Community Voices
The old-fashioned ‘new politics’ of civic activist Jack Delay
Commentary: A colleague takes a memorial look at a life-long activist whose career culminated in the co-founding and success of Communitywise Bellingham.
Use unleaded fuel at Bellingham International Airport
Commentary: “Lead emissions from aircraft engines that operate on leaded fuel cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare.” — EPA
Homeless by choice
Commentary: Bobby Joe, the Singing Hillbilly, has stories, songs and jewelry to share.
Loss of palliative care is a community’s loss
Commentary: More than 100 current patients and all possible future eligible patients stand to lose palliative care when PeaceHealth closes its outpatient palliative program.
Outpatient palliative care program unfortunately unsustainable
Commentary: Insurance reimbursement levels and rising costs across all service lines led to PeaceHealth’s decision to end its comprehensive outpatient palliative program and restructure to continue to “provide the essential components of the program.”
Earth Day 2023: A frank look at where we are
Commentary: Just as in 1970, we are at another major reckoning point in our relationship to our home planet.
Affordable Whatcom broadband is on the way
Commentary: Whatcom agencies are moving forward on affordable fiber-optic broadband for all.
Can we prevent homelessness?
Commentary: There are many reasons people become homeless — can it be prevented? Unequivocally, yes, says one close observer. Housing and income play into the complex causes.
Donating a kidney is a life-affirming experience
Commentary: Kidney donation was simply “the right thing to do”: a donor tells her story.
An unfortunate change of plans
Commentary: Jo Ann, who with her dog, Mouse, moved from her RV to a tiny-home village, suffered a massive stroke which paralyzed her entire left side.
Southeast Alaska troll fishery has deep local ties
Commentary:
Shutting down Southeast Alaska’s troll fishery will not stave off the decline of local orca and salmon populations — but it will have devastating effects on hundreds of fishing families and businesses.
Donut Hole win can guide transboundary strategy
Commentary: There are many good reasons for protecting the Skagit River headwaters; high on the list is the ongoing health of the larger Skagit watershed, a defining element of the region’s geography and cultural heritage.
Ongoing racial reckoning in the post-George Floyd era
Commentary: Three years after the Summer of Racial Reckoning, a divided populace still grapples with damaging and sometimes deadly effects of racism, and with how to talk about the issues.
Ocean-to-table journey of uniquely tasty oysters takes work
Commentary: It takes a community to raise and harvest an oyster.
Hope has arrived
Commentary: Constant worries about being attacked or robbed are in the past for a woman who has found housing — for now — in a tiny home village.
Composting as a climate solution
Commentary: Proper disposal of food waste is something every household can do to limit climate change, advise teens engaged in climate action.