Housing & Development · Humboldt County
The Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District is holding two scoping meetings for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal Project: Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Eureka Veterans Memorial Hall (1018 H Street) and Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Samoa Cookhouse (908 Vance Avenue, Samoa Peninsula). A public comment period runs through Dec. 7 at 5 p.m., with input feeding into a Draft Environmental Impact Report expected as early as spring 2027. The project proposes dredging approximately 6 million cubic yards, driving 5,000 steel pipes, importing roughly one million cubic yards of fill, and constructing a 1.2-mile stone wall along the bay. Humboldt Waterkeeper is urging residents to attend meetings in person or via Zoom and to submit written comments by the Dec. 7 deadline.
Housing & Development · Eureka, CA
The California Highway Patrol has released a Notice of Preparation for CEQA review of its planned regional headquarters at the former Jacobs Middle School campus, 674 Allard Avenue in Eureka's Highland Park neighborhood. The proposed facility would house approximately 80 employees and include office buildings, vehicle parking, a fuel island, an auto shop, equipment storage, and a 148-foot radio antenna tower. A virtual public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m., with Meeting ID 884 4788 3442 and passcode 955386. Written comments on the project are due by Thursday, Dec. 3, and can be mailed to a Department of General Services environmental planner in West Sacramento or emailed to environmental@dgs.ca.gov.
Local Politics · Humboldt County
Attorneys for Humboldt County and three current or former officials filed a motion Tuesday in U.S. District Court asking Judge Noël Wise to dismiss all six claims in Arcata cattle rancher Raymond Christie's amended civil rights lawsuit. Christie alleges that former Livestock Deputy Travis Mendes fabricated evidence to secure his 2018 arrest and prosecution for animal abuse, and that Sheriff William Honsal, former Deputy DA Adrian Kamada, and the county enabled selective enforcement. The county counters that claims are barred by California's two-year statute of limitations, that Christie lacks a favorable termination under state law, and that he fails to allege injuries caused by county policy rather than individual rule-breaking. A hearing on the dismissal motion is set for Feb. 10, 2027.
Crime · Arcata, CA
Family, friends, and neighbors gathered on Saturday along Trail #5 in the Arcata Community Forest to memorialize Bill Spenceley, a 75-year-old longtime Humboldt County resident who was found brutally attacked in the forest earlier this year and died last month. Spenceley had worked for 34 years at the Humboldt Community Access & Resource Center, helping people with developmental disabilities live independently, before his recent retirement. Suspect Shawn Kolpak pleaded not guilty; he was out on pretrial release at the time of the attack after being charged in a separate alleged assault involving a two-pound exercise weight just months prior. The next court date is set for January. Spenceley's sister Christine Peter said she plans to raise funds through a GoFundMe to hire a lobbyist addressing the pretrial release of people accused of violent offenses.
