Virginia Graziani Redwood Times For the past four years, California State Parks officials have considered the permanent removal of Benbow Dam because the cost of maintaining the aging structure, re-installing and removing it each season, and complying with current environmental regulations has become prohibitive, especially with recent cuts to the agency's budget.   Full Story

The trustees of the Southern Humboldt Unified School District met in special session on Wednesday, Feb. 15, to rescind the layoff of 11 bus drivers, a mechanic and shop foreman. The jobs were saved through the passage of SB 81, authored by State Senator Noreen Evans, to restore funding for home to school transportation.   Full Story

Redwood Times Two Phillipsville residents lost their home to an early morning fire on Friday, Feb. 10. Phillipsville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Hank Toborg reported the received the call at around 1 a.   Full Story

Megan Hansen Times-Standard Humboldt County's housing element is once again off to the state Department of Housing and Community Development for certification, following unanimous approval last Tuesday by the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors.   Full Story

A deceased woman was found in a homeless camp just north of Redway on Friday, Feb. 17. As of press time on Friday, it appeared the woman was possibly the victim of an accident. The Humboldt County Coroner's Office said they will no more once they have completed their investigation.   Full Story

Thadeus Greenson Times-Standard Officers searched the Unauthorized Art compound in Arcata Wednesday and found an unauthorized marijuana grow, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reported. Started as a collective to provide local artists and musicians affordable studio space, it appeared the Unauthorized Art building had been turned into a for-profit, commercial marijuana cultivation operation, according to sheriff’s office Sgt.   Full Story

The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office is in the process of applying for grant funding through the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle (OHMV) program. Funds from the OHMV grant support the efforts of Sheriff's Office's Off Highway Vehicle Deputies whose duties include enforcement of state laws, federal regulations, and Humboldt County Ordinances in off highway areas.   Full Story

Representatives Mike Thompson (CA-1) and Lynn Woolsey (CA-6) introduced an amendment to ban drilling on California’s North Coast. H.R. 3408, the Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act would automatically open the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Alaska’s Bristol Bay, Southern California, and the Virginia coast for oil and gas leasing.   Full Story

From the Redwood Record of Feb. 21, 1980 North Coast State Senator Barry Keene and Assemblyman Doug Bosco co-authored a bill that would exempt businesses on the Avenue of the Giants from the section of the state Outdoor Advertising Act that banned commercial signs on Caltrans’s rights of way.   Full Story

The directors of the Redway Community Services District held their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15, and learned of a glitch in the completion of the district’s Water System Improvement Project.   Full Story