News, nature, and community throughout the Emerald Triangle
![Damage to Testa Vineyards in Calpella. [Photo submitted]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/spilled-wine-420x140.jpg)
Spilled wine and broken glass greeted Mendocino County residents Wednesday after a 5.6 magnitude earthquake rattled the region at 8:10 a.m. — and while the damage was real, experts say the bigger lesson is what Wednesday’s shaking revealed about what a larger quake could do.
Daily booking sheet from the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.
The California Western Railroad’s beloved Skunk Train has a new look rolling out of Fort Bragg this summer — a stars-and-stripes decorated locomotive honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary that will lead most trains on the Mendocino Coast through the celebration year.
A three-year push that started with tribal leaders traveling to Washington D.C. to make their case has resulted in a newly expanded Head Start facility in Smith River that will provide year-round childcare for infants and toddlers — easing a barrier that has long forced working parents to choose between jobs and affordable childcare.
Young people from Humboldt County with lived experience in foster care, mental health programs, and juvenile justice will open a free pop-up photography exhibition Friday afternoon in Eureka — a chance for the community to see the county’s systems through the eyes of those who have navigated them.
A one-acre fire near Democrat Gulch Road this week prompted Trinity County officials to remind residents that fire season is here — and that Facebook groups, however well-intentioned, are no substitute for signing up for geo-targeted emergency alerts at ReadyTrinity.org before the next fire starts.
California’s glacial vote-counting pace has once again drawn national criticism after last week’s primary — but state Democrats say speeding things up would mean leaving voters behind, and county registrars say they simply don’t have the money or space to move faster.
Lodena Louise Tidwell, a lifelong Arcata resident, devoted wife, and woman of deep faith, passed away peacefully on May 31, 2026, at 94, surrounded by family and the Christian music she loved.
“We made it. There is always a feeling of relief as we cross the threshold and begin the descent back towards shorter days.”
Can someone legally use cannabis under California law and still own a firearm? The answer has long been complicated. A new Supreme Court ruling changes part of that equation. Here’s what Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity County residents should know.
![Damage to Testa Vineyards in Calpella. [Photo submitted]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/spilled-wine-880x290.jpg)
![Lights hanging from closed Rite Aid location in Willits [Screenshot from video by Joe Herrera]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-24-121236-880x290.png)