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Local News 10 20 26 · KMUD News

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Foreign. Welcome to KMUD News for the evening of October 20, 2026. I'm your assistant news Director, Bridget Carstensen, and I'm glad to be with you for this broadcast. This episode includes stories on Measure K and statewide propositions for the November 3rd election, but first, some local updates and alerts. This is KMUD News. An alert from the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office. Deputies are searching for 51 year old Robert Willis Slovens wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident Monday evening at a home on Jacobs Avenue in Eureka. Investigators say slovens kept a 44 year old woman from leaving during an argument and fired a gun inside the home before fleeing on a white Honda motorcycle. The woman was not physically injured. Slavens faces charges including assault with a firearm, false imprisonment and criminal threats. He is described as a white man, 6ft 2 inches tall, about 230 pounds, with black and gray hair and blue eyes. Last seen in a black motorcycle jacket and black full face helmet. He should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who sees him should not approach and should call 911-TIPS can go to the Sheriff's Office at 707-445-7251 from the Bay Delta Flows Coalition and Save California Salmon. The groups are hosting a virtual public comment training Tomorrow, Wednesday from 7 to 8pm on Zoom ahead of state Water board hearings on the Bay Delta plan. The plan sets water quality and river flow protections for the delta, and the groups opposed the final draft and its voluntary agreements with water users, saying they would harm tribes and the delta ecosystem. The hearings are October 28th and 29th in Sacramento, with in person and virtual comment available by filling out a speaker card in a report from Cal Poly Humboldt A new report co led by Cal Poly Humboldt researchers examines how climate change is affecting the north coast, including Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties, part of California's fifth climate change assessment. It notes Humboldt Bay has the state's highest rate of sea level rise and highlights the region's reliance on infrastructure with few backups like roads with limited alternatives. It also points to tribal stewardship and local resilience efforts as strengths to build on. The report is available at climateassessment.ca.gov from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Waterfowl hunting season opens Saturday in most zones and biologists expect a strong start thanks to good wetland conditions. Licenses and passes must be bought in advance. CDFW is also reminding hunters that H5N1 avian flu typically reemerges to during fall migration and advises cleaning birds away from chickens and pet birds and not feeding raw waterfowl to dogs. Hunters are also asked to clean, drain, and dry boats and gear to prevent the spread of invasive golden mussels. From College of the Redwoods Personas, the college's multilingual literary journal, is is accepting poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays, and visual art about the experience of multilingualism. Contributors don't need to be multilingual, and submissions are open to the whole community through March 16th. Submission details are available from College of the Redwoods, and a free public reading will be held May 15th at the Warfinger Building in Eureka. Questions can go to Jonathan Migulo at 707-4764. 4527. Opponents of Measure K and Southern Humboldt claim financial mismanagement by the Southern Humboldt Community Health Care District, KMA News reports
• 4:36
  Speaker B: We've covered Measure K in Southern Humboldt at length on KMA News. That includes direct conversations with those behind the measure and our full length broadcast of the Measure K Town hall from the Meteill center in Redway. After presenting the ballot measure and as much information from the health district as possible, we want to turn our coverage to those strongly opposed to Measure K. As a reminder, Measure k is the $25 million bond measure in Southern Humboldt to help build a new hospital for the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District. The bonds would be over a 30 year period and would cost property owners in the district approximately $80 per $100,000 of assessed value per year. KMUD News spoke directly with two longtime community members strongly opposed to the Measure K effort. We'll also play audio of an additional community member expressing dissent at a recent Soham Health Board meeting. We'll start off with Celeste Galanzo, who worked for the Southern Humboldt Community healthcare district from 1990 to 2006, primarily as a nurse. Celeste is critical of Soham Health's other developments, including on Redwood Drive in Garberville, which she believes has taken focus away from a true hospital funding effort.
• 5:59
  Speaker C: Then I drive around town and luscious property hospitals buying Main street. The hospital's buying. Then I see we have a CT scan room imaging center. I wonder how do you get an enemy center without having a hospital? But they did it. I think they put the cart before the horse. When I drive past town and I see that new building being built on the corner where optometry should be, but it's in an rv. Who paid for the rv? Are we in debt for the rv? Who paid for this structure on Main Street? Are we in debt for that? All I see with Measure K is debt.
• 6:46
  Speaker B: Celeste Giulonzo is also skeptical of the proposed Soham hospital's sheer size and wonders who it's being built for.
• 6:54
  Speaker C: Who's coming to this huge hospital they're creating and, you know, I mean, listen to Bob, Bob Dylan, you know, strengthen what remains. I mean, yeah, it's a great dream. I love it. It's a great dream. But are they here? Are the people coming here? I mean, that's a huge hospital. And the other hospital that we have right now, what is that going to become? Skilled nursing. Why not still the clinic? It's still okay in there. You know, they just spend on money and think that we're going to pay. And anytime they tell us to vote yes, no, gotta stand up for our rights. You can't use my money anymore. I work hard for my money.
• 7:34
  Speaker B: Another longtime Southern Humboldt community member opposed to Measure K is Daryl Czerny, the political activist and host of School Days on kmud. Darrell's experience as a Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare district governing board member from January of 2007 to December of 2010 informed his stance on the issue.
• 7:58
  Speaker D: I feel that the board of directors at the hospital, the board of governors of the hospital has not been honest with the community. Two things they put out there that are completely false is one, they will not issue the bond unless they get matching funds. Nowhere in Measure K does it say that they can take out that $25 million and do whatever they want with it building wise. And to give you an example, they've already spent $1.9 million on this, what I would call a boondoggle on Redwood Drive where they bought a house, bought three buildings or a series of buildings for three, for 300,000, and now they're spending millions and millions to renovate it. They basically had to rip the thing apart where they could have just bought an existing structure from the credit union or from Organic Grace that was in decent condition for maybe $800,000 and not had to spend maybe $4 million to fix it. So financial improprieties, bad management, why do we need to do this? Taking up parking spots during the tourist season? The problem is that I don't trust the people who are making the decisions. If they can't build a building in the middle of Redwood Drive, I don't trust them to build a hospital.
• 9:10
  Speaker B: Daryl Czerny also pointed to Measure K funds not being legally bound to building a new hospital. The Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District governing board recently convened to pledge they would only spend Measure K funds on construction costs and equipment. But that is not part of the measure itself.
• 9:29
  Speaker D: The second thing they're telling people is they will only spend money on a hospital. And that is not in the. That is not in the measure. And they are under no legal obligation to do that. In fact, it's illegal to change a measure once it's passed. And the measure very clearly states that they can spend it on anything it has to do with structures, and that they also can. That they're not under any obligation to do any specific project. That's as clear as day in the measure. And so with a measure written so vaguely and with matching funds being so overpriced, I don't trust the people who are making the decisions. And that's pretty much the reason why. Yes, I favor retail renovating the old hospital. Now, they say they can't retrofit it. Actually, they can, but I would like to see in writing what the estimate was for retrofitting the old hospital. I'd like to see in writing what the money would be for that. And my understanding is that they totally can do that. So let's keep the old one, or if we're going to build a new one, a more modest structure that is within our means.
• 10:41
  Speaker B: Darrell detailed his concerns on additional projects by the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District, including a recently approved $10 million private bond sale in part to help with continuing project costs along with district operations.
• 10:57
  Speaker D: Well, they just took out a $10 million bond loan to finance what's happening at Redwood Drive, as well as general operating expenses. So they're not making enough money to sustain themselves. And before this measure even goes to a vote, they've taken out a $10 million debt to generate revenue. Right now, we've got plenty of facilities right there in the existing structure. I've been there. I've worked there. I know. And if they want to have more facilities, they could have simply bought a building that didn't need a $4.5 million renovation because it was falling apart. Everybody knew just that the place had been condemned by the county for mold. And then they took it apart, and everything's falling apart right down to the floor, of which there is no floor there at the moment. It's basically a giant sandbox. So they could have bought $800,000 and if they needed the room, the credit union building that is not in use or organic. Grace. But no, they went ahead and paid cash without a building inspection.
• 12:05
  Speaker B: Darrell Charney says that expanding the number of employees in the health district has not directly benefited the local economy.
• 12:13
  Speaker D: Well, when I was in the district up until 2010, as a board member, they had about 75 employees. Now we have about 180 and about 80 something of those are from out of town. So they are not here locally, they're not hiring locally, they're hiring from out of town. So it's not helping the local economy in that way. It is also not the job of the hospital to improve the local economy. It is the job of the hospital to provide health care and that should be their number one priority. So dangling the carrot of it's going to improve the local economy is the same as dangling the carrot of legal cannabis and getting a permit is is going to improve the local economy. These are false promises.
• 12:55
  Speaker B: More voices against Measure K have made their points known at the health district's governing board meetings. One of those voices is Patty Butler, a CPA based in Redway. Patti took issue with the recent Soham Health Board resolution to only use Measure K funds for new hospital construction. She also raised concerns at the cost of getting the measure on the ballot. Here's some of her remarks from the recent Soham Health special governing board meeting.
• 13:24
  Speaker E: Major K is costing the district over $200,000 to do. The bond documents are 11 pages and I assume each board member read those 1, 2, 3, 4 times before you voted on it. If you My opinion is if you wanted or intended the bond money to be used exclusively for the building of a new hospital, you could have or should have stated that in the context of the measure. But you didn't. You didn't want to. Now it's on the ballot. No exclusive use in the in the measure on the ballot. It can't be changed now. This seems to be some sort of last minute language change which isn't technically going to happen. And like I said, this resolution is not binding. I think it's just a process and quite frankly, people are classifying this as a political stunt. The board wasn't willing to put this in the measure in the first place. And I guess there's a bigger question as you didn't do it then, why would you do it now? And again, it's not binding. I think you are going to be operating off of what the measure on the ballot is which says what you can use the money for.
• 14:37
  Speaker B: You've just heard from Celeste Giulanzo, Darrell Czerny and Patty Butler, 3 Southern Humboldt Community members who oppose Measure K and its issuance of $25 million in municipal bonds to build a new hospital. What is notable about all three speakers is their inherent distrust of our local health district and its intentions for Darrell and Celeste. While their direct involvement with Soham Health ended a decade or two ago, their feelings in recognition of consistent funding patterns remain. Supporters of Measure K point to the need for a new hospital and so Hum Health maintains that it is not feasible to seismically retrofit the current Gerald Phelps facility. The health district also argues that projects on Redwood Drive are revenue generating and will help fund the district's future. Ultimately, voters inside the Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District will have to decide. It'll take a 2/3 majority vote in order to pass Measure K in Southern Humboldt on November 3rd. For KMUD news, I'm April Lewis.
• 15:52
  Speaker A: As part of our ongoing coverage of the November 3rd elections, Cayman News is dedicated to bringing you information on the important issues on your ballot Today we'll go through statewide propositions 1 through 5 and 3739 housing bond proposition 1 would let the state borrow $11.25 billion through bonds for affordable housing. 1.25 billion would go to veterans housing and the rest would fund rental homes, home ownership programs and farm worker, student and tribal housing. Repayment would cost the state an estimated 500 to 600 million dollars a year for about 25 years. Supporters say the state needs the money to address homelessness, high rents and the cost of buying a home. Critics, including some state legislators who voted against it, say it adds debt without fixing why housing is so expensive to build for our area. The bond includes money for tribal housing, student housing at campuses like Cal Poly Humboldt and water and sewer projects that often hold up rural housing. That money is competitive, so how much reaches us depends on local tribes, agencies and developers applying Proposition 2, the rainy day fund proposition 2 would let the state save up to 20% of its general fund tax revenue in reserves, double the current 10% limit. Those deposits wouldn't count towards the state's voter approved spending cap, and the measure also allows some tax money to pay down California's $20 billion federal unemployment insurance debt. Supporters say California's tax revenue swings with the stock market and a bigger reserve would let the state save in good years to get through downturns. Critics say reserves can become a political slush fund and that the change would let lawmakers hold on to more tax money without triggering refunds to taxpayers. Rural counties, school districts and Cal Poly Humboldt rely heavily on state dollars, and when state budgets crash, cuts tend to hit health care, higher education, public safety and safety net programs. A larger reserve could soften those cuts. Here, the trade off is that the money set aside in savings isn't available to spend on the local needs right away. Proposition 3 High Income Tax Prop. 3 would make permanent a higher income tax on California's top earners. First enacted in 2012, the tax is set to expire in 2031. It applies to individual income over $360,000 at rates from 10.3 to 12.3%. Most of the money goes to K12 schools, with the rest going to community colleges. It raises 5 to 15 billion dollars a year. The California Teachers association put this on the ballot. Supporters say losing that money would likely mean school layoffs and program cuts. Critics say California's income taxes are already among the highest in the country and that the tax also reaches some small business owners. Locally, few residents earn enough to pay this tax. Humboldt County's median household income is about $61,000, but the money is shared with schools statewide, including ours. Eureka City school reports about $3.49 million from the account this year, though that replaces other state rather than adding to it. If Prop. 3 fails, the tax stays in place until 2031, leaving time for another extension. Vote Proposition 4 Public Campaign Financing Proposition 4 would repeal a 1988 ban on the state and most local governments using public money to fund political campaigns. It doesn't create a program or spend money itself. It would let the state, counties and cities set up public financing systems if they choose. Supporters say public financing curbs the influence of private money in politics and helps candidates without wealthy backers run for office. Critics say it would make taxpayers fund candidates they may not support locally. Humboldt, Trinity and Mendocino counties in local cities would each have to decide whether to create a program and pay for it from their own budgets. In small rural races like county supervisor or city council, even a modest program could help candidates who can't afford to run. Proposition 5 recall reform proposition 5 would change how California recalls state officials. Right now, a recall ballot asks two should the official be removed and who should replace them? Prop. 5 would remove the second question. A recall would become a simple yes or no vote, and the vacancy would be filled later by a special election or appointment. The idea came from the secretary of state's Office following the 2021 recall election. The measure's author, state Senator Josh New, was himself recalled in 2018 and won his seat back two years later. Supporters say the current system can put someone in office with only a small share of the vote. Critics say it takes the choice of a replacement away from voters and gives it to political insiders. Proposition 37 Home Buyer Loans Prop. 37 would let the state's housing finance agency borrow up to $25 billion to help Middle income Californians buy newly built homes. The loans could cover up to 17% of the price, leaving buyers with as little as 3% down. Anyone earning up to twice their area's median income would qualify. Buyers repay the loans so there's no direct cost to taxpayers. It was placed on the ballot by real estate and labor groups. Supporters say a typical 20% down payment puts home ownership out of reach for most Californians, and this would help the middle class buy homes. There's no organized opposition, but some policy analysts question whether it would make homes more affordable or simply drive prices up. Locally, the program only applies to newly built homes with relatively little new home construction. In our area, fewer homes here would qualify than in faster growing parts of the state. Proposition 38 Immunology Research Bond Prop. 38 would let the state borrow $8.4 billion for research into immunotherapy treatments for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's and other diseases. Half would go to a single research institute affiliated with the University of California and half to competitive research grants. Repayment would cost the state an estimated 500 to 600 million dollars a year for about 20 years. A CalMatters analysis found that only one institute appears to qualify for that first half, one co founded by the measure's main financial backer. The campaign disputes that. Supporters say the state needs to step in as federal health research funding has been cut. Critics say the measure focuses too narrowly on one field and would send billions to a Single Institute. Proposition 39 voter ID proposition 39 would require voters to show government issued ID at the polls and order election officials to verify that all registered voters are US Citizens. Male voters would have to write the last four digits of a government ID number on their ballot envelope, and ballots without it would not be counted. The state would offer free ID cards to anyone who needs it. It was placed on the ballot by Citizen Initiative, led by Assemblyman Carl DeMaio. Supporters say it would strengthen trust in elections and note that most states already require some form of id. Critics say it would make voting harder for eligible voters without a driver's license or other documents, and point out that voter fraud is extremely rare locally. More than 80% of Humboldt county voters cast their ballots by mail in the last presidential election, so the biggest change for most people here would be adding ID digits to their ballot envelope. County election offices would also take on much of the work of verifying citizenship on the voter rolls. Information in this report comes from CALmatters 2026 voter guide and the official State Voter Guide. For more on each measure, visit calmatters.org or the Secretary of State's thank you for tuning in to KMA News ongoing coverage of the November 3rd election. Stay with us for the rest of the statewide measures in upcoming broadcasts and for live coverage on election night. Proposition 45 on the California ballot this November would expedite environmental review for many housing, transportation, water and health projects by limiting environmental review, Suzanne Potter explains Proposition
• 24:55
  Speaker F: 45 on the California ballot this November would expedite environmental review for many housing, transportation, water and health projects by speeding up the review process overall. Many environmental and labor groups oppose the proposal, arguing it guts the California Environmental Quality act, known as ceqa. Kat Lockwood with the nonprofit Climate center says it would fast track projects like big data centers and home development in wildfire zones.
• 25:21
  Speaker E: Prop 45 would roll back protections for public health, clean air and clean water. Prop 45 would make it easier to build polluting projects with less public input. And Prop 45 is backed by some of the state's biggest polluters.
• 25:35
  Speaker F: According to the Secretary of state's website, Prop 45 would set deadlines to complete environmental review and resolve lawsuits challenging project approvals. Supporters say it wouldn't apply specifically to data centers, but it would cut red tape that slows down new housing and infrastructure projects. Opponents counter that Prop 45 is unnecessary because many housing projects are already exempt from full CEQA review, thanks to Assembly Bill 130, which passed last year. Jordan Grimes with the nonprofit Greenbelt alliance says he opposes Prop 45 because it gives developers a new right to sue local agencies if they deny a project or impose conditions that make it infeasible.
• 26:14
  Speaker E: The big things that it does are change the standard of review. It really flips the power from communities and local agencies to developers and project applicants.
• 26:26
  Speaker F: Supporters include the California Building Industry association and the big utility companies. Opponents include the Sierra Club and unions representing people who work in the service industry, on farms and in the building trades. For California News Service, I'm Suzanne Potter. Find our trust indicators@publicnewservice.org that's all for our news broadcast.
• 26:48
  Speaker A: Thanks for listening. Thanks to our rotation of broadcast engineers Dennis Marr, Katie Phillips, Bianna Federico, Michael McCaskill, Larry Lashley and Javier Rodriguez. KMUD News is now on streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can download our stories and newscasts for offline listening. You can also follow us on social mediamudnews, including Facebook and Instagram do you have issues, issues important to you that deserve more attention? Are there stories we're missing or that you're curious about? You can give us a call at 707-923-2605 or send an email to newsema.org Redwood Community Radio, Inc. Is funded by Press Forward, the national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. Learn more@pressforward.net News Redwood Community Radio acknowledges that its transmitter sites are located on the unceded territory of the Sinkion, Wailocke, Wiat, Wilcott and Caddo people. We honor ancestors past, present and emerging, and acknowledge the ongoing cultural, spiritual and physical connection that these tribes have to the region. I'm Bridget Carstensen. Stay tuned. In Sam.