Letters to the Editor

Salish Current welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Letters should be submitted with the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number. Those accepted for publication will focus on issues addressed in news articles or commentaries in Salish Current and be factual. No snark or put-downs will be acceptable; general nastiness will be rejected. Letters represent the point of view of the writer. Publication by Salish Current does not represent endorsement.

Letters should not exceed 300 words and may be edited for length and clarity. Salish Current will publish letters sent to the editor at its sole discretion. Submit letters to News Editor Sam Fletcher.

Support Senate Joint Resolutions, promote peace

To the Editor:

The Secretary General of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, responding to Trump’s most recent threats, responds that “International humanitarian law strictly prohibits direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects. The U.S. President’s threat of extermination and irreparable destruction brazenly shreds core rules of international humanitarian law, with potentially catastrophic consequences for over 90 million people. It may constitute a threat to commit genocide.”

In light of the civilian toll in Gaza, Lebanon and now Iran, we call on our lawmakers to do all that they can to protect civilians and prevent actions that may constitute (further) war crimes. We invite you to join us in strongly urging them to support the Senate Joint Resolutions of Disapproval 138 and 32.  S.J. Res 138 covers a recently announced sale of 1,000-pound bombs as Israeli forces continue to carry out a clear pattern of unlawful attacks that target civilians and civilian objects. S.J. Res 32 relates to the transfer of bulldozers that are being used to unlawfully destroy civilian property and land.  

We also encourage the demand for not one more dollar for policies and weapons that are killing and harming people in Iran and Lebanon, continuing the genocide against the Palestinian people, and that are funding ICE and Border Patrol’s abuses.  The systematic dehumanization of others must end, and U.S. and international laws need to be protected and respected or become meaningless.

Our local Amnesty International group is hosting an art event next Tuesday related to bombs, immigration detention and family separation.  For more information or if you’d like to participate, contact amnestyinternational270@gmail.com. 

— Bruce Radtke, Colleen Curtis, Jan Dietzgen, Martina Boyd, Bellingham; April 10, 2026

We need code updates. Code updates need the county levy lift

To the Editor:

A “yes” vote on the San Juan County levy lid lift is a vote to protect the core services that make island life possible: public safety, public health, senior services and the basic infrastructure of local government.

San Juan County faces a projected $3.7 million shortfall in 2027, equal to roughly 12–13% of the general fund. Of all the property taxes we pay, only about 9% supports the county’s general operations. The county has balanced its 2026 budget through careful management. 

Costs have risen — for insurance by as much as 34% in a year. But state-imposed limits on annual property tax growth create a structural gap the county is hoping to address with the levy lid lift. Without it, local officials will have to make hard choices about what services to cut or keep.

The county is scheduled to make long-needed code updates that will shape island life for decades. With our newly adopted comprehensive plan, we have the opportunity to modernize the codes that govern housing, land use and energy to ensure what is legal aligns with what is necessary. 

Currently, outdated codes stand in the way of solving our community’s pressing problems of unaffordable housing and energy insecurities. A “yes” vote means maintaining reliable public health and senior services, sustaining law enforcement coverage and preserving community assets like our parks and fairgrounds.

As we prepare for climate impacts like wildfire risks and flooding, maintaining the staff capacity allows the county to aggressively pursue external grants to fund these costly infrastructure efforts. The investment in this workforce will pay for itself many times over the moment a crisis strikes and we are well-prepared.

— Chris & Chom Greacen, Lopez Island; April 9, 2026

Vote YES on San Juan County levy

To the Editor:

I write this as a private citizen, not as part of my work or in affiliation with my employer. I want to express my strong support for the San Juan County levy lid lift because it directly impacts our ability to age well in the islands we love. As an islander for 24 years, I believe this measure is vital for maintaining the essential functions that protect our health and safety — especially senior services.

This measure is about sustaining county services that allow older adults to remain in their homes with dignity. Senior services provide transportation, nutrition, caregiver support and social connection, helping prevent isolation, support independence and allow longtime residents to continue contributing to island life.

San Juan County is already struggling to fund senior services due to decreased funding from federal and state governments, the 1% state-mandated limit on tax increases and other external pressures. This levy lid lift restores the tax rate to the 2019 level of $0.85 per $1,000 of assessed value and is a critical investment in aging well in the place we love.

Supporting this levy means supporting the neighbors who built this community and ensuring that all of us, today and in the future, can continue to live safely, independently and with connection as we grow older here.

Many of us are stretched with rising expenses. As an OPAL homeowner, my mortgage is manageable — I’m grateful to have a mortgage! — but increasing property taxes are still hard. To me, senior services and the many other programs that would be funded are worth the estimated $22 more per month this levy would cost. I urge SJC residents to vote YES on the levy lid lift. It is a practical, compassionate step that helps islanders live well at every stage of life.

— Jami Mitchell, Orcas Island; April 7, 2026

The law of the jungle

To the Editor:

When it comes to Israel, the U.S. employs “the law of the jungle” rather than international human rights law. 

Since 1972, the U.S. has vetoed 53 United Nations Security Council resolutions, all written with the intent of constraining Israel’s ongoing infractions of a multitude of international human rights laws. Putting this issue into context, Kenya’s U.N. delegate recently argued that the abuse of the veto power is “the greatest embodiment and symbol of anti-democratic conduct in the world.”

By its flagrant misuse of the veto power, the U.S. has encouraged Israel’s 19th century style, settler-colonial land-grab that includes the racist elimination or extermination of the indigenous Semitic-Arab Palestinian population. The resulting decades-long escalating cycle of violence has resulted in genocidal consequences. The U.S. support of Israel’s unconditional use of tens of billions of dollars’ worth of U.S. taxpayer supplied weapons has encouraged Israel’s ever-expanding “Greater Israel” biblical lawlessness.

It is well past time for all 193 United Nations Member States to convene and demand radical revision to the UNSC veto power, that currently allows inordinate power in the hands of but five UNSC “permanent members,” of which the U.S. is one.  If substantive changes to the veto power are not enacted, then the global community may as well consider 80 years of international human rights “law” to be quaint, irrelevant and “toothless” scribblings – that may as well be put through a shredder – so as to return us back to the law of the jungle.

— Michael Jacobsen, Bellingham; March 30, 2026

Vote YES for county levy; save the services we value most

To the Editor:

I am writing to point out the importance of voting YES on Proposition No.1, San Juan County’s regular property tax levy lid lift. This levy is to continue funding valued community services that are not mandated by law. These services include foundational public health, senior services, parks and fair, emergency management, the Islands Oil Spill Association and environmental stewardship. We have come to rely on these programs and services as part of our everyday lives.

As a former county council person, I understand the pressure that is on the county budget. It is real, and if the measure doesn’t pass, the cuts will be real. Now the choice is ours to save the services we value most.

Please vote YES on Proposition No. 1.

— Jamie Stephens, Lopez Island; March 27, 2026

Stunning Pickford documentary to address military climate concerns

To the Editor:

In an alarming recent report, the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner decares how the toxic components of war pose grave threats to both environmental and human health. Military activities poison lands, water and food crops; undermine rights to life for current and future generations and obstruct prospects for peacebuilding, reconstruction and responding to climate change. As the world’s greatest military and industrial polluter, the United States is responsible for a massive portion of today’s devastating contamination and associated violence and suffering, damage for which there is little accountability.

These grave concerns, along with courageous efforts worldwide to address them, are the subject of a stunning documentary, “Earth’s Greatest Enemy,” screening at Pickford Film Center, at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 2. Co-presented by the Bellingham Human Rights Film Association and the Sierra Club, Mount Baker chapter, this special screening includes a Q&A with filmmaker/journalist Abby Martin after the film.

— James Loucky, Bellingham; March 26, 2026

Plea for peace

To the Editor: 

Perhaps the No Kings rallying cry Saturday could be, “No War!” 

As 3,000 commercial ships with crews aboard await passage in the Persian Gulf and U.S. Marines and other troops steam toward Iran, potential for ecological and human catastrophe is imminent. 

Should America land boots on the ground, I feel the U.S. is being pushed off a ladder into World War III. Please demand peace.

— Gay Wilmerding, San Juan Island; March 25, 2026

Palestine too political? 

To the Editor: 

We are writing to express our disappointment with how the Bellingham Saint Patrick’s Day Parade was conducted. This year, our friend Logan asked the Whatcom Coalition for Palestine to accompany his Irish-run green business with a cadre of Palestinian flags. However, two of the parade organizers asked the three of us to leave before the march even began, stating the parade was “not about politics, but about the spirit of community.” We complied but, without an invitation for discussion, decided to remain in the public eye.

As we walked downtown, cars honked and passersby thanked us. We marched, remaining in community despite the clear refusal by parade organizers to see Irish-Palestinian solidarity as part of the meaning of Irish culture. Ireland and Palestine have both undergone colonization by Britain, and some of the same tactics which were imposed on Irish people — taking their land, renouncing their language and forcing the people to capitulate to the imperial power — are still used on Palestinians. Since Israel’s genocide on Palestine in 2023, Ireland has spoken out about these atrocities, and most Irish people support the Palestinian cause. Choosing to ignore a genocide and widening war across the Middle East because it is “political” does a disservice to us all. We state these facts from resources found online and ask to take ten minutes of your time. 

The Whatcom Coalition for Palestine holds weekly events that bring people into community with one another. We affirm the right to life among all oppressed peoples. 

— Fáilte Farm Fungi, Logan Dunlaing, Tal Frank and Chloe Proebsting, Bellingham; March 17, 2026

Climate policy should not require rolling back environmental protections

To the Editor: 

Washington needs to build clean energy faster. What should be controversial is throwing out long-standing environmental protections to do it. That is not urgency — it is a planning failure.

People make long-term decisions based on the belief that land-use rules will be honored. They buy homes, take out mortgages, invest in conservation and support open-space protections because legally recorded commitments are supposed to mean something. When those commitments look conditional, trust in conservation programs unravels.

That is now at issue in San Juan County, where OPALCO is asking the county to remove recorded native forest and open-space restrictions to enable a utility-scale solar farm on forested land — a conflict largely of the cooperative’s own making. OPALCO purchased a parcel subject to recorded conservation restrictions while racing to meet a government grant timeline before fully reconciling the site’s constraints. The result: local officials are being asked to unwind protections that predate the project itself.

The ripple effects extend beyond any single parcel. Do recorded land-use protections mean what they say? Property buyers, lenders, conservation groups and local governments across Washington rely on the answer being yes. Once recorded protections appear subject to revision when inconvenient, that answer is no longer certain.

Clean energy grant programs built around tight timelines create pressure to finalize sites before due diligence is complete. That dynamic will not correct itself without stronger governance requirements from the start. Public climate grants are meant to support well-planned projects — not to override recorded land-use protections.

Washington’s climate goals are real and the need is urgent. But urgency does not justify asking local governments to rewrite the rules midstream. Clean energy and environmental integrity are not competing values. Treating them as though they are is how climate policy loses the public it needs.

— Alan Mizuta, Decatur Island; March 8, 2026

A new era of Washington taxation policy

To the Editor: 

Why would a Democrat or Republican vote no on the proposed Millionaire Tax? Is it the slippery slope argument?  We have been on a slippery slope of deep tax cuts at the federal level, tax loopholes and tax dodges, corporate tax cuts and corporate subsidies for 45 years. Regressive tax policy leaving the federal budget swimming in the trillions. Our state budget relies partly on federal grants. Our state is addicted to sales/use taxes and property taxes. These are both terribly regressive taxes that affect different socioeconomic levels grossly disproportionately. The sales tax cannot continue to increase indefinitely. Our state cannot continue to rely on 50% of its revenue from sales tax and use tax. And in this era of inflated home values, homeowners are paying more than ever in property taxes while incomes do not keep up.

The Millionaire’s Tax revenue is appropriated for public schools, child care and health care. School districts that struggle to pass levies and bonds desperately need a new infusion of money to upgrade buildings and provide robust extracurricular activities. 

A “no” vote from our elected officials is a vote for our TIRED taxation system in Washington. A “no” vote says middle- and low-income residents of Washington should continue to pay a higher percentage of their income into our tax system. The time is now to change the future of Washington’s tax policy. Democrats and Republicans should all be in support of the Millionaire Tax, but especially good Democrats. Please contact your 40th and 42nd elected state representatives and senators to do the necessary thing and vote “YES” on the “FAIR Millionaires Tax.” 

— Kevin Stray, Bellingham; March 5, 2026

New ferry charge is a regressive tax

To the Editor: 

Starting March 1, Washington State Ferries announced that they are charging a 3% card payment fee for transactions using credit/debit cards. WSF system does not accept personal checks at terminal ticket booths or for online transactions. They accept cash, traveler’s checks (who uses those anymore?!), credit/debit cards and ORCA cards. Online purchases require credit/debit cards since ACH payments are not accepted. This amounts to a 3% fare increase for ferry riders. Charging credit card usage fees for elective purchases is one thing. Credit card usage fees for non-elective expenses really stings.

Do we want toll booth operators slowing down ferry access while they make change for a $100 bill? What about the increase in traffic lines and congestion from this slow-down? Are we exposing toll booth operators to theft/robbery risk since they now must manage large sums of cash in their booths late at night?

The state, with its significant buying power, should be able to negotiate a better deal with credit card providers. The Legislature must earn their pay by working on behalf of — and for the benefit of — Washington consumers, rather than simply passing on inflationary costs. This is a regressive tax upon those on a fixed income and that depend on WSF for transportation to work and essential appointments. Maybe regular commuters are fine with this and will just rollover and accept another 3% increase?  In my opinion, for all that use WSF as part of the State Highway System, this amounts to highway robbery.

The next time I roll up to the toll booth and need to buy a commuter pass, please be patient with me when I pay with several bags of pennies.  Oh wait … we don’t mint pennies anymore, either. 

— Russell Borgmann, Lopez Island; Feb. 27, 2026

Raise your voice to protect health care choices

To the Editor: 

Once again, the PeaceHealth system has made decisions that will impair the treatment of the most vulnerable at the end of life. For over a decade, a team of talented, highly trained Advance Care Planning coordinators across the PeaceHealth system have helped patients develop advance care directives to address wishes for care if/when they are unable to speak for themselves. Designating a health care advocate and having an advance directive is essential to obtaining high-quality, cost-effective, compassionate, patient centered healthcare, yet PeaceHealth, citing budget challenges, has now cut this service, shifting the burden of this task to already overworked physicians and nurses. 

The outcome of this decision will be reduced participation in advance care planning, which in the long run will result in more unwanted interventions, increased costs and emotional distress for both families and clinicians.

Raise your voice to protect your own health care choices. Contact PeaceHealth and recommend the reinstatement of the advance care planning program.

— Marie Eaton, Bellingham; Feb. 27, 2026

PeaceHealth should keep advance directives promise to community

To The Editor:

We all know to change the batteries in our smoke detectors so they’ll work when it matters most. Advance Care Planning deserves the same attention, with regular checking to be sure it still reflects our wishes.

PeaceHealth once committed to help maintain that safeguard by serving as the community repository for advance directives, even for those who weren’t its patients. Now, by eliminating its Advance Care Planning program, is PeaceHealth walking away from that promise? Will it continue to serve as the repository for new or updated advance directives going forward?

Advance directives protect patients when they can no longer speak for themselves. They are only effective if they are current, accessible, and stored where clinicians can find them. PeaceHealth’s ACP coordinators made that possible. Ending their work erases a vital public service grounded in trust, transparency, and respect for human dignity.

PeaceHealth built its reputation on compassion and community stewardship. Quietly discarding the very program that helped people define and preserve their own healthcare decisions is not stewardship. As Hilary Walker noted in her recent Salish Current letter to the editor, our community deserves clear, accountable leadership on this issue. Patients and families deserve better than a broken promise disguised as a financial necessity.

If PeaceHealth truly believes in honoring the human spirit, it should prove it by reinstating Advance Care Planning. Safeguarding our wishes at life’s most vulnerable moments isn’t optional.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham; Feb. 19, 2026

Appeal for community volunteer observers

To the Editor: 

Four years ago, the League of Women Voters of the San Juans stood up a local Observer Corps, where members attend local public meetings to follow what is happening in local government and to ensure that public business is conducted with public oversight. Our Corps offered to provide local media outlets with short notes on what took place at the meetings. The Washington State LWV had completed a study that found the struggles of local news organizations to remain in business and to cover local government were hurting civic engagement and democracy.  

The Journal and The Islander and soon other outlets were happy to publish the notes. The community welcomed our work; the observer notes made it easier to follow what our elected representatives were working on. Observers Corps of other local leagues in the state are interested in following our example.

I coordinated the Observer Corps and personally covered the county council, but I am leaving for a two-year assignment as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kosovo. While the LWVSJ has observers for the Town of Friday Harbor, the Port of Friday Harbor, the SJI school district, fire and public hospital districts and the Board of Health, we do not have anyone to cover the county council, which has more frequent and longer meetings and a more variable schedule. 

Given the strong support in the community for this program and the importance of the county council, the LWVSJ needs volunteers to be part of a small team to take this on. The meetings are livestreamed and can be observed remotely, so observers do not need to always be physically present or reside on San Juan Island. If you are interested in being part of this work to support our democracy, please email Co-Presidents Susan Martin and Barbara Sharp at pres.lwvsji@gmail.com.

— Necia Quast, Friday Harbor; Feb. 17, 2026

Ed.: Salish Current includes links to League of Women Voters of the San Juan Islands Observer Corps reports in our weekly newsletter.

Compassion and clarity are not expendable

To the Editor:

For nearly a decade, I had the privilege of serving as PeaceHealth’s first Advance Care Planning (ACP) coordinator in its system. 

When we began the ACP program, our goal was simple but profound: to help patients and families talk about what mattered most to them before a medical crisis forced difficult decisions.

Over time, PeaceHealth expanded this effort across Washington, Alaska and Oregon, embedding ACP coordinators in local communities and clinical teams. By any measure, the ACP program was an enormous success.

I was saddened to learn that all ACP positions have now been eliminated. This step represents more than a staffing reduction. It marks the loss of a program that placed people’s voices and values at the center of care. 

 ACP was a tangible expression of PeaceHealth’s mission to treat the whole person, body and spirit. Its success was measured not in revenue, but in relieved families, clearer decisions, and care aligned with what truly matters to patients.

Health systems face financial pressures, but compassion and clarity at life’s most vulnerable moments should never be considered expendable. I hope PeaceHealth leadership will pause to reflect on what is at risk when programs grounded in dignity and communication disappear.

— Hilary Walker, OTL, CAPS, ACP consultant and Chair WA POLST program, Deming; Feb. 16, 2026

Pickford film is a powerful spotlight on human rights 

To the Editor: 

Minneapolis, Sudan and Palestine reveal how crucial having eyes on the ground is for revealing realities of human rights and for encouraging people to respond through humanitarian action. Visual evidence must not be taken for granted, however. Today documentary filmmaking, public media and investigative reporting are facing challenges as never before. Besides limited funding, powerful forces use distraction and intimidation to suppress accountability for murderous policies and profiteering.

Among the most visible evils of our time is the leveling of Gaza, where ongoing genocide has been exposed by courageous filmmakers and ordinary people with cell phones. However, censorship and assassinations have not blocked truth. Nor can a farcical “Board of Peace” be unveiled as anything but inhumane and hypocritical, wherein Palestinians are nowhere in the plan, except as tens of thousands of bodies on which glitzy towers would rise.

So, we are fortunate that 2026 Oscar nominee for Best International Feature, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” will screen at the Pickford Film Center, from Friday, Feb. 13, through Thursday, Feb.19. This powerful film follows Red Crescent volunteers as they respond to a call from a five-year old girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza. As she pleads for rescue, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her.  

The Bellingham Human Rights Film Association is honored to co-present this film. After hosting an annual film festival, beginning in 2000 and consisting of a week of multiple films and venues, the all-volunteer BHRFA now partners with our valiant community theater to bring documentaries to our community. Comprised of a small group of local residents who advocate for human rights, we aspire to be an example of what is possible when people share a continuing commitment to positive change. 

— James Loucky, Bellingham; Feb. 10, 2026

A flash mob as resistance 

To the Editor: 

Today I participated in my first flash mob. We performed in Target, a company that has corporate offices in Minnesota and has not protected its employees against ICE. Our action was in solidarity with Minnesota neighbors. 

We were a crowd of 200. We alerted Target management a week ahead, so no surprises and nonviolent. We marched around the perimeter of the store to the cadence of a recorded drum roll. Twice. We held signs, “no ICE here.” We presented a letter titled “from the community you serve” to the manager and requested he call corporate offices so we could talk with the CEO. Our request went through several levels of management and got stuck. So, we marched again for a third time around the facility. This time the manager had passed our letter onto corporate in Minneapolis.

This was a very moving experience as I began crying thinking of my family living in fear of ICE here in Whatcom and Skagit counties. The stress I carry in myself living through this most painful and cruel time. I wept as I walked with others in a single line around the store to the beat of a recorded drum roll.

I got a chance to “make no stranger” of those I now know. 

The shoppers, most gave us a thumbs up and took our handouts. Only one elder became upset claiming autism and being fearful of crowds. Several of us comforted her and moved her to a safe space. 

Here I am now sharing this little story, tears streaming down my face and pleased that I dared to be myself and exercise the words of justice. “Love neighbor as myself.” 

— John Baker, Bellingham; Feb. 3, 2026

Hydrogen storing and transport difficulties outweigh advantages

To the Editor: 

Why waste relatively easy to store and use electricity to frack water into hydrogen and oxygen? Hydrogen is very difficult to store and transport. It is more dangerous as stored or when used. There is considerable loss of energy in the process of producing hydrogen. The only gain is to line someone’s pockets at everybody else’s expense. If there is so much available electricity, it can be used directly in existing infrastructure. 

P.S.: Most hydrogen is currently extracted from natural gas.

— Dan Senour, Anacortes; Jan. 26, 2026

Rebuttal to council member proposing Nooksack adjudication settlement

To the Editor: 

The Salish Current article highlights county council member Ben Elenbaas’s push to amend the county comprehensive plan to favor a negotiated settlement over the full Nooksack water rights adjudication, suggesting this will save time and money and benefit agriculture and housing security. But this perspective overlooks key realities of western water law and practical alternatives that could better serve local communities, ecosystems and tribes. 

First, adjudication isn’t merely a bureaucratic obstacle. It is a legal process that quantifies, prioritizes and permanently records all water rights in the basin, including tribal instream flows and senior rights that currently lack formal definition, which is critical for fair long-term management. Without this legal framework, negotiated agreements risk collapsing under legal challenge or failing to address conflicts between senior and junior rights. 

Second, focusing only on negotiated settlements assumes stakeholders have equal leverage and information, but water supplies are declining due to climate change, and competing needs for agriculture, municipal use and salmon habitat make informal deals fragile. A thoughtful adjudication can unlock funding and structured data that inform collaborative projects like water storage, efficiency upgrades and habitat restoration, benefiting all parties if paired with good facilitation. 

Rather than sidelining adjudication, policymakers should improve support for participants — including technical assistance, outreach and sequencing settlement talks in parallel with legal determination. They should also invest in physical water solutions like aquifer recharge, expanded storage and riparian habitat enhancement and ensure tribal co-leadership in watershed governance, recognizing treaty and ecological priorities. These steps offer a more durable path to water security than accelerating a settlement that may lack legal standing and environmental safeguards.

— EJ Ledet, Bellingham; Jan. 18, 2026

Affordability is not only about quantity of housing units but access to them

To the Editor: 

Because we chose to use housing as a money-maker instead of the human right it is, it’s become predatory profit on the backs of regular people. As long as housing is used as investment, we will never have real affordability. The current unchecked access to and hoarding of housing by wealthy interests continue to make it extremely difficult for regular people to rent or own a home. The huge number of short-term rentals/vacation homes —over 900 listed on AirBnB — and empty homes in and near Bellingham cannot be overlooked as preventing affordability. ADUs are a limited solution because when that multidwelling property is sold, only very rich individuals or investors will be able to buy it, putting that home’s ownership even further out of reach of the vast majority of our community members. Private equity firms and other investors are motivated only by maximum profit, not by housing and definitely not by people. Homeowners who rely on rental income to pay their own housing costs are caught in this system, too.

There are many measures that can give us back our homes. Fully funding community land trusts and other nonprofit housing models, controlling rent, capping the number of residential properties an entity can own, limiting and enforcing short-term rentals and imposing vacancy fees and/or taxes are just a few. None of these is an instant cure for lack of affordability, but we must implement long-term solutions, not just build more and use temporary subsidies.

Housing has value far beyond financial; society is stronger, communities are healthier and individuals and families are secure with housing stability. Everyone deserves to live in a wonderful home — shelter is a basic human right.

— Margaret Lyons, Bellingham; Jan. 18, 2026

More to the Growler analysis than meets the eye 

To the Editor: 

I doubt that the EIS (ref. “What the Growler Environment Impact Statement means off-Whidbey,” Jan. 8, 2026) included any meaningful evaluation of the negative impacts that the Growler noise has on wildlife, including the many birds who spend the winter in our local waters around Whidbey and Fidalgo Islands.

I’m a frequent bird watcher in the Deception Pass area, on both the Whidbey and the Fidalgo Island side, as well as in the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. These areas provide important wintering habitats for many species of birds. Many birds have sensitive ears and a keen sense of hearing because they depend on this to avoid danger including predators. I do not believe the EIS covered the hearing loss that these birds are probably experiencing because of often almost daily Growler noise.

Firefighters suffer hearing loss from far less frequent and loud levels of noise. Hearing loss in wild birds puts them at far more risk for many obvious reasons. They will not hear boats, predators and warnings from family and friends which are often auditory. Birds depend on all the conversations that are going on around them to sense danger including those of other species. Growler noise also prevents these birds from hearing when danger is near which makes them more vulnerable. The Growlers have been flying over Big Beaver in the ACFL, and my house, frequently this winter, and often after dark. This makes it impossible for me to sleep, listen to music or visit with anyone until they are gone.  

— Martha Hall, Anacortes; Jan. 12, 2026

Substantive concerns regarding KNKX article on City procurement

 To the Editor:

 The recent article on the City of Bellingham’s utility billing procurement reads less like investigative journalism and more like a cautionary tale about how easily implication can replace analysis.

 The piece repeatedly invites readers to infer corruption while conceding there is no evidence of financial incentive, personal gain, outside influence or vendor collusion. That omission is not incidental — it is foundational. Absent those facts, the article relies on tone, loaded language and selective framing to manufacture suspicion where none has been demonstrated.

 What is most striking is the reporter’s apparent unfamiliarity with how public procurement actually functions. Requirements are inherently exclusionary. Every RFP disqualifies vendors by design. The legal and ethical question is not whether a requirement excludes someone, but whether it is grounded in legitimate operational need. The article never seriously engages with that analysis.

 In enterprise municipal software — particularly utility billing systems — architecture, data control, hosting responsibility, disaster recovery, and long-term vendor viability routinely outweigh sticker price. Treating a higher-cost bid as prima facie evidence of impropriety reflects a shallow understanding of both Washington procurement law and real-world system risk.

 The fixation on drafting language — amplified by the novelty of AI — substitutes process theater for substantive inquiry. Had the same language been written in Word, this story would not exist. That alone should give readers pause.

 Perhaps most damaging is how professional judgment is reframed as moral failure. Public employees already operate in an environment where attracting attention is more dangerous than making a poor decision. Journalism that leans on insinuation rather than rigor does not promote accountability — it chills competence.

 If the goal is oversight, then the standard must be evidence, context, and technical literacy — not sensationalism disguised as concern.

­— Robert Johnson, Bellingham; Jan. 12, 2026

Loss of trust in our government

To the Editor: 

I grieve not only for the loss of a young mother in Minnesota, executed by an ICE agent, but also for the loss of trust in our government. I feel shame for our leaders who prioritize selfish ambition over our shared values of peace, due process and rule of law, care for our most vulnerable citizens and even citizenship itself!

Cell phone videos disprove the narrative out leaders would have us believe about what happened in Minneapolis.

President Trump campaigned on a message of no more “forever wars”; ceasing the war in Ukraine “on day one”; lowering grocery, healthcare and prescription prices also on “day one”; and making our nation safer.” He has failed miserably on all counts. 

Can our country and indeed our entire planet survive three more years of this disastrous administration? My hope lies in the mid-term elections. We must wrest control of the U.S. Congress away from the current feckless majority that choose to look away rather than addressing the grift, greed, imperialism and bad decisions that are being made daily. 

We must fight all the corrupt leaders who are destroying the values we Americans hold dear including Trump’s obsequious cabinet. Please get involved in any way you can to reverse the direction of our country. To truly “make America great again,” we must insist on the rule of law, address our rapidly accelerating climate crisis and resume cordial and ethical relations with our allies and adversaries. 

— Nancy Sheng, Bellingham; Jan. 9, 2026

Responding locally to global alarms 

To the Editor: 

Salish Current wonderfully blends focus on the stellar nature of our region with attention to social justice issues that shape civic consciousness and common welfare. So, while relishing life here, we must also respond to alarms triggered by the other Washington.

As rationale for today’s belligerence toward Venezuela quickly shifted from presumed drug boats to oil and with threats extending to Cuba, Colombia and Mexico, the assertion of U.S. hemispheric hegemony is clear. Even takeover of Greenland is being justified — international law, NATO and Greenlanders’ rights be damned.

When lessons of histories of imperial arrogance don’t matter, the stature and future of our country is at stake. Impunity can breed further unrest, accelerate migration and even excuse other despots to follow the militarism of our own. Still more, abuse of power can be turned against protesters here at home. 

So amid questions and uncertain scenarios, recall that it can always get worse.

— James Loucky, Bellingham; Jan. 8, 2026

Women’s March planned for Jan. 20 

To the Editor: 

Please join me in the Women’s March Walking Out for America on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. at the San Juan County Courthouse. Join a short “walkout” — as in “strike” — from work, school or other commitments to say you oppose fascism and support democracy.

The Free America Walkout is how people withdraw consent when leaders break the law. It denies labor, money and legitimacy — reminding any president that they govern only because people allow it. Noncompliance is how people stop cooperating with injustice before it becomes permanent.

Bring your favorite noisemaker — pots to bang, drums to beat, whistles to blow or bells to ring. Let’s make some noise!

On Jan. 20, we walk out because democracy only survives when people defend it. Will you join us? WALKOUT!!

— Beth Helstien, Friday Harbor; Jan. 7, 2026

Transgressions of King George III compared to President Trump

To the Editor: 

All quotes are from the Declaration of Independence: 

“The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” 

King George III	Donald Trump I
“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.”	X
“He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their  operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.”	X
“He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of  Foreigners; refusing to pass other to encourage their  migration hither, . . .”	X
“He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices . . .”	X
“He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people . . .”	X
“For imposing Taxes (tariffs) on us without our Consent:”	X
“For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:”	X
“For Taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:”	X
“He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, . . .”	X

“Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.”

— Stephen Orsini, Guemes Island; Jan. 4, 2026

The work of RUN (Racial Equity Network)

To the Editor:

1.  Thanks for including in your list the story about the Afghan parents reunited with their baby.  (“Fear met solidarity — and communities worked toward justice” Dec. 30, 2025) But it is an ongoing story—the process of helping them adjust to life in America is a big deal.  Churches and individuals continue to come along side of them.

2.  There are a couple other Afghan stories still underway, but set back by Trump’s edict.

3.  The disruption following the Mount Baker Roofing story drew RUN into the action. We became the group that received and distributed about $60,000 to families whose wage-earners were shipped out.

4.  A more recent incident of a young man’s deportation, and the lies that were told about it, were horrible. I think RUN was the whistle blower, as best they could.

5.  Then there is the ongoing work of RUN, some more effective than others — Adult Sunday School classes regarding racial reconciliation, a film series in 2023/2024, a farm worker booth at the RazzFest, and very successful Flavors of Community annual events now drawing 250–300 people, and partial sponsorship of showing the film, “Lynden.”

6.  All of this is possible because of a generous grant from the Mount Baker Foundation. The pursuit of social justice takes resources/money.  They contributed much to our work, including hiring a part-time director. They deserve a lot of the credit.

Hope this leads to something!

— Ron Polinder, Lynden; Dec. 31, 2025

After the elections

To the Editor:

So, what now? During election campaign season we constantly heard about housing in Bellingham: not enough, how to do it, homelessness, transitional housing, zoning, infill, NIMBY this and NIMBY that. What the heck is SmartCode? And what about inclusionary zoning?

Bellingham City Council has the exact same members as it did before. If affordable housing was the promise of those elected to remain in office, when will we see progress? Our community deserves to know when those campaign promises will become reality.

Affordability, which is the housing crisis, will not be solved quickly.  And we have to ask: How will the same leaders who oversaw the status quo suddenly deliver different results? There is a clear alignment on our council that does not lean toward affordable housing solutions. They argue about parking minimums and other nonsense that seems to only benefit the developers and the investors.

Affordability is about the monthly rent people have to pay as a percentage of their income. This idea seems to be lost on a whole lot of our elected officials, planning commission members, developers, investors and real estate professionals. I heard the word “affordable” thrown around a lot during the campaigns, but I never really believed that they understand what that is for our residents.

Please get involved. Please help put pressure on and hold accountable our city government and mayor to do more. Rent should not equal poverty.

— Kevin Stray, Bellingham; Dec. 26, 2025

Veterans for terrorism 

To the Editor: 

I’m a member of a terrorist group … Veterans For Peace. Please allow me to explain.    

A little over a year ago, I was in the West Bank of Palestine accompanying an indigenous shepherd who was tending his flock of sheep. I was accosted by a group of Israeli soldiers brandishing U.S. automatic assault rifles. They demanded my passport. After checking their internet database, to my shock, they blurted out, “You are a member of the terrorist group, Veterans For Peace.” Ironically, I joined Veterans For Peace because of its dedication to nonviolence.

At gunpoint they took me in an armored vehicle to the Israeli Central Unit for Investigation without being able to tell anyone where I was. After being interrogated for several hours, they informed me that I was a member of four other human-rights “terrorist” groups besides VFP. Because of my five supposed “terrorist” affiliations, I was put in a vehicle taken to the international border and deported.

Just prior to my above encounter, the International Court of Justice had issued an advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of the West Bank unlawful. What I experienced was illegal settler-colonists terrorizing indigenous Palestinians, aided by illegal Israeli soldiers. Their obvious intent was to steal Palestinian land. My experience was further underscored by meeting a Palestinian man who shared his story of being unarmed and shot at close range in the stomach by an illegal settler. 

So, I ask, “Who are the real terrorists?”

— Michael Jacobsen, Bellingham; Dec. 26, 2025

Where is home for short-tailed shearwaters? 

To the Editor: 

The excellent article on short-tailed shearwaters by Steve Hampton raises the question of “where is home” for these birds? (“Shearwaters visit Salish Sea in record numbers,” Dec. 12, 2025)

I am part of a research team here on Phillip Island in Southern Australia, where we have been studying short-tailed shearwater movement since 2008. We have over 200 individual records of birds and their daily travel movements for 1–3 years, depending on when we retrieve their geolocators. These birds fly vast distances every year — around 150,000 kilometers on average, gathering food. 

We have about 1.4 million of these birds nesting on our island and are currently incubating their single, annual egg. They arrive back here from the Northern Hemisphere like clockwork, in late September, every year to breed. So clearly, the question arises as to the short-tailed shearwaters that you are observing in your waters in October and November. 

None of the birds that we have tracked have gone anywhere near the coastline of Northwest America. They head straight back from the Aleutians, due south. 

I believe that the birds you are seeing are the fledglings which do not return to the Southern Hemisphere for the first few years of their life. They over-winter along the west coast, as far south as the offshore waters of California. They then return to northern waters during the Northern Hemisphere spring to meet up with the breeding adults who have returned from their breeding season in the Southern Hemisphere. The last several years have been good breeding seasons here which might account for the increasing numbers. But it might be that changing environmental conditions are attracting the birds to your inshore waters, expanding their foraging range.

So, where is “home”? Or should we redefine what “home” really means? 

— Graeme Burgan, Phillip Island, Australia; Dec. 22, 2025

Join us in support of human rights 

To the Editor: 

International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10) is an opportunity to recognize the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN in 1948. The declaration contains 30 articles proclaiming rights for all, regardless of where they live, gender, ethnic or national origin, language or religion. These include that we are all born free and equal, have the rights to seek asylum, for a fair trial, freedom from torture, the rights to free speech, education, social security, health and adequate housing.

Despite that the rights included in the declaration form the basis of international human rights law, they are not respected throughout the world.  We believe it’s important to speak out whenever human rights violations happen and to keep governments, including our own, accountable. The rise of authoritarian practices in this country and in others around the world, and the denying of rights threatens us all.

Amnesty International’s Local Group 270 hosts their annual Write for Rights at the Bellingham Central Library Lecture Room on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026 from 2–4 p.m.  We invite you to join us in taking action, along with hundreds of thousands worldwide, calling for the release of prisoners of conscience, supporting human rights defenders in need and seeking justice for human rights abuses.

The event is free and open to the public; refreshments and writing materials are available.  For information email amnestyinternational270@gmail.com.

This event is not sponsored or endorsed by the Bellingham Public Library

— Amnesty International Group 270 members: Martina Boyd, Colleen Curtis, Jan Dietzgen, Amy Mower, Bruce Radtke, Kim Secunda, Susan Witter; Whatcom and San Juan counties; Dec. 9, 2025

Peace: a daily decision

To the Editor:

Racial Unity Now is aware of the recent reports involving an Afghan who had lived in our area. The violence in Washington, D.C., is tragic and we hold the victims and their families in our prayers. We want to address the fear and confusion many are experiencing.

Our community is facing a choice: we can shrink into narratives that divide us, or we can practice the courage that peace requires. Our immigrant neighbors came here fleeing violence, not bringing it. One person’s actions cannot speak for hundreds of thousands of families yearning for safety and belonging. We are asking our community to take a higher moral stand. To love your immigrant neighbors. To resist the urge to turn your neighbors into a caricature. Peace is a daily decision to value people as individuals, to protect the vulnerable, and to refrain from letting tragedy harden our hearts.

RUN remains committed to the well-being of every family in Whatcom County, especially those who sought refuge among us. We will continue building relationships across cultures, supporting immigrants, and encouraging a way of life where compassion, patience, and truth guide us in moments when fear and misunderstanding could easily take over.

Let us choose peace in how we speak, how we respond, and how we treat one another in the days ahead.

— Jeremy Dorrough, Executive Director, Racial Unity Now, Lynden; Dec. 4, 2025

A ferry for Point Roberts

To the Editor: 

I am not a resident of Point Roberts and do not pretend to know what is best for the Point.  But, in reading the Point Roberts Economic Development Strategy referenced in the Dec. 2, 2025, Salish Current article, I was struck by the absence of any discussion of a ferry between the Point and Blaine, even though it was mentioned by members of the community in Appendix B of the report.

The border is a very real barrier to development, as discussed in the report. Because of the border, I consider Point Roberts to be an island. Although I have been a resident of Whatcom County for 49 years, I can count on one hand the number of times I have been to the Point. It is simply too much of a hassle to get there. As an inhabited island, it would greatly benefit from regular ferry service. This would be a faster way for students to get to school and make it easier for students to participate in after-school sports and other activities. It would create a physical link between the residents of Point Roberts and Blaine.  It would make it much easier for U.S. residents to get there. It would facilitate the development of the Point as envisioned in the report.

Lummi Island is served by a ferry, why not Point Roberts?  A quick internet search tells me Lummi Island has 965 residents, and Point Roberts has 1,250.  If a ferry works for 965, it should work for 1,250.

— Michael Smith, Bellingham; Dec. 4, 2025

More tanker traffic?

To the Editor:

There’s a fracas up here in Canada about Alberta wanting ANOTHER pipeline and the lifting of the North Coast tanker ban. One thing that’s come up is that Washington state’s refineries receive shipments from Valdez regularly but I’d thought Jay Inslee wanted to end them. What happened?

Premier Eby has suggested adding another pipe to the Trans Mountain Expansion route — how would Washingtonians feel about Asia-bound tanker traffic on top of the existing U.S.-bound shipments from Burnaby to Cherry Point/Anacortes and Canada?

— Mike Cleven, Maple Ridge, B.C.; Dec. 2, 2025

Comfortable with complicity? 

To the Editor: 

On the evening news, we’ve been viewing scenes of children, women, men and the elderly … civilians all … intentionally being starved to death in Gaza.

Even if a psychopathic murderer were to receive the death penalty for starving a child to death, I’d guess that only a few of us would agree that death by starvation would be morally justifiable.

As citizens of a government that has financially, militarily and diplomatically supported the state of Israel for decades, are we morally and ethically comfortable knowing that our government, and “we the people” by default, have been complicit in the support of such inexcusable crimes against humanity?

— Michael Jacobsen, Bellingham; Nov. 5, 2025 

Congratulations

To the Editor:

Heartiest congratulations and gratitude go to the Salish Current for being named one of the 50 entities in our state to receive an award on the 50th anniversary of Humanities Washington. Many see the Salish Current as the conscience and compass of our region. 

— James Loucky, Bellingham; Oct. 30, 2025

Vote ‘yes’ for a full picture

To the Editor: 

My neighbors in Ferndale should vote YES on Initiative 25-01. 25-01 helps renters by requiring landlords disclose all optional and mandatory fees in the listing of the unit, so renters know the true cost of the rental, as well as by setting reasonable limits for some common fees. 25-01 will ensure that renters have the full picture of what a unit costs before they make the decision to sign a lease.

In my work as a housing advocate in Ferndale, I see the impacts these fees have on renters, especially low-income families and seniors. I’ve heard from many tenants that extra expenses like pet, administrative and appliance fees place a great burden on them in an already difficult situation, putting them at increased risk of slipping into homelessness. Junk fees put the most vulnerable members of our community at risk.

Some have voiced concerns that I 25-01 will discourage mom and pop landlords from continuing to rent their units, and that will mean less housing inventory in an already limited market. Other large and small cities in Washington have had similar regulations for years, without negative consequences. A 2024 peer-reviewed study from Seattle demonstrates no evidence that tenant protections drove mom and pop landlords out of business. Bellingham passed a regulation that banned non-refundable pet fees last year and has seen no decrease in the number of units that allow pets. It is simply not true that renter protections mean fewer rentals.

Rental housing is expensive and hard to access for many of our neighbors, and this initiative makes fees clear from the beginning. It doesn’t prohibit all fees; it just asks for them to be reasonable. This is critical for households with limited incomes and needed right now in our community. I urge my neighbors to vote yes.

 — Sara O’Connor, Ferndale; Oct. 29, 2025

Investing in Lopez is the best choice

To the Editor:

Last week, I watched my six-year-old’s eyes light up as she scored her first goal in soccer practice. Her little brother, just two-and-a-half, clapped and giggled, imagining the day he’d join her on the field. Moments like these remind me why our small island needs and must support the new parks and rec levy.

As a mother and business owner, I feel the pinch of rising costs every day. But I’ve come to believe that investing in Lopez is the best choice we can make. This levy is about more than sports or summer camps; it will create shared spaces where our children learn teamwork, responsibility, and strong community values. And it’ll establish programs that serve Lopezians of all ages.

Our children are the future leaders, entrepreneurs, and caregivers of this island. When we nurture their skills alongside their sense of belonging and desire to connect with each other and this community, we all win. 

Supporting this levy is an investment in shared hopes and strong roots. Let’s build a community where our kids grow up knowing we care — where every goal they score is a step toward a brighter future for us all. Please vote yes for “Lopez Rec.”

— Kristi DePaul, Lopez Island; Oct. 29, 2025

A vote for Lopez Island’s future

To the Editor:

As a parent, business owner, full-time resident, and future senior, I strongly endorse the formation of a parks and rec district on Lopez to bridge an urgent gap in funding for our school and keep our community from falling further behind on services benefitting younger children, working families, and seniors. I also support Bridie Spreinie and Kit Ledbetter in the contested positions because they are more qualified, informed, and dedicated candidates. 

The Rally for the Rec committee has made an extraordinary effort to communicate their goals, the process, and the challenges ahead for over a year now. They have held numerous outreach events and responded to voters’ questions and concerns with integrity and transparency. If voters still have doubts, they should direct themselves to reliable sources of information, such as the Rally for the Rec website, and speak directly with the committee, school administrators, county council members, and informed community members rather than rely upon inaccurate social media grousing.

The benefits to our community will be wide and long-lasting, as will the negative consequences if we choose to NOT fund sports, after school and summer programming, art, music, etc. Inequality is a serious issue on our island. We have an opportunity here to ameliorate the growing divide and invest in a healthy, connected, active community. Please look to the future, Lopez, and let’s RALLY FOR THE REC!

 — Megan McLean, Lopez Island; Oct. 29, 2025

Pursuit of the common good

To the Editor:

It was a distinct pleasure to sit down this morning to peruse Whatcom County’s pink voter’s pamphlet, then study more closely the credentials of the numerous qualified persons putting their feet forward to serve in public office. Whatcom County should be proud.  

We live in what feels like a perilous time. Jeffrey Rosen’s article “The Nightmare of Despotism” in the November Atlantic suggests that the peril is more episodic than perpetual: consider Shay’s Rebellion, the secession crisis of 1861, the Ku Klux Klan terror of the 1920s, protests against racism suppressed by FDR (1943), LBJ (1967) and GHWB (1992) and the civil rights violence of Little Rock (1957) and Selma (1965), and certainly the post 2020 election debacle at the U.S. Capital on Jan. 6, 2021. 

But Whatcom County voters, whose mail-in ballots are due by Nov. 4, should think positively. The credentials of most all candidates standing for election are strong. Strong on education, strong on experience, and strong on enthusiasm for service for the public good. The recommendations of the county charter commission are a bit self- and detail-oriented, considering the broader importance of public awareness of governmental decision-making, but they are optimistic evidence of a local government that is involved, grinding away at realizing intelligent benefit for the lively community that is Whatcom County.

One word for the individual candidates: The degree of incumbency is impressive — folks who find their current role sufficiently fulfilling to stick with it. And so is the experience base of the would-be officials if elected. Voters have a lot to be thankful for and shouldn’t miss their chance to be an integral part of Bellingham’s and this county’s pursuit of the common good.

— James Davenport, Bellingham and Buena; Oct. 24, 2025

Support Prop. 1: authorizing regular property tax levy

To the Editor: 

Why do we support Prop. 1? It’s not love of more taxes. No, it is the reality that we can no longer cling to the illusion that federal and state assistance will be here for all of us. One only has to pay even a modicum of attention to this reality. It is up to us to see that we will continue to be provided with essential medical care.

Specifically, this measure continues support of our hospital district which provides “substantial funding to PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center.” Please remember that this is the only hospital serving our entire county. It also provides the only assisted-living facility, the Village at the Harbor, in our county. It supports our EMS that is clearly second-to-none. And for those with long-term disability insurance, it also provides the program, Village at Home, a licensed home care service on our island.

The risk of losing these services is very unsettling. If it fails and we see our hospital district wither in its services, especially to our seniors and youngsters, do any of us have alternative plans? Financial wherewithal to remain here and age in place or move off our beloved island? Shrink the volunteer cadres who have championed and sustained the many activities we currently enjoy?

No … it is us who must not close our eyes to what we need to do: pass Proposition 1.

— Gay Graham and Ron Hanson, Friday Harbor; Oct. 21, 2025

Vote yes to fight the fees 

To the Editor: 

High cost of living places a heavy burden on families in Whatcom County, and tenants are advocating for change through the initiative process. Ferndale renters, alongside policy makers, business owners and landlords, are crafting public policy like initiative 25-01 to reduce unfair, excessive rental fees. Ferndale clearly values fairness, transparency and affordability. Is it fair to charge a $200 application fee for an apartment that masks the true monthly cost with hidden fees? Or to become homeless over a 10% late fee, even if rent is paid? Or to pay a non-refundable $750 fee after a building switched ownership? These are real stories of Ferndale residents harmed by “junk fees.” Across our nation, tenants are using evidence-based research and community-driven strategies to fight unfair fees. Now it’s our turn. 

Who benefits from fees going unchecked? Reasonable fees, which help landlords cover basic services, are a healthy part of the rental ecosystem. Meanwhile, excessive fees, often imposed by large corporate landlords to generate extra profit, give certain unethical landlords dominance over the market, forcing out ethical building owners. Initiative 25-01 regulates which fees are permissible and which are prohibited, while still allowing landlords to charge the rents needed to sustain their businesses. 25-01 will protect renters from exploitation through junk fees and protect small landlords from unfair competition. 25-01 requires that the total monthly cost of a rental, including recurring fees, be included in advertisements, creates a clear list of reasonable fees and ensures tenants and landlords understand their responsibilities and rights. By passing this initiative, we will establish fair business and consumer standards for rental housing in Ferndale; standards we already expect from other businesses in our community. We deserve to know the true cost of our housing and not be price gouged. Vote YES on Initiative 25-01.

— Nikko Macklin, Blaine; Oct. 21, 2025

Rise above fear via ‘yes’ on 25-03

To the Editor:

Like many young renters, I share a 430-square-foot apartment in Bellingham with two roommates. Our unit has mold that we combat but cannot control. When it rains, our bathtub and toilet overflow with sewage. Our landlords do not timely handle our plumbing, forcing us to leave our home to simply use the bathroom. It takes days for maintenance to address unit problems, while also never compensating for our time without basic utilities. Manageable problems such as potholes in our parking lot are left unmaintained, causing wear and tear to vehicles. My neighbors and I have expressed outrage over these conditions, but we fear to report because, on the rare occasion we get a hold of our property managers, our complaints have been met with anger and intimidation. We fear that if we speak out, we’ll face retaliation.

Countless tenants all over Bellingham fear retaliation from their landlords. Many landlords utilize lack of maintenance, evictions, rent/utility raises or loss of utilities, threats and intimidation as retaliation against their tenants, with little to no repercussions. Bellingham City’s budding initiative No. 25-03 exists to combat this problem. This spring, thousands of Bellingham residents signed in support of 25-03, understanding that reasonable living conditions are a basic human right, and landlords using retaliatory tactics should be responsible for reparations. Initiative 25-03 protects tenants’ rights to gather and discuss living conditions. With 25-03 in effect, tenants will have the legal backing to bring violations to the court, and landlords will be required to pay punitive damages to the tenants affected. I plan to vote yes on 25-03, because a yes vote protects my neighbors. I urge you to vote yes; an initiative like this is a way for our community to rise above fear and enables better living situations for all tenants. 

— Sidney Bryant, Bellingham; Oct. 20, 2025

A bright light in Ward 2 for Bellingham City Council

To the Editor: 

As our current national politics continue to shake our confidence and belief in our American values, I turn my attention to our local politics and the upcoming election for Bellingham City Council. Our council is an important policy and decision-making body that impacts our quality of life. This election requires our attention and participation this November.  

One voice I have been inspired by is Leah Wainman. I have been able to attend events where Leah has taken the time and listened intently to our low-income housing residents. Where she has listened to our seniors. And where she has advocated for policies in housing, public health, childcare, education and public safety that can truly set Bellingham toward a brighter and more equitable future. 

Leah has spent her career in the service of the public as an epidemiologist. Her work has informed her platform and her ideas for a better Bellingham. Her family, husband Eli and two children, have shaped her vision for a Bellingham with policies that will create a more inclusive and safe environment. And, if you can spend just five minutes talking with Leah, her energy and enthusiasm for public service will tell you she is just what Bellingham needs on our city council.

Once in a while a political voice comes along that brings hope and inspiration. Leah Wainman is definitely one of those voices. 

— Kevin Stray, Bellingham; Oct. 20, 2025

Vote YES on Bellingham Public Schools levies 

To the Editor: 

I am voting YES for Bellingham Public Schools levies, because our children deserve schools that feel welcoming and safe.

As a community member who cares deeply about our schools, I believe these levies are vital for our community. Both my husband and I are graduates from Bellingham Public Schools, two of our three children have already graduated and our youngest will be graduating with the class of 2030. Through my work in early learning, I’ve supported many families whose children now attend our schools, so I understand how important our schools are to our community.

The Bellingham Promise says we will help every child discover their strengths and achieve a fulfilling and productive life. It also says that we believe every child should be loved.

I believe the BPS facilities maintenance levy is essential in providing safe, comfortable spaces to allow our children to learn and grow to the highest potential. Voting yes on this levy helps fulfill our community’s promise.

We’ve invested in completely rebuilt schools like Alderwood, Parkview, Sunnyland and Sehome. We’re building a new space for Community Transitions students to develop job skills and are designing replacements for Carl Cozier, Columbia and Roosevelt. These investments show we’re delivering on our promise.

But facilities need care. This levy protects those investments by funding roof repairs, window replacements and preventive maintenance. We want the spaces where our children discover who they are to be safe, welcoming and functional for future generations.

The BPS Supplemental Operations Levy is equally important. The state raised the levy lid, allowing us to collect additional funding for ongoing classroom and staffing needs. This levy helps stabilize our budget and ensures we can continue supporting the teachers, counselors and staff who make learning possible every day.

Please join me in voting yes!

 — Pauli Owen, Bellingham, Oct. 20, 2025

Growing Hamsters’ ‘true wealth’

To the Editor: 

A couple of days ago, I met a bartender who served the distilled news that a collapse of our government is both necessary and OK because he will be able to embrace “true wealth” in the form of living off his family’s land with his loved ones in Utah. We didn’t get into the details of what “true wealth” would look like if he couldn’t receive emergency medical care at the regional hospital that closed down, couldn’t get money for gas or experienced extreme weather that made farming in Utah untenable (recall Dust Bowl?).

Personally, I am more interested in our ability to elevate leaders who create governance that stabilizes and grows “true wealth” through creative problem-solving and law-making that protects and serves our basic needs, stability and growth. 

Did you hear Kerri Burnside, Michael Lilliquist and Leah Wainman share their commitment to creating “true wealth” here in Bellingham at the Cascadia Daily City Council Forum? If you didn’t … poor you! The forum was fantastic. Kerri was energized by community organizing, housing residents earning 50% or less of the area median income and protecting our only drinking water source, Lake Whatcom. Michael highlighted his track record on addressing community housing needs, and Leah shared her passion for protecting our data from predatory purposes and creatively problem-solving our community’s housing needs at all stages of life. They, of course, shared much more than I can mention. Check them out if you haven’t already! We would be wise to elect them. 

— Rachael Mueller, Bellingham; Oct. 20, 2025

Vote YES for Bellingham Public Schools levies on the Nov. 4 ballot

 To the Editor: 

 We’re community volunteers made up of alumni, parents and advocates for schools. We know how important these levies are for our kids, our schools and our entire community. State funding does not cover the cost of public education and federal funding is increasingly unpredictable and unstable. Local levies are important as they are a quarter of our district’s budget! 

 The Supplemental Operations Levy pays for essential staff, services and programs that directly support our students. Recognizing that state funding for schools falls short, the legislature is allowing districts to ask local communities for additional funding. In spring 2025, the state adjusted the “levy lid.” This three-year supplemental levy helps the district maintain current operations and reduce cuts in the future. 

 The Facilities Maintenance Levy helps take care of our schools. Schools where our students learn, teachers and staff work and community gathers. This levy pays for basic but critical maintenance that keeps schools safe and energy-efficient, like roofs, heaters and windows. Our community has done a great job supporting our schools, and we need to take care of them. Taking care of our schools today helps avoid expensive repairs later and protects the investments our community has made.

 Please join us in voting YES for BPS! 

 — Citizens for Bellingham Public Schools: Lynnette Bennett, Sam Humphreys, Brittany McWilliams, Drew Barnicle, Bellingham; Oct. 20, 2025

Supports Rally for the Rec

To the Editor:

I write today in support of the Rally for the Rec community campaign to fund a Lopez Island Parks and Recreation District. My wife and I have thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of our local San Juan Island Rec which is funded by the same mechanism being proposed for Lopez. Not only do we enjoy Island Rec ourselves, but we also have many friends and neighbors who utilize the benefits of camps, events, and classes for their families and children.

One of the first parks I visited on San Juan Island was our Eddie and Friends Dog Park —we’d just got our beloved goldendoodle, River, and wanted a safe place for her to run and socialize with people and other dogs. It was a delight. We now walk her around the ballparks at Linde field regularly, which is just down the street from our home. 

Our Park and Recreation District offers so much to our community! After school programs, support for school sports, nature walks, whale watching, yoga, pickleball, art club, ballet, Family Bike Day, Parent’s Night Out…the list of available activities and learning opportunities goes on and on! And those are just the Fall-Spring programs. Summer is filled with camps and classes for students at prices that working families can afford, and scholarships for families that need financial assistance. Kids participating in these programs learn foundational values of teamwork, exercise, self-expression, and more. All of this is made possible by a truly affordable levy that enables island kids (and adults) to experience safe, active, cost-effective programs that make a huge difference.

I don’t live on Lopez Island, but if I did, Rally for the Rec and the levy initiative would absolutely have my vote. $21/month so kids can have access to sports, camps, art classes, and special programs? Sign me up.

— Nathan Kessler-Jeffrey, Friday Harbor; Oct. 10, 2025

Decline Let’s Go Washington initiatives 

To the Editor: 

Hedge fund millionaire, founder of Let’s Go Washington, is imposing himself into our communities, creating division where communication should be. He is proposing two initiatives that would ban transgender girls in girls’ sports and remove protections for students who need confidential counseling. 

These measures mislead voters. His website says that IL26-638 would use existing exams to verify sex but fails to mention his proposal would require parents to pay for invasive exams that medically verify a child’s sex — procedures not included in standard physicals.

IL26-001 claims to support parents’ rights and promote transparency. In reality, this would endanger students who rely on confidential counseling and deter them from accessing these necessary services. This reaches far beyond parent’s rights and infringes upon a student’s right to safety.

I am exhausted by these divisive measures that rob our communities of conversations that could bring us closer. I trade my rest for nights reading through policy fine print while billionaires write more. This is a battle with people I will never meet and who will never meet those their policies harm. 

Why are we letting people who aren’t part of our community dictate what’s right for us? We will never grow as a community if every disagreement is entrusted to the ultrarich to argue for us. These kinds of initiatives seek to enrage us rather than unite us. 

I ask our community to decline to sign these initiatives. We must reclaim power over our communities while we still can.

— Christiana Valentine, Bellingham; Oct. 10, 2025 

Vote Fast for Meridian School Board 

To the Editor: 

Voters in the Meridian School District face some big concerns — swelling class sizes, rising costs and a middle school that is older than Dorothy singing in technicolor. 

Thankfully, we have a candidate for school board with the skills and passion to meet these challenges. Jasmine Fast is a mother of two Trojans, an incredible volunteer with the Irene Reither PTA and Cordata Neighborhood Association, and brings the technical know-how our school board desperately needs to address growth. 

As a licensed planner and development professional, she knows the impact Bellingham housing prices have on our growing community in Cordata and North County and will help our district plot a financially sustainable path into the future. She will fight for safe, modern schools and ensure our kids get the quality education they deserve.

Join me in voting for Jasmine Fast for Meridian School Board this November, the right choice for our community!

— Riley Sweeney, Lynden; Oct. 8, 2025

Vote Yes on school levy 

To the Editor: 

As a former superintendent and longtime educator, I know firsthand how important it is for our community to approve levies for Bellingham Public Schools.

The two levies on the Nov. 4 ballot will help our students be able to learn successfully in well-managed and safe schools and facilities.

If approved, our children, schools staff, families and extended community will experience and see benefits. The facility maintenance levy will provide funding for our school buildings and their equipment so they can receive ongoing and preventative maintenance.  Our schools are used regularly by our community when school isn’t in session. The supplemental operations levy means opportunities for students like Career and Technical Education classes (what we used to refer to as “shop” but now improved with technology and robots!) as well as opportunities in the arts and needed support services for students.

Our community is special, and our schools provide a safe, welcoming and inspiring space for thousands of kids and families. My husband and I moved to Bellingham from Anchorage, Alaska, in 2012, to be near our son and his family. I loved my time volunteering in my granddaughter’s classrooms at Geneva Elementary, and I continue to volunteer in the community in support of education, the arts, and the public library.

Please join me in voting to approve these levies to keep our schools and the district to continue to provide an excellent education to all students in Bellingham.

We must invest in our future — our students are depending on our YES votes!

— Carol Comeau, Bellingham; Oct. 8, 2025

Bad spot for solar 

To the Editor: 

That corner location is poorly chosen and was bound to stir up trouble. Put it in the pit! The gravel pit is out of sight of all but the dog walkers, not farmland, and unusable for anything else.

— Jai Boreen, Friday Harbor; Oct. 8, 2025

Budget comparisons are complicated

To the Editor:

A strength of Lopez is working to meet challenges head-on as a community. As the essay “Lopez Island in need of financial health check, community conversation” points out, our community is navigating rising costs of living, a lack of affordable housing, food insecurity and the effects of inflation — made harder by shrinking federal and state support. These are real pressures but the story is more complicated than the size of budgets because Lopez organizations have different missions and scopes of work.

While we are grateful for the essay starting the conversation, we want to provide additional information so the community can understand how to interpret Lopez Island Family Resource Center’s (LIFRC) numbers.  

In 2023, LIFRC reported $2,649,757 in revenues and $2,193,299 in expenses on our IRS 990, a difference of $456,458. While this may appear as “surplus revenue,” the reality is $376,915 of those funds were prepaid private foundation and government grants restricted for 2024 program use and were not available for general operations. Donations made at year-end versus New Year’s account for annual fluctuations.

LIFRC employs 35–48 diverse, highly skilled staff that reflect our community and deliver services across more than 24 programs. Last year alone, LIFRC programs reached a wide cross-section of Lopez Island serving over 1,200 adults, children and seniors. The scope of these services explains why our budget is larger than other nonprofits on Lopez. These are not “extras”— rather essential supports helping our island thrive.

For more specific details about LIFRC’s numbers, please visit our website.

 We are grateful for the extraordinary generosity of our community and remain committed to sustaining vital services, youth engagement, and opportunities for all Lopez Islanders. We welcome community conversation that is grounded in accurate information, and we invite anyone with questions to reach out directly to barbara@lifrc.org. 

— Barbara Schultheiss, Executive Director, and Asa Kinney, Board Chair, on behalf of the Board and Staff of the Lopez Island Family Resource Center, Lopez Island: Oct. 2, 2025

Residents can have influence re Samish Crest

To the Editor:

In Community Voices (Sept. 29, 2025), Betsy Gross wonderfully describes the beauty, and the endangerment, of Samish Crest, the last sizable undeveloped place in Bellingham. Forested trails and inspirational views are places to wander and wonder, providing opportunities for healthy renewal in wild places that are ever more valuable as they become rare.

Profit-motives are hard to contest, yet residents of Bellingham can have unappreciated influence over potential transitions. As taxpayers and community advocates, we can urge the city to provide roads and infrastructure only if public access and thoughtful environmental protections are prioritized in plans for this precious ridge.

It took a decade for the public’s right to a mutually beneficial waterfront to help counterbalance wishes of developers and the then-port commission. Let’s not follow a similar costly trajectory again.

— James Loucky, Bellingham; Sept. 29, 2025

Plant foraging prohibited in Stimpson Family Reserve 

To the Editor: 

I enjoyed the recent article “A ghost in the woods:  the plant haunting social media” by Ronan Lynch. The article showed two pictures of the ghost pipe plant in the Stimpson Family Reserve and gave advice on harvesting this plant. Importantly, the article did not mention that foraging of plants is PROHIBITED in the reserve. My concern is that some readers may not be aware of that and that they will take them from the reserve.

— Steven Miller, Bellingham; Sept. 22, 2025

A camas appreciator

To the Editor:

A few of us non-tribal folks have appreciated camas for a very long time. None that I know have eaten any. They are wonderfully beautiful in bloom, and there are some noteworthy fields. You did not mention the death camas which has white flowers rather than the usual blue. It is also important to note that there are not enough wild, native plants and animals to feed all those who would like to eat them, with the possible exception of invasive squirrels. 

Another good article. Thanks.

— Dan Senour, Anacortes; Sept. 18, 2025

Ed.: Read more about Coast Salish foodways.

Path to citizenship is more complicated than you may think 

To the Editor: 

Do you support deporting people who don’t have the legal status to be here? Please don’t assume most immigrants are deliberately evading the law, and please don’t claim “I’m all for immigration as long as it’s legal.”  I urge you to educate yourself about our immigration system, because seeking legal status in the U.S. is a Herculean task. There are almost 11 million men, women and children who are undocumented in the U.S., yet fewer than 700 immigration judges. And the number of immigration attorneys — not all of whom are ethical, affordable or adequately trained — is woefully inadequate.

Compounding the challenge for folks trying to follow the law is the law itself. The Code of Federal Regulations contains more than 11 sections pertaining to immigration alone — and in no way do the president’s executive orders which continually circumvent those laws simplify them. To gain legal status is an incredibly complicated process with time constraints that work against applicants. I know a woman who has been waiting eight years to get her asylum case decided. She lives in daily terror of being returned to her home country. What would you do in her shoes?

— Frances Posel, Bellingham; Sept. 4, 2025

Homeless wait list is shocking

To the Editor:

Thank you for the informative article on homelessness. (“North Haven tiny home village officially opens” Sept. 2, 2025) Shocking, actually, to read that 2,100 people are on the waiting list for one of the tiny homes! Thanks to those who have volunteered to create the 47.  I might have wished for data on where the resources came from to complete the project. Volunteer donations for sure, but city, county, state, fed?

Am I not correct that the tiny house concept has a good track record of success in other communities?  These questions suggest Mr. Dunne or some other knowledgeable soul could bless us with more information — and thereby bless the homeless.

The mere headline in the boldest of letters would enlighten the uninformed (like me): “2,100 real people remain on waiting list for a tiny home.”

— Ron Polinder, Lynden, Sept. 2, 2025

What, no appeals?

To the Editor: 

In 2022, I filed an appeal against the Port of Anacortes’ Shoreline Substantial Development Permit, aiming to ensure thorough environmental review. While the city dismissed the appeal, the concerns raised contributed to broader discussions about public involvement in environmental decisions. In August 2025, the Anacortes City Council voted to eliminate the option of appealing certain environmental determinations to a hearing examiner. With the council’s elimination of the ability to appeal, Anacortes residents have lost their right to formally challenge environmental decisions that affect the community they live in.

— Ashlan Chidester, Anacortes; Aug. 29, 2025

Community equity ‘should be the goal’

To the Editor: 

Mr. Reding is correct to include community ownership of home equity in his list of approaches to the problem [“Commentary: Steps to a comprehensive housing strategy,” Aug. 18, 2025].

In my view, creating permanently affordable community equity-owned homes should not just be on the list, it should be the goal. The private equity market is structurally incapable of solving the affordability problem. 

Building complexes with 1/3 “affordable” units is also not the answer. I want (City of Bellingham) to prioritize supporting creating as many community land trust and co-op homes as possible through new construction and converting existing private equity owned homes into community equity owned homes.

— Michael Chiavario, Bellingham; Aug. 25, 2025

More to the Decatur solar story

To the Editor: 

Thank you for your comprehensive article on opposition to expansion of solar on Decatur [“Solar expansion plan for Decatur draws opposition,” Aug. 21, 2025]. Interested readers might wish to review the testimony before the council on Aug. 19, as well as a summary, relevant photos and a detailed citizen project review and commentary. Not covered in the article is the larger picture of whether commercial solar generation is in any meaningful way a path to energy security for the region, and our concerns that we face long term challenges ensuring a reliable flow of power through submarine cables that have finite lifespans, and other macro-challenges to our energy infrastructure in the San Juans and larger region. We proposed the formation of an independent Energy Security Advisory Committee. Interested readers can review our presentation and supporting documents here.

— Brian Grant, Decatur Island; Aug. 21, 2025

Urging pullback of military aid to Israel

To the Editor:

We, the undersigned, wish to thank Sen. Murray for voting on July 30, 2025, in support of the resolutions proposed by Sen. Sanders that would block the U.S. transfer of key offensive weapons to Israel (including 1,000-pound bombs and automatic assault rifles). In the past Sen. Murray had voted against similar legislation that would have blocked the transfer of such military items from to U.S. to Israel. We appreciate the courage that Sen. Murray has displayed by this symbolic step — essentially reversing her previous position on this matter and standing up on the principle of avoiding support for Israel’s killing of innocent people in Gaza.

In practical terms, this vote was of symbolic value only; predictably the Sanders resolutions were voted down. To be clear — we would like to see support for even stronger resolutions so as to pull back all U.S. military support to Israel and eliminating all U.S. involvement in contributing to the destruction of the Palestinian people as well as their homes, schools and hospitals.

Yet Sen. Murray’s vote is one step.

We strongly urge our other Congressional representatives to also consider this matter and listen to their constituents: we want an immediate stop to our tax dollars being used to support Netanyahu’s horrific destruction of the people of Gaza.

— Andy Hiester, Eastsound; Bruce Radtke, Bellingham; Colleen Curtis, Bellingham; Tom Rawson, San Juan County; Linda Ellsworth, San Juan County; Martina Boyd, Bellingham; Allen Stockbridge, Bellingham; Micki Jackson, Bellingham; Charles Janeway, Lopez Island; Jennifer Janeway, Lopez Island; Logan Knight, Lopez Island; Marisa James, Lopez Island; Merrjo Hilder, San Juan County; Gary M. Vaughn, Lopez Island; Sylvia Smith, Lopez Island; Kirman Taylor, Lopez Island; Ron Metcalf, Lopez Island; Sheila Metcalf, Lopez Island; Peter Kuentzel, Lopez Island; Patricia Kuentzel, Lopez Island; Anne Marie Killen-Gall, Lopez Island; Lorna Reese, Lopez Island; Becky Munro, Lopez Island; George C. Knight, San Juan County; Eric Blaser, Lopez Island; Aug. 16, 2025

Vote yes for libraries 

To the Editor: 

Every week, I take my children to the library. Sometimes we go to the Lynden Library and enjoy story time with Hana with my youngest. Sometimes we go to the Ferndale branch and my son checks out every single Garfield collection they have. While there, I am able to print off coloring sheets for the kids or paperwork that I need for my life. I’m able to check out board games and puzzles to keep the rainy-day blues at bay and make a mermaid out of a paper bag with their arts and crafts during the summer.

Libraries are an essential part of my life and are used by my friends and neighbors every day. And unlike my favorite coffee stand, they cannot just raise prices to meet the rising costs of operations; they need our help.

For less than eight dollars a month, we can keep the lights on and the doors open. This would mean the world to my family and hopefully yours. Please join me in voting yes for our libraries this August.

— Bryna Sweeney, Lynden; July 25, 2025

Drought Community Voices not accurate 

To The Editor: 

I feel I should pass along comments regarding the July 2 Community Voices piece from my friend Eric Hirst.

I am concerned about Eric’s assertion that farmers adopting water use efficiency measures in times of drought will be subject to relinquishment — loss of their water rights.  I am disappointed that Eric did not review relevant state law before passing along what appears to be misinformation with an alarming tone. Washington RCW 90.14.130 and RCW 90.14.140 list categories of reduced water use considered  “sufficient cause”  that are exempted from relinquishment. At the top of the list is drought. The example farmer that Eric discusses will not be subject to “use it or lose it.”  Reduced water use is also not on the sufficient cause list must be continued for five consecutive years before the user is subject to relinquishment. To Eric’s farmer: you won’t lose your water rights if you conserve water during a drought.

Since I know Eric is a person who looks for solutions to problems, I am also disappointed that he did not see that water conservation methods implemented under the Yakima Basin enhancement project are also exempted from relinquishment. While not directly relevant to Whatcom County, this does indicate a precedent with a legislative solution to the type of conflict Eric discusses. I am aware of Eric’s criticisms of the WRIA1 process currently underway, but this is an example of how the process in the Yakima Basin resulted in helpful legislation.

I have great respect for Eric’s dedication and hard work around responsible, fair and sustainable water use, but I fear that his Community Voices will be counterproductive to sincere efforts to find solutions to a challenging and important problem affecting all of us. Keep up the great work, Eric, and the jazz sax playing.

— Alan Shurman, Maple Falls; July 24, 2025

Hold co-ops accountable 

To the Editor: 

As members of the Bellingham Community Food Co-op who are concerned with the genocide in Gaza, we requested products sourced from Israel be taken off the shelves and that our co-op be in alignment with its stated values of respecting human rights. The co-op board and CEO reported their denial of our request in a June 26 email to the membership.   

The board avoided the moral challenge by stating the current bylaws don’t boycott countries, only companies.  Calling it a “conflict’ rather than a genocide, as has been acknowledged by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, reflects a critical need for education.  Co-op leadership claimed “food is their lane.”  Meanwhile, forced mass starvation is happening in Gaza and over 750 people have been killed literally waiting in “food lanes.”  We were told some people might feel less safe shopping at the Co-op if Israeli-sourced products were removed, yet others feel less able to continue shopping at a co-op that chooses to sell products from a country committing vicious war crimes.  

How can we help stop this horror? Boycotts have long been a non-violent way of creating justice. They are happening in Olympia and other cities and countries around the world, including in the United Kingdom, where a food retailer will cease stocking Israel-sourced products in its more than 2,300 branches due to Israel’s recognized human rights abuses and violations of international law. 

Join us in urging the co-op to uphold stated values of human rights with ethical action.

— Jessica Burchiel, Colleen Curtis, Lyn Fuller, Heather Korbmacher, Lindsay MacDonald, Shirley Osterhaus, Barbara Rofkar and Susan Witter, Bellingham; July 14, 2025

‘Smart analysis’ of Lightcatcher exhibition

To the Editor:

Mickey Mann’s article, “Not the Whole Picture: artists explore identity, loss and queer history,” (June 30, 2025) is a smart and engaging analysis of the Whatcom Museum’s current exhibition featuring artwork by Garth Amundson and Pierre Gour. Thank you for highlighting this effort! It is truly wonderful that the Salish Current is an accessible regional platform that prioritizes stories of local culture, social justice and inclusivity, all central themes of this exhibition.

— Maria J. Coltharp (Acting Executive Director, Whatcom Museum), Bellingham; July 7, 2025

Clarifying points in refugee story

To the Editor: 

Thank you, Sam, for your ongoing interest in our new neighbors from Afghanistan. May I encourage your ongoing coverage, every few months, to see if we are living up to the biblical mandate to “welcome the stranger?” (“Lynden asylum seekers reunite with baby,” July 1, 2025)

A couple points of clarification — first, I am really not the “founder” of Racial Unity Now. I did pen the first letter to the Lynden Tribune, but there were a half dozen who readily signed it and became equal partners in the formation. 

Also, your article did not name the auntie, who cared for Liya for several months, at some risk and sacrifice, and carried her by plane to Seattle to place that baby in the arms of sister Tahmina. It was beautiful moment!. Her name is Nagina, and she is one of the heroes of the story. She does intend to stay in the U.S., in fact, Ahmad says her life would be in danger if she returned to Afghanistan.

— Ron Polinder, Lynden; July 5, 2025

‘Democracy Watch’ proves helpful 

To the Editor: 

It’s hard to not be immobilized by the fallacies emanating from the other Washington, so thankfully the Salish Current, in its daily “Democracy Watch,” lists factual resources for seeing through the latest subterfuge and for creatively advocating rights that we ought not take for granted. It’s most helpful for doing at least one good thing, each day, every day. 

— James Loucky, Bellingham; June 24, 2025

Love those bees

To the Editor:  

This spring I looked at three blueberry bushes in my backyard in full bloom. Over several days I noticed one honeybee. I was worried there were not going to be berries to pick in July. Was relieved to see bumblebees. I actually heard them buzzing before seeing them. They work in cold weather and at sunset. Love these fuzzy bees.

— D. Coleman, Blaine; June 15, 2025

So much good at so little cost

Another excellent piece on Americorps! It is insane to defund a program like this that does so much at so little cost. (“Nonprofits, municipalities regroup after Americorps setbacks” and “America will miss AmeriCorps,” June 4, 2025).

— Dan Senour Anacortes; June 5, 2025 

Eliminating the kidney transplant waitlist

To the Editor:

In these often turbulent, unpredictable times, Alfredo Mejia’s story in the Salish Current (‘A kidney for Alfredo: one man’s hope,’ May 20, 2025) shines as a beacon of hope and resilience. Alfredo, a devoted husband, father and family provider, now on dialysis, faces the daunting challenge of a long wait for a transplant. His courage in sharing his story and asking for help is deeply moving.

The fact that a living donor could transform Alfredo’s life in just months, rather than years — to get a kidney from a deceased donor is 5–7 years — is a powerful reminder of the difference each of us can make. I wish Alfredo and his family strength and good health. I am grateful to publications like the Salish Current for amplifying voices like his. Your commitment to community storytelling truly matters.

Dr. Bill Lombard, a retired nephrologist in Whatcom County, envisions eliminating our county’s kidney transplant waiting list by 2030; he calls it a “moonshot.” That is a bold vision, but reading Alfredo’s story makes me believe it’s possible. When we come together, sharing stories, spreading awareness and supporting one another, we can achieve remarkable things.

Let’s rally behind Alfredo and everyone who is waiting for a second chance at life. Thank you, Salish Current, for inspiring hope and action. Together, we can make Dr. Lombard’s “moonshot” a reality.

— Delores Davies, Ferndale; June 2, 2025

Contact representatives about Medicaid cuts 

To the Editor:

The House has passed, and the Senate is considering, a proposal to cut $625 billion from Medicaid, threatening access to healthcare for over 7.6 million Americans by 2034. These cuts would not only slash funding but also impose stricter work requirements and may eliminate essential services like dental, vision and mental health care.

The impact would be devastating for those who need help the most. Stricter requirements could force hundreds of thousands to lose coverage, especially those caring for family or struggling with chronic illness. Medicaid also covers 40% of children nationwide. Cuts to vital services would deprive millions of kids of preventive healthcare.

Seniors and people with disabilities depend on Medicaid for home health and nursing care. Reduced funding would undermine their access to essential support, shifting costs to families. Rural residents, who rely heavily on Medicaid, would see clinics close and less access to providers.

These aren’t just statistics — they are our neighbors, our friends and our family. Balancing the budget should not come at the expense of the most vulnerable among us.

Please contact your elected representatives and urge them to reject these harmful cuts. Let’s protect Medicaid and the health of our community.

— Mary Lynne Courtney and Kim Finger, Co-Leaders, Healthcare Issues Team, League of Women Voters Bellingham-Whatcom County; May 27, 2025

Appreciating news

Good piece on the tidegates. I did not know about the ferry terminals in the San Juans.  Thanks. “News” is something I did not know before. Again, thanks for news. 

— Dan Senour Anacortes; May 21, 2025

Ferry woes, too many taxes 

To the Editor: 

Ferry workers make enough. Their training is paid for to become a deckhand. As far as the overtime goes, there should be a rule that they cannot work more than 70 hours a week, like a semi-truck driver. The ferry system is definitely in trouble being that all the money they make goes into (the Department of Transportation) and they spend it on whatever they want, where the ferry system should be run separately from the transportation division. Maybe they could afford to pay employees more. Bottom line this state is taxing us to death.

— Robert Cantrill, Friday Harbor; May 21, 2025

Public Service Recognition Week

To the Editor: 

May marks the 40th celebration of Public Service Recognition Week, which was created to honor the millions of dedicated public servants at the local, state and federal levels, whose work benefits the lives of all Americans.

As we recognize public servants this year, federal employees are under attack. The recent changes to the federal workforce make this year even more critical to honor the invaluable contributions of our nation’s public servants. 

Federal employees provide the incredibly difficult task of delivering services to the public day in and day out that touches every aspect of our lives. They protect the air we breathe and the water we drink, provide care for our veterans, ensure the fair enforcement of our laws, analyze the research data or findings that we rely on to keep our transportation systems safe, our food supply disease-free and our economy prosperous.

Every day, when you enjoy electricity and clean water, hear about your children’s day at school, utilize emergency services during a crisis, communicate with loved ones far away or even go about your day free of danger, you have a public servant to thank. There is not a corner of the U.S. that does not rely on public servants for our society to function.

We as Americans, who enjoy our lives and freedoms because of these patriots, should thank them more often — or at least once a year. I hope you will join me in expressing your appreciation to those who serve for what they do for our communities and our country.

— D. Brady Green, Blaine; May 19, 2025

SAVE Act or is it SLAVE Act? 

To the Editor:

Introduced by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and passed unanimously by all Rs and four Ds (among them Marie Glusenkamp Perez, 3rd District-Washington), SAVE stands for Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. Really? 

This act amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 by introducing a requirement that individuals provide proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Looking further, however, one must realize an estimated 21.3 million voters either don’t have proof of their citizenship (e.g., birth certificate or passport) or little to no access to either. Approximately 69 million American women changed their birth names upon marriage; therefore, if they have a birth certificate, their last name wouldn’t match.  

To remedy this, these women would be required to provide documentation in person to register to vote. Not a problem, but if one lives in a rural area, is reliant on public transportation, is unable to leave their place of employment and/or not be accommodated due to disabilities, you bet there’s one. 

To quote USA Today: “This bill could end voter registration drives, severely limit or eliminate online voter registration (used by 8 million Americans in the 2022 election cycle), limit or end automatic voter registration and eliminate the ability to send in a voter registration application by mail used by 3 million in 2022.” 

There are numerous organizations opposed to this: Brennan Center for Justice, League of Women Voters of the United States, Common Cause, National Democratic Redistricting Committee, among others. 

Take action by sending an email to our Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell opposing the SAVE Act. Understand that your voice is powerful: There are approximately 341.96 million people in our country with only 100 senators and 435 representatives for all of us. Your voice, your vote is enormous. 

— Gay Graham, Friday Harbor; April 22, 2025

Earth Day: living lands and waters offer a measure of hope

To the Editor:

This Earth Day, when the dismantling of U.S. environmental protections is ascendant, it may be best to look to the Earth itself for a message. According to NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory (may it somehow persist!), the monthly average concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere (measured at Mauna Loa) reached 428.15 parts per million. Since March 2024, the atmospheric concentration has increased 2.77 parts per million.

Each part per million equals 7.8 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide, so the atmosphere this April carries about 21.6 billion metric tons more carbon dioxide than it did one year ago.

According to the UK-based Global Carbon Budget, fossil fuels burned and forests cleared by human activities in 2024 released a record 41.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in the course of the year.

The difference, 20 billion tons, was absorbed by the world’s oceans and intact forests. This Earth Day, we can take some measure of hope that our living lands and waters are still working on our behalf — despite everything, and for free. Let’s thank our ecosystems and redouble efforts to protect and restore them.

— Edward Wolf, Bellingham; April 17, 2025

Washington police reform not anomalous 

To the Editor:

I appreciate the information about hiring challenges for law enforcement recruitment in your recent article. I want to take a moment to address any purported correlation between recent police reform and dampening of enthusiasm to enter the profession.

The transformation work began Initiative I-940 in 2018, which required de-escalation training, first aid at any incident and changed the criminal standard for use of deadly force. This was followed in 2021 with state legislation to fill other gaps in statewide standards, with the goal of quality policing in Washington state.  This included consistent standards for use of physical force and the duty of care, restrictions on use of military equipment, guidance on use of canines, limits on no-knock warrants, a ban on chokeholds and impartial investigations into use of deadly force.

These state-wide policies result in accountable and transparent policing and strengthen the relationship between community and law enforcement. Increasing trust at the ground level is critical to public safety and protects everyone. The work to change the culture of policing is not done, and community advocates continue to work on statewide policies for an independent prosecutor, addressing traffic stops for expired tabs, looking at systemic civil rights issues in local jails and law enforcement agencies, and updating eligibility standards for police chiefs and sheriffs. 

Fast forward to this legislative session, and the governor has put $100 million for law enforcement hiring on the table. The legislature responded with HB 2015, with grants and local taxing authority.  It requires eligible agencies be in compliance with the laws on the books. That’s not unreasonable at all and is a very practical approach.  The message is the policy changes over the last decade were not anomalies and are part of an intentional framework to improve public safety for all Washingtonians.

— Leslie Cushman, Olympia; April 17, 2025

Quiet Zones are win-win, for health and safety

To the Editor: 

The “New quiet zones in Fairhaven silence train horn sounds” [April 10, 2025] article omitted the significant health benefits to silencing train horns and understated the increase in safety.

Noise is a known health hazard recognized by the EPA, World Health Organization and European Commission. Train horns trigger our primitive, “flight or fight” response. Awake or asleep, our flight or fight reaction prompts the brain to secrete stress-producing hormones that increase blood pressure and heart rate, narrow blood vessels, cause abnormal heart rhythms, wake us if we are sleeping and/or disrupt our sleep patterns if we do not. Repeated episodes are cumulative and harmful long term.

Health consequences include strokes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, exacerbated mental health illnesses including depression, anti-social behavior, sleep disturbance, increased stress and slowed cognitive and learning ability in children.

As to safety, the upgrades are substantially safer than horns: in some cases, a five-fold improvement. It takes a train at least a mile to stop, and a train hitting a car is equivalent to a car hitting a soda can. 

The Quiet Zones’ success exemplify the power of public engagement with elected officials. Sen. Maria Cantwell, Rep. Rick Larsen, the Port Commission and engineers and city officials and staff all worked together with many members of the public to fund the work and keep it moving. I got involved with neighbors who had been working on this for ten years after experiencing my own heart rate leap in the middle of the night. That was 2015.

It should not have taken this long or cost the Port and City this much, but I and many others are grateful to all who worked so hard to protect our safety and improve our health. These train crossing upgrades are indeed a win-win, for health as well as safety. 

— Jane K. Bright, Bellingham; April 18, 2025

Looking forward to a silent night 

To the Editor:

Regarding “New quiet zones in Fairhaven silence train horn sounds” [April 10, 2025]: We are west of the airport. There’s two crossings, Wynn Road and Country Lane/Bancroft. The most valuable landowners got their (railroad quiet zone) crossing before us, and we requested it first. 

We just got public works to proceed with upgrading applications for the crossing in our neighborhood. We’re the first neighborhood to request the upgrades; yes, over 12 years ago. Looking forward to a silent night! 

— Craig Henderson, Bellingham; April 11, 2025 

Protect Medicaid: A lifeline for Whatcom County mental health care

To the Editor:

As Congress debates the federal budget, proposed Medicaid cuts threaten the health and stability of thousands in Whatcom County — especially those living with mental illness.

More than 58,000 local residents rely on Medicaid. Over 11,000 depend on it for mental health services, including therapy, medications and crisis care. Without it, many would lose access to the support they need to stay housed, employed and connected.

At National Alliance on Mental Illness Whatcom, we see this reality every day. We offer free peer-led support groups, education classes, school outreach and crisis navigation for families and individuals affected by mental illness. But we can’t fill the gap if Medicaid funding is slashed. It is the backbone of our public mental health system.

Cutting Medicaid will only deepen Washington’s mental health crisis. It will drive more people into emergency rooms, hospitals, and jails. It will cost more in the long run — and harm the most vulnerable among us.

We urge readers to contact Rep. Rick Larsen and U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell today. Tell them to protect Medicaid in the federal budget and reject harmful cuts.

Mental health is health care. Medicaid makes recovery possible for thousands in our community. It must be protected.

— Brian Estes, Bellingham; April 4, 2025

How long will it take for the world to forgive us? 

To the Editor:

It wasn’t enough …

It wasn’t enough to target the most vulnerable populations in the entire world by withholding food from starving children in war, famine-plagued and poverty-stricken areas of the world.

It wasn’t enough to withhold life-saving medicine, vaccines and rudimentary healthcare to millions.

It wasn’t enough to withhold disaster aid worldwide and dismantle domestic disaster response through FEMA.

It wasn’t enough to fire thousands of civil servants in the VA, Social Security, national parks and the list goes on.

It wasn’t enough to cancel research for cures for cancer and other diseases and devastate research programs in areas of agriculture, physical and biological sciences and fire the best and brightest in their fields, trashing years of study, experience and careers.

It wasn’t enough to add a few tariffs here and there causing 401K savings, investments and the stock market to crash.

No, Donald Trump has decided to punish the entire world and our own citizens and business with harsh tariffs. Congratulations, Mr. Trump. You have made enemies of friends and foes alike, guaranteed inflation, economic pain and chaos at home and abroad. How long will it take for the world to forgive us?

— Nancy Sheng, Bellingham; April 4, 2025

Articles and essay about plastics need better citations

To the Editor:

The recent opinion pieces on plastics are interesting, but in my opinion as a person with extensive experience in the recycling industry, they make too many unsupported claims. They read like articles, but the statistics cited and claims about health and environmental impacts are not footnoted so readers cannot check original sources for verification.

Many writers reference a tired statistic of “only 9% of all plastic ever made has been recycled.” Where is the original source with data? Do they mean curbside plastic or are they lumping in car seats, truck bumpers, printer casings, laundry bags, sterile medical supplies, old suitcases and broken shopping carts? Most curbside plastic from Washington IS recycled — curbside programs are real recycling.

Your author’s claim that all plastic recycling is basically a sham betrays an ignorance of the important work by industry professionals for decades to perform real recycling, including on plastics. Addressing multiple complex plastic resource management processes requires sober and thorough analysis — manufacturing inputs and pollution, distribution, embodied energy, toxics, reasons for plastics use, recycling, recycled content, climate trade-offs with various materials and uses, transportation impacts, refrigeration impacts, etc.

Serious topics (and readers!) deserve passion AND serious scholarship. Please encourage your writers to dig deeper and share their sources.

Finally, seek out and challenge the reader to think about solutions. Do they advocate going back to all glass and metal packaging? What are the actual social and environmental impacts of that? Do they advocate banning plastics? Who decides which ones? Do medical plastics get a pass? Auto safety? Which others will be determined to be “essential”? Who decides? These are social and political questions with which to wrestle, even if we all agree on the science.

— Rodd Pemble, Bellingham; April 4, 2025

Great efforts on local news

To the Editor:

Good report on Sedro-Woolley schools. School is one of the most important places where politics and action begin. Thanks for keeping an eye on the never-ending Navy over flights from Whidbey Island, too.

I contribute when I can. Social Security is no longer secure. I have to be careful.

Great efforts on local news: the real thing.

— Dan Senour, Anacortes; March 25, 2025

Critical mass needed for change 

To the Editor: 

From 2009–2011 my wife and I lived near Cairo, Egypt, during the end of the Hosni Mubarak era. For 30 years, President Mubarak used his career to steal from Egypt and torture citizens. Usually attempts at protest over high food prices, inadequate infrastructure and repression were met with force. It was not uncommon to hear about someone “disappearing.” Egyptians love to talk, but if a conversation got anywhere near criticism of the Mubarak government, silence prevailed.

Then on Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, using Facebook and other social media, groups began to occupy Tahrir Square in central Cairo to protest poverty and oppression. The protest grew; clashes increased between government troops and protesters. Protests spread across Egypt.

As my wife and I watched this unfold, I realized that the numbers of protesters were growing in proportion to the level of repression by government troops. I told my wife, “I think we are going to hit a critical mass, at which point change will come.”

On Friday, Jan. 28, 2001, Mubarak shut down the entire internet, cell service and all, to prevent more organizing. But it was too late. 

There are many accounts available to read about this “Arab Spring,” so I won’t go into more detail about that here.

Protests against the current regime in Washington, D.C., are growing, and I am again waiting for a critical mass to shake complacent U.S. citizens enough to realize how repressive the Trump administration has become.

On April 5, a coalition is calling for a nationwide protest called “Hands Off” against the Trump-Musk attack on freedom of speech, due process of law and civil rights. We need a critical mass to make clear that the move to authoritarianism and an oligarchy in this administration will meet with constant and growing opposition. Come out April 5, Bellingham City Hall. [Ed.: Location updated April 1, 2025] 

— David Fayram, Bellingham; March 24, 2025

Answers needed from county re health director firing

To the Editor:

With one pandemic behind us and the next looming due to vaccine-preventable diseases — paired with an unprecedented budget deficit — public health in Whatcom County is in crisis. Over the past five years, the rapid expansion of public health initiatives has been both necessary and unsustainable. Strained resources, increasing skepticism of science and the urgent need for systemic reform demand decisive and strategic leadership.

Yet, at this critical moment, we are without a leader. On March 5, the county executive and their team informed the Whatcom County health director of their decision to terminate her employment, effective March 19.

While the sudden departure of our health director is concerning, the greater issue is the lack of communication surrounding this decision. As an epidemiologist and member of the Whatcom County Public Health Advisory Board for the past five years, I have worked alongside the health department and the board of health in policy making, implementing new legislative mandates and engaging communities — all in service of Whatcom County residents. 

It appears the county council is set to appoint the interim health director — in code this role is called the “administrator” — without input from the board. I can understand how this could happen, because the local county code is inconsistent on this process. 

• Local Code (24.01.030) outlines the process for administrative appointments.
• Further down (24.01.051), the health advisory board is identified as having a role in that appointment process.
• The board of health code is brief and defers to the state RCW, which, for home rule counties, designates the board of health as the appointing authority for the health administrator.

We need answers from county leadership.

• Who is leading the department now?
• How prepared are they to respond to ongoing public health crises at the local, state, and national levels?
• What is their plan to ensure public health services continue effectively in Whatcom County?
• How is leadership aligning these various codes and getting input from the community on their decision?

The public, board members and county partners deserve transparency and accountability, especially as the need for public health services does not end with the firing of a director.

— Leah Wainman, Bellingham; March 20, 2025

Local news sources are more valuable than ever

To the Editor:

There was a time when local sources were the only sources of news when all towns were what today we would call small, where farmers, prospectors, trappers and hunters would exchange information. The telegraph, a then expensive technology, was dedicated to news and not free speech for its own sake.

Since then, we have stepped through telephony, radio, television and the internet, recognizing while using them all that information can be slanted, but until not many years ago, barring governmental propaganda, individuals largely refrained from manufacturing “news.” 

Then the First Amendment was rediscovered. Some facts, excused as “alternative facts,” became legitimate news features attractive to segments of the public. Whole blocks of voters are now are mentally marching in lockstep.

And at this point, we meet artificial intelligence, or AI, a means of composing language in a manner and from sources not disclosed to the public. AI has assisted in drafting briefs that cite nonexistent cases submitted by New York lawyers to judges whose clerks actually check references. And there, things unravel.

I have learned that even The Guardian, my last major bastion of information and a long-trusted source of news and opinion, has laid off writers and is using AI. How can you rely on a medium that can generate or anonymize its own sources?

My answer is to look increasingly to local sources that I personally know and trust, to whom I can say, “Where’d you get that?” AIs and large media cannot be embarrassed. 

Join me in supporting your local news source. Small zines, the only sources we can actually lean on for accuracy, are winking out. Climb back on board and reclaim honest news!

— Bill Appel, Friday Harbor, March 9, 2025

Ed.: The Guardian published its policy regarding generative AI in February 2023 and canceled the contracts of about 70 “casual” and “freelance” staff in December 2024.

A thriller of a game 

To the Editor: 

What a thrill it was watching Team USA take on Team Canada in ice hockey’s Four Nations Tournament last month (February 12–20). Less fun was hearing the crowd in Montreal lustily boo the U.S. national anthem. When bad actors in the world boo our anthem, it makes me proud to be an American. But when good guys like Canadians boo us, it makes me ask, “How did we get here?” Canada was there for us in World War II, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. 

My three Canadian sisters-in-law recently visited from across the border in British Columbia. They spoke of Canadian citizens’ vigorous support for their government’s actions to diversify Canada’s supply sources to reduce dependence on a suddenly unreliable U.S. Anyone who thinks Canadians will just roll over because President Trump is waving around a big stick does not know Canada well. My paternal grandfather grew up on a farm in Manitoba and was tough as nails. So are most Canadians, as they proved on D-Day more than 80 years ago. 

Punitive tariffs against our closest ally are unlikely to win meaningful concessions.  Nor will they bring relief to those hoping the Trump Administration will bring down costs and make life better for any American who lives below the economic stratosphere where Donald Trump and his ilk live.  The tariffs may in fact drive our cost of living upward. And the accompanying diplomatic spat between the U.S. and Canada saps energy our government could more usefully direct toward standing up against Vladimir Putin’s Russia as it tries to swallow up Ukraine.

By the way, bummer that Team USA narrowly missed grabbing gold in the Four Nations championship game against Team Canada. But what an absolute thriller of a game it was! That is what a centuries-long friendship is all about.

— Mike Morrow, Bellingham; Feb. 27, 2025

Federal cuts doing more harm than good 

To the Editor: 

Trump and “tech broligarchy” are dismantling our government and changing our society in the name of cutting fraud to help reduce the federal deficit. However, the 2017 tax cuts drastically reduced the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, pushing us further into debt. 

I am a retired federal employee who proudly served 31 years with five agencies. Federal employees are public servants who serve and protect us every day. They work with our military at home and abroad to defend our country and provide care to our veterans. They protect our communities from violence, teach our children, deliver our mail and safeguard the safety of our food and medicines. They help protect our air and water and national forests, national parks and other public lands. They ensure essential functions are financed, that Social Security checks arrive on time, and that our borders and airports are secure. When disasters occur, they come to our rescue and help us recover. 

The federal government employed about 2 million civilians. Since 1968, the federal workforce has decreased 2.88%, while private sector employment increased over 140%. A significant portion of the federal budget goes out to private contractors like Musk’s Space X and military contractors. Musk alone has more than $2.4 billion in contracts awarded in the past two years with the Air Force and his Space X rocket company and competes directly with Boeing’s aerospace division. 

We need to find ways to improve our federal agencies and reduce our deficit. However, mean-spirited, drastic cuts to federal employees with no effort to look at the consequences, is no way to operate our government and puts our country’s security at risk. The American public deserves better.  

— D. Brady Green, Blaine; Feb. 25, 2025

The emperor has no clothes

To the Editor: 

I am reminded of this children’s fable frequently when listening to the daily news. President Trump and Elon Musk make statements daily that defy logic or truth, fail to offer evidence of the fraud and abuse they claim to have found and, as of last week, seem to think that they can rewrite the history of Russia’s war on Ukraine as if the American people and indeed the world don’t know that Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago and “annexed” Crimea in 2014. Who do they think they are fooling? Surely the American public does not go along with this view or the assault on science, scientists and common sense. 

I am embarrassed by our president. He must be stopped before our status in the world is completely destroyed, before world dictators take advantage of his weaknesses and before any more starving children are denied life-saving food while a billionaire dreams of traveling to Mars and other such schemes. 

— Nancy Sheng, Bellingham; Feb. 20, 2025

Waking to a new reality

To the Editor:

The new executive branch is waking us up to a new reality. I hope the Salish Current will report in a timely and unswerving manner about specific effects of executive actions where we live. 

There are federal services that cannot be replaced by local action, such as air traffic control. Let’s hope the Bellingham airport and the Seattle airport and all connecting or airport will operate safely. If we are going to continue to work to restore salmon habitat, this will have to be done on our own. I have my doubts we will be receiving millions of dollars from the federal government as we have in recent years. 

Clearly, the message is we will have to take more responsibility for ourselves locally. In some areas, this is possible, and in others, it will be a long stretch. Should we sit by idling for four years, maybe only two if the congressional races change government in 2026? Then again, I don’t believe this president will bend to a new Congress or any branch of government until he is stopped. So, we can stay in the complaining mode, but also assertively address our local official officials who clearly don’t have the budgets to pick up where the federal government will be vacating. 

We the people have been taking way too much for granted. I hope you would invite your readers to address this big issue with solution-based ideas. 

— John Egbert, Bellingham; Feb. 17, 2025

Supports the Constitution and rule of law

To the Editor:

There is a German saying: “If nine people sit down at a table with one Nazi without protest, there are 10 Nazis at the table.” I never want to be one of the nine, so I’m going on record to say to my community that what the president is doing is appalling, not to mention illegal and unconstitutional. I never imagined something like this could happen in America. I will do all I can to support the constitution and the rule of law, beginning here with calling out this disgrace. 

— Gracie Lamb, Lynden; Feb. 14, 2025

Press shutdown

To the Editor:

Kudos to reporter Kimberly Cauvel on their Salish Current article about the Lynden Tribune shutting down its newspaper printing press. (‘End of an era’ as Lynden Tribune press shuts down, Feb. 7)  As a former editor there and still a Lynden resident, it was of particular interest and illustrated a trend in the newspaper industry. 

While one can understand the expense in maintaining or replacing aging equipment, it’s sad that print newspapers have to adjust to earlier deadlines when printing becomes consolidated as it is in Mount Vernon. 

Kimberly’s research, use of multiple sources and thoughtfulness in writing resulted in an informative story and a good read. 

— Dave Brumbaugh, Lynden; Feb. 13, 2025

‘Shock and awe’ actually dates to Gulf War

To the Editor:

I think Karen [Sullivan]’s article [“Community Voices: ‘Shock and awe,’ in military terms, is what’s happening in America,” Feb. 3, 2025] is spot on, but have a correction which actually augments what she has described happening to us. She wrote, “‘Shock and awe’ …. was first rolled out in March 2003….” That would have been George W. Bush’s War on Iraq. In reality, it is the strategy employed by W’s father, George H.W. Bush, in the 1991 Gulf War.

I wrote an article, published by the Post Alley newsletter in September 2021, for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attack. After giving a history of policies and events leading up to the Gulf War, I opened my description of the war’s beginning with this sentence: “‘Desert Storm’, the aerial war against Iraq, commenced on Jan. 16, at night, providing the greatest photogenics for the televised bombing of Baghdad.” 

So began HW’s “shock and awe” which, I firmly believe, led directly to the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers.

— Kate Bradley, Sammamish; Feb. 7, 2025

Speak up!

To the Editor:

I read San Olson’s letter and found tears streaming from my eyes (Letters, Jan. 27, 2025). I lost family to the Holocaust and have been thinking these very words in the midst of the turmoil in the government. 

We all need to stand up for each other … call on our representatives in government to hold the line, file lawsuits to preserve our civil rights and most importantly, SPEAK UP. Take care of our neighbors who may be at risk because we will be next. We are fortunate to live in a blue state area but we are not alone here. Stay connected and noisy!!

— Mary Wondra, Lopez Island; Feb. 4, 2025

A putsch to overthrow a weakened government

To the Editor:

Thank you, Karen Sullivan, for your commentary “‘Shock and Awe,’ in military terms, is what is happening in America” (Salish Current, Feb. 3, 2025).

The summary erasure of a Congressionally authorized federal agency, USAID, along with the foreign assistance programs it administers, as well as the access granted to an unelected billionaire to view and possibly manipulate the US payments system, might better go by another name: a “putsch,” or violent attempt to overthrow a government.

Yes, that, too, is what we are seeing in America today. Hitler attempted a putsch in Munich in 1923, to overthrow a weakened Weimar government. It’s possible that Hitler’s attempted putsch is what inspired Elon Musk and his DOGE “team”’s shock tactics this week. The Munich putsch failed and led to a Nazi ban and Hitler’s imprisonment. But Hitler went on to write “Mein Kampf” in prison, and then use constitutional means to attain power and start a world war.

We Americans have reversed the formula, and allowed constitutional means and a legitimate national election to prepare the way for a putsch. We are going to have to find a different way out. The reality is no longer in question.

— Edward Wolf, Bellingham; Feb. 3, 2025

Respect begins at home

To the Editor:

As community members, we are deeply concerned with the disregard of human rights norms and laws by our government, in foreign policy as well as regarding treatment of people in the U.S. The erosion of fundamental due process, dismantling of programs and federal funding freeze impacting critical services, and threats and start of mass deportations amount to unimaginable harm and suffering.

Meanwhile, unconstrained flow of arms to Israel is equally irresponsible, given how notable human rights organizations conclude that Israel’s devastation in Gaza is clear violation of the obligation to prevent genocide. In light of the vast loss of life, injuries, and devastation in Gaza, along with escalation of catastrophic attacks on communities, increase in detentions, home demolitions and seizure of land in the West Bank, we call for an immediate suspension of direct and indirect supply, sale, and transfer of weapons, military equipment, and other security assistance.

Only by prioritizing respect for human rights at home as well as abroad, will the United States be respected by the rest of the world, and be effective also in imploring other governments to do the same. To that end, we urge everyone to become familiar with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions, and International Human Rights Instruments. 

— Colleen Curtis, Susan Witter, James Loucky, Bruce Radtke, Jan Dietzgen, Martina Boyd, Shirley Osterhaus, Amy Mower, Barbara Rofkar and Ann Stevenson; Feb. 3, 2025

All signers live in Bellingham, except for Amy Mower, who lives in Maple Falls.

Boynton poetry contest is open

To the Editor:

The Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest, a celebration of local writers, announces the launch of its 2025 competition. Whatcom County residents of any age are invited to enter an original poem between March 1–31.

Writers may enter one previously unpublished poem on any topic. Poems must be 27 lines or less, with 55 or fewer characters per line. Contest submission guidelines can be found here. 

Entries may be emailed to BoyntonPoetryContest@hotmail.com. Twenty winners will be notified during the month of April.

The contest, now in its 20th year, will culminate in a public recognition ceremony scheduled for Thursday, May 29 ,at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. The free celebration begins at 7 p.m.

Award recipients will read their poems and artistic placards accompanying their work will be on display.

In order to encourage local wordsmiths, the Sue C. Boynton Contest will also offer workshops, poetry readings and a display of winning placards during the month of June at Allied Arts. The venue is located at 1213 Cornwall Avenue in Bellingham. Poems will also be posted in front of Bellingham Public Library, 210 Central Avenue and on Whatcom Transportation Authority buses. 

The Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest is a program of Whatcom Poetry Series, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

For more information, please contact me at 360-221-4226.

— Leslie A. Wharton, Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest Chair, Bellingham; Feb. 3, 2025

Civics education

To the Editor:

In this time of many worries and pressures, it behooves us to be alert to governmental actions affecting our communities. I have often heard people worry that the public doesn’t understand how the different levels of government work or how to tell their elected officials what actions to take — especially because our schools no longer teach civics.

Well, fortunately, the State of Washington does mandate civics education, both as a stand-alone course required for high school graduation and as a component of the social studies curriculum K–12. To better inform the community about what our students are learning and what needs teachers and schools may have in order to implement the requirements, the League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County will host a panel discussion on Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Fellowship in Bellingham. 

The panel will feature Kristin Garlatz of Meridian Middle School, Shannon Eubank of Sehome High School and Kristi Dominguez, superintendent of Ferndale Schools. It will be in question-and-answer format. To participate in person or by Zoom, your readers can register on the League’s website, at lwvbellinghamwhatcom.org. There is no charge for this program.

— Minda Rae Amiran, Bellingham, Feb. 1, 2025

‘First they came for …’

To the Editor:

With sincere apology to Pastor Martin Niemölle, I am rewriting to be relevant to today’s political and cultural environment his searing words from his “First They Came For” speech from 1946 in which he indicted the passivity and indifference of the German people during the Nazi Regime and Holocaust. 

 First then they came for the immigrants, and I did not speak out — because I was not an immigrant.

Then they came for the women who had an abortion or a miscarriage, and I did not speak out — because I was not a woman. 

Then they came for the LGBTQ+ community, and I did not speak out — because I was not LGBTQ+.  

Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.

— Paraphrased, from Martin Niemölle, by San Olson, Lopez Island, Jan. 27, 2025

Five port commissioners

To the Editor:

Matt Benoit write well regarding the port commission (“Is the future of Bellingham’s Port five or three commissioners?” Jan. 14, 2025). His explanation leads me to the conclusion that five commissioners could provide a better management system. Also what I know of other commissions tends to support that structure.Good writing. Thanks.

— Dan Senour, Anacortes, Jan. 15, 2025

Fixing the tax structure

I appreciate Rep. Ramel’s reminder to his colleagues and fellow citizens that fixing our regressive tax structure is essential to closing the state’s budget shortfall. Jimmy Carter embraced the values of economic fairness, shared sacrifice and commitment to the public good — and we should, too.

— Frances Posel, Bellingham, Jan. 13, 2025

Bird counter

To the Editor:

Loved the article about the bird count. (“Why count birds?” Jan. 6, 2024) Just as a bit of history: we recently lost Bob Myhr, former Lopez resident who moved to Fairhaven a number of years ago. Bob not only served a term as San Juan County commissioner but led the Lopez Christmas bird count for many years.  He is greatly missed and I think he would have loved Adam’s article as well.

— Mary Wondra, Lopez Island, Jan. 7, 2025

How state budget impacts K-12 education in our community 

To the Editor:

We have a responsibility to ensure that every student in Whatcom County receives the education they deserve. 

Despite our ongoing efforts to provide a high-quality education for all students, school districts across the state, including ours, are encountering significant budget challenges.

Our state’s funding has not kept up with the increasing costs of education. Special education, transportation and facilities maintenance expenses also continue to grow, further straining our budget. School districts have seen unexpected costs for mental health services, school safety, and efforts to address learning loss. 

As student needs and operational costs continue to rise, the percentage of the state’s general fund budget dedicated to K-12 education has significantly decreased over the past five years. This reduction has forced many districts to make difficult decisions, affecting staffing levels, essential programs and student support services. 

To help us meet these challenges, we have each asked our local legislators to act in these ways:

1. Adjust the state funding formula to better reflect the true costs of education, including adequate support for Special Education, transportation, and materials and supplies. 
2. Provide targeted funding to help continued pandemic recovery, including resources for mental health support, academic interventions and technology upgrades.
3. Increase state funding to keep pace with inflation. 

We appreciate your ongoing support and understanding as we navigate these financial challenges. To learn more, visit www.waschoolfunding.org.

— Whatcom County Public Schools Superintendents, Jan. 7, 2025

• Dr. Greg Baker, Bellingham Public Schools 
• Dr. Christopher Granger, Blaine School District 
• Dr. Kristi Dominguez, Ferndale Public Schools 
• David VanderYacht, Lynden School District 
• Dr. James Everett, Meridian School District 
• Nick Perigo, Mount Baker School District 
• Matt Galley, Nooksack Valley School District

Funding crisis in state education

To the Editor:

Four districts, six unions, three PTAs, and county leadership all agree: legislators must take action to fully fund education now. 

San Juan County is uniquely affected by three state funding gaps: Special Education; Materials, Supplies, and Operation Costs (MSOC); and Regionalization.

San Juan County Special Education percentages are some of the highest in the state at 21% (Lopez), 17.2% (Orcas) and 17% (San Juan). All are above the state funding cap of 16%. Underfunding by the state of MSOC has cost our island districts over $14 M over the past five years. Our 12% regionalization rate does not reflect the high cost of living and geographic isolation of our county. 

Our unique county is a canary in the coal mine for the catastrophic impacts of Washington State’s chronic underfunding of K–12 education. We urge decisive and immediate action to remedy these funding shortfalls to support our students and others like them across the state.

• Brady Smith, Lopez Island School District Superintendent
• Fred Woods, San Juan Island School District Superintendent
• Eric Webb, Orcas Island School District Superintendent
• Becky Bell, Shaw Island School District Superintendent
• Jane Fuller, San Juan County Council Representative
• School Board Directors from Lopez, Orcas, San Juan and Shaw Islands
• PSE Union Groups from Lopez, Orcas and San Juan Islands
• Washington Education Association Union Groups from Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Islands
• PTSA Groups from Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Islands

— Jan. 3, 2025

Will restoration projects make a significant difference?

To the Editor:

I read the Padden Creek story (“The salmon come home after home is restored,” Dec. 18) about $35 million for chum spawning. Wendy’s (Scherrer) data are informal. Was there no official count after all this investment? This money raises questions of environmental priorities. Regardless of chum numbers they will be very small relative to chum overall. It appears this was a symbolic project given what $35 million could do for salmon elsewhere. 

As a tangent, consider a Nature Conservancy project I started in the late 1980s in New Mexico. The Gray Ranch’s 32,0000 acres [now Diamond A Ranch] was bought for $18 million. We are talking about the entire Animist mountain range and surrounding grasslands, the number one conservation in New Mexico for biodiversity reasons. It would be interesting to objectively compare salmon restoration project cost-benefits throughout the PNW. A hard look. Real numbers. And to take this to the people, would the Lummis choose to use $35 million for Padden Creek’s chum or bigger bang for the buck on, say, the South Fork? Then how about non-salmon comparisons with say the major nearby indoor swim complexes with 50,000 annual users for $22 million or so. I really wonder about local cultural psychology, guilt and the politics of this project, and if it got the money that might have been diverted to more beneficial use for a lot more salmon or to support other environmental values?

The main conundrum is global warming, and to what extent these restoration projects, particularly the planned one for the South Fork, will make a significant difference over the next few decades. Are we grasping for straws? Should we do nothing because we’re realistic about Bellingham Bay and the sound warming up? Surely we need to discuss the realities and make hard decisions. And you can tell I do not believe any dollar spent on any project is necessarily justifiable. Given what we are facing in the next four years, environmentalists are going to have to be smart and persuasive to earn federal dollars and effectively oppose anti-environmental policies and spending. 

— John Egbert, Bellingham, Dec.18, 2024

Needed changes to OPALCO rate structure

To the Editor:

Thank you for publishing the excellent and fact-filled article by Chom and Chris Greacen (Community Voices / “Should we be subsidizing the profligate power consumption of mansion owners?”) regarding the OPALCO rate structure. The information about the huge range of power usage and demands by the OPALCO customers was very useful. The four suggested changes to OPALCO’s rate structure seem very reasonable and one wonders why something like this has not been already implemented. It would be great if one of the Greacens could be persuaded to run for the OPALCO board in the next election.

— Eric Adelberger, San Juan Island, Dec. 13, 2024

Thank you, Lopezians. You’re the best.

To the Editor:

On Lopez Island, the Solid Waste Alternatives Program (SWAP) was established about 11 years ago at the same time as the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District (LSWDD) — affectionately known as The Dump. SWAP is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization dedicated to providing financial and promotional support to LSWDD and waste reduction efforts across Lopez Island.

Big thanks to everyone who attended the 2024 Trashion-Fashion events in September. This night circus and family circus were hosted by SWAP and coordinated by Britney Westerfelt, along with Jamie Bair (AKA the Sheriff), Pamela Maresten, Patty Ward, Joyce Brinar and another 50 or so volunteers. The events brought in just over $15,000 in revenue. SWAP added those proceeds to the $29,000 previously raised by SWAP through the diligent efforts of past SWAP board members and volunteers, including Kim Norton, Tam Paynter and Kat Sorenson, through sales of upcycled bags, skirts, Dogs at the Dump calendars and general contributions.

On Nov. 23, SWAP issued a $44,000 check to the Dump: a gift from Lopezians for the recently purchased used, but better-than-the old-one, backhoe/excavator. Colby White located the machine in Colville. It was shipped over to the west side and David Zapalac went to Anacortes to drive it home to the Lopez Dump. The machine is safer, and 10 years newer than the old one.

Another good piece of news: In the November general election San Juan County reported an 87% voter turnout. The Dump received 80% approval for the Levy. Talk about showing up and turning out and making your voice heard. Thank you, Lopezians. You’re the best.

Carry on and enjoy the darker slower months.

— Sandy Bishop, Lopez Island, Nov. 24, 2024

Concerns about inept responses to surprise events

To the Editor:

It’s been just over two weeks since the election, and the winner’s unforced errors are steadily mounting. Donald Trump has plans galore, a Mar-a-Lago ballroom’s worth of prospective nominees and appointees, and a GOP that continues to shout “mandate” despite Trump’s failure to win a majority of votes cast.

What concerns me about Donald Trump is not his intentions, worrisome though they are. It’s the chaos and incoherence of his response to surprises.

From school shootings to climate shocks, surprise events rattle the American public and test presidencies. It’s not just Trump himself (“It’s like the flu”) whose inept response to surprises worries me, but a weakened apparatus of government under his direction (FEMA, NOAA, the public safety agencies) less able to anticipate or coordinate the response to surprise events.

In Valencia, Spain, in late October, flash floods killed hundreds, destroyed homes and businesses, and turned major roadways into “car soup.” In the wake of the disaster, Spanish journalist Paco Cerdá wrote, “When administrative incompetence mixes with political partisanship, then another kind of mud emerges: populism.”

Cerdá noted the danger of “the (populist) idea that the average citizen is more capable of solving the problems of society than the government is.” Rage can tear the civic fabric. Seeds of populist rage were on display in western North Carolina when Helene’s deluges struck Asheville, but they did not really sprout. At both state and federal levels, government largely responded as intended.

What will be unleashed when the next explosive wildfire or freakish storm strikes? We can’t know, only that climate-linked surprises are growing more likely. Such events will test President Trump, and he and his administration will fail to meet the moment. We have been here before.

Climate-fueled disaster, administrative incompetence, populist rage. “It Can’t Happen Here”? Just wait.

— Edward Wolf, Bellingham, Nov. 21, 2024

Legal rights for nature is counterpoint to bleak outlook

To the Editor:

In response to Elisabeth Robson’s bleak outlook on environmental action (“Unfortunately, Mother Earth wasn’t on the ballot”), Everett’s recent passage of Initiative 24-03 — granting legal rights to the Snohomish River Watershed — offers a compelling counterpoint to the idea that “Mother Earth is always going to lose.” While the article critiques the economic systems driving environmental degradation, this initiative challenges that very paradigm. By recognizing the Snohomish River and its watershed as a rights-bearing entity, the citizens of Everett have empowered their community to protect the river and its watershed from harmful development and exploitation, offering a concrete solution to the very issues the article outlines. 

This legal framework shifts the conversation from viewing nature as property to recognizing ecosystems as having intrinsic value that deserves protection. It’s not just symbolic; it’s a real, actionable step toward challenging the economic and political systems that prioritize growth over ecological health. 

Everett Initiative 24-03 is a beacon of hope, proving that grassroots action can make a tangible difference, even in the face of systemic ecological collapse. It sets a powerful example for other communities, especially in the Salish Sea, to run similar ballot measures recognizing the rights of nature in their own localities. If other cities and counties in the region follow Everett’s lead, we can begin to shift the narrative and show that protecting the planet is not just possible — it’s happening right now. 

— Abi Ludwig, Standing for Washington, Olympia, Nov. 8, 2024

World Cup could be a catalyst for cross-border transport improvements

To the Editor:

I appreciated Tom Banse’s Salish Current article about FIFA’s arrival to Cascadia in 2026 and associated transportation/border issues (“Sweating starts on how to handle World Cup throngs in 2026“). Banse did a nice job of laying out the complexities of moving soccer fans across the region, but also the possibilities arising from rail and marine transport modes. 

While hopes remain for improved Amtrak connections between Seattle and Vancouver in time for the World Cup tournament, the event’s enormous impact could still be the catalyst for a more committed, coordinated cross-border transport enterprise well after the tournament’s conclusion. 

Details about an updated Pacific Station in Vancouver are promising, and it’s these incremental or localized changes that might generate the necessary public enthusiasm, cross-border political will and economic resources for region-wide transportation improvements.

— Derek Moscato, Bellingham, Nov. 1, 2024

Ed.: Derek Moscato, Professor of Journalism and Border Policy Research Institute Fellow at Western Washington University, recently wrote in these pages the Community Voices essay, “FIFA’s green promise for Cascadia extends beyond the soccer pitch.”

Candidates, bring each other up, not down

To the Editor:

Months ago, I was asked by elected officials and stakeholders to run for San Juan County Council (District 2). They had donors ready to support me, and my favorite graphic designer willing to work for free. I said no. I did so for the same reason that I will not be voting for Justin Paulsen.

Our county is at a crucial moment in time. The problems are more complex than ever with a lot riding on the solutions. This is not the time to bring in someone without a breadth of experience and the deep state and regional relationships we need to secure funding and legislation that can help us.

Rick Hughes has eight years of experience that Justin doesn’t. And, experience matters this term. Rick’s the candidate who has spent way more time on ALL the San Juan Islands, too, listening to each island’s unique concerns.

I see far more women and men of color and artists supporting Rick because he supports them. When it comes to the environment, all candidates could stand to be better at protection, but Rick is the most progressive and is actively trying to learn more. He has a bold single-use plastic ban proposal on his HughesforSJC.com website, which is the only candidate website in English and Spanish. Rick helped get the Orcas Exchange and Lopez Solid Waste launched, he was the county liaison to our Land Bank and is endorsed by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and Rep. Debra Lekanoff. Rick is also one of only eight council candidates/commissioners in the entire state endorsed by Washington Conservation Action.

In that spirit, please join me in voting for Rick Hughes.

The opinions stated here are my own and in no way representative of my director, volunteer or ambassador positions with local or state nonprofit organizations.

— Ayn Gailey, Orcas Island, Oct. 31, 2024

Support innovative approaches to climate change

To the Editor:

With initiatives including I-2117 on Washington state ballots, public discussion of local environmental policy has surged recently. The Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which I-2117 seeks to repeal, has provided significant funding for climate-impact projects across the state and is essential to the growth of the green economy, including natural climate solutions which the Kulshan Carbon Trust (KCT) is helping pioneer. Please cast an informed vote on I-2117, remembering that voting “No” continues the CCA’s promise of a cleaner, more sustainable, and safer future. 

As an environmental nonprofit serving Northwest Washington, KCT is pioneering an innovative approach to climate change. We strive to augment efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt our infrastructure through collaborative natural climate solutions (NCS). First, we focus on regeneration to restore and revitalize degraded ecosystems. Then, we emphasize climate resilience by bolstering environmental health and building the capacity for local communities to prepare for and respond to threatening climate impacts. We strive to design and deploy NCS projects that enhance community well-being and support local businesses.

Since its 2021 launch, KCT has worked to develop NCS projects focused on producing and applying biochar. We launched pilot projects and collaborated with our local conservation districts to demonstrate the value of biochar. Now, our biochar scaleup project is sequestering carbon and improving land stewardship. Through these efforts, KCT is achieving proof of concept for our innovative carbon trust model.

As we exit the high-stakes election season, there has never been a better time to support local climate action. If you want a fun, impactful way to learn more about our work, please attend our Nov. 12 trivia bingo FUNdraiser at the Squalicum Boathouse. There will be a silent auction, free food, local beer and great prizes from the community businesses.

Buy tickets today.

— Howard Sharfstein, Co-Founder and President, Bellingham, Oct. 31, 2024

Endorses Hughes

To the Editor:

I am writing to express my enthusiastic endorsement of Rick Hughes for San Juan County Council and asking if you could share my attached endorsement.

As a long-time Orcas Island resident and vice president of strategy and assessments at The Winters Group — a firm specializing in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice — I have had the privilege of working closely with Rick over the years and have witnessed his unwavering dedication to fostering a more inclusive, transparent, and trusting community. 

Thank you for considering this endorsement.

— Kevin Carter, Orcas Island, Oct. 31, 2024

Why I support Proposition 1

To the Editor:

I love walking in nature observing the wonders of the natural world. The land bank has some of the best parks and they have also partnered with other organizations to purchase land which is open to the public. 

I love our local farmers. The land bank is working to protect farmland and help working farmers. This is important to me for both the view corridors and the delicious food farmers provide.

I love having access to the shoreline. For those of us who do not have waterfront property the land bank has several parcels of land with shoreline access that support our marine ecosystems. One of my favorite land bank properties is Channel Preserve!

I love the principles of the land bank — protecting clean water and the health of our island’s ecosystem by providing wildlife habitat and healthy forests for generations.

I love our diverse community. Renewing the land bank also preserves the .05 real estate excise tax (paid by the buyer) that supports affordable housing. The housing REET has provided 132 affordable homes for islanders to date.

What’s not to love about the land bank? Please vote yes on Proposition 1 to extend our conservation area real estate excise tax (land bank). This will benefit all of us and our future children for generations!

— Liz Scranton, Lopez Island, Oct. 30, 2024

Logging is not good for the climate

To the Editor:

Candidate for Commissioner of Public lands, Jamie Herrera Beutler, claims logging is good for the climate because it sequesters carbon in wood products. Furthermore, she claims this is supported by “the science,” referencing unnamed “UN climate experts.” 

Yet, it just isn’t true, and “the science” doesn’t say it is. At least not the 200 scientists who wrote congress in 2020 saying, “We find no scientific evidence to support increased logging to store more carbon in wood products.” Instead, they say we “must substantially increase (emphasis theirs) protection of our native forests in order to absorb more CO₂ from the atmosphere and store more, not less, carbon in our forests.”

They cite a study showing that of the forests logged over the past 115 years in Oregon, less than one fifth got stored in wood products. 

One doesn’t need to be a scientist to see why. The carbon in a forest is in the leaves, needles, branches, trunks and roots of trees, as well as the soil, which has been gathering carbon as long as the forest has been growing. When the logging truck trundles off with its load, up to half of the carbon has been left behind as slash and root. Around another 25% gets lost in milling, and what makes it into buildings can still end up in landfills or burn in building fires. 

Now the soil, torn up and uncovered, burns its carbon off under the sun. Where there was once a mature forest cooling its environment, holding water, slowing wind, it’s now hotter, drier and windier. The land will need decades to recover the lost carbon.

If Herrera Beutler is willing to misconstrue science to fit industry talking points, can we trust her to manage Washington’s lands in the public interest?

— Rob Lewis, Bow, Oct. 28, 2024

Why the Salish Sea should have dark skies

To the Editor:

When I first moved to San Juan Island, most areas on the island the night skies were black and the stars were bright. Now every year I see more and more lights that burn all night, creating sky glow that dims the stars and planets.

But this time of year there is a more important reason to keep the skies dark, bird migration. Last night, over six million birds flew over Washington state on their fall migration. Most migrating birds fly in the night sky and are vulnerable to a host of conditions, and a big one of these is exhaustion due to disorienting light in the night sky. Birds will waste large amounts of needed energy from night lights flying around and calling out in confusion on their long journeys.

There are ways you can help birds along their migration paths. All outside lights should be motion sensor lights or on a timer, there is no reason for them to burn bright all night. Use down-shield exterior lighting to eliminate horizontal glare and pull down window shades at night. Even the town of Friday Harbor and the airport can use the new lighting technology to eliminate sky glow and keep our skies dark.

Let’s all work together to keep the island skies dark, not only to help the birds but so we can all look up at night and enjoy the twinkle of the stars, glow of the planets and streaks from meteors.

— Joseph Franetic, Friday Harbor, Oct. 27, 2024

Vote for experience

To the Editor:

I am pleased to support Rick Hughes for San Juan County Council. Our County faces many important issues that need the support of our state legislature. We need to ensure our County’s voice is heard and part of the conversation during the biennial budget cycle. We need our state government to support our broken ferry system that is wreaking havoc with our community’s lives and livelihoods. We need their help to fund important infrastructure projects including affordable housing. Rick’s relationships in Olympia, built over his prior two terms as a council member, will allow him to hit the ground running without a learning curve.

During Rick’s tenure on the county council, the town and county worked together and accomplished economies of scale through many interlocal agreements. As a member of the Friday Harbor Town Council, I look forward to a renewed county and town collaboration.

As a small business owner on Orcas Island, Rick understands the realities and challenges of running a business in a seasonal economy and how the lack of workforce housing impacts business. He supports a diverse resilient economy with balanced growth and sustainable tourism.

— Anna Maria de Freitas, San Juan Island, Oct. 26, 2024

A city on a shining hill?

To the Editor:

Is Bellingham truly a city on a shining hill? Maybe. It depends on where you stand. Are you privileged, or are you working two jobs just to put food on the table?

Let’s meet Joe and Jane. Joe lives in Edgemoor; Jane lives in Birchwood. You don’t need to be a sociologist to understand how different their lives are. Both struggle with their weight, but for very different reasons. Joe lives in a world of food abundance, while Jane grapples with rent, gas money, prescriptions and a tight food budget.

Last year, Joe had over $250K in capital gains and paid Washington’s capital gains tax, while Jane filed a IRS 1040EZ form and paid no taxes. Joe’s net worth is $5 million; Jane has no savings. Recently, from the back of the church Jane attends, came the refrain: “For it was ordained, God bless Washington’s capital gains tax.” It’s tax fairness, plain and simple.

Please vote NO on I-2109 and retain Washington’s modest capital gains tax. The way we collect tax revenue should tilt in favor of Jane, not Joe.

— Brian Estes, Cordata, Bellingham, Oct. 25, 2024

A quality newspaper

To the Editor:

The La Conner Weekly News is a quality newspaper and a gift to those who it covers. We would be at a great loss without it. Local coverage of news is disappearing throughout the country as local papers are bought up by corporations who have little interest in local affairs, more interest in profit than information. I encourage anyone with talent or money to support the community attempt to keep the La Conner Weekly News alive.

— Jay Boreen, La Conner, Oct. 25, 2024

‘Edibles, meditation or electroshock therapy?’

To the Editor: 

I’ve quoted Toronto Star columnist Vinay Menon; he says it better than I ever could (I omitted some to keep under 300 words):

“I’m looking for new ways to cope with the stress of this U.S. election …

“ ‘Too close to call’ is fine when predicting the World Series. It’s insufferable when the free world hangs in the balance. Recently, if you did a shot of vodka whenever a cable pundit uttered ‘within the margin of error,’ you’d have liver damage …

“America is stubbornly split between voting for decency or chaos.

“You know why the pollsters get so much wrong? They believe we still inhabit normal times. This election proves we do not. One candidate … is scrutinized with an electron microscope. The other … riffing on Arnold Palmer’s penis or manning the deep fryer at McDonald’s, ironic since he wears more makeup than Ronald McDonald …

“The pollsters are doing everyone a disservice by asking the same ho-hum questions from when politics was normal. Enough with, If the election was held today, who would you vote for? That’s moot when one candidate is grifting MAGA Donald’s shirts hours after his fast-food publicity stunt. Or threatening to use the military against his political enemies. Or wistfully recalling how a failed insurrection was a ‘day of love.’

“… What a day of joy!

“What the pollsters should be asking are questions that excavate the crazy:

“If the election was held today, would you vote for a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist? If the election was held today, would you vote for someone who brags about snatching away reproductive rights for females? If the election was held today, would you vote for an election denier and charlatan?

“… Asking the right questions forces respondents to think hard about their answers.”

 — Lynn Geri, Bellingham, Oct. 24, 2024

Yes on Proposition 1

To the Editor:

Unfortunately, we just don’t get out to walk and visit the amazing Land Bank preserves as often as we used to. Still, we get great satisfaction in knowing that our Land Bank preserves and conservation easements contribute to our personal health and to the environmental health of the Islands. They keep our water plentiful and pure and our forests healthy and resilient. The cost is minimal and 60% of the REET is paid for by new people moving here. Because the revenue is not a property tax, but a transfer tax paid by the buyers of property, to the extent that new development reduces open spaces and natural areas, the problem funds the solution. 

Vote yes on Proposition 1.

— Tom and Tammy Cowan, Lopez Island, Oct. 24, 2024

Look at more than the ads, look at the record

To the Editor:

I have been watching the barrage of political ads and am completely dismayed by the false impressions created by Jaime Herrera-Beutler (R) and her corporate-timber-funded PAC in her bid for Commissioner of Public Lands. 

She slams Dave Upthegrove for not being an environmentalist, instead positioning herself as a faithful friend of the environment. These ads are highly misleading. Herrera-Beutler has a terrible environmental voting record. She was just named to the League of Conservation Voters List of “Dirty Dozen.” This list highlights 12 of the worst environmental candidates in the nation at state and local levels. While in congress, she repeatedly voted to weaken clean air and water protections. She opposed the Paris Climate Accord and she is now opposing the Climate Commitment Act. It is cynical and damaging to public trust, for her to create these false impressions. Upthegrove helped create The Puget Sound Partnership to restore and protect Puget Sound ecosystems, has a strong record working on salmon recovery and was named Conservation Legislator of the year. He is endorsed by The Sierra Club, The Center For Biological Diversity, Washington Education Association and the Washington State Council of Firefighters, among many others. Look at more than the ads. Look at the records. Vote Upthegrove for Lands Commissioner.

— Pam Turner, Bellingham, Oct. 22, 2024

Choose Hughes

To the Editor:

A vote next month for Rick Hughes to be on our county council is a vote for an experienced advocate for San Juan County, its residents and our neighborhoods.

Working with him both on the Board of the Economic Development Council and in the Rotary Club, I’ve witnessed his respectfulness and integrity. Rare character traits in public service.

As a member of numerous committees, working groups and service organizations here, Rick has developed good working relationships with many. His thoughtfulness and sense of responsibility for his actions amongst us is evident.

As a former county council member, he already has the experience needed to act with the transparency, accountability and diligence appropriate for the process and changes we’re facing as we move forward together.

As a successful business owner, Rick certainly understands employment issues and budget balancing. We need his experience in our county now!

— Gary Franklin, San Juan Island, Oct. 22, 2024

Commitment and hard work to serve

To the Editor:

I’ve lived through many campaigns, and I know the commitment and hard work required when someone runs for office. I have a lot of respect for Rick Hughes and Justin Paulsen who have spent the last many months campaigning so that they can represent us on the county council.

I am writing in support of Rick’s candidacy, and here are three major reasons why: 

1) He served as San Juan County Council Member for eight years, from 2012–2020.

What an incredible thing that Rick wants to serve our community again. During the four years since he last served, Rick has had time to reflect on what he accomplished and what still needs to be done. He has valuable experience that he will continue to build on.

I am impressed with what was accomplished when Rick was on the Council: the building of the Orcas Exchange; the origination of Lopez Solid Waste District; increased support of the arts and diversity; establishment of a good relationship with the Land Bank … to name a few.

2) Rick has good working relationships with state and regional officials. He has many endorsements for this election, e.g., Planned Parenthood, Public Lands Commissioner, and Washington Conservation Action. His invaluable network of contacts is one that he can connect with on day one of his re-election to the Council.

3) Rick has become a really good listener. 

He told me that it was important to him to sit down with as many people as he could to listen to what their concerns are, and that’s what he has been doing these last several months. For example, he met with Mark and me for more than an hour one morning. I trust that he will continue to listen to all of our concerns when in office.

— Jan Ehrlichman, Orcas Island, Oct. 22, 2024

Lands commissioner: Look at the record, not the rhetoric

To the Editor:

Voters have a clear choice in the election for Commissioner of Public Lands. Dave Upthegrove (D), who has a science background and experience working effectively on complex environmental issues versus Jaime Herrera-Beutler (R) who, when in Congress, voted repeatedly to weaken Clean Air and Clean Water laws, and opposed the Paris Climate Accords. 

She talks about caring about schools, but the Washington Education Association backs Upthegrove. She talks about the state’s fire challenges but when in Congress was the only member of the Northwest delegation to vote against a major appropriation for fighting forest fires. Washington firefighters now support Upthegrove. Herrera-Beutler talks about valuing biodiversity, but Dave Upthegrove was the one endorsed by the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity. Herrera-Beutler was named one of the National League of Conservation Voter’s “Dirty Dozen”— candidates for statewide election in the U.S. that must NOT get into office because their environmental voting records are so bad. Herrera-Beutler gets funding from the timber industry whereas Upthegrove is not accepting their money believing that public land must be managed in the public’s interest. In addition to Herrera-Beutler’s poor environmental voting record, she supports I-2117, the repeal of the landmark Climate Commitment Act.

This job is arguably the most important environmental position in state government. The choice is quite clear: for Washington’s future, vote Upthegrove on Nov. 5.

— Jillian Froebe, Deming, Oct. 21, 2024

More than a friend

To the Editor:

I’m writing in support of Rick Hughes for county council. Not because Rick Hughes is my friend, and yes, it is true, I’ve known Rick Hughes for over 17 years now, going back to when I was president of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. 

During those years, Rick and I would occasionally have disagreements from time to time, but there was no doubt in my mind that he always had the community’s best interest at heart. He worked hard to support our local small businesses and the Chamber of Commerce. And during those disagreements, we always parted as friends. He is a kind and a caring individual, who loves Orcas and the people who live here. During his reign as county council member he exhibited great leadership abilities, he was interested in issues of interest to women; and I had the pleasure of working with him on certain issues, and he always listened and made changes in the county that would be a benefit to all. And he is the only candidate to be endorsed by Planned Parenthood.

When Rick first ran for county council, I did not hesitate to vote for him. Since then, I have seen him help people in trouble and he has earned the right to serve us again.

He is a critical and forward thinker. So, let’s keep thinking forward and vote for the person with deep experience that understands the issues we face today in this county.

I am confident and there is no doubt in my mind, with Rick’s background and expertise, he will make a great county council person, and I will vote for him once again. 

— Michell “Mitch” Marshall, Orcas Island, Oct. 21, 2024

The Land Bank is ethical stewardship

To the Editor:

I’m writing to share my deep, personal belief that supporting the Land Bank is a moral obligation. By voting to extend the Land Bank’s charter, we take a fierce and courageous stand for ethical, farsighted, community-based stewardship of the San Juan Islands. 

For me, this is about values. Supporting the Land Bank is about what I want the San Juan Islands to be like for my great-great-grandchildren. If left to its own devices, the “market” and its misguided champions in the real estate industry … will continue to chip away, tree by tree, parcel by parcel at the ecological integrity of these beautiful forests, farms and shorelines; the clean water and air; and the profound quality of life we currently love and treasure. 

If your values are all about “economic progress and growth,” then I suppose your checking account will thank you (and go ahead and put a vacation rental in everyone’s backyard while you’re at it), but by now it should be obvious that such short-term thinking will lead our community to a figurative and literal place of moral and ecological bankruptcy. The Land Bank, like any human-created institution, is imperfect, but the vision of the Land Bank — focused on preserving in perpetuity the most important environmental, agricultural, cultural, and scenic land parcels in our county — is worth fighting for. 

I believe in that fight, and I believe in our community’s wisdom, our generosity and our ability to bring that vision ever closer to fruition. The cost is tiny and the benefits are vast. Please join me in making the right and moral choice on Election Day — vote to ensure the future of the Land Bank, vote YES on Prop 1. 

— R. Brent Lyles, San Juan Island, Oct. 21, 2024

Hughes has integrity and commitment

To the Editor:

My name is Mark Fickel. My family roots go back since the late 1800s at Point Lawrence on Orcas and then in 1944 my grandparents and Rick’s, along with others, purchased the old Moultray farm near Doe Bay, now known as Shorewood. I have known Rick his whole life and our families have been extremely close. My endorsement is personal. I know Rick’s heart and his passion for this place and the people here and have seen his integrity and commitment all these years. He cares deeply for this place and the legacy we have and will give his all to be a good steward of that responsibility. He has a solid balance in his views which I think will again serve this community well. His commitment is unmatched. Thank you. 

— Mark Fickel, Orcas Island and Bellevue, Oct. 21,2024

Vote for a listener to lead our county

To the Editor:

I am pleased to support Kari McVeigh for San Juan County Council. When Kari first announced her candidacy, she worked tirelessly to understand the issues in our community from the ground up. She set up meetings with key stakeholders from nonprofits, educators, governmental officials, county staff, business leaders and citizens. She listened and asked insightful questions.

Throughout our conversation, I was impressed with her diligence in understanding important issues from all perspectives. 

Our community needs Kari’s leadership to effectively manage our county. Her ability to make informed decisions on important topics from affordable housing to ferries to budgets is based on a systematic approach of understanding the issue thoroughly, inclusive communication with key stakeholders and prioritizing the values of the entire community.

Our community is very fractionalized. In office, Kari will begin the difficult work of mending bridges through meaningful community engagement so our County will once again be united. 

— Anna Maria de Freitas, Friday Harbor, Oct. 20, 2024

Hughes has experience, commitment and focus

To the Editor:

Rick Hughes has the experience, commitment, and community focus we need on our SJC council

I have had the privilege to work with Rick Hughes for more than 15 years. I know he is a man with absolute integrity and a deep sense of community. He has worked hard to develop connections at local, state and federal levels because he knows how important those relationships are to meeting the needs of our community. 

Every time I talk with Rick about a local topic from the roads to the senior center, public health to the land bank, or affordable housing to ferries, I am amazed at the breadth of his knowledge and the strength of his ideas. 

I did not agree with every decision Rick made when he served on the county council previously but I have always respected his approach. He takes the time to know what is important to people on every island in this county, on a wide range of topics. In discussing topics, he takes the time to listen to concerns, consider ideas, share his knowledge on the topic and explain his rationale. Nine times out of ten, I come away better informed on the topic and with a better understanding of how those decisions supported a broader group in our islands. 

I’m voting for experience and leadership. I am voting for someone I know has the ability to stay deeply in touch with his local community while navigating challenges at the county, state and federal levels. I am voting for someone who is committed to listening, learning from, and representing every member of our community.

Bottom line for me, Rick knows and loves these islands and he is who I want representing me on our council.

— Patty Miller, Orcas Island, Oct. 20, 2024

Supports Hannah Ordos

To the Editor:

I am writing on behalf of Hannah Ordos, running for the Charter Review Commission, District 4. A former student, Tawsha Dykstra, insisted that I meet Hannah, and I am glad she did. What a delightful person, graduate of Nooksack Valley High School, Be the One mentor and parent volunteer at Nooksack where her children attend. She is deeply interested in county government and public service, volunteers as a support officer in Whatcom County and takes time to attend most county council meetings. 

I have now met with Hannah twice, so I have been able to probe her thinking, while she also checks me out, especially since I served on the commission both in the ’80s and ’90s. One of the results of the ’90s election was the approval by the electorate of an edited Preamble, one which Hannah heartily endorses:

“…we, the citizens of Whatcom County, in order to have a government which advances justice, inspires
confidence, and fosters responsibility, do adopt as the foundation of our government, this Charter.”

You will note this is not about self-interest, rather “advancing justice,” the very purpose of government. Hannah is thoughtful, listens well, avoids extremes, exactly the kind of person we need in our polarized times. She grew up out here in the county, loves our shared community and is motivated to represent her district. She ran unsuccessfully for the County Council at-large position in 2023; let’s not make that mistake again; let’s bring her good sense on to the Charter Review Commission.

— Ron Polinder, Lynden, Oct. 19, 2024

Upfront investment in a place called home

To the Editor:

Renewing the San Juan County Land Bank is a smart economic decision for islanders. More often than not, the one-time 1% real estate excise tax on the purchase of property is paid by people that are moving to San Juan County from somewhere else. These folks are making an upfront investment in a place they plan to call home. 

Some have suggested that San Juan County is losing tax revenue when properties are purchased by the Land Bank. While building more homes does increase the amount of tax the County collects, building more homes also increases the need for services that we pay for with property taxes. San Juan County’s “Cost of Community Services” study showed that when land is developed, the added tax revenues from development don’t cover the additional services required, which ultimately means that increased property development will increase our taxes or reduce our services. On the other hand, setting aside forests, open space, and shoreline doesn’t just give us nice places to recreate, it is a way for us to maintain natural capitol that provides services we all depend on — like production of clean air, sequestration of carbon, clean drinking water, and protection of our shorelines so we can have a healthy county and a healthy Salish Sea. I’m a huge fan of fiscal responsibility and I’m voting yes to renew our Land Bank. 

— Joe Gaydos, Eastsound, Oct. 17, 2024

What private lands are at risk?

To the Editor:

The recent essay (“Did Feds block tide gate fixes in a ploy to take Skagit farmland?” Oct. 16, 2024) about Padilla Bay tide gates implies that the property next to Padilla Bay and bordered on the east by Bayview-Edison Road and protected by the tide gates is private and owned by farmers and has the potential for flooding. But the Skagit County parcel map shows all of that land is already owned by the State of Washington and so presumably leased to farmers. Maybe more details about what private land is at risk of being taken without reimbursement is needed.

— Peter Haase, Skagit County, Oct. 17, 2024

Keep our Conservation Land Bank

To the Editor:

I have voted yes for the Land Bank renewal and encourage everyone to do so as well. Preserving public spaces and critical habitat as property in our county is continually bought and developed is a very sensible way to mitigate growth and ensure that future generations will have access to the natural world. I am also grateful for the many view corridors established by the Land Bank through conservation easements, the Central Valley of Lopez from Dill Road south past Center Church being just one example. Let’s keep our Conservation Land Bank.

— Paul S. Henriksen, Lopez Island, Oct. 17, 2024

‘Cooking with gas’

To the Editor:

Years ago I used to hear the phrase, “Now you’re cooking with gas.”  It meant that you were working at speed, because gas had replaced slow electric hot plates or stoves burning wood or coal. If you prefer cooking or heating with gas, nothing is going to stop you from using it, especially not HB 1589, the law that guarantees the supply of gas to anyone using it today or tomorrow.

Initiative 2066, on the ballot this November, wants to persuade you otherwise. A millionaire who profits from gas production, or who has friends who do, has funded Initiative 2066 to repeal HB 1589, a law that helps gas companies plan for ways to produce electricity from clean energy in the coming decades. HB 1589 also provides incentives to help people and businesses upgrade to more energy-efficient homes and buildings, lowering energy costs. It allows us to require electrical energy in new apartment buildings.  

Natural gas is a pollutant — less so than coal or petroleum but still a pollutant. We all want clean air and clean water, and we certainly all want to do what we can to lessen the effects of climate change — droughts and floods and fires that are worse than the oldest of us have ever seen.  So we need to prepare to use more clean and renewable energy, energy that doesn’t pollute and doesn’t heat the planet.

Don’t be misled. Vote NO on Initiative 2066.

— Minda Rae Amiran, Bellingham, Oct. 15, 2024

A bargain set of enhancements: vote yes

To the Editor:

I have lived in Friday Harbor for over half my life, and some of the changes I’ve seen during that time have really enhanced my life, as well as the lives of many others. Two that first come to mind are the Conservation Land Bank and its sister affordable housing fund, both supported by REETs (real estate excise taxes); 1%  for the Land Bank and .5% for affordable housing. Both of these are taxes paid by the buyers of real estate here. They are one-time-Only taxes. You can live here for 50 years, as I have, and never pay the tax again, unless you buy more property. Such a bargain for everyone!

The proposition will be on the Nov. 5 ballot. Please vote yes.

— Louise Dustrude, Friday Harbor, Oct. 14, 2024

Vote no on I-2117

 To the Editor:

Climate change is real, and it is happening now. We don’t have to hide in fear or say, “Climate change is too big to handle.” We can make changes today that will make a significate impact. 

In 2021, the Washington State Legislature passed the Washington Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The law provided for a cap-and-trade program designed to meet the state’s goal to gradually achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. 

Now I-2117 wants to repeal it. This is not the time to take a step backwards. We need every tool in our toolbox to meet our climate goals. Our grandchildren need this. Our community needs this. Funds from the Climate Commitment Act are used to help protect our air and water, protect farmland and forests, invest in energy efficiency, help low-income household with energy bills and makes sensible transportation investments. 

Please join me in voting NO on I-2117. Thank you.

 — Dorie Belisle, Bellingham, Oct. 14, 2024

Demonstrates commitment to broader community

To the Editor:

I am casting my vote for Kari McVeigh for San Juan County Council, and I urge you to do the same.

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Kari at lunch with a friend. I hadn’t spent time with her before, and over the course of an hour and a half, we discussed her life, career and vision for our community. I was thoroughly impressed by her intelligence and analytical skills. Kari has held leadership roles in large, complex organizations with significant budgets, where managing people and finances is a daily task, and is directly relevant to the role of a county council member.

Kari has extensive knowledge of our community, infrastructure, governance, quirks and characters. She lives on San Juan Island but has also worked with the school district on Shaw Island, demonstrating her commitment to our broader community. Her ideas for the county go beyond simplistic slogans and talking points; she genuinely knows the community and cares about our future. Kari made such a strong impression on me that, after our lunch ended, I immediately went to her campaign website and made a sizable donation. 

At the recent candidates’ forum that I attended, she showed that she could play well with others, work as a team member, and build alliances with her colleagues and the public without alienating others. It was also apparent that she had a broad vision of good governance for the county, rather than having a primary axe to grind.

 I am confident that Kari will bring dedication and expertise to the county council, making her an excellent choice for the position.

— Barry Jacobson, San Juan Island, Oct. 12, 2024

Hughes is truly nonpartisan

To the Editor:

In my tenure as county auditor and his as county council, Rick Hughes would often drop in on me for a “quick chat.” When he was on the path of an idea, he liked to talk it out, kick it around and really think about all aspects of it. Even if the timing was inopportune, I appreciated that Rick sought out and paid attention to other people’s thoughts and opinions.

Rick’s ideas were always about ways to help people. Working within legal and financial constraints, he was always thinking of programs that would help the greatest number of people while causing the least amount of harm to others. Or as I used to say, he liked to “spend like a Democrat and tax like a Republican.”

Rick is truly nonpartisan. Too often, under the county’s charter form of government, council candidates have openly or surreptitiously pursued partisan goals. Rick is of neither party, which can make him an enigma to voters. I would posit that Rick is neither “conservative” nor “liberal,” but is, rather, a humanist who is genuinely interested in improving the economic, social, and environmental conditions of San Juan County and its residents.  

Rick’s greatest fault is that he cares too deeply. I have seen him choke up in conversations. I have seen him take to heart things written in social media. I used to see his sensitivity as weakness. I have come to realize that it is a strength. If there’s one thing we do not want in our elected officials, it is the inability to care.

So, when Rick drops into your office with a big smile, arm extended for a handshake, ready to talk, take the time to listen. He will be listening to you.

Vote Rick Hughes for county council.  

— F. Milene Henley, San Juan Island, Oct. 11, 2024

Why vote against the Islands?

To the Editor:

I am new to San Juan Island and am happy to be joining this incredible community. One of the many things I value about the San Juan Islands is the community’s overwhelming support of the environment. Land, shores and sea are all protected.

I don’t understand why so many Islanders would support a candidate who will work to erode protections and believes in land development. Do Islanders really want more development on the Islands? That seems really out of touch to me.

From what I have learned about Stephanie O’Day, she doesn’t genuinely seem interested in protecting the Islands but more for allowing bigger and new developments that get to skip out on the permitting process; which would put the Islands’ ecosystem at risk. So why vote for her when you have another candidate who will protect the Island environment and help San Juan County’s growth?

— Marni Zimlin, San Juan Island, Oct. 10, 2024

Rick Hughes builds bridges

To the Editor:

Don’t worry, he is not going to build a bridge from the mainland; it is a metaphor. 

I support Rick Hughes for county council because he is the best person for the job. There is a reason that Rick is supported by all our legislators in Olympia, and that is because he has developed relationships and found common ground with them. These relationships, along with so many others that Rick has developed over the past 12 years, are so important to our county because we rely heavily on the state for funding needs that are specific to our county. The combination of experience, levelheadedness and consensus building is what our county needs right now.

I have known and been a friend of Rick’s for over 25 years. In that time, I have always known him to be a helpful and considerate person. Rick does a lot behind the scenes to help people not looking for recognition or credit. I have seen Rick deal with adversity in his life with stoicism all while maintaining concern for others. Rick has lived a life of service to his community, and I am grateful for all he has done. Please join me in voting for Rick for county council this November.

— Greg White, Orcas Island, Oct. 10, 2024

McVeigh is best candidate

To the Editor:

Kari McVeigh is the best candidate for County Council District 1. Her combination of common sense, strong ethics and extensive experience positions her as an effective leader. Kari’s practical approach and commitment to transparency will ensure decisions benefit our island communities. With a background in educational administration, she is well-equipped to address the fundamental challenges of local governance. By electing Kari, you are choosing a leader dedicated to serving with integrity and advocating for the welfare of all county residents. Cast your vote for Kari McVeigh!

— Darla Jungmeyer, San Juan Island, Oct. 8, 2024

McVeigh is a strong leader

To the Editor:

I am writing in support of Kari McVeigh for San Juan County Council District 1. I have known Kari for several years since she moved to San Juan Island, and I worked as her administrative assistant while she was the San Juan Island School District superintendent. I have always known Kari to be a strong leader who is fair, just, trustworthy and a person of great moral conviction.  Kari is a warm, intelligent, hard-working individual who is unafraid to take a stand on issues, and even more importantly, unafraid to change course if confronted with new information. I so appreciate this in a leader.

Kari weighs her positions against the greater good, always. She collaborates with honesty and openness and implements solutions based on common goals. Kari puts plans into action, whether that means threading a needle or moving a mountain.

Kari has built relationships with our legislative representatives and has worked with educational leadership throughout the county. These professional relationships have given her a clear perspective of issues facing each of our islands.

I knew I would vote for Kari the minute I heard she was running. Through her personal strength, integrity and ethical approach to leadership, Kari will serve our county well.

Please join me in voting for Kari McVeigh in November.

— Maude Cumming, San Juan Island, Oct. 6, 2024

Who’s funding the candidates for San Juan Island’s county commissioner?

To the Editor:

I’ve been irked of late by the claims of Stephanie O’Day that she is protecting islanders and is more local and knowledgeable about our island challenges. Having known of her through my career as an environmental engineer and scientist in San Juan County, the Stephanie O’Day I’ve known in the community and in the papers is an attorney that routinely fought against state and local land-use laws meant to protect our delicate island ecosystems. How is that protecting our communities and quality of life?

Often campaign donations are used as a surrogate for a candidate’s electability and to understand who wants them in office. Are they supported by local residents, middle-class families or outside wealthy investors looking to ride a prosperity wave or gain favor with local officials? Fortunately, we live in a world where election donation statistics are still freely available. Here are a few you may want to think about.

As of Sept. 26 Kari McVeigh had 140 campaign contributors for a total election fund of $27,607. County registered voters accounted for 88% of those contributing to McVeigh’s election and for 83% of her campaign fund.

In contrast O’Day had 81 campaign contributors and had raised well over double McVeigh totaling $62,747. Of this, county registered voters had contributed only 46% of O’Day’s campaign fund. Not even half.

It is also telling that 37 contributors, which is 46% of O’Day’s contributors, gave $1,000 or more. McVeigh had only eight such contributors. Moreover, the average contribution to McVeigh was only $197 versus $784 for O’Day. Do we really want wealthy contributors that are not registered to vote in our county deciding the results of our election?

You may ask yourself who’s really protecting the “Island Way of Life”. Who is representing islanders in this election and who should islanders trust?

— Amanda Azous, Orcas Island, Oct. 4, 2024

Urging a NO vote on I-2117

To the Editor:

Thanks to the Climate Commitment Act of 2021, my four grandchildren can now ride city buses, ferries and even Amtrak free of charge. Hopefully this will lead to a lifetime of using public transportation, thus reducing pollution. Their school buses are becoming less polluting as well.

Thanks to the Climate Commitment Act, my grandkids’ schools will have better ventilation, heating and air-conditioning systems. 10% of Washington’s children already struggle with asthma, according to this month’s Seattle Times. Because of the Climate Commitment Act, Washington is required to take immediate action to improve air quality.

I do not want to reverse these improvements to the quality of air and thus the quality of life for my grandchildren. Join me in voting NO on I-2117.

— Kristin Barber, Bellingham, Oct. 4, 2024

We are fortunate

To the Editor:

We are fortunate. 

Throughout the San Juan Islands we are surrounded by incredible vistas, pristine waters, working farms, open space, mountains and forestland.  

Picture postcard views are in every direction. 

It is not by chance that our islands hold such beauty. Many of these lands are held in public trust and conservation easements through our locally initiated County Conservation Land Bank.  

Every 12 years we islanders must reaffirm at the ballot with our yes vote to renew our conservation land bank. 

These public lands, sacred magical places like our Coho Preserve are a nursery for salmon. Your Land Bank yes vote keeps our islands’ waters clean and shorelines healthy for all.

Your commitment with a yes vote supports and protects our wildlife habitat and wildlife like the pileated woodpecker we hear on an early morning walk. 

A yes vote brings 12 more years of stewardship for healthy forests and wetlands on our conservation lands. 

Our Conservation Land Band and County Home Fund are joined in statewide legislation. Your yes vote enables affordable homes in our islands.

A vote to renew will provide 12 years support to keep our beautiful island community a healthy vibrant home for all species.

— Anne Marie and Bern Shanks, Deer Harbor, Oct. 4, 2024

Land Bank enhances and enriches

To the Editor:

I am enthusiastically voting for Proposition 1 to renew our San Juan County Conservation Land Bank. It goes without saying that over the last 34 years, the Land Bank has been instrumental in enhancing our way of life by protecting water resources, forestland, working farms and farmland, beautiful shorelines, and habitat for wildlife and native plants, among other things. 

What is remarkable though — what is especially praiseworthy — is how much the Land Bank has ensured the continuation of the islands’ genus loci, or distinct sense of place. Without the conservation and preservation of significant natural, historic, cultural, and agricultural landscapes, our sense of place, our sense of home, would be sorely diminished. By protecting so many of these “iconic” landscapes, the Land Bank contributes to our well-being, to our knowing where we live, where we belong. This sense of place is not only valuable to islanders, it is likewise a draw for countless visitors every year.

Many years ago I wrote about an old-islander from San Juan Island, the late Fred Sundstrom. He boasted that as a teenager, he’d often grab a jar of cherries his mother, Josie, had canned, and then take off on a daylong walkabout. While we can no longer freely roam the islands like Fred once did, we can, thanks to the Land Bank, (also in cooperation with other public and private entities), traipse through and hike in wonderful places — another reminder for how critical it is for islanders to vote to renew our Land Bank. If you value our genius loci or sense of place as well as having access to beautiful landscapes throughout the islands, make sure to vote for Proposition 1.

— Nancy Larsen, San Juan Island, Oct. 2, 2024

New ideas to solve old issues

To the Editor:

As a 35 year-resident of San Juan Island, please join me in listening to Kari McVeigh’s plans to solve what is needed in San Juan County. 

Please read her solutions in the OPALCO summary in your September Ruralite newsletter.

Kari has been a superintendent of schools, balanced budgets of $100 million, supported our teachers and children.

We need new ideas to solve our old SJC issues: housing, economy, environment.

I support Kari McVeigh. 

Please listen to Kari’s solutions as we build our joined island county community forward, with state and federal support.

— Kathy Cope, San Juan Island, Oct. 2, 2024

Public lands bring long-term benefits

To the Editor:

The lands preserved and stewarded by the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank are a cornerstone of what makes our county special. These lands not only safeguard critical ecosystems, such as healthy forests and clean water, but also contribute to the wellbeing of our citizens. Without the efforts of the Land Bank, both our natural environment and human communities would be diminished. 

We hike on Land Bank properties regularly with our family, and can personally attest to the value public lands bring. For a small tax, the Land Bank sustainably manages these lands for the long-term benefit of everyone, rather than allowing them to be exploited for short-term profit by a select few. This small investment enhances the value of our islands as a whole.

The spirit behind the Land Bank is one of generosity and foresight. I encourage my fellow residents to vote yes on proposition one. Let’s vote to be good neighbors, to protect the long-term health of our community, and to preserve the special places that make San Juan County what it is.

— Katie Fleming and Jesse Visciglia, San Juan Island, Sept. 30, 2024

Protecting, preserving and managing lands to perpetuity

To the Editor:

I should like to add my name to those who have spoken in support of renewal of the Land Bank. 

In the past, a decision was made to preserve certain valuable, sensitive, and scenic areas for the continued enjoyment and satisfaction of the residents of this county, and visitors to our islands. In so doing the Land Bank has assured us that certain of our water sources, forests, wildlife habitats, and shorelines have been preserved and will be sensibly managed to perpetuity.

In addition valuable productive farmland has been preserved as such. Given the rising cost of transportation the residents of SJC may need this resource to supply our basic needs.

We must expect that our population will grow, but must be assured that that growth will not spread unchecked throughout our county.

I therefore recommend that you vote yes on measure 1.

— Howard Barbour, Deer Harbor, Sept. 25, 2024

Proud to endorse Kari McVeigh

To the Editor:

I am proud to endorse and strongly recommend a vote for Kari McVeigh for county council. She has held many positions of significant responsibility prior to coming to the island and has continued that here as superintendent of the San Juan Island School District and the Shaw Island School District.

Kari plans for effective governance with consistent, inclusive and transparent communication, budgeting that reflects our priorities and values as a community, and fully informed decision-making. She understands the need to address affordable housing, balancing environmental protection with economic growth, and doing all of this without compromising the unique qualities of the San Juans that we value so dearly.

When I look for a candidate to help lead us forward the things I want in that candidate are experience, collaboration, and transparency. These are all qualities Kari has. If you don’t want to sell out to big developers, I urge you to vote for Kari!

— Marni Zimlin, San Juan Island, Sept. 25, 2024

Supports McVeigh — and registering to vote

To the Editor:

I would like to strongly recommend a vote for Kari McVeigh for county council. I have known Kari for some years in our local League of Women Voters group and have found her to be intelligent, hard-working and dedicated to preserving the best of our island way of life. Her career in public service and background in administration and balancing budgets will be just what our county council needs. I look forward to the transparency her leadership will bring to the decisions being made on the council. I particularly appreciate Kari’s desire to listen and learn from all voices in the islands. Please join me in voting for what makes the most sense for our county council.

Ballots will be mailed in October to all registered voters. If you are not sure that you are registered to vote, go to the San Juan County Elections website, and you can find all you need to know there.

— Clare Kelm, San Juan Island, Sept. 24, 2024

Everyone wins with Land Bank renewal

To the Editor:

When we vote to renew our San Juan County Conservation Land Bank, everyone wins. 

• Farmers win when the Land Bank offers affordable leases on public land.
• Forests win when they are managed by the Land Bank and allowed to do their job of cleaning our air and water.
• Future homeowners win because the Land Bank’s existence insures the Affordable Housing Real Estate Excise Tax.
• Orcas win when the Land Bank protects healthy shorelines where the orca’s food chain begins.
• Neighbors win when the Land Bank’s preserves are made firesafe.
• Wildlife and wildflowers win because the Land Bank manages and safeguards their rare and finite habitat.
• Islanders win when the Land Bank protects the natural beauty we love to live in. 

Vote Yes to Renew Our Land Bank — it makes life better for all of us.

— Shaun Hubbard and Harold Kawaguchi, San Juan Island, Sept. 22, 2024

Endorsing McVeigh for council

To the Editor:

We are proud to express our endorsement of Kari McVeigh for San Juan County Council.

We have known Kari to be a hardworking, dedicated problem solver in both her personal and professional life. She has held many positions of significant responsibility prior to coming to the island and has continued that here as superintendent of the San Juan Island school district and the Shaw Island school district. Kari has proven skills in balancing the budgets of those organizations, working collaboratively with employee groups, and raising the funds necessary to build teacher housing on Shaw.

She is a compassionate listener and a committed advocate who goes the extra mile for the important causes. A vote for Kari is a vote for caring, competence and commitment.

— Michael and Lauri Sager-Devirian, Friday Harbor, Sept. 18, 2024

McVeigh understand the islands’ challenges

To the Editor:

Kari McVeigh is the leader we need.

In conversations with Kari I know that she understands the unique challenges that our island communities face. We are a group of islands in the middle of the Salish Sea with tentative connections to the mainland. She knows that we must take on the challenge of providing our own electricity. She understands that feeding ourselves will be vital. That water is a critical resource and we all need an affordable place to live. When things get tough we will look to the county council for leadership and we need Kari there.

— Bill Severson, San Juan Island, Sept. 18, 2024

Land Bank, affordable housing need support now more than ever

To the Editor:

A balanced community life for us all in San Juan County depends on two things:  preserving and improving our shared access to natural land — forests, mountains and shores — and creating and preserving affordable housing for those who live and work here. Both are on the ballot this fall. 

The link between them is both visionary and legally mandated. These two vital dimensions of our life together are enabled by the small investment each of us makes when we buy property: the real estate excise taxes (REET) of 1% for the Land Bank and 0.5% for affordable housing.

The Land Bank REET is coming up for renewal on the November ballot and needs our support. By law, the REET that supports affordable housing on our four ferry-served islands can only continue if the Land Bank REET that preserves our public lands across the whole county continues. We need them both, now more than ever.  Vote yes to preserve our Land Bank. 

— Margaret Mills, Crane Island, Sept. 17, 2024

‘Yes’ for Land Bank supports affordable housing — and more

To the Editor:

I am proud to live in a county with a citizen-founded Land Bank. The forward-thinking citizens of San Juan County voted in 1990 to establish the Land Bank real estate excise tax (REET), after helping to create the state enabling legislation. Citizens have renewed it twice, in 1999 and 2011. The Conservation Land Bank is a very unique organization, and a model that has been used successfully in conserving land in other communities in the U.S. 

The Land Bank staff and volunteers are impeccable stewards of the land they have protected. 70 % of Land Bank properties are open to the public. These delightful natural areas are places where we can enjoy recreation in these beautiful islands. The Land Bank also uses important climate change mitigation strategies; is restoring damaged systems back to ecological function; and builds coalitions of many constituents, including farmers, our Indigenous neighbors, and recreation enthusiasts. Our Conservation Land Bank owns 700 acres of prime farmland, leasing 500 acres to farmers and protecting 1,300 acres of private farmland and working farms.

Affordable housing is a critical component of our islands’ community and livelihood. Renewing our Land Bank will protect the 0.5% real estate excise tax (REET) paid by buyers to create and preserve affordable homes in our communities. Voting YES to renew our Land Bank’s 1% Conservation Area REET is the most powerful way you can support affordable housing.

Please vote YES to renew our Conservation Land Bank.

— Jane Wentworth, San Juan Island, Sept. 16, 2024

Land Bank work is vital for all

To the Editor:

When I first considered moving to San Juan County over a decade ago, the first thing I did was go to every bit of public and protected land in the county that I could find. Along with a good library, the most important feature of anywhere I would choose to live is ecological health. Like everywhere else in Washington, San Juan County has severe ecological problems: habitat loss, over-development, pollution, extirpated and extinct or almost extinct wildlife and plants, invasive species, fresh water depletion, and overall degradation of the environment.

One of the bright spots here in the county, ecologically speaking, is the amazing work that organizations like the Land Bank do to try to protect habitat and species by protecting the land. Without flourishing ecosystems, no one, human or any other species, can survive and thrive. Habitat is critical for wildlife, and access to nature is vital for human quality of life and mind.

The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank is up for renewal in 2026. I am writing to express my full support for the Land Bank renewal and to urge everyone in the county to vote yes this November to renew the Land Bank. For more information, visit renewourlandbank.com

— Elisabeth Robson, Lopez Island, Sept. 15, 2024

Endorses Hughes for county commissioner

To the Editor:

I am writing this letter of recommendation in support of Rick Hughes as a highly qualified candidate for San Juan County Council, Position 2. I have had the pleasure of knowing Rick for the last 12 years and served eight years as a Ferry Advisor Committee (FAC) member while he was on the county council. I have witnessed first-hand his dedication and passion for our county and public service.

Rick Hughes possesses a unique combination of intelligence, integrity and leadership skills that make him an idea candidate for Position 2, County Council. I have seen him work tirelessly to address the needs of our county, always putting the interests of the community above his own. While working with him on the FAC, he attended our local meeting, attended ferry meetings in Seattle and testified in Olympia on behalf of San Juan County ferry issues. He was a voice to be heard, and a STRONG advocate of ferry issues in our county. His ability to listen to diverse perspectives and collaborate with others to find solutions to complex issues is truly commendable.

In addition to his impressive work ethic, Rick has a strong understanding of county issues and a clear vision for the future of San Juan County. He is well-versed in understanding the county needs and is especially knowledgeable in understanding Washington State Ferry issues. He has a proven track record of advocating for policies that benefit all members of our community. His commitment to transparency and accountability sets him apart as a candidate who will always act in the best interest of the public.

I have no doubt that Rick Hughes will always be a dedicated and effective leader if elected to County Council, Position 2. His passion for public service, coupled with his strong moral compass, make him a standout candidate in this election. I wholeheartedly endorse Rick Hughes and urge you to support his candidacy.

— Larry Vandermay, Olga, Sept. 13, 2024

WSF: Two decades of under-investment

To the Editor:

This problem has taken two decades of under investment to come to fruition. (Community Voices / It’s not too late for reliable interisland ferry service, Sept. 10, 2024) Folks who want to make it easy to solve with a change of management or a different vessel design are doing a disservice to understanding the problem. Two decades of short-term thinking got us into this problem. Short-term thinking won’t get us out of it. It is factually inaccurate that the hybrid vessels are adding to the timeline for construction; going back to the drawing board now would have the opposite effect. Similarly, a one-year timeline established arbitrarily has no relationship to how long it takes for the Coast Guard to say that someone has enough days at sea to serve as an engineer. 

The investments that we’ve secured and protected over the past year are of the scale that it takes to fix the problem. But we need more long term thinking both to get this done, and to prevent future backsliding and other problems. 

— Rep. Alex Ramel, 40th Legislative District, Sept. 11, 2024

Supports land bank renewal for ‘sacred places’

To the Editor:

My name is Beth St. George and I have lived on Lopez Island full-time for 10 years. I visit at least one of the nine Land Bank properties weekly to bird and nature walk, to find solace and wonder. I lead bird walks and collect data for community science projects such as the Audubon Christmas Bird Count and Cornell Lab’s eBird project at many Land Bank preserves.

On a personal note, the first Lopezian my deceased husband, David St. George, and I met when we moved to Lopez Island was former land steward Tim Clark. We were hiking on Lopez Hill. Tim welcomed us and became a friend. David was the Lopez County Parks Manager from 2014 to 2022 and played a large role in caring for Hummel Lake and Fisherman Bay Preserves. I can’t imagine not being able to visit these places where David and I spent so many joyful hours together. I commend Tim and current steward Amanda Wedow for their stewardship.

I consider these lands sacred places for all beings, both human and non-human. The Lopez Preserves (Channel, Fisherman Bay–The Spit, Fisherman Bay–The Tombolo, Hummel Lake, Lopez Hill, Spencer Spit, Upright Head, Watmough Bay, Weeks Wetland) give we humans so much — clean air and water, fascinating flora and fauna, solace and quiet, to name but a few — and take nothing. It is our duty to care for and preserve these sacred lands. They are as valuable to me as my body, mind, and spirit. 

Please support the Land Bank Renewal when you vote this November. For more information visit renewourlandbank.com.

— Beth St. George, Lopez Island, Sept. 8, 2024

Wants Rick Hughes for county council

To the Editor:

I would like to publicly endorse Rick Hughes for county council.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know Rick as a fellow Rotarian, client of the business I work for and as Rick the county council person. In all these roles Rick has shown great leadership, resolve and self-motivation to get the task at hand accomplished. In addition, Rick accomplished these tasks, not alone, but with the ability to get several parties from different backgrounds together to build the team needed to get it done. Rick is a good listener and is willing to try new ideas to get the job done.

I believe that Rick’s past experience in this role is what is best for the county council at this time especially with the other position in District 1 being filled by a new representative. 

I am endorsing Rick Hughes for county council district 2.

— Scott Sluis, San Juan Island, Sept. 6, 2024

Supporting Rick Hughes

To the Editor:

I have known Rick Hughes for half a century, but even people who’ve known him for half an hour will probably have heard these four words: “How can I help?” Rick’s first instinct is always to do what he can for others. That basic compassion makes him an excellent friend, but it’s also a great foundation for public service, ensuring policy decisions that are people-focused and grounded in the needs of the community. 

Rick’s candidacy is also enhanced by the practical knowledge and personal connections he amassed during two previous terms on the council, and by his perspective as a long-time resident familiar with all aspects of island life. I hope you will join me in voting for him. 

— Thor Hanson, San Juan Island, Sept. 5, 2024

The Conservation Land Bank deserves our support

To the Editor:

I support the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank (CLB) renewal effort because it is a vital part of maintaining scenic, environmental and recreational attributes of the San Juan Islands that both residents and visitors cherish. Among many other activities, we can walk along the beaches of the Fisherman Bay Spit and soon the North Shore Preserve, enjoy the majestic vistas from Mount Grant and Turtleback Mountain as well as the views over Beaverton Marsh and Zylstra Lake, explore the forest of Lopez Hill, and whale watch from Deadman Bay Preserve.

In a very real sense, we are all co-owners of CLB preserves. We can visit most of them anytime we wish during daylight hours, we can participate in their organization and oversight, we can volunteer to help maintain existing trails and build new ones, and for those of us who purchased property here since the CLB was created in 1990, we have contributed to the purchase of these properties through the one-time 1% Real Estate Excise Tax (REET).

The benefits of the CLB come at very little cost to county residents beyond the REET. While properties are removed from the tax rolls, many of the parcels were under current use designations, most often Designated Forest Land which reduces property taxes to pennies on the dollar. For instance, the previous owners of Turtleback Mountain paid less than $1,000 per year in property tax. Moving the CLB properties off the tax rolls increases the tax burden for the remaining privately held parcels by only $2 per $100,000 of valuation, $15 for a $750,000 parcel. 

For those who support affordable housing, know that Washington state statutes mandate that the 0.5% affordable housing REET requires the continuation of the CLB REET. The CLB is good for San Juan County and deserves to be renewed!

— Steve Snowden, Lopez Island, Sept. 1, 2024

Stewarding agricultural land for the greater good

To the Editor:

Overmarsh Farm Commons is a shared land access project of San Juan Island Grange No. 966. The farm commons is an exciting opportunity for San Juan Islanders to work together to cultivate food for themselves and the community on publicly owned land.

Granted a lease from the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank, the Grange recently assumed management of 35 acres of Beaverton Marsh Preserve, near Friday Harbor along Roche Harbor Road. Overmarsh Farm Commons includes five acres of land that is irrigated and deer-fenced, with the rest preserved for crop and livestock production.

The goal is to cultivate a resilient and thriving agricultural community on San Juan Island, utilizing cutting-edge soil science alongside regenerative agricultural practices. The project will enhance biodiversity, strengthen food security, and bolster community resilience in response to the climate crisis. The Grange sees the farm commons as an embodiment of our shared natural resources and values. The land is precious, irreplaceable and worthy of stewardship. 

Overmarsh Farm Commons was selected by the San Juan Island Community Foundation as one of 30 projects featured as part of its fundraising campaign at the San Juan County Fair this year. The campaign raised all funds needed for a greenhouse for the Overmarsh Farm Commons Community Garden. San Juan Island Grange extends its heartfelt gratitude to the community and the Community Foundation for their generous support.

Looking ahead to 2025, the Grange is offering a range of parcel sizes to gardeners and farmers interested in working the land at Overmarsh Farm Commons:

• Community garden patches: 100–200 square feet
• Allotments: 1,000–2,000 square feet
• Commercial plots: up to half an acre
• Collaborative farms: up to one acre
• Custom arrangements are available—just ask!

For more information, please visit the Grange or contact Amanda Zee.

— Amanda Zee, San Juan Island, Sept. 1, 2024

Says McVeigh is ‘right person, at the right time’

To the Editor:

Kari McVeigh brings all the right characteristics to the table: integrity, intelligence, compassion, the art of collaboration and leadership. She is the right person, at the right time to bring transparency back to our local government. The community shares her values as does our elected legislators.

San Juan County needs more than good intentions in our council candidates. We need leaders who can balance the current issues against the backdrop of future needs. Kari is not a one-issue candidate for county council. She cares about our community vision and she will strive to listen, collaborate and translate our values into action.

Endorsements are not new to the electoral process. I understand the concerns made by some islanders about accepting endorsements in a nonpartisan position. However, an endorsement does not mean that the candidate will be unable to retain impartiality in serving the community or in prioritizing the needs of our citizens. In San Juan County, we elect three county council members who are required to represent the values and preferences of the entire community. Kari checks all the boxes.

Vote for Kari McVeigh, vote for our future.

— Maureen See, San Juan Island, Aug. 28, 2024

Welch thanks voters; endorses Hughes

To the Editor:

I’d like to thank my campaign manager Julie Remington, Jeff Noedel of CNL2.com and the voters of San Juan County.

While my race is over, I am now endorsing Rick Hughes for San Juan County Council District 2. I have known Rick for years. Our county is dealing with so many crucial issues, from Washington State Ferries to affordable housing. I feel Rick’s experience, collaborative work ethic and leadership is exactly what is needed as we face these challenges today and into the future. Rick is someone I believe in. And, can work with.

Please join me in supporting Rick Hughes for San Juan County Council District 2 this November.

— Jonathan Welch, Orcas Island, Aug. 28, 2024

Clarification re islands’ water availability comments

To the Editor:

I’ve been informed that misinformation is being spread concerning my public comments about future water availability and I would like to provide clarification about my position on this important issue. 

I strongly support efforts to understand the state of our limited water resources, so that we can make good decisions as a community. Doing that does not mean we have to “invade” anyone’s property or privacy. It does mean we need to perform hydrology studies to gain current information. The last good study of water resources occurred in 2002, 22 years ago. That study is being updated as we speak — using publicly reported information about well pumping rates from our managed water systems and good estimates of the total recharge rates for our aquifers, given rainfall measurements. 

In 2002, the basin assessment study showed that groundwater use was 14% of the recharge rate, which is less than the 20% recommended guideline for sustainable use. The county has experienced substantial growth since 2002. We do not know whether we are still using our water at sustainable levels or have exceeded them through population growth. The results of the study now underway will tell us the answer, which is crucial to planning future land use in our county. This should be a concern for all of us who care about securing our islands’ future. 

— Kari McVeigh, Friday Harbor, Aug. 14, 2024; Candidate, San Juan County Council District 1

Northern State ‘an attempt at enlightenment’

To the Editor:

Thank you for the well-balanced story by Adam Sowards on Northern State Hospital [“There was hope here,” Aug. 1, 2024]. Too often, the long history of that institution is misunderstood. Its founding was idealistic, some early practices are now considered barbaric and its later years were an example of an attempt at enlightenment in the care of those with behavioral health problems.

I know this firsthand — my mother (Ramona Cole) was a very bright and wonderful person who also suffered from serious depression and anxiety. She was the beneficiary of good psychiatric care that involved short stays in the 1960s at Northern State where she received electroconvulsive therapy, a procedure that she often described as very helpful. An early recipient of drug therapy, she was the rare person back then who was open about her struggles and encouraged others to seek help because they could, in fact, get better. She was a living example of that. 

As a college student in the late 1960s, I volunteered at the hospital for six months and came away feeling that it was maybe the best place for many of the patients to be. If Northern State was not always a humane and progressive provider of mental health care, it was by the time my family became familiar with it.

Anyone wanting to know more about the hospital’s interesting history should get a copy of M. J. McGoffin’s book, “Under the Red Roof: 100 Years at Northern State Hospital.”

— Craig Cole, Bellingham, Aug. 1, 2024

Environmental justice and the path forward

To the Editor:

While visiting the Birchwood International Market this month, I met with community advocates from the Birchwood and Alderwood neighborhoods who are dedicated to this project. While I am not well-versed in zoning and land use codes, I recognize the pressing need for more housing in our city and growth areas. I am even more aware of the public health risks posed by environmental hazards from light and heavy industrial zones. These hazards don’t just affect the industrial lands; they extend into residential areas, schools and impact outdoor air quality. 

A critical aspect of this discussion is the concept of “environmental justice.” Environmental justice aims to ensure that no group of people, particularly marginalized communities, bears an undue share of negative environmental consequences from industrial, governmental, and commercial operations or policies.

As the county council prepares to vote [ref. “Where to, Whatcom County industrial lands,” July 22, 2024] on council member Todd Donovan’s memorandum, several questions need consideration:

• Who lives within the boundaries of Birchwood and Alderwood?
• What are the existing health risks for these communities?
• What are the long-term health effects on communities living near industrial sites or polluted areas?
• Are there resources and funding available for environmental protection and remediation in these communities?

I believe a six-month moratorium would give the council the time needed to fully assess the impacts of ongoing industrialization in residential neighborhoods. 

— Leah Wainman, Bellingham, July 30, 2024

Ed.: Whatcom County Council has not yet set a date for consideration of Donovan’s proposal which would eliminate some but not all of the uses currently allowed in Heavy Impact Industrial zoned land along Marine Drive. His list of proposed changes to the existing list of allowable uses was informally discussed at the July 23 county council committee of the whole meeting and that the conversation may be resumed in late summer or early fall.

One solution for fruit stickers

To the Editor:

Thank you for the insightful article on small plastics [ref. “The hidden contamination of small plastics,” July 30, 2024]. As the article states, one fruit sticker or bread tag is not much but, yes, they can really add up.

Here’s my solution to dealing with the fruit stickers: peel them off and re-stick them on a piece of scrap paper hanging on your fridge. Start a new one each year and at the end of the year marvel at the amount of stickers you/your family have accumulated. Take a photo and post it on social media! Then dispose of it. It’s easy! Make it decorative while you are at it — or make it a contest per family member to see who can save the most. Here’s my 2024 collection thus far.

— Kristi Anderson, Bellingham, July 30, 2024

Plans to vote for McVeigh

To the Editor:

I plan to vote for Kari McVeigh for county council representing District 1. I have known Kari since she moved to San Juan Island and have watched her become a busy and concerned citizen of our community. Kari has used her many talents and vast experience to solve problems that the people of San Juan County are now facing.

Kari has educated herself about the issues that a member of the San Juan County council will need to address such as the conflict between the Town of Friday Harbor and San Juan County. She anticipates the problems that will occur when the current contract with Bonneville Power expires in 2028. She understands the need for alternative sources of electricity during an emergency. Kari understands the limited water supply for our islands and supports the needs for an evaluation before any additional regulations are made.

Kari has devoted her adult life to making things better for those she serves. She has been a dedicated educator which was evidenced by the work she did as interim superintendent of San Juan Island School District. As a substitute teacher in this district, I saw that Kari’s main goal was to see that students had the resources that they needed to work through the recent COVID epidemic. She saw that meals were supplied and district employees were employed preparing and delivering them.

She has stepped forward to support the Shaw Island School District as superintendent. In this new position, she is working to have the new district provide affordable housing for its teachers.

As previously stated, I plan to vote for Kari McVeigh because I know that she is the best qualified and most committed candidate.

— Laura Jo Severson, San Juan Island, July 25, 2024; substitute teacher for San Juan Island School District

Hughes has governing experience

To the Editor:

San Juan County District 2 is lucky to have three well-intentioned candidates for county council. However, what has been missing for a number of years are council members with governing experience. Most recently this resulted in a council agenda driven by the county manager instead of the manager working for the council. That dynamic has to change. Our elected officials need to answer to the people they represent. The latest firing of five Department of Community Development planners in favor of off-island consultants radically illustrates the havoc inexperience can produce. 

Rick Hughes has shown himself to be someone who listens to constituents and is willing to change his thinking when presented with facts. I experienced this firsthand as a land bank commissioner during Rick’s first term. He was the county liaison to the land bank and, initially, not a fan. However, once he saw how the land bank operated and the many ways it served the community he became an advocate and supporter. 

Rick has shown his commitment to maintaining our quality of life through his work to pass the 2020 Climate Pledge Resolution, his focus on increasing work force housing and his understanding that sustainable growth is the only kind of growth needed here. People who have worked with Rick know he is lively, interested in new ideas, willing to go to bat for our county in Olympia and able to work with all kinds of people as evidenced by his numerous endorsements from 40th District and statewide elected officials.

Let’s give Rick another chance this fall to help our county move forward towards a more sustainable future that aligns with our community vision, that supports working families and doesn’t cut corners on environmental protection.

— Amanda Azous, Orcas Island, July 25, 2024

What Shaw Island really needs

To the Editor:

At the end of June, the San Juan County Council approved the county’s purchase of a residential property on Shaw Island, shown here, for over a million dollars in order to deposit ditch debris on it. Public Works explained that it has about six million dollars for the entire county.

The parcel is over 16 acres and includes a two-story house with a hot tub and a guest house. Ditches are cleaned along Shaw’s 12 miles of county road about every seven years.  The county owns a construction site at the center of the island which has worked for years. As the Public Works manager admitted, he could “make do” with what he has, possibly for “20-ish” years.

This million-dollar expenditure might come as a shock to residents of other islands with backlogs of road repairs left undone. It certainly came as a surprise to Shaw residents, who infrequently see public-works road crews, and most often just to mow road shoulders. 

What Shaw Island needs first and foremost is an engineering study of Blind Bay Road, a vital shoreline lifeline to the ferry which floods under high-tide, high-wind conditions. If we had been asked, that is what we would have requested: to shore up Blind Bay Road.

The county has now spent over one-sixth of the available Public Works funds on a “vintage” house with landlocked forested acreage. If it is developed into an industrial site, it will cost an unknown amount of additional money while lowering the value of the surrounding residential properties. That loss of value is not a necessary evil, but a discretionary one that has been inflicted on Shaw Island residents.  

— Lynn Bahrych, Shaw Island, July 21, 2024

Endorses Adrian Kilpatrick

To the Editor:

My husband, Richard Wright, and I endorse Adrian Kilpatrick. 

The young people of this island are not well-represented. Adrian is 39, born and raised on this island. He has not asked for any money to finance his campaign — instead using his own money. He is committed to this place he has called home for 39 years. He has a good background in sustainability.  

— Janet and Richard Wright, July 20, 2014; 47-year residents of San Juan Island

Endorses Kari McVeigh

To the Editor:

I strongly endorse the candidacy of Kari McVeigh for County Council Position 1.

I have known Kari for several years and have seen her in both personal and public settings. Her ability to absorb large amounts of information and distill that information to the fine points is impressive. She is also skilled in communicating that information to the general public in an understandable way. She has handled multimillion dollar budgets successfully, in her capacity of school district superintendent. This ability and deep knowledge would be an additional critical skill for our county council. 

Kari is collaborative, as I have seen first-hand in a nonprofit setting. She listens and brings people in, rather than putting them off. She is not locked into a particular agenda , which allows her to both listen to and to hear what people are saying matters to them. She looks for solutions that will work for the widest possible population.

Kari is personable, collaborative, smart and committed to doing the best job for the entire island community which she has come to call home. Isn’t she the kind of person we need to do the critical work of the Council?

— Sarah Crosby, Friday Harbor, July 18, 2024

Supports McVeigh for council

To the Editor:

I strongly support Kari McVeigh for county council member from District 1.

As superintendent of schools in Friday Harbor for two years, Kari demonstrated the very attributes that a council member needs: ability to listen to and work with others, creativity in evolving solutions to complicated situations, fairness and support to employees. She also has experience, in former administrative positions in public education, with large state and local budgets and experience in planning as well as implementing them. 

As San Juan County moves into the future, Kari brings a sense of perspective from living in urban environments in the past compared with her deep appreciation for the uniqueness of the San Juan Islands.

— Emily Geyman, Friday Harbor, July 11, 2024

Where’s the county on Shaw Island?

To the Editor:

When you live on Shaw Island, pop. 200 or so, you rarely see any sign of the county. There’s no law enforcement (though the sheriff has taken to parking a car at the ferry landing), public works occasionally visits to mow the shoulders or re-stripe the island’s 12 miles of county roads and once a year the county council holds a meeting at the Shaw community center.

That’s why it came as a surprise when the county announced its plan to buy a 16-acre residential property near the center or the island as a place to store soil removed once a decade or so when the roads need chip-sealing. The county said many things about the use of the residence, from use as a shop, to housing for county employees, to a place for a relief park employee to bunk.

But mostly, it was a plan to spend a million dollars on a place to dump dirt from time to time. The plan seems to have become attractive to the council because Public Works had the million dollars in its road fund from the sale of a couple of former properties on San Juan Island.

Yes, the county said it also wanted to have a bathroom and running water for when county workers were on island, but ignored the fact that both have been provided free-of-charge in the island’s nearby community building. There’s also a well that could be tapped if the county wanted to build its own bathrooms in its unused building.

Instead, the council decided on June 25 to go ahead with the purchase, very much against the common-sense opposition of most islanders. It looks to me to be an example of a council that doesn’t listen to its citizens, especially when it has what feels like free money sitting nearby.

— Alex MacLeod, Shaw Island, July 10, 2024

Welcome, thanks, and a suggestion

To the Editor:

Welcome, Patheresa! (Yay! A fellow Fairhaven graduate!)

Thank you, Matt Benoit, for your recent report on Whatcom County’s incarceration reduction efforts (“When lock ‘em up’ doesn’t make sense”). While Whatcom County seems to be making progress in this effort, my concerns remain about the WC Justice System Needs Assessment’s documentation of the current jail’s abominable conditions. How are these being addressed between now, and five years from now, when the new facility is built and operating?

3) Finally, I wish to share my wholehearted gratitude for the Current’s reprinting of Steph K. Wood’s remarkable piece about competing analyses surrounding the mitigation of Sumas/Abbotsford flooding (“After disaster strikes, how much is it worth to rebuild?”). I forwarded a link to my son, an engineer who works on river restoration on Oahu, and to Eammon Collins, who is a candidate for the Whatcom County Charter Review Commission.  

I believe the Salish Current can provide a great service to readers by bringing light to the WC Charter Commission’s mission and the many general election candidates who are hoping to serve on it. 

Thank you, as always, for your continued service to our community!

— Debra Anderson-Frey, Everson, July 2, 2024

Appreciates Lyne’s analysis and commentary

To the Editor:

I am not now a student but really appreciated Prof. Lyne’s analysis and commentary about the administration versus student concerns and money being always poured into the administration (“A tale of two student uprisings”).

This kind of thing is historical way back to the ’50s education of public schools  Just terrible. and doesn’t help democracy either.

It is amazing how this pattern of enriching administrations goes on over the years, and from grade schools to advanced colleges.

— Beatrice Pogin, Bellingham, June 29, 2024

Article highlights potential impacts of eelgrass bed restoration

To the Editor:

Superb article by Richard Arlin Walker on ocean acidification and its local effects (“Tribes seek to turn the tide on ocean acidity”).

It was good to be reminded of the legislative work of our former Sen. Kevin Ranker, who once served as executive director of Friends of the San Juans.

Not mentioned was the potential impact of eelgrass bed restoration projects, for eelgrass has been shown to absorb tons of carbon dioxide from waters and store the carbon in its root system. That could be a good way to reduce the impact of ocean acidification in Salish Sea waters. 

FSJ is currently leading a survey of eelgrass beds in the islands, and I could see us participating in restoration projects with the Lummi, Swinomish and other seafaring local tribes for whom Dungeness crab and shellfish are important natural resources. 

— Michael Riordan, Orcas Island, June 27, 2024

Tribal impact on major environmental issues showcased by article

To the Editor:

Richard Arlin Walker’s exceptional article not only showcased the value of Salish Current, but also the tremendous impact tribes are having on major environmental issues (“Tribes seek to turn the tide on ocean acidity”).

I was keeping track of this a few years back and by my count, from Cherry Point, to Keystone XL to the newest National Marine Sanctuary pushed by California tribes…. I believe it was seven out of ten of the largest and most important environmental victories in the past decade were all led by Indian Country.  I will have to find my notes on the others as it was a powerful reminder of what we can learn from the first people of this land.  

— Kevin Ranker, Orcas Island, June 27, 2024

Reconfiguring county health board

To the Editor:

Marian Exall posed a sensible question  in her recent Salish Current guest essay, “ Time to rethink our county health board?” She made a solid case. Yes, it is time to reconfigure the Whatcom County Health and Community Services board.

As more people in our county learn that our elected county council is our health board, concern is growing that we need medical professional representation. Not one of the council members has experience in health-related professions.

Washington state law gives primary responsibility for the health and safety of state residents to 39 county governments. It charges the counties’ legislative authorities to establish either a county department or a health district to assure the public’s health, which “shall have supervision over all matters pertaining to the preservation of the life and health of the people within its jurisdiction.”

The board can include non-elected officials, as Exall’s essay clearly describes — it doesn’t require any new laws or long delays to make those changes. 

Wouldn’t you want some board seats allocated to people with medical and health career experience? I do.

Please contact the county council and ask them to move with urgency to reconfigure the board — don’t wait until the next crisis hits us. council@co.whatcom.wa.us

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, June 27, 2023

Local candidate video interviews now online

To the Editor:

Your readers may be interested to know that they can now watch brief interviews with the local candidates for the upcoming primary elections on the League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County website.

Our mission is to promote the informed participation of citizens in government, and in an effort to provide more accessible information for busy voters, we have decided to post these short, individual videos. We have been pleasantly surprised by how much one can learn about a candidate’s experience and priorities in such small parcels of time.

On view are candidates to represent District 2 in Congress, candidates for the State Legislature from District 42, and candidates for the Whatcom County Public Utility District 1, position 2. Ballots will be mailed out on July 17 and must be returned by mail postmarked by Aug. 6 or must be deposited in drop boxes by 8 p.m. on that day.

— Minda Rae Amiran, League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County, June 23, 2024

Individual actions toward climate solutions

To the Editor:

When I learned that transportation is usually the highest category of carbon emissions in Bellingham, it prompted me to consider what individual actions I could take towards climate solutions (and continue work towards large scale changes). 

First, I decided to find other ways besides driving to go downtown. Thankfully I can walk a couple blocks to one of the frequent bus routes. One option is good — a menu of choices is better.

So, when I read about car tire particles killing the salmon in the creeks, it was time to up my game. I found that bus or bike worked to cover some of the city some of the time. But walking or pedaling a bike is not always feasible due to incomplete networks for transportation outside a car. Sidewalks are rare in my neighborhood and the nearest bike lane is a painted stripe between me and four lanes of vehicles with a posted speed maximum of 35 mph. That bike lane does not continue to my neighborhood’s destinations, let alone downtown.

I’ve seen how other cities with busier downtowns than Bellingham’s do protected bike lanes. The separation — when well done — provides a better experience in the city center for all, and leads to a lively and inviting downtown. 

The pilot project for a semi-protected bike lane on Holly Street brings a complete menu for transportation options much closer to practical use. Does it need some fixes to be more functional? Yes. (I have a list!) 

The more places I can get to — and protect the environment at the same time — the more I can shop, eat, drink, check out a book and go to the market. Individual action plus collective action can push for large scale systemic changes. Bring on the transportation choices. We need to do this.

— Therese Kelliher, Bellingham, June 19, 2024

Appreciates Land Bank story

To the Editor:

Nancy DeVaux did a great job on her story about the Land Bank (“San Juan County Land Bank: What’s next?”).I’ve been frustrated by the massive amounts of misinformation circulating around about the Land Bank and how it works so seeing your piece was a relief.

I’ve been coming to San Juan Island for 50 years, to a piece of property my in-laws bought in 1945. Over the decades, I’ve seen other issues with huge misinformation but it seems out of control now. I didn’t know I would one day long for the stories the Journal did about local issues and everyone read them.

Keep up the good work!

— Claire Powers, Seattle, May 12, 2024

Water equals life

To the Editor:

Next to global warming, “forever chemicals” in our drinking water is the second biggest environmental catastrophe to ever happen (“What tighter fed PFAS mandates mean for local contaminated communities,” May 14, 2024).

The film Dark Waters appears to be a faithful retelling of the high-profile legal case against DuPont for knowingly poisoning community drinking water.

Watch the film on Netflix or read the article in The New York Times that ensured DuPont’s unethical, illegal activity saw the light of day (“The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” (2016).

Water equals life. We’ve sure made a mess of it for future generations.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, May 14, 2024

Supports Paycheck Fairness Act

To the Editor:

Gender-based discrimination is extremely prevalent in the Washington state workplace. This issue is not only ubiquitous in our society, but growing and must be solved.

The wage gap is a prodigious portion of this issue. An article in The Seattle Times reports that,  according to data collected in 2021, women in Washington earn on average about 64.4% of what men make in our economy. This is a decrease from nearly 70% in 1992. This gap is even greater for women of color. The Washington State Standard reported that in 2024 our state has a wage shortfall second only to Utah. 

One reason why this inequality may exist is the constant growth of the technology sector in Washington where women hold only 20% of executive positions.

Patty Murray, our Washington state senator, proposed S.728, the Paycheck Fairness Act, in the Senate on March 9, 2023. This bill ensures that across the United States, wage discrimination on the basis of sex is further regulated and civil penalties for these violations will be increased. This act has not moved past the introductory stage. 

I encourage readers to promote this bill by contacting their legislatures and asking them to vote yes to support the hard-working women all around us.

Thank you for reading.

— Lila Horn, Spring Street School, Friday Harbor, May 2, 2024

Cooperation, not conflict, characterizes stream buffer work

To the Editor:

I am writing to express some concern regarding the recent article “Tribe, feds, state face off on stream water temperature in the Skagit,” April 24, 2024. The article skews the issue a bit and insinuates a false history when it comes to the work of tribes, agriculture and lawmakers.

Firstly, the article mentions urban development as having an impact on riparian areas, yet the author lays the blame on agriculture. To ignore the growing urbanization and heighten population densities is rather disingenuous and presents an incomplete picture.

Secondly, during the 2023 legislative session, a great amount of work went into crafting a voluntary riparian buffer program that would honor the tribes and the work of agriculture. HB 1720 was a heavily negotiated piece of legislation that came out of many stakeholder meetings between tribes, agriculture and others. The final result was a rather landmark accomplishment where farmers and tribal leaders sat side by side celebrating the collaboration and the work achieved. 

It enjoyed widespread support from various quarters, including cosponsorship from Representative Lekanoff and testimony in favor from several tribes. The real story is the unexpected collaboration of diverse interests toward a common goal, a stronger and healthier environment for us all. 

At this time, the voluntary riparian buffer program has not yet fully taken effect as the program started in March and applicants are still signing up. Many in agriculture have eagerly awaited the release of the voluntary riparian buffer program to take care of the land and provide for the habitats along the river. It is a false message to insinuate that agriculture is in opposition to a healthy environment. A sustainable agriculture and food security are dependent upon a healthy environment.

— Ben Tindall, Executive Director, Save Family Farming, Everson, May 2, 2024

Ed.: The reference regarding application and funding of a voluntary riparian buffer program is not to HB 1720 which has not passed the legislature but to the Washington State Conservation Commission’s Riparian Grant Program.

Just say no to ABC metal shredder

To the Editor:

Several weeks ago, on one of those beautiful spring evenings when the windows were open for sleep, I was awakened by the distant clashing and screeching from the Port location at the metal pile at midnight. I imagined what it will be like if the shredder goes in just mere blocks away and this noise I hear now will be magnified a thousand-fold with loading and unloading of trucks and railcars not to mention the shredding itself at all hours of the day and night. As ABC [Recycling] stated in their public appearance at the waterfront meeting it is not an 8–5 business. 

When ABC was asked where the water for the plant would come from the answer was from the utility. While this is probably quite true, it is good to review where our water for the city comes from. 

From the website, Lake Whatcom Management program, water flows into Lake Whatcom from two main sources:

• Rainwater that falls in the Lake Whatcom watershed and flows into the lake from pipes, ditches and streams.
• Water from the Deming Glacier on Mount Baker that flows to the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River and is periodically diverted into Lake Whatcom through a diversion and conveyance system.

Our city relies on rain and streamflow to provide water for all of us. Is this business a good use of that resource which, with our changing climate, could be at a premium?

There is nothing positive about this out-of-country business for our city and has the potential for very hazardous repercussions. Our Port can do better in making long term decisions that affect all of us.

— Christine Woodward, Bellingham, April 27, 2024

Keep an eye on proposed metal shredder

To the Editor:

I was quite interested in Meghan Fenwick’s April 9 piece about the planned rehabilitation of the Little Squalicum pier, since I walk my dogs near there almost daily. But I think a follow-up is called for regarding ABC Recycling’s proposed industrial metal shredder at the old cement plant site quite nearby. 

The roaring noise, water pollution, air pollution and heavy truck traffic created by such a shredder would surely degrade not only the Alderwood neighborhood and Bellingham Bay’s natural environment, but also the experience of anyone strolling the pier. 

I look forward to further coverage of this issue.

— Deborah Wessell, Bellingham, April 23, 2024

Solar project will block or ruin view corridor to valley

To the Editor:

Regarding the article “Pasture or power? Solar talk on San Juan Island,” (Salish Current, April 8, 2024) the property for proposed development is the southeast corner of the San Juan Valley AG R zoning district. It has additional use restrictions to which it is subject as defined by the Heritage Plan Overlay.  

The County Planning Department and the County Council worked diligently from 1990 to 2002 to develop the Open Space and Conservation Plan (OSCP). The OSCP was further updated in 2001 to create what would be adopted as the “San Juan Valley Heritage Plan Overlay District” by Resolution 2-2002. 

The integral vision and intent for the Heritage Plan was that it “will recognize and protect visual and open space resources as EQUAL in importance to maintaining TRADITIONAL agricultural uses in this location.” The county’s present Comprehensive Plan continues to uphold the same visions, goals, and policies to preserve open space and scenic rural vistas in the San Juan Valley. 

The intent of the Heritage Plan Overlay is to equally balance the visual, scenic and traditional agricultural resources of the San Juan Valley with any proposed use. The stated 80% open space to 20% developed space is integral to achieving the intended balance. 

The applicant’s proposed use certainly does not meet that metric. Conditional use proposals must be appropriate in design, character and appearance with surrounding property uses. The fact that the proposal seeks to screen what they are building means the applicant knows that what they are building does not fit it in. Screening or no screening, the entire view corridor to the San Juan Valley will be blocked or ruined by this project. 

This fact alone places the proposal in direct conflict with the intent of the AG Resources Heritage Plan. It is incumbent on the applicant to credibly demonstrate that the project meets or exceeds all the conditions that the Heritage Plan sets forth in order to be granted a conditional use permit. The applicant’s permit request should be denied based on their inability to prove that their plan does just that.

— Royce Meyerott, San Juan Island, April 9, 2024, IslandEnvironment.info

Advocates for data-driven decision-making

To the Editor:

Matt Benoit’s piece, “A noticeable difference in Downtown Bellingham” (Salish Current, April 5), is a much appreciated update on conditions in response to the city’s fentanyl crisis since Mayor Lund issued her executive order on Feb. 20. 

Since our inception in August 2020, the Riveters Collective’s Justice System Committee has called for publicly facing data on all levels to drive public safety policy. Mayor Lund’s response to Benoit’s interview for the article underscores her “data-driven” approach to evaluating the effect of policies to address the executive order. “We’re really keen on getting a full three months’ worth of data, and then making some programmatic adjustments … and then taking a look again at six months, and figuring out if this was a good approach or not.” 

Further, Lund’s order recognizes that “affordable housing, the homelessness crisis, the lack of adequate incarceration, behavioral health and treatment support systems” are complex issues that contribute to the crisis. Lund points to establishing comprehensive planning benchmarks in moving forward with measures that include public housing, legislation, and funding to address the complexities to provide for everyone in the city’s wellbeing. We applaud measures that move toward solutions beyond public hearsay, political opinion, and mere anecdotal evidence. 

Our committee recently met with Whatcom County Council Member Jon Scanlon to reiterate our call for data-driven decision-making as County Executive Satpal [Sidhu] prepares an executive order to respond to the countywide fentanyl crisis. While admitting his tenure on the county council has been short to date, Scanlon pointed to Whatcom County Health Department’s LEAD and GRACE programs as possible data-based models for all of Whatcom County’s Justice System Projects. Publicly facing data is essential for judicious policy making and transparent accountability by electeds to their constituents.

— Debbi Anderson-Frey, Everson, April 6, 2024

What is agritourism?

To the Editor:

The title for the article on March 28 couldn’t be more accurate (“Skagit agritourism controversy is about more than weddings in barns”). While all the problems the county is dealing with regarding weddings in barns and other venues are well represented in this article, the main issue is that the county has never properly identified what agritourism is and is going to include all farms that direct market their products as agritourism facilities.

The county’s failure to properly define what agritourism is is what is at the heart of the problem. All of the surveys, public comment periods, etc., failed to even ask this question: What is agritourism?

Agritourism is NOT direct marketing your produce from your farm. And yet the county seems to think so.

According to almost every rational thinking state east of us — those that have been doing agritourism for a long, long time — the elements that define agritourism are any value-added component(s): educational; tours; nature walks; rides, trains, haywagons; petting zoos; concessions; activities; entertainment.

The two forms of direct marketing that are a problem here are farm stands and u-picks. There are hundreds of these in Skagit County that absolutely don’t qualify as agritourism. The ones I speak of are seasonal in nature and are simply a serve-yourself way to cut costs.

There are many u-picks and farm stands in the county that are agritourism. It is for this reason that the county has to take each farm on a case-by-case basis.

I have nothing against the farmers, here in the county, using the value-added, direct-marketing method known as agritourism to enhance their farm income but there are many farmers in this county who are not associated with agritourism, including myself, and don’t want to be branded as agritourism. For us this will have long reaching negative effects.

— Leslie Price, Jones Creek Farms, Sedro-Woolley, April 3, 2024

Parking minimums are public enemy number one

To the Editor:

Just read “Removing Bellingham’s parking minimums has many benefits,” and I was excited to see that there are like-minded people in this city. I consider minimum parking requirements to be public enemy number one, the single most destructive policy to any human-oriented city. When I bring this up with my peers, I am largely dismissed as being out of touch with reality. I emailed the city council about a month ago on the subject and did not receive a response, so it seems our politicians are equally disinterested. Now at least I have an article to link to while badgering my friends!

— Cameron Dohrman, Bellingham,  March 24, 2024

Tidegate article one-sided

To the Editor:

I was disappointed with the one-sided bent (language) to the article “Way cleared for repair of Skagit tidegate critical to delta protection,” [March 8, 2024]. 

The article well represented the District 12 diking perspective. More balance please, especially for an article under “Environment.” Diking and tidegates in the Skagit Delta (the former salt marsh at the mouth the Skagit River) over many decades “destroyed” historic salt marsh, converting it to farmland. Salt marsh are critical nurseries to juvenile salmon. What percentage of the historic Skagit Delta is diked, I wonder? Diked salt marsh in general is becoming less productive saltier and wetter farmland as sea level rises. This trend will only accelerate in the coming years. Is the land behind this dike better returned to salt marsh? The interplay between maintaining farmland and recovering ESA-listed salmon [is] complex. Interviews with tribal biologists could have offered a clarifying perspective and maybe illuminate why NMFS is unable to issue a decision on this application. 

— Byron Rot, former Habitat Program Manager for Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and retired Environmental Stewardship Project Manager for San Juan County, San Juan Island; March 15, 2024

Hunting fatality is a heartbreaking case

To the Editor:

Thanks to Nancy DeVaux for organizing the few factual crumbs offered up since the tragic death of a deer hunter on Chadwick Hill, Lopez Island, way back in November. Hunting can be dangerous in so many unforeseen ways, but seldom deadly; very rarely by an errant projectile killing an unseen hunter.

This was a heartbreaking open-and-shut case from the get-go. Million-to one outcome. No extenuating circumstances. No abject stupidity or mistaken targeting during a legal season on National Monument lands open to all state licensed deer hunters.

My decades of experience in northern Alaska as a meat hunter and National Park Service ranger involved in, or aware of, many unfortunate hunting accidents in the big wild tell me that once agencies investigate the site, interview people and contact next of kin (if necessary), the story is released to address the greater public interest and quell the rumors. I have also hunted deer for venison on San Juan Island for 16 years.

Deer harvesting in the San Juans is culturally, ecologically and psychologically important to a dwindling number of residents as exurban values shrink hunting opportunities and anti-hunting folks decry traditions with venison as food. Meanwhile blacktail deer without predators ravage the forest understory, meet ugly demise by roadkill, damage agricultural crops and increase insurance rates. The local populations are again growing after an unhealthy adenovirus crash a few years back. 

A full explanation of this rare and tragic event by the oddly mum agencies will improve the safety of the recreating public and perhaps prompt the Bureau of Land Management to consider the wisdom of the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank by limiting the number of hunters roaming certain preserves on a given day. 

— Steve Ulvi, San Juan Island, March 7, 2024

Proper management of hunting is essential

To the Editor:

It’s tragic that it took a fatality to direct attention to the intense hunting/shooting that occurs in and around Chadwick Hill and adjacent properties. (“Wait for information about Lopez Island hunting fatality nears an end,” March 5, 2024) My family and I have lived on the south end of Lopez for nearly 50 years. During this time we have witnessed an increasing amount of illegal shooting at night from the road below, as well as on our posted properties.

Serious questions need to be addressed. Who are these individuals? Are these local Lopez Island hunters or from elsewhere? Are they licensed at all to hunt? Certainly not one of our neighbors has provided permission to prowl our private properties to hunt deer in any season or time. Our reporting of these occurrences has received little or no reply. 

Accurately assessing and properly managing the numbers of hunters during the fall hunt within the BLM [Bureau of Land Management] conservation area and nearby properties is an absolute necessity. We now know that human lives depend on it.A stray bullet from a hunting rifle carries a great distance and there are people living here year-round and enjoying the passive recreational options of hiking, picnicking and wildlife study that are an essential part of the Lopez life.They are well within range of a misdirected rifle shot.

— Tony Angell, Lopez Island and Seattle, March 5, 2024

Column on Boldt decision was excellent

To the Editor:

Dan Raas’s column on the Boldt decision which enshrined tribal fishing rights into enforceable law was excellent. 

Mentioned in the column is a statement by a former opponent of the treaty rights decision who said, without that landmark ruling, there would be no more salmon in Western Washington rivers. I would go on to say that without the actions of Tribal Nations a lot more environmental and human rights mayhem would be happening. 

We can all be grateful indeed to the local Lummi Nation and other tribes for their stewardship of the land that we all now inhabit together. We in Whatcom County can also be grateful to folks like Dan Raas who selflessly give their time and talents to better our community. 

Thank you, Dan.

— Michael Chiavario, Bellingham, March 3, 2024

Images of spongy moth important for prevention

To the Editor:

I’m disappointed in your article about the Spongy Moth (“Giant hornet effort approaches milestone as another pest shows up,” Feb. 26, 2024). One poor photograph is all I’m given to recognize this threat? It reeks of “crying wolf” about another invasive insect but offers very little about how to prevent an invasion. 

Ed.: Your point about images is well-taken, and the story has been updated with added images of caterpillar and adult spongy moths.

Update: I just reread the article about the spongy moth. Great improvement! After the diligent work of so many to save trees in our county, it would be horrible to lose them to these critters! I appreciate the early warning and your effort to remind us that community involvement made a big difference against the hornet.

— Judy Fruhbauer, Bellingham, March 2, 2024

Look to B.C. Ferries as solution to WSF ills

To the Editor:

The state ferry system is a vital service to many of those living around the Salish Sea. Is it possible for you to reprint an article in the Feb. 20, 2024, issue of the Seattle Times titled “This is what brought our ferry system here, and what could save it”? It is well-researched and written by knowledgeable people who point out that the problem lies with incompetent management and dysfunctional governance. The article’s comparison of the performance of WSF with B.C. ferries is very revealing. Our area is vitally dependent on a broken system, and we need to face the facts if things are to improve. 

— Eric Adelberger, Friday Harbor, Feb. 20, 2024

Ed.: The article is an opinion piece we do not have permission to reprint. It is also behind a paywall which readers may be able to gain access through. The Current has published a Community Voices essay regarding mismanagement of WSF (“Washington State Ferries problem is a management problem,” Dec. 6, 2023) and an article about crewing, maintenance and funding problems faced by the system (“Where’s the ferry?” Feb. 24, 2023).

Understanding tribes

To the Editor:

I just want to complement Salish Current and Richard Walker on the article “Tribes 101: About the Native nations that share geography with Washington state,” Feb. 5, 2024

I worked for a tribe for 12 years and for the state (Ecology) for 30 years on tribal issues and relationships and often did internal and external training. The Boldt decision, treaty rights, jurisdiction, state/tribal relations, the Centennial Accord … so many interesting dimensions. Mr. Walker’s intro to these complicated issues is excellent. It’s a great entry point for anyone who wants to understand more about the tribes in and around Washington.

— Tom Laurie, Olympia, Feb. 17, 2024

Water first for tribes and fish

To the Editor:

The recent piece on water rights leaves out the fate of tribes and fish who will ultimately benefit from these proceedings. (“Nooksack water rights adjudication is on track for April filing,” Feb. 14, 2024)

It is very unfortunate that these have been delayed for a variety of excuses (lack of judicial and Ecology resources, COVID), when really it’s been a lack of political will, knowing full well that the longer it is delayed the longer illegal and over-allocated water users can use the water that should be reserved for salmon and tribes. 

This fact needs to be stated in future coverage of this important issue. This isn’t just about water users; it is very much about the needs of salmon and of the tribes who are the first in line for water rights.

— Mike MacKay, Bellingham, Feb. 14, 2024

Let’s learn from history

To the Editor:

In his Community Voices column, “In Celebration of Black History Month,” Feb. 9, 2024, Dr. Damani Johnson has laid out quite clearly where we are today in our struggle for “a more perfect union.”

Reactionary forces of white nationalism are using any method they can to keep their political power over a diversifying population that is becoming more aware of their collective power. It is only the current attempt to control politics and therefore society, in the same way post-Civil War Reconstruction was derailed and Jim Crow laws destroyed chances for more, Black, voices to be heard in our politics. 

Hopefully, we, all of us, can continue to learn more of our mutual history, the proud and the shameful. Then maybe we can help bend that arc of the moral universe toward justice. 

Thank you, Damani, for this commentary and for your many years of educating us.

— Joe Deeny, Bellingham, Feb. 14, 2024

Thanks for police pursuit article

To the Editor:

I just wanted to express my appreciation for the recent article on police pursuits that Matt Benoit wrote (“Expanded police pursuit authority may come up for initiative vote,” Jan. 26, 2024).

I found it informative and probing. I think it’s the most in-depth article on the police pursuit issue I’ve seen recently from local news sources (e.g., the Bellingham Herald and Cascadia Daily News). 

Thanks for the hard work. Local journalism is so important, especially these days. 

— Simon Sefzik, Ferndale, Feb. 13, 2024

PeaceHealth board needs local rep, advocate for Alzheimer’s care

To the Editor:

My husband has Alzheimer’s disease. His diagnosis is considered “early onset” because his decline began in his late 50s.

I am profoundly grateful for the invaluable resources available in our area to help dementia patients and their caregivers. The painfully protracted period from diagnosis to death from Alzheimer’s is often called “the long goodbye” — for good reason. Family and friends become strangers to their afflicted loved ones, and in a sense, vice versa. 

Last spring PeaceHealth announced it would close its outpatient palliative care (OPPC) program claiming, in part, due to lost revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. That announcement dashed my hopes that the local OPPC program would eventually include Alzheimer’s patients.

Because of a barrage of pleas and entreaties, PeaceHealth reconsidered and said it would reinstate OPPC in a new model. My understanding is that the reinstated program will be predominantly for cancer patients, with other diseases included at some future date.

In 2020, an estimated 5.8 million Americans aged 65 years or older had Alzheimer’s disease. In 2010, the costs of treating Alzheimer’s were estimated at up to $215 billion annually. Unlike declining heart disease and cancer death rates, Alzheimer’s death rates are increasing.

Whatcom County urgently needs representation on the PeaceHealth System Governing Board. The system board includes five seats, of a total of 11, for people who live in communities where PeaceHealth has no facilities — three in California (Fairfax, Newport Beach, San Francisco), one in Denver and one in Chicago. [Ed.: Number of seats corrected Feb. 12, 2024]

If our region had a seat on the system board, I believe we’d have improved educational, awareness, and support services for people with all life-limiting or terminal diseases, including Alzheimer’s.

— Kathy Sitker, Birch Bay, Feb. 11, 2024

Grant Jones and the ‘Nooksack Method’

To the Editor:

Thank you for sharing Grant Jones’s vivid recollection of his solo encounter with a “monster fish” in Salish Sea waters near his childhood home (“The monster of the deep,” Feb. 6, 2024).

“I wanted to find out if there were still big halibut in Puget Sound,” Grant wrote, in a line that could launch a novel. The powerful spirit-partner hooked by his handline was one of many that shaped Grant’s career as a visionary landscape architect.

In 1972, the Whatcom County Park Board hired Jones & Jones, the design firm Grant had co-founded two years earlier, to write a plan to guide protection of the scenic and recreational resources of the Nooksack River. Grant and his colleagues seized the opportunity, applying concepts of landscape expression developed during his graduate studies at Harvard to the 832-square-mile watershed. 

An iconoclastic work combining natural, hydrologic and aesthetic considerations, the Nooksack River Plan pushed river planning and the “Nooksack Method” to the forefront of ecological design. Grant was proud of the plan but particularly proud of a stance the firm took. “The park board wasn’t our only client,” he said. “We felt the river itself was our client.”

Imagine this attitude of partnership, brought forward 50 years to today’s Nooksack. How differently might we view flooding risks, or the changes brought to the river by climate change? Might we bring the river forward as a party with standing into stream adjudication?

A decade ago, I asked Grant about his thoughts on climate change. “We face this global dilemma,” he said. “We know what the science is telling us, but what is the plan?”

His answer: “When we’re in touch with place and with each other, we can evolve. If we pay attention, I believe the land can teach us how to live with the current catastrophe and how to love what’s left.”

— Edward Wolf, Bellingham, Feb. 11, 2024

Salmon must be available to orcas

To the Editor:

In a recent article comparing Southern Resident to Bigg’s orcas, (“A tale of two kinds of whales,” Jan. 19, 2024) the role of noise and disturbance is wrongly ignored. Southern Residents need healthy salmon populations and the acoustic space to find them. Habitat abandonment may not be irreversible, if we are honest about what is causing it.

Orcas are acoustic animals. Resident orcas use echolocation to find and catch their prey, and a complex system of social calls to communicate with each other. Noise and disturbance make all that harder.

A recent NOAA study showed that female Southern Residents abandon hunts when vessels approach closer than 400 yards, and that all Southern Residents are less successful at foraging when boats approach closer than 1,500 yards. It’s not just the number of salmon that matter, but how available they are to the orcas.

The threats to the Southern Residents are interconnected, each worsening the other. When orcas are stressed or hungry, stored toxins are released into their bloodstream, making them more susceptible to disease. Vessel noise and disturbance make it harder for them to find and catch their prey, which makes them stressed and hungry … and so it goes.

We can’t let up on any of these threats, or look away — there’s too much at stake. There are nine calves under five years old in the population, and six are female. Whether they survive and thrive into adulthood is up to us.

Compared to Southern Residents, the range of Bigg’s orcas is wider, and they spend a smaller percentage of their total time in the lower reaches of the Salish Sea. If they were followed by vessels as pervasively as the Southern Residents have been — every day, and up to 12 hours a day throughout their core summer range — they would soon be in trouble, too.

— Donna Sandstrom, Founder/Executive Director, The Whale Trail, Seattle, Feb. 6, 2024

Whatcom County public schools: Renewal of our local levies 

To the Editor:

We are grateful to our students, families, staff and community for your ongoing support. As we enter 2024, we continue to come together, be flexible and support each other. 

On Feb. 13, school districts in Whatcom County are asking our communities to consider renewing our levies. There are three main types of levies: educational programs and operations, capital (includes technology) and transportation levies. 

Many school districts use the phrase “bonds are for building and levies are for learning.” Bonds are used to fund major construction projects. Levies are for learning, which provide funding for the day-to-day operations of our schools. K–12 education is not fully funded by the state, which is why districts rely on voter-approved levies to bridge the gap, ensuring all students have access to the resources they need to succeed. 

Every school district in Whatcom County will have at least one replacement levy on the Feb. 13 special election ballot. Please find more information about each individual levy from your school district. Though our needs may differ, all school districts depend on the support of our communities to provide high-quality education for our students. 

Levy funding supports: 

• School staff: teachers, nurses, psychologists, counselors, behavior support teams and paraeducators, and other school staff 
• Academic programs: Special Education, advanced learning, multilingual learners and smaller class sizes 
• Technology: laptops and necessary tools that ensure all students have access to learning resources 
• Enhanced school safety infrastructure including door-locking systems 
• Student services and opportunities: athletics, arts, music, drama, clubs and after-school tutoring 

Your school district may be asking you to consider a levy for four years. Your school district will have more information about your local tax rate. 

We are grateful to live in communities that support our schools and understand the value of quality education for all students. 

Thank you for your continued support of our schools.

— Whatcom County Public Schools Superintendents

• Dr. Greg Baker, Bellingham Public Schools 
• Dr. Christopher Granger, Blaine School District 
• Dr. Kristi Dominguez, Ferndale Public Schools 
• David VanderYacht, Lynden School District 
• Dr. James Everett, Meridian School District 
• Phil Brockman, Mount Baker School District 
• Matt Galley, Nooksack Valley School District

Feb. 2, 2024

Support SB 6120 — to save trees and housing costs

To the Editor:

There’s potentially good legislative news for our region’s trees and forests, climate resiliency and even for new home and rental costs — but it has one more step to go that you can easily influence.

SB 6120 fixes most problems of the state’s faulty SB 6109 Wildland Urban Interface legislation from 2018. The earlier bill was in response to growing fears of wildfire disasters threatening communities within our state. It seemed like a good move at the time.

However, the earlier bill’s fuzziness resulted in proposed state ordinances and maps that labeled virtually all populated areas of the state as highly “at-risk.” It also required tree-sparse “defensible space” buffers of up to 100 feet around ALL new or remodeled structures in those at-risk areas — even though the latest wildfire science clearly does not support such tree clearings.

Tens of thousands of trees would therefore be unnecessarily removed over time, something we cannot afford in this new climate era. The earlier bill also would have significantly increased the cost of home ownership and rentals, creating greater economic inequity within our state and exasperating homelessness.

Whatcom Million Trees Project and advocacy partner Restoring Earth Connection worked tirelessly for months to build public and policymaker awareness of these issues (including here in the Salish Current in November). Our intense campaign built the foundation that has now led to SB 6120.

This new and better bill will be voted on in the Senate sometime before Feb 15. Then it will move to the House.

We need your support NOW to push this bill to the finish line — for the trees and for increased wildfire resiliency that’s truly effective. Please send a brief email TODAY to your state senator that says you support SB 6120. Here’s a two-click form to do that easily. Thanks!

— Michael Feerer, Executive Director, WMTP, Bellingham, Feb. 2, 2024

Vote ‘Yes’ on school levies

To the Editor:

My husband and I moved to Bellingham from Anchorage, Alaska, in 2012, to be near our son and his family. I quickly became an enthusiastic volunteer in my granddaughter’s classrooms at Geneva Elementary. I continue to volunteer in the community in support of education, the arts and the library. As a former superintendent and longtime educator, I know firsthand how important the successful passage of the two renewal levies is in order for our students to be able to learn successfully in well-managed and safe schools.

I enthusiastically support the operations and technology renewal levies on the Feb. 13 ballot for the Bellingham School District. All of our students and staff are direct beneficiaries in the classrooms, in using technology services and equipment, enhanced opportunities in music and the arts  and needed support services. Please join me in voting to approve these levies to allow our schools and the district to continue to provide an excellent education to all children in Bellingham.

We must invest in our future— our students are depending on our YES votes!

— Carol Comeau, Bellingham, Jan. 31, 2024

PeaceHealth board needs local representative

To the Editor:

How many readers know that Whatcom County has no representation on the PeaceHealth Medical System Governing Board? 

How many know that health services decisions that affect you, your family, your neighbors, your doctors, and our only hospital are made by people who do not live in our community?

PeaceHealth has medical facilities in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. St. Joseph Hospital is the sole hospital for over 230,100 people in Whatcom County. 

How can PeaceHealth justify the fact that we have no representation on the System Governing Board? Five of the seats are filled by three people from California, one from Denver, and one from Chicago. What are we, chopped liver?

When PeaceHealth administrators in Vancouver, Washington, announced last May it was shutting down outpatient palliative care (OPPC) and other services, a letter-writing blitz and other protests led to corporate management’s decision to reinstate OPPC. (However, we still do not know the operational details of the reinstatement.)

This untenable lack of representation on the System Governing Board can be easily rectified — as soon as PeaceHealth management exercises its will to make it happen.

I encourage readers to contact Charles Prosper, head of PeaceHealth’s NW Network in Bellingham, to request, on behalf of the community where he works and lives, to relay our “ask” of representation to PeaceHealth’s top management in Vancouver.

— Sheri Lambert, Bellingham, Jan. 30, 2024

Green hydrogen is a scam

To the Editor:

Green hydrogen: technically it can be done  (Salish Current, Jan. 25, 2024). It is insane to use electricity to produce liquid hydrogen when that electricity is and can be used directly. Green hydrogen is a scam. Subsidies and stock gambling.

Almost all current hydrogen is and will be produced from natural gas — which is and can be used directly. Whenever a form of energy is converted to another form, a large part is wasted. Don’t trust the hype.

— Dan Senour, Anacortes, Jan. 29,  2024

Congrats on hydrogen piece

To the Editor:

Offering my congrats on the recent green hydrogen piece from Tom Banse (Salish Current, Jan. 25, 2024) — a very nice example of explaining the policy and politics but also the technology and science.

— Derek Moscato, Western Washington University, Jan. 29, 2024

More context on historical 1936 Olympics

To the Editor:

“The Boys of  ’36” (PBS) is an outstanding documentary on the rowing story, not mentioned by the author [of] “‘Boys in the Boat’ and the politics of the 1936 Berlin Olympics,” whose broader coverage of 1936 Berlin fills a void. The new movie should really not be the historical standard.

— John Egbert, Bellingham, Jan. 8, 2024

Supports principled pluralism

To the Editor:

Thanks to Ron Polinder for writing “The Stewardship of the Creation.” Like Ron, I am a strong supporter of Whatcom Land Trust and very much appreciate their efforts to protect Whatcom’s wonderful natural resources.

Unlike Ron, I am not a devout Christian; indeed, I am a nonpracticing, ethnic Jew. Nevertheless, I very much appreciate his advocacy of principled pluralism. I like his ideas about respecting the perspectives of those with whom we disagree. I wish our political leaders, indeed all of us, practiced principled pluralism. 

— Eric Hirst, Bellingham, Jan. 7, 2024

We are all in this together

To the Editor:

ONE Whatcom! is a local movement that encourages and assists our diverse Whatcom County communities to get to know each other and celebrate our uniqueness. This last weekend, our Jewish friends and neighbors were threatened by email which led to the cancellation of their Shabbat services. 

We believe that all communities deserve to feel safe in Whatcom County, and we call on all Whatcom County residents to demonstrate our united commitment to the practice of peace and love. We acknowledge the pain and tension that events in the East have created. We acknowledge the historical pain for the communities involved. And we denounce threats of violence that leave our neighbors feeling unsafe to live and worship. 

Each one of us can reach out to our Jewish friends and let them know we care. We can write notes of love and support to individuals and to the synagogue, and take a stand for each other on social media. We can urge our churches and clubs to do the same. Let us take this step to be ONE Whatcom, because we are all in this together.

— Kamalla Kaur, The Chardi Kala Project, Everson, Dec. 18, 2023

Ed.: This letter is in reference to the incident “Bellingham synagogue cancels services after threatening email.” See also: “One Whatcom forms local network to counter violence and racial intolerance.”

We are the Community Water Taxi!

To the Editor:

We are the Community Water Taxi, a group of concerned island residents running an emergency interisland water taxi service within San Juan County, separate from Washington State Ferries

We help people get to medical appointments, work, court appointments and school when the interisland is disrupted. We’ve been operating the water taxi since August. Ultimately, our goal is to make this service a subsidized fare.

County residents are aware that the capacity of state ferries is stretched beyond our needs. There’s little that we can do to repair that. The state projects improvements being years away. It’s time for us to begin to determine ways that county residents can begin to take control of our transportation needs.

Providing this service has prompted us to approach county and state officials about funding a pilot program to supplement the state ferries. 

We’ll be releasing a survey in January to gather information to help us understand the effects of ferry disruptions and the needs of our community. Based on those responses, research and real on-the-water work, we hope to create a system which we can trial run in the spring. We understand that a project of this nature is laden with pitfalls, but we believe that without starting this effort, our community connections will continue to erode.

There’s no schedule currently; it’s only an emergency service when the interisland goes down. In the future, there may be supplemental service to state ferries, if we can get the funding.

Suggested donation is $40/way with consideration for those on fixed incomes and working class neighbors. Our captain is a U.S. Coast Guard captain. We are in discussions with another captain in Friday Harbor who has expressed interest in getting involved. 

Head over to our Facebook and Instagram pages for updates. If you have any questions, send us an email.

— Ed Andrews, Tom Bridge, Carey Eskridge, Justin Paulsen, and Sandy Playa; Eastsound, Dec.14, 2023

We must do more to save the Sound

To the Editor:

The “State of the Sound” report has just been released. It is prepared every two years by the Puget Sound Partnership to provide an easily understandable summary of the current conditions in Puget Sound. 

The report concludes that the Puget Sound is holding on, but its recovery remains uncertain. This mixed scorecard is concerning. Merely clinging to life with little improvement is simply not sufficient progress.

Nearly 80% of estuarine wetlands, which are critical to salmon and marine and shore birds, have been diked in the last 150 years. About 3,400 acres have been restored since 2006. While positive, when this gain is compared to projected sea level rise over the coming decades there is a serious risk that even those gains will be literally drowned out by the rising tides.

Terrestrial birds are in steady decline. The golden-crowned kinglet has declined by 60% in the western U.S. over the last 60 years. Many others are in serious decline.

Marine bird populations are also way down. The endangered marbled murrelet has been declining 5% per year since 2000. Scoters are down about 2% per year. Local marine bird surveys show significant declines in many species that winter in our local waters.

We must restore more estuarine areas, preserve the remaining old-growth and mature forests, and protect kelp and eelgrass beds which birds, fish and marine mammals depend on for survival.

We must also reduce and remove concrete bulkheads and other structures that interfere with the natural shoreline habitats needed for the forage-fish eggs and invertebrate species which are essential food sources for salmon and marine birds.

We must make a greater effort to preserve our natural shoreline habitats, and our remaining mature and old growth forests, and do much more to help the Sound to recover and to thrive.

— Robert Kaye, North Cascades Audubon Society, Blaine, Nov. 28, 2023

Serious impacts of RBT2 proposed terminal

To the Editor:

Many, many thanks for publishing Roger Emsley’s essay on the impact of RBT2 on the local environment near the terminal. (“Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project is a looming environmental disaster,” Salish Current, Nov. 20, 2023). We in the Puget Sound area of the Salish Sea often confine our concerns to the impacts of the proposed terminal on salmon and orca whales, which are serious enough, but the concerns are much broader than that, as Roger details.

Several years ago, a group of Orcas Islanders visited the migratory bird sanctuary at the mouth of the Fraser River with a professional bird watcher, and I was amazed at the profusion of wildlife thereabouts. Even saw a snowy owl and had chickadees eating seeds out of my hand. So I can appreciate the impacts of RBT2 on this ecology better than most of us south of the border who’ve never been there.

— Michael Riordan, Eastsound, Nov. 20, 2023

Did outside money influence Whatcom County elections?

To the Editor:

Groups wishing to influence elections may make unlimited independent expenditures (IEs) in support of or opposed to candidates as long as they don’t coordinate with the candidate’s campaign. 

IEs can be helpful, harmful, a waste of money or a combination of these. 

Kim Lund received over $97K (almost $6/vote) of IEs from the Washington Realtors Political Action Committee, more than she spent ($92K) or Seth [Fleetwood] spent ($72K) (although Kim’s and Seth’s final reports aren’t due until Dec. 11). 

Helpful? Hard to know since everyone takes credit for a win. Will this affect Kim’s leadership? Not if she wants to be re-elected; however, if the Realtors back enough truly affordable housing then their IEs’ negative effects on the progressive Bellingham electorate will be mitigated. 

The same PAC might be seen to have wasted over $15K in the primary to get Alicia Rule into the general election for county executive: Alicia, a sitting state representative, wasn’t in the top two. Do the Realtors still get a benefit in access to Alicia? Maybe, maybe not, since there is scant evidence that Alicia listens to the Realtors any more or less than her other constituents. 

The Realtors spent about $27K in IEs to help incumbent Ben Elenbaas’ successful effort in County Council District 5. Ben won 2:1 over Jackie Dexter and raised about three times what she raised. Money well spent? 

Something called Concerned Taxpayers of Washington State wasted almost $67K (slightly over $2/vote) on mailers and postage to help Hannah Ordos predictably lose to Jon Scanlon by 14 points. 

No one else had IEs above $1,200, as of Nov. 20. These numbers probably won’t change much: IE reports were supposed to be filed by now.

— Dan Raas, Bellingham, Nov. 20, 2023

Kelp — going, going, gone

To the Editor:

Richard Walker’s article on the conditions of our regional kelp forests and efforts underway to restore them is heartening but still short of the seriousness of this matter (“Samish Nation protects ‘breathtaking’ kelp forests, nearshore habitat,” Salish Current, Nov. 14, 2023). When Ken Balcomb and I teamed up to write and illustrate “Marine Birds and Mammals of Puget Sound” more than 40 years ago, our marine ecosystems were already in decline and being pummeled by pollution and habitat destruction and heedless exploitation of its fisheries. 

Going, going and nearly gone are those moments I enjoyed off Lopez Island prowling atop and into the thick tendrils of kelp where I might suddenly be enveloped by a school of herring. Below me, on the rocky substrate, upon which the great kelp was anchored, I could find vast communities of pinto abalone and rock scallops. Octopus occupied the crevices. They are now all gone in part because over the years vast hordes of divers, indifferent to legal limits and regulations, have scoured the surfaces clean. 

I applaud the Samish Nation for its good work and historical reverence and understanding of these nurturing systems — essential and fundamental to our lives here. I am also realistic enough to know that this commitment will require a good deal more support if it is to realize such goals. Forests of kelp are no less important to our ecological stability, health and welfare than our terrestrial forests. Like the essential beds of eel grass and intertidal estuaries, only a tiny fraction of the kelp forest is witnessed and therefore out of our immediate consciousness and appreciation. Not to acknowledge, cherish and work to sustain these critical places is ultimately catastrophic.

— Tony Angell, Seattle and Lopez Island, Nov. 19, 2023

Observations on a fire levy defeat

To the Editor:

Addressing the defeat of the fire levy on Orcas (“Orcas fire district levy defeat forces ‘austerity’ budget, Salish Current, Nov. 16, 2023) I’m a retired professional firefighter from Seattle and ex-volunteer assistant chief in a Skagit County fire district.  

Some quick observations: 

1. The levy lift was needed no doubt, hindsight being perfect. This is a common issue with fire districts. For the last 30-some years commissioners have not kept up with what they can add from the taxes without a vote; a very small percentage but it adds up. Now faced with a doubled assessment, voters reacted, regretfully but understandably. 

2. To the voters who voted “no”, I would wager that you do not volunteer with the fire district. Also, I’d wager the majority of volunteers voted “yes”, even though they also give a lot of their time and put their lives at risk. Shame.

3. This is a lesson I’ve seen repeated many times in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties. Good ol’ boys commissioners, usually in their retirement years after volunteering for years just kept everything at status quo. No foresight to the growth of the district, new larger homes and the struggle to keep volunteers, with constantly increasing training requirements and increased busy lives.

Finally. Costs to just maintain one fire station have greatly increased: new safety equipment, requirements for annual equipment certification, better rescue equipment, needed more than ever with the reduction in volunteers, an issue statewide.  The list is endless. 

Be thankful for your volunteers. Support them! Imagine what you would pay to replace them with a fully manned paid fire department. 

— Jay Brand, Oak Harbor, Nov. 16, 2023

Bike paths, yes, but farmers first

To the Editor:

I believe we need to provide bike paths for the biking community and visitors. (“Multimodal trail in San Juan Valley opposed by farmers,” Salish Current, Nov. 9)  However, this should not be designed as a detriment to our farming community.  These efforts need to come first.

— Kim Howard, San Juan Island, Nov. 12, 2023

Thanks for real news (information that matters)

To the Editor:

Your report on cleanups in Anacortes is far and away the best I have seen (“Cleanups move ahead at polluted Anacortes waterfront sites,” Salish Current, Nov. 7). For that, I am donating. 

I would suggest an extension of this article to include MJB’s project and how they came to control all that landfill. It should be public property or at least under control of the port as I believe it once was?

Thanks for real news (information that matters)

— Dan Senour, Anacortes, Nov. 7, 2023.

Editor’s Note: An earlier Salish Current story (“Pollution cleaned up, Anacortes shoreline preps for development,” Jan. 31, 2023) described work on the MJB property.

Support cease-fire in Israeli-Hamas conflict

To the Editor:

We are heartbroken by the recent violence in Israel and the Gaza Occupied Palestinian Territory. We deeply mourn the loss of all lives and pray for those who have lost loved ones over the last few weeks. We unequivocally condemn Hamas’ attacks and inhumane treatment of civilians and call for their immediate release of all hostages. We also condemn the indiscriminate and violent Israeli response.

Hamas killed more than 1,300 Israelis in the Oct. 7 attack and took 200 civilian hostages into Gaza. The subsequent Israeli military attack on Gaza has killed more than 9,000 Palestinians, almost half of them children.

The Israeli government has restricted food, fuel and humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip resulting in devastating humanitarian consequences.

It is beyond sad that decades of systemic suppression of the Palestinian people have led to this latest debacle. A military solution will never be a long-standing solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The humanity of the other side must be seen.  In the long run recognition of Palestinian human rights will support Israeli human rights. Love thy neighbor. Hate and killing only return the same.

We urge Rep. Rick Larsen to support House Resolution 786 which urges President Biden to immediately call for and facilitate de-escalation and a cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine. On the Senate side, Sen. Durbin is requesting a cease-fire and we ask Senator Cantwell and Senator Murray to join him.

— The San Juan Islands FCNL (Friends Committee on National Legislation) Advocacy Team: Sharon Abreu, Eastsound; Kathy Cope, Friday Harbor; Linda Ellsworth, Eastsound; Tom Ewell, Clinton; Andy Hiester, Eastsound; Micki Jackson, Bellingham; Charles Janeway, Lopez Island; Bruce Radtke, Bellingham; Tom Rawson, Eastsound; Allen Stockbridge, Bellingham; Darcy Leach, Olga; Jeff Otis, Eastsound; Colleen Curtis, Bellingham; Dianne Foster, Bellingham; Susan Witter, Bellingham; Gloria Lebowitz, Bellingham; Lucy Morse, Ferndale; Paul Englesberg, Ferndale; Michael Jacobsen, Bellingham’ Elizabeth Pernotto, Bellingham; Robert Marshall, Bellingham; Ellen Howard, Bellingham; Douglas Dodd, Bellingham; Shirley Osterhaus, Bellingham; Cosette Landon, Bellingham; James Loucky, Bellingham; David Gordon, Port Townsend, Nov. 5, 2023

The right help at the right time

To the Editor:

Kudos to Aria Nguyen for the Nov. 2 article, “School districts confront mental health crisis,” Salish Current. 

While chairing the University of Washington Medicine’s Campaign for Mental Health, I learned that half of the people who will ever have a mental health or addiction problem will experience symptoms by age 14, with around three-quarters by age 24. The school-age population is where things can first start to go sideways, sometimes leading to a life of misery and disablement. It is also during this stage of life that effective intervention can make a lifelong difference. 

People really do get better with the right help at the right time. Behavioral health illnesses are common; look around at those you know, because around a third of them will experience a mental health and/or substance abuse problem at some time in their lives. Bringing access to help to where people gather, like in schools, is essential. 

The UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences operates the internationally recognized S.M.A.R.T. Center for aiding communities in figuring how best to deliver mental health services through schools. You can visit their website here.

— Craig Cole, Bellingham, Nov. 3, 2023

To ‘tax’ one, government must ‘tax’ all

To the Editor:

Having a reporter living on San Juan Island report only on the response of people who live on San Juan Island is a bit hard to take. We are a pretty big county with more islands than one. We all wait for the boats and have appointments and needs which draw us all off “Island.” (“Managing tourism at core of destination plan controversy” Salish Current, Oct. 29, 2023)

What is a bit uncomfortable for me is that the first I had heard about the plan to put a sticker on my car was the all-mailbox mailing to occupant. You may also notice that our commissioner is the only one without a phone listing. My only news is the Salish Current. This is not your fault but living as I do close to home, I wonder if any other person feels news is limited to the produce department at Island Market. 

I believe that to “tax” any traveler the government must “tax” all travelers. So residents are as subject to the sticker as well as tourists. You know I would share my land taxes with the off-island visitors. After all I rather like looking at my property as well as yours. Like a tourist.

— Linda Henry, Orcas Island, Oct. 30, 2023

Four unions endorse Lund

To the Editor:

Our four unions represent more than 82% of employees of the city of Bellingham. We have all endorsed Kim Lund for mayor.

This is a change. Four years ago, all of our unions endorsed the incumbent.

We have endorsed Kim Lund because, after extensive interviews with her, we concluded that her energy, intelligence and eagerness to take action is what is needed in our mayor.

First and foremost, we are public servants. We did not seek our jobs with the city simply for a paycheck. We believe in our city and want it to be the best. We want to be proud of our work. We want our work to truly make Bellingham a better place.

But this can’t happen without visionary leadership for the city and close coordination between all city departments.

Kim Lund’s vision for Bellingham is infectious. It gives us confidence that our work (and the use of your money) will be meaningful and productive.

We want the citizens to receive the best results possible, in every situation and on every issue.

With Kim Lund’s vision and management expertise, we are confident this will occur.

— Craig Frank, Bellingham Police Guild president 
 
— Jael Komac, President, Local 1937 – Guild of Pacific Northwest Employees
 
— Scott Farrell , President, Bellingham/Whatcom County Firefighters IAFF Local 106
 
— Jennifer Thompson, President, Teamsters Local 231

Supports Lund for mayor

To the Editor:

When I met Kim Lund, I knew that she should be the next mayor of Bellingham. 

Before this meeting, I had expected to continue supporting the incumbent.

Meeting Kim Lund changed that. 

Her deep knowledge of every segment of the Bellingham community. Her active listening skills. Her proven leadership ability. Her enthusiasm and passion to make Bellingham the best community it can be — for every resident. These qualifications are compelling and rare. Yet this only skims the surface of Lund’s character and fitness to be our mayor.

Lund’s education and work experience, in both the private sector (team leader at Intel) and as executive director of the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation, coupled with her personal strengths, have perfectly positioned her to address the challenges that currently exist in Bellingham, as well as prepare Bellingham for unknown, yet inevitable future challenges.

She listens, evaluates information, then makes rational decisions. The characteristics of a true leader.

Indecision itself is a decision. Generally, the wrong one. Indecision has no place in Lund’s universe. 

I was honored to be elected mayor of Bellingham for three consecutive terms.

I know what it takes to be a successful mayor. Lund will be remarkably successful.

Lund has the intrinsic ability to adjust and adapt to the inevitably changing circumstances of our community that are the daily fare of the mayor’s office.

I strongly and enthusiastically endorse Kim Lund for mayor of Bellingham. When she is elected, all of Bellingham will win.

— Mark Asmundson, Bellingham, Oct. 29, 2023

A compelling and timely story

To the Editor:

Aria Nguyen’s story about caregivers for those afflicted with dementia spoke to my very soul. 

Having walked this same path with my late husband, John, I know that while each caregiver’s story is unique, it is simultaneously familiar to us all. 

Yes, caregivers become medically compromised themselves as a result of the stress and heartbreak of helplessly witnessing what I referred to as John’s “slo-mo disappearing act.” 

Yes, dementia robs you of your loved one, your financial resources and your health. It can require you to end your career early to take care of a beloved family member who at the end doesn’t even remember you, as it did me. 

And, blessedly, yes — there are wonderful resources here in our county, people who know what they are doing and have the compassion and expertise to support you. That is what I am most grateful for.

Thank you for running this compelling and timely story.

— Betsy Gross, Bellingham, Oct. 28, 2023

‘Yes’ Greenways vote continues legacy

To the Editor:

I have been involved with Greenways since the first levy in 1990. The philosophy has been consistent! The levies have built natural corridors serving people, plants and animals. The levy has purchased key open space and helped build parks. It works to protect our streams and wetlands. The levy helps protect us from climate. 

Please help continue the legacy. Vote yes for Greenways on Nov. 7.

— John Blethen, Bellingham, Oct. 26, 2023

Caregiver story resonated with reader

To the Editor:

Aria Nguyen’s story on “Hidden heroes: when family members serve as caregivers” was exceptional. It resonated with me as one of those family members and undoubtedly will with many others. It also will catch the eyes of readers who may anticipate themselves in this situation down the line. 

As a former journalist, I also applaud the quality of the writing and the number of sources incorporated into the story. Aria will be a blessing to any news media lucky enough to hire her. 

— Dave Brumbaugh, Lynden, Oct. 24, 2023

Support Kim Lund for mayor

To the Editor:

We chose Bellingham as our community back in 1981 … it is the place where we raised our children, pursued our careers and now enjoy watching our grandchildren participate in all it has to offer.

It’s a place and a town we dearly love. So we were thrilled when we heard that Kim Lund had chosen to run for the position of Bellingham mayor.

We got to know Lund when she served our community as executive director of the Bellingham Schools Foundation. Her leadership took that organization to an amazing level of success with a permanently endowed following that will keep it vibrant and working for the good of our young people, their families and their academic success well into the future.

Lund is bright and dedicated, with listening and communication skills that are almost unparalleled. She is a thinker and a problem solver who examines challenges with care … collecting data, analyzing and surrounding herself with competent leaders. Then she makes decisions based carefully on the research and data she compiled.

Bellingham faces complex challenges. Lund has the ideas and the passion to tackle those. (Check out her website electkimlund.com for further details). She has met with almost all downtown businesses, done ride-alongs with our first responders and immersed herself in the issues we are facing. She is well-prepared to lead our community and leave yet another legacy. We hope you will cast your vote for Kim Lund for mayor.

— Margie and Steve Kimberley, Bellingham, Oct. 24, 2023

Supports Initiative 2’s safety net for renters

To the Editor:

I’m writing as part of our community, a community that believes every person, without exception, deserves the security and dignity of a place to call home. This belief unites us all, regardless of our race or background.

As we confront our housing challenges, let’s remember the shared values that bond us. Whether we’re Black, white, Latino, Asian or from any background, we all want a stable, affordable place to live. 

The problem is clear: our fellow Bellingham residents face homelessness, and that’s something none of us should tolerate. Most of us know someone struggling with rising rents, and this crisis is a major driver of rising homelessness. Our focus must be on solutions. We can’t afford to dwell on problems; instead, we should take positive action and be the change that “we, the people” can deliver.

In Bellingham, 68% of renting seniors are rent-burdened and are at risk of falling into homelessness. If we want to slow down the 141% increase in the number of homeless seniors, we need to act. Initiative 2 will provide a safety net for those affected by profit-driven extreme rent hikes, while still allowing for rent increases.

To all our fellow Bellingham residents, I urge you to vote yes on Initiative 2. It’s not just a smart, vital and targeted intervention into a worsening crisis; it’s about realizing our shared value that every person and family should have a place to call home.

Let’s stand united and ensure that every Bellingham resident can enjoy the security and comfort of a home. Initiative 2 is our chance to do just that. Vote yes and make a difference.
Sincerely,

— Kerri Burnside, Bellingham, Oct. 23, 2023

Landlord supports renter protection Initiative 2

To the Editor:

As a Bellingham resident and landlord, I wholeheartedly support Initiative 2. It’s time we address the housing challenges in our community. 

Market rent in Bellingham has surged dramatically in recent years, far outpacing the increase in wages. I’ve witnessed firsthand the struggle that many residents face when their rent becomes a significant portion of their income. It’s clear that we need a change, one that ensures our neighbors can continue to afford a place to call home.

I’m in this for the long term. I recognize the value of maintaining long-term tenants. It’s a win-win situation — they have a stable, affordable place to live, and I have reliable, responsible renters. Unfortunately, not all landlords and property management companies share this perspective. Some are more interested in quick profits than the well-being of our community. I support this initiative because it protects renters after they experience the most extreme rent increases.

Initiative 2 is a crucial step in the right direction. It provides safeguards against the most egregious and extreme rent increases, ensuring that tenants aren’t priced out of their homes and don’t join the growing number of homeless on our streets. It encourages a sense of community, where tenants aren’t just seen as piggy banks but as people, and landlords work collaboratively with their tenants to build a better future for all of Bellingham.

Let’s unite as a community, landlords and tenants alike, to vote in favor of Initiative 2. It’s not just about protecting tenants; it’s about securing an affordable and inclusive Bellingham for everyone. 

— Connie Elmore, Bellingham, Oct. 23, 2023

‘Good news’ from PeaceHealth

To the Editor:

PeaceHealth, by its own ill-conceived corporate-level policy decisions, became a political issue leading up to the Nov. 7 general election.

Because I’ve criticized some of PeaceHealth’s decisions, I think it’s only fair that I give them credit for doing something right. 

I spotted a “good news” flyer on a community bulletin board. 

PeaceHealth is offering a free service for anyone who wants to attend — yes, free! On the first Wednesday of every month, a certified diabetes educator/nutritionist will host a “Drop-In for Diabetes Answers” informal gathering. Just show up to ask your questions about prediabetes, diabetes, prevention and diet. They will provide support and guidance. 

No registration is required, simply drop in at PeaceHealth Medical Group, 4545 Cordata Parkway, lower level, conference room 1, 3:30–4:30 p.m.. Call 360 752 5601 for more information. 

What makes this PeaceHealth freebie even better, is that we are heading into November, which is National Diabetes Awareness Month. 

This is an important first step for PeaceHealth in making amends and restoring trust with our community. 

— Delores Davies, Ferndale, Oct. 23, 2023

True humanitarian crises that require care, not cages

To the Editor: 

Homelessness, mental health issues and addiction are all ongoing symptoms of poverty and inequality in Whatcom County. But instead of funding true solutions, we’re asked to approve Prop 4 — the same jail tax we rejected in 2015 and 2017. This isn’t about “defunding” our jail, as some wrongly claim. Opponents are not calling for ending the 0.1% sales tax we’ve been payingsince 2004 to improve jail conditions. Despite this existing tax, Whatcom County allowed our jail to deteriorate, giving us little reason to trust that officials will use a new, higher tax wisely.

Prop 4’s weaknesses are glaring:

1. It’s too ambiguous. Voters are being asked to give Whatcom County a blank check without a clear idea of where the funds will go.

2. The proposed sales tax is regressive, burdening those with limited resources the most, from under-employed families to minimum wage earners.

3. Some staunch Prop 4 supporters are elected officials who previously failed to maintain the existing jail. This measure serves their own political interests, not the interests of Whatcom residents.

4. All revenue will exclusively fund the jail for the first 4–6 years, neglecting urgent needs like behavioral health and homelessness support.

5. A racial equity analysis is completely absent. Despite Whatcom County recognizing racism as a public health crisis in 2020, the proposal does not address the disproportionate incarceration of Black and Indigenous residents. Without a racial equityplan, these disparities will escalate.

Jails do not solve homelessness or addiction, and they do not improve public safety. If jails made us safer, the U.S. would be the safest country in the world. Harsher criminalization will only drive drug use further underground, making it harder to reach people in crisis.

For the third time, vote NO on Prop 4 so we can reach holistic solutions that genuinely benefit
our community.

— Makenzie Graham, Bellingham, Oct. 19, 2023

‘Absolutely fascinating’ story about Jeff Jewell

To the Editor:

Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed John Harris’ story on Jeff Jewell. (“Keeper of archival treasures has ‘the coolest job’” Salish Current, Oct. 16, 2023) An absolutely fascinating article. I have known Jeff for nearly 20 years and in that time never learned from him the details that John fished out and so capably penned. So thanks to John and thanks to the Salish Current and especially, thanks to Jeff Jewell.

— Dal Neitzel, Lummi Island, Oct. 18, 2023

Tanksley can ‘re-imagine public safety’ for 21st century

To the Editor:

I have known “Tank” for nearly 10 years, since he arrived in our community as assistant chief of the university police at Western Washington University. I’ve watched as he engaged directly with students and the campus community in that job. In his time as Blaine police chief, I’ve heard nothing but praise for the more transparent and inclusive approach he has brought to that department. 

His 21 years as a police officer in the tough and complex urban environment of St. Louis, Missouri, will transfer well into leadership of a sheriff’s department in a county that’s on an international border with an immigrant population that must interface with federal agencies and those immigrant communities. 

Tank got into law enforcement after he and friends were wrongfully detained by St. Louis County deputies when he was in college. It was at that point that he determined that he’d pursue a career in law enforcement. We face challenging issues regarding a potential new jail and wrap-around services to delimit the use of uniformed police and incarceration. Tank’s opponent represents continuity with the old way of doing things. I believe Tank has the personal experience and compassion to re-imagine public safety in our county in a way that’s fitting for the 21st century.

— Vernon “Damani” Johnson, Bellingham, Oct. 18, 2023

Elenbaas always there for law enforcement

To the Editor:

On that fateful day in February 2022, the day every law enforcement spouse prays will never happen, violence found us. Within a few hours I received a short text from Ben letting me know he was there for our family, whatever we needed. Whether it is a short text in our time of need or voting in support of good public safety policy in Whatcom County, Ben Elenbaas has always been there for law enforcement. His vision for a safer Whatcom County begins with creating and maintaining strong relationships with the law enforcement community. He will continue to fight for safer communities, from Bellingham to Blaine and Ferndale to Maple Falls.

But Ben and I go back before I even donned the uniform. We both grew up kicking dirt in our barn boots south of Lynden. I grew up on a dairy farm just down the road from Ben’s family. Ben’s broad knowledge as graduate of the Huxley College of the Environment [now College of the Environment] paired with his many years of lived experience as a farmer in Whatcom County is an invaluable resource.

There is no other current council member, or candidate, who can represent our large farming community the way Ben can. To further add to his résumé, Ben’s work at the refinery brings an even more diverse perspective unmatched by anyone else on the council. His dedication to promote living wage jobs is essential in this very expensive housing market. Ben is the blue-collar worker who backs the blue! A man who loves the land and learned how to care for it at Western Washington University.

Vote Ben Elenbaas.

— Tawsha Dykstra Thompson, Lynden, Oct. 17, 2023

Supports countywide vehicle fee

To the Editor:

The recent San Juan County draft Destination Management Plan proposes a charge on all (nongovernmental?) vehicles that travel within the county. While this charge would appear to be in response to short-term visitors to this county, it actually responds to much more. It has to; we’re all visitors, and all must contribute to reparations to the environment. The length of visit is irrelevant. Those who claim the moral high ground as “native” or “here longer” will themselves not live here forever.

The central issue is how we are going to meet the conflicting needs to reduce greenhouse gasses while increasing demand for electric power from resilient sources. Our segue from fossil fuels to electrical energy will reduce resilience because our demand for electrical energy is increasing while our already insufficient local renewable power capacity is not.

Our use of private vehicles as our primary means of transportation widens this gap. Renewables, the most desirable source of locally generated power, are tidal, diurnal, seasonal and/or weather-dependent, all together, are by a large margin insufficient.

We have these choices: (1) a small nuclear-powered generator (don’t hold your breath; financial feasibility is still in doubt), (2) time-of-use electric rate structure designed to flatten demand peaks, or more draconian utility measures, (3) continue the segue from fossil fuels to electric energy while maintaining our current lifestyle and see what happens, or (4) begin a shift of living habits starting with developing electric public transportation. The draft plan proposes the fourth alternative which I support.

It is axiomatic that the cost of prevention is less than the cost of remediation. A county vehicle fee is our first step in a planetwide project whose next state of dynamic equilibrium no one alive today will see.

— William Appel, Friday Harbor, Oct. 16, 2023

Elenbaas is ‘ideal for Whatcom County’

To the Editor:

I support Ben Elenbaas to be reelected to the Whatcom County Council. I have known Ben for over 10 years professionally and personally and have always been impressed by Ben’s pragmatic and down-to-earth approach. 

As a member of the Whatcom County Climate Impacts Advisory Committee I appreciate when we have representation which understands all the aspects of what it takes to pull together a comprehensive plan which will work. I think Ben’s background of his education mixed with his professional experience in the energy industry makes him an ideal candidate to represent us and help drive the right kinds of change to meet the demands of the current day. 

Ben has also always been an extremely welcoming person. When I first joined his team I remember he was the first person who unprompted came to me and made me feel at home and included. His ability to be pragmatic mixed with down-to-earth real experience and a welcoming approach makes him ideal for Whatcom County. 

— Derek Gremban, Bellingham, Oct. 13, 2023

Ordos is ‘even-handed, willing to listen’

To the Editor:

Recently, I had the privilege of spending a few hours with Hannah Ordos, candidate for county council. 

Not knowing what to expect, I was in for a pleasant surprise in meeting a middle-aged mom who had been attending county council meetings for the past few years. A graduate of Nooksack Valley High School and WWU, she was raised in Whatcom County, just west of Sumas. The Ordos go back four generations. 

She is one of us! 

Clear-eyed, bright and well-schooled, she will approach the job just right of center, even-handed, willing to listen — qualities lacking in our polarized politics. She’s running for the at-large position, meaning those candidates represent our entire county.

By contrast, candidate Jon Scanlon appears to be eager to represent only the county liberals. Further, his roots are not in our county, having moved here just five years ago. He’s a “Jonny”-come-lately. 

I’m fond of the concept of prudence. In political terms, that translates “a public measure ought to be judged by its probable long-run consequences, not merely by temporary advantage or popularity” (Russell Kirk). Hannah has that temperament, not confined to the fringe, but earnest, thoughtful, principled.

As a Salish Current subscriber from the outset, I want to declare Hannah is just the kind of public servant we need on our county council. 

— Ron Polinder, Lynden, Oct. 12, 2023

Vote Elenbaas to prevent supermajority on county council

To the Editor:

I’m Bobby Briscoe, Port Commissioner, commercial fisherman and longtime resident of District 5 — the coastal district. I’ve put pen to paper in support of Ben Elenbaas for County Council District 5. 

Political groups in Whatcom County and beyond have taken aim at Ben’s seat for all the wrong reasons. It has become clear that Ben’s opponent is running to create a supermajority by claiming his seat. Is that what the people of Whatcom County deserve? A supermajority that can push any agenda through skipping public input. A supermajority on the council serves a select few and leaves chaos in its wake. 

Ben has served in this position for four years creating security and balance in local government, something that is scarce today. He is hardworking as a farmer, a BP employee and as a council member working for the people of Whatcom County. Ben has good common sense, and it shows in his decision making. He does not take a political agenda to his nonpartisan position. Ben is well educated and brings valuable real-life experience to his representation of the people in Whatcom County. 

Join me in voting for Ben, he works hard for everyone, not just a privileged few with a political agenda.

— Bobby Briscoe, Blaine, Oct. 11, 2023

Tanksley brings varied experience to tackle problems

To the Editor:

Twenty years later we are nowhere close to where we need to be as a community in helping our homeless, mentally ill and addicted citizens build better lives, safe from harm and incarceration. These 20 years have yielded little. We have an unsafe jail that has not been maintained by the “experienced” few. We have an inordinate amount of folks incarcerated because of the three issues I mentioned above while little has been done to relieve those issues in our community. Those in charge of the criminal justice system here, such as Mr. Elfo, simply shout that we need a new bigger jail to take care of these issues. Doug Chadwick reiterates the “solutions” of the past. The citizens of Whatcom County have indicated that jailing people is not the solution.

Donnell Tanksley brings varied experience to tackle these problems. He has 20 years of experience that is more varied and includes leadership positions. He has a record of working with others. His breadth of experience is exactly what we need to solve these very complex issues. His focus on reducing and preventing crime through a proactive community-focused approach and breaking the cycle of incarceration and recidivism is essential to making our communities safer and healthier. “Homelessness and mental illness are not crimes and should not be treated as such.” On the jail issue Tanksley takes a broad approach to the problem of crowding and overbooking, citing several approaches he would take if elected.

Vote for Donnell Tanksley for Whatcom County Sherriff.

— Ronna Loerch, Everson, Oct. 7, 2023

Says Tanksley will best serve Whatcom’s needs

To the Editor:

Blaine Police Chief Donnell “Tank” Tanksley will shape law enforcement in a way that best serves Whatcom County’s 21st century community safety needs.

Many believe law enforcement’s mission is to preserve “public safety,” keeping us safe and secure in our homes, businesses and public spaces with swift law enforcement response to any who threaten it. In contrast, Tank promotes a mission of achieving “community safety” through proactive, community collaboration to address the conditions that contribute to violence and harms. This doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions.

Instead, our community-wide priority should be to align leadership and resources to address the needs of the houseless, and those who suffer behavioral health and substance use challenges. Criminalizing behaviors won’t make them go away. Law enforcement needs systemic, communal supports to reduce reliance on arrests. Bigger jails and mass incarceration haven’t made our communities safer. Jails without rehabilitative programs and reentry services to support inmates’ successful return to our community will not make us safer. There is another way. Tank’s leadership, advocacy and policies in the Sheriff’s Office will move us closer to a broader vision of community safety for all.

Much about the jail proposal embedded in Whatcom County’s Public Health, Safety, and Justice Facilities and Services proposition is undetermined: size, costs, location, timeline for construction, staffing and programs. I would hesitate to take out a home loan if any number of these figures was in question. Meanwhile, measures to ameliorate the current jail’s “inhumane” and overcrowded conditions in the next 4–6 years are not public. The Whatcom County Sheriff and his current administration held responsibility for jail maintenance and operations for the last 20 years. We can’t support the continuation of this kind of leadership. Community safety is safety for all. 

My vote is for Donnell “Tank” Tanksley for Whatcom County Sheriff.

— Debbi Anderson-Frey, Everson, Oct. 6, 2023

Trusting endorsers of Chadwick

To the Editor:

One of the best ways to evaluate candidates is to look at the people and organizations endorsing them. We may not have known the candidate for long, but we have trusted some leaders and groups for many years.

Doug Chadwick, a 29-year Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office veteran, is currently undersheriff and is running for Whatcom County sheriff. He has one of the most diverse and impressive endorsements ever. He is endorsed by the current Sheriff, Bill Elfo, and our previous two sheriffs. Longtime Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney Dave McEachran endorses Doug Chadwick. Six active or retired police chiefs in Whatcom County also support him, as do many others in law enforcement. 

Labor is a big backer of Doug Chadwick, endorsed by the Northwest Washington Central Labor Council and Teamsters Local 231/Joint Council 28. Other respected groups endorsing him are the Whatcom County Association of Realtors, the Whatcom County Farm Bureau, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 24 and the Associated General Contractors of Washington. 

Elected officials who endorse Doug Chadwick include Whatcom County Executive Jack Louws (2012-2019), Port of Bellingham Commissioner Ken Bell, three county council members and four Whatcom County mayors. 

Please join all of them and me in voting for Doug Chadwick for Whatcom County Sheriff in the Nov. 7 general election. 

— Kendra Cook, Bellingham, Oct. 6, 2023

Citing permit process as sole reason for pool project delays ‘misleading’

To the Editor:

Kathryn Wheeler’s “Design, permit delays stymie Lopez pool construction” (Salish Current, Sept. 29, 2023) was misleading.

Due to design changes, Friends of Lopez Island Pool (FLIP), did not submit their revised permit application until July 2023. To frame project delays as solely the fault of the county’s permitting process was misleading. 

At FLIP’s recent open house, strong opposition was voiced regarding toxicity of PFAS (“forever chemical”) leachingfrom the dome roof. It is now unclear if there will be another design change to avoid using roof fabric coated in durability enhancing chemicals that the EU has proposed to ban.

Our understanding is that the $750–$800k annual operational budget does not include depreciation (funding expected repair and replacement costs). We still do not know how the annual expenses will be met but at the meeting, FLIP indicated they would need to rely on the 80,000 unique visitors to Lopez to make up a significant part of their revenue. Can our small island community shoulder this additional expense and increased reliance on tourists? 

Our firehall just announced its wish for an upgraded building. Our hospital district is asking for a 55% tax increase. Our school district has a severe budgetary shortfall that is putting the schools toward a downward spiral. Lack of affordable housing is so dire businesses and organizations cannot keep a trained workforce.

Our island is grappling with accelerating climate impacts and insufficient investment capital to build resiliency. We are drawing “fossil” water from aquifers faster than they can be recharged. 

Is a pool the best use of our collective wealth or appropriate in an age of intensifying climate risks? 

The project may be privately funded, but its impacts are far reaching. To date FLIP has made some important changes based on community input, but building a pool in this current context remains questionable. 

— Chom Greacen, Sandy Bishop, and David Bill; Lopez Island, Oct. 4, 2023

Chadwick eminently more qualified

To the Editor:

Who should be your next Whatcom County Sheriff? Present Whatcom County Undersheriff Doug Chadwick or present Blaine City Police Chief Donnell Tanksley? The position of county sheriff is unique in that he/she is “your” law enforcement leader — directly. The “sheriff” is not via a bureaucratic administration (so far), as municipal and state departments are. You elect who will be your “sheriff” — directly.  

Any individual who elects to function in a public peacekeeping role, line or command, deserves our respect and gratitude — explicitly. Both Doug and Donnell deserve this. Thank you both.

However, when it comes to evaluating which of these two valued law enforcement individuals is best suited to be your next Whatcom County Sheriff, present Undersheriff Doug Chadwick is eminently more qualified. Simply his 29 impeccable years with the sheriff’s office, including being undersheriff for the past four, should be enough of a differentiating qualifier. He also has served as narcotics detective field training officer, task force officer for DEA and ATF, and many other strategic supervisory roles. Doug has been a lifelong resident of Whatcom County; knows well and has inherent empathy for the county and its residents (you), and is solely interested in continuing to do so — not simply pursuing another career objective.

Chief Tanksley is likely a sound law enforcement individual, however there’s little value for Whatcom County citizens to engage in an experiment in new leadership of the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.

Please find the time to familiarize yourself with Undersheriff Chadwick’s impressive background. Visit votedougchadwick.com.

— Peter and Susan Werner, Blaine, Oct. 3, 2023

Supports Tanksley without reservation

To the Editor:

Chief Donnell “Tank” Tanksley has dedicated his life as a servant leader, in law enforcement and in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. 

I have had the good fortune to meet Chief Tank on various occasions and have been impressed with his realistic “can-do” attitude. When he is elected Whatcom County Sheriff he will forge stronger partnerships with the community and other law enforcement agencies, which will enhance public safety and respect for all constituents.

He is knowledgeable, experienced, empathetic, approachable and eminently reasonable.

I encourage Whatcom County voters to find out where Chief Tank will next speak and go listen to him. I have no doubt you’ll be convinced he’s the person to tackle the tough job as our new Whatcom County Sheriff.

I support Donnell Tanksley for Sheriff without reservation.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, Sept. 30, 2023

Supports ‘Tank’ Tanksley

To the Editor:

Our other choice has similar time in law enforcement but emphasizes that it is in just one place — here.

The sheriff’s office has changed little due to Bill Elfo’s long tenure. This is the time to make reforms. These should be versed in the breadth of perspective gained by work in other communities as diverse as St. Louis, Portland, Blaine and higher education settings. Tank Tanksley offers that in-depth!

This candidate is clear about the importance of behavioral health treatment as an early intervention to reduce repeat residents in the jail. He sees the same need for substance addiction treatment and will lead to help fund both. Tank will emphasize training of sheriff staff to better effect the quality of their response. In so many other ways, Tank sees room for reform that benefits criminal justice outcomes.

Let’s elect Tank Tanksley who offers so much to advance constructive change in the Sheriff’s staffing and operation!

— Tim Douglas, Bellingham, Sept. 28, 2023

Our Elsie Mae

To the Editor:

What an awesome article written by Richard Walker! (“Elephant seal Elsie Mae teaches, inspires during molting haulout,” Salish Current, Sept. 22, 2023) I am one of the cadre of  Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network’s elephant seal sitters. Richard did an exemplary job writing about our Elsie Mae, her plight and antics. Looking forward to reading more about our area via the Salish Current!

— Diane Christman, Anacortes, Sept. 25, 2023

Downtown situation greatly improved

To the Editor:

Thank you for the article on our downtown. (“Who will solve the problems of downtown Bellingham?” Sept. 15, 2023) 

Thankfully, the situation has GREATLY IMPROVED in the last few months! I work and shop downtown, so I am there often. Thanks to the new legislation and the efforts by volunteers and city staff and mayor, I feel much more comfortable walking in downtown. Graffiti is generally gone, alleys are cleaned, and I don’t see much threatening behavior anymore.

— Louise Bjornson, Bellingham, Sept. 16, 2023

Thanks for excellent article

To the Editor:

Thank you for your excellent article on the problems of homelessness and public drug use facing downtown Bellingham. It’s refreshing to see such thorough and multifaceted reporting on what can be a very polarizing issue. 

— Aimee Day, Ferndale, Sept. 16, 2023

Supports Sweeney for school board

To the Editor:

Our schools need devoted, focused and, most importantly, reality-based people to serve on our school board. Too often, candidates bring inflammatory national politics to our school board — driving away quality educators and dividing our community. It is time for good, honest public servants to step up and take back our schools.

That’s why I am so grateful that Riley Sweeney is running for Meridian School Board. Whether on the Irene Reither Elementary PTA or working for the City of Ferndale, Riley works to create quality experiences for kids in Whatcom. He will support our extracurricular programs like arts, music and theatre and, most importantly, make sure that our schools are a welcoming place for all families. 

I’ve known Riley for many years — he’s a good man and ready to serve. His opponent is more interested in chasing national politics than supporting our teachers. The choice could not be more clear. Please join me in voting for Riley Sweeney for Meridian School Board.

— Kate Hisdal, Lynden, Sept. 15, 2023

Urges support for new jail/treatment facility

To the Editor:

I’m dismayed to find myself in opposition to many of my fellow progressives who plan to vote against the upcoming ballot measure to fund a new jail/treatment facility.

Please consider these points before making a final decision: If you haven’t already, track the county council votes to learn that the sheriff has in fact worked hard to make needed repairs to the existing building. I encourage everyone to watch the video tour of the current jail to understand how inhumane and dangerous it is. The violent nature of the crimes for which people are being detained underscores the ongoing need to sequester people who pose a real danger to our community. People cannot be forced into treatment and moreover, there is a dire shortage of behavioral health specialists trained to provide that treatment. 

Please read the Implementation Plan that describes in great detail what services will be provided to help people get their lives back on track while protecting our community (including those detained and the jail staff and volunteers). Have you participated in any of the working groups over the past several years to give input on what an improved jail facility should include, given the legal and financial constraints? The circumstances are much more complex and systemic than jail opponents would have one believe. 

To adopt a simplistic ideological position of “prisons don’t work” without offering alternatives grounded in reality, and without working to change criminal justice laws that govern our communities, leaves us all stuck in a terrible situation that in fact hurts the people we progressives want to help.  

— Frances Posel , Bellingham, Sept. 13, 2023

Fire history of San Juan Island

To the Editor:

Thanks for your article on wildfire risks (Sept. 1, 2023). As a forest ecologist who studied the fire history of the San Juans I think you did a good job covering most of the topics. If there are follow-up stories or an interest in diving deeper into the ecology of the SJI, I would be happy to contribute.

— Carson Sprenger, Orcas Island, Sept. 7, 2023

Kudos

To the Editor:

Loving the good writing and growth of this whole endeavor. Thank you, Mike and Amy, for your gifts of inspiration and energy. Great articles, varied topics and well written. So glad you have so much collaboration.

— Asha Lela, Lopez Island, Sept. 3, 2023

Vote ‘yes’ on Greenways V

To the Editor:

On the November ballot, Bellingham voters have the opportunity to approve Greenways V, and continue an effort begun in 1990 to link trails, ridgetops and shoreline corridors with a continuous series of parks, forests and greenbelts. The citizen-led Greenways Advisory Committee in coordination with the City’s Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan (PRO Plan) has outlined priorities into the future to make this vision a reality. 

Some might urge there are more pressing priorities for the City than the development and maintenance of open space and trails. The housing crisis, soaring rents, evictio and the resulting increase in homelessness, for example. We certainly need more affordable housing, but the acquisition of land for trail corridors, parks and open space is not at the cost of affordable housing development. As the recent article “Saving Samish Crest” (Aug. 11) makes clear, our urban forests are being bought up and cleared for the construction of mansions on half-acre lots, exacerbating the housing crunch, not easing it.

Another urgent priority we need to address is climate change. The Greenways project increases climate resiliency and mitigates against climate change in various ways: the tree canopy protects the Earth from excessive heat and sequesters carbon; wetlands absorb rainwater runoff, protect against flooding, and support wildlife; walking/hiking/biking trails get people out of their cars, reducing pollution and the use of fossil fuels.

Being in nature is good for you! Vote yes to Greenways V.

— Marian Exall, Bellingham, Aug. 30, 2023

Supports County Sheriff candidate Tanksley

To the Editor:

Bellingham feels unsafe. We need Chief Donnell “Tank” Tanksley who has education in modern criminal justice and extensive experience needed to manage the Whatcom County Sheriff’s office. 

Tanksley graduated from civil and military colleges in criminal justice and has a Masters of Management degree. He spent 22 years in the military, and 19 of those years were managing personnel. He is a retired Air Force First Sergeant and also served in the U.S. Navy on active duty. 

He has 30 years of diverse law enforcement experience, with over two decades of experience in policing as a police officer, sergeant, police lieutenant and detective lieutenant in St Louis, Missouri. He then was Assistant Chief of Police/Assistant Director of Public Safety at Western Washington University here in Bellingham. He spent just under two years as Chief of Police at Portland State University and since June 2019 he has been Chief of Police in Blaine.

We need to have policies to prevent the current cycle of endless revolving door incarcerations. Tanksley can do this.

Tanksley’s opponent Chadwick’s website has zero mention of increasing support systems, and instead focuses vaguely on stopping the flow of drugs and reducing crime — old failed “War on Drugs.” The current sheriff’s department has ignored the findings of the Vera Task Force. They have not reduced incarceration. The racial imbalance is greater has worsened. We need a sheriff who will maintain a new jail not, cause a new jail to rot due to poor maintenance.

— Andi Douglass, Bellingham, Aug. 18, 2023

Turning nature into real estate

To the Editor:

Let’s heed the call to protect one of the last undeveloped scenic slopes within city limits (“Saving the Samish Crest,” Aug. 11, 2023). Little known, yet incalculably dear, Samish Crest between Lake Padden and Whatcom Creek offers expansive views of bay and shoreline, from Fairhaven to the Canadian border. Yet a sizable area of luxurious forest already lies eviscerated, to become “unique luxury homes.” 

Lower slopes attest to what can occur when nature is turned into real estate. Every tree of magnificent, forested hillside was leveled, and hydraulic health undermined, for developing the “Highlands.” The hubris of cutting everything down and starting from scratch is further evident in the recent clear-cut of urban forest at the base of Yew Street. Under grandfathered allowance, the clear-cut extends nearly to West Cemetery Creek, flouting ecologically sound current buffers. The stump of a 140-ring giant was tragic testament, until reduced to wood chips, of the many generations that will pass before people might again live with such towering marvels.

But it is never too late to work for public access to vistas and wonder. Please urge our representatives to elevate rights of nature and of future generations to decision-making about land development. Long established use by Coast Salish and Bellingham inhabitants can guide prescriptive easements to safeguard right of way. Hilltop green spaces enjoyed by youth, families, and people of modest means can also contribute to health and community wellbeing.

Myriad springs, wildlife and trails of Samish Crest attest to verdant abundance that need not become “once was.” We must be visionary regarding the politics of beauty, while pragmatic in partnering for a common good.

— James Loucky, Bellingham, Aug. 15, 2023

Palliative care is essential to Death with Dignity legislation

To the Editor:

Ted Royal, a guest essayist in another publication, sees flaws in our state’s Death with Dignity law. He summed up his concerns with, “But that doesn’t work for someone who is not of sound mind and can’t be mobile.” 

In every state that has passed medical aid in dying legislation, being of sound mind is required in all jurisdictions — the person must make a voluntary, well-considered, informed request while they are fully competent. That requirement is an important safeguard to prevent the involuntary use of the lethal substances prescribed to end one’s life.

Dr. Margaret Jacobson, a Whatcom County board-certified family medicine and hospice and palliative medicine physician, explained in these pages the importance of palliative care as it relates to aid-in-dying. 

Because PeaceHealth — and many hospital groups, religious-based or otherwise — do not participate in right-to-die services, she points out that, “those of us on the PeaceHealth system Ethics Committee, along with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, understood that if PeaceHealth opposed this legislation, they must offer impeccable, state-of-the-art end-of-life care. Palliative and hospice care were considered essential to that mission.”

That, in a nutshell, is why the closure of PeaceHealth’s outpatient palliative care services, and its refusal to address the communities it serves on the matter continues to be an ongoing ethical and moral issue.

Mr. Royal’s beloved aunt, and their entire family, could have benefitted from outpatient palliative care.

PeaceHealth, if you have plans to reinstate the program, please tell us now. If you don’t, explain why not.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, Aug. 12, 2023

The fox situation

To the Editor:

Well-written article about the red fox situation on San Juan Island. (“Humans urged to stay away from San Juan’s red foxes” Salish Current, Aug. 4, 2023.)

— Grace Lembo, San Juan Island, Aug. 9, 2023

Credit where it is due

To the Editor:

Reading Dr. Vernon Damani Johnson’s piece on “One Whatcom forms local network to counter violence and racial intolerance,” [Salish Current, Aug. 4, 2023], the collaboration on anti-racism reminds me of the decades of service that he has given his state and nation in steadfast leadership on this topic. I first met Dr. Johnson when he was a young faculty member at Western Washington University where I was on the board of trustees, and later bumped into him in other roles when I was a state human rights commissioner and later a member of the Bellingham Police Community Advisory Council. Some activist/leaders come and go, but Dr. Johnson has been a respected voice in leadership, scholarship and teaching for longer than many citizens have been alive.He continues to be an inspiration.

— Craig Cole, Bellingham, Aug. 4, 2023

Forests help streamflows in summer

To the Editor:

Ed.: The following letter was sent to The Seattle Times in response to their story “Controversial WA timber sale near Elwha River rankles conservationists, Port Angeles leaders.” The letter writer references a story published Aug. 8, 2022, in the Salish Current. 

Thank you for the extensive June 30 article on the 120-acre state timber sale close to the Elwha River. I was walking with friends late last summer at the mouth of the Elwha. The river was dry — there was no way salmon would be able to swim upstream to spawn. This is the result of climate change and faster melting snow packs.

The Salish Current recently reviewed a study of the Nooksack River in Whatcom County [“Can trees save the Nooksack River?”] that included this statement: “A 2020 study in Oregon on the long-term effects of forest harvesting on streamflows showed that streamflows in the summer were 50% lower near a 40-year-old plantation forest than near a 110-year-old one.”

This provides one more rationale, and a huge one, to retaining the forest along the Elwha. Why would any reasonable person want to push the Elwha into even more dire straits?

The problem of Clallam County being too poverty-stricken to pay for its schools is maddening. Rayonier, Weyerhaeuser — all the big timber and pulp mill companies have taken billions of dollars out of the state of Washington. They did it on the backs of the timber workers and on the taxpayers, who subsidized, through the U.S. Forest Service, the building of logging roads, which in and of themselves damaged salmon runs. It is time to hold Rayonier, in particular, responsible for funding schools in Clallam County. We’re acting like a third-world country, letting a corporation profit from our resources without fair compensation.

— Kate Bradley, Sammamish , July 31, 2023

School board reporting kudos

To the Editor:

Matt Benoit: Bravo for your school board piece! (“Impact, importance high in local school board elections,” Salish Current June 16, 2023) Appreciate your outlining current hotbed issues, specifying district director responsibilities, and especially explaining via Reykdal motives that may disqualify a person as a suitable school board candidate.

— Debbi Anderson-Frey, Everson, July 26, 2023

Fitzhugh family stories

To the Editor:

Recently I was visiting Orcas Island to stay with my cousin out at Massacre Bay. Whilst I was there we visited the Orcas Island Historic Museum in Eastsound. A fascinating museum to see. One of the things that got the most attention from myself and my cousin was to see a landowner’s map of the island, that showed a landowner by the name of Charles Fitzhugh.

The Fitzhughs are a significant part of my family history, my great-great-great-grandfather being William Frisby Fitzhugh, originally from Hagerstown Maryland, and later in Rochester, New York, one of the founders of the city along with Charles Carroll and Nathaniel Rochester. Reading the interview with Candace Wellman about the book “Man of Treacherous Charm, Edmund Clare Fitzhugh” and his origins in Virginia being one and the same family, gave me some further information. (“Who was Edmund C. Fitzhugh?” Salish Current Feb. 16, 2023)  Although I could not find any information about Charles Fitzhugh of Orcas Island landowning fame, I did find details of Mason Fitzhugh and his mother Xwelas, a possible connection to Charles yet to be found. My cousin that lives in Massacre Bay has Fitzhugh as her middle name. It is fascinating to see what an impact Edmund Clare Fitzhugh, love him or hate him, and his instrumental place in the history of the Northwest.

On another note, the family name of Wellman is one that is close to me as well, from my mother’s side of the family from Kentucky, with Wellmans/Welmans in her past, my cousin having Welman as his middle name. I would greatly appreciate any information that you might have or sources of further information with regard to Edmund Clare Fitzhugh.

— Ben Talman, Sydney, Australia, July 26, 2023

Supports Greenways, thanks city council

To the Editor:

Kudos to the Bellingham City Council for advancing a new Greenways levy to the Nov. 7 ballot. Emulating the visionary activists who spurred a previous council to place the initial Greenways levy before voters over 30 years ago, a contemporary group of citizens convinced the current council to let our community decide if we want to renew the comparatively modest Greenways property tax scheduled to expire at the end of this year. Now voters have the option to fund more open space, trails, urban forests, community gardens, parks and habitat lands. These amenities define the character of Bellingham and foster its climate resiliency. The council should be lauded for enabling voters to help define the nature of our common future.

— Steve Walker, Bellingham, July 20, 2023

What changes with ‘Rights of Nature’?

To the Editor:

We tried so hard to get Rights of Nature in San Juan County, but people recognize that if followed to the logical conclusion it has to change *everything* and at the end of the day, “economy” always wins (at least, for the people in power). Thank you for reporting on the efforts.

Our research project on Rights of Nature was fascinating. Even if that’s all we ended up accomplishing, I’m proud of that work.

— Elisabeth Robson, Lopez Island, July 10, 2023

Straight answers needed from PeaceHealth

To the Editor:

Regarding the letter about a ballot initiative to cap hospital administrators’ annual salary at $450,000, the same as the U.S. president makes: If PeaceHealth management thinks this possibility is a pipe dream, they should think again. (“Linking income inequality and hospital executive pay,” Letters, June 30, 2023)

Ever since PeaceHealth announced its cuts to various services — while lying to donors who gave over $2.25 million in seed money to launch an outpatient palliative care program by reneging on a commitment to sustaining it — community reaction has been swift and ongoing. PeaceHealth administration claimed the cuts were due to lost revenue during the pandemic. 

Charles Prosper, CEO of the NW Network, sits on the PeaceHealth community health board as a volunteer. Under IRS rules, nonprofit organizations’ 990 tax filings are public record. From 2019 to 2020, his compensation increased from around $575,000 to nearly $1 million.

Is this situation akin to “the fox guarding the hen house”? Does the governing board pay attention to community concerns? Does the local community health board pay attention, whose members, according to the website “fully partner with PeaceHealth in making and supporting decisions based on mission and values … [and] are also charged with setting policy.” 

PeaceHealth administrators apparently don’t realize they are causing harm to St. Joseph Hospital’s reputation. Their actions aren’t fair to the frontline providers. There is a relationship between the social reputation and the perceived safety of a hospital, which can affect possible future litigation. 

It is past time for PeaceHealth management to face the people they serve and give straight answers. If they don’t, healthcare consumers should file complaints with the Washington State Health Systems Quality Assurance Department. 

— Delores Davies, Ferndale, July 2, 2023

Supports Atul Deshmane

To the Editor:

It is easy for candidates to list their areas of concern: the jail, homelessness, jobs, clean water. But how many candidates can readily explain what they have accomplished in any arena?  Dig deep. Atul Deshmane is a candidate who has accomplished projects benefiting the county in many areas:

• Broadband to Point Roberts
• Wind energy ordinance
• Job and environmental protection at Cherry Point
• Secured funding for a collaborative water rights settlement
• Challenging mass incarceration
• Promoting local resilience through business innovation

With experience, knowledge and an optimistic view for what we can achieve together for ALL Whatcom, vote Atul for county council.

— Mary Loquvam, Campaign Manager, Bellingham, June 29, 2023

Linking income inequality and hospital executive pay

To the Editor:

Income inequality plays a role in the Bellingham minimum wage Initiative 1 which qualified for the Nov. 7 ballot, and a ballot initiative in Los Angeles to cap hospital executive pay that will be on the ballot in the City of Angels.

The Los Angeles ballot initiative caps hospital executive pay at $450,000, the same amount the U.S. president makes. The cap does not apply to medical staff who provide patient care. The measure states that hospital executive pay “is often excessive, unnecessary, and inconsistent with the mission of providing high-quality, affordable medical care for all.” 

The California Hospital Association filed suit challenging the measure, but a Los Angeles judge denied the association’s challenge.

When PeaceHealth Vancouver management cut Whatcom County’s outpatient palliative care program, they pegged the closure to lost revenue during the pandemic and also claimed outpatient palliative care was not sustainable, yet executives continued to receive sizeable compensation increases throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

University of New Mexico Hospital announced that all executives would take a 5% pay decrease, until June 30, 2024, to improve the organization’s financial picture, so they wouldn’t need to cut patient care. UNMH’s frontline medical providers will not see their pay decreased — only “chiefs, associate chiefs and executive directors.”

Minimum wage workers in Bellingham hope to get a $1.00 per hour wage increase to help keep a roof over their heads. It’s a very rare minimum wage job that offers healthcare benefits. These workers could seek a ballot initiative to cap hospital executive pay in Whatcom and Clark counties.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, June 26, 2023

Supports Riley Sweeney for school board

To the Editor:

As a teacher living in the Meridian School District, I know the pressures our schools face. We are asked to do more with less resources and handle bigger challenges with less support. Teachers are no strangers to tough times but we need a school board that is laser-focused on helping our kids.

That’s why I’m proud to support Riley Sweeney for Meridian School Board. He will advocate for more paraeducators in our classrooms, a critical missing piece. He will stand up for our arts, music and theatre programs to keep kids engaged in school and out of trouble. And most importantly, he will fight like heck to keep partisan politics and petty divisiveness as far away from our kids as possible. 

As the man responsible for Ferndale’s parks and recreation program, he already knows how to bring people together and create positive experiences for kids and families. As a school board member, he will bring that same collaborative energy to solving the challenges we face. He is passionate about ensuring that our schools are places where all families are welcome to learn, grow, and thrive. 

Please join me in voting for Riley Sweeney for Meridian School Board on Aug. 1 this year. 

— Fia O’ Faolain, Laurel, June 25, 2023

Be informed about school board candidates — and vote!

To the Editor:

Thank you very much for the article on the upcoming school board primaries in our region (“Impact, importance high in local school board elections” Salish Current, June 16, 2023).

Too often, this topic is neglected in public discourse, but our school boards have a role in our polity that is not less important than that of mayors and councils.

As Thomas Jefferson knew so well, democratic government is founded on an educated electorate, and that education begins in childhood. Schools play a major role in educating citizens who can read with understanding, know something of science and history and think for themselves. But as your readers surely know, differences of opinion as to what, specifically, should be funded or taught, as to the division of labor between school and home, and as to the role of the school board itself, are troubling communities throughout our country. 

In fall, the League of Women Voters of Bellingham/Whatcom County will be conducting candidate forums for all the school board races in Whatcom County. But the primaries are no less important, though fewer in number. I hope your readers in Blaine, Ferndale, Lynden and Meridian will inform themselves of their primary candidates’ views — and will vote! Information about the candidates is available in their campaign literature, on some candidates’ websites, and in the booklet that comes with our ballots.

— Minda Rae Amiran, Bellingham, June 24, 2023

What we know about diversity

To the Editor:

In the early 1970s I explained to a colleague it was abusive to tie a child’s left arm to their leg. They were determined to teach the student to use their right hand when climbing the stairs. The teacher wanted his student to be normal. Being left-handed is atypical. It is not abnormal.

Some of you have heard these stories. It took decades before the biology regarding left-handedness was accepted. Now, even if we cannot explain the science, we know it is okay.

In the last decades, a remarkable amount of research has helped us understand ourselves. I now know that, along with my ancestors from the British Isles, I also have 1% ancestry from Ghana and 2% Basque. I have learned that while I had breast cancer, I do not carry the gene. Some of you reading this have learned things about yourself or people you love.

Being left-handed was discouraged in many cultures for much of history. It was unacceptable in some of the Soviet countries, and sadly, illegal for some years in Albania.

Imagine that being left-handed had become as politicized as being gay or transgender is today? We would not be able to talk about it in our schools with our children. We would struggle to seek health care that was respectful. We would not be able to legally buy the right kind of scissors or tools. We might consider moving to another state or country to feel free.

The Bible had much to say about left- and right-handedness. The Latin word for right is dexter. Some people name their child Dexter. The Latin word for left is sinister. No one names their child Sinister. 

As we vote, we need to ask candidates what they know about diversity. Can we do the right thing? 

— Kathy Reim, Sedro-Woolley, June 20, 2023

Asking PeaceHealth to share its concerns

To the Editor:

The following letter was sent to the PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center Board of Directors and management on June 16, 2023.

Many of my friends and neighbors have been discussing the latest negative news about the loss of services once offered by PeaceHealth. One most significant one for 70s-plus friends is the palliative care service.

Please consider communicating with the community an answer to the question: “What concerns you?” We would be most appreciative to hearing from you. Decisions and actions are made which have a direct impact on many. Do we know how many? Do we know all who are impacted? For instance, we have read about Dr. Ming Lin being fired for publicly communicating his “concerns” during the pandemic. Once again, I would ask you to consider sharing your concerns and the basis for a decision and an action which must have consequences for which we may not be aware.

The Bellingham community has but one hospital. We are concerned about the influx now arriving from British Columbia and the potential that PeaceHealth St. Joseph will be overwhelmed. My request for a response from you is for the purpose of building support as well as trust in an institution we depend upon.

Thank you for considering my words.

— Carole Hanaway, Bellingham, June 16, 2023

Thanks to PeaceHealth — but shocked by palliative care shutdown

To the Editor:

My family has several reasons to be thankful to PeaceHealth St. Joe’s. Dr. James Douglas and Dr. Don McAfee are two of them.

My dad had congenital heart defects but that didn’t stop him from having a life well lived! Eventually, however, he needed two emergency heart surgeries in a matter of three weeks, which Dr. Douglas skillfully performed.

Dr. McAfee, as my dad’s cardiologist, respected his decision to avoid any future heart surgeries. My parents referred to Dr. McAfee as providing “one-man palliative care” that worked so well, that he was never admitted to the hospital for his congestive heart failure, which is very unusual.

My mom, as a caregiver, delved into the benefits of palliative care. After my dad died, she went full tilt to raise awareness about advance care planning and to encourage PeaceHealth to launch community-based palliative care.

She and many others in Whatcom County worked relentlessly to advocate for outpatient palliative care — successfully. Or so they thought.

I was shocked when she told me PeaceHealth management shut down its outpatient services on this compassionate care model effective May 26.

How can a hospital group — that claims to treat humans with patient-centric, personalized care — justify that decision? 

When our dog, Panda, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, my husband and I were fortunate that a palliative-care veterinarian was available to help us. He came right to our home. Veterinarians even send cards of comfort and support when a pet dies.

I hope for all the human patients in Whatcom County, PeaceHealth management will have a change of heart.

— Kristin Jackson, Waynesville, North Carolina, June 11, 2023

Promises made, promises broken

To the Editor:

I am trying to understand how PeaceHealth management can claim it was a mission-driven decision to cut its outpatient palliative program.  

From what I understand, PeaceHealth awarded a three-year consultancy contract to a person touted as an expert in building sustainable palliative care programs. 

Maria Gatto wrote an article in December 2022 that appeared in the Journal of the Catholic Health Association in which she wrote, “PeaceHealth’s palliative care initiative is more than just standardizing best practices … Palliative care is core to PeaceHealth’s commitment statement ‘providing quality and compassionate care, every time, every touch’. “

PeaceHealth management terminated Gatto’s contract in its second year, even though they allegedly were setting a course to develop a standardized, high-functioning program. Then five months later, they did a 180 and shut down the program.

PeaceHealth administrators must think we don’t know how to Google. 

In plain sight on their foundation website, they promised donors if they gave the necessary seed money to launch the palliative care program, they would sustain it. “This amazing success confirms the desperate need that seriously ill patients have for skilled, compassionate, holistic care and speaks to the ability of our palliative care team to grow the program as demand increases. PeaceHealth has committed to support the outpatient palliative care beyond the five-year Foundation and community investment, ensuring that holistic care for chronically and seriously ill patients will remain available here in Whatcom County for the foreseeable future….”

PeaceHealth management, please help me and others understand how your decision aligns with your mission statement.

— Kathy Sitker, Birch Bay, June 4, 2023

Importance of strong, independent journalism

To the Editor:

The Salish Current is among several local independent news sources providing thoughtful coverage and perceptive insight about northwest Washington. And Salish Current is not alone in decrying the gradual decline nationally of such coverage, especially local [“Local journalism is key for healthy communities: forum” Salish Current, March 18, 2022]. Margaret Sullivan, former media columnist for the Washington Post and author of “Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy” (2020), is just one of many writers nationally emphasizing the recent decline and vital importance of strong independent journalism. 

As Sullivan’s book, the recent memoir “It. Goes. So. Fast.” (2023) by Mary Louise Kelly, cohost of NPR’s All Things Considered, also highlights the importance of independent journalism.  Chapter Eight, “We Cannot Be Intimidated,” is as powerful a justification for strong independent journalism as you are likely to find anywhere. (It can easily be read apart from the rest of the book, which is largely about juggling family and career.) 

Chapter Eight is about Kelly’s infamous interview and its brief aftermath in 2020 with then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The interview itself is chilling, but Pompeo’s next-day public statement is even more disturbing. Kelly’s reaction to Pompeo, and her broader takeaways from the experience, added to her reputation as a professional of the highest order. 

Journalism may be declining in more than a few places. But we are fortunate to have journalists like Mary Louise Kelly nationally and news sources like Salish Current locally. 

— John Whitmer, Bellingham,  June 4, 2023

Capitalism and health care make rotten bedfellows

To the Editor:

PeaceHealth is reportedly closing their outpatient palliative care program because it isn’t profitable. Donors to that program who were promised that it would be sustained must be furious.

Health care and profit are simply not compatible. Like ALL human services, including education, the programs should not depend on their capacity to make money as though that is the reason for having them. Capitalism and health care make rotten bedfellows.

The reason for having the palliative care program is to serve the community, plain and simple. An outpatient palliative care program helps people with no hope of recovery to be in their own homes. It also helps family members and other caregivers to manage the challenging experience of accompanying a close relative or friend as they move toward their death in peace at home, in a manner of their own choosing.

I urge all donors to PeaceHealth to cancel their donations to let PeaceHealth know that they can’t renege on promises they made to sustain the out-patient palliative care program. Palliative care, both outpatient and inpatient, is essential health care. PeaceHealth needs to step up and acknowledge that fact.

— Lucy Morse, Ferndale, June 3, 2023

PeaceHealth’s decision is cruel and short-sighted

To the Editor:

I write to protest PeaceHealth’s closure of its palliative care unit. In January 2023, I was diagnosed with congestive heart disease, a terminal condition. My cardiologist ordered three procedures (paid for by insurance) to confirm the diagnosis. In our follow-up appointment, he suggested I consider a robotic surgery. When I resisted this idea, he arranged for me to meet with the hospital’s palliative care team. I hadn’t realized this would be available to me, and I jumped at the opportunity. When I moved to Bellingham in 2003, I became a hospice volunteer, providing massage for patients for seven years. Accompanying patients as they left this life had been deeply meaningful to me, and  I was thrilled that now I might become a patient, myself.

In March 2023 I began to meet individually with my palliative care team, an MD, an RN and a social worker, to get acquainted and decide how they might help me. Each was compassionate and knowledgeable about how we would work together to support my quality of life. 

I was thrilled to have this opportunity — to imagine that my end-of-life experience might be tolerable, possibly even joyful. My health insurance approved my participation, and began to pay for my palliative appointments. Then in mid-May my palliative RN sadly broke the news that the outpatient palliative care program was to shut down as too costly.

The palliative team closure is a big loss for me, but an even greater one for patients in palliative care longer than I: How to switch their care focus from the quality of their life to its perhaps unwanted prolongation? And how will I manage my suffering if I linger in this life?

 I join with the many others expressing their dismay at PeaceHealth’s cruel and short-sighted decision. I hope it will be reconsidered.

— Edwina Norton, Bellingham, June 2, 2023

Living on islands

To the Editor:

I admired the article about the insane prices that our local shops and restaurants are paying here on San Juan Island. It was well written and researched and I enjoyed reading it!

I have spent half of my life on San Juan Island now, but I moved from the East Coast where I lived on islands, too, and I am experiencing an ominous sense of déjà vu ….

Looking forward to reading more ….

— Marie Z. Johansen, Friday Harbor, May 31, 2023

Disheartened by end of palliative care model

To the Editor:

I was disheartened to read Dr. Margaret Jacobson’s letter in the May 19 issue of the Salish Current describing the end of the palliative care model in Whatcom County. This model was developed as a promise to the residents of Whatcom County because PeaceHealth declined to offer patients the “right to die” option that was voted by the residents of Washington state in 2008. The initial seed money was donated by local philanthropists and the agreement was that PeaceHealth would carry the program forward. As Dr. Jacobson states, it was a “promise” to the donors as well as to our community.

I wonder why, when budget cuts need to be discussed, so often programs to help the vulnerable of us are the ones that are eliminated. Palliative care is not an expensive service compared to, say, open heart surgery. Its benefits are immeasurable for patients and their families at the end of life. Perhaps PeaceHealth could start saving money instead by removing the huge billboards around Bellingham promoting their services.

As we all know, the United States is the only industrialized country in the in the world without a medical system for all, whether employed or unemployed, whether rich or poor. For more than 30 years, bills have been presented to Congress for universal healthcare, sometimes called Medicare for All.

On May 17 of this year, three Congressional representatives introduced once again the Medicare for All Act. In the House, more than half of the Democratic Caucus is co-sponsoring it. Rick Larson is not among those. I hope I live long enough to see the passage of this commonsense and humane approach to healthcare.

PeaceHealth, please re-think your priorities and maintain the community’s palliative care program.

— Kristin Barber, Bellingham, May 30, 2023

Waiting to be ‘seen’ by PeaceHealth

To the Editor:

Most readers of the Salish Current are aware of PeaceHealth’s campaign, “We See You.”

In the context of recent medical services cuts, our community is flummoxed by this message because we believe PeaceHealth management does not “see” us.  A chorus of voices has raised concerns about the slashing of St. Joe’s outpatient palliative care program. Countless others have similar concerns but are too ill or too vulnerable to muster the energy to add their voices. 

I have contacted numerous PeaceHealth administrators about the cuts, ranging from the system-wide CEO and Chief Medical Officer in Vancouver (Clark County) to the Director of Community Health and Chief Development Officer (CDO) in Bellingham.

Only one PeaceHealth employee responded — the CDO at the local foundation, stating, “There is a whole team of us who are working to find a solution that meets the community’s needs, supports the donor community, and maintains the strong reputation of our foundation. More to come!”

Before PeaceHealth launched its “We See You” campaign, those responsible for its creation should have conducted focus groups to determine its potential value. Everyone I’ve asked has a negative impression of the campaign.

PeaceHealth’s “We See You” campaign is imitative, perhaps even a violation of advertising regulations. The Kelowna General Hospital Foundation used the slogan very effectively long before PeaceHealth appropriated it. It’s probably a good thing our Canadian neighbors are so friendly, eh?

We are waiting to be “seen” — and waiting for mission-driven, ethical solutions to the palliative care cuts.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, May 30, 2023

Questions and answers on justice system projects and a new jail

To the Editor:

During the May 24 Town Hall Listening Session, the County will present potential projects to improve our justice system, including building a new jail. I’ve answered three questions they ask: 

My concerns about proposed projects:

• Proposing a bigger jail means we’re not seriously considering an overhaul to our justice system
• The County will prioritize building a new jail instead of providing services that help people dealing with addiction and behavioral health issues
• The Implementation Plan project list doesn’t include oversight to ensure funding will be directed to service and diversion programs
• A jail ballot measure will try to do too much at once instead of breaking this large project down into manageable bits to ensure success
• With a focus on building a new jail, the SAC did not fully demonstrate to the public the injustices of our justice system when we allow people to be incarcerated for extended periods of time awaiting trial or competency assessments
• The County will not provide an opportunity for the public to comment on draft ballot measure language

Projects I believe will make the biggest difference:

• Increase capacity of effective existing programs to divert people from incarceration
• Bolster re-entry support services
• Ensure ongoing efforts to maintain and expand supporting housing programs
• Continue making changes in court systems
• Expedite access to competency restoration services
• Develop a data dashboard to share data within criminal legal system organizations
• Collect data to measure progress

Important considerations for County Council:

• Draft a ballot measure that proves you’re dedicated to improving our local justice system – prioritize services, then build a new jail
• Follow other successful programs throughout our country instead of starting from scratch
• Provide acute behavioral health services within the jail and provide ongoing support in an outside setting
• Provide transparency around funding and any justice system failures and successes

— Krystal Rodriguez, Bellingham, May 22, 2023

Emotional and mental health addressed in palliative care

To the Editor:

I have been a cancer patient at the St. Joseph Peace Health Cancer center since the summer of 2021 when I was diagnosed with stage three esophageal gastric junction cancer. With the exception of surgery at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, I have received all of my treatment in Bellingham including radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy. I am extremely grateful for the extraordinary care I have experienced.

BUT besides medical treatment, I’ve discovered there is another side to cancer which is equally important: a patient’s emotional and mental health. Without support in this area it is difficult, if not impossible, for a patient to successfully manage the side effects of various medical interventions. Currently I attend a weekly women’s support group which has been a tremendous source of comfort. In addition I’ve been referred by my medical oncologist to the outpatient palliative care program, and I’ve met with Dr. Angela Caffrey.

Therefore, I was devastated to recently learn the palliative care program will now only be available to patients admitted to the hospital. My end-of-life goal is to die in my home with the support of palliative and hospice care if possible. 

The PeaceHealth Statement of Values says, “We provide medical, spiritual and emotional support to those who are dying. Palliative care… is critical in the care of the dying. We are committed to providing a full range of palliative care services.”  PeaceHealth’s Bryan Stewart said that the health care provider couldn’t justify continuing the program given the high cost of palliative care. 

It is my opinion that palliative care can actually reduce costs by addressing a patient’s spiritual and emotional needs in addition to medical ones. I sincerely hope a process will be instituted to reconsider this cost-driven decision and that the full range of palliative care services will be reinstated. Such a decision would be in accordance with both the hospital’s mission statement and values.

— Linda Morrow, Bellingham, May 22, 2023

PeaceHealth: Withhold donations, revoke tax exemption

To the Editor:

If I had given a donation to PeaceHealth recently I would be livid that outpatient palliative care is going to be discontinued. Perhaps the only way PeaceHealth management might be persuaded to reverse its decision to put outpatient palliative care on the chopping block is for fundraising to slow to a trickle.

Conversations are rampant that major donors are considering suing PeaceHealth for misrepresenting their intentions when they asked prospective donors to provide over $2 million in seed money to launch the palliative program, with the promise that it would be sustained.

Contact PeaceHealth’s Foundation and let them know you will not donate to them in the future unless outpatient palliative care is restored to full service. 

Another possibility for management to change its decision is for PeaceHealth to lose its tax-exempt status. 

Dr. Rod Hochman, the chief executive of Providence Medical Group, told an industry publication in 2021 that ” ‘nonprofit health care’ “is a misnomer.” He went on to say: it is tax-exempt healthcare. It still makes profits.

Perhaps, PeaceHealth could donate the old St. Luke’s hospital which was truly a community hospital as a homeless shelter if they won’t pay property taxes. It’s been sitting empty and deteriorating for years 

Contact Mayor Seth Fleetwood and the city council and all the candidates running for mayor, and demand they end PeaceHealth’s tax-exempt status.

— Sheri Lambert, Bellingham, May 22, 2023

PeaceHealth: Invite community to open forum discussions

To the Editor:

PeaceHealth management in Vancouver is well-known for making decisions that run counter to the common good.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, a St. Joseph Hospital emergency department physician voiced concerns about inadequate personal protective equipment and the need for better triaging of ER patients to avoid infections. What did PeaceHealth do? They fired him.

PeaceHealth’s decision to cut outpatient palliative care services is the latest example that they are tone-deaf to the communities it serves. They claim cuts are necessary because of lost revenue during the pandemic. It is true that hospital revenues throughout the U.S. decreased. 

However, relief of suffering for seriously ill patients should be PeaceHealth’s north star. Slashing the outpatient palliative care program illustrates the lack of insight into the heart and soul of our community. It was community members who provided generous and vital seed money to launch the program, which is considered essential to quality healthcare.

Palliative programs show outcome improvements across the spectrum — better patient experience scores, lower 30-day readmission rates, fewer ER visits, shorter ICU stays, decreased hospital mortality and less cost per Medicare beneficiary. These measures are all part of how hospitals get ranked and paid. On that basis alone, how can PeaceHealth justify its decision?

Hospital-based and community-based palliative care avoids unnecessary costs. These avoided costs may not show up immediately, but it is penny-wise-and-pound-foolish for PeaceHealth to deny that the best organizations offer palliative care.

Obvious from legally mandated, publicly available 990 forms, the increased compensation that hospital executives received, during the pandemic, could cover the cost to maintain this vital service to the sick and suffering who have nowhere else to turn.

I suggest that locally, PeaceHealth invite the community to an open forum in which patients, donors, caregivers and all stakeholders be given the opportunity to express their concerns and get answers. That would be the honorable way to address the discontent that PeaceHealth’s actions created. 

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, May 21, 2023

What AI can’t predict

To the Editor:

The AI article in Salish Current scares me (“Assistant … or replacement? AI, in real life,” May 12, 2023) — not because of what it predicts as much as what it can’t. It’s a bit like soldiers talking about the convenience of a machine gun that can shoot many bullets without needing much reloading without anticipating the impact of the machine gun in WWI. The age of reason that came to us from the XVIIIth century and guides our epistemology today is obsolete. We need complete new ways to interpret our new world before AI interprets it for us.

— Ken Pritchard, Vashon Island, May 18, 2023

Loss of a sense of safety and security

To the Editor:

When I moved to Bellingham a year ago, one of the many attractions was PeaceHealth’s outpatient palliative care program.

I have multiple sclerosis (MS), which is an unpredictable disease that manifests differently in each person. Believing there would be access to palliative care when I will need it gave me peace of mind.

I cope with significant daily chronic pain due to MS, which is typical for the disease. Like others with chronic conditions, we do our homework about what medical services are available before considering a move to a new community. We arm ourselves with that valuable information, concluding that patient-centric, specialized care for people with serious illnesses would not be arbitrarily cut — especially when there is only one hospital in the county.

I have questions: What will PeaceHealth do to keep the promise they made when they started the palliative care program? How have stakeholders (especially those who live with chronic pain) been engaged as partners in seeking solutions to restore — and sustain — this program?

Knowing that this important program will likely not be accessible to me when I need it makes me feel less safe and secure. PeaceHealth’s shortsighted decision certainly affects the sense of safety and security of many others in my new community, too.

— Van Roberts, Bellingham, May 18, 2023

PeaceHealth: Where are the good nuns?

To the Editor: 

It appears not much can embarrass or shame PeaceHealth for some of its egregious decisions that affect the communities they serve.  

Case in point: PeaceHealth recently decided to gut its outpatient palliative care program without input from major donors, patients, medical professionals, other stakeholders or the community. PeaceHealth downsized the program to the point it can no longer properly function — the palliative care team now consists of only one nurse and one social worker. 

As I understand it, major donors were promised that if they contributed seed money to get the program started, PeaceHealth would continue the program in perpetuity. Yet, it appears PeaceHealth has reneged on its commitment by slashing the palliative care program. That’s typically called a “lie.”  

Big donations often come with strings attached. One was that the recipient (PeaceHealth) would honor what they promised. 

I won’t suggest that donors try to get their money returned, but I do believe that major donors should locate enterprising legal representation to get PeaceHealth to restore its outpatient palliative care program before it is totally demolished. The program is scheduled to functionally cease on May 26.  

Further, the paid staff at St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation should be publicly advocating for full restoration of the palliative care services. They solicited donations on the premise of an ongoing palliative care program. Unless the PeaceHealth fundraising and development employees do that, how can they hold their heads high — with integrity, honesty and ethics — and come calling with their tin cups asking for future donations?  

Our community, our medical professionals, our patients — and major donors — are being short-changed. PeaceHealth should be ashamed of its corporate culture. Oh, where are the good nuns when we need them? 

— Delores Davies, Ferndale, May 13, 2023

Thank you: PeaceHealth palliative care team

To the Editor:

I want to thank some very special and dedicated healthcare professionals and staff who have been providing critical and necessary palliative care to members of our community, including myself.

PeaceHealth recently made major cuts to this program that employed specialized services for individuals with complex and challenging care needs who do not otherwise qualify for hospice. The palliative care team includes medical, nursing, pharmaceutical, spiritual and social services. 

As a consumer of these services, I am truly saddened and frustrated by PeaceHealth’s decision to terminate the care and support provided by this program. 

This team has assisted me with invaluable support related to my comfort, medical and emotional needs due to my illness. It is concerning that this local care team will no longer be here when other members of this community and I next need them. 

To all of you wonderful healthcare professionals and staff at palliative care, thank you. 

This inglorious ending to a much-needed program, without any community input or consideration, is a disgrace. This is just one more example of our broken healthcare system.

— Karen Lerner, Bellingham, May 13, 2023

At long last, solutions to water problems are near

To the Editor:

More than two decades of meetings and studies have failed to produce long-term solutions to Whatcom County’s many water problems. The official start of adjudication later this year provides a powerful incentive and rare opportunity for settlement discussions. These negotiations should, at long last, resolve many water supply/demand problems as well as habitat and water-quality problems. Because of the adverse effects of climate change on Whatcom water supply and demand, we likely have only a few years to design and implement projects and programs to deal with these problems.

The key participants, both in adjudication and settlement, are the two tribes and farmers. Lummi Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe have the largest and most senior water rights, and farmers account for about 70% of human use of water in the summer, when stream flows are lowest.

The solution will almost surely have the tribes provide water to farmers to irrigate their crops. In return, farmers will use their land to provide additional ecosystem services, such as expanded and improved streamside buffers.

Because adjudication will determine all water rights, others must participate also. The Department of Ecology will ensure that agreements between the tribes and farmers are legal and don’t impair the water rights of others. The City of Bellingham, Public Utility District #1, other water utilities and Whatcom County must participate to ensure that enough water is available for homes and businesses.

The outcome, I believe, will be enough water to protect fish and other wildlife, to irrigate crops, and to meet basic human needs. Everyone will have to use less water than they now do because of climate change. Therefore, improving water-use efficiency, especially for outdoor uses, will be an essential component of settlements of water rights and uses. 

— Eric Hirst, Bellingham, May 5, 2023

Nooksack water concerns remain but new legislation gets support

To the Editor:

Whatcom’s farmers remain concerned about the long-term effects of the water rights adjudication initiated by the State later this year. It is an expensive, decades-long, legal morass that does little or nothing to resolve our natural resource challenges. Agriculture’s long-term future here is clouded by the State’s decision to apply this 19th century legal tool to 21st century management challenges.

We are unable to deter the State from this course of action. So farmers, the adaptive managers they have to be, are supportive of the legislation (House Bill 1792) signed into law last month. This legislation gained the support local governments and water users in the Nooksack Basin including Whatcom PUD, Whatcom County Government, City of Bellingham, Ag Water Board, Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Tribe.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Timmons (D-42nd District), prescribes certain timelines, and creates a public input process to enable review and input into the adjudication claim form produced by the state Department of Ecology and used by water right holders when filing claims. This puts some helpful sideboards on the immediate effects of the adjudication and buys us some time to look at more holistic solutions to our resource management challenges.

The Legislature also provided financial support for Whatcom County and the Watershed Management Board (WMB) to look beyond the narrow scope of the adjudication and develop long term projects and policies that ensure we can have healthy fish habitat and viable agriculture for decades to come.

We thank Rep. Timmons and all our local legislators for their help on this. And to the Whatcom PUD for bringing all major water users together to support the bill and the budget. Our hope is that the WMB grasps this opportunity and looks beyond adjudication to a better future for us all. 

— Henry Bierlink, Lynden, May 5, 2023

Help, don’t harm, the unhoused

To the Editor:

I’m writing because of the latest ordinance of the city of Bellingham amending Bellingham Municipal code chapter 10.08 regarding the use of controlled substances in public places.

I believe this will harm people because it targets the unhoused. There is nowhere for them to get treatment, and living on the street is rough and uncomfortable and many people turn to illicit substances for comfort. 

As we know by now, addiction is a disease, not a moral failing. Unhoused people do not have a home to use their drugs privately and, when they try to make a private space in the woods, they are swept away and moved along instead of being provided with basic sanitation services such as needle collection bins, trash cans and public toilets. Having a safe space to use, test and inject drugs in a sanitary manner until they can be housed and treated is what we should do instead of this. 

The problem is not drugs and trash, it’s lack of services, income-based and affordable housing, and an inpatient treatment center being available. There is only one low- or no-barrier shelter in Bellingham and it’s congregate and religious and many in the unhoused community will not use a congregate shelter for one reason or another.

Criminalizing this behavior simply makes it even harder to get to a place where they can get sober, housed or employed. It adds one more thing to their record that they will have to explain and for which they will likely face discrimination.

— Sarahbeth Bede, Riveters Collective VP, Bellingham, April 23, 2023

Stories motivate people to action

To the Editor:

I was pleased to read Helene Fellows’ story, “Donating a kidney is a life-affirming experience” (Community Voices; March 24, 2023). She’s right. Stories are what motivate people to take action. 

I had the pleasure of virtually meeting kidney donor, Shekinah Pepper, a U.S. Army veteran, who dedicated eight years to military service.

Pepper’s story is inspiring. I am sharing it with his permission. In 2016, Pepper heard a work colleague wanted to donate her kidney to her husband but was not a match.

He was struck by their burden, even though he had never met his co-worker’s husband, who spent 10 hours a day connected to a dialysis machine. “The story was eating at me,” Pepper said. 

He reasoned, “I lived with the willingness to give my life for freedom. Here, all I had to give was my kidney. I had taken an oath to serve and I saw donating my kidney was another path to service.”

Pepper said he considered the costs of managing kidney disease, too. Over 90,000 people are on the U.S. transplant waiting list, but less than 20,000 kidneys, from living and deceased donors, become available each year.

Hemodialysis care costs the Medicare system an average of $90,000 per patient annually in the U.S.

“That’s 1% of the national GDP,” Pepper said. “If we could get these folks off the waiting list, we could wipe out a huge cost. We, the public, can fix this. We can take control and make an impact.”

Pepper said, “I remember the pledge I made when I signed up as a soldier. There is no greater investment than in other people. And I would rather give my life to do the right thing than survive doing the wrong thing.”

Fellows and Pepper are living examples of doing the right thing — selflessly in service to others.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, April 12, 2023

Shining a light on kidney health

To the Editor:

What a breath of fresh air. In reading “Donating a kidney is a life-affirming experience” (Community Voices, March 24, 2023), I was reminded there are good people all around us, who do selfless acts that go unnoticed that are inspirational. 

We often don’t learn of those positive stories because many of us simmer in a stew of bad news from the time we wake up in the morning to the moment our heads hit the pillow each night. 

I’m glad our community is shining much-needed light on the importance of kidney health because, in doing so, we are learning more about diabetes and high blood pressure, which are the top causes leading to chronic kidney failure.  

Our county public health department must take a more proactive leadership role in diabetes awareness because that disease is a growing public health crisis. In 1994, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) diabetes program declared that diabetes had reached epidemic proportions and should be considered a major public health problem. Yes, 1994! In December 2022, the CDC warned of a 700% surge in diabetes in young Americans under the age of 20 in the coming decades. 

Helene Fellows is right — a personal story is what motivates people to take action. We need more stories like hers. 

Obviously, she is genuine in her offer to help people understand the intricacies, and the gratification, of living kidney donation since she gave readers the option of contacting her directly. Thank you, Salish Current, for publishing her commentary. 

— Delores Davies, Ferndale, March 26, 2023

Oil spill considerations

To the Editor:

We are concerned about the oil spill occurring on the Swinomish Reservation. Public and worker safety is paramount as is the protection of our environment. Thankfully, no one was injured.   

 This spill, while it may not be considered large through an environmental lens, signals a larger infrastructure issue as this is happening more and more frequently across the country. Our top priority should be evaluating the maintenance of our infrastructure while hauling hazardous materials and continuing to wean away from fossil fuels and preserving our native lands.

—Tom Wooten, Chairman, Samish Indian Nation, March 16, 2023

Calls for investing in peace

To the Editor:

Our nation’s budget should reflect the concerns of its citizens. We believe peacebuilding and reconciliation programs represent an important means to facilitate nonviolent conflict resolution. These programs effectively create cultures of peace by bringing together adversarial groups in safe spaces to address divisions and work toward common goals.

Investing in peace not only saves human suffering, but also saves U.S. taxpayer dollars. The Institute for Economics and Peace, in fact, has concluded that every dollar invested in peacebuilding “carries a potential $16 reduction in the cost of armed conflict.” Peacebuilding programs work, they save lives and they are cost-effective. Unfortunately, U.S. support for this work has been persistently underfunded. In fact, our country spends 200 times more on war than on peacebuilding. We must do better!

We urge Rep. Rick Larsen to strongly advocate for an increase in peacebuilding funding at the House Appropriations SFOPs Subcommittee Member Day Hearing on March 8 as well as at ongoing budgetary talks. Specifically, we urge the following appropriations be included for FY24:

+  $40 million to Reconciliation Programs

+  $66 million to the Complex Crises Fund

+  $25 million to Atrocities Prevention Programs

Each of these programs provide critical tools to meet today’s challenges and facilitate the development of a framework toward sustainable peace. 

As U.S. citizens, we are truly alarmed by the recent dramatic growth of violence around the world. More needs to be done in a preventative sense, for all of our sakes. We sincerely hope Rep. Larsen will push for these requests to make a positive difference in our world.

The San Juan Islands Advocacy Team is a group of concerned citizens from the 2nd Congressional District of Washington working with the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) to lobby Congress for a sane and nonviolent foreign policy.

— The San Juan Islands Advocacy Team: Andy Hiester, Eastsound; Charles Janeway, Lopez Island; Tom Rawson, Eastsound; Linda Ellsworth, Eastsound; Micki Jackson, Bellingham; Allen Stockbridge, Bellingham; Colleen Curtis, Bellingham; Tom Ewell, Clinton; Jerry Graville, Lopez Island; Iris Graville, Lopez Island; Kathy Cope, San Juan Island; March 5, 2023

Chance at former Lovrić’s to link ferry terminal to Tommy Thompson Trail

To the Editor:

This seems like an opportune time for the City of Anacortes to negotiate with the new owners of the former Lovric’s Shipyard for a right-of-way through or around or over the shipyard to continue the waterfront trail that now begins at the beach below the WSF parking lot and could connect to the Tommy Thompson Trail in downtown Anacortes that leads to the refineries.

Louise Dustrude, Friday Harbor, March 3, 2023

Public health advisory board needs medical professionals and consumers

To the Editor:

Whatcom County’s recent public health advisory board fiasco could possibly have been avoided if our health board was not solely comprised of elected Whatcom County Council members. Tensions were raised, and tempers flared, between council members and staff in the recent refusal to include vaccine opponents on the health advisory board. 

Our Whatcom County Health Department Board should be more representative of our community — politicians (unless they have experience in the medical/health field) do not have the expertise to be the sole arbiters to oversee matters related to public health. 

We need some health board members who are not elected officials. We need medical professionals including an epidemiologist, medical ethicists, community health workers, public health workers with master’s degrees and higher or the equivalent in public health, hospital employees, physicians, registered nurses, dentists and others with health care knowledge. 

Additionally, the board should include consumers of public health who have self-identified as having faced significant health inequities with public health programs. Because Whatcom County includes tribal lands, the board of health should include a tribal representative selected by the American Indian Health Commission. 

According to RCW 70.05.030, “A local board of health comprised solely of elected officials may retain this composition if the local health jurisdiction had a public health advisory committee or board with its own bylaws established on January 1, 2021.” 

However, other Washington counties have reconfigured their health boards recently to make them more diverse and stronger than they’ve ever been. Whatcom County should do the same. 

Health and Community Services director Erika Lautenbach and Whatcom County executive Satpal Sidhu, who was instrumental in her hiring, should take the lead on reconfiguring our health board to be in line with what other Washington state counties have done — represent core values of excellence, participation, respect, leadership, science and innovation. 

— Sheri Lambert, Bellingham, Feb. 27, 2023

Riding the ferries

To the Editor:

I’m 67+ years old and was riding on ferries from the first month I was born. The joy and peace it brings to me happens nowhere else. Thank you so much.

— Suzanne Magnuson, Bellingham, Feb. 27, 2023

Support Traffic Safety for All bill

To the Editor:

The Riveters Collective Justice System Committee believes that everyone deserves a safe community, regardless of where they live, the color of their skin or their income. We can have that without excessive punishment, excessive policing, our rights rolled back or fear mongering.

Recently passed state laws reform police standards and drug policy work. Fewer Washingtonians lose their lives to police violence or get cycled through the criminal legal system over substance use. These are causes for celebration, not a return to failed policies.

Decades of research show tough-on-crime approaches fail to keep people safe, and further criminalize communities. Our current punitive traffic enforcement methods impact people of color and low-income families the hardest, hitting many with financial burden for low-risk issues. None of this improves safety on the roads, the real issue.

Traffic Safety for All (HB 1513) creates a grant program to help drivers address vehicle equipment problems and prevents officers from making stops for low-level issues, such as broken tail lights or expired tabs. The bill will lead to fewer interactions between the public and law enforcement, which disproportionately impact people of color, who, more often than white drivers, are stopped and subjected to traffic fees.

Low-risk traffic stops are ineffective at preventing traffic accidents or fighting crime, and have escalated to violent encounters that put drivers and law enforcement at high risk of injury or death. Expired tabs aren’t the cause of deadly traffic accidents. Time wasted enforcing them has public safety consequences and places people in a poverty trap.

HB 1513, the Traffic Safety for All bill, offers drivers a path toward addressing car repairs in a way that doesn’t cause financial burden or trap them in the criminal legal system. 

We endorse passage of HB 1513 to support equity and public safety. 

— Riveters Collective Justice System Committee: Karla Ward, Kim Ninnemann, Debbi Anderson Frey, Berdi Safford, Jess Lantz, Krystal Rodriguez (Chair)

Port noise should not be ‘take it or leave it’

To the Editor:

Port of Bellingham Commissioners joined residents Wednesday to discuss nighttime noise coming from the Port’s Shipping Terminal (“Port promises to dampen loading noise in wake of complaints,” Salish Current, Jan. 26, 2023). During a four-day hot spell recently, residents’ sleep was disrupted due to sounds of scraping metal until the early morning hours. 

A full house of neighbors gathered at the Squalicum Boat House to hear answers from the Port representatives, but little information was provided. A metal recycling ship was being loaded as part of an effort to revitalize the terminal as a source of economic development. The Port representatives doggedly stated that this was a mandate of the state constitution. Note: The constitution only requires a Port to exist near a city, and “economic development” is law where it is their “purpose” (RCW 53.08.245).

The Port representatives stated that up to five to seven ships will be loaded per year, but mitigation efforts such as sound-blocking metal container walls will be attempted. The neighborhood appreciates these efforts and is excited for the return of union jobs, which had been nonexistent since the GP plant closed 20 years ago.

Residents were troubled by the underlying message from the Port representatives, which seemed to be “take it or leave it.” We were told that if we did not accept the noise and dust, our property taxes would go up and the Port would not be able to meet its “constitutional” mandate (see above). 

If seven ships a year are loaded, that will be almost one month a year during which residents will be subjected to continuous metal scraping until 3 a.m. This is wholly different than the airport or trains. Nightly lost sleep for thousands of Bellingham families have not just an economic cost but a physical and social one. I hope the Port keeps this in mind when reviewing future clients and renewing current ones.

— Scott Jones, South Hill Neighborhood President, Bellingham, Jan. 27, 2023

In response: Guemes is ‘red-headed stepchild’

To the Editor:

In response to Dyvon Havens’ Jan. 9, 2023, letter to the editor: 

Sorry to say but we are the “red-headed stepchild.” No public entity would want to relieve Skagit County of its commitment to Guemes Island. It is a money loser to date. Island County commissioners and State of Washington legislators would be skinned alive to take us on … just saying.

— Art Thomson, Guemes Island, Jan. 18, 2023

Proposal for orca rights needs more detailed work

To the Editor:

These are all good arguments for the taking of action by the body that has the power to do so [“Following local cities, Jefferson County proclaims rights for orcas,” Peninsula Daily News, Jan. 18, 2023]. While the right of the Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) to exist is a commendable sentiment, it stops there, making those who express it think they’ve done something. They haven’t. Nor would the declaration sought if made by our county council actually do anything. I suggest that the expenditure of precious political capital be restricted to those expressions that lead to action.

In the case of humans, we have specific laws, not general statements, concerning our needs: housing, food, clothing, health, education and much more, but none simply say “exist.” If the council has the power to help the SRKW, it should be given the specifics delineating what or approximately what is sought in an ordinance (remember the Jet Ski experience). 

The work that goes into creating a viable proposal is complex, and includes science, politics and economics. I think that the council is right; a group, a committee (with the benefit of county staff including the prosecutor’s office), would be a useful body to generate such a proposal.

— Bill Appel, Friday Harbor, Jan. 19, 2023

Discovering snowy owls is a memorable adventure

To the Editor:

Among the largest of all owls, the snowy can occasionally be encountered along the edges of the Salish Sea [“Artist’s Corner: Rise Above 2020” by Eve McCauley-Chomiak, Salish Current, Jan. 19, 2023]. Our region is a favored wintering destination for the species. These are typically birds that have fledged the previous spring from their ground nests in the Arctic. Conditions there were such that they have moved southward seeking sustenance from our fields that are abundant in the gophers and voles that they relish. These first-year birds are innocent and oblivious to the dangers of human activity so they are hardly reclusive. Perched on a drift log or fence post, they stand out as a flash of white, gleaming against the bleak flood plain. Discovering a snowy owl can be a memorable adventure whether sight-seeing or encountering them for the artistic inspiration that their mystery, beauty and spirit conveys.

Should you see any owl along roadside while driving the flood plain, it is best to remain in your automobile for good viewing and protocol. Should you get out, the bird will likely be disturbed and fly off — not good for either the viewer and in particular the bird which might abandon a meal and also need to conserve energy.

— Tony Angell, author of “The House of Owls”; Seattle, Jan. 19, 2023

Island living on Guemes

To the Editor:

Just read my first Salish Current and appreciate the breadth of coverage. I live on Guemes Island and often fantasize about Guemes becoming part of San Juan County, where governmental support for island living seems higher than in Skagit County.

— Dyvon Havens, Guemes Island, Jan. 9, 2023

Address the needs of the nondrivers, too

To the Editor:

This is for folks who know the value of examining systems — in order to remedy the inequities revealed. 

When it comes to daily transportation, we hear mostly about driving: weather-related driving conditions or too many people wanting to drive to the same place at the same time — creating a traffic jam. Examples of this car-centric framing are many and are easily overlooked because they are so commonplace.

The presence of this driving-only focus in the absence of any other perspective implies that the only way anyone gets around is in a personal vehicle.

Meanwhile there are local people who don’t drive or don’t have access to a car and still need to get to work or medical care or shopping or the park.

Thanks to leadership from disability and senior advocacy groups, the state legislature is now looking at who is included in the nondriver population and analyzing their transportation options for “access to economic opportunity, recreation, education, and other aspects of community life.”

Preliminary data presented to the Joint Transportation Committee indicates that some of the people who aren’t driving have a disability that prevents them from driving. Others are aging out of driving. For most, it’s cost-prohibitive to own and maintain a vehicle due to all other costs of living. 

It’s time to shake off the perspective that everyone drives. We need to bring forward the needs of nondrivers. Better understanding can lead to transportation systems that work for all. 

Let’s look for the variety of life experiences in our communities so that we can apply systemic solutions for safe and robust transportation options for everyone. 

— Therese Kelliher, Bellingham, Jan. 4, 2023

Remembering Ken Balcomb

To the Editor:

Forty plus years ago I met and worked with Ken Balcomb as we combined our interests and talents to produce “Marine Birds and Mammals of Puget Sound” (Puget Sound Books, 1982). The endeavor was a good deal more than research and illustration for me as it provided an opportunity to join Ken in the field on numerous occasions and benefit from his singular knowledge and keen insights on orcas in particular, and the delicate and complex ecosystem of this singular marine system. Moreover, he was someone who always possessed a desire for adventure and discovery as we prowled about in his boat to visit remote islets and vulnerable habitats.

It was a pleasure to be a part of and witness to his good will, generosity and commitment to restoring and sustaining our natural heritage here in the Salish Sea. It was something that informed and inspired and remains with me to this day. Thank you, my friend, there’s much to carry on in tribute to your memory.

—Tony Angell, Seattle and Lopez Island, Dec. 16, 2022

Assistance League of Bellingham brings Christmas cheer

To the Editor:

Our Care Center Support is one of our most heart-warming programs. This year, 120 residents from care centers in Whatcom County who have no family or friend support were identified by their activities directors to receive Christmas gifts. Requests for clothing, footware, music, art supplies and books are among the items that will fill their gift bags. Not a sleigh but autos filled with Christmas cheer will find their way to brighten the spirits of the residents of the local care centers in time for Christmas Day!

We are incredibly grateful for the generosity and goodwill of the Lynden Pieceable Quilters who donated over 100 beautiful and creative lap quilts. How rewarding it will be for the resident to run their hands over their quilt and feel not only its warmth but imagine the story it tells. The impact of these quilts cannot be measured in dollars — it can be measured in love.

We thank all our supporters. Funding for this program is made possible by fundraising, donations and revenue from our Thrift and Gift Shop. What we earn in Whatcom County stays in Whatcom County. Happy holidays to all.

— Helen Moran, Bellingham, Dec. 14, 2022

Art can inspire awareness of the environment

To the Editor:

I teach art in the public schools on Orcas Island. I believe incorporating some of the ideas I found in your article (“Does environmental education change behavior?” Dec. 2, 2022) with art projects is another way to inspire students to become more aware of the environment. I look forward to learning more from subscribing.

—Brook Meinhardt, Orcas Island, Dec. 3, 2022

Credit Washington’s long commitment to environmental education

To the Editor:

The article (“Does environmental education change behavior?” Salish Current, Dec. 2, 2022) exploring the effects of environmental education on public attitudes and decision making in our region doesn’t fully explore or credit the long history of Washington’s long commitment to understanding and stewarding our natural heritage. Likewise there is a body of curricula for K–12 students that explores the subtle threats and enduring impacts of air, water and soil pollutants, and the responsibilities of using energy wisely, recycling and sustaining our renewable resources that was employed in classrooms here in Washington more than half a century ago. 

Credit should be given to the vision and commitment of our past educators who, in the face of some cultural denial and resistance, included these subject areas in their instructional programs K–12. Evaluation of these efforts determined that not only content was mastered but skills as well — skills necessary for confronting and solving the environmental challenges. Furthermore, follow-up research, sponsored by the Pew Trust, determined that students that apply their subject content of science, language arts and history outside of the classroom in the real world achieve greater learning success. 

By the way, in the l990s, the State Board of Education made it a requirement to include elements of environmental education in all subject areas taught in Washington. It’s hopeful that this requirement has been sustained and enhanced, as our future depends on it.

—Tony Angell, Seattle, Dec. 3, 2022

Editor’s note: As noted in the article, Washington’s K–12 environmental education requirements and resources are collected under its Environmental and Sustainability Literacy Plan.

Building B.C. ferries

To the Editor:

Note [the] recent article in Victoria’s Times Colonist, Nov. 24, 2022: “B.C. Ferries Seeks Shipyards to Build up to Four Vessels“. Ferries would be diesel/electric. They are open to British Columbian, national and international shipyards. Six recent ferries were built by Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards in Romania.

—Nancy McCoy, Lopez Island, Dec. 1, 2022

Fraser River series provides new perspectives

To the Editor:

Your recent series on the Fraser River makes for outstanding reading. Eric Scigliano provided some fresh yet contextualized perspectives on the Fraser watershed that deserve our attention, especially as they pertain to the larger ecology of Cascadia and the river’s environmental, economic, and community stakeholders. These new perspectives help us to understand the Fraser as a geographic force but also as an inevitable point of focus for the political and ecological decisions that will guide our region in the coming decades.

—Derek Moscato, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Nov. 23, 2022

Reduce use of physical force and deadly force

To the Editor:

Last week, we called on law enforcement agencies in Blaine, Everson, Ferndale, Lynden, Sumas and Whatcom County to adopt the Model Use of Force Policy published by the Attorney General’s Office in July. We believe every law enforcement agency in the state should adopt the model policy, or something more restrictive, because it will:

• Reduce the amount and nature of physical force used
• Limit the use of deadly force and save lives
• Provide consistency across the state so community members can expect the same quality of policing everywhere in the state
• Be used by the Criminal Justice Training Commission as a statewide training standard for recruits and incumbents.

We also reminded agencies of the Dec. 1, 2022, deadline to submit proof they’ve complied with the new use of force and de-escalation tactics law (RCW 10.120.020). We hope that each agency adopts the model policy, or something more restrictive, which will reduce liabilities and, we believe, protect residents in our county.

— Krystal Rodriguez, Chair, Riveters Collective Justice System Committee, Bellingham, Nov. 17, 2022

Cybersecurity grant funds support many programs

To the Editor:

Thank you for the excellent coverage of regional cybersecurity threats in article by Matt Benoit. (“Vigilance! Security against cyberthreat is a 24/7 need” Oct. 28, 2022.) Whatcom Community College (WCC) was pleased to be invited to provide input to this article. 

There is one clarification we wanted to make regarding the amount of funding WCC has received in cybersecurity grants ($34 million since 2012). Not all of these grant funds—received from the National Science Foundation, National Security Agency (NSA) and Microsoft Philanthropies—directly supported WCC’s Computer Information Systems and Cybersecurity educational programs. A good deal of the funds directly supported other goals and objectives focused on the national efforts and responsibilities of our two centers hosted at WCC: the National Training and Education Center (NCyTE) funded by the NSF, and the CAE Candidates National Center funded by the NSA. 

In the early days of WCC’s cyber grant awards, most of the funding benefitted WCC’s cybersecurity-related educational programs including new and online curriculum development, development of the Bachelor of Applied Science in Cybersecurity degree program, and the purchase of equipment to update classrooms and labs for currency. In parallel, as WCC’s capacity grew, our responsibilities expanded to help support regional and national efforts to address the significant workforce shortage in this field—now projected at over 700,000 nationwide. Our efforts in recent years have focused on mentoring other colleges and universities in improving their cybersecurity programs and achieving the Center of Academic Excellence (CAE) designation from the NSA, as well as the development of new curricular resources and providing and supporting professional development opportunities for faculty. 

All of the $34 million in grant dollars received by WCC for cybersecurity initiatives have benefitted WCC in some form as they contribute to the college’s infrastructure (e.g., business processes and capabilities) and resources that WCC faculty and students benefit from, but not all are applied directly to the college.

—Janice Walker, Senior Personnel/Special Projects Director, Cybersecurity Grants National Training and Education Center, Whatcom Community College, Nov. 1, 2022

Ramel is excellent partner for local elected officials

To the Editor:

Rep. Alex Ramel is a great collaborator and maintains an open line of communication about how work being done in Olympia affects us here in Whatcom County. He is an excellent partner for local elected officials to have at the state level.

Alex understands that housing costs are a major driver of the rising cost of living, so he has worked to support missing middle housing and community land trusts. With Alex’s support the legislature invested $439 million for building affordable homes and removed the excise taxes for construction of affordable housing.

As a member of the finance committee one of his top priorities has been to rebalance our state’s tax code. Alex has helped the legislature take important steps in that direction by cosponsoring the Working Families Tax Credit and changing the B&O tax thresholds to support the smallest businesses, and those just getting started.

Alex listens to his constituents and always looks for opportunities to find common ground. Join me in supporting Alex Ramel for re-election.  I look forward to continuing to work with Alex on the most important issues facing our community.

—Todd Donovan, Bellingham, Oct. 30, 2022

[Editor’s note: Todd Donovan is a Whatcom County Council member.]

Universal child care more imaginative than Prop 5

To the Editor:

A recent letter writer suggested the promoters of the so-called healthy kids’ property tax levy suffer from a “lack of imagination” in their approach to the dearth of quality child care facilities in Whatcom County. I concur with that opinion.  

Why didn’t these Proposition 5 activists consider the fact that the United States provided universal child care during World War II, instead of thinking so provincially, with an illiberal and narrow viewpoint? During WWII mothers entered the workforce out of necessity because the men were sent off to war. If our country could provide universal child care over 70 years ago, why did our local Prop 5 proponents design an aspirational ballot initiative that falls so far short? 

One of the crown jewels of the Child Service Centers in WWII was set up by an employer, the Kaiser Company, at its shipyards in Portland, Oregon. Designed and scaled to children’s needs, Kaiser offered child care 24 hours a day (to accommodate night-shift workers), a highly trained staff, a curriculum planned by leading early childhood experts and even a cooked-food service for weary parents picking up their children after an arduous shift. 

It strikes me that Proposition 5 could be described as elitist and, if passed, will result in even more societal division in our county because it relies on property taxes. I read the entire Prop 5 ordinance and I believe it telegraphs assumptions that low-income parents are not capable of providing quality care to their children. 

I did extensive searches and I cannot find a single jurisdiction in the United States that has implemented a property tax levy to pay for child care for children from 0-5 years. 

Read the entire ordinance before you cast your vote. It is so vague, full of far-reaching promises that cannot possibly be met. Vote NO for this 10-year tax levy. Our kids deserve a better plan.

—Delores Davies, Ferndale, Oct. 26, 2022

Ramel is an honest, hard-working and truthful person

To the Editor:

State Rep. Alex Ramel deserves our vote for re-election. During his time in the legislature Alex has continuously stood up for working families and healthy communities. He was a leader in developing our State Energy Strategy which will lower pollution, lower costs for working families and lead the way to energy independence, local resilience and good jobs.

With housing as one of the biggest issues facing our community, Alex was a leader in the legislature and supported the investment of $439 million for building affordable homes and the elimination of excise taxes for construction of affordable housing.

What I value most about Alex is that he is an honest, hard-working and truthful person. He cares about individuals and is always ready to listen to your story. As part of the 40th legislative team, he is an integral part of getting legislation passed.

Alex holds the position of Deputy Whip of the House Democrats and has a long list of endorsements from leaders across our region and at the local level. We are fortunate to have a leader like Alex in Olympia representing us. If you value honesty and integrity, please join me in supporting him this election.

—Judith Akins, Bellingham, Oct. 25, 2022

Details matter in Lopez community pool plan

To the Editor:

I read with interest “Lopez pool plan is making waves”—twice (Salish Current, Oct. 21, 2022).

A community pool on Lopez Island is, in and of itself, a sweet idea. But details matter. 

We asked FLIP to consider the impacts of an $8 million pool on our small rural community, specifically asking for design, long-term operational costs, water and energy use in a time of great climate stress, and who will ultimately shoulder the associated costs. We have received little data. Instead, our assumptions are based on other local pools. 

In San Juan County, local wage earners receive some of the lowest incomes in the state. If indeed 11% of the population is in support of the pool (as stated by FLIP in 2009), how will approximately 300 members support up to $450,000 annual maintenance plus fund reserves, property taxes, scholarships…? The article quotes FLIP as having a five-year “sustainable” operational plan. What happens years six and beyond? Will voters decide that property taxes should be levied to support the pool? What about the impacts on working folk who already face ever higher property tax bills? 

Given a 92% swim test failure rate of school-age children, I wonder why the response was to build an $8 million pool? Why not a seasonal open-air pool coupled with an indoor water therapy room? Or purchase of wet suits and set about exploring the Salish Sea. Imagine children learning about the local sea and nearshore whilst learning to swim. 

We still await answers from FLIP. 

For the record, the seven signers of the letter to the FLIP Board in the article are of equal standing: David Bill, Chom Greacen, Sheila Metcalf, Henning Sehmsdorf, Elizabeth Simpson, Faith Van DePutte and myself.

—Sandy Bishop, Lopez Island, Oct. 24, 2022

Making early childhood support available to all

To the Editor:

As a retired educator who worked in the Bellingham School District for most of my career, I have met many incredible students and families. 

One family stands out—a mother with four young children ages 1–8, who was fleeing domestic violence—living in their car on the north side of town. Mom was working so hard to get back on her feet, but needed a little bit of help. Family liaison staff was able to secure housing, which allowed the older boys to enroll in school, and mom quickly found work. Soon, the younger boys enrolled in pre-K. Without that early intervention, those boys would have been far behind their peers and struggled through school just to catch up.

I’m glad to share that all four children are doing extremely well in school to this day (the oldest is now in high school). Mom was able to save enough money to buy her own home and the boys are thriving thanks to her deep love and commitment and the support of many from the community who have loved and cared for them. These boys now have a very promising future ahead of them and will undoubtedly be huge contributors to our community.

By many measures, this family could have had a different path but they were fortunate enough to meet the right people who could help. Many in our community have not been so fortunate and have tragically slipped through the cracks. Proposition 5 will put an end to this by making access to early childhood support intentional and available to all children in our community.

As a community, we can do better, and that’s why I am asking you to vote YES for Whatcom kids, Prop 5.

—Steve Clarke, Mount Vernon, Oct. 21, 2022

Rands endorsed by judicial colleagues, left and right

To the Editor:

In the Whatcom County judicial race, I recommend voting for Jonathan Rands. Having known Jonathan for over 20 years, I know he would be a fair judge, as he has an exceptional understanding of the law and judicial system and has served as a judge pro tem for other judges in the county. He is highly regarded by his colleagues—as is evident by the overwhelming number of judges and attorneys who have endorsed his candidacy.

In addition, he has been endorsed by groups of engaged voters on both sides of the aisle: the Whatcom County Republicans, the 42nd District Democrats and hundreds of community members of varying views. He is the recommended candidate in the Progressive Voters Guide and received the endorsement of the Cascadia Daily News. When left and right can agree on the same candidate, that speaks volumes to the impartiality needed for judicial work. At times, judges can create a judiciary that is activist in nature, but I see none of that in Jonathan. He works for the best outcome. His interest in a community court to solve problems and connect people with the resources they need to succeed is testimony to his nature of helping citizens, rather than sentencing them to jail.

I am proud to know him and call him a friend. I urge you to cast your vote for Jonathan Rands for judge.

—Nancy Hudson, Bellingham, Oct. 18, 2022

On the myth of economic mobility

To the Editor: 

Mauri Ingram’s “Economic mobility starts at birth” (Community Voices, Oct. 12) describes how a long-ago economic reality slowly—and largely unnoticed—morphed into myth. As she says, “The American story of economic mobility has persisted: Show up, work hard and enjoy the middle-class fruits of your labor. That used to be true. And now it isn’t.” 

Alas, it’s now largely a myth. As Ingram points out so well, without the considerable social capital some are born into—but many are not—showing up and working hard are far from sufficient to develop and to make the most of one’s talents and for society to benefit from those talents. 

It has been quipped that we all make three choices that largely determine the course of our life: Where we are born, when we are born, and who our parents are. Showing up and working hard are important—but be sure to make those three choices wisely. Hey, I did. Is it fair that my tax dollars support those who didn’t? 

— John Whitmer, Bellingham, Oct. 17, 2022

Shewmake is the climate champion we need

To the Editor:

We talk so much about “new normals.” 

Are heat waves, wildfire smoke and flooding really locked in as some of them? Climate change is real, man-made and worth addressing, and everyone needs to be included in our transition to a green economy. 

During her time in the state House, Rep. Sharon Shewmake has been the climate champion we need, sponsoring bills and supporting policy that is good for our environment and for people. This past session, Sharon wrote and championed a bill, HB1988, that will create more green jobs and develop new technology by providing eligible companies with tax deferrals. She also wrote and passed HB1814, allowing everyone to benefit from solar power through “community solar” projects, not just the wealthy. 

Sharon has always been a climate advocate; her first bill to receive a vote required utilities to break down their electricity mix on bills so consumers know where their power is coming from.

I’m in my mid-20s. On most days, the climate crisis seems overwhelming, but it gives me hope to know that we have someone in the legislature who advocates for practical, economic solutions. 

—Cole Harvey, Bellingham, Oct. 15, 2022

Vote ‘Yes!’ for San Juan library levy

To the Editor:

We love libraries … especially ours here on the island. It has ably served our needs but for the past number of years reality has hit: it’s limping, old, in need of repair, small and cramped, and goodness knows needs to be replaced. 

How has it impacted our household? The Tech Tuesday “class” has come to the rescue countless times when we fumble with our computers. Staff have found the books, new and old, that we requested for our reading and learning pleasure, it has the DVDs of the myriad films we have missed over the years, and hosted speakers presenting an array of very interesting and intriguing issues. We both have made presentations and to full, as in overflow, houses; for not just ours but for all the others the library brings.

Any increase in our property tax is far outweighed by the positive impact on us and what a new library and its extraordinary staff bring to our community. We urge you to go into the website for the library to learn more … about our/your library, and the levy: www.sjlib.org.

 Please join us in voting “Yes!” for the library levy. Our thanks!

 — Gay Graham and Ron Hanson, San Juan Island, Oct. 15, 2022

Alex Ramel is one of the stars

To the Editor:

It is the time before the election when I begin to search out the candidates whose stands reflect my own, and Alex’s line up with my values.

The issues I feel strongly about include sensible and responsible gun ownership, reformed sales requirements and background checks. Also crucially important is the environment we are leaving to our children and grandchildren. We no longer have the luxury of kicking the can down the road. 

We need strong leadership at every level of our government who will act NOW, and Alex will bring this in spades!!! He also has strong relationships with the other legislators in our district which empowers communication to move better responses to our issues, not to mention that he is a member of leadership as the deputy whip for the House Democrats. 

Bottom line is Alex has brought my voice to the legislature and I want to see him continue in that role. I am very proud of the membership of our Democratic team. Alex is one of the stars!! 

— Naomi Bunis, Bellingham, Oct. 12, 2022

Clark Point beach walking restored on Guemes Island

To the Editor:

After two years of community organizing and litigation, the Friends of Guemes Island Shorelines (FOGIS) is pleased to announce that the long-standing islander custom of beach walking has been restored on Clark Point. (“Keep walking, or keep off? Guemes beach-walking pushes question of private property versus public access” Salish Current, Jan. 27, 2022)

The landowner who had been obstructing walkers below the ordinary high-water mark has now sold his property to new owners. The new owners immediately and graciously agreed to respect this island practice and custom. After submitting this written agreement with the new owners to the court, FOGIS filed to dismiss our lawsuit in Skagit County Superior Court and it is now resolved.

We would like to thank Brendan Donckers, our terrific attorney, and his law firm, Breskin Johnson and Townsend PLLC. They provided us great legal work and showed great commitment to seeing this cause through all the judicial twists and turns.

Starting from a small circle of impacted neighbors, FOGIS has grown to over 350 members who, with generous financial support, made this effort possible. Thanks to all our contributors and supporters on and off the island. Thanks to all the artists, writers, keepers of the books and membership lists, many Zoom attendees, and Board members. Thanks to all the Guemians who submitted evidence through testimony of this island practice which goes back over a century. You have helped pass on an island legacy to the next generation.

FOGIS intends to compile the legal documents and islander testimonies for archival purposes and storage at the island library. We have put together the legal arguments and the case law around this issue of public access to tidelands. This will be a valuable resource should the issue arise again.

We will stay organized and active to make sure that beach-walking will be preserved for future generations. Keep on walkin’!

— Pete Knutson, Chair, Friends of Guemes Island Shorelines, Oct. 12, 2022

Favors Rands for integrity — and animal love

To the Editor:

We had the pleasure of meeting Jonathan Rands a number of years ago at a fundraiser benefitting the animals of Whatcom County. As a defense attorney, he is known for having integrity, a strong work ethic and being committed to the rule of law. Over the years, we have also come to know Jonathan as a fellow animal lover who supports a number of local, nonprofit organizations throughout this community. He has chosen to invest his extra time and resources by sponsoring and attending many fundraising events for pet rescue organizations, wildlife charities and other animal-related causes. 

More than a decade after that first meeting as a result of our mutual love and compassion for animals, we are proud to say we will be voting for Jonathan Rands for Whatcom County District Court Judge. Not only because he is qualified for the position, but also because his family shares their home in Ferndale with rescued puggle Max, a former stray cat named Maverick and a small flock of chickens.

— Jennifer and Jason Sonker, Bellingham, Oct. 8, 2022

Checking your drug death figures

To the Editor:

I enjoyed reading Mike Sato’s story on “From the Editor’s Desk: Fact-checking the House candidates” and appreciated the citations for where the facts were checked, but check your figures when discussing drug deaths per 100,000. It’s 81.4 per 100,000 drug deaths or 0.0814%. Still very high just below a tenth of a percent.

Thanks for the good reporting

— Mary LeDonne, Bellingham, Oct. 8, 2022

Student views on ferry service nixed by county council

To the Editor:

The Ferry Advisory Committee met with the San Juan County Council in Friday Harbor on Thursday to discuss the ferry service in the county. The Spring Street School pupils from Orcas and Lopez had prepared a joint statement from their perspective of the effect of the ferry service for them because the students from those islands were unable to attend school because of the ferry service. Their teacher sent a message to the council who was told the night before the meeting of the council that the council would not take any public comments.

My concern is that the students had prepared their statement jointly and were turned away without any consideration except for the brief note from the council. I don’t find this considerate of time and exercise spent on behalf of the students. Nor do I think it was encouraging of people who will become voters and I would hope good citizens.

— Linda Henry, Eastsound, Oct. 6, 2022

Proposition 5 meets specific needs

To the Editor:

I’m voting for Proposition 5, the Healthy Children’s Initiative, because it will provide early learning and child care programs throughout the county that meet the specific and unique needs of children and families. 

The Healthy Children’s Fund won’t provide a one-size-fits-all solution to the child care shortage, because Whatcom County isn’t a one-size-fits-all county. Whatcom County has a beautiful and diverse population and each family wants something specific for their children. And they should be able to make the choice that works for them.

Early learning and child care programs vary in the types offered, including options to enroll siblings together in full-day care in a center, infant care in a safe and nurturing home-based program, part-time preschool, options for parents who want to stay home full-time with their children, care that provides transportation to/from a developmental preschool, and that’s just to name a few! We need to make sure children and families have access to the high-quality options they can choose from, not the first and only program to have an opening. 

Because there is a focus on quality, affordability, accessibility and recruiting/retaining great early childhood educators, Prop. 5 will make sure families have options that feel supportive and welcoming in all areas of the county, with a variety of program models, run by high-quality providers. 

The teachers who cared for my babies were kind, nurturing and exactly who I needed to help me navigate my new life as a mother. I want that for any of the 10,000 young children in Whatcom County that want early learning opportunities.

— Meredith Hayes, Bellingham, Oct. 3, 2022

Fund child care with employer payroll tax

To the Editor:

Whatcom County, like much of the nation, lacks sufficient quality child care and educational opportunities for children from birth to age 5.

The Healthy Children’s Fund, Proposition 5, is a property tax levy on the November ballot. Proposition 5 has not been adequately explained to voters. Who allocates the tax funds? Will funds go to for-profit entities? Only non-profit? Will religious-based child care organizations receive funds? Who provides oversight? What are the plans to assess quality? Who assesses quality? How often will assessments be given to the public? 

There is broad public support for early childhood education and child care programs, but to what extent is this a public or private responsibility? 

One rationale for Proposition 5 is that it would enable parents to more easily and confidently participate in the labor force. The child care crisis is weighing on labor force participation, particularly among mothers. When it comes to paying into a functional child care system, businesses are freeloaders. One option is lawmakers should consider a small employer child care payroll tax, that is not passed on to employees.

Businesses pay property taxes at the state and local level, but businesses do not contribute a cent of dedicated funding to child care. Or, short of levying an additional tax on businesses, why not permanently allocate a portion of business property taxes to child care?

Early child care programs serve academic and socioemotional ends, too. No business is free from needing high-quality child care systems, both now and in the future.

A payroll tax as an option for funding child care has the inherent advantage of strong fiscal sustainability since this type of funding has access to a consistent and reliable source of income.

I acknowledge the need for quality child care, but I will be voting NO on Proposition 5. I suggest the promoters of this scheme go back to their drawing boards.

— Delores Davies, Ferndale, Oct. 3, 2022

Child care discussion needs more imagination

To the Editor:

Our conversations related to child care and early education suffer from a lack of imagination. What we’ve been doing since women entered the labor force in great numbers in the 1960s is not working.

We devalue our children’s needs by insinuating their daily care collides with market work outside the home.

Pew Research found that 79% of Americans reject that women should return to what has been viewed as their traditional role. Yet when asked what is best for young children, only 16% of adults said having a mother who works full time is “the ideal situation.” Among full-time working moms, only 22% said that a full-time working mom is ideal.

Pew Research also found that among millennials, a majority of men would be willing to be stay-at-home dads if the societal stigma associated with that choice was mitigated.

I had a conversation about child care needs with Lady Bird Johnson in the mid-1980s. She said a paradigm shift was warranted — why weren’t parents challenging assumptions that their opportunities would suffer if they interrupted participation in the workforce at least until their child started school?

Lady Bird said we needed to design workplace systems that fully engage families in their children’s care. While admitting it would take time to accomplish, she maintained it was possible to create such conditions. If we indisputably value the well-being of our children, our culture wouldn’t consider time out for caregiving as a black hole on a résumé or a detriment to the economy. 

By failing to honestly address our social weaknesses, our country accumulates more of them. Our nation’s children are our greatest asset — our precious treasure. We must ensure that as working parents juggle their many responsibilities, we support them with workplace policies that let them stay home, or at least work part-time, in their child’s formative years with no harm to their future success in the workforce. 

That concept is absent in the Proposition 5 conversation.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, Oct. 1, 2022

Shewmake is a clear contrast from Sefzik

To the Editor:

Do you expect your elected representatives to be knowledgeable, experienced, effective, trustworthy? I know I do. I also expect it of candidates for public office.

A recent City Club forum for the 42nd Legislative District featured state senate candidates Sharon Shewmake (currently our state representative) and Simon Sefzik (appointed earlier this year by the Whatcom County Council to complete the term of late Sen. Doug Ericksen).

What a contrast. As an interim candidate before the county council, Sefzik had appeared moderate, reasonable and well-mannered. As a general election candidate, he was in attack mode from the outset — yet mysteriously evasive when asked his position on protecting women’s reproductive rights.

Shewmake, on the other hand, was straightforward, composed, impressively in command of and focused on local and state issues, clearly committed to public service and her constituents. When she tells us she will protect our civil and reproductive rights, we can believe her.

Fact-checking of that forum by the Salish Current showed Shewmake to be truthful, and Sefzik to shade the truth as often as not.

During four years in the state House, Sharon Shewmake has delivered for us, big time: lowering taxes on home sales for most homes, funding flood recovery and local schools, helping eliminate the B&O tax for small businesses, passing the Working Families Tax Rebate and supporting a capital gains tax on the super-wealthy that goes to schools.

We already know and trust Sharon. Now we need her in the Washington State Senate!

— Myra Ramos, Lummi Island, Sept. 30, 2022

Shewmake serves 42nd District best

To the Editor:

The KGMI candidate debate on Sept. 27 made clear to me that Sharon Shewmake is by far the best person to serve the 42nd District in the Washington State Senate. 

I found Sharon’s performance in the debate straightforward, knowledgeable and courteous. For example, I was impressed by her clear explanation of the factors driving inflation in Washington State and which of those can be effectively addressed by the Washington State Senate. This indicates to me that Sharon has the analytical capability to grasp complex issues and the political experience to focus on what can be realistically achieved by the organization in which she serves.

In contrast, I found Simon Sefzik’s debate performance to be light in content and arrogant in tone. He talked in generalities about his own ideas and used most of his time during the debate to attack Sharon’s record in the Washington State Legislature. Throughout the debate, Simon’s consistent reference to Sharon as “Sharon Shewmake” instead of speaking to her directly by saying “you” or “your” sounded petty and condescending. It made it apparent to me that Simon does not have the temperament of a team player; whether that team is as simple as two people presenting a debate on KGMI, or the many teams that he would be called on to serve on as a state senator.

We need a senator in Olympia who has a clear, in-depth understanding of issues facing Whatcom County and the ability to work effectively with constituents here in Whatcom County and colleagues in Olympia to move us all ahead.

Salish Current readers, please vote for Sharon Shewmake for Washington State Senate.

— Myra Harmer, Bellingham, Sept. 29, 2022

Speak up for climate action

To the Editor:

I strongly urge community members to watch and provide input to the City of Bellingham’s upcoming third-in-the-series of town hall meetings this coming Monday, Sept. 19, at 6:30 p.m. This meeting, Community Voices on Funding Priorities, focuses on the city’s budget priorities.

Why should you attend? Because this is your opportunity to urge the city to prioritize funding climate action!

Climate activists already know that time is of the essence in implementing the multitude of climate justice measures that will transition us to a carbon-zero future. Future generations and life on Earth depend on it. But now there is an additional reason: the recent passage of Congress’ IRA Act, which primarily funds the transition to renewable energy in America. 

Soon, cities, counties and states will line up to bid for funding made available through this legislation. The city will undoubtedly also do so. Currently the city’s official climate staff is only one person. They would be in a much better position to successfully bid for climate-related funding if their budget reflected climate action as a priority. A current staff of one is not much of an advertisement for that.

The city needs to hear that YOUR funding priority is climate justice! and that you strongly recommend the city’s budget shows their commitment to expanding their climate staff and their climate change efforts.

Community members are invited to participate via Zoom as well as watch via live stream and BTV. Go here for details on how to join the meeting and sign up to speak.

If you can’t make the meeting, you can still voice your support in these ways:
• by mail (210 Lottie Street, Bellingham, WA 98225)
• online
• by telephone (360-778-8200)

— Betsy Gross, Climate Activist and Community Member, Bellingham, Sept. 16, 2022

Good work!

To the Editor:

Enjoyed DeVaux’s article explaining the San Juan Islands National Monument designation. (“San Juan Islands National Monument: where’s the plan?”) Keep up the good work.

— Lee Sturdivant, San Juan Island, Sept. 10, 2022

Sefzik’s ‘big fat check’ was scholarship money

To the Editor:

In fact-checking the fact checker [“From the Editor’s Desk: Fact-checking state Senate candidates,” Sept. 2, 2022], Simon Sefzik did get $3,500 from the NRA Foundation for a college scholarship in 2017 (date on the check) when he was still a Ferndale High School student. 

But he personally did not receive a “big fat check” — this may be splitting hairs, but the $3,500 scholarship money went directly to Patrick Henry College.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham, Sept. 2, 2022

Council vote not appropriate

To the Editor:

The photo caption to your story “Court rules: San Juan County to vote on charter amendments,” (Salish Current, Aug. 18) says:

“… in the public session that followed, council members voted unanimously not to advance four charter amendments proposed by the charter review commission.”

I must point out that the San Juan County Council has no authority to vote on charter amendments submitted to them by the San Juan County Charter Review Commission. Their role in this process is purely ceremonial: The charter review commission submits its proposed charter amendments to the county council which is then obligated to forward them to the county auditor, as is, in a timely fashion. The council does not get to decide whether or not to forward the charter amendments, so no vote, either up or down, is appropriate or legal.

The council did receive bad advice from the county prosecuting attorney, but they still had no right to hold those amendments back from the ballot. And they intentionally ran out the clock so there would be no public input on this. They also failed to include on the agenda for their Aug. 2 meeting that they were going to be taking that vote.

I think it’s important that people understand this because, apparently, the San Juan County Council does not yet understand it.

— Sharon Abreu, former Charter Review Commissioner, Orcas Island, Aug. 19, 2022

Ramel is environmental champion fighting for big solutions

To the Editor:

As the climate crisis becomes ever more present in our lives, we need to fight for solutions at all levels of society. State Rep. Alex Ramel has long been doing just that, and for the past three years he’s taken his skills to Olympia.

Alex was instrumental in helping develop our State Energy Strategy, which will reduce pollution, lower costs for working families, put tens of thousands of people to work at good paying jobs, and help us move toward energy independence. 

During the past two sessions, Alex has helped implement important parts of that strategy, including clean building, green hydrogen, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. He knows there is much more to do, and he will be at the forefront of this effort at the state level.

In addition, Alex worked to more than quadruple funding for community solar incentives in 2022. He also developed and championed legislation to massively expand building energy efficiency standards.

In Alex’s leadership position as deputy whip for the House Democrats, he brings his knowledge, coalition-building skills, and the voices of the district to the decision making table. Ballots are due by Aug. 2.

— Timothy Manns, Mount Vernon, July 24, 2022

Ramel excellent partner with local government

To the Editor:

Rep. Alex Ramel is an excellent partner with the local government. He stays in communication with local elected officials regarding state-level decisions during the legislative session and is always willing to take our perspectives back to the decision making table in Olympia.

He has been a leader in protecting our environment for years, and now as a state representative Alex has been a key contributor in developing our State Energy Strategy as we make progress on dealing with our urgent climate crisis. At the local level the policies put in place will lower pollution and costs for working families, while also providing good prevailing wage jobs in the renewable energy sector.

We also know that housing costs are a major reason for the rising cost of living. Alex has worked especially hard to increase construction of multifamily housing and missing middle housing, and to support organizations that increase homeownership like community land trusts. 

Alex has the sole endorsement from a range of local and state organizations including the IAFF Bellingham/Whatcom Co. Fire Fighters Local 106, Washington Education Association, the Washington State Nurses Association, Washington Conservation Voters and the Teamsters Joint Local 28.

I look forward to continuing to work with Alex as a member of the legislature. Join me in supporting Alex Ramel for re-election. 

— Barry Buchanan, Bellingham, July 20, 2022

Negative ads and mailers deserve fact-checking

To the Editor:

My least favorite thing about elections are the negative ads and mailers. It’s hard to know what’s true and what’s not. I got one last week about Sharon Shewmake that sounded off and so I looked up all the bills they referenced. As best as I can tell, the bill she voted for, SB5998, lowers rather than raises taxes on most people. 

Yes, Sharon voted to lower taxes. If you sell your home, odds are you will now pay less thanks to Sharon. If your house is really expensive (over $1.5 million), you’ll pay slightly more in taxes. That’s the truth. You can look it up yourself. [Dept. of Revenue]

My point is, don’t believe what you read. If it’s paid for by corporate PACs, double-check. They aren’t honest. They don’t want honest politicians to win.

— McKenna Kelly, Arlington, July 19, 2022

Requests clarity in endorsement fact-check

To the Editor:

I’m writing regarding “From the Editor’s Desk: Fact-checking the candidates” from July 15. As a librarian and educator, I’ve spent the last several years on the front lines of the battle against misinformation, so I appreciate your staff taking the time to fact-check candidates’ statements in the 42nd legislative district forums.

However, I do feel the need to address the fact check of state representative candidate Richard May’s statement about receiving all of the environmental endorsements in this election. The Salish Current issued a correction to clarify that Mr. May did not actually receive the endorsement of Washington Conservation Voters because they don’t endorse primary candidates, but a glance at WCV’s website shows that they have endorsed dozens of candidates already. Three of these candidates are in Whatcom County — one of them has two opponents, and another is facing a fellow Democrat. Additionally, the paragraph regarding Mr. May’s endorsements still lists WCV as one of the organizations that have endorsed him.

I’m sure there are readers who will dismiss my concerns on the grounds of mere semantics, but being that I’ve read a not insubstantial number of papers over the last decade, I would counter that clarity is important in order to ensure that meaning is understood. The way the correction was issued is confusing. Confusion feeds misinformation. The last thing any of us want to do is to feed that particular beast.

— Stephanie Allen, Bellingham, July 18, 2022

[Editor’s Note: Salish Current policy is to leave original news copy as published and make any and all corrections separately in a timely manner. The original article was published on July 15 after which we learned of the miscommunication between candidate May and WCV, and WCV not endorsing House candidates in the 42nd. On July 19, we issued the update: “Washington Conservation Voters has not endorsed 42nd District House candidates but allowed May to include its name on his campaign brochure because of a communication error.” On July 20, both WCV and candidate Joe Timmons notified us that WCV had made an endorsement of Timmons. That fact may be an item for an update to the campaign but not an additional correction to the original news story of July 15.

Don’t be fooled by falsehoods and innuendo

To the Editor:

In some quarters Simon Sefzik’s interim appointment to the state Senate after the death of Sen. Ericksen is being called a “political favor” to Rep. Sharon Shewmake, who is a contender for that Senate seat in this year’s election. This sounds to me like a not-so-subtle attempt to undermine Shewmake’s reputation.

I was in the audience when the county council picked Sefzik, and that’s not how it looked to me. The county Republicans provided three candidates to choose among. Tawsha Thompson had even less political experience than young Sefzik. Ben Elenbaas refused to relinquish his county council position if he were appointed to the Senate, stubbornly insisting he could do both jobs at the same time. Given the candidates’ responses to a common questionnaire, the council made the reasonable choice for a temporary caretaker till the current election.

Voters, don’t be fooled. Beware of candidates who use falsehoods and innuendo as campaign tactics. The only reason to do so is because they don’t believe the truth will work in their favor. 

Rep. Shewmake doesn’t need any “favors.” She’s running on her own very effective legislative track record. Check the facts before you vote.

— Nancy Ging, Bellingham, July 17, 2022

Cast vote for Jonathan Rands for judge

To the Editor:

Most voters don’t know who to vote for when it comes to judges. But we all know that there are certain qualities we expect in our judges — integrity, legal experience and accomplishment, fairness, and a good balance of both compassion and accountability. In short, we have a right to expect that our judges be the best the legal profession has to offer.

I have had the opportunity to meet with all three candidates for District Court judge this year and have found Jonathan Rands is head and shoulders above his opponents. For 20 years, Jonathan has been representing ordinary folks in our county’s District Court, and in my view, he understands the challenges of making our communities safer and healthier places to live and work. Jonathan has shown a willingness to be an innovative leader and someone who listens to the many different voices in our county. We need his depth of experience and his integrity. 

Jonathan is the only candidate in this race who has earned the endorsement of both parties. We need more judges who understand that the core of an equitable justice system comes from our Constitution and the Rule of Law. Jonathan Rands, in my opinion, will be a judge who will ensure due process and will protect our Constitutional rights in the courtroom. 

I urge you to cast your vote for Jonathan Rands for Judge.

— Dan Robbins, past Bellingham Port Commissioner, Bellingham, July 15, 2022

Extinguish gun violence from our culture

To the Editor:

Once again, another community is devastated by a shooter massacring innocent people. Mass shootings are nearing an all-time high of two daily in our country. Death by guns is now the leading cause of death among American children.

In 2018, there were about as many guns as people in our country. We must reduce gun violence through enacting effective regulation of gun sales. Offer incentives such as gun buy-back programs. Ban military style weapons. Require background checks, safe storage, red flag laws.

Raise the age to purchase guns to 25. Require training. Require a permit, to be renewed annually. Teachers have to submit to a background check annually to teach. Why shouldn’t gun purchasers be required to do the same? 

Sadly, as an educator, more than one of my students has committed suicide. Access to an unsecured gun at home was a factor. Brain research tells us that the frontal lobe of the adolescent brain, which regulates impulsivity, is not fully developed until age 25. 

Our constitution grants the right to “bear arms” and references “a well-regulated militia.” It is high time we defined what these terms mean in 2022, not 1791. I demand action from our legislators to extinguish gun violence from our culture. If we do not, you, your family, or your friends may be next.

— Nancy Kelley Sheng, Bellingham, July 11, 2022

Ramel stands up to big oil and gas

To the Editor:

Big oil and gas are targeting Alex, because he has the courage to stand up to them, while protecting our environment and communities with leading climate legislation. Alex knows that corporations can’t buy your vote, and he has confidence that voters will again make your voices heard louder than corporate money influence in our local elections.

In addition to standing strong for the climate, Alex has supported measures to make our communities safer by passing gun violence prevention bills. Gun violence is out of control in our country right now, and Alex supported the passage of three important gun laws here in Washington this past legislative session. The limitation on high-capacity magazines, a restriction on untraceable “ghost guns” and the law that prevents open carry of guns at public meetings like school boards. This is why Alex is the only candidate in the race who has been endorsed by the Alliance for Gun Responsibility.

To address the ferry service crisis, Alex helped pass $350 million for workforce training and retention that is badly needed to get the ferry system back on track. He also helped fund four new hybrid-electric ferries to replace the aging fleet that is currently struggling to keep up.

Alex listens to his constituents and always looks for opportunities to find common ground. He is already in a leadership position, as deputy whip of the Democratic caucus, let’s keep that important representation we have there with Alex at the table.

Please join me in voting to send Alex back to Olympia to fight for our communities best interests. The primary election ballot deadline is August 2nd.

— Michael Karp, Bellingham, July 11, 2022

In support of Alex Ramel

To the Editor:

I have lived in Whatcom County for almost 20 years and am in FULL support of 40th Legislative District State Representative Alex Ramel for reelection. 

Alex has the courage to stand up to big corporate polluters. He has shown this throughout his three years in the state legislature by championing climate legislation that is making our state a leader in green energy and climate-friendly energy policy. Alex is an environmental champion and has proven this in his limited time in the legislature. 

He was a prime sponsor of HB1287, to coordinate mapping and planning for electric-vehicle charging stations and electricity supply. Alex worked to more than quadruple the budget for community solar incentives in 2022. He developed and championed legislation to massively expand building energy efficiency standards, while he also pushed efforts to increase affordability of homes built using the state’s multifamily tax exemption 

Alex has the support of prominent environmental organizations, such as the Washington Conservation Voters and Sierra Club. While also gaining endorsements from a range of labor unions including healthcare workers, teachers, state employees and the Washington State Labor Council.

Big corporate polluters are backing Alex’s opponent in this race, because they know Alex has the strength to stand up to them. We know Alex is fighting climate change and pushing for smart policies that make our communities healthier and that lower costs for working families. 

Alex knows how to build bridges between those of us concerned about the climate crisis and workers in energy sectors, who will be part of our states’ just transition away from fossil fuels.

I ask you to join me in voting for Alex Ramel this summer on the Aug. 2 primary ballot.

— Suneeta Lara Eisenberg, Bellingham, July 5, 2022 

Who is a mass shooter?

To the Editor:

Regarding your item on gun violence and protocols after shootings and threats, (“Schools assess safety protocols after shootings, threats” Salish Current, June 17, 2022) I offer this article, “Two Professors Found What Creates a Mass Shooter. Will Politicians Pay Attention?” (Politico Magazine, May 27, 2022.)

Thanks for presenting the information on gun violence.

— Gene Derig, Anacortes, June 17, 2022

In support of Lighthouse Mission expansion

To the Editor:

I support the expansion of the Lighthouse Mission building on Holly and F Street. While I am well aware of the concerns raised by those who live close to the Mission, I think those concerns are born more from NIMBY sentiments than by the risk of any increased risk of open drug use or theft. Those are already issues in the Lettered Streets and I doubt that expansion of the Mission building will significantly increase those problems.

However, as we probably would all agree, homelessness in our community is a significant and growing issue, one that in all probability will continue to increase. The city must support increasing the available beds for the homeless as well as to prepare for future increases in that population. The Mission property has been in use for this purpose for many years and is well positioned to continue in that role.

Most importantly, the Lighthouse Mission has an ongoing rehabilitation program that has an admirable record of helping people free themselves from their addictions and maintain a drug-free status. While the percentage of homeless that they are able to successfully engage in their rehabilitation program may be relatively small, the effect is to reduce the number of homeless.

To my knowledge, there are no other proposals currently under consideration that provide shelter for an equivalent number of homeless and certainly none that combine low-barrier shelter with an ongoing rehabilitation program. The Lighthouse Mission fills an important need in our community and deserves everyone’s support.

— John Dunne, Bellingham, June 17, 2022

Sefzik should not take the credit

To the Editor:

“My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people; those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.” — Indira Gandhi quoting Mahatma Gandhi

State Sen. Sefzik took credit for the $7.5 million in flood relief funding in his mailer and on Facebook referring to Senate Bill 5693. He voted against SB5693.

Since he voted against the bill funding flood relief it is deceptive for him to take credit for it. Rep. Sharon Shewmake and Rep. Alicia Rule both voted for the final version of this bill. Sharon and Alicia also led the way on securing flood relief funding in early January prior to Sefzik’s appointment. Sharon and Alicia also showed up in the Sumas area to assist flood victims.

The bill supported by Sharon Shewmake and Alicia Rule included:

• $20 million in statewide programs to support small businesses recovering from natural disasters
• Another bill to support farmers and ranchers recovering from natural disasters
• $2 million from the capital budget to buy frequently flooded properties in Whatcom County, as well as making targeted investments around the community
• $2 million to repair and prepare schools in the Nooksack Valley School District
• $14 million to elevate Slater Road to eliminate road closures from flooding, equal to the estimated cost of a proposal provided by the Lummi Nation in 2020
• $2 million to replace Whatcom County Fire District 8’s Station 34 which serves Marietta and Lummi Peninsula and whose response can be critical during floods
• A “down payment” of $500,000 for local planning and an additional $250,000 to support international planning

I request that Sen. Seftzik stop gaslighting his constituents. If he supported flood relief he should have voted for it and not simply taken credit for Sharon’s and Alicia’s hard work for our Sumas-area residents.

— Andronetta Douglass, Bellingham, June 15, 2022

Some thoughts on the gun violence most recently witnessed in Uvalde, Texas

To the Editor:

In the wake of the brutal torture-murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till while visiting his uncle in Mississippi in 1955, his mother insisted his body be returned to their hometown, Chicago, for a decent funeral. She further insisted upon an open casket so the mourners could see his swollen, unrecognizable face. [Editor’s Note, below*] Emmett Till’s mother’s raw courage in doing that is credited with reigniting the civil rights movement. 

Along with photos of the happy faces of the children mowed down in Uvalde by the assault weapon wielded by that 18-year-old, perhaps — with the consent of their parents — pictures should be shared of those corpses so mutilated it was hard to make positive identifications of many of them. Those cowardly Republicans who oppose bans on the sale of assault weapons should be compelled to view the consequences of being shot with assault weapons designed for military use. Maybe then, some Republican senators and governors might develop the backbone to stand up to the N.R.A.

Note also that, even as Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott repeated that these shootings are not gun problems but rather mental health issues, just the month prior he cut $211,000,000 earmarked for mental health resources from his state budget. He also proclaimed the need for more law enforcement. We have now learned the police waited over an hour before entering the school despite desperate 911 calls from trapped students. 

Imagine if, rather than a shooter, there had been a fire in that classroom: would firefighters on the scene have waited an hour to rescue trapped children? Fortunately, firefighters seem to be made of sterner stuff than armed police officers wearing bullet proof vests who too frequently seem more concerned with protecting their own lives rather than the lives of those they are supposed “to serve and protect.”

[*Editor’s Note — reader discretion advised: The letter writer provided a link to photos of Emmett Till’s open casket, one photo of which is linked here.]

— Thomas Goetzl, Bellingham; May 28, 2022

Disappointed about decision to increase Lopez Island vacation rental permits

To the Editor:

We were among many Lopezians disappointed on May 17 when the San Juan County Council raised the number of vacation rental (VR) permits for Lopez Island to 135, almost 60% higher than recommended by the county’s own planning commission. The decision fell to council member Jamie Stephens because of a prior agreement in which each council member selects the number for their district (“San Juans adopt island-by-island rental cap,” Salish Current, May 18, 2022).

By charging visitors hundreds of dollars a night, VR business owners outcompete people seeking to live and work here full time. This contributes to a housing crisis reflected in extreme challenges in filling vacancies at the school, clinic and local businesses. VRs gobble up homes on the market and drive up prices. Six VR properties were sold in 2021 with a median price above $1 million. Stephens knew the facts: In 2020-2021, the number of property purchases with VR permits on Lopez was 240% of the previous 2 years, with over 90% of these ending up in the hands of people outside our community. Now over 80% of the active and compliant VR permits on Lopez are registered to out-of-county addresses and half of the buyers of Lopez VR property in 2020-2021 were corporations.

In justifying raising caps, Stephens made crucial alterations to the draft ordinance. The draft stated, “Some 240 individuals from Lopez submitted a separate petition to the planning commission and the county Council to limit short-term vacation rental permits.” Jamie struck the words “Some 240”. 

He also struck references to the negative impacts from VRs cited by Lopez residents. And he struck text that referenced VR impacts on our overwhelmed ferry system.

The housing crisis is complicated, but increasing VR permits is hard to undo and makes a bad problem worse.

More at http://tiny.cc/LopezVR and “Town Hall” on www.Lopezrocks.org.

— Chom and Chris Greacen, Lopez Island; May 22, 2022

Local solution needed for waste disposal

To the Editor:

San Juan Country Parks recently announced that the Town of Friday Harbor Waste Facility will be closing this month. The announcement couches this in terms of “Leave No Trace” ethics for visitors to our islands. No alternative waste facility is available on San Juan Island.

As an avid backpacker, hiker and kayaker, I understand leave-no-trace ethics, and I understand how this might apply to vacationers, but what about residents, especially those that live in their RVs because they cannot afford to own or rent a home on San Juan Island? The cost of bringing an RV to the mainland and back on the ferry for the sole purpose of dumping waste tanks is prohibitive. 

I am also concerned that residents or visitors may choose to dump their tanks onto public or private lands, given the lack of options on San Juan Island. This is both an environmental problem as well as a potential public health issue. How do we expect uninformed vacationing RVs with full waste tanks will deal with them?

I am disappointed with the Town and the County’s approach to this problem: let the mainland handle it. We need a local solution.

— Thomas Reynolds, Friday Harbor; May 17, 2022

Parking fees ‘an assault on poor and ordinary citizens’

The the Editor:

I just read Matt Benoit’s article on parking fees in Bellingham and the proposed solutions for collecting fees (“New parking rules on as Bellingham struggles with enforcement,” Salish Current, April 28, 2022).

The paid parking in Bellingham is an assault on poor and ordinary citizens. The meters that require apps on smart phones to pay surely discriminate against less fortunate citizens without these apps and maybe even the ability to understand the directions.

There must be a better way to generate revenue for city projects.

Once again ordinary citizens are footing the bill for the benefit of wealthier people with interest in Bellingham’s development.

This area is becoming an elitist enclave and the long-time residents are suffering.

Why not have the wealthiest people and business interests who benefit from services in Bellingham pay fees? The projects developers initiate create the need for more parking and [they] are profiting from their business activities.

The conditions I witness in Bellingham are global issues as the common good is being financialized worldwide.

Why aren’t those who are benefiting from the amenities and attraction Bellingham offers being paid by those benefiting from these, and or the very wealthy becoming willing to share their resources with a community that includes all of us?

My property taxes have risen so much and I understand some residents are moving away because they can’t afford to live here anymore.

Where is the community discussion around these issues?

City government could create citizens’ working groups to investigate these issues thereby utilizing truly democratic methods that encourage ordinary citizens to become active in civic affairs.

Again, parking meter issues may seem trivial but they represent larger more pervasive conditions that are a very real threat to democracy and the common good for all.

— Marcia Leister, Bellingham; April 29, 2022

Whatcom residents can help in the global refugee crisis

To the Editor:

How can ordinary people help in the global refugee crisis? 

Sponsor Circles is a new program launched by the U.S. State Department and partner organizations as an emergency response to the large number of recently evacuated Afghan families still waiting at U.S. miliary bases in the Middle East for resettlement to the United States. 

Through the program, groups of five individuals can form certified Sponsor Circles and are then matched with a newcomer family. This means welcoming/orienting the parents and children to the community and providing them with initial housing and integration services. There is also a similar Ukrainian sponsorship program, “Welcome.US,” launching on April 25, 2022.

A group of five local women—with the support of the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship and guidance from Sponsor Circles—has applied to resettle an Afghan family. 

There were many logistical steps including extensive training, completion of a detailed resettlement plan and raising the preliminary $2,275 per newcomer (all funds going directly to the family). We initiated this effort because of our commitment to the first Unitarian Universalist principle honoring the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We also believe that our community is made stronger through collective responses to humanitarian needs and support for our U.S. immigrant heritage.

Whatcom residents can respond to this global need immediately. You can support traditional resettlement groups such as World Relief through your monetary donations or support this particular Sponsor Circle by contacting me at ann.v.stevenson@gmail.com. Our greatest needs are housing possibilities for a family of four or five and employment possibilities.

— Ann Stevenson, Bellingham; April 28, 2022

Real consequences when local reporting disappears

To the Editor:

Apropos the upcoming forum on (the need for) local journalism, (“Forum set on vital need of local journalism for strong democracy,” Salish Current, Feb. 18) I’d like to share a section of a letter I wrote to your guest Margaret Sullivan after reading her book “Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy” a year and a half ago:

“I read your book with keen interest as I share your concerns about the very real consequences that follow from the disappearance of reporting at the local level. It is understood that when the media cease reporting on the doings of local government, local officials tend to become (more) corrupt. Here is just one notable example of such egregious corruption: City of Bell scandal.

It is further known that as such corruption increases, notice is taken by bond rating agencies and the costs of borrowing for local bonds (be they for schools, roads, or whatever) increase. When local governments are therefore required to promise a higher interest rate to sell their bonds, that very real economic burden inevitably falls upon local taxpayers. Either their local taxes must rise or they must make due with fewer amenities. 

Ah, what to do? My thought (not entirely original, I am sure) is that local taxpayers should be persuaded to pay an increased tax (property or other) in order to subsidize a local paper which would be charged with reporting on the spending activities of the local governments (city and county councils, school boards, water boards, etc.).”

— Tom Goetzl, Emeritus Professor of Law, Bellingham; Feb. 19, 2022

Heeding the words of The Nooksack Plan

To the Editor:

Kudos to Salish Current and to reporter Clifford Heberden for the excellent profile of the “Nooksack Basin’s complex challenge” (Salish Current, Feb. 17). This piece capably covers most of the important considerations and many of the key perspectives that must be faced and resolved in this century of changing climate and conflicting claims on the Nooksack’s gifts of water and fish.

Nearly 50 years ago, the Whatcom County Park Board commissioned Seattle-based landscape architects Jones & Jones to develop a “recreation plan” for the Nooksack River. With remarkable prescience, the firm’s founder Grant R. Jones wrote in transmitting The Nooksack Plan to the county in May 1973:

“The Nooksack is the key to the maintenance of the quality of life in Whatcom County, and no capital investment along the river’s edge can long be justified without control over the lands which contribute resources and energy to it. The ecosystem will need servicing and the watershed(s) sustaining any project area will have to be managed as a whole, including lands in the National Forest.”

Here we are in 2022, and we would do well to heed these words of The Nooksack Plan as our community gropes toward integrative solutions for the Nooksack Basin.

— Ted Wolf, Bellingham; Feb. 19, 2022

Note of appreciation

To the Editor:

Thanks so much for sending [Salish Current reporter intern] Chris O’Neill my way. I think he did an excellent job on the article (“Moving from tragedy to hope — with clay,” Salish Current, Feb. 16, 2022). I really appreciate your mentoring of fresh journalists in our community and deeply honored to be a subject of his inquiry and writing. 

— Chris Moench, Bellingham; Feb. 18, 2022

Two daily-news town needs opinion columns and reader feedback

To the Editor:

I agree with Ted Wolf that when the Bellingham Herald let opinion columns and reader feedback wither on the vine, they shut down a valuable community forum for exchanging ideas. (“Bellingham to be a two-newspaper town again — in a brave, new information world,” Salish Current, Jan. 21, 2022)

The Herald wounded its credibility when they stopped routinely publishing letters to the editor (LTEs). Newspapers generally accept the principle of accountability by admitting mistakes and correcting them promptly. Most publish criticism of their news efforts in the form of LTEs. By not publishing LTEs or regular opinion columns submitted by readers, trust is compromised.

My hope is that with a two-newspaper town, both papers— Cascadia Daily News and the Herald — will seek truth, report it and be willing to be accountable by cementing their trust with robust LTEs, opinion columns and other reader feedback.

— Micki Jackson, Bellingham; Jan. 25, 2022

Bellingham Weekly was once part of the local news scene

To the Editor:

Regarding newspapers in Bellingham: (“Bellingham to be a two-newspaper town again — in a brave, new information world,” Salish Current, Jan. 21, 2022). The [Bellingham] Herald briefly had competition in 1971 or ’72 in the form of a weekly. The editor was a former employee of the Herald, and the venture was financed by Ken Keller in Blaine. Its offices were in the Blaine Journal. The reason I know about it is that I worked in the production department of the Blaine paper. Due to lack of revenue, Keller closed down the Bellingham Weekly.

— Jack Strauss, Bellingham; Jan. 25, 2022

The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy

To the Editor:

The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “The time is always right, to do what is right.” On this, nearly all of us agree. Where we tend to drift apart is what we think is “right.” It should be no surprise that what most concerns the League of Women Voters (LWV) is the right to vote since that is the cornerstone of our democracy. In the U.S. over the past 233 years, we have seen more access to voting for more of our citizens. But it has been a tough road with many potholes.

The members of the LWV recognize that the source of our power, compassion, conviction, brilliance and resilience as a country lies not only in our representative democracy but also in the diversity of our citizens. From our earliest days, wave after wave of immigrants have faced discrimination.

People of color can’t blend in unless we define who we are as the sum of our parts and embrace the diversity that makes our society rich. Some don’t recognize the benefit for themselves and others of doing what’s right and inviting the diversity on which we thrive. While it would be ideal if we could trust everyone to do right, we have a long tradition of creating laws that reflect that rightness. It is essential that on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day we guarantee the right and access to vote to all through the Freedom to Vote Act (S.2747) and restore and strengthen aspects of the bipartisan Voting Rights Act of 1965 through the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA).

Dr. King said, “No one is free until we are all free.” On this MLK Day it is important that we all commit to working for our own freedom by committing to work toward freedom for all— the freedom for all to participate in our democracy, to cast their vote alongside others in their community, and to provide their voice for how we can all live better and enjoy the riches that come with an engaged, diverse society.

— Joy Monjure, Everson; Jan. 13, 2022
President, League of Women Voters, Bellingham/Whatcom County

State, citizen groups win first round in lawsuit against Navy

To the Editor:

I was stunned when a federal magistrate compared the Navy’s official behavior to a drunk who “uses a lamppost for support, not illumination” in his Report and Recommendation filed Dec. 10. (State of Washington v United States Department of the Navy ) Then again, anyone who reads the five years’ worth of painstaking documentation that supported the lawsuit might have felt the same outrage. The Navy’s longtime habit of dismissing the substantive and well-informed concerns not only from individuals but also municipalities, federal and state agencies, and Tribes, has been called out by Judge Creatura. I hope politicians are listening. (“Community Voices / The loudest jets in the quietest park: How Growlers invaded the Olympics,” Salish Current, Nov. 4, 2021)

While this win is only the first round in court because the magistrate’s report must now go before a judge who will make the final ruling, it’s a testament to the power of ordinary people to come together in common cause and observe, document and take action against wrongdoing by a federal agency. It’s also proof of the power of citizens to initiate and sustain difficult community conversations, endure occasional harassment, and not give up, even though results can take years.

The magistrate found that the Navy violated the nation’s most basic environmental and procedural laws by (1) failing to adequately examine El Centro Naval Air Station in California as an alternative to Whidbey Island for its fleet of noisy, often low-flying Growlers; (2) failing to assess how Growler training is impacting children’s learning at nearby schools; (3) severely underreporting Growler fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions; and (4) failing to properly assess impacts on bird species. 

What’s next is an appeals process with the ultimate outcome that the Navy could be forced to revisit these issues via another Environmental Impact Statement that examines alternatives it previously dismissed. What’s reassuring to me is the reaffirmation that nobody, not even the Navy, is above the law.

— Karen Sullivan, Port Townsend; Dec. 15, 2021

Island turkeys: weigh consequences before introducing foreign species

To the Editor: 

Your informative piece on turkeys (“Talking turkey in the San Juans: strutting the line between welcome wildlife and pest,” Salish Current, Dec. 10, 2021) provided both history of their introduction and current status. The case for turkeys remains unsettled however.

I would argue that the jury is still out on what long-term impacts these introduced birds have on native species. As we know, natural history is replete with examples of animals being introduced to islands with one intention (goats on San Clemente Island in California and the mongoose in Hawaii for example) and the results were to the detriment of many of the native species. I suggest that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have a thoughtful and comprehensive consideration of the consequences of introducing any animal that has not historically occupied an area, particularly an island. In the case of the introduced turkey, it seems to have been a move to satisfy the interests of the hunting community rather than sustaining the proper balance of the native ecosystem that never hosted these birds.

— Tony Angell, Seattle and Lopez Island, Dec. 10, 2021

More on FCCs and affordable housing

To the Editor:

Thank you for covering the FCC issue (“Housing and growth issues surround Skagit County consideration of ‘fully contained community’ proposal,” Salish Current, Nov. 18, 2021). I would like to clarify that my suggestions about how growth might be handled without an FCC were meant in the context of the growth happening in the cities and not in the rural countryside. The issue of affordable housing tends to revolve around large apartment complexes. In fact, this is what the developers propose for the FCCs in their original submittal: 8- to 10-story apartment buildings for affordable housing in the FCCs. The developers assert that an FCC is necessary for affordable housing because often there is public resistance to large apartment buildings in residential neighborhoods in cities and towns. I was responding to this concern. Smaller minimum lot sizes (such as recently created in Anacortes and LaConner) as well as small-scale, multi-family buildings (duplexes, triplexes, etc.) are ways to expand the possibilities for lower cost in-fill housing in cities and towns without disturbing the residential nature of our cities and towns. I hope this clarifies my comments. Thanks again for bringing this issue to your readership.

— Margery Hite, Bow, Nov. 26, 2021

Saving an irreplaceable food source and an economic driver

To the Editor:

Thanks to Jacqueline Allison for her coverage of the salmon vigil. (“Vigil calls for more urgency to save endangered salmon, orcas,” Salish Current, Nov. 22, 2021) This issue will only go away when the fish go away … or when we recognize that it’s okay to update 100-year-old technology for the sake of saving an irreplaceable food source. 

Just an aside, one aspect that has seen virtually no coverage is just how important the salmon are as a food source and economic driver to the West and the world. While reporters and pols are nodding to the loss of culture and food to tribal folks — and orcas — they’re missing an even larger more general loss to the entire world. It’s a stunning outcome to ponder.

Regardless, thanks for the coverage.

— Dean Ferguson, Lewiston, Idaho, Nov. 23, 2021

Fully contained communities — FCCs — no longer allowed in King County

To the editor:

Thank you for covering a developer’s proposal to amend the Skagit County Comprehensive plan to include Fully Contained Communities (FCCs) on Skagit rural lands. This is an important issue for all of us, and I appreciate the work and balanced approach that went into this article. (“Housing and growth issues surround Skagit County consideration of ‘fully contained community’ proposal” Salish Current, Nov. 19, 2021)

One correction, however. King County does NOT allow FCCs as is stated. King County tried FCCs in the past — and some of those large developments still exist, but King County no longer allows new ones to be built. U-181 of King County’s plan states: “Except for existing Fully Contained Community designations, no new Fully Contained Communities shall be approved in King County.” U-181 can be easy to miss, but it is in Chapter 2 “Urban Communities,” section I “Urban Communities,” of the 2016 King County Comprehensive Plan, most recently updated on July 24, 2020. The King County Comp Plan, including U-181, can be found in the link provided in the article. 

This may seem like a minor detail, but it is important as we in Skagit County consider whether or not FCCs, and the changes they will bring to our rural landscape, are a wise course of action. Only a small handful of Washington state counties have amended their growth management policies to allow FCCs, and of those, both Snohomish and King reversed course and have since banned them again. That choice, after having experimented with FCCs, seems significant.

I look forward to reading more about the FCC issue in Skagit County in Salish Current as this story develops.

— Beverly Faxon, Burlington, Nov. 20, 2021

Loving the Tesla experience

To the Editor:

William Dietrich’s recent article about his Tesla (Community Voices / Electric vehicles and the Tesla experience, Salish Current, Nov. 4, 2021) caught my eye, as I also bought one this past summer — and, coincidentally, it is the same make and color as his. He accurately describes my experience as a Tesla owner, although his article is more factual and data-referenced than my largely emotional relationship with my car. 

I was motivated to buy my Tesla both to do my part to lower my carbon footprint AND give myself a novel experience, and the Tesla does not disappoint. Almost nothing about both the purchasing and the driving experience is similar to cars I’ve purchased and owned in the past. All my other cars came with owner’s manuals, but I did not use them much. Not true with this car! I printed out the owner’s manual and keep it in the car, as I routinely need to look up information about something or other that I don’t understand, when I am driving. 

Dietrich accurately describes Teslas as computers on wheels. This car has every bell and whistle imaginable. There’s something for everyone. For example, my 13-year-old granddaughter quickly found the app that makes car-fart sounds, and my son-in-law loved how fast it accelerates from zero to 60. 

One thing I did not expect but which, in the end, I truly enjoy, is that owning a Tesla has raised the bar for car ownership for me. So much about driving it is unique and different, committing the owner to a new learning curve. Overall it’s fun, gratifying to drive because it doesn’t use fossil fuels (at least directly) and it’s a novel learning challenge!

— Betsy Gross, Bellingham, Nov. 9, 2021

Supports Russ Whidbee for Bellingham City Council

To the Editor:

We need a forthright voice for workers on our city council. An accountant such as Russ Whidbee internalizes the servant leadership ideal. That, coupled with the fiduciary responsibility to oversee and steward the best of Bellingham is what citizens need.

As an accountant, he will understand the nuances of the funding issues the council is regularly presented with. These issues don’t always get fully illuminated by city staff. With his unique skill set, he will know what questions to ask.

For instance, a surplus in a year that concessions were extracted from workers is wrong. We need the honest and hard-working employees of the city to be treated fairly.

Please — cast your vote for Russ Whidbee for the at-large city council position.

— Jael Komac, Ferndale, Oct. 23, 2021

Supports Kristina Michele Martens for Bellingham City Council

To the Editor:

I’m excited to vote for Kristina Michele Martens this year. She brings a fresh dose of optimism, experience and genuine stick-to-itiveness to every project she takes on. I have no doubt that she’ll work tirelessly for positive change in our community 

I’ve gotten to speak with Kristina on several policy issues facing Bellingham, and every time I’m impressed by her data-driven solutions that clearly consider all parties involved. Her path from restaurant worker to real estate agent to community activist gives her the unique ability to connect to historically underrepresented groups in our community and bring their vital voices into the political process. 

If my vote isn’t enough to convince you, take a look at the well-loved Bellingham organizations that support her. Unlike her opponent, Kristina is recommended by the Washington Progressive Voters Guide because of her strong desire to take smart, concrete action on affordable housing, climate change and racial equity. She is endorsed by the Whatcom Democrats, Lummi Nation, Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, several local labor unions, the Riveters Collective and many more. 

These groups have deep connections to every aspect of our Bellingham community and only endorse the candidates they trust to run our city. As a small business owner in Bellingham I trust these groups and fully support their endorsement of Kristina.

— Natalie Ransom, Bellingham, Oct. 22, 2021

Supports Russ Whidbee for Bellingham City Council

To the Editor:

Russ Whidbee has 40 years of experience serving the community of Bellingham. Russ also happens to be a financial advisor. I believe the experience Russ would bring to the at-large position would be a great asset to the city council and the City of Bellingham, especially as we start endeavors to address alternate police responses and staffing issues. Russ has worked with programs such as Salt on the Street and the Kulshan Community Land Trust, giving him experience working with members of our community who are struggling. 

These are tough times and we need people who are ready to roll up their sleeves and do the job. Russ has been boots-on-the-ground and he knows what changes need to be made. He’s been working within the system for many years and now it’s time that we give him the opportunity to help steer the system. We need serious people, people who have had a commitment to our community working to help the most vulnerable among us. 

— Barbara Plaskett, Bellingham, Oct. 22, 2021

Supports Russ Whidbee for Bellingham City Council

To the Editor:

This is a letter in support of Russ Whidbee for the Bellingham City Council At-Large seat. His is the voice of a candidate who can hit the ground running due to demonstrated experience over the last 40 years. No need for Russ Whidbee to learn Bellingham’s political “lay of the land,” to learn how the city operates or to learn who does what so he can go directly to the one in charge to get things done. And he himself has gotten things done through his work on many boards, nonprofits and academic committees. The 42nd Legislative District Democrats, among many other organizations, have noted this and consequently endorsed his candidacy. 

These are just a few highlights of his 40-year career: Russ Whidbee worked successfully to have the Western Washington University (WWU) Foundation divest from South Africa. And he and his fellow students at WWU formed the basis of what was to become curbside recycling in Bellingham. And he worked behind the scenes with many of our police chiefs, advising them on Black experience with the police such as DWB (driving while Black), while actively defusing many encounters. And he has raised significant funding for the Kulshan Community Land Trust. And he was instrumental in founding the Birchwood Food Desert Fighters. And he has literally saved lives of the homeless while working with Salt on the Street Ministries. Furthermore, he is the only candidate with a degree in accounting and decades of financial and fiduciary experience that will prove useful when the council pours over the city’s budget. These are the reasons for which I support Russ Whidbee for city council. 

 — Dick Conoboy, Bellingham. Oct. 13, 2021

(Editor’s note: Due to missed communications, Mr. Whidbee was not interviewed for the article, “Election 2021: City, county candidates vary on police reform needs, approaches” Salish Current, Oct. 7, 2021) and subsequently was invited to submit a letter to the editor. Mr. Conoboy has responded accordingly.)

Public sector may be better solution than private for rural broadband internet

To the Editor:

The article by Ralph Schwartz (“Election 2021: Candidates vie to drive the engine of Whatcom County’s economic development” Salish Current, Oct. 8, 2021)on the candidates for the Bellingham port commission was well-written, complete and even-handed.The Bellingham port commission, as he mentions, is perhaps the least understood and appreciated of local public institutions, making his article especially valuable. 

Commenting here on just one issue mentioned in his fine article: Should expansion of broadband internet in the county be largely left to the private-sector or is the public-sector, i.e., the PUD, a better option?

Ken Bell, supporting the private sector, claims, “Affordability would come with competition.” Perhaps so, but private-sector competition rather than public-sector management doesn’t always result in greater affordability. When the private sector faces competition from public-sector offerings, greater affordability for the consumer, rather than greater profitability for the provider, often results. Some things are best done by the private sector, some not — the trick (if it can be called that) is deciding which is which. 

Ken Bell further supports mandates so private-internet carriers will be encouraged (required?) to serve remote, less lucrative areas of the county. That’s not an unreasonable position, but in my opinion when mandates are needed to encourage the private sector to do anything, it’s an indication that perhaps the public sector is the better option. 

That said, all can agree on one thing: high-speed, broadband internet is badly needed in many areas of Whatcom County. And irrespective of who does it, it must be done and done soon.

— John Whitmer, Bellingham, Oct. 9, 2021

Vaccinated in restaurants, still exposed to unvaccinated 12-and-under children

To the Editor:

I agree 100% that we should be supporting local businesses that are helping the community by assuring their employees and customers are vaccinated. I also encourage you to ask those establishments what their policies are regarding children under 12. If those who can’t be vaccinated are served, you might as well not check anyone’s vaccination status. I have been very disappointed on a couple of occasions when families with unmasked children under the age of 12 have been seated next to my table.

— Susan Wright, Bellingham, Sept. 10, 2021

San Juan County exemplifies state’s vaccination strategy

To the Editor:

Perusing the latest data on COVID infection and vaccination rates provided in Salish Current, San Juan County has the lowest infection rate in the state at 13% and the highest vaccination rate in the state at 77%. Cause and effect or just a coincidence?

— Gene Helfman, Lopez Island, Sept. 4, 2021

Guemes water strategies are instructive for all

To the Editor:

The Elisa Claassen article regarding the fresh water challenges on Guemes Island (“Water supply on Guemes: an island paradise faces challenges,” July 27, 2021) was indeed a timely and insightful piece. Its historical content combined with the contemporary realities is a powerful reminder of what we need to heed and plan for in our use of life-sustaining natural resources. Climate change is of course the stark reminder of the limits in what the earth can absorb or provide to our benefit. As the residents of Guemes Island face their environmental challenges, their adaptations and strategies for action will surely be instructive to us wherever we live. In this case, the island provides wisdom for the mainland.

— Tony Angell, Seattle and Lopez Island, Aug. 2, 2021

Salish Current makes for good Sunday reading

To the Editor:

The Salish Current does an EXCELLENT job of covering local issues and sharing content about regional issues that is published on other news sites. I don’t get the dead-tree edition of any Sunday newspaper anymore, so I’ve come to spend some time on Sundays with your weekly emails instead. Very, very informative. Your weekly emails are concise yet packed with lots of great content. Thank you, Salish Current!

— Kathy Sheehan, Bellingham, July 25, 2021

‘Water Watchers’ series details groundwater status on Lummi Island

To the Editor:

“San Juan Islands’ fresh-water supply sustainability is in question” is an excellent article. I look forward to learning more about this important subject. We have been writing for the past seven months a “Water Watchers” series about Lummi Island dealing with the same situation the San Juans are.

— Mike Skehan, Lummi Island, July 24, 2021

Let others know our mail-in voting works well and support Senate Bill 1, For the People Act of 2021

To the Editor:

It’s voting time again here in Whatcom County and throughout our state. This time it is the primary election when we vote among candidates where there are more than two people running for positions in our towns and county. It is my right and responsibility to read the voters’ guide, to meet as many candidates as possible and to vote and return my ballot.

My vote should have as much (but no more) power than anyone else’s. Having met our county auditor, visited her office, observed neighbors working to confirm and validate my vote and being an authorized volunteer observer, I am confident of the honesty and reliability of our system.

But I am part of this large nation and I have lived in and voted in six states: NY, NJ, ND, IA, NM and WA. I have children and grandchildren voting in IA, KS, TX, CO, MT, CA and WA and I want them all to experience elections as well run as ours.

Join me in calling your friends and family around the country to let them know about our mail-in voting and how well it works. Ask them to call their senators to urge them to vote for Senate Bill 1, For the People Act of 2021, that would guarantee the right of qualified people to vote everywhere. 

We have weakened the voting rights law that we formerly had. There is organized scattershot legislation to making it more difficult to vote. Eligible voters throughout our land need to be welcomed as we are here. Vote. Defend democracy.

— Alyce Werkema, Lynden, July 23, 2021

Willows Inn reaches out to patrons

The following message shared with Salish Current for publication was received by a past patron of The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, responding to the New York Times article of April 27, 2021, “The Island Is Idyllic. As a Workplace, It’s Toxic.” Salish Current ran a community commentary about The Willows Inn on May 20, 2021, “Trouble in paradise: Lummi Islanders react to a national expose of its famous restaurant“.

“We are so saddened by the stories from our former staff that were published by the NYT last week. It has been extremely difficult to hear these accusations and read these comments from people that we worked with so closely for years. In the past several days we have put all our time and energy into supporting our current team and our families. 

“We recognize that the culture of our workplace in the past has caused people undue stress both emotionally and physically. 

“The restaurant industry for too long has created a culture that applies an extreme amount of pressure on everyone involved to create perfection from a chaotic environment. The hours are too long, the margins are too thin and the accepted norms of behavior are too extreme. 

“While we want to defend ourselves from what we feel like is a biased mischaracterization of our team and our sourcing practices, it is much more important for us to take accountability for the past and create a better future. 

“One point that must be clarified further is that no one on our team has ever reported sexual harassment or misconduct in the workplace to our management team. The stories from this article about those behaviors are absolutely devastating and can never be tolerated. 

“In recent years we have made intentional efforts to improve our hiring practices, provide HR support for our team and maintain a supportive and creative environment. We have adapted our schedules to give employees shorter work days, more time off and better wages. 

“In addition, we will be bringing an HR representative in house to help support our team and provide them an outlet for any issues. We also plan to provide further education and training for our management team in the areas of leadership, inclusion and diversity. Moving forward we will also create a paid internship program with free housing to help create better opportunities for a wider range of backgrounds in our kitchen. This work must continue and must be the priority for all of us.

“The Willows Inn and the industry as a whole needs to rally in support of the amazing individuals that create memorable experiences every night for guests around the world. No one from any level of experience or department should be treated with anything but the utmost respect for their dedication to hospitality. 

“It is our mission to move forward with the intentional gratitude and graciousness that will make our families, colleagues and community proud.”

— The Willows Inn, Lummi Island, May 4, 2021

Starlink can provide internet access to remote county areas

To the Editor:

I was pleased to see the article on improving internet access in the county [“Internet connectivity has improved in Whatcom County, but many gaps remain”]. It is unfortunate that the improvement plan does not include the 14-mile stretch of Mosquito Lake Road — many families with school-age kids, many work-from-home types.

Also, the only real hope in the next few years is the Starlink internet satellite constellation, which is now available here on a limited basis but should have 100% coverage soon. Starlink is a very serious competitor to all other ISPs. I suggest that the author of your article investigate and report, since many residents out here in the bush have put down $ deposits and are waiting for hook up. Speeds up to 300mb down, revolutionary.

— Carl Franz, East Whatcom County, Feb. 26, 2021

How will visionary leadership work?

To the Editor:

Al Bergstein calls for visionary leadership in the Partnership bureaucracy and I wonder how that works [Community Voices / Thoughts on the Puget Sound Partnership and recovering Puget Sound].

I, too, have attended quite a few meetings over the years and he captures my observations and feelings well. I also would stress that the people involved seem dedicated and quite passionate and capable but many of the solutions seem beyond their job descriptions and organization capacities. And I have long been frustrated by the lack of simple and meaningful instructions for, and calls to action from, the millions of folks who live around the area.

Certainly some of the people I have seen have/had visionary leadership but it gets ground down as the slow wheels turn. I recall a few years ago when the Leadership Council issued a statement that riparian buffers be required to meet the Federal NOAA standards — which are quite strict — yet that has not always happened in practice because of our stresses on voluntary actions. 

— Pete Haase, Skagit County, Feb. 19, 2021

Follow up wanted on Lopez School funding

To the Editor:

Thank you very much, Hayley Day, for your excellent article about the funding shortfall facing San Juan Islands schools.

Do you have any idea why this problem has not seemed to be a priority for any of our state representatives? I read their newsletters and press releases and none of them ever even mentions it. And yet the school on Lopez is probably the single largest employer and the heart of the community. I find that curious.

Also, some of us on Lopez wonder about how the fundraising effort in 2020 to replace tax revenues with direct donations to the school went? I would love to know the rough percentage of those asked who gave, some idea of how successful that was.

Again, thank you very much for writing this article. This is a very serious issue that needs much more attention.

— Jane Ward, Lopez Island, Jan. 26, 2021

[Editor’s Note: According to School board member Chris Greacen,“We’ve been very happy with our 40th District reps, especially Alex Ramel, who went out of his way to organize a meeting with committee members in Education, Budget and Appropriations for us. No solution yet, but we’re aware this is a long-haul process.”

The Lopez Island School District reports that the District has received 222 donations totaling $69,120.21 to date.] 

McClatchy journalist thanks

To the Editor:

Kudos to the founders and writers at Salish Current for their ongoing coverage of Northwest Washington and beyond, including recent follow up on Whatcom County oil train derailment in December. As a longtime McClatchy/Gannett journalist, I thank Mike Sato for writing about unionizing efforts in McClatchy newsrooms in the Pacific Northwest.

— John Dodge, Olympia, Jan. 18, 2021

Declaiming the big lie

To the Editor:

If you are going to continue as a legitimate news organization, you must learn to self regulate. And while Ms. Sefzik is entitled to her opinion, the continuance of the big lie about the 2020 election needs to be identified as just that [ref. Community Voices / Democracy in America, Salish Current, Jan. 15, 2021].

A big lie that is not based in any fact. The big lie is a technique that was coined by Adolf Hitler, when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf, about the use of a lie so “colossal” that no one would believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” Her statement should have been labeled as not factually based and is in fact a big lie. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from responsibility for one’s words. The big lie, along with four years of lies have led us to this point. A seditious attack on our Capitol in an attempt to overthrow a lawfully elected President.

I understand your attempt to try to report on all sides of an issue. But giving legitimate voice to known falsehoods does not advance the cause of good reporting or the desire to reunite a divided Country. Continuing to legitimize the big lie only helps divide us more.

I am disappointed you did not at a minimum disclaim the big lie.

— Steve James, Bellingham, Jan. 15, 2021

Restore the original vision for the San Juan Islands National Monument

To the Editor:

President Obama’s 2013 proclamation of San Juan Islands National Monument specified that decisions be made in consultation with a locally constituted MAC (Management Advisory Committee) [Vulnerable lands — and creatures — of San Juan Islands National Monument await management details, Salish Current, Dec. 4, 2020].

 Stakeholder consultation, public review and comment, and sign-off by the governor for consistency with state laws and policies are also required by the 1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). Under FLPMA, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) adopted a plan in 1990 for Iceberg Point and Point Colville on Lopez Island, which now comprise about three-fourths of the total area of the monument. 

The 1990 plan designated these coastal lands Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), focused on habitat conservation, and permitted recreation only to the extent that it does not degrade protected plant communities. As a matter of law, the 1990 ACEC plan is in force until a new FLPMA plan is adopted that supersedes it. 

A FLPMA planning process for the monument as a whole began in 2015, but the Trump Administration shifted its vision from protecting public lands to exploiting them for business. BLM began promoting tourism in the monument, and made recreation the focus of the draft Resource Management Plan that was finally opened to public comment in November 2018. Meanwhile the Trump Administration also suspended meetings of the MAC, so that local representatives were unable to participate officially in the process. The MAC did not meet again until August 2020.

Fortunately, Gov. Inslee exercised the authority accorded to him by FLPMA and sent the 2018 draft plan back to BLM for revision to accommodate state policies and Tribal concerns. BLM director William Perry Pendley, whose appointment by President Trump in July 2019 was ruled unlawful in federal court, has presided over the revision process, which is not yet complete. 

As things now stand, a revised plan is evolving somewhere in the BLM bureaucracy, but the 1990 ACEC plan is still in effect on Lopez, and general federal land and wildlife management laws such as the 1910 Antiquities Act and 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act apply to the Monument as a whole regardless. BLM does not need a new plan to protect Monument lands or wildlife.

The situation may change under a Biden-appointed BLM director, but islanders must be ready to apply political pressure through our (largely friendly) Congressional delegation to ensure that our situation with the Monument is not overlooked in 2021.

— Russel Barsh, Director of KWIAHT, Lopez Island, Dec. 18, 2020

Some history about San Juan conservation areas

To the Editor:

Many folks I know have weighed in on how important these unusually pristine areas are to the health and diversity of the San Juan Island ecosystem. (“Vulnerable lands — and creatures — of San Juan Islands National Monument await management details,” Salish Current, Dec. 4, 2020).

Concerns and recommendations, based on many years of experiences on and study of these areas, were registered early on when information was requested. Sadly, delays in implementing these strategies are consistent with the gross indifference the Trump administration has paid in general to our environmental heritage throughout its tenure. We must enact these recommendations and strategies for use and stewardship.

The expression of public concern for the protection of the cultural history and ecological integrity of the San Juans is of long standing. I recall 40 years ago next year being part of and listening to a very concerned public registering their hopes and expectations for many of these properties as they were to be transferred from the Bureau of Land Management [BLM] to the state. Charles Odegaard was the director of Washington State Parks at the time, and its board was seeking to develop a plan for the future uses of properties being transferred from BLM to Washington state. Of particular focus were properties at Point Colville and Iceberg Point.

One of the proposals for these properties involved opening them up for car camping. Present at this hearing were Bill Holm and David Munsell, both of whom had a first-hand and keen appreciation of the importance of these locations to First Nations peoples of Puget Sound. Their testimony made it very clear that any proposed camping use would be a serious threat to protecting, preserving and researching this singular history on Lopez Island. Other arguments were presented regarding the ecological integrity that would be threatened under such a development plan.

From that day, one moment in particular remains in my memory. Someone from the audience who clearly considered these properties as an opportunity for investment in further development along the lines of the state park plan spoke up rather emphatically. He stated that keeping these locations as natural areas and assuming that the public would explore and somehow benefit from them was naive and that the best use of them would be realized through development.

Jim Whittaker, the first American to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, was a State Parks Board member and responded directly by saying that he had some very first-hand knowledge of what the infinite lessons are that one can learn from experiences in nature. And that was that — Colville and Iceberg Points reached their current status through such early endeavors. So let’s get on with preserving this unique heritage.

— Tony Angell, Seattle and Lopez Island, Dec. 11, 2020

A call for caution when holiday socializing as COVID-19’s third wave hits

To the Editor:

Yogi Berra said, “It’s like déjà vu all over again!” As we head into this particularly uncertain holiday season, our country is in a third wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections. In Western Washington, though better than many places, we’re seeing rates that are surpassing case highs seen in the spring. 

From my career caring for chronic kidney disease patients, I know that COVID-19 poses serious challenges for them. We now know that non-elderly adults with no underlying medical conditions can develop acute kidney injury and a sudden loss of kidney function when infected with COVID-19. Kidney injury carries a high mortality rate, although with proper treatment, including dialysis in severe cases, it can be reversed. If we collectively increased our efforts to keep the virus at bay, we can help save lives and avoid a fourth and fifth wave.

COVID-19 is increasing across every age group, currently most frequently in people over the age of 80 and those between 20 and 29.

It is so important that we rethink our traditional holiday plans. Public health and medical professionals are encouraging Washingtonians to voluntarily comply with masking and social distancing directives and gather only with those they live with.

It’s not likely we’ll go “cold turkey” on socialization, but please consider everyone’s health and well-being as you find new, safe ways to celebrate the 2020 holidays. 

This is a societal challenge of our times.

— William E. Lombard, MD, Bellingham, Nov. 16, 2020

Lack of mandated authority hinders water allocation process

To the Editor:

I agree with Eric Hirst’s assessment of the water rights issue about the Nooksack Basin’s waters (Salish Current, Oct. 9, 2020, “Whose water is it in Whatcom County? / Community Voices”).

I was directly involved with the so-called WRIA-1 (Water Resource Inventory Area) process which sought an agreed-to stakeholders’ assessment of seasonal water availability, needs and allocations to avoid the lengthy adjudication process (which was pursued in the Yakima Basin for over 25 years). That process was a testament to the political heat around water rights, which the WRIA process — initiated by Ecology —sought to avoid. 

After four years, the Whatcom stakeholders failed to agree on basic principles, a waste of time and millions in county funds.

A big problem was that Ecology has little mandated authority, responds to political pressure and must rely upon voluntary agreement by the parties involved, all of whom have strong self interests. It has been painful to see these efforts fail, although many facts were established that can certainly be used as informed, impartial guidelines. 

What any countywide process needs now is a clear incentive to settle the matter fairly, and with due regard to senior water rights. Because of Washington state’s strange organization regarding various special districts, some strong incentive is required to bring the parties to settle. Perhaps, careful, selective use of adjudication could help bring agreement closer to reality. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking ….

— John B. Watts, Bellingham, Nov. 9, 2020

Thoughts on the past, present and future of domestic aluminum production

To the Editor:

Your article “Intalco’s closure brings pain for now — what may the future bring” (Salish Current, Oct. 30, 2020) prompts me to offer a few comments from my perspective as a chemical engineer and Bellingham City Council member for nine years.

In general, the aluminum industry’s costs are one-third each for raw materials, electricity and labor.

At one time 11 smelters operated in the state of Washington, largely because of cheap Columbia River hydroelectricity from the Bonneville Power Administration.

As raw materials — like bauxite — were depleted in the U.S., foreign supply supplanted it and so did labor costs associated with the global economy.

These factors, along with economics of scale, have contributed to the demise of U.S. production, notwithstanding the strategic importance of aluminum. I can’t think of immediate solutions for this without a U.S.-government mandate to preserve local production capacity. 

Another thought is to emphasize state and/or national recycling, since this alone saves 95% of energy costs.

— John B. Watts, Bellingham, Nov. 9, 2020

Our policy: Salish Current welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address and daytime phone number. Those accepted for publication will focus on issues addressed in news articles or commentaries in Salish Current and be factual. No snark or put-downs will be acceptable; general nastiness will be rejected. Letters should not exceed 300 words and may be edited for length and clarity. Salish Current will publish letters sent to the editor at its sole discretion. Letters represent the point of view of the writer. Publication by Salish Current does not represent endorsement.