[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Good evening and welcome to the local news. Today is Tuesday, November 25th and I'm Nat Cardos reporting for KMUD. In tonight's news, physical altercation and hate crime investigation occurs after incident at DHHS facility in Eureka, California. King Tides Project asks public to submit photos of King Tides this season and Wildland Firefighter creates fire safety products accessible for those who need it most. So stay tuned. Those stories and more. Coming up.
[00:00:46] Speaker C: Redwood Community Radio acknowledges that its transmitter sites are located on the unceded territory of the Sinkyon, Wailaki, Wiatt, Wilkut and Kato people. We honor ancestors past, present and emerging and acknowledge the ongoing cultural, spiritual and physical connection these tribes have to this region.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: Yesterday, November 24th at approximately 12:28pm Eureka Police Department received a report of a physical altercation occurring involving security personnel at a Department of Health and Human Services building in Eureka. The incident involved two individuals engaging in a physical altercation with security guards and using racial slurs and derogatory statements. KUN News spoke to Laura Mentania, Public Information Officer for the Eureka Police Department for more information on the incident.
[00:01:34] Speaker D: On Monday, November 24, 2025 at approximately 12:28pm Eureka Police Department patrol and CSET officers were dispatched to report of a physical altercation involving security personnel at a Department of Health and Human Services building in the 900 block of Coster Street.
Prior to officers arrival, the involved parties had separated. During the subsequent investigation, which included interviews with multiple witnesses, Officers learned that 53 year old Henry Robert James of Lolita entered the facility and after exiting the restroom, engaged in a verbal altercation with a security officer. During this encounter, James reportedly directed racial slurs toward another security officer regarding the officer's ethnicity, ethnicity and immigration status. When told to leave, James reportedly struck a security officer with his hand and raised a clenched fist in a threatening manner. The security officer pushed James to the ground. In response. While on the ground, James allegedly scratched and attempted to bite the security officer, used a pen to stab at the officer and made derogatory statements regarding the officer's sexual orientation. The security officer sustained physical visible injuries. As the struggle continued, additional security officers responded to assist.
James allegedly attempted to pull responding officers to the ground and attempted to spit on one of them.
During the incident, 21 year old Kylie Renee James, also of Lolita, attempted to push past security officers and reportedly used racial slurs referencing another officer's ethnicity and immigration status.
City ambulance personnel responded and transported Henry James to a local hospital.
Based on witness statements and evidence, officers developed probable cause to believe Henry James committed felony assault involving a hate crime because he was unable to be medically cleared for booking at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility. The Eureka Police Department will coordinate with the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office to obtain a warrant for his arrest.
Kylie Renee James was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility for assault and battery involving a hate crime.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: This case remains under active investigation and anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Eureka Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit at 707-441-4300.
Road conditions update for Fortuna According to a release from the official Humboldt county website, PGE will be closing Palmer Boulevard from Page Way to the end of the road to replace two power poles on December 2. Construction will occur between the hours of 8am to 3pm and traffic control will be on site.
The California King Tides Project is a community science effort backed by the California Coastal Commission that collects pictures of seasonal king tides from communities across California to study and visualize future sea levels. These photos are then used to create a record of changes made over the years to the coast and estuaries and added to a map for this year's season. KMA News spoke to Annie Kohut Frankel, the statewide manager for the California King Tides Project, for more information on what.
[00:04:38] Speaker E: They do The California King Tides Project is a community science effort. We ask people to photograph the highest projected tides of the winter to do that safely and to share those photos with us. We put those photos on a map and they help the community and individuals understand what's vulnerable to flooding now and what is going to be vulnerable to sea level rise in the near future. So the California King Tides Project was launched in the winter of 2010 and it was a partnership of state and federal agencies and nonprofit organizations. It's a project that a number of different states and also other countries participate in as well.
[00:05:27] Speaker B: The term king tide isn't necessarily a scientific term, but it's used to describe the high tides caused when there is an alignment of the gravitational pull between the Sun, Moon and the Earth. They occur seasonally, typically twice a year during the winter when these tides occur during floods or storms, these water levels can rise even higher and have potential to cause damage to the coastline and coastal property. Frankel elaborates more on how the photos are used by the project.
[00:05:51] Speaker E: Ping tides photos are used by lots of different people, so they're used by local and state government to help them plan for the future, to think about vulnerabilities and how they can protect places in their community. They are used by researchers and scientists to ground truth Climate change models to understand whether the reality of a water level that's about a foot higher than the average high tide throughout the year, if that is reflected in their models of what they're projecting of say, a foot of sea level rise in the future, they're used by students and teachers to learn about our coast and by folks who want to visually communicate about climate change and you know, how to encourage people to act to protect our coastal habitats and environments.
[00:06:45] Speaker B: Due to climate change, our baseline sea level rise will continue to increase.
So using images from the king tides can help scientists predict where the sea level will be in the future. According to the State of California Sea Level rise guidance, by 2050, the median sea level rise expected on the California coast will be between 0.8ft and 1.2ft. And by the year 21,000, it'll be between 3.1ft and 6.6ft.
[00:07:10] Speaker E: So King tides are natural, they're not related to climate change. Right. They're a seasonal phenomenon that happens. But they do give us a preview of what our shoreline is line will look like with about a foot or so of sea level rise. So if you go out to your favorite beach, say during king tides, and you see that your beach is underwater, think about what it will be like when the water level is at least that high every single day.
So when you see a beach underwater during king tides, when you see a road that might be flooded during king tides, that is telling you what our coast may look like in 20, 30 years. So talk to your friends, talk to your family about what you notice, what you see, what you care about. Because this is a, that's a really powerful action to have these conversations about the places that we love, the places that we want to protect, and what we can do to take, take action to protect these places.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: The next king tides for Humboldt county are expected between December 4th and 5th of this year and January 2nd and 3rd of 2026. The king tides Project offers an introductory webinar to learn about the project and what they do, as well as how to take good photos of the king tides. The webinar is on December 2 at 12:30. Participation in the webinar is not required to submit photos to the project. Frank will give some advice for those looking to take and submit photos to the research project.
[00:08:36] Speaker E: Number one, be safe. Please be safe. So always be aware of where you are in relation to the ocean. Make sure you're stepping somewhere where you're not going to slip. So do not, do not harm yourself in your effort to get a great photo. Also, please be aware of animals along the shoreline. For example, shorebirds may be farther inland than they usually are because of these high water levels, so give them extra space when you're taking your photo. It's very helpful if you have something that's stationary or immobile in the photo so that we can see how high the water is in relation to that thing that so you may get beautiful photos of waves, you know, looking straight out at the ocean, but those aren't going to help us understand how high the water is. So make sure that there's something in your photo that will help us know how high the water is. Another tip is to have your location services turned on for your photo for your camera app. When you upload your photos to the project, if the photo's geotagged, it will help us make sure that we're placing it very accurately on the map so we know exactly where that photo was taken.
Other tips are There might be a place in your community that you know floods during high tides, even if it's not right at the shoreline. So when the sea level is higher, it can push groundwater up into streets like up through manhole cover. So if there's a place that you know floods during high tides, you can go take a picture of that as well. That's really helpful to to understand where flooding like that is taking place along our shoreline.
[00:10:16] Speaker B: For more information on the webinar and how to submit photos, the website is coastal.ca.gov kingtides Nikolai Allen, a wildland firefighter, created safety sauce to give homeowners practical tools to help protect their property before Wildfire is even closed. Gabriel Zucker reports.
[00:10:36] Speaker C: In honor of November being National Entrepreneurship month and Saturday, October 29th being small business Saturday, KMUD interviewed Nikolai Allen, a woodland firefighter and the creator of his own company and product, safe SOSs, or scientifically achieved Fire Elimination by Science of Safety Systems. Working with Lowes, he was able to make his product available nationwide. According to his website, safesoss.com, it was, quote, developed by a wildland firefighter to help homeowners fight back with science, not fear. This three step supplemental wildfire system gives you practical tools to help block embers, seal vulnerabilities and defend your property before a wildfire ever arrives. End quote. The first product is a universal Ember Guard carbon filter. Alan, explain the need for this product and the adaptability it brings to different homes.
[00:11:21] Speaker F: So the first step is what's often overlooked is vents. Your attic vents, your foundation vents. There's a carbon matrix that's coated in activated carbon. It looks like a lava rock. It's 2ft by 1ft tall, and it looks like a big industrial sponge. But it's malleable. And you can cut it to size and you put it behind on the inside of your vents in your attic or underneath in your crawl spaces, you can cut it to size and squeeze fit it and you can add additional support for high wind areas. And basically that'll help block and trap embers and snuff them out. It's self extinguishing.
[00:11:56] Speaker C: The second product is high heat ember guard tape.
[00:12:00] Speaker F: Number two is an ember tape. So you have thresholds or exterior doors or windows, like garage doors have large gaps. Or if you have pet doors in your home and you're evacuating or there's a fire warning or red flag warning, you can tape up those gaps with this 4 inch wide, it's about 30ft long tape and it's made out of fiberglass. And it'll just help keep the embers and smoke from going into your house and lighting it from the inside out.
[00:12:27] Speaker C: The last product Allen invented is the twice over wildfire risk reduction spray.
[00:12:32] Speaker F: And the third product is a spray, a twice over spray. And it's a long term fire retardant that you can actually apply with your own garden hose. But it's non toxic and it dries clear and invisible so you can come back home like nothing happened. So if you have any wood siding or fences or vegetation near your home that embers could land in and then catch fire, you can douse that stuff twice over in the ready or set phase before you evacuate.
[00:12:56] Speaker C: The product took over four years in development before it was ready to be released. According to Alan. As a California native, he has experienced wildfires throughout his life and wanted to make a solution for homeowners that fear their house will be gone when they come back from a wildfire evacuation.
[00:13:10] Speaker F: That's really a complete system so that you can lock up the key ember entry points in your home before you evacuate. And that's why the most homes are lost from wildfires.
[00:13:21] Speaker C: At the end of the interview, Alan added some more wildfire safety tips that all homeowners should be aware of.
[00:13:27] Speaker F: I know everybody is constantly hearing about brush clearance and creating a defensible space. So that would just mean having no combustibles within 5ft of your structure and then between your structure and outwards 30ft if you can have the combustibles mitigated. So if you have dead vegetation on the structure on your roof or in your gutters helping clear that out because that's an ember ignition point if you have a bunch of dead debris or foliage on your roof. And then the other thing that's often overlooked is where trees, the base of trees, where they meet the ground. If there's other smaller vegetation that's at the base of the tree, clearing that away and clearing away the dead leaves and debris from the tree that's fallen will help make sure that that tree doesn't ignite from a surface fire. And this system really is intended to address the wind borne embers. I was in the Palisades fire myself and the homes that we protected were okay. And ember defense is a huge part of that because you could do all the brush clearance in the world. But if embers are getting in through your attic, then your house is burning from the inside out. So it's super important and simple to address the places where embers can actually get into your home. And not a lot of people are thinking that. And there haven't been professional grade tools available to homeowners to actually do what a wildland firefighter would do if they show up for structure triage in your house. And the last thing I'll say is if you do get the rolls of tape and the amber guards and the spray and you apply it, if you have any extra when you're evacuating, leave it out because the firefighters are starting to know what this is and they can help use the tools you leave behind as well if they need to do any additional structure triage when they get there.
[00:15:16] Speaker C: For more information on these fire safety products, go to Allen's website safesoss.com or go to Lowe's website under safe SOSs.
This is Gabriel Zucker with KMUD News.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: Turning to Mendocino, interim Chief of Police Eric Swift is named as new Fort Bragg Chief of police. Mendo local news Elise Cox reports.
[00:15:38] Speaker G: City Manager Isaac Whippy announced his selection of Interim Police Chief Eric Swift as the permanent police chief for Fort Bragg on Tuesday morning.
Swift most recently served as a major with the Clark County Sheriff's Office in Georgia. Before that, he spent the bulk of his law enforcement career in Northern California, serving more than seven years in the Santa Rosa Police Department and more than eight years in the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department. In a statement, he said, quote, I'm truly humbled to be selected as the permanent chief of police for the city of Fort Bragg. This is an honor. I do not take lightly I'm grateful for the trust placed in me by City Manager Isaac Whitby and the city of Fort Bragg. My focus is on building a safer, stronger future for our community together.
Swift follows retired Chief Neil Cervenka, who joined the Fort Bragg Police Department in July 2022 and announced his retirement in August 2025.
City Manager Isaac Whippy said Chief Swift understands that, quote, our department has many strengths and successes to build on while also being honest about the areas where we must improve and keep strengthening community trust Mayor Jason Godduck said he was pleased with the selection process led by the city manager and by the opportunities it provided for community input.
[00:16:58] Speaker H: I really liked that it was broad based. It brought a lot of different ways for people to interact with the process and give some input, and that just seemed like a really healthy, important way to do something like this because it is such a highly visible and such a consequential position for our community.
[00:17:20] Speaker G: Gotek said that in addition to Swift's professional experience, he has been impressed by the new chief's willingness to listen.
[00:17:27] Speaker H: He's very, seems to be very community.
[00:17:30] Speaker F: Forward.
[00:17:33] Speaker H: Getting out to see people. I've seen him at various events, you know, when we were doing the trunk retreat, he was there as well.
So I think he seems to enjoy that, the community part of it. And just in my own interactions with him, I've been struck by his temperament. He seems to be somebody who's good at listening, who has worked. That's a real skill.
And it seems like he's really worked on that and it's an important thing for somebody in his position to hear people and really take what they're saying seriously and to take that time, even if he feels like he might have an answer, to take a pause and to really give that, have that, take that time of reflection. So I've been struck by he seems like a soft spoken person, a careful person, and so I'm struck by those character attributes in terms of the interactions that I've had with him.
[00:18:33] Speaker G: Reporting for KMUD News and Mindalocal News, I'm Elise Cox.
[00:18:39] Speaker B: In State News Study proposes a new way of targeting College Financial Aid in California public news services Suzanne Potter reports.
[00:18:47] Speaker I: A new study from UC Merced finds college financial aid in California fails to target the students considered dually disadvantaged, those from families that are both low income and low wealth. These families have low annual incomes and have few assets such as college savings accounts, investments or real estate, the type of wealth often passed down through the generations. Report co author Laura Hamilton is a professor of sociology who says students who are dually disadvantaged end up borrowing a lot more money for their education relative.
[00:19:19] Speaker E: To their peers who are just low income. Dually disadvantaged students get about the same amount of aid that they have a lot more need.
[00:19:26] Speaker I: The study found that only 52% of dually disadvantaged students are predicted to attend College compared to 83% of students from low income high wealth families. Similarly, only 20% of dually disadvantaged students are predicted to complete a bachelor's degree compared to 59% of students from low income high wealth families. Hamilton says college financial aid needs to be increased to benefit more students.
[00:19:53] Speaker E: We simulated what would happen if we instituted an additional $5,000 need based supplemental state aid grant given to students who are in both the bottom income bracket and have $0 in wealth. You would see much higher numbers of college graduates in each cohort.
[00:20:09] Speaker I: The report estimates that more than 41,000 dually disadvantaged students would qualify for such a grant. So the program would cost the state about 208 million do. It would produce an extra 4,500 graduates per year and 966 million in economic returns as those graduates enter the workforce. For California News Service, I'm Suzanne Potter. Find our trust
[email protected].
[00:20:38] Speaker B: In national news, U S Backed Ukraine Peace Plan Amended after Complaints it favors Russia KPFA's Christopher Martinez reports.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: When the United States unveiled a U S backed peace plan for Ukraine last week, Ukraine quickly rejected it as a plan for surrender. European officials said they were blindsided and Ukraine supporters blasted the proposal as Russian President Vladimir Putin's wish list. But now, after talks over the weekend, officials say they've made progress on amending the plan. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called his meetings with Ukrainian envoy probably the most productive meetings they've had under the current Trump administration. He spoke to reporters in Geneva.
[00:21:19] Speaker B: We're working through making some changes, some adjustments in the hopes of furthering narrowing the differences in getting closer to something that both Ukraine and obviously the United States are very comfortable with. Obviously this will ultimately have to be signed off by our presidents, although I feel very comfortable about that happening given the progress we've made.
[00:21:38] Speaker A: The original 28 point peace plan had included a number of Russian demands, including giving up large swaths of dispute Ukrainian territory, shrinking Ukraine's military and ensuring Ukraine never be admitted to NATO. But now, according to sources close to negotiations, the 28 point plan has been reduced to 19 points and Russia's maximalist demands have been removed. Irish Foreign Minister Helen McKenty welcomed progress.
[00:22:03] Speaker D: In the talks, but I think the soundings yesterday, certainly, and the feedback from very much is that this is a step in the right direction. Of course, we can't lose sight of the fact that there cannot be any agreement without Ukraine being front and center. There cannot be any agreement where land is taken or acceded by force. And we have to ensure that the security, not just of Ukraine but of the EU as a whole, that that is protected in any agreement moving forward.
[00:22:31] Speaker A: President Donald Trump had given Ukraine until Thursday to agree to the plan with threats to halt US Military and intelligence aid to Ukraine if it balked. But Secretary of State Rubio has walked back that deadline, saying officials can keep negotiating. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it's important to support the negotiation process, saying right now we are at a critical moment. He says the main problem is that Russian President Putin wants legal recognition for stealing Ukrainian territory and violating its sovereignty.
[00:23:03] Speaker F: Of course, we all continue working with partners, especially the United States, and look for compromises that strengthen but not weaken us.
[00:23:15] Speaker J: And we will continue explaining how dangerous.
[00:23:19] Speaker F: It is to pretend that aggression is something one can simply overlook and move on.
And I ask you, do not stay silent.
Do not be passive observers of history.
[00:23:37] Speaker D: Be participants.
[00:23:39] Speaker A: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Ukraine's 30 or so allies in the coalition of the willing will hold talks Tuesday on the peace negotiations.
Reporting for Pacifica Radio News kpfa, I'm Christopher Martinez.
[00:23:55] Speaker B: In National Native News, Antonia Gonzalez reads today's headlines.
[00:23:59] Speaker D: This is National Native News. I'm Antonia Gonzalez. Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation and Pueblo leaders held a press conference in Albuquerque last week to urge Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to visit Chaco Culture National Historical park in the state and to continue protections from oil and gas drilling. Kunm's Jeanette Didios has more. In October, the Bureau of Land Management began a process to revoke protections for 10 miles around Chaco Canyon to allow for possible oil and gas exploration. This comes after the New Mexico congressional delegation and Pueblo governors held a press conference in front of the U.S. capitol in September to demand that the Trump administration protect Chaco.
Governor of the Picares Pueblo Craig Concello spoke on the cultural significance of Chaco. Our ancestors lived there, prayed there, studied.
[00:24:53] Speaker E: The stars there, and carried teachings outward.
[00:24:57] Speaker D: Into our modern Pueblo communities.
[00:24:59] Speaker E: Our ties to Chaco live in our.
[00:25:01] Speaker D: Songs, our ceremonies, our privileges, and our.
[00:25:05] Speaker E: Ancient roads and shrines that stretch far.
[00:25:08] Speaker D: Beyond the park itself. U.S. senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan were in attendance alongside Representative Melanie Stansberry. Stansberry said during the federal shutdown, tribal leaders were unable to reach the Bureau of Indian affairs but did receive a letter from the Trump administration administration informing them that they had two weeks to respond to Chaco being taken out of the federal protection. Can you imagine the cruelty, the insensitivity, the stupidity of an administration contacting tribal.
[00:25:40] Speaker E: Leaders as they are trying to figure.
[00:25:42] Speaker D: Out how they are going to feed their people and balance their budgets and keep their public safety in order to tell them that they are going to take away their most sacred lands and open it up for private oil and gas drilling? Congressional and Pueblo leaders invited Burgum to visit Chaco and to have a meaningful talk with them. I'm Jeanette Didios. A Kodiak, Alaska based nonprofit dedicated to supporting families with newborns is expanding into the northwest Arctic Borough. KMXT's Davis Hovey has more on how Kodiak Kindness is helping families across the state raise babies.
[00:26:18] Speaker J: For years, Noyakwanda Baltazar has been teaching infants in Kotzebue through a local program that serves children with disabilities or delayed development. It's the only such program based out of a school district in the state. Baltazar says it's about helping kids from birth to three years old and their families around the Maniluk Service area, which covers 12 communities in northwest Alaska from Kotzebue to Kobuk.
[00:26:42] Speaker E: Working with birth to three. It's always good about helping families, ensuring that they're strong, supported and any way we can support families and nursing moms to help their babies grow I think is great.
[00:26:58] Speaker J: Baltazar and Frances Williams from Ambler are bringing their experience working with children to Kodiak Kindness as they continue doing what they already do, but under the new title of peer counselors, I'll be able.
[00:27:10] Speaker D: To do my own mix, you know, with Korea Kindness and my Inupak traditions.
[00:27:16] Speaker J: Williams says she uses native plants like stinkweed or spruce trees to make salves or other traditional medicines to help her friends, family and neighbors heal from the land.
Aside from the traditional knowledge Williams has from her mom and aunties, she'll also be able to help her community with assistance from a certified lactation consultant. If she wants support virtually from the Kodiak Kindness team via telehealth Kodiak Kindness, two new peer counselors in the Northwest Arctic Borough come online this winter and hope to start enrolling families in the region early next year. Reporting in Kodiak, I'm Davis Havi.
[00:27:51] Speaker D: And I'm Antonia Gonzalez.
[00:28:00] Speaker F: Native voice one.
[00:28:01] Speaker D: The native american radio network.
[00:28:09] Speaker B: That's all for tonight's broadcast. Thanks for listening. Thanks to our engineer, Katie Phillips, and thanks to our reporters, Gabriel Zuckert, Elise Cox, Suzanne Potter, Christopher Martinez and Antonio Gonzalez. Keima News is online, and you can find us on kema.org and now streaming on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, where you can download our stories and newscasts for offline listening during your rural commutes. You can also follow us on social media. If you have questions or suggestions, you can give us a call at 707-923-2605 or send an email to newsmud.org Redwood Community Radio, Inc. Is funded by Press Forward, the national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more at PressForward News. Reporting for KMUD, I'm Nat Cardos.
