[Humboldt County] RABID DOGS AND VACATION RENTALS: No Bombshells in Grand Jury Reports — Yet — But Plenty of Interesting and Useful Work

The word on the street has been that the reports from the 2017-18 Humboldt County Grand Jury would contain some serious political bombshells. There were hints and rumors — sometimes posted on Facebook — that the powers-that-be in the county courthouse were not pleased with some of drafts of these reports, and were holding back their release until after the June 5 election. This has been going on for weeks. (The Grand Jury — a panel of civilians who donate a year’s service to investigating local government — is under the umbrella of the Humboldt County Superior Court.)

Well, a great number of the jury’s annual reports have been released, now, and so far they contain nothing like the political hot potato that had been rumored. But the first of the reports did contain this new policy laid down by the court for the release of the reports, which seems relevant:

Beginning this year, the Court implemented a new policy regarding the release of Grand Jury reports during June election years.  The policy allows the release of reports until the second Monday in February; reports completed subsequent to that date must be released after the June election.

The jury’s term ends at the end of this month, so if a bomb drops it will drop soon. Until then, though, the jury has been releasing, over the past few days, a set of very workmanlike and interesting series of reports on its investigations of the past year. As always, they shed light on little-known and seldom-scrutinized corners of local government. They’re pretty fascinating, if you’re interested in democracy and how it operates on the ground. They fully justify their minimal expense.

The Civil Grand Jury is one of the treasures of California governance. If you’re unfamiliar with it you can get some background on the judicial branch’s website, or at the California Grand Jurors Association.

The grand jury foreman tells the Outpost that three more reports are due to be released later today. In the meantime, the Humboldt County 2017-2018 Grand Jury has so far released reports on the following matters:

• The Grand Jury’s annual, state-mandated inspection of all the county’s jails, holding cells and associated facilities. Findings: the county should raise the pay for correctional staff, improve mental health services in the jail and renovate the sheriff’s Garberville substation, which sounds seriously run-down.
• A somewhat critical report on emergency preparedness in the Humboldt County Courthouse, where about 1,500 people can be found during normal business hours. The Grand Jury recommends that the county update its standing “General Emergency Action Plan” to meet new standards and to account for active-shooter situations, to improve signage and to hire a full-time safety director, among other things.
• Strong praise for the Humboldt County Public Health Laboratory — “a gem in Humboldt County about which its citizens should know more.” The lab is responsible, most recently, for developing tests to identify the sources of coliform pollution at Clam Beach and elsewhere. The GJ recommends that the County Board of Supervisors praise the Public Health Lab and devote more resources to water pollution testing.
• Public safety along the currently constructed sections of the Humboldt Bay Trail, plus a look forward to public safety in the future. In sum, the GJ finds that everything is pretty good, but that there could be better lighting in some places, better signage in others, and more cooperation between public agencies and volunteer organizations to police and maintain the trail.
• The identification of an information gap between the county’s Child Welfare Services division and foster parents — not enough foster parents know that they may offer input, and may even be invited to testify, at court hearings that determine whether or not the juvenile may be reunited with parents. The GJ recommends that the county develop and distribute informational materials on the issue.
• The hubbub in Trinidad over Airbnbs and other short-term rental properties in the town. More and more houses in Trinidad aren’t being lived in, but rather rented out to tourists for a few days at a time. Trinidad city government has a law that regulates such things, but some people think that enforcement of that law has been lax. The GJ recommends that the city should adhere to its own laws, use some of its bed tax to hire a part-time person to help enforce those laws, and to generally be more communicative with people who complain about particular short-term rental properties.
• An eerily timed investigation into dog attacks in Humboldt County, and how such cases are handled by various local jurisdictions. The GJ investigated 300 cases of dog attack and found a pattern of poor recordkeeping across most of the relevant agencies, leading to confusion about which dogs might show a pattern of concerning behavior. Local municipal codes, the GJ finds, are dramatically out of date, leading to odd definitions of what a “nuisance” dog is, or a “potentially dangerous” dog, or a “vicious” dog. The grand jury has a number of recommendations to modernize our treatment of problematic animals, including the organization of interagency task force to update local codes, forced microchipping of problem animals, more and better reporting of attacks, and more.

June 29, 2018

Lost Coast Outpost

By Hank Sims