Independent, fact-based news for Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties

News from the Salish Current June 16, 2023

Dear Reader—

A happy Juneteenth weekend!

We're kicking off our election-season reporting with Matt Benoit's story about whether our local school board elections are becoming politicized. In another story in our ongoing coverage of the boom in local small-scale agriculture, Kai Uyehara shares a story about how wireworms affect organic farming and what farmers are doing about it.

And, as usual, there’s a whole week’s worth of curated news summaries and links about our area’s health and safety, education, environment, business, communities, arts and ways to get involved.

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Want more environmental news? Salish Sea News and Weather is a weekday curated compilation of news from Salish Sea news sources. Free via email or on the web.

Salish Sea News Week in Review June 16, 2023: Montana youth suit, Miyawaki method, NOAA pledge, Indigenous salmon emergency, Mount Rainier glaciers, Terminus Project, sea star recovery, RBT2 opposition.

Support Us

Impact, importance high in local school board elections

Local school board elections are important — and more contested locally this year than for many years past. (Zinn Education Project image)

By Matt Benoit
Do local races risk turning into political referendums instead of reasoned debates over school district functions?

Christine Langley surveys her 10-acre farm, identifying areas where wireworm infestations are highest. Langley’s farm was once a hayfield, a grassy pasture where wireworms are common. (Kai Uyehara / Salish Current photo © 2023)

By Kai Uyehara
Growers who are farming organically on converted pastureland tend to face what amounts to an entry fee in the form of a hard-to-manage pest that bore into the below-ground portions of potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, corn and other crops, killing or stunting the plant.

• Thanks to PeaceHealth — but shocked by palliative care shutdown

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Salish Current affirms its commitment to work for truth, justice, equality and healing for all people.
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News from around the region...

(The links found here may have limited access for those who don’t subscribe to the source publication. Sorry for any inconvenience!)

Health and Safety

Whatcom unhoused. The latest point-in-time census report shows 1,059 people, from 850 different households, were either living in shelters, vehicles, tents or on the street in Whatcom County as of January, an all-time high since the count began in 2008. (KUOW)

Jail location. If approved by voters, Whatcom County's new jail will be built on LaBounty Drive in Ferndale following a 6–1 vote by the Whatcom County council this week, will cost about $137 million and will take about three years to build. (KGMI)

Education

WWU budget. Western Washington University's 2023–24 budget projects $221.5 million in expenditures and $219.3 million in expected revenue, with a $2.2 million shortfall covered by reserves. (CDN/paywall)

The Border & Beyond

Border shopping. Cross-border shopping buses filled with consumers were once ubiquitous outside Washington state malls, but they have all but disappeared from the commercial landscape, dealing a heavy blow to border-town businesses. (Vancouver Sun)

No RBT2. Opponents of an expansion to a marine container port on B.C.'s South Coast now include two unions, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union of Canada and the B.C. General Employees' Union, along with a dozen conservation organizations. (CBC)

R2AK. The eight-person team of We Brake for Whales sailed into Ketchikan at 8 a.m. Wednesday, the first boat to complete the Race to Alaska which began in Port Townsend last week. (Peninsula Daily News/paywall) See: "R2AK: North by Northwest" (Salish Current, June 9, 2023)

Nature

Sea stars. Researchers say they’re seeing signs of recovery in the ochre sea star, Pisaster ochraceus, which had suffered from sea star wasting disease. (KUOW)

Future park. The former Cornwall Avenue landfill will become a park after removal of materials that contain heavy metals and PCBs from when the site was a sawmill and a landfill. (The Planet Magazine)

Floodplain buy. Whatcom County will buy more than 100 acres of Nooksack River floodplain in the South Fork Valley for $1.55 million by moving Conservation Futures Fund money to the General Fund in anticipation of state reimbursement after July. (Bellingham Herald/paywall)

Wetlands buy. The Bellingham City Council has approved the purchase of more than 10 acres of land for $640,000 in the Lake Whatcom watershed near Sudden Valley that will keep 26 homes and a business from being built near the city’s drinking water source. (Bellingham Herald/paywall)

More protection. The City of Bellingham seeks to protect about 1,500 acres in the Lake Whatcom watershed from development by negotiating purchase or property transfer with two dozen property owner. (CDN/paywall)

Jetty repaired. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community completed the repair of the McGlinn Island Jetty near La Conner where juvenile salmon were stranded and died. (Skagit Valley Herald/paywall)

Cordata Park. Construction scheduled this month at Bellingham's Cordata Park is planned around balancing areas of human activity with the natural landscape of wetlands and wetland buffers the park was built on. (The Planet Magazine)

Business

REI. By a vote of 40 to 12, workers at the Bellingham REI store voted in favor of unionizing last week. (KGMI)

Guemes ferry. Skagit County is scheduled to adopt an increase of 14% in new fares for the Guemes ferry on July 10 through 2028 to cover 65% of the ferry’s maintenance and operations costs. (Skagit Valley Herald/paywall)

Community

Rolf Neslund. A bust of the “Patron Saint of the Broken Bridge,” Puget Sound pilot and Lopezian Rolf Neslund has been preserved in West Seattle. Neslund piloted a freighter into the old West Seattle Bridge 45 years ago, disappeared and was found murdered by his wife on Lopez. Some story. (Seattle Times/paywall)

Sumas Day. The Sumas Historical Society and Museum, closed since the November 2021 flood, is scheduled to be open by June 24 to celebrate the annual Sumas Community Day. (Lynden Tribune/paywall)

Skagit homeless. Skagit County will receive $2.8 million in state funding over two years to continue homeless program at current levels. (Skagit Valley Herald/paywall)

Lummi bus. Lummi Nation tribal leaders and Whatcom Transportation Authority board members met at the Lummi Nation Tribal Administration Building on June 13 to commemorate the change of the name of Route 50 Gooseberry Point to Route 50 Lummi Nation. (WTA)

Obit. Jim Jorgensen, former Port of Bellingham commissioner, Blaine science teacher, fisherman and community leader died June 8 at the age if 83. (The Northern Light)

Welcome home. Salem Lutheran Church in Mount Vernon will be the new home for Welcome Home Skagit, a day center for the homeless, when it opens Aug. 1. (Skagit Valley Herald/paywall)

Commentary

Subdued excitement. Joel Connelly goes down memory lane visiting his home town of Bellingham which his mother nicknamed "Bellywash." (Post Alley)

Arts & Leisure

“Chromatiform” is a celebration of color and abstraction, featuring the work of Ann Chaikin, Barbara Hicks, Beth Anna Margolis, Brian Simpson, Jabez Richards, Lori VanEtta and a special edition from SASS! Allied Arts of Whatcom County, through July 1, Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Information.

“Living High.” Skye Burn, granddaughter of June Burn, author of "Living High: An Unconventional Biography," celebrates the seventh printing of the chronicles of the life June and Farrar Burn who homesteaded on Waldron Island. June 18, 4 p.m., Port Stanley School House, Lopez. By donation. A Lopez Museum event.

Early music. Salish Sea Early Music Festival: Italian Canzonas (1600-1640) • with John Lenti (theorbo) and Anna Marsh (renaissance bassoon) and Jeffrey Cohan (renaissance transverse flute). June 20, Fir-Conway Lutheran Church, 7 p.m.; June 21, San Juan Island Brickworks, 7 p.m.; June 23, Bellingham First Presbyterian Church, 7 p.m.; June 24, Lopez Grace Church, 12:30 p.m.; June 24, Orcas Adventist Church, 6 p.m. By donation $25; under 18 free.

Free films. Friday Harbor Film Festival present free short films on June 23 at 7 p.m. at the Friday Harbor Grange: "Bring the Salmon Home," "Contrasts" and “Stories from the Salish Sea." The films are also streamed between 7 and 8 p.m. at FHFF.

Library jazz. Whatcom County Library System presents Friends of the Library Summer Jazz in various branches on July 15 (South Whatcom), Aug. 5 (Ferndale) and Aug. 19 (Blaine). Free. Information and registration. Also check out the Jazz for Kids programs.

Woolly dog blankets. Salish woolly dogs for thousands of years provided Coast Salish people with fur made into blankets now on display at the Museum of North Vancouver until early July. (CBC)

Jump in!

Juneteenth. Bring food and a blanket and enjoy the celebration at Bellingham's Maritime Heritage Park community picnic. June 17, 2–6 p.m. Information.

Want crabs? Join the Northwest Straits Foundation and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on Zoom to learn about the upcoming crabbing season and how to be a successful crabber. June 23, 6–7 p.m. Registration.

LGBTQIA+. The Bellingham City Club presents "Embrace and Empower: Uniting Communities for LGBTQIA+ Inclusivity" on June 28 at Noon, Bellingham Yacht Club. Attendance limited to 150. Register by 6 p.m. on June 25.

Kids Dayz. The 10th Annual Kids Dayz of Summer program in Maple Falls includes science, cooking, crafts, outdoor games and sports for kids age 5 through 17, Mon.–Thurs., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., from June 26 to July 27. Pre-register.

Pioneer Park plays. Unsubdued Theatre Collective, a Bellingham-based theatre company, performs "The Unsubdued Revue 3" and "Clytemnestra Has Blood on Her Hands," in Ferndale's Pioneer Park in July. Free. Show and showtime details here.

Invasive removal. Join with the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association and Whatcom Land Trust on Saturdays in July (8, 15, 22, 29) to clear out invasive vegetation from the banks of the North and South forks of the Nooksack River. Registration is limited and required.

Government

Elections
Bellingham mayor. The Bellingham/Whatcom County League of Women Voters will hold a candidate forum for Bellingham mayor candidates, July 11, 7–8:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Whatcom County executive. The Bellingham/Whatcom County League of Women Voters will hold a candidate forum for Whatcom County Executive candidates on July 12, 7–8:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Public Disclosure Commission June 9, 2023
City of Bellingham Mayor
• Kim Lund: Raised $24,276.79, Spent $6,440.61
• Michael McAuley: Raised $6,120.96, Spent $2,211.96
• Kristina Michele Martens: Raised $3,909.64, Spent $123.15
• Seth Fleetwood: Raised $7,065.99, Spent $6,678.96
• Chris McCoy: Raised $0, Spent $0

Whatcom County Executive
• Satpal Sidhu: Raised $53,316, Spent $9,775.28
• Alicia Rule: Raised $5,377, Spent $673.48, Debt $2,492.64
• Barry Buchanan: Raised $1,145, Spent $133.43, Debt $3,003.19
• Misty Flowers: Raised $0, Spent $0
• Dan Purdy: Raised $2,092.64, Spent $2,392.64, Debt $300
• Sukhwant Gill: Raised $2,092.64, Spent $2,092.64

Aug. 1 Primary
Whatcom County candidate filings
Skagit County candidate filings
San Juan County candidate filings

San Juan County.
The county council met at the Orcas Center on June 13. Agenda and audio.

City of Bellingham.
The council will next meet on June 26.

Whatcom County.
The council will meet on June 20. Agenda items include:

County Executive presentation.

Public hearings:
• Ordinance adopting Zoning Code amendments relating to density, lot size, setbacks, public water and sewer, and reasonable measures for the Birch Bay UGA. Staff memo.
• Ordinance amending Whatcom County Code 10.34, Ferry Rates. Staff memo.

Other:
• Request authorization for the County Executive to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement between the County, Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to guide remediation of County culverts that block salmon passage. Staff memo.

• Request authorization for the County Executive to enter into a contract amendment between Whatcom County and Opportunity Council to support operations at the permanent supportive housing facility known as 22 North in the amount of $304,550 for a total amended contract amount of $838,102. Staff memo.

The council will meet again on July 11.

Port of Bellingham.
The commission will meet on June 20. Video. Agenda includes:

Consent agenda:
• Motion authorizing the Executive Director to amend the Personal Services Agreement with Distinct Voice Consulting to provide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training to Port Staff.

• Motion authorizing the Port of Bellingham Executive Director to execute a Fiber Design, Construction and Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) agreement between Sound Internet Services, LLC d/b/a PogoZone and the Port of Bellingham. The purpose of this partnership is to extend an open access fiber network that will provide affordable quality broadband service to underserved and unserved members in the North Lynden area of unincorporated Whatcom County.

• Separation agreement [Eric Tritz]

Action items:
• Bellingham International Airport budget for equipment.
• Budget reallocation to complete parking solar structure feasibility and design at BIA.
• Budget reallocation for additional construction costs at BIA.

The commission will meet again on July 11.