A county ad hoc committee found that after staff expenses, office rent and operating costs, the bureau had $59,024 out of the $315,874 they got from the county in fiscal year 2023-24 to fulfill their end of the contract, which requires marketing Humboldt County to potential tourists. The committee concluded the funds were “insufficient for a robust marketing campaign,” per the staff report for the item.
The Humboldt County Planning Commission denied the permit in a contentious 4-3 vote against the 22,000-square-foot grow near Briceland, but the applicant successfully appealed the denial to the Board of Supervisors alongside county staff, who found the criminal allegations against the owner were completely unsupported by evidence and issues regarding well water use and nearby northern spotted owl populations had been mitigated.
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Kyle Holt said that “we have a pretty good idea of where these threats are coming from,” but was reluctant to say more in order to preserve the investigation’s integrity. Beginning last Monday, the phone calls – on Nov. 28, 29 and Wednesday and Thursday of this week – ranged from invoking the presence of armed men near campus, bomb threats and reports of an imminent school shooting.