It's as though eight years in, the 21st century has finally begun. Of course we need sustainable energy. Of course we need an equitable tax policy. Of course we need a logical model for health care. And transportation, and the environment, and education, and agriculture, and the economy. Of course. All the pent-up obsolescence of the old ways is finally collapsing, and the more changey things get, the more popular our new president becomes. That change may include the demise of Reefer Madness as we know it, and we know it all too well in Arcata. [continues 564 words]
CITY HALL - With opportunities narrowing for influencing the City's draft standards for medical marijuana, the various stakeholders are becoming more assertive and their rhetoric sharpening. Last week the Planning Commission (Planco) held its next-to-last meeting on the subject, and its final package of standards will likely be approved Aug. 26 and then sent up to the City Council for final adjustments and approval. At last week's meeting, some neighborhood activists found the new draft standards too liberal and asked for further restrictions, though some dispensary operators lobbied for loosening of the looming laws. The general upshot of the meeting was an overall tightening of the regs. [continues 1388 words]
ARCATA - With new local and state guidelines in the works and looming over Arcata's out-of-control cannabis scene, the federal government is here to help as well. On Tuesday, July 15, Arcata hosted Scott Burns, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, who is the Bush Administration's second-in-command for drug regulation. After participating in marijuana raids in Eureka and points south and meeting with county officials, Burns traveled to what has apparently come to be known as America's grow house capitol, the City of Arcata. [continues 698 words]
CITY HALL - The Planning Commission again talked pot last week, taking comment and discussing the maturing body of land use standards proposed by staff to help bring order to Arcata's largely unregulated cannabis scene. Now, a new wild card has popped up in the form of an announcement expected this week from the California Attorney General's Office. Indications are that new guidelines for cannabis dispensaries may render moot some of the policy the Planco has been developing, not to mention undermine the stated wishes of some of Arcata's cannabis outlets. [continues 440 words]
ARCATA - The ways that marijuana grow houses suck the life out of neighborhoods are well documented. What's not readily apparent is the amount of electricity they're sucking out of the electrical grid, or the impacts that's having on other utility customers and the environment. As with other public and private institutions affected by Arcata's exploding marijuana industry - realtors, landlords, the fire department, police and the City - the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) has been caught unawares by the phenomenon and is behind the curve in addressing it. [continues 839 words]
COMMUNITY CENTER - The stage was set for a rough meeting last week at the Community Center, as the City Council held a long-overdue study session on medical marijuana dispensaries. Almost miraculously, that didn't happen. Though official decisions aren't taken at study sessions, the council, which has been divided regarding commercial cannabis, nonetheless achieved a rough consensus on dispensary issues. By meeting's end, councilmembers, staff, clinicians and members of the public were chatting amicably amid a palpable sense of progress, if not complete resolution. [continues 775 words]
Humboldt State University Economics Professor Erick Eschker, who also chairs the Economics Department, created a major kerfuffle with a report that has housing prices plummeting downward as much as 40 percent. Titled "It's A National Housing Market," the piece set off a quick reaction from local realtors, who took out full-page ads in both Eureka dailies that said, in essence, that the lowered housing prices make this a great time to buy. Eschker arrived at his conclusion after noting the historical bond between rental costs and housing prices, which have diverged near-exponentially since around 2003. Realtors, accustomed to the steady upward march of home prices (and commissions) were quick to pooh-pooh the relationship and thus the prediction, but other studies since the October report have arrived at similar conclusions using entirely different criteria. [continues 415 words]
As of June 30, the Committee to Recall Paul Gallegos raised $26,621 from 16 donors. Most of the donors are in timber and trucking (see list, page 4). The committee spent $8,694.64, leaving a $17,926.36 balance. Most of the expenditures - all but $67.55 - went to Arcata-based MTC Associates, Inc., the advertising agency managing the recall effort's publicity. No breakdown of MTC's disbursements from that sum were listed. The North Coast Inn, where a meeting was held, got $53.75, and Humboldt Bank was paid $13.70 for checks. [continues 1052 words]
