Sue Van Hook, who earned Bachelor’s degrees in Botany and French and a Master’s degree in Biology from HSU,  has retired from teaching at prestigious Skidmore College and is now the Chief Mycologist at Ecovative Design, LLC. which employs about sixty people in Green Island, New York. Ian Frazier, in the May 20 edition of The New Yorker,  recounts in his article the six-year history of the company, which has attracted international attention by developing  an all-natural substitute for plastic made from tissue found in mushrooms.  It is suitable for containers and packaging now made from Styrofoam. “Ecovative’s eventual goal is to displace plastics all over the world.”

Ecovative’s founders, Gavin McIntyre and Eben Bayer, are graduates of Rensselaer Tech’s Inventors’ Studio and its Incubator program.  They were already talking about starting a company and had won a $20,000 prize for environmental entrepreneurship from Oxford when Van Hook read about them in a local paper and called them. Skidmore became a backer of the project along with Rensselaer and Van Hook’s students became part of the effort to find a suitable growing medium and technique to produce an “artificial plastic”.

The hazards of real plastic are pretty evident by this time. Landfills, beaches and highways   are littered with Styrofoam which once was used primarily for building insulation but now, unhappily, is everywhere. Much of the trash gyre in the Pacific Ocean is styrofoam, also called “foamed polystyrene”.  As Frazier notes, “Foamed polystyrene breaks down extremely slowly, in timespans no one is sure of, and a major chemical it breaks down to is styrene, listed as a carcinogen in the 2011 toxicology report issued by the National Institutes of Health.”  The toll on wildlife has been well-established.  Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a ban on the commercial use of Styrofoam containers in NYC.

The materials produced by Ecovative will biodegrade in about a month, with no carcinogens. I highly recommend the article, along with the rest of the May 20 “Innovators issue”, and I’m sorry I can’t reprint the whole thing for you, but it’s copyrighted. You can buy it online, visit the library or just buy a subscription.  I’ve been reading The New Yorker since I was a kid and it just keeps getting better.

So why don’t we have a county-wide ban on  Styrofoam?  Could your business find a way to succeed without foamed polystyrene? And wouldn’t Sue Van Hook have been a better choice as a graduation speaker than a phonied-up impersonator of Alexander von Humboldt, who never set foot in California?? What do you think?

OneSpark,  billed as “The World’s Crowdfunding Festival” took place over the  weekend of April 17-21 in the downtown area of Jax which was supposed to have received an economic boost from the Superbowl a few years ago, and didn’t. They chose to scatter the booths and exhibits throughout a “Creator Zone” and an “Entertainment District” stretching from Duval Street to the Jacksonville Landing on the river.  Even in the Florida heat- and in competition with the nonstop TV coverage of the Boston Marathon manhunt- the attendance over the five days reached 100,000 and there were exhibits or performances by over 900 Creators, 446 of which were officially entered in the Crowdfunding competition. Most of the rest were bands or graphic artists. Guests could vote or contribute ($5 minimum) for their favorite projects by Smartphone, by texting, by web or at a kiosk with the prize money allocated according to number of votes cast.  They could vote as many times as they wished, but only once for each project. Two stages were set up as “Pitch Decks” where creators could make a ten-minute pitch without even being registered at the Festival.

A major source of the prize money was Shad Khan, owner of the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, who has stated he might be good for another million for specified projects. The Jax Cultural Council has already raised $180,000 towards keeping the ‘Spark District” a permanent force in the city, and will be awarding $60,000 in grants to artists who put their studios in a specified six-square-block area. The Downtown Investment Authority is seeking proposals in late May from group[s interested in putting on daily events in Hemming Plaza, a central but underutilized location.  It appears that OneSpark is more than a one-shot deal.

So who won?  Of the four categories – Music, Technology, Science and Art- Art received twice as many votes as the nearest competitor, Technology.  Among the proposals were everything from bands looking for money to record their first album and buy a van, to a massive plan called the Riverpool, a giant floating concrete dock adjacent to downtown including a marina for kayaks, restaurants, swimming pools and a public beach. On e project would transform a water tower on Jacksonville Beach into a colorful giant jellyfish. One woman is making furniture from recycled milk jugs.

But the winner by a large margin was “Rethreaded”, a company that works with women escaping the sex trade by training them to produce children’s clothing and other items from castoff T-shirts. The almost $7000 they won will fund their next four-month class.  The founder, Kristen Keen, had a similar company in India.  This has been just a quick once-over of a terrific event.  Maybe something we could try in Humboldt?

About twenty years ago , while I was still living in Hawaii, my friend and I bought tickets to the Honolulu Film Festival.  In what turned out to be a really bad decision, I opted out of one of the evenings and my friend went alone. Being  a gregarious type, he struck up a conversation with the couple next to him, who turned out to be Roger Ebert and his gorgeous stewardess girlfriend. They invited him to a party after the film,  with the kind of friendliness that is so typical of Chicago people.

Years later, it was hard to watch the cancer take its toll but Roger Ebert didn’t let a little thing like losing his voicebox deter him from his purpose in life. He carried on with artificial voices and surrogates.  He never quit working.  He retained the rights to the “thumbs up, thumbs down” routine and few of us will ever hear those words without thinking of this extraordinary man.  Roger Ebert, dead at 70. May he rest in peace.

Hiatus- I have to spend a couple of weeks in Florida for family reasons. If the gators, sinkholes and pythons don’t get me, I will see you in a couple of weeks. Enjoy the rest of April!

Where’s my room??

Everyone loves lists, and I’m sure the North Coast business community pays close attention to the Times-Standard’s annual “Best of the North Coast” supplement that was just  published.

I find the list fascinating but everyone wonders the same thing: do these choices really reflect public opinion or is this more like when you were running for prom king or queen in high school and you had to go around and get your friends to vote for you.  Do the winners really represent “the people’s choice” or do they merely reflect organized campaigns in which employees and friends are “reminded” to cast their ballots? The editor states that “We hand-counted thousands of votes”.  I wonder why, the next time they do this, couldn’t they publish the actual counts? Then we’d know if the Kabob Cafe won the title “Best Place for a Business Lunch” by a margin of 3 votes or 40.  That was one of the weirder choices, to me. I love their food but I can’t see having a business lunch there, not if you need privacy.

Their winner in the “Hotel” category was very strange.  They listed the Holiday Inn at 2223 4th Street in Eureka although that property has been a Clarion for at least twelve years and the pleasant ladies at the front desk informed me there are no plans to revert to Holiday Inn status. Even more bizarre, they included, as a winner, the construction site on Broadway and Wabash where a Holiday Inn IS under construction but I find it hard to believe that it garnered votes as anyone’s favorite place to stay, considering there’s no roof yet.  Still, when you’re “hand counting thousands of votes” I suppose a few anomalies slip in.

I was pleased to see that a few of my favorite establishments were recognized.  The AA does have the best steaks, Hole in the Wall does have the best sandwiches, C&C Market does do a remarkable job of catering and McCrea Nissan where I have received the best service in my experience was honored, although paired with Mid-City Motors where I received the worst.  They shouldn’t  have categories where there are only one or two providers. St. Joseph’s vs  Mad River?  Apples and oranges.

Anyway, thanks to the Times-Standard for the supplement, which I always save for incoming visitors. Next year, let’s see the actual counts.  Might be interesting. 

Briefly, St. Joe’s has apparently introduced the use of the “doc-on-a-stick” (described by the NCJ as a “video screen on a pole that a nurse wheels into  the patient’s room, so a doctor from afar can videoconference in to consult with a patient with the nurse’s help.”)  Normally, such a major change in procedures would call for “impact and implementation” bargaining between the employer and the union. The article, by the always excellent Heidi Walters, examines points of contention between labor and management at St. Joe’s and although this is the first time I’ve heard of robots being at issue in local labor relations, you may be assured it won’t be the last.

The survey published by the Economist in the March 9th issue was eye-opening, to me at least. I didn’t realize how inexpensive “robotic telepresence” is becoming.  RoboDynamics of Santa Monica introduced its TILR model in 2008 at $10,000, followed it with a $3000 model in January and is working on a 2015 model that will cost less than $1000. Robots are being used to extend a manager’s sphere of influence by enabling monitoring and meetings that would not otherwise be practical. They can facilitate real estate deals by allowing inspections remotely. They can enhance security, and cheaply. Xaxxon Technologies in Vancouver is selling a patrol bot that is essentially a laptop on wheels which runs on Skype and is controlled by a smartphone. It costs $290. I want one.

Security , however, is a two-way street. A ‘bot on patrol may be transmitting images which call for a firewall or other controls. Another issue is the effect on humans in the workplace who feel (with good cause) that they are being spied on. Future developments will be driven to some extent by the need to humanize the ‘bots, perhaps by adding limbs. Several companies are now marketing small machines that can zip around a floor or tabletop, carrying your smartphone and avoiding collisions. It’s happening.

I strongly recommend you read the full article. I have no doubt that somewhere in Humboldt County an inventor is pursuing this technology and new uses for it. We do, indeed, live in interesting times. Are you considering the use of ‘bots for your business? Let us know.

The Humboldt Bay Harbor Working Group was started during the recent update of the Prosperity program.  An enthusiastic group is meeting at the Samoa Cookhouse on the last Wednesday of each month at noon to share and promote ideas and projects to promote harbor-related employment.  The February meeting was attended by a group of about  forty.  About half of them were familiar from the old Citizens for Port/Rail Development, but there were a lot of new faces too, at least new to me,  We heard an update presentation by Dave Hull, who made the point that even if the current harbor plan is fully implemented, it would still impact only about 15% of the Humboldt Bay shoreline.

A word about the CPD.  Kaye Strickland, who organized and led the CPD meetings for many years, passed away in February shortly after her husband Bill,  and is sorely missed. Kaye and Bill had both been hospitalized and their passing was not unexpected, but that doesn’t make it any less sad. They were both very active in the community- Bill was on the old Zoo Advisory Board with me and Kaye was active in the League of Women Voters. The CPD suffered from a lack of structure but it was an invaluable group for anyone who wanted to stay on top of Harbor issues and if the new Working Group succeeds it will be because of the framework built by Kaye and the other CPD regulars. I was delighted to see Virginia Bass  at the February meeting as well as a host of folks who were never involved in the CPD, at least that I can remember, so it appears that the CPD will have a worthy successor.

PLEASE RSVP if you’re planning to attend this month’s meeting, to Susanna Munzell, s.munzell@yahoo.com so the folks at the Cookhouse can plan accordingly.

The second group you should be aware of is in its beginning phase, but they mean business.  This is the  Humboldt Inventors’ Club recently begun by Joseph Twohig , and meets on the second Thursday from 6:30 -8pm in the community room at the rear of The Meadows townhouses on Hubbard Lane in Eureka, between Myrtle Avenue and Harris, entrance directly across from the Myrtle Avenue Market parking lot. Joe states, “Suggestions for  topics and presentations most welcome” and some of the projects are startlingly original. You will be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement if you attend. Contact Joseph Twohig at (707) 267-0775 or joetwohig@gmail.com.

So there you have it: grass-roots activism and innovation. May the Year of the Snake bring inspiration to everyone struggling to make Humboldt  County a place where our kids will be able to live their lives out in prosperity , or at least make a decent living.

Try this for fun.  Go to the  United Airlines site and make a pretend reservation from ACV to SFO, specifying a date but leaving the time open. You will be presented with a list of options for flights, and in the right-hand column, just beneath the notice that, no, they’re not going to feed you, click on the tiny blue writing that says “See on-time performance”.  You MAY get a popup that says “There is no recent record of delay and cancellation percentages for this flight.”  This is hogwash.  If you wait a day or two, you get a  different result.  For the 5:48 pm flight, 5541, I just got a table that shows 37% on time, 37% late and 0 cancelled. Since 37+37=74, this leaves a quarter of the flights unaccounted for. Did they vanish into a Redwood Coast version of the Bermuda Triangle? More likely, it’s just the way they’re counting. The fine print explains that UAL doesn’t count a flight as late unless it’s MORE THAN 30 MINUTES LATE.  The best on-time stats are – of course- for the 6am flight to Sacramento ,  where they don’t have our fog problems.

We, of course, have the fog, and turning a training facility for bad weather flying into an airport that people and businesses depend on must have seemed like a good idea at the time. So here we are, 70 years later, trying to make do with an airport that is too fogbound for reliable operations, no railroad and poor bus transportation. Is it any wonder I keep calling for a shuttle to SFO or at least Santa Rosa from which some entrepreneur will make lots of money? It’s already started. Look at Craig’s list under “Rideshare” and check out the number of gypsy operations already going.  

Or, we could move the airport to Willow Creek and ride a shuttle for an hour. At least we wouldn’t have to worry about what to call the airport.

Welcome to Bigfoot International.

If you haven’t seen it, it’s kind of an “Economic Fuel” competition on steroids. The applicants are generally looking to sell a percentage of their enterprise to a “shark” or investor. The businesses range from those with just a patent who are looking  for a licensing deal to enterprises that already have sales and big prospects.  Some just need money; others need a partner to help them get to the next stage.  One of the most common  reasons a shark passes on investing is that  her/she doesn’t feel they can help much, not familiar with the field, have a conflict etc.

The “sharks” are the real stars.  One is a nice-guy tech magnate. One is a lady real estate tycoon with bigtime connections to the Home Shopping Network.  The self-styled “Mr. Wonderful” is another tech guy,  who asks the tough questions about how the applicants arrived at their valuations. One, the founder of the  FUBU fashion line, is himself kind of a knockoff of Sean Combs. And Mark Cuban-.well, what can you say about Mark Cuban? He’s always entertaining, and sometimes he’s actually wise.

If you haven’t been watching, it’s worth taping.  You’ll hear from folks who are experiencing the same problems we all do with our startups.  Give it a try. It currently airs at 9pm on Fridays but set your DVR for “anytime” because sometimes they sneak in an extra episode in the wee hours of the morning.  Not the greatest marketing strategy but what do I know? Enjoy, and let us know what you think.

While clearing away the Christmas clutter,  let’s hope for better days to come. Here are my three wishes for the local business community.

1. No more empty storefronts! Even a year ago I could smugly drive through Henderson Center and think, “Well, at least there aren’t any empty businesses  HERE.” No longer.  Gone are Finnegan & Nason (what happened to them?) , Robert’s , although there’s a liquor sales notice in the window so maybe something is happening there, the old Dalianes site is empty again.And HC is bustling- with a serious parking problem- compared to downtown. Empty commercial sites, like  broken windows, are a sign of of an unhealthy community. The unoccupied Wendy’s, Plaza Design, and other empties on our main drag are a drag on our economy and certainly do not inspire confidence in anyone thinking of moving or investing  here.

2. Better and more transportation options! We can throw money at all the second-tier airlines in the country , like throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping it sticks, but how many more times will we have our hearts broken and our money consumed for no result? It’s time to admit that the airport is not viable for people who need reliability . Who will start a shuttle service to SF/SFO? I’m betting they’ll do well. Sign me up.  While we’re at it, let’s wish for an exhaustive and credible study of the East-West rail option. I was a  part of the Humboldt Bay Working Group that is adocating for the study and I’m still all for a CREDIBLE study of this option.

3. I wish that the flowering of entrepreneurship in Humboldt County continues to flourish.  I hope that the rumored relocation of Mr. Arkley does not mean the end of the Economic  Fuel program.  The Link is sponsoring some exciting programs and there is an Inventors’ Group forming in Eureka. When times are tough, the tough get going. We have no other choice if we want to continue living in the best place on Earth.

So Happy New Year, everyone. I was only kidding about cleaning up after Christmas. I like to leave my Christmas lights up until Chinese New Year.

     Eureka in the ‘Fifties was very different in feeling than it is now. Going down town to do Christmas shopping was exciting because you could discover what new stores had opened, not just what was the latest to close down.  There was a feeling of prosperity in the air and the trains still rumbled along the waterfront, not that we went down there.  The Bank of America was the edge of the known world to a kid in those days because we weren’t allowed to go any further toward the Bay, not without an adult. Anyone remember the Sportsmen’s Cafe? The burgers were flavored with the excitement of being close to the Unknown, just catty-corner from Daly’s.

      Daly’s could always be counted on for lots of holiday decor, as could the other stores: Bistrin’s, McGaraghan’s,  Lerner’s, the Mode O’Day.  I loved Sears’ Cafeteria on Fifth Street where Millie Sears dished up chicken pot pie, the all-time comfort food.  I remember being with my grandmother and my Aunt Evelyn Olander in a diner called Tiny’s that was on or near the corner of 5th and F.  The place was packed with shoppers and the windows steamed against the darkness. We ate spaghetti, which we never got at home,  and all was well with the world.

     On Fridays there would always be a reason to go to Lazio’s.  Friday lunchtime it seemed  the whole town was there, including the priests from St. Bernard’s. We watched the ladies slinging crabs and picked up chowder to take home.  Eureka was a great place to grow up in.  Let’s hope the New Year brings back some of the comfort and joy we knew in days past.  Happy Holidays to all!