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Local dailies in Northwest Washington are turning into ghosts — ghost newspapers, existing in name but no longer having the staff or the commitment to cover local and regional news. The trend is part of a national crisis that’s been accelerating at warp speed since 1990.

Soon-to-be-realized funding reductions from the City of Bellingham, combined with the economic hardships of pandemic restrictions, have had a profoundly negative effect on the local arts community.

The Padilla Bay Freshwater Tributary Fecal Coliform Total Maximal Daily Load (TMDL) Report is due to be submitted by Ecology to the Environmental Protection Agency at the end of 2020 and lists fecal coliform bacteria sources and strategies for cleanup.

When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, responsibilities of the Port of Bellingham Board of Commissioners changed, to focus on keeping local businesses afloat through the economic downturn.

Hospice of the Northwest serves about 190 patients a day in San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish and Island counties. With a possible sale of the local nonprofit to a national for-profit, community members are worried about the potential impact on services.

Whatcom County farmers say they view water rights adjudication as an existential threat to their future, in their long-term battle to maintain farming as part of the local economy and culture.

Salish Current, a startup local news nonprofit organized to provide more local journalism in Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties is participating in a national giving campaign that runs through December. The site’s mission is to provide information needed in order to make informed choices about civic life and to strengthen democracy.

Paramilitary organizations are illegal in Washington and many other states. But laws meant to stop the formation of ad hoc armies are archaic and vague, so much so that police and prosecutors who have recently had the opportunity to use them describe them as unenforceable.

After 54 years in operation, the Intalco smelter near Ferndale this summer stopped producing aluminum, put hundreds out of work and sent shockwaves through the community. The pain cut deep but may point a way to cleaner, more competitive heavy industry.

Born in New York City, Tony Ayer moved to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, at age eight. After going to school in the States, he returned to St. Croix where he spent 75 years. Nnow 83 years old, this weekend, for the first time in his life, he cast his ballot in the U.S. Presidential election.

As a reporter for Salish Current, I reached out to WA3%’s website in September, looking to speak with a Whatcom County chapter member. I wanted to know who these members were in our community, how they had come to believe what they believe and how they see themselves.

The first time I voted was in November 1968. What is your first-vote story?

What does it mean to get a negative COVID-19 test result? It means an unmasked sigh of relief, that once again, in a year fraught with worry, there’s one less thing to be actively worried about.

This may surprise you: Water, even in wet Whatcom County, is a scarce resource.

With issues ranging from strengthening the county’s economic base to balancing vacation rental inventory in an area inhabited year-round by tourists and second-home owners

Policies and funding decisions set at the state level have profound influence on our daily lives — and our long-term safety, health and well-being. Salish Current editors invited candidates for 40th and 42nd Legislative District House and Senate seats to answer questions on ten topics.