Whatcom County
Rising seas, high tides, storm surges and waterfront homes: does value outweigh the risks?
Predicted sea-level rising along with extremely high tides and storm surges pose increasing risk to coastal waterfront homes. How much are those trends affecting property values?
Jail needs to change, community agrees; but how?
An advisory committee for the Justice Project aims to ensure that voters’ priorities are considered in the next Whatcom County Jail ballot measure.
Why choose to remain unhoused?
The Lighthouse Mission Ministries’ Base Camp provides shelter, services and support for the houseless yet hundreds opt to shelter on their own. Why?
New options change choices for that final resting place
A cultural shift is underway from traditional burials and cremations to terramation, a composting process, and aquamation, a water-based process.
Who will farm to feed the people?
Whatcom and Skagit farm centers equip and empower a new generation of farmers. As their predecessors age, farmland prices increase while affordability of land decreases.
From the Editor’s Desk: Fact-checking 42nd District campaign mailers
Political mailers to 42nd Legislative District addresses—timed to arrive with ballots—carry a variety of assertions and arguments; Salish Current fact-checks the claims.
Fact-checking what’s being said around Whatcom’s Proposition 5
Whatcom voters will decide Nov. 8 on the Healthy Children’s Initiative, a property tax measure to fund child care and early-learning programs.
Council votes to create Racial Equity Commission: reflections of a post-modern revolutionary
Commentary: A Whatcom County Council vote established a racial equity commission; now, the challenge for supporters is to engage others in the conversation, an organizer writes.
Understanding water rights adjudication
Commentary: Recent letters to editors and from local officials demonstrate misunderstanding of “water rights adjudication.”
Voters asked to approve child care support as demand exceeds supply
Whatcom County voters will decide in November whether they will fund change for an overburdened child care system: Part 2.
Child care shortfall frustrates families, hampers local economy
Demand far outstrips the supply of available and affordable child care locally. The problem is multifaceted, as solutions also will need to be: Part 1.
Flood survivors face next flood season while awaiting long-term fixes
Flood season is coming faster than housing solutions, as recovery from November 2021 flooding continues in Whatcom County.
From the Editor’s Desk: Fact-checking the candidates
A 42nd District forum presented by the League of Women Voters of Bellingham-Whatcom County offered an opportunity for fact-checking candidate statements.
Local policing at recruitment crossroads
Local police departments are adapting to staff and applicant shortages in ways as multifaceted as the reasons behind the trend.
Sylvia Center closure clouds future for local theater
Announcement of the closure of Sylvia Center for the Arts — a surprise to many — has prompted questions about the future of local theater.
A twisted path to homelessness
A community resident finds herself without long-term housing after a downward spiral into homelessness.