es with her office, from the outstanding single audit to her “failure to take responsibility for her actions.” Paz Dominguez, meanwhile, has repeatedly maintained her office is doing the best it can with a short staff, dependent on other departments to work within new systems and provide fiscal documentation to do its job. While the situation is a complicated mess, there is at least some hope voters — who will hold Paz Dominguez’ professional fate in their hands at the polls in 2022 — will get some clarity in the coming months, as the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury, a third-party investigator hired by the county and the state Controller’s Office have all launched investigations into the county’s financial reporting processes. Thadeus Greenson
friend Von Keener, reportedly heading to a friend or family member’s residence in Indiana. In May, Johnson was extradited to Humboldt County, where he would plead guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in a controversial plea agreement in October. Metcalf and Margarett and Shelly Moon’s deaths had profound impacts on the Bear River and Loleta communities. Metcalf and Margarett Lee Moon had become engaged on Christmas Eve, and Shelly and Margarett Lee Moon both worked at Loleta Elementary School as aides, tutoring students and working in the afterschool program. Johnson faces 150 years to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in January. Iridian Casarez
Murder and Heartbreak in Bear River
Countdown to Cal Poly Humboldt
Tragedy struck Humboldt County early this year when, on the morning of Feb. 10, the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria Reservation lost three residents, Nikki Dion Metcalf and Margarett Lee Moon, both 40, and Moon’s 16-year-old daughter, Shelly Autumn Mae Moon, all fatally shot in their home by then 18-year-old Mauricio Eduardo Johnson. A Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office investigation revealed that Johnson was a “friend” of the family and had permission to be in the house prior to the early-morning shooting. On Feb. 11, Johnson was arrested in Utah while traveling with his mother, Melissa Sanchez Johnson, and her
Come January, the California State University Board of Trustees is slated to decide whether to rebrand Humboldt State University as California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt — or Cal Poly Humboldt, for short. If approved, the change would go into effect immediately. President Tom Jackson, Jr. presented the trustees with a formal request to change the name Nov. 9, part of the process for HSU to become the state’s third polytechnic university in the CSU system and the only one in the northern end of the state. Over the summer, HSU received an
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Investigators process the scene of what's believed to have been Humboldt County's first triple homicide in decades the morning of Feb. 10. Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office
northcoastjournal.com • Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021 • NORTH COAST JOURNAL
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