ReRail has hit a good point here. My family ties go back on the North Coast for over 150 years and I have seen the history and fabric of the area evaporate over the last 35 years in a way that is just breathtaking. Humboldt County has become one of the most cockeyed places on the planet. They don't want any part of the industrial past or the industrial future. Witness the struggles of the Timber Heritage Association. It's one step forward and three steps back. You can't do anything without someone with an agenda sticking their nose into your business. While Eureka and Arcata have "dressed" themselves up a little for the passing tourist the rest of the area is sad shell of it's former past. The Redwood Parks, the Clarke Museum and the Madaket boat ride are all that's left. Fortuna is one of the few progressive places where the light bulb is actually on. Even Ferndale has lost its antique stores and used books. The three Indian casinos seem to be the hottest thing outside of the underground economy. A fourth one is planned for Big Lagoon. If the momentum to develop the port actually gets going it will be met every step of the way with controversy, resistance and probably outright hostility. Of course it's all in the "Spirit of the North Coast."
Alfred R. Doten