park near Humboldt County's main airport.
[00:10:35] Speaker D: Daniel Mintz reports Hatred for Amazon was in full force during the first public meeting on the company's plans to build the Delivery center in McKinleyville, with accusations ranging from labor exploitation to plastics pollution.
Those allegations and others like them are irrelevant to the project's land use review. But that didn't stop the large audience at the April 29 meeting at Azalea hall from making them.
One speaker said Amazon is anti union and is a socially irresponsible company that only cares about money, money, money.
Another urged the county not to support corruption by approving the project.
One woman alleged that an Amazon worker at an Oregon fulfillment center dropped dead on the job and supervisors disregarded it and ordered co workers to, quote, continue their work around his body for a whole hour before paramedics arrived.
That prompted a response from Amazon Rep. Steven Medulli Williams, who said medical attention was given immediately and he warned against spreading misinformation.
The meeting got off to a rowdy start with planning director John Ford's responses to questions that clipped by interruptions. He said at one point, you know, I get letters with all sorts of expletives and I've been flipped off before, but I expected more from you, frankly.
When things calmed down a bit, Meduli Williams proceeded with a presentation on the project on multiple parcels in the McKinleyville Airport Business Park. Amazon seeks to develop a 40,000 square foot commercial warehouse that will intake deliveries from fulfillment centers.
The facility won't warehouse products, only deliver them to area residents in what was described as Amazon branded vehicles.
The delivery station will operate 24 hours a day and be staffed with 115 employees, making a starting wage of $20 to $23 an hour.
There will be 115 to 172 vehicle trips per day, the majority of them delivery vans.
Medulli Williams said up to 227 jobs will be created with an annual payroll of more than $8 million.
In addition to what was described as the competitive pay, Amazon workers will get full benefits and career advancement opportunities.
Medulli Williams said the company has invested $2.5 billion since 2019 in what was described as the company's safety and operations excellence.
The presentation was derided by audience members, with one saying it was like listening to a computer trying to entice me to join their company.
Asked why the McKinleyville site was chosen, Medulli Williams said it's zoned for the project and Ford said there's local demand for it.
Speaking over interruptions, he said, I understand you don't like Amazon, but if this did not have the name Amazon, would this be such a volatile discussion?
Yes. Someone shouted, addressing the person in back calling me names. Ford said the behavior wasn't a good representation of the community.
Other criticism of Amazon included allegations of sharing customer data with the federal government and dangerous and psychologically damaging working conditions.
Others questioned the project location, with one woman saying the 32 foot high delivery warehouse will stick out like a sore thumb. Another asked the county to consider what kind of employers we're allowing into our community and urged people to draw the line and oppose the project.
The only speaker in support of the project said it will allow Humboldt's economy to grow.
The meeting is the first in a series with release of a draft Environmental Impact Report, or eir, expected in September, followed by release of a final EIR in January and Planning commission review in February.
Ford said a project approval can be appealed to the state's Coastal Commission, but only if the county fails to address significant coastal resource issues.
For KMUD News, this is Daniel Mintz.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: Yesterday, April 30th there was a small but loud protest in Redway over the removal of old growth trees on private property and specifically one approximately 350 year old tree that is still standing.
As many of our listeners know, this has been an ongoing issue for a number of months. We were fortunate to partner with Kim Kemp and Lisa Music for a live video of the protest on our social platforms. The following are some highlights, starting with an interview with renowned environmentalist Darrell Charney.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: The problem is, is that the owner has gone through the system. But the problem, the bigger problem is the only jitter goes to the the system originally. In other words, they started this whole operation without having an independent arborist or an independent forester give the okay for these trees more than one to be cut. And so in a sense this whole operation is emanating out of ill gotten gains. It started from an illegal place and now they're saying, okay, we're going to make it legal now, but you can pay anybody to say anything. So getting foresters and arborists, you know, to say what you wanted to say is, you know, that's easy. If you're going to cut these trees and you're going to sell them, then you actually are going to make more money cutting the trees than you are paying for the house. Which creates a kind of invert, an inverted motivation for people to buy housing here, to not, not to live here, but rather to make the money, cut the trees and then move on.
And the domino effect is what we're really worried about, that once this happens, other neighbors are going to do this. And again, I would never want to live under an ancient redwood tree. So don't buy a house under one. It's really that simple. You were imminent and just so front
[00:17:06] Speaker B: and center of those protection efforts during
[00:17:09] Speaker A: redwood summer, what do you believe that
[00:17:13] Speaker B: they have been protected?
[00:17:14] Speaker A: And what do you feel about the county not requiring a Q zone permit in this instance? Since when we started protecting Headwaters Forest and other redwoods back in the 80s and 90s, there was only 3% left of the redwoods to start with. Most of the redwoods, 97 have been cut. Every single tree that's standing is a miracle. As my old folks thinking friend Dave Lippman said, the redwoods are standing. I like the spaces on your cheek that you miss when you're shaving. You know, is this a little bit of stubble here and there throughout the whole from. From Santa Cruz up to the Oregon border. So, no, there's not very many redwoods left. And so that whole perspective of we say to the redwoods that we're done is nonsense. But more. But as importantly, if not more importantly, these trees have a right to exist for their own sake. And here's one of the great ironies. They have all these regulations for cannabis. They have all these regulations for building codes. They have all these regulations and a lot of blind eye being turned by the same people who will come in, you know, condemn your house for all kinds of other reasons that are so much that are insignificant, but they can do it because they can.
[00:18:19] Speaker B: Other protesters echo Cherni's remarks.
[00:18:23] Speaker D: I have a big tree almost the
[00:18:24] Speaker C: same size as that right above my house, and I've spent $30,000 in that tree over the last 20 years trying to make it safe. And my house has been hit five, six times and I just deal with it. And because there's a Q zone ordinance and the Q zone says that you're not allowed if the tree is not in imminent danger of falling itself, if the tree's not going to fall and you're worried about limbs hitting your house, then you cut the limbs off the tree.
[00:18:52] Speaker E: Very sad to see people who don't
[00:18:54] Speaker B: know about redwood and all they're thinking about is logging and making a bundle
[00:19:01] Speaker E: of money because redwoods are so valuable.
[00:19:06] Speaker B: Comments on our social channels were more decidedly mixed than at the protest.
One commenter in favor of the tree removal said, these whack job protesters are probably going to retaliate. And another simply stating, cut it down. We want to send our appreciation and thanks to Kim Kemp, Lisa Music, and our collaboration with redheaded black belt for making this coverage possible. Reporting for kmud, I'm April Lewis.
In this week's sports Report, Ray Hamel brings us details of why this was a big week for South Fork softball and Eureka and Saint Bernards baseball while taking a look at all of this week's local high school baseball and softball news and also some updates on College of the Redwoods baseball, Cal Poly Humboldt softball and where a local high school standout will play next year.
[00:20:07] Speaker E: South Fork head coach Lisa Todd and her players continue to work their magic on the softball fields as the Cubs clinched at least a share of a second straight Little four title this week. Well, the race for the Big five baseball championship took a turn. Hello and welcome to this week's KMUD News Sports Report. I'm Ray hamel with humble sports.com we'll have more on the Red Hot cubs and the RA for the Big 5 championship in baseball in just a moment as we take a look at all of the big local sports stories of the week, including all the latest high school baseball and softball news, some College of the Redwoods baseball, news of why this weekend will be an important one for the Cal Poly Humboldt softball team and where one Fortuna High standout basketball player is taking her talents after graduation this year. But first up, it was a big week for the inform South Fork Cubs in softball. After sweeping a pivotal doubleheader against HOOPA last Friday, the South Fork girls continued to roll with a pair of wins over Saint Bernards on Tuesday, winning 148 and 11 8. The four wins over the past seven days stretched the team's winning streak to 10 straight games, including nine straight in the little four. It also secured at least a share of this year's conference title with two games still remaining after ending a 35 year wait for a conference championship last spring. The the Cubs didn't have to wait quite as long to add to their tally this time around. Tuesday's sweep lifted South Fork to 9. One in the little four and leaves them two wins clear of second place Hoopa. The Cubs can clinch the title outright with a win in either of their two games at Ferndale. Next Tuesday are a loss for Hoopa in either of their final two games at Saint Bernards. Also on Tuesday, the Warriors went into last week's doubleheader at South Fork tied for the conference lead, but those two losses dropped them to second in the standings. The Hoopa girls would bounce back with a pair of hard fought victories over Saint Bernards this week, winning 4. 3 and 93 and improving to 7. 3 in the little four. Ferndale now sits third in the standings with a record of 4 and 6 with Saint Bernards now 0. 10 in little four baseball Meanwhile, the Saint Bernards boys made it official on Tuesday, clinching a second straight conference title outright with a victory at South Fork, winning 8. 5. The Crusaders, who suffered their only loss of the season in a non conference game against Del Norte last Friday, are now 9. 0 in conference play and 18. 1 overall. The outright league title also secures a guaranteed place in the upcoming North Coast Section playoffs and a top seed for this year's HDNL postseason Charles Lakin tournament. Also in Little Four baseball this week, the Ferndale Wildcats solidified their hold on second place in the conference standings with a 16. 5 win at Hoopah. Remarkably, it was the fourth time in their last six games that the Cats have scored exactly 16 runs. With the victory, they improved to 5. 4 in conference play and moved two wins clear of third place South Fork, which is 3 and 6 in the Little Four, followed by Hoopa at 1. 8.
The race for this year's Big Five championship in baseball, meanwhile, took a turn this week when Eureka handed conference leaders McKinleyville a first conference loss. The Panthers traveled to Eureka and fell 110 in five innings on Wednesday, ending a ten game winning streak. With the loss, the Panthers dropped to 8. 1 in the big five and 17. 2 overall while the Eureka boys improved to 9. 2 in conference and kept their championship hopes alive. The McKinleyville boys can still win the title outright with victories in their final three games are a loss for the Loggers in their final conference game at Del north next Wednesday. The Panthers will try to get back to winning ways when they host Del Norte and a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11am before they close out conference play at home against Arcata next Wednesday.
Del Norte, meanwhile, remains in contention for a co championship after an 112 win at Fortuna on Wednesday.
The warriors are now 6. 3 in the Big Five and can share the title if they win their final three games against McKinleyville and Eureka. McKinleyville is also in the driver's seat for this year's Big Five softball championship. The Panthers traveled to Fortuna on Saturday and split a doubleheader, losing game 165 and taking game 215 4. They followed that with a 92 win at Eureka on Wednesday to go to 7. 2 in the Big 5 with three games remaining. The McKinleyville girls need just one more win to clinch at least a share of the title and can claim it outright with a pair of victories. They host Del Norte in a doubleheader on Saturday before playing Arcata next Wednesday.
The Fortuna Girls beat Del Norte 73 on Wednesday to keep their title hopes alive. The huskies are now 64 in the Big 5, followed by Del Norte at 5 and 4. While the Panthers are in the best position of the three contenders, there could yet be a three way tie for this year's title if Del Norte sweeps Saturday's doubleheader at McKinleyville and Fortuna sweeps a weekend doubleheader against Arcata in local college baseball. Meanwhile, College of the Redwoods closed out a disappointing campaign with two games against Butte late last week and split, taking game 194 and dropping game 2169 Sior closed out the season 421 in the Golden Valley Conference and 632 overall in local college softball. The Cal Poly Humboldt women will be hoping to end a nine year wait to qualify for the CCAA tournament this weekend. The Jacks hosted rival Chico State in a four game conference series last weekend and swept the Wildcats to go to 14:12 in conference play. The Humboldt women sit third in the conference standings heading into the final weekend of the regular season and rounding out another busy week in local sports, Fortuna senior Macy Marquez announced this week that she will play college basketball for Butte College after graduation this year. Marquez was an all league honorable mention for the Huskies this past winter and that's this week's KMUD News Sports Report until next time. I'm Ray Hamill with humboldtsports.com.
[00:26:34] Speaker B: Last for tonight's broadcast, we have a public news story from Suzanne Potter on May Day.
[00:26:40] Speaker F: Today is May Day, also known as International Workers Day, and this year gatherings in California and across the US Will call for immigration reform and policies that improve affordability and defend democracy. Union organizers are calling out cuts under the Department of Government Efficiency that decimated the federal workforce, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that are sowing fear in immigrant communities. David Huerta, president of SEIU United Service Workers west, says the immigration crackdown disrupts the economy and hurts thousands of California working families.
[00:27:13] Speaker C: They were attacking people who have been here working hard and demonstrating every day. They're wanting to be part of this country, but yet this president treated them as criminals.
[00:27:22] Speaker F: Earlier this month, the Republican controlled House of Representatives approved $70 billion for immigration enforcement, saying the funding is necessary to protect American jobs and the rule of law. Today, 29 rallies are planned in the Golden State alone. You can visit ca mayday2026.org for times and locations. Huerta says the protesters will also speak out against the President's proposal to limit mail in voting and make it harder to register to vote, saying this is an attempt to steal the November election.
[00:27:50] Speaker C: We already know they're capable of it because we saw what they did in January 6, 2021. We can't let that happen again, and we have to make sure that we are prepared and ready to go to defend our democracy.
[00:28:01] Speaker F: Speakers at the marches are also expected to press Congress to reverse the massive cuts made to Medi Cal in last summer's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. For California News Service, I'm Suzanne Potter. Find our trust
[email protected]
[00:28:18] Speaker B: that's all for our news broadcast. Thanks for listening.
Thanks to our rotation of broadcast engineers Michael McCaskill, Dennis Marr, Katie Phillips, Bianca Federico, Larry Lashley and Javier Rodriguez.
Also thanks to our reporters for this broadcast, Daniel Mintz and Ray Hamel. KMUD News is online. You can find us on kmud.org and now streaming on podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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Reporting for kmud, I'm April Lewis. Stay tuned.
