TS - The Top Dozen stories of 2005

The Top Dozen stories of 2005
The Times-Standard
12/30/2005 04:21:21 AM

June 15 -- Eureka Inn is sold after 17 months on the market, to Redding-based businessman Gary Anthis.

April 26 -- The Pacific Lumber Co. announces plans to shut down its Fortuna Mill, giving 101 employees a 60-day notice.

June 3 -- The Humboldt Taxpayers' League serves the city of Eureka with a lawsuit that seeks to stop two waterfront development projects, claiming the developers have a conflict of interest.

June 15 -- Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Richard L. Freeborn of Lake County throws out a District Attorney's fraud suit against Pacific Lumber Co., saying the firm was immune during Headwaters lobbying.

June 25 -- Humboldt County Superior Court Judge John T. Feeney dismisses the county's case against Fortuna Councilwoman Debi August.

June 30 -- Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen says he will leave his position and relocate to Mendocino County.

April 6 -- Gas prices reach $3 a gallon in Eureka. Fifth District Supervisor Jill Geist was appalled by the hike and said: "This is absolutely outrageous."

April 25 -- The Eureka/Arcata Airport in McKinleyville launches new flight service to Los Angeles.

June 6 -- Former grand jury forewoman Judith Schmidt says she was told by current forewoman Darlene Marlow to destroy material related to the Debi August misconduct trial.

Jan. 20 -- Samoa pulp mill sold to Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing of Hong Kong.

June 14 -- Parts of Trinidad and Crescent City are evacuated after a large earthquake hits 91 miles off the North Coast. Tsunami warnings are issued up and down the West Coast. No tsunami results from quake.

Dec. 14 -- California Attorney General's Office says that Humboldt County political activist Richard Salzman committed a crime by sending out letters to the editor under assumed names, but that winning a conviction would be unlikely. The decision thus ended the case brought against Salzman by the Eureka Reporter in early September.

The other big stories of 2005

It was a year of suits and counter-suits, changes in the District Attorney's Office and political leadership and actions in and out of court surrounding the Pacific Lumber Co. The war in Iraq came home with returning soldiers and protests. Gas prices went through the roof, before abating somewhat.

Jan. 4 -- Roger Rodoni changes format to supervisors' meetings, moving public comment to the afternoon. Two weeks later, the Arcata City Council moves public comment to the beginning of its meetings. It later moves the comment period back to the end.

Jan. 5 -- U. S. Rep. Mike Thompson appointed to Ways and Means Committee, pledges to fight against President Bush's attempt to privatize Social Security.

Jan. 7 -- Eureka Inn in escrow.

Jan. 10 -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveils $111.7 billion budget, says he's working on proposed reforms to fix the system. Humboldt County Supervisor Jimmy Smith calls it "insulting. Period."

Jan. 11 -- Superior Court Judge Marilyn Miles rules in favor of Don Davenport, a property owner who sued the city arguing that it improperly issued permits for a veterans center at the Fireside Inn.

Jan. 12 -- Stockton Pacific Enterprises announces it is shutting its Samoa pulp mill a few days earlier than it had planned, following a water main burst. The Chinese company Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing is in negotiations with the Association of Pulp and Paper Workers Union Local 49.

Jan. 12 -- Eureka City Schools board discusses rising costs that mean the district may be able to do less bond work than had been hoped. The district states it plans to tear down and rebuild the Eureka High School gymnasium and rebuild rather than renovate the existing building.

Jan. 13 -- Police investigating a month-long rash of vandalism at Temple Beth-El Synagogue.

Jan. 13 --Lori Metheny elected chairwoman of the Humboldt County Republican Party, taking over from Mike Harvey.

Jan. 13 -- Humboldt County Superintendent Garry Eagles, College of the Redwoods President Casey Crabill and Humboldt State University President Rollin Richmond announce an endeavor encouraging more Humboldt County youth to go on to college.

Jan. 18 -- Residents complain to the supervisors about planned fencing to protect snowy plovers.

Jan. 19 -- Association of Pulp and Paper Workers Union Local 49 ratifies a contract with Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing.

Jan. 19 -- Arcata attorney Steve Schectman joins the District Attorney's Office as a volunteer in the DA's civil fraud case against Pacific Lumber Co. Schectman, who ran for DA during the DA recall effort, has filed a number of private cases against Palco.

Jan. 20 -- Wetlands Water District and the Northern California Power Association announce that they won't take their attempt to block restoration of the Trinity River to serve Central California farms to the Supreme Court.

Jan. 20 -- Attorneys for Fortuna City Councilwoman Debi August file a motion to remove the District Attorney's Office from case against her, stating that the DA's office has a conflict of interest because Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen prosecuted the case against Pacific Lumber Co., which August had been critical of. August was herself accused of conflict of interest.

Jan. 20 -- The body of Rex Shinn, a Loleta man who went missing a year and a half earlier, is found near Honeydew.

Jan. 21 -- Gas prices rise nationwide by 5 cents a gallon -- to $1.87.

Jan. 24 -- The pulp mill pays its $280,000 debt to the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District in full.

Jan. 24 -- Six Rivers Planned Parenthood announces it has outgrown its space and plans to move to a new clinic.

Jan. 25 --The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors votes to send a letter on behalf of Pacific Lumber Co. urging the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to speed up its review of Palco's timber harvest plans.

Jan. 31 -- Developer Steve Strombeck withdraws his name from consideration as a Planning Commission member as some of the council was critical of Mayor Peter La Vallee's nominee, Bob Fasic. La Vallee's previous nominee, Xandra Manns, was rejected on a 3-2 vote. Fasic, too, is rejected on a 3-2 vote Feb. 1.

Feb. 1 -- The Fortuna City Council agrees to consider annexation of 39 acres in Rohnerville.

Feb. 2 -- Eureka City Schools board votes 4-1 to spend $14.7 million for improvements at four elementary schools.

Feb. 4 --Three months after being severely wounded in Iraq, McKinleyville veteran Alex Nicoll arrives home.

Feb. 7 -- Superior Court Judge John T. Feeney denies the motion to remove the DA's Office from the Debi August case.

Feb. 10 -- Fair Political Practices Commission rules that 2nd District Supervisor Roger Rodoni had no conflict of interest when he voted to deny District Attorney Paul Gallegos money to seek outside counsel in the Pacific Lumber Co. fraud case. Rodoni, who leases land from Palco, joined the majority 4-1 vote in March 2003.

Feb. 14 -- Charles Meeks found not guilty in the December 2003 car crash deaths of three teenage girls.

Feb. 16 -- Arcata City Council discusses resolution supporting troops who refuse to serve in Iraq and other "illegal wars." The council decides to put the matter to a town hall meeting.

Feb. 17 -- Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka, and Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, introduce Assembly Bill 654, the "California Compassionate Choices Act." The bill, which would allow terminally ill people to request prescriptions for lethal medication, put Berg in the national spotlight. It stalled in committee and is expected to be reintroduced this year. The act would legalize regulated assisted suicide.

Feb. 22 -- The Humboldt Business Council, a business-oriented PAC, is formed.

Feb. 22 -- The CHP announces its investigation into a Dec. 4 traffic accident that killed two young men found that Scott Robertson was driving "at an unsafe speed for conditions" when he swerved to avoid an abandoned boat trailer in the middle of Myrtle Avenue. No charges are filed. Community outrage high at trailer abandonment; no culprit ever identified.

Feb. 22 -- McKinleyville Community Services District announces that the McKinleyville branch of the Humboldt County Library is in jeopardy because of financial woes.

February 28 -- The former religious commune Lighthouse ranch to be acquired by state and federal governments.

March 1 -- County Board of Supervisors agreed to rope off areas of Clam Beach for snowy plover habitat protection.

March 2 -- Humboldt County Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen apologizes for 'castigating' journalist who broke the story on the cult and its leader Jim Jones of the People's Temple in Mendocino County. Stoen is a former high ranking aide to Jones.

March 3 -- Former Mayor Nancy Flemming announces she is considering a run for 4th District Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.

March 7 -- Mark Wheetley won a seat on the Arcata City Council in a landslide vote earning him 49.9 percent of the vote. Six candidates were vying for the position.

March 9 -- Humboldt County Board of Supervisors put off discussions to develop a local methadone clinic for heroin users, until more research could be done.

March 10 -- A jury found Douglas Lunsford found guilty of the first degree murder of Nathan Dannemiller and conspiracy to commit murder.

March 14 -- A town hall meeting over the Arcata City Council proposed resolution to support troops who refuse to fight in illegal wars draws diverse views. In a split vote, the Council passes a resolution against the war two months later.

March 15 -- USDA declares emergency for Humboldt County over loss of 70 percent of grazing land in 2003 and 2004.

March 16 -- Local Board of Equalization office to close June 30.

March 17 -- California Treasurer Phil Angelides brings his gubernatorial campaign to Eureka.

March 18 -- A Sacramento-based developer began the process of the development of a mall in Fortuna.

March 19 -- War protesters march a mock flag-draped coffin through the streets of Old Town to protest the war in Iraq.

March 22 -- PG&E seeks new energy source in their bid to retire its Humboldt Bay facilities.

March 23 -- North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District approved a 90-day variance allowing Evergreen pulp mill dust emission -- not smell -- leeway.

March 24 -- Medical association says no to Assemblywoman Patty Berg's bill to legalize assisted suicide.

March 28 -- Robert Mathew Church of Redway was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his stepbrother Zachary Stone.

March 29 -- KVIQ station sold to "aloof" Southern California businessman.

April 4 -- SBC announces plans to appeal a $1.4 million judgment in North Coast fiber-optic case.

April 5 -- Humboldt County's optical-scan voting system was announced to remain the primary voting technology, but at least one touch-screen machine would be in every polling location.

April 13 -- For the third time, the pepper spray trial began in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

April 16 -- Eureka Post Office problems irk workers; but officials say recent changes have improved service.

April 18 -- Rep. Mike Thompson breaks rank with Democratic Party and OKs bankruptcy law change.

April 21 -- Eureka City Schools removed from the federal improvement list.

April 23 -- St. Joseph Hospital unveils a plan for a $79 million expansion of its facility to begin construction in 2008.

April 27 -- War protesters briefly shut down recruitment offices, Arcata High students staged a walkout to attend the kickoff of a four-day anti-war teach in at Humboldt State University.

April 28 -- U.S. District Court found in favor of the pepper spray plaintiffs, jury awarded each plaintiff $1.

May 3 -- Maher Conrad Suarez is found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2003 drive-by shooting death of Justin Andersen in Eureka. In June he is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

May 4 -- The Arcata Chamber of Commerce opposes the proposed resolution by Mayor David Meserve calling for the city to oppose "federal lawlessness," saying it hurts business.

May 5 -- Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen says there are "absolutely" no grounds for the possible dismissal of the Debi August case.

May 6 -- Arcata City Council passes resolution opposing the Iraq war and "federal lawlessness."

May 7 -- Douglas Lunsford is sentenced to 25 years to life for murdering his former son-in-law Nathan Gray Dannemiller.

May 11 -- Tim Stoen announces he will step down as assistant district attorney, will be replaced by Wes Keat.

May 12 -- Teachers and their supporters hold a protest outside Humboldt County courthouse to protest cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

May 13 -- The city of Ferndale faces up to $193,000 in wastewater fines.

May 14 -- Humboldt State University students will be paying more for their education, with much of the increased fees going to support the Student Health Center.

May 17 -- Volunteers on a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary boat rescue Yurok tribal officer Thron McCovey, who was washed into the Klamath River after his boat failed to start.

May 18 -- District Attorney Paul Gallegos clarifies his office's possible move to lay off four positions in the already depleted Victim Witness program.

-- County Administrative Officer Loretta Nickolaus explains to Humboldt County Board of Supervisors that the state's revised budget is "neither good nor bad" for the county.

May 19 -- Humboldt County Superior Court Judge John T. Feeney dismisses three of four counts against Fortuna City Councilwoman Debi August.

May 20 -- State water quality counsel suggests nullifying a decision by the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to release Pacific Lumber Co. logging plans for Elk River and Freshwater.

May 21 -- A superior court judge awards a Eureka businessman $40,000 in attorney's fees months after he won two lawsuits protesting the city's plans for a veterans center.

May 24 -- Debi August trial begins, and Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen asks for a gag order.

June 1 -- Pacific Gas and Electric files a report concerning missing pieces of fuel rod, noting that the materials are either in a pool site or were shipped to a repository years ago. -- Trinidad Councilwoman Pat Morales resigns, citing stress.

June 2 -- Jesse James May is convicted in the 2001 murder of Tom Reynolds in the Fortuna home of Reynolds' girlfriend.

June 3 -- Arcata City Council members approve a 5.5 percent rate increase in wastewater rate bills to help upgrade the city's system.

June 4 -- Developer Glenn Goldan involved with the Eureka waterfront development projects says his reputation has been impugned.

June 7 -- Former grand jury forewoman Judith Schmidt says she was told by current forewoman Darlene Marlow to destroy material related to the Debi August misconduct trial.

-- Another developer, Dolores Vellutini, says comments from the Humboldt Taxpayers' League are akin to being "attacked in the streets," hints waterfront revival is at risk.

June 10 -- Tempers get hot as developers confronted members of the Humboldt Taxpayers' League at a meeting at the Samoa Cookhouse.

June 11 -- Former grand jury forewoman Judith Schmidt testifies she kept copies of e-mails relating to the Debi August misconduct case, saying she was concerned about the way the District Attorney's Office handled the investigation.

June 14 -- The California Coastal Conservancy says it may authorize $500,000 to study more than 15.2 million cubic yards of sediment that is being held back along the Klamath River.

June 17 -- State water officials uphold a draft order demanding Pacific Lumber Co. logging in Elk River and Freshwater be cut back.

June 18 -- Body of a Fortuna man found washed up on a beach in Trinidad is identified.

June 20 -- Three earthquakes hit off the Eureka coast, but there is no damage.

June 21 -- The Humboldt Taxpayers' Association drops its suit against the Eureka Redevelopment Agency and two developers.

-- Fortuna City Council members reject a controversial retail ordinance amendment, fearing that it could be a violation of trade laws.

June 22 -- Local physicians fear that Mad River Hospital may have to close if Blue Cross payment issues are not resolved.

June 26 -- Evergreen Pulp officials say equipment it believes will bring the plant into compliance with air quality laws could be installed by Aug. 1.

June 27 -- Trinidad resident John Frame hints he and the city could reach an agreement in his years-old litigation involving a trail and bluff that overlooks sacred Indian grounds.

June 28 -- The U.S. Department of Reclamation says it expects to spend $618,000 to buy 6.5 billion gallons of the Trinity River water as an insurance policy against a fish kill on the Klamath River.

June 29 -- District Attorney Paul Gallegos responds to a scathing critique of his office by the grand jury, saying his office does more with less.

July 1 -- Settlement reached between Trinidad and resident John Frame in his years-old litigation involving a trail and bluff that overlooks sacred Indian grounds.

July 12 -- Eel River Lumber Products outside Fortuna shuts down.

-- Fortune Police Chief Kent Bradshaw abruptly resigns.

July 14 -- Dead woman walking. Fortuna woman, Karen Goldsmith, is alive and well after seeing her obituary in the paper -- a case of stolen identity by a woman in Ukiah.

Aug. 2 -- Zoo Advisory Board on chopping block.

Aug. 3 -- Fortuna Mayor Tom Cooke dies.

Aug. 15 -- Alison Sterling Nichols, of Westhaven, joins anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan in Crawford, Texas.

Aug. 31 -- Scotia Pacific to lay off a third of its workers.

Sept. 6 -- Let the court decide: Humboldt Taxpayers' League hands off suit against the city and two waterfront developments to Eureka woman Susan Brandenburg.

Sept. 10 -- This Bud's not for you: Campaign Against Marijuana Plants has record year; Humboldt pot yield average.

Sept. 15 -- Officer stabbed, man killed in B Street shooting in Eureka.

Sept. 20 -- District Attorney Paul Gallegos files notice to appeal Palco fraud case.

Sept. 29 -- Packing up at Yakima: Company heads to Oregon for a new start.

Oct. 7 -- Ape escape: Bill the chimp takes a brief unexpected neighborhood tour with the help of vandals.

Oct. 13 -- Eureka postmaster put on administrative leave.

Oct. 16 -- Waterfront inferno. Construction well under way at the foot of F Street burns to the ground. Investigation determined it was human caused.

Oct. 19 -- Arcata's McKinley statue spared: Supporters of removal told to gather signatures.

Oct. 27 -- Friendly Fortuna? Former Mayor Dean Lewis refiles complaint with District Attorney's Office against payment by city of portion of Debi August's legal fees.

Nov. 2 -- War protesters and Critical Mass participants arrested in Eureka.

Nov. 8 -- Election results put new faces in the Harbor District; governor's propositions voted down.

Nov. 8 -- Shawn Cameron Garfield shot to death in Eureka, allegedly by Richard Sanderson, who is arrested three days later in McKinleyville.

Nov. 12 -- Handful of protesters gather outside Sequoia Zoo to demand relocation of Bill the chimp.

Nov. 14 -- Matthew Nutter named coach of the Humboldt Crabs.

Nov. 16 -- Eureka City Schools Superintendent recommends closing Jefferson School.

Nov. 18 -- War protesters and Critical Mass participants hold second protest, no arrests.

Nov. 22 -- California Department of Fish and Game delays crab fishing for at least 15 days.

Nov. 30 -- Lori Metheney submits resignation to Humboldt County Republican Party.

Dec. 6 -- Board of Supervisors endorses same sex marriage rights.

Dec. 9 -- Crab season delayed another 15 days.

Dec. 13 -- Michael Machi nominated to serve a second term as mayor of Arcata.