NCJ Daily Online

State Re-Certifies Needle Exchange Program, with Limitations

The Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction has been recertified by the state of California to provide needle exchange services in all of Humboldt County, with the exception of the city of Eureka, where the nonprofit is based.

The state’s decision to recertify the controversial program comes after the Eureka City Council sent a letter to the Department of Public Health urging it not to recertify the nonprofit’s license, having voiced concerns that HACHR had failed to deliver operation reports to the city and been unresponsive to neighborhood concerns regarding needle litter.

The city went so far as to launch an undercover police investigation into the nonprofit, which yielded allegations that HACHR was allowing onsite drug consumption and even sales. HACHR has denied the allegations and the police investigation did not result in the arrest of or criminal charges being brought against anyone stemming from alleged conduct on HACHR’s property.

HACHR Executive Director Lasara Firefox Allen in a previous interview with the Journal disputed the notion that staff would tolerate any onsite drug use or sales, adding that the organization had not been provided with any evidence collected by the Eureka Police Department.

“We do have a standing agreement with our participants that that kind of behavior will not occur on our premises,” Firefox Allen said. “We’re in Eureka — if you go to McDonald’s and do an undercover surveillance there, you’ll find drug activity in the parking lot. … We do our part to make sure that kind of activity is not happening on our premises. We try to protect our program.”

With the limited recertification from the state, HACHR can continue its operations in McKinleyville, Arcata, Fortuna, Willow Creek and Orick. And while the state certification doesn’t allow the nonprofit to do needle exchange in Eureka, it leaves the door open for the city to grant a local authorization to the nonprofit. The city — which has pledged support for needle exchange in general — has agreed to enter into mediation with HACHR to try to chart a course forward, Interim City Manager Miles Slattery told the Lost Coast Outpost.

Missing and Murdered

Wendi Lamberson joins dozens of people standing at the Oct. 7 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples rally at the federal building in Fortuna in an ongoing effort to bring awareness to a Sovereign Bodies Institute report in August showing that 105 of the nation’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls were from Northern California. POSTED 10.08.20 By Kris Nagel

“HACHR looks forward to continued improvement in the relationship with the city of Eureka,” HACHR wrote in a press release. “We believe that our participation in upcoming facilitated discussions with stakeholders and concerned citizens will help us all to arrive at solutions that meet everyone’s needs, including the needs of HACHR’s program participants.”

Needle exchange programs have been repeatedly proven to reduce the spread of disease and improve health outcomes, while Humboldt County has hepatitis C infection rates five times the national average and an opioid overdose rate five times that of the rest of California, according to a 2018 report from the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services.

— Thadeus Greenson POSTED 10.09.20 Read the full story online.

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President on Leave: Humboldt State University President Tom Jackson Jr. is on an indefinite personal leave from his presidential duties to grieve the death of his 22-year-old son, TJ Jackson, who was one of three men killed in an Oct. 6 car crash in South Dakota. HSU Vice President of Enrollment Management Jason Meriwether is standing in as acting president until Jackson’s return. POSTED 10.09.20

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Social Gathering Guidelines: The state released guidelines for social gatherings amid the COVID-19 pandemic that allow for small, outdoor get-togethers of no more than three households. The guidelines further provide that outdoor spaces should be large enough to allow for constant physical distancing between members of households at all times, and that attendees be masked and practice frequent hand washing. POSTED 10.09.20

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Food Bank to Rebuild: Food for People, Humboldt County’s food bank, has announced that it is rebuilding its headquarters after a devastating sewer leak that caused $80,000 in damage, $47,000 in food losses and forced the building’s closure in February. New plans for the facility call for added warehouse space that will allow the nonprofit to continue it network of 17 food pantries and 18 programs. POSTED 10.10.20

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Digitally Speaking

The number of confirmed COVID-19 tests so far among the 140 or so members of the San Jose State University football team, coaches and staff living and practicing at Humboldt State University. Everyone was tested immediately prior to traveling to Arcata, according to HSU, and again within 24 hours of arriving on campus. POSTED 10.10.20

They Said It Comment of the Week

“Yes.”

— Caroline McFarland, responding to Evan Needham marriage proposal after he took the bride-to-be on an elaborate, Shakespearean scavenger hunt through town that ended on the North Coast Repertory Theatre stage, where Needham sang to her, got down on one knee and popped the question. Read the full story at www.northcoastjournal.com. POSTED 10.11.20 “We have been so lucky to have Dr. Frankovich guiding us through this pandemic.” — Carol Coal commenting on the Journal’s Facebook page on a post about the county beginning the search for its next health officer after Teresa Frankovich announced her resignation from the all-consuming position last month. Read the full story at www. northcoastjournal.com. POSTED 10.08.20