Commerce
Pollution cleaned up, Anacortes shoreline preps for development
January 31, 2023
MJB Properties proposes residences, retail businesses and restaurants, and an event center on the once pollution-contaminated shoreline of Fidalgo Bay.
Kai Uyehara
Community Voices
Ocean-to-table journey of uniquely tasty oysters takes work
January 31, 2023
Commentary: It takes a community to raise and harvest an oyster.
Alexi Guddal
Natural Resources
San Juan waters remain at risk from oil spills
January 27, 2023
The August 2022 oil spill off San Juan Island was called a ‘wake-up call’ for more prevention and response. Was it?
Kathryn Wheeler
Culture
Tune in! Local independent radio is alive and well
January 27, 2023
KMRE-FM and Whatcom Community College partner for new opportunities in radio resurgence.
Matt Benoit
Commerce
Port promises to dampen loading noise in wake of complaints
January 26, 2023
Port of Bellingham officials responded to neighborhood complaints with promises to lower the noise level related to a new work contract.
Riley Weeks
Climate
Rising seas, high tides, storm surges and waterfront homes: does value outweigh the risks?
January 20, 2023
Predicted sea-level rising along with extremely high tides and storm surges pose increasing risk to coastal waterfront homes. How much are those trends affecting property values?
Kai Uyehara
Artist’s Corner
Rise Above 2020
January 19, 2023
Persistence paid off for Eve McCauley-Chomiak, when searching for a snowy owl amid snow-patched fields on the Skagit Flats.
Eve McCauley-Chomiak
Public Health
Ice jams, snow melt, king tide combine in Marietta flood deluge
January 13, 2023
A small community along Marine Drive living mostly in RVs has braved seasonal inundation, ready to move at a moment’s notice — until caught by surprise.
Kai Uyehara
Social Justice
Permission to work boosts local refugees in resettlement
January 13, 2023
Court decision accelerates process of securing work for Afghan and Ukraine “humanitarian parolees.”
Matt Benoit
Commerce
Ship-loading noise tests Bellingham port’s neighborliness
January 13, 2023
Nighttime scrap metal activity at Port of Bellingham draws noise complaints from hillside residents.
Riley Weeks
Climate
Bulkheads: protecting property at what cost to the environment?
January 5, 2023
Armoring the shoreline aims to protect property from high tides and erosion — the same natural forces that nourish shorelines for forage fish spawning and juvenile salmon rearing.
Kai Uyehara
Natural Resources
Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 5: The bleeding Heart of the Fraser
January 5, 2023
Gravel beds in the Heart of the Fraser — called one of the “most productive stretches of river on the planet” for spawning fish — are threatened with large-scale wetland destruction.
Eric Scigliano
Governance
Jane Fuller readies to tackle county priorities
January 5, 2023
New San Juan council member sworn in, forming county’s first all-woman governing body.
Nancy DeVaux
Governance
Local legislators set housing, public safety, education and climate as priority
January 5, 2023
All-Democrat delegation identifies top issues they will pursue when the legislative session begins on Jan. 9.
Salish Current editors
Social Justice
Jail needs to change, community agrees; but how?
January 3, 2023
An advisory committee for the Justice Project aims to ensure that voters’ priorities are considered in the next Whatcom County Jail ballot measure.
Riley Weeks
Editor’s Desk
Thanks for the memories, 2022; what’s next, 2023?
December 29, 2022
We lived, we learned; now it’s time to get ready for what may be ahead in 2023, after a look back at what happened this year.
Salish Current editors