Welcome to 100% Humboldt — a locally produced podcast hosted by Scott Hammond, who interviews the movers and shakers on the North Coast.
On this episode, Hammond sits down down with artist-organizer and Eureka Councilmember Leslie Castellano to explore how dance, art, housing, and transit can pull a fractured community back into rhythm. From Florida’s Gulf Coast to Humboldt’s dunes, Leslie traces a path that runs through Tai Chi, contact improvisation, and the founding of Synapsis—each step teaching her to listen, share weight, and build momentum together.
The audio version (above) has been edited for radio air. You can view the unedited interview from100% Humboldt's YouTube page at the bottom of this post.
Transcription:
>>Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors, and all those out at sea, this is Scott Hammond with 100% Humboldt podcast in Humboldt County, California, with my new best friend, and you're going to say your last name. I know your first name's Leslie, but I got to get the last name right. Castellano. Castellano. Hi, Leslie.
>>Leslie Castellano: Hey, Scott.
>>Scott Hammond: How's your day?
>>Leslie Castellano: Today's been busy. Yeah. I started off at 3:30 at the Skywalk.
>>Scott Hammond: Oh, that's right. You had good morning America.
>>Leslie Castellano: We did.
>>Scott Hammond: They were here at 3:30 in the morning?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yes. Yes, they were.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah, Nancy Olson said she was there, and she was real tired at like 11 today. Hi, Nancy. So you're going on like fumes right now.
>>Leslie Castellano: It's okay. That's maybe normal.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah, 3:30 in the morning. Want some coffee?
>>Leslie Castellano: I've had a couple rounds of coffee, so uh...
>>Scott Hammond: So they have to broadcast really early for the East Coast.
>>Leslie Castellano: Exactly.
>>Scott Hammond: So that's 6:30 Eastern standard time.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, and we didn't really start broadcasting until four, but they wanted us there so we would be ready when they started.
>>Scott Hammond: So you're up at the Skywalk at the zoo.
>>Leslie Castellano: Mm hmm.
>>Scott Hammond: Wow. Jim Campbell Spicler.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Was he there?
>>Leslie Castellano: He was not part of the crowd. He was present in attendance, but he wasn't part of the crowd. They kind of, you know, it was a good mix of people from different, you know, like the Chamber, Eureka Main Street, you know, some realtor-facing folks. Anyway, just different community members.
>>Scott Hammond: My friend Lucky was there from Rotary. He's a realtor.
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh, I missed him. You know, it's funny. We were just emailing yesterday. We should have chatted.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah. Hi, Lucky. Yeah, no. That's really cool that we got represented. Thank goodness it wasn't raining.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yes, definitely.
>>Scott Hammond: It's the Redwoods It's dumping rain.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. It would have changed the tone.
>>Scott Hammond: It's 65 and perfect all January. Sorry.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right.
>>Scott Hammond: So tell us the Leslie story. What's your day job? And then I want to hear about where you're from. AI says you're local, so that's pretty good.
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh, good.
>>Scott Hammond: We'll see how local you are.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. I'm here now. Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: You're in the moment. Yeah. I'm present with you right here.
>>Leslie Castellano: Exactly. Very local.
>>Scott Hammond: So you're a city council person?
>>Leslie Castellano: City council person. Yeah. Representing Ward 1 for the city of Eureka. And my day job is I'm the executive Director of the Ink People Center for Art and Culture here based out of Eureka, California, but serving kind of mostly Humboldt County and some of the wider North Coast region.
>>Scott Hammond: Nice. I wanted to talk all about the arts and why it's important to us and our economy, but also us as human beings.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right.
>>Scott Hammond: We'll get there. So tell me about you and where did you go to school? What's your deal, man? What's your story?
>>Leslie Castellano: What's my deal? Okay. Well, mostly I grew up in Florida.
>>Scott Hammond: Uh huh.
>>Leslie Castellano: A lot of my family's from Oklahoma, so I spent a little time in my kind of age 1 to 5 in Oklahoma. But then the other part of my family's from Florida. So I grew up in the Panhandle, so the lower Alabama part of Florida. And, you know, that's, like, the Gulf of Mexico, you know, so lots of, like, white sand beaches, you know, oak trees, bayous, Spanish moss. And then I went to school in New College in Sarasota, which is a small liberal arts college or was a small liberal arts college. It's had some changes in recent years.
>>Scott Hammond: So what did you study there?
>>Leslie Castellano: I studied anthropology, and then about a year and a half in, I decided I didn't want to be an anthropologist, so I switched to social sciences in general. But the anthropology kind of informed some of my thinking around art and culture and just some of the framework around that. I had, like, two years of credit going into college because I was dual enrolled in high school, so I-
>>Scott Hammond: So you're smart.
>>Leslie Castellano: I don't know.
>>Scott Hammond: You were advanced.
>>Leslie Castellano: I'm a keener, you know, right? [laughter] So anyway, I was able to I was only in college for a few years because I already had a lot of school under my belt.
>>Scott Hammond: So did you graduate?
>>Leslie Castellano: Of course. I mean, yeah, I graduated. Sorry, this is weird.
>>Scott Hammond: Of course I did. How dare you. [LAUGHTER] Yes.
>>Leslie Castellano: I do like to finish things I began. That skill's important.
>>Scott Hammond: So anthropology kind of plays into politics perfectly.
>>Leslie Castellano: It does, right? Yeah, you know, social, you know, for sure, thinking about how we form the, the social spaces we live in, how they inform us, you know, that kind of play between, right, like, like, the way our experiences inform how we imagine the world, and then also how the way we live together and imagine the world and shapes our experiences.
>>Scott Hammond: I was going to go back to the baseline of how history repeats itself, how we make the same mistakes over and over and over again.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, there's that, too.
>>Scott Hammond: It's not always that, but there is that, anyway.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, the story of human civilization has some pretty dark turns that we seem to make.
>>Scott Hammond: Crazy. Oh, my 21-year-old is kind of a student of history, and he's reminding me with some of his revisionist crazy stuff, too, but another story for another day. So what got you to Humboldt?
>>Leslie Castellano: You know, growing up in Florida, there's definitely a West Coast mythos that I, you know, as a 19, 20-year-old, was pretty attracted to and had some friends, you know, did a little bit of road tripping during the summers in my youth. And so I had come to California and then had friends that had moved out here. And so when I was kind of wrapping up my coursework at New College I came out and um, you know, I wasn't intending to, like, settle in Humboldt County. You know, I had a couple of friends who had moved here and, like, just kind of got involved in the community, and then it just kind of slowly grew, and here I am, deeply involved now.
>>Scott Hammond: It got into you.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. It got into me. [LAUGHTER]
>>Scott Hammond: That's okay. That's good.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yep.
>>Scott Hammond: I would say you could do a lot worse than Humboldt County. Oh, my gosh. I love it here. That's good. What do you like about it? Love about it?
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. Um, gosh, I mean, I think what first drew me... I was and still try to be a pretty avid kind of hiker, outdoors person was just a combination of, like, mountains, rivers,
>>Scott Hammond: Everything.
>>Leslie Castellano: forest, ocean.
>>Scott Hammond: I'm married to one of you one of your people.
>>Leslie Castellano: [laughter] Very good. We're good people. We're good people.
>>Scott Hammond: She did the Lanphere Dunes this week and got in trouble and had the permit.
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh good, good job.
>>Scott Hammond: Still got in trouble. It's closed, but they said it was open, but it's closed.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. But I tried. I really tried to do the right thing.
>>Scott Hammond: They said, Jodi, you tried to do the right thing here. But yeah, she's hiked pretty much everywhere. She hikes with a Fortuna group, kind of the old farts there. Every Wednesday for the last 200 years, they have gone on a hike somewhere. They're hardcore.
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh, that's great. Yeah. Very cool.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah, they're really early. Yeah. Better be there early, though. They leave. Yeah. Right, Reese Hughes. So. Wait. I'm talking to you not to Rees.
>>Leslie Castellano: I'm like, Hi. [laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: So you're a hiker. Good place to hike.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yep, good place to hike. And then so that was what first drew me here.
>>Scott Hammond: Favorite hikes?
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh, gosh. I mean, my favorite closest hike is Ma-le'l Dunes. I just, it's always wondrous, that kind of meeting place between the ocean and the dunes and the forest and the way the dunes open up there.
>>Scott Hammond: It's kind of otherworldly. It is intersection.
>>Leslie Castellano: I love it.
>>Scott Hammond: Ever been there for the mosquitoes? [laughter]
>>Leslie Castellano: I think I've been there for the mosquitoes. Or they've been there for me. Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Well, it goes both ways.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. Right, right. Reciprocal relationship. I really like the Dolason Meadow hike that goes down to the Emerald Creek. That's my favorite sort of long hike. It's the one I've been to the most.
>>Scott Hammond: It's a road called up by Lady Bird Johnson that you go.
>>Leslie Castellano: Is it Bald Hills Road?
>>Scott Hammond: It's Bald Hills, right?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Wow. You're two for two. You're like, Jody's two favorite right now.
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh.
>>Scott Hammond: Maybe.
>>Leslie Castellano: Alright. Hey, Jodi.
>>Scott Hammond: Hi Jodi.
>>Leslie Castellano: We should chat.
>>Scott Hammond: What's your third one?
>>Leslie Castellano: My third. Ooh.
>>Scott Hammond: Um Alright, Jodi, this is for all the money if she gets this.
>>Leslie Castellano: I know. I don't think I will. I'm sorry, Jody ahead of time.
>>Scott Hammond: She's panicking.
>>Leslie Castellano: I didn't know it was a game show.
>>Scott Hammond: We do that later.
>>Leslie Castellano: I think these aren't Humboldt hikes, but the Trinity Alps, I just love
>>Scott Hammond: Wow.
>>Leslie Castellano: the Trinity Alps in general. You know, last summer, I went for the first time to the Marble Mountains, and I've been wanting to go there for years, and
>>Scott Hammond: Right.
>>Leslie Castellano: I was very-
>>Scott Hammond: Is that Siskiyou County?
>>Leslie Castellano: Thrilled. It is. It is. It was beautiful. I want to go again and spend I spent a couple nights.
>>Scott Hammond: Did you go up the 96 or 3 or way up?
>>Leslie Castellano: 96, and then I forget the road we took from there.
>>Scott Hammond: Way out there.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. And then I think the local Humboldt hike. I don't know. I feel like there's just a lot of ties for third.
>>Scott Hammond: Mm hmm. That's fine.
>>Leslie Castellano: Jody, you'll have to tell me your third favorite, and then.
>>Scott Hammond: I'll just I'll pick for her. Probably anything in Prairie Creek State Park.
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay. I do. Yeah. Prairie Creek is good. It's true. Yeah. Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: And I do smaller hikes. Anyway, so hiking brought you here, kept here.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yep. What else? Well, when I first moved here, I taught preschool for five years, and I kind of dove into Tai chi studying Tai chi. And so that was the first, like, community I formed or was part of. I was not knowing at the time. I guess I have a nerdy interest in, like, doing things that cultivate collectivity. And so, you know, it's like, right? Like, you can go to a tai chi class, but I was like, I'm going to make a Tai chi newsletter. We're gonna have tai chi potlucks. We're going to get together in the morning and do tai chi.
>>Scott Hammond: Wow, connection, community.
>>Leslie Castellano: [laughter] Exactly. So, you know, that was-
>>Scott Hammond: So this was your group that you grew it?
>>Leslie Castellano: I was not the teacher. For sure. No. I was a student together. Very yeah. Yeah. I was definitely a knitter in that space.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Well, that's cool. I like that. So you stuck around, and then what did you do for work?
>>Leslie Castellano: Stuck around, taught preschool for a while, and then I decided that this, mid 20s that, you know, I'm like, maybe one day later, I'll come back to teaching. I love working with young children, but I was like, you know, I'm going to explore other things. At that time, Tai chi kind of brought me to studying contact improvisation, which is a dance form based on if you think about Aikto, right? Like, where you have people using, like, momentum to work in combat situations or work against one another. Um, contact improvisation would be kind of taking the same principles, but using, like, momentum, kind of, like, sensing one another's, like center to work collaboratively as a dance practice. And so, um, I kind of I started studying contact improvisation pretty seriously.
>>Scott Hammond: Is this upright? I mean, people stand and do it?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, it's a, - I mean, it's a dance form. It can be pretty acrobatic. I still practice and teach that dance form.
>>Scott Hammond: Throw someone into a somersault?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, I mean, you know, you like, flip up on people's shoulders and, you know, I flip people up onto my shoulders and, you know, you can kind of go back and forth, like, using momentum to kind of continue the movement.
>>Scott Hammond: Parkour.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: People parkour.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. Yeah, I like that metaphor. So anyway, study that pretty seriously, and which I'll get to how that informs, like, politics, maybe, but, um, through that practice and through being somewhat involved with at that time, I got involved with the Biodiesel Roadshow, Sustainable Communities Biodiesel Roadshow, which was a local group that was kind of associated with the Redwood Peace and Justice Center, that we had a big biodiesel bus, and we would go and do, like, giant puppets and stilt walking at, like, protests and things like that.
>>Scott Hammond: So like BlackRock or no?
>>Leslie Castellano: No, you know, some of the people were going there for sure. Yeah. I mean, I've been to Burning Man, but this was sort of like this is like post 9/11. So sort of there was a lot of, like, political activation around that time.
>>Scott Hammond: Mm hmm.
>>Leslie Castellano: And so kind of both of those scenes, I was like, I need a place to practice dance and to make giant puppets. And so found a warehouse with a couple of friends in old town. And that's when Synapsis was formed, which is kind of an art space, and I'm still sort of loosely holding the container of-.
Where's that?
>>Scott Hammond: Is that the one on like, 2nd by Eagle House down that way?
>>Leslie Castellano: No, it's on Union Street, kind of Union and Wabash, which is just across from that big Caltrans campus, if you're in Humboldt County. And it's, you know, so now it's like a not an old funky warehouse space, but, a like, an old community hall. It's an old Finnish hall that was built in 1904. that we've renovated. Now we own it, renovated it, and turned it into a community space.
>>Scott Hammond: Did Access Humbolt do a video there with the drums, drummers?
>>Leslie Castellano: I believe so, yeah, we had a drum brigade there, so there was-
>>Scott Hammond: They show that a lot.
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh, do they? That's funny. Okay, great. Thanks, Access Humbolt.
>>Scott Hammond: Thank you, Access Humbolt. You're amazing. Yeah. Yeah, they're great. So you're doing all the things. So how did that-
>>Leslie Castellano: Maybe too many.
>>Scott Hammond: That's okay. [laughter] You learn by doing. So how did that transition then to politics?
>>Leslie Castellano: Right, exactly. So okay. So contact improvisation, right? It's a Ideologically, it's a dance form where, and this may be a little esoteric at first, but I think it makes sense in my body, so whatever. I'm sharing it now. Anyway, it's a dance form that's right? You know, so you're in this relationship where you're sensing someone else's body. It's a non codified form. And it also you're constantly in a relationship of change, right? Because you're sensing what's possible in that moment and trying to kind of make the best out of it, really, by doing something that's, like, creative and I mean, "creative" is such a kind of a weird word, but, like, that's something that's uh...
>>Scott Hammond: Spontaneous?
>>Leslie Castellano: Generative, spontaneous. And I think generative of, like, what is possible through this connectivity, right? And, you know, and perhaps that's, like, a thing of beauty, you know, depending on how you define beauty or at least maybe a space of curiosity. I think the idea of curiosity is really valuable in that practice. And so, um, that kind of informed, I think, just the way I think about community and, like, connecting to people is, like, you know, right? Like, you know, in contact improvisation, it's not that you don't bring skills and training to the work. But then you take, you know, those are your tools that you use, just like political training or anything like that. But then, you know, it's in that meeting point that you're like, there with another person or more than one person. It can be like trios or quartets or like group scores. But also this idea of, like, sensing another person, people, and seeing what's possible, right? And doing something that's collaborative and generative for the exchange that you have with one another.
>>Scott Hammond: Designed for fun? Should it be fun?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, it is fun.
>>Scott Hammond: Let's do one right now.
>>Leslie Castellano: I mean, [laughter] sure. I'm teaching a class later tonight, so you can tell us about that.
>>Scott Hammond: You want to do a shout out on that? Are you adding more people all the time?
>>Leslie Castellano: Sure, yeah, yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Shout it out.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. Thursday evenings at Synapsis, we do contact improvisation. There's class and jam. Sometimes there's live music.
>>Scott Hammond: Wow.
>>Leslie Castellano: And folks can learn what this form is.
>>Scott Hammond: What time?
>>Leslie Castellano: 6: 30, and then there's, like, a warm up at 7:00. There's open dancing. Sometimes the class goes longer. It sort of slightly changes week to week. But if you come at 6:30, there will be people there and dancing.
>>Scott Hammond: So you're gonna stay at 24 hours today, aren't you?
>>Leslie Castellano: I think I might. I know. I'm like, Oh, baby. I'm going to, yeah, I know.
>>Scott Hammond: Maybe I'll sit this one out.
>>Leslie Castellano: I have, like, more work to do between anyway, we'll see how far I can go.
>>Scott Hammond: So day job, you're the director of Ink People And you were our neighbors at State Farm next door and now you have moved and going move again to downtown, new building.
>>Leslie Castellano: I know. It's very exciting.
>>Scott Hammond: We saw a builder coming out of there, too.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, there is work happening. You know, I mean, one of the joys of a... taking on an old building is finding the things that need to be repaired and, you know, taking care of them and kind of bringing it back to life.
>>Scott Hammond: Was it Ichabod's Billiards last time?
>>Leslie Castellano: It was Rose's Billiards.
>>Scott Hammond: The Icahbod might have been before Rose.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: But it was a pool hall and beer joint.
>>Leslie Castellano: It was a pool hall.
>>Scott Hammond: It was fun.
>>Leslie Castellano: It was like the Eureka Alibi for a minute.
>>Scott Hammond: Club West.
>>Leslie Castellano: It was Club West. I was when I first moved here, it was Club West and saw some good music there. So it's yeah, for the Ink People, it will be a gallery, small venue. Our our youth classroom is there where you learn, like, graphic design, digital animation.
>>Scott Hammond: Music, right?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, music recording. We're building in a small recording studio there. And we're going to have a youth run coffee shop there that's, like, a workforce development project, so youth learn workforce development skills.
>>Scott Hammond: I don't have to go to Starbucks.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. You don't have to now, also. [laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: Yes, I know. I quit a long time ago.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah. We have so many. Oh, my God.
>>Leslie Castellano: I know. I mean, it'll be a great opportunity for the youth. We do have many very good coffee shops in Old Town already,
>>Scott Hammond: But we'll get to that when it's quiz time.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Which is coming right up. So, you direct all of the folks and run the show, and you're transitioning now you're in this whole big, new building, and wow. Got to move all the stuff eventually.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yes, we will. Yeah. By the end of June.
>>Scott Hammond: It's a reset.
>>Leslie Castellano: I know. You know, the building as a project checks a lot of boxes in that I've been involved with the Ink People for a long time as a board member. And then, you know, and so really got to know Libby Maynard, you know, in that space. And, you know, Libby had a vision and a dream for the Ink People to have a permanent home before I became the director. And I really also felt a lot of alignment and care for that vision and dream because there's something about... I mean, one, the organization has been around since 1979 and has never really had its own space. We were in the municipal auditorium for quite a while. But then after that big earthquake in 2012, we lost that space and really kind of have kind of hopped from space to space in the intermediary time. And anyway, so it's really exciting to kind of take on this project that one, will, like, serve the community in terms of really amplifying the work that we do. Like, we support, you know, more than 90 different Dreammaker projects, which is our fiscal sponsorship program. And, you know, plus our youth program, plus all of the, like, placemaking, placekeeping work we do, and, you know, to really have a space where people can gather and, you know, have those cultural exchanges, have those creative exchanges, like, you know, be a support space even more so than we are now for artists and culture keepers.
>>Scott Hammond: I think I get it. It's nice.
>>Leslie Castellano: It's such a dream. It's so great.
>>Scott Hammond: So why... you just told us kind of what the vision is.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yep.
>>Scott Hammond: You kind of you did. Why is art important to me, a human being on the planet?
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. Oh, gosh. I mean, I think it's almost-
>>Scott Hammond: Ergo Ink people in Eureka, in Humboldt.
>>Leslie Castellano: I think it's almost survival right now in the sense of, right? Like, like, I mean, and coming back to that kind of early root of it, like, anthropology, like, okay, you know, like, the world is informing how we experience ourselves and how we experience one another. And, you know, in a world in which we're really, you know, whatever your belief system, I think, like, looking at these, you know, environmental, sociopolitical crises or at least, like, the instability and, you know, like, how do we create a space for, like, what we want and what we care about within that? And, you know, and for sure, people have many ways of expressing that, but I-.
>>Scott Hammond: Some not so healthy.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. Yeah, also that. But, you know, like, art, culture, I think, are the ways where we really, like, envision, like, our beliefs in a way that I think generates, like, possibility and care.
>>Scott Hammond: And connection.
>>Leslie Castellano: And connection, exactly. You know, it's also, I think, a way in which we try to, like, wrestle with the things that we don't understand or the things that are troubling us, but, you know, wrestle with them in a way that allows for transformation. You know, I think it's really easy to, you know, get on our social media and be angry and, you know, and which hopefully that's cathartic for someone. I don't know, you know.
>>Scott Hammond: I wonder anymore.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. It's, you know, but I think often it ends up being these ways in which we actually sort of, like, devolve what's possible with our, like, connectivity, with that relationship, you know, like, I still think there are some seeds of, like, I'm like, you know, people connecting in social media spaces, but, you know, like, when people are, like, creating things and especially having those, you know, like, exchanges through, like, what they're making and, you know, inviting other people into that process. And I think we really do, you know, find ways to, like, arrive at connection together.
>>Scott Hammond: And common ground.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, and joy is important.
>>Scott Hammond: I think about the music piece, you know, right? Kids creating music together. How could that be bad?
>>Leslie Castellano: I know. Such a dream.
>>Scott Hammond: And I wonder if sometimes this is the space of cultural division anymore. So this is not probably art. I don't think they're getting too much art going.
>>Leslie Castellano: Anyway, I know.
>>Scott Hammond: I don't know. Maybe this space.
>>Leslie Castellano: And yeah, I am on the device too much myself, I think.
>>Scott Hammond: They said 80 times a day. Excuse me while I death scroll during my show. Hi. [Laughter] Yeah, no, it's some bad stats. It's just not, it ain't that great. There is a lot of potential, so to poo poo Facebook or TikTok, we're not going there. It's not necessary.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: I like that. I like the space of art, what it creates.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. You know, when you're talking about that, I was thinking about just, like, I think a lot because I'm in, you know, I had the privilege of being in different spaces of, like, what are the commons, right? You know, and, you know, right? Sometimes I think, like, Oh, like, these social media spaces are like this, like, digital commons, you know, but the way they've been, right, like, intentionally manipulated to be also, like, places of actually, like, commerce, you know, in ways that aren't designed to center the person, you know, the user, better design, you know, right? Like, everyone knows that, like, division sells things more, you know, when people are sad or angry or upset-
>>Scott Hammond: I'm going to buy something.
>>Leslie Castellano: they buy more things, you know.
>>Scott Hammond: That endorphin, excuse me. I got to buy something real quick.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right?
>>Scott Hammond: Endorphin hit.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. It's wild.
>>Scott Hammond: Woah, look at the record I just bought, Nick. I bought a vinyl. No. I want to bring vinyl into this in a minute. But yeah, it's an interesting dynamic because we're right in the middle of it. And I think this adds to the dysfunction and the division. And I think even more so when we're fed all kinds of algorithmic crap.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Here's a diet of total division. And I'm not creating while I'm dividing, I think.
>>Leslie Castellano: Exactly. Or it's like is destruction good?
>>Scott Hammond: Maybe there's creative dividers out there. How perverse could that, going down that road.
>>Leslie Castellano: I think there are. [laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: Yes, they exist. They're really good at it, so yeah. So, for me, I've collected vinyls since my birthday, January 2nd.
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay.
>>Scott Hammond: I got a really good stereo. Nick's got a killer stereo over there and a really good vinyl collection due to his special guest host Scott Hammond. So, it's been really fun, and it's created community for me to collect old and new rock and roll and Wyndham Hill New Age and freakin' jazz records and make connections with people. Whether live or not in person and the guys that I buy, I just like nerding up on Miles Davis or Led Zeppelin 1. It doesn't matter. And so to listen to stuff and all that reminiscent it here we go, creative. I'm touching it, I'm feeling it. I'm smelling. How weird is that? And playing the record and cleaning it. And Jethro Tull never sounded any better.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right, the sensorial experience, right? It's like more the sound of the record, but also, yeah, all of this texture and history, and it's like, you know, it's a kind of art object in a way.
>>Scott Hammond: It's so much better.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Siri play, I don't know, Blue Oyster Cult. And it's just here's the song, and it's tinny, and it's okay, and I got a good speaker, but it's not... Now, if we put Blue Oyster Cult on the record player, there might be some dancing going down. Mm hmm. So maybe not to that. But anyway, digress. So hey, give a shout out to Ink People real quick and then we'll move into the quiz. Where you could win a fabulous Oh, are you kidding? [Gasps] A Dick Taylor Tanzania bar.
>>Leslie Castellano: Woo! Okay. Shout out to the Ink People.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah. Shout them out. How do you get a hold of the ink? How do we give you jag or a bar of gold or just a bag of 100 dollar bills?
>>Leslie Castellano: Sure. Sure. Well, we have a great website, inkpeople.org. Pretty easy to find. You can email me, Leslie, at inkpeople.org. You can also call us: 707-442-8413.
>>Scott Hammond: 8413.
>>Leslie Castellano: 8413.
>>Scott Hammond: 442.
>>Leslie Castellano: [Laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: That's 442 pubucket. That's an old joke. All the old people in the community will know that. That was Anderson Robinson Insurance. "Call me at 822-pubucket." It's like okay, Steve, we will. So we could give you things. Do you do PayPal and Venmo and all the things?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, we do we don't really do Venmo. It's a little tricky. They haven't figured out the pathway for nonprofits in a way that's really great. So Cash App or the other one? Yeah. We have PayPal, and we have a donation button there on our site that any donations right now will definitely support the beautification, the reopening of the new building. And then also, of course, like, our youth program. Which, the youth program is great. It's the Mars Project Media Arts Resource Zone, year-round, free program for youth. During the school year, we're open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 3:00 to 6:00 P.M. And it's really fun. We just started this well, last summer, we started a youth advisory panel that kind of informs the workshops and
>>Scott Hammond: I love it.
>>Leslie Castellano: things that happen. And we now have a youth board member who, like, serves as an intermediary between the board and the teens.
>>Scott Hammond: That's cool. I like it.
>>Leslie Castellano: It's really fun.
>>Scott Hammond: It just triggered a good memory. Next door, we had this organization called the Ink People, and they'd have kids outside playing sacks on Thursday afternoon. It was great. I would go, What's going on? I'd go out and watch and kind of hang out and they would jam, and it was fun. I think Stanley would come out and play sax and do lessons, and it was cool.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: It was really fun.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, Corey Goldman is the music focused youth mentor, and he's an amazing musician, multi instrumentalist, and really supports a lot of youth and like their like, recording projects or little, like, emergent bands and things. It's a neat little scene back there.
>>Scott Hammond: Are you ready?
>>Leslie Castellano: Maybe.
>>Scott Hammond: Okay. Question number one.
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay.
PARAGRAPH: [Bell Rings]
>>Leslie Castellano: I'm like, oh no.
>>Scott Hammond: I never do the pregnant pause with the bell. I kind of like it. Let's do it again.
PARAGRAPH: [Bell Rings]
>>Scott Hammond: Question number one. What is life giving for you and what is soul sucking and draining for you?
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh, life giving: dancing, camaraderie with friends, emergent performance projects that, like, connect land practices with somatic practices. And oh so...
>>Scott Hammond: Wait, what is that?
>>Leslie Castellano: [laughter].
>>Scott Hammond: I think I might know what that is, but I don't know what that is.
>>Leslie Castellano: This is a quiz for you.
>>Scott Hammond: Okay. Question number one.
>>Leslie Castellano: [laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: Somatic practices with what? Land?
>>Leslie Castellano: Land practices. Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Okay.
>>Leslie Castellano: So, right? So, you know, body as sight, like, land as sight and this idea of, right? Like, I really like doing, like, somatic, so like practices related like sensing and moving in relationship to sensing in relationship to land.
>>Scott Hammond: Or nature or forest or whatever.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. I'm actually one of those people who goes out into the woods and dances in the woods.
>>Scott Hammond: You're a woods dancer.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, I am. It's not just like a Saturday Night Live comic moment. It's like, actually, I'm doing that. Totally.
>>Scott Hammond: No I think I've seen some of you down in Garberville. There's lots of. wood people.
>>Leslie Castellano: Actually, I actually put on these, like, little symposiums about it and bring together and I like to people who are doing, like, land cooperatives and, like, housing cooperatives and, um, you know, like, seed projects and then have them converse across with people who are doing, like, somatic practices, performance practices, art practices, and kind of, like, actually talking about that there's, like, this connectivity as, like, like, like, embodied practices are deeply connected to land because we are people who are in relationship to land, whether we know it or not.
>>Scott Hammond: What I like about that, and I don't know if that works, but what I like about it is I think there's people that would be curious enough to go, what is that? Let's do this. And try that and be discovering stuff. I don't know what's possible. Anyway. So what's soul sucking for you?
>>Leslie Castellano: Um, I mean, fear, but I think fear is soul sucking for everyone. I think gosh, I mean, you know, doom scrolling, for sure, as mentioned already. But I think it's, like, the way that I think through fear people right now are just hyper conditioned to, um, like, okay. Sorry, I'm like, how do I say this without? I'm just going to use an example, okay? Like, like, being someone who's in a lot of spaces, I get, like, called out on social media, right, which, you know, that's just part of life now. Which in and of itself isn't... I get it. You know, I get that people are, like, trying to engage with something. But I think the way that, like, those conversations take place often are like, there's no actual learning in those spaces.
>>Scott Hammond: Rarely.
>>Leslie Castellano: And so it's, like, being in a process of, like, talking about politics or community or the world where we're not willing to or also activating, like, the capacity to learn and grow together, you know, and for me, that's, like, so important to being in a community is that I like, have to also be a learning person, you know, to do a job well.
>>Scott Hammond: Hopefully.
>>Leslie Castellano: You know, and I was actually thinking earlier about just the difference, right, between, like, calling out and calling in, you know, and, like, how we can, like, create a space for critique that invites change and kind of holds people, like, accountable. I think that's important, in a way that, like, creates the possibility for, like, action and, like, doing in relationship to it. I'm a kind of perpetual doer. So yeah, so I think when things just feel like they sort of create those, like, devolve into, like, pinning someone in a space that doesn't allow for change that feels pretty soul sucking.
>>Scott Hammond: Right. That results in all kinds of other negativity. So you know my friend David Frank. He's on... So he said something just like this. He's on it is it Gronk? It's not Gronk. It's sorry, David, I'm doing your show a disservice. So he and the attorney from So-Hum are on a show on Access Humboldt.
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay.
>>Scott Hammond: And he said something very similar, so you get to meet David probably at some point after this.
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh good.
>>Scott Hammond: Same idea. We could definitely get people together to talk in a space that's safe and maybe actually create a win.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yes.
>>Scott Hammond: Imagine that.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. Because actually I love, like, encountering difference in a way where I think it's healthy to challenge one another and to, like, you know, I mean, maybe not something as formal as debate, but to really be able to actually, like, dig into some issues, dig into our challenges because, you know, honestly, like, if we had to figure it all out, like, we would just do the thing, right? We'd be like, cool, we're living in relationship to the land, and we're not harming, you know, the environment. And you know, everyone has food and is taken care of. And clearly, we haven't figured it out because there are real challenges that we need to address. And so, to really be in a space of, like, how do we generate possibility to try something in that space. So yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: How did you arrive at that viewpoint? So having those kind of questions? Here comes number two. This will be- I'll be conducting the quiz, please.
>>Leslie Castellano: [laughter].
>>Scott Hammond: Don't reach for my bell. Stay over there. So, question number two, you have the whole day to do whatever you want to do, and money's not even the problem. 9:00 A.M. To 9:00 P.M. You got Friday off. What do you do? What's your day look like, Leslie?
>>Leslie Castellano: [laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: I mean a day off.
>>Leslie Castellano: My day off. Right. Okay. I was like, uh... You don't want to know. No, um, let's see. Gosh, a day off. It's been a little while. Um I mean, I for sure, I like to go be outside. I like, like, depending on how much of a day off, like to go somewhere where it's pretty quiet. And I can I don't know. I like to be in a relationship of awe with the natural world. So, you know, going someplace beautiful. But then perhaps, you know, in the evening, if I were to come back in town and not be camping or something, then I would like to go see some live music or a performance, a theater piece or something like that, just because there are so many incredibly talented people. I love to yeah, go see what people are making.
>>Scott Hammond: Wow. I like that. That's a good one. Go see live doers.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah. That's why we like live music so much.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. [laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: Okay. Question number three for all the marbles. Ready?
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay.
>>Scott Hammond: What are you proud of?
>>Leslie Castellano: Hmm.
>>Scott Hammond: And then what regrets do you have?
>>Leslie Castellano: [laughter] Personally proud of or, like, proud of, like?
>>Scott Hammond: Proud for you. No, just you.
>>Leslie Castellano: Alright. Hmm...
>>Scott Hammond: Any regrets, any points of pride?
>>Leslie Castellano: Sure. Um, I mean, I'm proud of, like, the caring relationships I have with people in this community.
>>Scott Hammond: That's cool. Love that.
>>Leslie Castellano: [Laughter] Silly and sensitive but it's true.
>>Scott Hammond: With some exceptions. [laughter]
>>Leslie Castellano: I'm also proud of the housing that's getting built in Eureka right now. Even though perhaps some people are frustrated by it, I am proud that there will be more affordable housing for people, you know? And I understand some of the frustrations, but I do feel proud of what I feel is the greater good around that. Um, and let's see. What do I most regret?
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah. Something, maybe a regret.
>>Leslie Castellano: Hmm.
>>Scott Hammond: Unless you have a list in which case. Yeah.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. Let's see. I think. Gosh, I mean, it's not a personal regret. I really don't like resource scarcity and the way it creates, like, tension between people. But that's that's just, like, the world. But I think I mean, okay, I think personally, like, there's some part of me that's like, oh, like, it would be cool to go to grad school, you know, like I did all I kind of did my chunk of schooling, like, really early, and I've had the opportunity to study with a lot of different people, but It could be fun. It could be fun in a really nerdy way to go to grad school.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah. I just think of a Midwest college, like a really beautiful little town and just go to grad school. That'd be fun. A couple of years and just do whatever.
>>Leslie Castellano: Relaxing.
>>Scott Hammond: Well, for the bonus question.
>>Leslie Castellano: Uh oh.
>>Scott Hammond: How do you feel right now?
>>Leslie Castellano: I feel pretty joyous. Uh, yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Good. Good. I hope you're comfortable. Hey, guess what? You're the winner winner chicken dinner.
>>Leslie Castellano: What?
>>Scott Hammond: Of the Tanzania 65% dark chocolate.
>>Leslie Castellano: Amazing.
>>Scott Hammond: Kilo Barrow Valley. I don't even know where that is. It's in Tanzania somewhere.
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay.
>>Scott Hammond: So, congrats. Enjoy.
>>Leslie Castellano: Thank you. And thank you, Scott.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah, you're welcome. Thank you, Dianna. Dick, she's amazing. So let's move it on here. Are you ready?
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay.
>>Scott Hammond: Gonna bring it on home.
>>Leslie Castellano: Alright.
>>Scott Hammond: So let's talk about Eureka and all the things and talk about progress, I don't know, opportunities, and let's, so I formulated this question all on my own today. So we give you 5 billion for you, not for the council, but it's your money and you're a philanthropist, and you're going to throw a five bill with a big "B" billion at Eureka.
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay.
>>Scott Hammond: What are you going to do? Where's it going to go and what percentages go to what?
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay. Ooh. Okay. I wish I had a piece of paper, but that's okay.
>>Scott Hammond: Just wing it. Just rough it.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is rough map. Rough dream. Let's see. I recently created a plan for a guaranteed income for artists. But anyway, so I would do a guaranteed income program for artists in Eureka for two years, and that would be, I don't know. That's not even that much money, but, like, let's say, 30 artists. I would create, um, okay. I live near Wabash Street, and I think I love the zoning on Wabash. It's neighborhood commercial zoning. So I would, like, buy up a couple of underutilized properties and create, like, mixed use neighborhood commercial sites on them. So, you know, like, like cafe, brew pub, bakery restaurants downstairs with, like, housing above and in the back because there are so many people who live right there.
>>Scott Hammond: Like the Creamery District neighborhood.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, kind of like that. But, you know, but, you know, perhaps even a little more. Anyway, I think that neighborhood would really benefit from that kind of development. Let's see. I really want to do a parklet in front of Synapsis, so a small amount I want to go to a parklet.
>>Scott Hammond: Selfish money.
>>Leslie Castellano: [Laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: Some of it's for you. It's your money.
>>Leslie Castellano: Well, it would be for the neighborhood.
>>Scott Hammond: You're the benefactor.
>>Leslie Castellano: You know, it's free for the public, but, you know, like, you know, just a place where people can, like, gather. I don't know. I like the idea of mini parks, and I would gosh, maybe I would, like, fund some ADUs that would, uh, right? Like, it would be sort of like affordable housing, but also would create some economic opportunity for the homeowner. But then also create housing, and, oh! Well, we all know, like, C to F Street in Old Town. I would.
>>Scott Hammond: Like downtown. Old Town.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Proper old town.
>>Leslie Castellano: Proper old town.
>>Scott Hammond: It's right over here in Eureka. It's right there.
>>Leslie Castellano: In Eureka. I would do, like, a mixed use site there that had, um, like a kind of an outdoor park in the middle that was- there's a place in Sacramento that's really cool. It's like an outdoor kind of, like, little venue. And so there would be like, games, like, outdoor games people could play and maybe, like, barbecue things, and, like, but, like, also, like, like a maybe, like, a brewery or, you know, some sort of beverage place. But then also there would be like, some mix I really like mixed use, like, housing commercial. So a couple of those sites kind of flanking it, but also, like, open space for the community there in the center.
>>Scott Hammond: I like it. Can I do one on your 5 billion?
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay. All right.
>>Scott Hammond: This is kind of selfish. It's not really that altruistic, but I would revisit Halvorsen and put an amazing convention/concert venue. It could be a multi use crazy thing.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yes.
>>Scott Hammond: State of the art with all the things, all the equipment.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. Well, I came up with this whole plan. We didn't get funded for it. But anyway, to basically, like, create, like, a mound, that would be a stage. But then when it's not being a stage, right, it could still be used by people. And so to create sort of like a mounded stage with, like, native gardens around it, and then, yeah, redo all the bathrooms and everything so that they would be usable, because there's actually all of this, I think, opportunity to bring, kind of slightly larger touring bands here. I mean, we all experienced, like, the fun of the Sarah Bareilles show.
>>Scott Hammond: String Cheese.
>>Leslie Castellano: Where, you know, I think that right? Exactly. Like, we could really.
>>Scott Hammond: Mmhmm.
>>Leslie Castellano: Like, it was so magical to see, you know, all of these folks come together and celebrate.
>>Scott Hammond: It was a lot of people for both things right?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. Like, really lovely. And so, yeah, I think that that site really could have some cool improvements there.
>>Scott Hammond: Lotta possibility and it's not going to block anybody's vision.
>>Leslie Castellano: Exactly.
>>Scott Hammond: Carson Mansion's way up top of it.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, you know, and it meets all of those, like, Coastal Commission kind of requirements, right, of, like, you know, if you make changes, you want to improve or increase the public use. So it would be, you know, you'd have to get a coastal development permit, probably, but it would be something that you could easily move through the process.
>>Scott Hammond: Right. So as we're winding down, I want to know about your legacy, but before we do that, so all the high rise parking. We're not developing high rise parking yet. So I'm right downtown, and I got a "not in my backyard" moment when I looked up and I'm going, "shit, that thing's going five stories plus". And thanks. Is Miles part of that? Was he part of that whole approval of all the housing that you guys are mandated to do?
>>Leslie Castellano: I mean, he's city manager, so, you know, he is... His job is to kind of enact the will of council, you know, and the community in a way that also, like, meets what's possible.
>>Scott Hammond: Is he a nice man?
>>Leslie Castellano: [laughter] Do you guys get along good? Miles, we get along really well.
>>Scott Hammond: Hey, Miles. Miles has been on the show. So Miles the last three weekends, it's weird, he's like, my new best friend or something.
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh. Alright. Hey, Miles.
>>Scott Hammond: Hi Miles. And I live in McKilleyville, so I have nothing, I have no foundation other than anything. So my bigger concern is not the fact that it's happened and happening and will happen. It's parking, I'm told, here we go. Someone on social media, a friend of a friend, told me that parking is going to be a big issue when these folks all move in. And it's not all low income, right? It's a mix, right?
>>Leslie Castellano: It's affordable housing, so, you know, it's...
>>Scott Hammond: Is it tiered? There's different sizes?
>>Leslie Castellano: It's kind of like workforce housing would be a good way of thinking about it.
>>Scott Hammond: Mmhmm.
>>Leslie Castellano: And I believe of some of the units are-and there are some tiers within that spectrum but you have to generally speaking, I think it's like people's income is $20-40 thousand in that range. There's some great charts. Don't quote me on that, but somewhere around that.
>>Scott Hammond: So my only concern is parking, because all the McCray guys, you know, even during construction, my parking is suddenly, like, rare for the 97-year-old lady that has to walk three blocks now to come up the stairs and can't quite make it in to come and say hi. Yeah. So those are the concerns. So, are we going to build some parking? Is there parking built into these?
>>Leslie Castellano: For sure. So one of the big part of this is and it's a big grant funding stream that supported this is the ACIC grant Affordable communities something something. But that includes a lot of, like, work around transit improvement. So I'm also on the board of Humbolt Transit Authority. When you're a councilor, you know, you're on these other boards and commissions, too.
>>Scott Hammond: And we'll talk about that in just a second too, the new transit center.
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay, great. Yeah. Yeah, we're getting into this.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah. Let me let you finish.
>>Leslie Castellano: So anyway, there's transit built in to that. It is on our radar that there could be a point where we reach enough parking density that we need to build a parking garage. According to all the studies that have been completed thus far, we're not yet to that point. But that's definitely something that's been on my radar and is on other folks' radar of that, you know, if we get to that density, we should, you know, reserve some sites that could be used as that. You know, of course, right, you know, there's a lot of ways in which, um, you know, in relationship to our kind of, like, environmental responsibility, right? If we look at the climate action plan, like, we really need to be transiting, you know, using public transit more, using bicycles more. And the only way to do that is one, to make it more available and accessible, but also, you know, to, like, and I won't say, like, to make it harder to drive, but to kind of create a situation where people, like, start to think, like, oh, like, it would be smart if I, you know, like, as someone who works in Old town that is, you know, going to be experiencing some of that, like, parking challenge, you know, where it's like, okay, like, right. Like, I need to start riding my bike more, and I know that that's not everyone's option and choice. And that's why, you know, like, the Transit Authority, we're doing a lot of work around micro transit and.
>>Scott Hammond: Like a shuttle that goes around and around?
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, well, and also, like, on demand micro transit. So basically, you can right now, you can get on the app and go in and select that you want transit to come to your house at a or come to a spot a designated spot near your house at a time that works for you. Then you can take that bus, you know, to a site, and it's much more effective. And we're also working on, like, just the efficiency of ride time. So one of the big things is that, like, you know, in order for people to use transit, you have to get from A to B fast enough that it works in people's days. So really working on that transition as well.
>>Scott Hammond: So what I'm hearing then is the engineers, which are really important to all this stuff. My friends are traffic engineers, and they pointed out how the roundabout at Hiller and McKinleyville Ave. didn't work, and there's some reasons why, cause it was by schools and there's kids. It was a great idea. It didn't work. So the bottom line is then the engineers say that we're not quite, we're not impacted until we are, and then we can talk about it.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right. Exactly.
>>Scott Hammond: And you're open to it. Then we do like a ten story parking structure.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah. [Laughter]
>>Scott Hammond: Just kidding. Maybe!
>>Leslie Castellano: No, I mean, there are a couple sites in Old Town that I've identified, and, you know, and one of the things... [clears throat] Sorry, that we're looking at is also, yeah, like a little sort of like electric vehicle that would kind of make a loop around Old Town so that you could get from kind of one parking area to Old Town faster.
>>Scott Hammond: Love it. Okay. Cool. And then the transit center, then I got to talk about your legacy, and then we got to go because I know I'm starting to run out of time because my clock's broken. So let's talk about the transit center.
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay. Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: That's a great idea. By the way, Netherlands pretty tough to have a car in that nation.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right.
>>Scott Hammond: Oh, my gosh. We visited three times.
>>Leslie Castellano: Quality of life.
>>Scott Hammond: Oh, dude. The trains and the bikes. It was great. Greatest thing ever. My son goes he goes, Jesse, I missed the train. Oh, what are we going to do? He goes, Dad, it's not a plane. Every 8 minutes, there's another train going to the same places. Maybe even more fun routes.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: And they go, Okay, cool. So yeah, very expensive there to have a car. Like, craziness. And there's no reason to.
>>Leslie Castellano: Right.
>>Scott Hammond: You could walk or bike anywhere. So transit center downtown behind the Lost Coast Brewery.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yep.
>>Scott Hammond: What's that gonna be? What's that all about?
>>Leslie Castellano: Okay, well, it's going to be transit center on the bottom floor.
>>Scott Hammond: It's happening, right?
>>Leslie Castellano: It's happening. It is funded. You know, they're in the working through the kind of finalizing the design. You know, it's housing above, transit below.
>>Scott Hammond: Mm hm.
>>Leslie Castellano: There's some, you know, DanCo is building the housing and building the transit center. And then there's some kind of, like, little partnerships. Like, there's a partnership with Regional Center, and some of the housing there will be to support people with disabilities, a small percentage. Yeah, it's I believe it's three stories of housing above.
>>Scott Hammond: Wow. Shout out to Regional Center.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yay, I know.
>>Scott Hammond: Good job. Love those guys.
>>Leslie Castellano: Me too.
>>Scott Hammond: Yeah, they were really cool. We have a special needs son, Gabriel. And then our oldest, our 42-year-old said, Dad, I'm pretty sure the whole family's special needs, right? And I go, You got it, pal. 'Cause who isn't? So anyway, so it's going to be a whole housing above. What will the Transit center do for those of us that don't know anything about one of those is?
>>Leslie Castellano: Well, I mean, already, this is the main connecting point for, you know, the different bus lines, so it will... It'll be a hub. It'll be a hub. It will also be where, you know, now the kind of longer distance lines will also come through that site.
>>Scott Hammond: Greyhound or whatever.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, exactly.
>>Scott Hammond: What about the big tour buses? I guess they're going to go wherever they're going.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, I think they're often going to hotels and things is my understanding.
>>Scott Hammond: They could always dump people at a transit center.
>>Leslie Castellano: But yeah, I don't think the transit center, I won't speak too much for staff.
>>Scott Hammond: So we'll have bikes and bike storage.
>>Leslie Castellano: I think there's gonna be some bike storage there.
>>Scott Hammond: Stick your bike there and go on the Amtrak?
>>Leslie Castellano: And folks should definitely keep an eye out because those final plans will be coming back soon. So yeah, and there's a lot of kind of pedestrian facing improvements as well, the bus stops and crosswalks and things like that.
>>Scott Hammond: So that in turn creates its own kind of downtown cool hub. Exactly. And business and buzz and vibe.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, you know, and the idea is that, right? So that also will be workforce housing and a lot of the Ink People staff works in Old Town, and we have several staff members that bus to and fro, but also that, can you imagine, you know, there's a lot of, like, jobs in Old Town that would qualify for folks to live in that housing. And so, you know, it could be the person who's the barista in the coffee shop who now can just walk to work, right. And that's, I think, really, you know, and why that kind of housing is being planned, is that it actually is designed to meet the needs of people who are working in those areas, to also just cut down on the need for people to drive if you're already there and working there.
>>Scott Hammond: You don't have to come in from McKinleyville, like all of us, some of us.
That makes sense.
>>Scott Hammond: It's city center. So, what are we going to say at your celebration of life when we get to get up and give speeches about you? And what would you hope people would say?
>>Leslie Castellano: Oh, I know I'm thinking about my death. No. [laughter] Dark turn, Scott.
>>Scott Hammond: No, you're already dead.
>>Leslie Castellano: Great. I'm already dead. Okay, great. I'm not thinking about that right now.
>>Scott Hammond: That already happened. This is the after.
>>Leslie Castellano: I hope they say that I was kind and that I cared about the community in a way that brought opportunity for many people to live good lives. That's what I hope about my life and that I made weird art in the process.
>>Scott Hammond: And there's some weird art. as a result, there's some weird art happening. I like it. So I always like to focus on this for just a second to see if AI got you right.
>>Leslie Castellano: Uh oh.
>>Scott Hammond: And it didn't. So it's funny. Born and raised in Eureka.
>>Leslie Castellano: Whoa.
>>Scott Hammond: Went to Humboldt State.
>>Leslie Castellano: Nope.
>>Scott Hammond: I know, right?
>>Leslie Castellano: No. Two for two, no.
>>Scott Hammond: Hallucinating. How about this one? I like this one. Leslie represents a blend of local roots, professional experience, and a transparent, community focused approach to governance.
>>Leslie Castellano: Huh.
>>Scott Hammond: Ooh. That's very flattering. Yeah. Sounds like it's true. As a member of the Eureka City Council, she continues to work toward a vision of a thriving, sustainable city that values its residents and natural surroundings. Her studied leadership and dedication to public service make her a key figure in Eureka's ongoing development. Mic drop. Pretty good. Oh, okay. We'll take that part.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah, I guess so. Thanks, AI. Thanks. [laughter]. Thanks, AI. Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: Alright, well, hey, thanks for coming. Yeah, thank you. It's fun.
>>Leslie Castellano: Yeah.
>>Scott Hammond: I like you.
>>Leslie Castellano: I like you.
>>Scott Hammond: Thanks. I do what I can. Yeah. So, hey, thanks for joining us for the 100% Humboldt podcast. We do this every week from Nick's studio here at Westwood One.
>>Leslie Castellano: Thanks, Nick.
>>Scott Hammond: Thanks, Nick. You're amazing. And he's got Growing Pains, which is his podcast. So shout out to Growing Pains. Having said that, we're all over the podcast world, and we're on Access Humbolt, which is you're a big fan, right? Yeah. Yeah, they're huge. And also, don't forget YouTube. And this is Scott Hammond saying, hanks, Leslie.
>>Leslie Castellano: Thanks, Scott.