Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Welcome to the KMUD Holiday weekend News.
I'm your news director, April Lewis, and I'm glad to be with you for this Memorial Day weekend broadcast.
On this episode, we have coverage of Shelter Cove's improvement district, this week's sports report, and later, a story on the war powers vote in Congress.
But first, some local updates. This is KMUD News.
Starting off. The city of Arcata has a proclamation.
[00:00:46] Speaker C: Proclamation in honor of the kinetic sculpture racing. And the recipient in person is our rutabaga queen, Lucy Lips.
[00:00:55] Speaker D: The new one.
[00:00:56] Speaker C: Oh, okay.
[00:00:57] Speaker E: I am not Lucy Lips.
[00:00:59] Speaker C: I apologize.
[00:01:00] Speaker E: This is absolutely okay.
I am.
[00:01:03] Speaker C: Congratulations.
[00:01:04] Speaker E: Thank you so much. Lucy Lips is getting well needed rest before this weekend. So I am here to proclaim for Lucy Lips. My name is Gustav Wattlesworth. I am the reigning rutabaga queen for 2026.
Please do not bow. Thank you. But you may applause.
[00:01:24] Speaker F: Thank you.
[00:01:25] Speaker E: Thank you.
I am just a silly little circus goose. And I'm here to proclaim the proclamation.
As always, kinetics is this weekend, Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. And I am honking excited.
So if I may get a.
[00:01:50] Speaker F: For the glory.
[00:01:54] Speaker E: Let us try that one more time. Are you ready? Are you ready? Thank you for the glory.
Oh, thank you very much. I hope to see you all this weekend.
[00:02:05] Speaker C: All right, so, my love, we're doing it in reverse. But of course, as kinetics. As kinetics works, you know, we don't need to play by the rules, and that's okay. But if you would like, I am going to read this glorious proclamation for you.
Yes. Yes.
[00:02:18] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:02:19] Speaker C: So this is a proclamation in honor of kinetic sculpture racing. May 23, 2026 is the kickoff. Whereas.
And it starts with a royal. Whereas. The art and sport of kinetic sculpture racing, difficult to truly comprehend, but easy to enjoy, is a humble tradition with at least one kinetic race starting on the Arcata plaza for the last 50 years, not counting those two years when we were thwarted by a global pandemic. And whereas. The Kinetic Universe, the Kinetic grand championship's nonprofit organizing body, works to promote the tradition and values of kinetic sculpture racing in Humboldt and spread the good word that kinetics is for everyone. And whereas several other cities across the world have kinetic sculpture races inspired by Humboldt County's mother race, unusually held every Memorial Day weekend. Recognizing that this art event involves the whole family community. And while also promoting tourism, sustainability, bicycling and silliness, the race enhances our community's image both nationally and internationally. So now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the city council of the city of Arcata hereby congratulates Kinetic Universe on its glorious and dedicated stewardship of the unique Humboldt tradition of Kinetic sculpture racing. The Council encourages everyone to attend the kickoff of the 2026 Grand Championship this this coming Saturday, May 23, 2026 on the Arcada Plaza at the sound of the forgotten and beloved noon Whistle for the glory.
[00:03:40] Speaker F: For the glory.
Yay.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: The Kinetic World Championship will be all three days of this long Memorial Day weekend.
You can find out more information on their website kineticgrandchampionship.com the Kinetic is one of Humboldt County's most unique and well loved traditions An Update from the Humboldt County Elections Office the Humboldt County Office of Elections would like to share that the ballots discovered earlier this month inside a locked Dropbox from the November 4, 2025 statewide special election will be counted under election code 17302.
Ballots from the November 4 statewide special election must be destroyed six months after the election was certified, however, the county of Humboldt secured the uncounted ballots and filed a petition with the Humboldt County Superior Court requesting to count the ballots and recertify the election.
The Court made the determination to grant the county's petition.
Any changes in count due to the 596 newly counted ballots will not impact the outcome of the election.
A programming Note For Monday, May 25th, we will be airing public affairs content instead of our usual newscast.
And now to our main stories. This is KMUD News.
Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District Manager Christopher Christensen provided updates on their proposed measure, a tax increase in new sports courts. Coming online, K MUD News reports Shelter Cove's Resort Improvement District has been in the news of late for a proposed $60 tax increase for property owners that will help the district deal with a consistent budget shortfall.
The tax is up to Shelter cove voters on June 2, but regardless of whether that passes, there are new projects spearheaded by the district that are ongoing.
We listened in to yesterday's May 21st Shelter Cove improvement District Board meeting where District General Manager Christopher Christensen gave updates on new sports courts for residents and visitors along with his thoughts on public reaction to the proposed measure. A tax increase.
We'll begin with Christopher's comments on soon to be open sports courts.
[00:06:23] Speaker G: Okay, Sports Court update Since the last board meeting, BDN construction completed the parking area with painted mines, needle stocks and ADA signage surface material.
In fact, the final county inspection.
Those improvements are happening today.
North Coast Fencing installed perimeter fencing and gates.
BDM Construction also installed two basketball poles and moved the Prop 68 sign onto the fence. We put some other signage on there too.
Staff ordered and received the court paints and moved the aluminum bleachers from the existing pickleball court's location on Upper Pacific Drive. Next Court.
This was a request from the Shelter company Pickleball Club with permission from the bleachers owner Scarf.
Next steps are to apply the court paint but as I can report happily, volunteers completed that task last weekend and yesterday.
Chiltico Pickleball Club volunteers I want to name them Kurt Odra, Bruce Christie, Wendy Ball, Steve Soderquest I'm sure his last name correct but he was out there too and they were all painting the lines with really hard work. Wendy Sunny Wendy Ball also.
So yeah they were all out there.
Big thanks to them. Really helps out and the end product looks really great. Did a really great job
[00:07:52] Speaker A: and I've
[00:07:52] Speaker G: also coordinated with Six Rivers Portable Toilets to change the airport parking area portable toilet to an ADA accessible one and move it next to the court in that southwest corner.
That will happen next week and the latest talk is sort of a ribbon cutting grand opening celebration the club would like to see. They've reached out to Supervisor Michelle Bushnell and they'd like to see it eventually on Saturday, June 6th.
Sort of a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony.
[00:08:25] Speaker B: So Shelter Cove Improvement District General Manager Christopher Christensen then spoke on the lead up to the Measure a election on June 2nd.
[00:08:35] Speaker G: We're down through the wire on this one. Since the last board meeting, the ballot measure with Measure A has been mailed to all registered voters in the district.
I responded to interviews by Los Coast Outposts and Caveman News about the measure. More yesterday. Signs have cropped up in the community and I've actually been asked for more, but I would announce it.
But we're down to only about two weeks, less than two weeks until the end the voting ends.
So staff and the board also held a special town hall style meeting April 30 to inform the public on the measure and answer any questions visit Lost coast posted a supportive piece online. So very grateful for that. And the voting is scheduled to end on Tuesday, June 2.
If the measure passes, the additional charge will appear on property tax statements beginning the very next fiscal year. 2627 will be an immediate revenue source if it does pass.
[00:09:34] Speaker B: Shelter Cove's Measure A tax increase will be decided during the California primary election on June 2nd.
Reporting for KMUD, I'm April Lewis.
In what was a very busy week in local sports, Ray Hamill brings us details of which schools won this year's Charles Lakin baseball and softball tournaments, as well as all the latest news from this week's NCS playoffs, news of who made the 2026 Cal Poly Humboldt hall of Fame class, who were the big winners at this year's Husky ESPYs and more.
[00:10:19] Speaker D: An unlikely team has been crowned Charles Lakin Tournament Champions in Softball after a memorable run through the postseason tournament last week. While it was a familiar tale in the race for the Lakin Baseball Championship, hello and welcome to this week's KMWOOD News Sports Report. I'm Ray Hamel with humblesports.com we'll have more on Boat, Lake and Champs in just a moment as we take a look back at all of the big stories of what has been a very busy week in local sports, including how the HDNL teams have been faring in this week's North Coast Section playoffs in baseball and softball, news of how one local high school athlete is succeeding on and off the field of competition, how the local athletes fared at the weekend NCS Track and Field Championships, news of a new Cal Poly Humboldt Athletics hall of Fame class, how the Fortuna Huskies celebrated their senior athletes, why it will be a big weekend for local motorsports and where one local state champion is taking his talents after graduation next month. But first up, the Eureka loggers are the 2026 Charles Lakins softball Tournament champions after an unlikely run through last week's HDN post season tournament. After placing fourth in the Big five, the Eureka girls did not even qualify for this year's tournament, but they were included at the last minute taking the place of Del Norte which was unable to compete because of school required activities for the Del Norte players. And once they qualified, the Loggers took full advantage of their opportun.
Eureka opened with a come from behind win over hoopa before beating McKinleyville 64 to reach the championship game and then taking care of business with a 147 win over Fortuna in Friday night's championship game. The tournament title is the fourth all time for the Loggers in the lake and baseball tournament. The McKinleyville Panthers continued to roll. The Big Five champions faced off against Eureka for the third straight year in Friday's final and they would beat the Loggers for the third straight year to claim the coveted trophy. Once again. The Panthers started fast and scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a lead they would not relinquish on the way to a 51 victory. The tournament win secured a second Big 5 and Lakin championship double in three years for the smallest school in the Big 5. Both the Eureka girls and McKinlevel boys would then turn their attention to this week's NCS postseason with the brackets and seeds released on Sunday and the action getting underway on Tuesday. A total of 12 local teams made the postseason, including four who received a number one seed in their brackets. In baseball, McKinleyville was seeded number one in the Division 2 tournament and opened with a hard fought 2 to 1 win over California on Wednesday. That victory sets up a quarterfinal Showdown against Bishop O' Dowd at McKinleyville High School on Saturday afternoon at 1. The Saint Bernards boys also received a top seed in the Division 4 bracket and and a first round bye. The Crusaders will begin their playoff campaign at home against Pinal Valley on Saturday afternoon with first pitch set for 2pm no other HDNL baseball teams remain alive in the postseason after a disappointing couple of days for the league teams Eureka, Ferndale, Del Norte and South Fork all qualified for the playoffs, but all four schools fell at the first hurdle. Eureka received the number 15 seed in Division 2 and and lost 111 at Northgate, while in Division 4, Del Norte was seeded number 12 and fell 43 at Newark Memorial. Ferndale was seeded number 4 in Division 5 and lost 73 at St. Patrick St. Vincent and South Fork was seeded number 12 in Division 6 and fell 42 at College Prep. The HDNL teams, however, have fared better in the NCS softball playoffs with five of the six league teams included still in contention for a section crown, including three who received a first round bye. The Hoopa girls were seeded number nine in Division 5 and lost their opener 1110 at San Dominico on Tuesday to end their season. Also on Tuesday, Del Norte opened against Ukiah and the number four seeds in the Division 4 bracket won comfortably 8 0. The South Fork girls also won their playoff opener as the number four seeds in Division 5, beating Kennedy 103 in Miranda on Wednesday evening.
The playoff action continues this weekend with all five league softball teams still playing in action and all five hosting their quarter finals. In Division 3 action, top seed McKinleyville plays Petaluma and number two seed Fortuna opens against Freedom in Division 5. Eureka opens against San Domenico while Del Norte will try to keep rolling against Annelie, as will the South Fork girls when they take on Moreau Catholic in Miranda on Saturday afternoon at 1.
Switching gears, it was a good week for Ferndale senior Tinley Pigeon. The three sport standout received a prestigious accolade when she was named the NCS Female Scholar Athlete of the Year, beating out girls from 175 section schools for the award. Pigeon, who is a 10 time all league honoree in soccer, basketball and softball combined, received a certificate and a scholarship for fifteen hundred dollars. She is the only girl in the NCS to receive the award in local high school track and field. Meanwhile, the best athletes from the HDNL traveled for the opening round NCS meets last weekend and it was a good day for several local standouts at the Class A Championships at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, which featured the small schools from around the section. Six HDN athletes claimed top three finishes in their events, including St. Bernard's Colton hall, who won the boys discus, and Ferndale's Anthony Kasso, who placed first in the boys 110 meter hurdles. Fortuna's Addison Burgess and Arcata's Skyler Kahlenberg each also won individual events at the Redwood Empire meet at Santa Rosa. JC Burgess placed first in the girls triple jump and Kahlenberg won the boys shot put. The best athletes from around the NCS will compete at the section Meet of Champions at Dublin High School this weekend. Switching gears this week, Cal Poly Humboldt announced its 2026 hall of Fame class, which will include the 2011 football team and the 1996 women's soccer team, along with seven individuals including longtime athletics secretary Sue Simon. The Fortuna Huskies, meanwhile, celebrated the achievements of their senior athletes at their annual Husky ESPYs, which were held last week. Isabel Sanchez and Kavi Bolden were among the big winners on the night when they were named female and Male Athletes of the Year. Sanchez also received the award for best Female Individual performance in local motorsports. This will be a big weekend here on the north coast with the season opening event at the Redwood Acres Raceway on Saturday.
Gates open at 3:30pm with the racing starting at 5 and rounding out a busy week in local sports, Arcata senior Nathaniel Styles, who played a key role on the offensive line on Arcata's 2024 state championship winning team, has announced he will play for College of the Redwoods after graduation next month.
And that's this week's KMUD News Sports Report. Until next time. I'm Ray Hamill with humboldtsports.com.
[00:17:38] Speaker B: With an in depth story on what happened this week with the United States Congress's delay of a war powers vote. Here's KPFA's Lauren Schmidt.
[00:17:48] Speaker H: In another delay in efforts to end the war in Iran, Republican House leadership pulled the war Powers resolution vote for a second day in a row amid growing concerns in the party that the measure could pass due to GOP defections and absences. Democrats, however, had packed the floor prepared to vote unaware the measure had been pulled until an inquiry from Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern.
[00:18:14] Speaker A: Mr. Speaker, can you explain to the members of the chamber what is happening with the Iran War Powers Resolution that was scheduled to be voted on this evening?
[00:18:25] Speaker F: Does the gentleman have a parliamentary question?
[00:18:26] Speaker A: Well, that is my parliamentary inquiry. I just want to know what has happened with the Iran War Powers Resolution.
[00:18:34] Speaker H: The gentleman may consult with your leadership regarding scheduling. Randy Weber, serving as speaker pro Tem, delivered the response that led Democrats to erupt on the floor.
[00:18:47] Speaker A: Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry. Are we not voting on it because the American people are sick and tired of this illegal war that it's costing tens of billions of dollars? Gas prices are through the roof. People can't afford. People can't afford their groceries. Is that why you're pulling it? You guys don't have the.
[00:19:06] Speaker F: The House will be in order. The House.
[00:19:09] Speaker A: This House will be in order.
[00:19:11] Speaker D: The chair is prepared to move on
[00:19:13] Speaker A: to the next question.
[00:19:15] Speaker H: Today marks the second delay of the vote by Republican leadership in the House. The move comes two days after the Senate advanced its version of the War Powers resolution in a 50:47 vote that reflected growing Republican support for the measure. The resolution advanced due to four Republican crossover votes and three Republican absences leading it to pass despite John Fetterman being the only Democrat to vote no. Tuesday's vote marked the eighth attempt by the Senate to pass the resolution. Today would have marked the House's fourth attempt after its last vote ended in a tie, with Republicans Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Tom Barrett of Michigan breaking ranks to join Democrats.
The resolution sponsor, Gregory Meeks, says he believes there are enough Republican votes to pass the measure that would attempt to limit Donald Trump's ability to continue US Military involvement abroad without congressional approval. Meeks shared this plea.
[00:20:21] Speaker D: We have not held one single public
[00:20:25] Speaker A: hearing, not one witness, not one hour of testimony on a war that has cost the American people tens of billions of dollars.
Congress cannot abandon its constitutionally, its constitutional responsibility over matters of war and peace and reduce itself. We should not be reducing ourselves to be a rubber stamp.
And that's why we must vote yes.
[00:20:59] Speaker H: This week's developments signal a shift in Republican support for continued U.S. involvement in the war, particularly among conservatives who argued their support was limited to the 60 day window outlined in the 1973 War Powers Resolution. Under the law, Congress can require a president to end military involvement in conflicts not authorized by Congress after 60 days unless lawmakers approve an extension or formally declare war, a deadline more than a month overdue.
KPFA News spoke With North Bay Congressman Jared Huffman, who believes that once the bill reaches the House floor, it could pass.
[00:21:42] Speaker F: We're right on the cusp, and we're going to keep pushing these votes and demanding them because it's a privileged resolution under the War Powers act. So they have to let it come to a vote.
And a number of us have, you know, just introduced sort of a pipeline of these resolutions to make sure that we'll have a chance every single week until this happens.
[00:22:01] Speaker H: Congressman Huffman, we are now more than 80 days into the U. S. Israel war in Iran. And while there has been limited public information and congressional oversight, some details have emerged through the Pentagon's fiscal year 2027 budget hearings. What are your big takeaways? Especially as the Pentagon is requesting roughly a 42% increase over last year's budget.
[00:22:26] Speaker F: Right. And this is the part where as much as they think they can avoid Congress and because of this inept Republican majority, they've been able to avoid congressional approval for over two months. But they can't do that forever. For this reason. They need, they need money.
And this is why they have to come and get a vote of Congress that will either give them the money or say no.
So I am looking forward to that. That will be an opportunity for some accountability and some tough answers. But there's an alarming number of my Republican colleagues ready to just write a blank check for hundreds of billions of dollars for this open ended quagmire.
I don't think you'll see very many, if any, Democrats going along with that.
[00:23:15] Speaker H: There's actually been concerns among Republicans that portions of the military budget could be acquired through reconciliation. In addition to that, there is another reconciliation proposal to fund ICE and Trump's Ballroom project, which critics say is an effort to sidestep Congress. Your thoughts?
[00:23:34] Speaker F: Yeah, it's a way to sidestep the filibuster in the Senate. Basically, that's when we talk about reconciliation. What that really is is a, a bill that is supposed to be about the budget, about expenditures and revenues, which is sort of a unique carve out to the Senate's 60 vote requirement for everything else. That's just policy.
So, yeah, it's conceivable that they could add this into the budget reconciliation that they're trying to push through the Senate, which right now is focused on ICE and Homeland Security, and they're trying to fund these agencies for multiple years without any guardrails or accountability. Democrats are not supporting that, except for, you know, maybe one in the Senate.
But, but they've got a tough road both with the Senate parliamentarian and just with the politics of things like the ballroom, which is starting to unravel. And Donald Trump's not making himself any friends in the Senate as he endorses against John Cornyn, for example.
So it's not hard to imagine them falling short of any reconciliation package, let alone one that now would be bloated with $200 billion or so for a war that no one knows why we're fighting or how the heck we're going to get out of.
[00:24:49] Speaker H: Going back to the war powers vote. Marco Rubio has made his views on Cuba very clear. And CNN is reporting increased US Military surveillance flights near Cuba that appear similar to aerial patterns seen before US Operations in Venezuela and prior to the attacks in Iran.
Do you have any insight into whether the United States may be preparing for another military operation, this time in Cuba?
[00:25:19] Speaker F: No. No insights or inside information, Lauren, but a terrible sinking feeling that that's exactly where we're heading. Because, you know, they have said the quiet part out loud after, you know, they were spiking the football and doing all their victory laps on Maduro, all of them were saying Cuba's next, so we should believe them.
And that is just a very daunting thing to think about.
I don't know what it would mean militarily.
I just know that I don't think the American people want to see us running around the world just taking over countries and abducting foreign leaders. It's, it's crazy. It's unthinkable.
[00:26:03] Speaker H: As a result of the war, your district is now seeing some of the highest gas prices in California, a state that already has the highest fuel prices in the nation.
At the same time, oil has begun flowing again through a pipeline shutdown after the devastating 2015 oil spill along the Santa Barbara coast. What does restarting that pipeline mean for California environmental protections? And how is California's congressional delegation continuing to respond?
[00:26:38] Speaker F: So this is one of this situation in Santa Barbara. It's the Sable Corporations pipeline, which, as you mentioned, has a terrible safety record, has spilled. It's been shut down by the state of California because it's in state waters.
But this is one of several instances in which the Trump administration is using this emergency authority called the Defense Production act, and they use other authorities, emergency authorities as well. And they're claiming that the war in Iran that they started has created an energy crisis and a national security emergency that requires them to basically shut down all environmental law compliance and to take this extraordinary step of ordering a company to restart and operate a pipeline that has been shut down by a state court.
So these are, these are wildly controversial moves. They did it in the Gulf of Mexico with what you may have heard about the God Squad, where they suspended all Endangered Species act compliance for whales and turtles and anything else involving oil and gas drilling. So now the ESA no longer applies to the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico until a court rules otherwise. And now they're testing that same extension of fake emergency authority on the California coast where they're trying to, with this pipeline, kind of create a test case for this emergency authority. And if it works, you know, it's being fought right now in court, of course. But if it works, that's how they intend to order a massive expansion of offshore drilling up and down the coast.
[00:28:19] Speaker H: Capitol Hill is now in a Memorial Day recess, and the next attempt at a War Powers Resolution is expected after lawmakers return in June.
But the question remains, if Congress does pass a War Powers Resolution, will they be able to to enforce it? For KPFA News, I'm Lauren Schmidt.
[00:28:42] Speaker B: That's all for our news broadcast. Thanks for listening.
Thanks to our rotation of broadcast engineers Dennis Marr, Katie Phillips, Bianna Frederico, Michael McCaskill, Larry Lashley and Javier Rodriguez.
Also thanks to our reporter for this broadcast, Ray Hamello.
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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We honor ancestors past, present and emerging and acknowledge the ongoing cultural, spiritual and physical connection that these tribes have to the region.
I'm April Lewis. Stay tuned.
[00:30:19] Speaker G: SA.
