Mike Wilson's last day as Harbor Commission.

Let me say that I have been so fortunate to have been associated with someone who worked so hard in his 10 years as the 3rd Division Humboldt Bay Harbor Commissioner. Mike challenged me to think topics out at higher levels than just probing an issue face value. Mike led the Harbor District during some really stressful changeover of staff and was instrumental on keeping the Harbor District "afloat" (No pun intended) by his leadership.

I consider Mike the king of "policy wonks" and have admired his wanting technical details of a project before pushing forward. Mike was peerless as a negotiator to help the Harbor District garner funds for the future King Salmon dredging project and keeping the Commissioners informed of the process. Mike served consecutive terms as President of the Commission and was on the lead of bringing the EPA on to help clean-up the old Pulp Mill.

I can't say enough good things about Mike. Although his taste in foods might not align with mine. But he has opened my mind to strange cuisines and had me taste foods I normally wouldn't try. And he is great to have a beer with and shoot the crap bout all things life.

Godspeed Mike as Supervisor of the 3rd District of Humboldt County. They are lucky to have you.

1091 to be taken out of water.

The former Navy vessel "1091" will be pulled away from dock by England Marine at 7:30am and towed to grounding spot below Samoa Cookhouse at 8am. Hope all goes well.

Humboldt County Democrats reboot Communication and Education Committee

Newly elected Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) member Michele Walford from the 1^st District chaired a recent Communication and Education Committee (CEC) meeting on Tuesday November 29^th at HCDCC Headquarters. It was more of reorganization or restructuring of a committee that is tasked with electronic media, member support and training, technology support, and community communication, such as website and facebook maintenance but tonight the focus was energizing new members and new volunteers. Over 20 people came to participate.

The CEC opened with a pledge of Allegiance to the flag. (There, we are not all communist, socialistic liberal left wing anti Americans!)

The first thing we discussed is “Who or what are we locally and State wise as Democrats?” There was some back and forth about how the Democratic National Committee screwed up the Primary election for Bernie Sanders but all agreed we need to heal and solve this issue in the future. So as local Democrats, “What are we?”

For the People

Believe in Science/Climate change

Open to all Color and Sexes

Non-Discriminating

Progressive

Working Class

So after identifying who we are, what can we do to help the local Democratic Party?

Support Young Democrats

Support Black Lives Matter

Support Community Building

Extend outreach to all

Connect with Minorities

Support likeminded local candidates

What can we do right now in the immediate?

Fill empty seats on HCDCC

Do Outreach on registered Democrats who haven’t ever voted

Register voters who haven’t ever participated door to door

Fill vacated offices or seats for Special Districts such as:

a.    School Districts

b.    Community Service Districts

c.    Fire Boards

d.    Other Special Districts

What message do we want our leaders to have?

Differentiate what Democrats are doing as opposed to Republicans

Be the Source of Truth with details

Know we are watching their votes

Know we have their backs on decisions when they do their job right

What can CEC do better?

Do weekly updates on causes

Better use of social media with HCDCC Facebook page

Next topic of issue for the 2017 CEC will be a resolution to “Abolish the Electoral College.”

Is Recession on the way since Trump is in office?

USA Today has a great story and graph about how recessions come and go, but largely when Republicans are in the white house. Click the USA link to see the full graph back to 1901.

Humboldt Bay Shipping up 70%!

Since I was elected commissioner for the 4^th Division of the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District (HBHR&CD) in 2009 the narrative from some people critical of the commission has been a conceived notion we have given up on shipping and only focus on Aquaculture. This is not the case. We have had setbacks that we were not able to control such as shoaling caused by  sediment from the Eel river that received large volumes of rain this last year. This caused a few ships to be turned away, but overall we are surviving.

In 2016 we are expected to reach cargo levels of 583,019 metric tons. That is a 70% increase from 2015! Not only that, projections for 2017 shows we will nearly reach the million ton threshold next year which would be an additional 68.1% increase and a level not achieved in Humboldt Bay since 1991! A quarter of a century ago! That was when we had 2 pulp mills and one sawmill on the peninsula with nearly 1,000 high wage union workers. How did this happen? California Redwood has made vast improvements and upgrades to their facility with hopes of 10-12 vessels in 2017 and Schneider dock has picked up more log customers and Sierra Pacific dock reports stabilized business.

I know many people feel the Timber Industry is dead, but Lumber/Logs and Wood Chips represent about 50% of our shipping tons. When the pulp mills were open they added another 350,000 tons a year. From 2000 to 2008 the Samoa Pulp mill represented about 25% of the total volume of tonnage. That was a huge loss.

So since I have been in office we have went from 316,480 metric tons of cargo to 583,019. An 84% increase. If we reach the projected 980,000 metric tons next year, that will be a 209.7% percent increase since I took office. Is that not pretty good shipping increases? And we should have 2 cruise ships to boot in 2017.

The HBHR&CD commissioners continue to be proactive in soliciting businesses that would be a good fit to the bay and we have done our best to lobby and make sure dredging by the Army Corp is done each year. We are thankful to have partnerships with California Redwood, Schneider dock, and Sierra Pacific to make sure this happens. 

Marks family helps lead Trump to office?

I was doing voting inventory on my Mother and Father's children and came up with some eye opening observations or speculation. My siblings voted 4-4 for Trump and Hillary. Their spouses voted 5-2 for Trump. My sons, nieces and nephews voted 9-7 for Hillary. So overall my immediate family voted 16-15 for Donald Trump.  And of those, the ones with the most money voted for Trump and the ones with the least voted for Hillary. How did your family vote overall?

HCDCC goes undefeated with endorsed Candidates and Measures.

Might as well concentrate on the positives. The Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) endorsed candidates and measures won Humboldt County elections by significant margins even though they were out spent by over $100,000 in aggregate by the opponents. The HCDCC "boots on the ground" electioneering was very successful this election. Even Hillary won huge in our generally Liberal county.

Congrats to Austin Allison as newly elected Councilman  for the City of Eureka, and to re-elected Arcata city Council-members Mike Winkler and Susan Ornelas. Also congrats to Measure "P" and Measure "V".

Nasty Presidential Election nothing new. Check out 1800!

The election for President in 1800 between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson was an emotional and hard-fought campaign. Each side believed that victory by the other would ruin the nation.

Federalists attacked Jefferson as an un-Christian deist whose sympathy for the French Revolution would bring similar bloodshed and chaos to the United States. On the other side, the Democratic-Republicans denounced the strong centralization of federal power under Adams's presidency. Republicans' specifically objected to the expansion of the U.S. army and navy, the attack on individual rights in the Alien and Sedition Acts, and new taxes and deficit spending used to support broadened federal action.

Overall, the Federalists wanted strong federal authority to restrain the excesses of popular majorities, while the Democratic-Republicans wanted to reduce national authority so that the people could rule more directly through state governments.

The election's outcome brought a dramatic victory for Democratic-Republicans who swept both houses of Congress, including a decisive 65 to 39 majority in the House of Representatives. The presidential decision in the electoral college was somewhat closer, but the most intriguing aspect of the presidential vote stemmed from an outdated Constitutional provision whereby the Republican candidates for president and vice president actually ended up tied with one another.

Votes for President and Vice President were not listed on separate ballots. Although

During the election of 1800, Federalists cast Thomas Jefferson as an infidel because of his strict advocacy for the separation of Church and State.

Adams ran as Jefferson's main opponent, running mates Jefferson and AARON BURR received the same number of electoral votes. The election was decided in the House of Representatives where each state wielded a single vote.

Interestingly, the old Federalist Congress would make the decision, since the newly elected Republicans had not yet taken office. Most Federalists preferred Burr, and, once again, Alexander Hamilton shaped an unpredictable outcome. After numerous blocked ballots, Hamilton helped to secure the presidency for Jefferson, the man he felt was the lesser of two evils. Ten state delegations voted for Jefferson, 4 supported Burr, and 2 made no choice.

One might be tempted to see the opposing sides in 1800 as a repeat of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist divisions during the ratification debates of 1788-1789. The core groups supporting each side paralleled the earlier division. Merchants and manufacturers were still leading Federalists, while states' rights advocates filled the Republican ranks just as they had the earlier Anti-Federalists.

Support for Thomas Jefferson throughout the entire Western frontier assured his victory over John Adams in the presidential election 1800.

The political cartoon above has the "Eye of God" directing the American Eagle to snatch the Constitution from Thomas Jefferson hands. Jefferson is kneeling at an alter to "Gallic (French) Despotism." The "Mazzei" letter in Jefferson's right hand where he refers to George Washington as "Monarchical." Jefferson was thought to be playing both sides of the fence. 

North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA) Operator reports update!

The Operator for Northwestern Pacific Corporation (NWPco) is represented by former Congressman Doug Bosco and he had some interesting updates on freight news for the NCRA rail. Doug said there was escalating interest in goods movement and announced that they were close to an agreement with Innovative Molding caps. (They make plastic caps for many products.) There would be the need for a rail spur to the factory near Rohnert Park at the cost of $600,000. Of that expense SMART is liable to $400,000 per an agreement for rights for rail use, but SMART might fight that in the end.

Mendocino Forest Product wants to use the rail for freight. They feel it could be cost effective if they could trans-load in Windsor or Petaluma. Humboldt Redwood would be a future target. “Willits is our dream for trans-loading,” Doug said, noting that was not a pipe dream.  

I met the Cannabis Boogeyman at NCRA Meeting!

At the latest North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA) meeting held 10/12/16 in Healdsburg I was introduced to Paul Trouette, the CEO of Lear Asset Management. (I am one of the 9 Directors for the NCRA.) This outfit is the absolute nightmare of trespass cannabis growers all over Northern California. They use helicopters and 20 paramilitary staff to eradicate or destroy illegal cannabis farms and arrest grow “Operatives.” 

   

Lear is expanding their services to include dealing with chromic trespassing of NCRA right away properties and is creating a Business Improvement Association (BIA) for about 542 property owners along the NCRA corridor between Willits and Arcata. Mr. Trouette reported that Lear has only eradicated about 140 plants along the NCRA properties and was focused more on trespassers such as Foreign Nationalists who are on the North Coast on a short time basis camping illegally. Can you say “Trimmigrants?”  

Lear is a “Private Security Contractor” with working ties with pretty much all law enforcement agencies in Northern California. 

Interesting meeting to say the least.

What happened to adult league basketball?

When I started out working in the Louisiana Pacific (LP) Sawmill in the 70's, I was asked to come out play in the mill basketball league on Saturdays. It was full of teams from Simpson, LP, Schmidbauer and other businesses related to forest product. There were also basketball leagues in Scotia, Fortuna, Eureka, Arcata, Blue Lake and Korbel. (Not to mention HSU) Lois Busey ran the LP league until the 80's. Then the city of Eureka decided to do a fall league for just 30 and over players. That left a hole for players under 30, so I ran the LP Fall Ball open league. We always seemed to be full and had spirited basketball for years. At one time I played in the Arcata, Eureka Rec and Church Leagues, Korbel, Samoa and tournaments to boot. Now you are limited to just Eureka. There are only 7 teams. About 70 players participating. I had more than that in the Samoa LP league! I know we have more people in the county now than in the 80's and 90's. Is adult recreation just not popular or is the opportunity lacking?

NCRA makes SF Chronicle.

North Coast Rail Authority is in the news for storing fuel on tracks. Well within their rights and done all over the east bay. It is more of a territorial war between SMART and the NCRA.

Love this quote, “The only authority (of SMART) is to dispatch the trains … to tell us whether or not the coast is clear,” said Mitch Stogner, executive director of the North Coast Railroad Authority. “It is not the freight police.”

Humboldt County Democrats support Measure "V" meet this Wednesday Sept. 14th.

The Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) recently endorsed Measure V for fair fees for Mobile homes. A Resolution in support of Measure P creating a True Ward system for Eureka will be considered for endorsement at the next HCDCC General meeting on September 14^th at 7pm at their headquarters at 129 5^th St. in Eureka. Endorsement for candidates of Eureka and Arcata City Councils will also be on the agenda. All Democrats are welcomed to attend.  Check out HCDCC website for more information.  

North Coast Rail Authority comes to Humboldt Bay Harbor!

The North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA)will be meeting this Wednesday September 14th at Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District headquarters at 601 Startare Drive on Woodley Island, Eureka. The meeting starts a 10:30am and all of the public is welcome. The NCRA usually meets at the Humboldt County Courthouse, but that was not available.

A couple of items of Humboldt significant to Humboldt will be:

 E. DISCUSSION

1. Hum Bud Collective, Jennifer Finch– Possible Purchase and/or Lease Agreement for Development of Blue Lake Property on Glendale Drive

2. Humboldt Health & Human Services, Harriet Hill- Arcata Homeless Site Security Plan

Jimmy Walker best stock car driver ever at Redwood Acres? How about Fergie?

I was having breakfast the other day with a couple of local stock car aficionados. The discussion came up about the best drivers all time that races at Redwood Acres. It is a slam dunk that Jimmy Walker was the best and most popular. Other names thrown out there were Don Hood and Hershel McGriff form out of town.

My personal favorite was Fergie Ferguson as he lived down the Marsh road in Myrtletown and his stepson Rick was my best friend growing up. We would spend lots of time watching Ferg work on his #21 car. He used to pull his 283 Chevy motor out of his work truck on weekends to put into his 57 Chevy to race on Saturdays. Were talking about late 60's and early 70's. Those were the days........

Former Machine Room Pulp Mill workers meet up.

Ten of us former Machine Room pulp mill workers met at Toni's in Arcata recently. We had over 320 years of working experience at the mill combined. I was the youngest there at 59. They were excited to hear about the new renovations and the cleanup work ongoing at the pulp mill. We were able to catch up on families and life also. It was kind of cathartic and I was glad I could answer questions about the Environmental Protection Agencies involvement and the garnering of New Market Tax Credit monies to refurbish the Warehouse and buildings with new siding, windows, doors and a roof. Hopefully the new iteration of the Pulp Mill site will create as many jobs as it did in its former life and the Harbor District will continue on it's march to have a "clean" piece of property.

Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) looking for new members

Now that the June 7 election results have been certified it is time to reorganize the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC).  There will swear-in elected Members, elect new Officers (Chair, Vice-Chair, Vice-Treasurer, Secretary) and take appointments to fill vacancies in Districts that lack a full compliment of Members.  The Standing Committees (Community Outreach, Ways and Means, Campaign Services, Operations, Communication and Education) will also reorganize and elect new Chairs.

There should be over a dozen openings for new members. Now is a good time for interested Democrats to get involved at the base level of the election process. This organization is also the gateway for future candidates to get experience on "boots on the ground" campaign organizing. 

Member and Associate dues for the 2016-2017 year (July 2016-June 2017) are now payable.  Members $30.00, Associates $15.00.

Here is the Agenda for our July 13 meeting.  The HCDCC meet at 129 Fifth Street in Eureka.   Meeting begins at 7:00PM.  

             Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee

                                         General Meeting Agenda                                                      

                                           July 13, 2016

I.                Call the meeting to order at 7:00 PM, explain Parliamentary Procedure.

II.               Introduction of Visitors and Guests. 

III.              Roll call of Members.

                            
IV.             Minutes and Secretary’s report:

                        Approve June 8, 2016 minutes.   

                        
V.              Treasurer’s Report.

VI.             Announcements from Members/Associates. 

                       

VII.           Chair’s/Executive Board Report:

                         Chair swears-in elected Members;

                         Chair calls for vote by acclamation and swears-in 4 Members;

                         Next a call for nominations and a vote on new Officers;

                         Then a call to nominate appointments for vacancies;

                         Finally the Standing Committees will self-reorganize.

VIII.          Elected Representatives Reports.  

 IX.            Nominations, Elections, Appointments:

                                 

  X.            Committee Reports/Action:

                         A.  Community Outreach and Voter Registration –Chair;

                         B.  Ways and Means – Chair;

                         C.  Campaign Services – Chair;

                         D.  Operations – Chair;

                         E.   Communication and Education – Chair;

                         F.   Ad-Hoc Website – Barbara Kennedy.

XI.             Old Business.

                         

XII.           New Business and Special Resolutions:

                          By-law revision to eliminate dues requirement for Ex-Officios.

XIII.          Adjourn.                              

East/West Train Feasibility grant awarded to Trinity County? Harbor District to help with matching funds?

At today's Humboldt Bay Harbor meeting a member of the Humboldt Bay Harbor Working Group announced that Trinity County was able to obtain a feasibility study grant for the East/West rail project from Cal Trans for $345,000. 1st District Harbor Commissioner Larry Doss asked for funds to be place-marked on this years Harbor District budget to help with either matching funds or other support costs. So $10,000 was earmarked unanimously by the Harbor District. Stay tuned.

It's tournament time!

Snow Leopards dominate again! Samoasoftball .833 OB%.

The Snow Leopards from McKinleyville won the Mad River Softball Association Spring League Tournament, beating Carl Johnson's. The Lagers from McKinleyville took 3rd and Team Monster took 4th. My team, "The Greatest Show On Dirt" tied for 5th with the Jambalaya "Po" Boys of Arcata.

I didn't make an out until our 4th game. Was on base 10-12. I am stoked and ready for summer league.

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services helping promote.

Memorial Day. Samoasoftball burgled for 8 time in year!

I am sure my Father James, and my brothers James, Roy and Mike didn't think they were serving their country  in World War II, Korea and Vietnam to have tweakers  break into my property in Samoa "8" times in less than a year!

This time they cut the lock but Robin fount it discarded nearby. Nothing taken. Slim pickings after that many times broke into. Looks like 3 others were also broken into next to mine.  

Jimmy Smith RIP.

Former Harbor District Commissioner and 1st District Supervisor Jimmy Smith passed away May 23rd. Jimmy was one of those guys that you always felt good after talking to him. Not too many people like that. He will be greatly missed.

Hair today, gone tomorrow.

Sent this batch off to Locks of love. Thought my last donation would be my final, but new crop took a little over a year.

Got alot of sun today at the Arcata Community Center. I was there for 8 hours for softball madness. Weather absolutely gorgeous and lots of great games! 

My Slumoa garage broke into for 4th time this year. With a twist!

Someone broke into my garage in Samoa and left remodel crap and some tires! Why can't people just leave other peoples property alone! Got to go buy new lock once again. 4 times in less than a year is excessive to say the least.

North Coast Rail Authority: "Onto Cloverdale and beyond!"

Escrow closed and the North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA) was 3.65 million dollars richer...........until other bills are paid. But at least some good news for the agency. North Western Pacific Co (NWPco) expressed their desire to partner up and expand rail service as soon as possible to Cloverdale and then Willits!

Homeless Conundrum not just Humboldt. Read SF piece.

Heather Knight continues the SF Chronicles many stories and issues with the homeless. Sounds very familiar, doesn't it? I really don't have the answer to the problem and I haven't heard of any great solutions.

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services needs new board members!

Humboldt Domestic Violence Services is in need of new board members. Our next meeting is this Wednesday at 5:30pm at 520 E st. at the Prosperity Center in Eureka. A community is only as strong as its volunteers at every level. Maybe this is a good fit for you? Come check us out.  

6th Slumoa burglary of the year 2016 for Samoasoftball.

I only turned in one of the claims to the Humboldt Sheriffs office. I was treated like I was the perpetrator instead of the victim. I had the thieves name and contacts who also tried identity theft on my personal accounts. I was shuffled around and I just gave up. Since then I have had 2 more break ins of my garage and 2 property thefts of covered storage area next to my cars. Yesterday I discovered that the jointly shared shed with my neighbor, (which was a heroin den and living quarter to a known drug dealer and person charged with murder) was used to break into my side of the shed from the attic and they ripped off my gas tanks and made a mess of the room. We didn't notice since the lock on the outside was not messed with. (They left my bats, huge BBQ, big lawn mower and other stuff behind since that would have been a huge challenge going through the attic.) So I see that Humboldt County has a high rate of theft. I wonder how many are like me and have only reported 1 out of 6 out of frustration with the process?  

Senior Softball host event at Arcata Playhouse!

King Salmon Fishermen's Channel Dredge Pilot Project. Residents Unite!

Over 50 people showed up to the King Salmon Fishermen’s Channel Beneficial Reuse Dredging Pilot Project open forum tonight at the Woodley Island conference room. Not much elbow room.  Pacific Gas and Electric representatives Kris Vardas and Loren Sharp were present as were Humboldt Bay Harbor 1^st Division Commissioner Larry Doss, Deputy Director Adam Wagshcal and Executive Director Jack Crider.

Mr. Vardas outlined the scope of the project and some history. In 1952 PG & E purchased the property. They last dredged the Fishermen’s channel in 1982 and removed 21,000 cubic yards of material. They are paying for the permitting process to allow the Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation and Conservation District to dredge the Fishermen’s Channel.  They did sampling of the channel in 2013 and realized that the Fishermen’s channel was basically not accessible.  The Regional Water Board focused on allowing dredge spoils on the King Salmon spit that was created with spoils. The spit is considered Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area (ESHA) and the California Coastal Commission (CCC) would not approve the project dredge spoils in that location.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USF&WS) came up with a Dredge Recycle Identity Plan that produced 30 soil samples from 3 general areas in the channel for a total of 90 samples that measured toxicity levels and predicted affects to animals and organisms in the channel.  The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB) granted permission on Dec. 2^nd 2015 for the project to move forward with mitigation measures for Eel Grass and longfin smelt. Dredging will be done from August 1^st to October 15^th 2016. Other agencies that were part of this process were the County of Humboldt, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Humboldt Bay Harbor, US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), North Coast Rail Authority (NCRA) and other regulatory agencies.

The project itself will remove 5,000 cubic yards of material from the King Salmon Fishermen’s channel and pump the spoils to White Slough near College of the Redwoods, approximately 2 ½ miles from the dredge area. (The white slough area is in need of 100,000 cubic yards of material for buildup of that area. The Harbor District needs to mitigate 1.2 acres of Eel Grass by removing 6,000 cubic yards of material in the form of dilapidated pilings and replanting and monitoring replaced Eel Grass for 5 years. (Even though Humboldt Bay has the most dense Eel Grass population of any bay in California, by many times.)

Some of the residents in attendance were not happy with PG&E’s agreement with the Harbor District and felt the residents should have received PG&E’s 2 million dollar “gift” to the Harbor District for taking on 30 acres of responsibility. They also argued that PG&E promised the residents that they would dredge the private owned channel fingers. Mr. Sharp said that he tried to do just that, but PG&E legal counsel said they could not do a public benefit gift to PG&E rate payers. Harbor Commissioner Larry Doss suggested the 88 King Salmon home owners create an association to have a voice in the process. They would need to organize and come to solutions for mitigating 3 acres of Eel Grass in the channel fingers, and apply for grants to help pay for the dredging process for the home owners. (This was also suggested 3 years ago with no success to the residents. This time multiple residents stepped forward to help organize. “United we Bargain, Divided we beg!”) 

1^st District County Supervisor Rex Bohn voiced his opinion that there should be one fluid motion of including the resident owned finger dredge spoils to the process and sending 10,000 cubic yards to White Slough while the pipe line is available. He felt the timing could work to pressure the multiple agencies working on the project now.

There were some gripes from the public but also many solution oriented suggestions and it was good to see the King Salmon community rise to the occasion. This was a positive process overall.       

R.I.P. Charles Ollivier

A big loss. The Frenchman. Loved life, cooking, fast German cars, his family, and Humboldt Bay, the harbor and the port. So many good stories about life as a longshoreman, and in coming to Humboldt County in general.

◼ Charles Louis Bernard Ollivier August 20, 1936 - February 16, 2016

CHARLES LOUIS BERNARD OLLIVIER August 20, 1936 - February 16, 2016

Charles Ollivier died suddenly at home in McKinleyville with his wife and son at his side.

Born in Agen, France, he was the second of three children to Marie Jean Guibert Ollivier and Eloi Desiree Ollivier. Charles' family moved from France to the U.S.A. in 1951 when he was 14 years of age.

He graduated with a "Certificat d'Etudes Primaires Elementaires' from the Academie de Grenoble, Department Des Hautes-Alpes in 1950, and received a diploma from Arcata High School in 1954. He attended Humboldt State University.

Charles brought his love of everything French with him and was glad to share it with anyone anywhere.

Charles worked in local mills, Humboldt Plywood, Roddiscraft, Weyerhauser, and Simpson Lumber Company before proudly becoming a member of the International Longshoremen & Warehousemans Union Local 14. He worked as a longshoreman for 35 years before retiring in 2002. He spent 16 terms as Union President, and also served many times on the Labor Relations Committee as Chairman, Caucus Convention Delegate and on the California Small Ports Committee. He was proud of being a labor organizer and union supporter. With a love for meeting people and his interest in real estate, he completed and received his Certificate of Completion from Anthony Schools in 1971 and worked in several local offices as a Realtor while working as a longshoreman.

He was an elected 5th District Commissioner for 16 years on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation, and Conservation District, serving on numerous committees and with much pride on the Pilotage Committee. He was appointed to the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA) Board of Directors. Appointed by Congressman Hamburg, Charles served on President Clinton's Forest Conference in Portland, Oregon on April 17, 1993. Certificate of Special Recognition from the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors for five years of outstanding service on the Board of the North Coast Railroad Authority and for 16 years of exceptional public service as the 5th Division Commissioner on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District Board was awarded to Charles on August 18, 2009. His service on non-profit boards, Lions Club, and coaching sport teams are too numerous to list.

The enthusiasm and interests in his family and his community were primary in his life. He also thoroughly enjoyed cooking. He collected an impressive Jazz music library, and had an awesome singing voice, often being mistaken as Tony Bennett or another Hollywood celebrity. He enjoyed history, economics, geography and mathematics, and people. He loved dressing well.

He is survived by his partner, wife, and best friend of over 40 years, Carol Ollivier. He is also survived by his beloved sister Helene Black and brother Daniel (Jayne) Ollivier, and his much beloved children: Philip Ollivier (Denise Payne), Jeanine Ollivier Rollins (David), Marc Ollivier (YuShu), Carol's son Sean Sullivan; grandchildren: Jenn Ollivier, Brian Ollivier, Graham Payne, Sean Patrick Sullivan (Janelle Fauquet) and Maxx (Michelle) Sullivan; great grandsons Vincent Ostenberg and Patrick James (PJ) Sullivan; niece and nephew Cathie Hatfield (Matthew Buckley), and Robert Black (Michelle Palermo) and great niece Desiree Hatfield Buckley and Sophie Palermo Black; sister-in-Law Beverly Bennett, and brothers-in-Law Kenneth (Fumiko) Keltner and James Keltner. There are many, many other wonderful nieces and nephews, especially great grand niece Megan Harrison Evenson. Charles was preceded in death by his parents and stepson Patrick Sullivan.

Mass for Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 23rd at St. Bernard's Church, 6th & H Street, Eureka. Family and friends may attend the burial/interment at 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Greenwood Cemetery, 1757 J Street, Arcata. Please sign the guestbook at www.times-standard.com under obituaries.

Obama care sucks! We need single payer health! Turbo tax story.

A friend of mine bought a Turbotax program but had one small problem. He did not have a computer. So he called me up and asked me to do his taxes. (I personally use John Fullerton to do mine.) My buddy is a widow made less than $30,000 last year. When it came to claim his insurance I was surprised to find out he did not have any. He had me claim in the form he could not afford it. That cost him a $352 penalty! Over 50 years of age and can't afford insurance and he has to pay over 1% of his yearly wages! That is just wrong and sick! We need single-payer health. Obama careless!

North Coast Rail Authority;Cash Poor, Land Rich. Rail With Trail Update.

Interesting North Coast Rail Authority meeting this last week.

At one point in the meeting NCRA Counsel Christopher Neary proclaimed the NCRA could be cash broke within 30 to 90 days. He mentioned not being paid and was worried. The NCRA is currently in the middle of a land sale in Ukiah that would solve a few of our financial issues. Some anticipated payments from North Western Pacific Co. might bail us out for the short term. The NCRA also has more property that might be for sale in the near future.

Arcata City Engineer's Doby Class and Netra Khatri gave a presentation of Phase 2 of the Rail with Trail project, or now known as, "Humboldt Bay Trail North." Phase 1 from Sunset to Highway 255 is complete. All lit and being used! Our action item was for the NCRA to come to a licensing agreement with the City of Arcata to continue the trail from Highway 255 to the Barcut area. (About 3 miles total of trail and rail.) After much discussion and back and forth the NCRA Directors voted yes. 8-0 vote.

The NCRA has a contractor named Parallel Infrastructure that identifies property right a way crossings for the NCRA and bills property owners accordingly. We were voting after the fact of the contractor changing fees without the NCRA directors input. So were officially using the Resolution process to officially adopt the new fee schedule. There were land owners who were not happy with the raises and showed up with Attorney Richard Hicks representing their interests. After much discussion the Directors voted 6-2 to accept the changes, with the 2 Mendocino Directors voting against.    

Umpires report! $67 per game to experienced Umps.

Norcal High School Umpires will have a organizational meeting February 8th at 6pm at the Prosperity Center at 520 E St in Eureka. $62 a varsity game for 1st year umps. Come on out if you are interested!

Musings on Sports

With baseball right around the corner, basketball near the All Star break and the Super bowl 50 this weekend, let me share:

I hope the Giants keep Tim Lincecum  is kept for the bullpen.  Hopeful lineup order: 1. Span 2. Panik 3. Posey  4. Belt 5. Pence 6. Crawford 7. Duffy 8. Pagan. The starting pitching should be great! I hope the A’s stay competitive all year long.

The Warriors are just totally ridiculous. 44-4? Would not have predicted that. Stephen Curry MVP? More like Draymond Green. But if Klay Thompson keeps on the streak he has been on, look out! LeBron James needs to accept his role in the Firing of Blatt. His likability is fading fast.

Is football still going? I am hoping Payton gets another ring for his great goodbye. Cam Newton looks like he will win a few himself. Let him do it next year. I hope Chip Kelly lights a fire under Kaepernick and the Niners fix the offensive line. 

Humboldt Bay needs “interim use” zoning for economic development

Local jobs and public revenues are being lost due to outdated coastal zoning designations that prevent the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation & Conservation District from leasing its property and providing economic development opportunities for our community. The Harbor District and our leasing agent have turned away many prospective tenants ranging from manufacturers to wholesale distributors because of this restriction on land use.

Other private and public coastal property owners in the City of Eureka and in the county are being impacted as well. We can’t speak for them, but we know that the Harbor District is losing out on rental income needed to support the existing infrastructure because of this barrier; and just as importantly, local residents are losing out on potential jobs.

We’re also alarmed at the declining state of many industrial buildings around Humboldt Bay as they sit vacant. Without tenants to use and maintain them, these important industrial assets, like the buildings, infrastructure and docks at former pulp mills, are deteriorating. These buildings and their associated electric, water, sewer and road infrastructure need to be utilized immediately or they risk becoming degraded to the point where they cannot be used at all.

Here’s the problem. The Harbor District’s 140-plus acres of property on the Samoa Peninsula are designated “coastal-dependent industrial” (CDI) in the Humboldt Bay Area Plan. CDI properties can only be used by tenants that directly require access to the bay, such as fishing, aquaculture, shipping, fuel terminals and facilities for offshore oil rigs.

Even uses most would consider CDI compliant such as wood-products manufacturers by the bay (i.e. pulp and lumber mills) are currently determined to be non-compliant and thus cannot be sited on CDI land.  One local company that manufactures posts for vineyards wanted to lease from us. Since they only ship by truck, they didn’t qualify—even though they hope to increase their sales enough to ship by sea in the future.

The district supports the goal and intentions behind preserving CDI zoning—to maintain essential coastal industrial land for shipping and other uses that require access to the sea. One day, some new type of business we can barely imagine now—perhaps wave energy generators—will need some of this land, and we want much of it to remain available for the future.

With over 1,300 acres of CDI-designated land on Humboldt Bay (compared to 950 acres for the Port of Oakland), and only about four percent or 50 acres in permitted use areas, we have a huge surplus of land reserved for coastal-dependent uses. The City of Eureka recently had an independent market study done which indicated that less than 10 percent (19 acres) of CDI-designated land in the city would be needed for coastal-dependent uses in the next 20 years!

Humboldt County—which has zoning jurisdiction over the Harbor District’s property—is now evaluating future needs for CDI land, and the next update of the local coastal plan will likely include proposals to change CDI designations on many parcels to more general commercial and industrial zoning.

Based on what we have seen, that process will likely take years.

That is why the district is seeking the ability to lease some of our CDI land now, especially our warehouse and shop spaces, to a wider range of industrial or commercial tenants on an “interim use” basis. We’re advocating for interim use approval by the County until the updated local coastal plan is amended and certified by the Coastal Commission.

This will allow us to rent to a broad range of industrial/manufacturing businesses. If a coastal-dependent tenant came along later, we’d move the existing tenant to another site. Coastal-dependent uses will always have priority, and lease terms will reflect this.

The district has been and continues to be committed to making sure that enough coastal industrial land remains available for businesses or other entities that need access to the sea. Given the large amount of coastal industrial land, buildings, docks and other facilities that are vacant—and have been for years—we think that granting interim use status to some of this property is not only prudent, but necessary, for job creation and to avert losing these assets’ potential for future CDI use.

Portable Toilets return to Palco Marsh.

The Times Standard did a good story on the portable toilets. Not a solution but a stop gap relief until the new trail with permanent toilets built and new solutions are created for the housepoor issue is addressed.

Porta Pottie revisited at tomorrows 1/14/16 Harbor Meeting. 7pm. Woodley Island Marina.

The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District board of Commissioners will re-visit portable toilets to be placed near camping areas around the bay. We will also be discussing illegal camping around the bay. Should be a fun one!

New Humboldt County Semi Pro Soccer Team. Welcome Emerald FC!

I am helping start a new non-profit semi professional soccer team, Emerald FC. The team will start as an under 23 male tournament team and may expand to a women under 23 program soon. The organization itself will promote higher end lower level youth soccer through a new league and camps in Humboldt. If you are interested in getting involved let me know or contact head coach Nathaniel Rivera at 707-499-1486.