Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Welcome to the KMUD News for the evening of Monday, October 19th.
I'm your news director, April Lewis, and I'm glad to be with you for this broadcast.
This episode includes stories on local ballot measures in the upcoming election debate, on the Humboldt Bay Area plan, and on a new children's book on the 1885 expulsion of China. Chinese residents from Eureka.
But first, some updates and alerts. This is KMUD News.
Here's our Assistant Director, Bridget Karstensen with today's rundown of local updates and alerts
[00:00:51] Speaker C: from Cal Poly Humboldt.
Gas prices in Eureka jumped 89 cents to $6.88 a gallon at the end of September, the second highest price since the Humboldt Economic Index began tracking gas in 1998. The statewide average hit $6.39, the highest so far this year. Home prices held steady at 425,000 and the index's overall score dipped to 94 from 96.5 last month. The index, produced monthly by Cal Poly Humboldt economics students and faculty, is marking its 30th year.
An update from the Yurok Tribe the Yurok Election Board has certified the results of the October 14 primary election.
James Ray Gensaw Sr. Won North District Representative incumbent Ryan Ray won Requa District representative unopposed and Jamie Holt, one Witchpeck District representative over incumbent Toby Vanlandingham. There were no challenges and no runoff. The installation ceremony is Tuesday, October 27th at 11:00am at the Main Yurok Tribal Office in Klamath.
A reminder from California Department of Water Resources it's flood preparedness week and with a record setting El Nino raising the odds of a wet winter, Department of Water Resources is urging Californians to get ready now. The State has staged 4.4 million sandbags and 400,000 tons of rock at 68 locations and Governor Newsom has proclaimed a state of emergency ahead of winter storms.
Department of Water Resources recommends knowing your risk, especially near burn scars or floodplains, keeping an emergency kit ready, signing up for local alerts and never driving through a flooded road.
Impress from Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
A 26 year old Ukiah man on state parole was arrested Saturday night after two assaults on the 600 block of Pinoleville Drive in Ukiah. Deputies say Andrew horse struck a 24 year old woman in the face around 7:30pm sending her to the hospital, then returned about two hours later armed with a kitchen knife threatening to stab her. A 48 year old man stepped in and the two fought until deputies arrived. Horst was booked on charges including assault with a deadly weapon, battery and a parole violation and is being held without bail.
An invitation from City of Eureka Eureka's Open Space Parks and Recreation Commission meets this Thursday, October 22nd at 6pm at City hall with updates on the Carson Park Improvement Project and Grace Martin Park. The public can attend in person or by zoom. It's the commission's last meeting of the year. The next is January 28th.
An alert from Eureka Police Department Eureka Police are reminding residents that enforcement of state laws on e bikes, e motorcycles and e scooters is ongoing. After months of education, officers may now issue citations or impound vehicles when they see violations. When juveniles are involved, parents may be contacted, and EPD notes that letting a minor ride unlawfully can carry legal consequences for parents, too.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: And up next, our main stories this is KMUD News.
Sea level rise was the most debated topic during a planning commission hearing on the Humboldt Bay plan. Daniel Mintz reports.
[00:04:30] Speaker D: Humboldt County's Planning Commission has approved a draft of the Humboldt Bay Area plan, with the effects of sea level rise policies on property values being most debated.
A version of the plan, a major piece of work, was approved for referral to the Board of Supervisors and at the commission's Oct. 15 meeting, future scenarios for sea level rise and actions to deal with it were described as the plan's most important discussion by Commission Chair Sarah West.
There's uncertainty on how to plan for it as it hinges on a variety of factors, including future degree of emissions reduction.
So there was debate among commissioners on which risk scenario features the plan's policies should be based on.
The categories including intermediate, intermediate, high and high are based on degrees of sea level rise.
Citing uncertainty of forecasting and how sea level rise related requirements could affect property values, a majority of commissioners supported an intermediate category.
Sea level rise is happening, but commissioners disagreed on the degree of it and its likely future. Planning Director John Ford acknowledged the uncertainty.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: So one of the struggles here is that we're a little bit early into this whole process of sea level rise to know how it's going to turn out.
So like when you look at the intermediate high or look at the high, you know, the scientists think there's really no chance that that's going to be exceeded, and so that's why that's so conservative. Intermediate high, there is an 80% chance that won't be exceeded, and that percentage has to do with how well we as a global community address climate change.
If we're good about that and slow down the path, then the intermediate could be more appropriate.
But if we're not real good about it, then intermediate high is perhaps more appropriate.
[00:06:50] Speaker D: After debate about it, Ford acknowledged that intermediate is still putting people on notice at their sea level rise going on, but has lesser impact on people having to do things to their property that will cost additional money to develop.
That factor weighed on West's mind. She acknowledged future risks, but said she's really wary and worried about assigning a hazard to an area and hurting somebody's property value and making it more expensive for them to build.
A debate on how much sea level rise is already happening, followed by with Commissioner Jerome Curiazzi citing recent ocean wave
[00:07:30] Speaker E: overflows, we're already seeing impacts. One thing that really stuck with me this last weekend when we had a high tide, not an extremely high tide, but we had significant wind and that wind driven surge completely flooded land along the safety corridor that isn't typically flooded and we were getting ocean spray onto the Bay Trail and that is the Bay Trail is underwater at 3.2ft of sea level rise.
The heavy lift Marine terminal that the Harbor District is proposing is underwater at 3.2ft of sea level rise.
So what we're trying to do is create guidelines for safe development.
[00:08:20] Speaker D: Commissioner Todd Fulton disagreed, citing what he's observed over decades.
[00:08:25] Speaker E: Commissioner Kiriazzi, I'd like to address your comments about the sea spray on that thing. I have lived here my entire life and that has sea sprayed across the railroad tracks my entire life. Stinky beach along where the PGE plant is north along through there. As a kid I used to remember going through going into town, seeing those waves crash over those rocks and onto the railroad track.
So I have yet to see anything of any substantial that isn't anything different than what I have seen since I was a child growing up in this county.
[00:09:01] Speaker D: A majority of commissioners supported the intermediate scenario and those who were on the fence were swayed by the addition of a clause saying the intermediate scenario will be reviewed for accuracy every five years.
Kiriazi was the only no vote on referring the plan to the Board of Supervisors, saying he's seeking additional information in Eureka for KMUD News, this is Daniel Mintz.
[00:09:34] Speaker B: Next is the KMUD News primer on local ballot measures in Humboldt and Mendocino counties. KMUD News reports before the November 3rd general election, we want to make sure that voters in the KMUD coverage zone are well informed on their local ballot measures.
We'll start with Humboldt County's local measures followed by northern Mendocino County. We'll cover the entire region roughly from north to south.
The first ballot measure we'll go through is Arcata Measure G, which asked the city's residents to extend Arcata's existing 0.75% measured G sales tax.
The existing 0.75% sales tax first was implemented in 2009 after the passage of Arcata Measure G in 2008.
At the time, the city's police force was short staffed and major roadworks were needed.
Since its passage, the Arcata Measure G tax has led to $39 million in additional revenue the City of Arcata Included in Measure g back in 2008 was a provision to dissolve the tax in 2029.
That is why the tax measure is back on the ballot this year and the current vote would extend the 75% city sales tax indefinitely with no end date.
If approved, the tax could only be repealed by an additional majority vote.
Opponents of Measure G point to the city's high overall sales tax rate, currently at 10.25%, which is tied for the seventh highest sales tax rate in California.
That tax rate would stay the same with a Measure G tax extension. With Humboldt county struggling economically, the high overall sales tax percentage continues to impact local shoppers and merchants.
Supporters of the Measure G tax extension in Arcata point to its successes in helping the city fix roads match grant contributions along with adding trails and access for bicyclists and pedestrians in the area.
On November 3, the Measure G sales tax will need majority approval by Arcata voters to be extended indefinitely.
Next are two ballot measures for Eureka voters.
The first is Measure H which would make changes to compensation of the Eureka mayor and council members.
Currently, the city's mayor takes in $625 per month and city council members get $500.
A yes on Measure H on Nov. 3 would make that compensation $1,250 a month for the mayor and $1,000 a month for council members.
Proponents of Measure H point to the fact that a 20 hour per week part time job at the current California minimum wage of 1,690 would bring in around $1,300 per month.
Measure H also includes potential cost of living salary increases capped at 5% per year and based on recommendations from the city's Finance Committee.
The second ballot measure in Eureka is Measure I which would increase the city's existing hotel tax from 10% to 12% on an indefinite basis.
That increase is estimated to bring in an additional $700,000 per year for the city.
The tax is paid by hotel guests and not by residents. The additional funds will would be used to support city services moving next to the Town of Ferndale. With Measure F and Measure E on the local ballot, those in the Ferndale Fire Protection District will be voting on Measure F, which would establish an annual parcel tax to generate $116,000 annually for fire protection and emergency services.
According to the measure, the district has determined that existing revenue sources are insufficient to sustain an adequate level of fire protection and emergency response services due to increasing service demands, rising operational costs and the need to maintain firefighter readiness and safety, end quote. The Measure F parcel tax in Ferndale would differ based on type of property.
For example, a vacant lot would only pay $5 per year, a single family residence would pay $60 and general commercial properties would pay $240 per year.
The measure has no expiration date and needs a 2/3 aka 66.67% or greater yes vote to pass on Election Day.
Also in the Ferndale area is Measure E, which concerns the issuance of $7 million in bonds to benefit the Ferndale Unified School District.
The proceeds would be used to fund Career Technical Education, AKA CTE facilities.
Career Technical Education is an education approach that aims to expose students to more hands on training useful for future occupations. In addition to traditional schooling, CTE pathways can be for anything from agriculture to health sciences to child development and more.
The measure came about because to access a potential $3 million CTE grant from the State of California for the Agriculture CTE pathway, the district must come up with $3 million of their own. That grant is wholly contingent on matching funds, which Ferndale Unified is unlikely to have without Measure E passing. The district says most of the funds would be used to replace aging facilities and infrastructure, including funds not used for the matching grant. The cost to taxpayers in the school district would be approximately $50 per $100,000 of assessed value.
The measure needs 55% of votes to pass.
Next up is the City of Fortuna, where the Measure D sales tax increase is on the ballot. The measure proposes an additional 0.75% sales tax, which would bring Fortuna's overall sales tax rate to 10.25%, which would be in line with Arcata's current rate and among the highest in the state.
Measure D could raise around $1.8 million for the city of Fortuna annually.
These funds could theoretically be used for any city government purpose.
However, Fortuna officials note specific uses like public safety, police, street and pothole repair programs for seniors and youth, along with park maintenance as potential areas of focus for Measure D funds.
The city is struggling to keep up with rising costs Opponents of the measure point to the already high existing sales tax rate and difficult business environment in the city, along with similar previous efforts not solving budget woes Moving next to ballot measures in southern Humboldt with those in the Petrolia Fire Protection District voting on the Measure J parcel tax.
The measure would establish an annual tax of $75 per unimproved parcel, $95 per improved parcel and $160 per contiguous parcel group to generate over $21,000 annually for the Petrolia Fire District and its volunteer Fire department.
The fire district needs the funds to combat the rising costs of providing emergency services and firefighting in the region.
However, it requires a 2/3 majority vote in order to pass.
It's worth reminding listeners of our recent coverage on Petrolia Fire who lost major radio infrastructure to a blaze during the current fire season.
Last of the local Humboldt county ballot measures we'll cover and first in Mendocino is Measure K, a bond measure for those within the Southern Humboldt Community Health Care District.
The district itself comprises both southern Humboldt and parts of northern Mendocino, and voters within Soham Health District reside in both counties.
We've covered Measure K at length in previous newscasts and those who haven't heard those episodes yet should find our coverage on podcast platforms along with news on Facebook and Instagram.
Coverage included KMUD's one and a half hour live feed of the Measure K town hall live from the Matteal Center.
A yes vote on Measure K would allow the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare district to issue $25 million in bonds to help fund a new hospital.
This is due to the old Gerald Phillips Hospital in Garberville not meeting state seismic requirements after 2030, when it would be at risk of closure. The bonds would be funded from increased property taxes at around $80 per year for every $100,000 of assessed value.
An existing $125 per parcel tax for the district expires in 2028.
Opponents of Measure K point to its sheer cost over an up to 30 year bond term, along with alleged prior financial mismanagement by the health district.
Sohum Health has responded by having its board pledge to only use the funds for a new hospital.
Ultimately, voters will decide between funding the new hospital effort or lowering their property taxes, including with the $125 parcel tax expiring soon, Measure K requires a 2/3 vote to be passed.
Moving Foley into Mendocino county in the Fort Bragg area is Measure B, which is a parcel tax to fund fire equipment acquisition.
The parcel tax would cost landowners in Fort Bragg $50 per parcel per year for 10 years from 2028 to 2037.
Funds from Measure B in Fort Bragg could only be used on equipment for the Fort Bragg Fire Department.
There have been fire equipment taxes in Fort Bragg previously, but a 2014 measure has expired.
Measure B for fire equipment in Fort Bragg requires a 2/3 majority to pass, and that's our primer on local ballot measures across KMUD's listening zone in Humboldt and northern Mendocino counties.
It's only two weeks until the Tuesday, November 3rd general election.
It is a good time to get informed and vote early, whether by mail or ballot Dropbox. You can avoid potentially long lines on Election Day. We'll also be covering statewide races and propositions later this week, along with coverage on those opposed to Measure K in southern Humboldt.
For KMUD News, I'm April Lewis.
A flower pot and a short note in the Clark Museum's collection inspired a new children's book about the 1885 expulsion of Chinese residents from Eureka.
[00:21:20] Speaker C: Young Stands Strong A Story of Expulsion and Resilience is a new children's book about one of the darker chapters in Eureka's history. It tells the story of Young, a real nine year old girl who was forced to leave her home when Chinese residents were driven out of Eureka in 1885. The story was written by Arcata writer and artist Annette Makino, with a historical section by members of Humboldt, Asians and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, known as Hoppy and other local historians. Makino says it was a team effort.
[00:21:54] Speaker F: Young Stand Strong was really a team effort, and I'm not just saying that to be modest.
I am the writer of the story and it was labor over probably a year and 12 different versions.
But I work closely with a team from humble Asians and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity, our Hopi and local historians including Dr. Alex Servis and Katie Bush and Jeannie Felser.
So a lot of the story is based on actual historical facts, as much as we could.
And then I filled in around it to, you know, make it a lively story for kids to read.
[00:22:36] Speaker C: The idea started with a six sided Chinese flower pot donated to the Clark Museum in eureka in the 1930s, along with a note from the donor.
[00:22:46] Speaker F: There was a note from the donor that says year 1885.
One day during the Chinese New Year celebration, little Young and her two aunts came to the house to call on her teacher, Mary Carr, and with them they brought this bowl filled with their sacred lilies, the Narcissus. It may not seem like much, but there's actually so little history of the Chinese community in Eureka that this was a real key to knowing there was at least one Chinese child in Eureka in that time. The community at the time was about 300 Chinese people in our area. And most of them were men because they were working as loggers or fishermen or farmers.
But there were a few women and children. So we know there was a girl named Young. We know she went to school and had a teacher named Mary Carr. And through detailed research, historians also figured out where Mary Carr's school was, where her house was, and even the fact that she probably wore glasses because there was a newspaper article in 1883 that said she went to visit an eye doctor in San Francisco. Apparently, this is News in 1883. Eureka.
[00:24:01] Speaker C: In February 1885, Eureka City Councilman David Kendall was killed by a stray bullet during a gunfight at the edge of Chinatown. Anger toward the Chinese community was already running high, Fueled by economic hard times and blame for disease.
A mob put up a gallows and threatened to hang Chinese residents.
Instead, white townspeople gathered at Centennial hall and ordered every Chinese resident out of Eureka.
[00:24:30] Speaker F: Basically, the whole community had one day to pack up all their things, wrap up all their business, leave behind their homes, their businesses, their community, and get on these ships to San Francisco.
[00:24:43] Speaker C: The book is aimed at fourth graders, which is when California students learn our state's history. When we asked Makino how she approached presenting difficult topics to young readers, she said it was something she'd worried about, too. So she turned to Roxanna Stengel, a teacher at Alice Birney School in Eureka. Stengel said fourth graders need to know this history and read an early draft to her class in May.
[00:25:07] Speaker F: So we were able to have Roxanna Stengel read an early version of the story to her fourth grade class in May. She was very skillful in asking students how they related to the story in different ways. For instance, she there's part of the story that takes place around Chinese New Year and mentions that people are placing offerings on altars, like oranges and flowers. Roxanna asked the kids, do you know what an altar is? And then the kids from Mexico were like, oh, yes, we know about that because of Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos.
And she asked the kids, do you know anything about being driven out of your home?
And there were Hmong kids in the class who said, yes, that happened to our family.
And the main thing the kids asked as soon as she finished reading the story was, when is the sequel coming out? I will say that I made a point of making the most traumatic events a little bit oblique, so it's a little bit secondhand for young the book
[00:26:05] Speaker C: was funded by a grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy. Copies are being donated to every school and library in Humboldt county, and the Humboldt County Office of Education is developing a curriculum for teachers.
Makino says interest is already spreading.
[00:26:22] Speaker F: Had already quite a few people get copies for schools and libraries in other parts of the west or other parts of the country actually that they have grandkids there or they taught there or you know, they have some connection. So it seems like it's going to be going out farther than Humboldt County.
[00:26:41] Speaker C: And Makino says the book isn't just for kids.
[00:26:45] Speaker F: I wanted to say this book isn't only for kids. The first half of it is a story that is very beautifully illustrated by Yukari Mishima, a Japanese artist, in a way that I think is really appealing to kids.
It has kind of a Japanese anime studio Ghibli style, but very sensitive and detailed. But the whole second half is about 20 pages of really deeply researched historical background on the history of Eureka's Chinatown and why the Chinese came to America and bring bringing it up right up to the present and our current issues around immigration and discrimination, racism, injustice.
So I think adults will find it really interesting too and I'm sure that they will learn a lot just like I did in the process of writing it.
[00:27:33] Speaker C: Makena will sign copies of Young Stand Strong at Eureka Books on Second street during Arts Alive on Saturday, November 7th from 6 to 9pm the book is $20 and can be pre ordered now at makinostudios.com with copies shipping and arriving in local stores the first week of November. Hopi is a dream maker project of the Ink Peoples center for the Arts and Culture and its members also lead tours of Eureka's historic Chinatown. We'll take a closer look at the group and its work in an upcoming story. Reporting for KMED News, I'm Bridget Carstensen.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: That's all for our news broadcast. Thanks for listening.
Thanks to our rotation of broadcast engineers Dennis Marr, Katie Phillips, Bianna Federico, Michael McCaskill, Larry Lashley and Javier Rodriguez.
Also thanks to our reporter for this broadcast, Daniel Mintz and our assistant director Bridget Karstensen.
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