Jesse Marsh has covered Northern California for two decades, working the statehouse beat in Sacramento before relocating to Humboldt County in 2008. A graduate of UC Davis, he spent twelve years at the Times-Standard covering local government, land use, and the slow transformation of the cannabis economy from underground industry to regulated market. He has reported from Board of Supervisors chambers, illegal grow sites in the hills above Garberville, and the hallways of the DCC office in Sacramento. Jesse launched California Bud because he believed Humboldt deserved a publication that treated cannabis the way a farming community paper treats agriculture: as the economic backbone, not a curiosity. He lives in Arcata with his wife and two dogs.
A billionaire fraudster just got a year knocked off for good behavior. Meanwhile, people in this county have done longer stretches for growing a plant that's been legal here since 2016.
California's cannabis appellation program was built for Humboldt growers. But the farms it was designed to protect are disappearing faster than the regulations can save them.
Humboldt supervisors will vote next week on a proposal to open restricted watershed zones to permitted cannabis cultivation, a move that has split environmental groups and legacy growers.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors overturned a planning commission recommendation and rejected a proposed cannabis processing facility on Kenmar Road near Fortuna, citing neighbor opposition and zoning concerns.
Humboldt County announces a $500,000 state-funded equity grant program aimed at helping disadvantaged cannabis applicants navigate the licensing process.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors approved $1.2 million in emergency general fund spending Tuesday to repair storm-damaged roads in the Shelter Cove area, but not before a debate over whether the money should go somewhere else entirely.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors opened public comment on a proposed cap of 12 retail cannabis licenses in unincorporated areas, and the room got loud fast.
Humboldt County's midyear budget review shows cannabis cultivation tax revenue tracking $1.8 million below the $5.5 million projection, forcing the board to consider cuts or a rate restructure.
Humboldt County Board of Supervisors elects Fifth District Supervisor Michelle Estrada as 2026 chair in a 5-0 vote, with cannabis enforcement reform topping the new agenda.