Watching Government

  May 2018

Port of Bellingham Commission

Soliciting a Port Reporter Whatcom Watch is seeking a person to compile Port of Bellingham Commission votes. Since 2000, Whatcom Watch has reported on over 2,700 Port Commission votes. For a person who likes to keep an eye on government … Continue reading

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  May 2018

Bellingham City Council

Action Taken at March 12, 2018 Meeting Shall the council: 37. Authorize the mayor to sign a $25,000 agreement with the Whatcom Council of Governments to help fund the Whatcom Smart Trips program? At the 2/27/2006 meeting, vote #42, the … Continue reading

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  May 2018

Whatcom County Council

Compiled by Barry MacHale Action Taken at March 13, 2018 Meeting Shall the council: 37. Confirm the executive’s appointment of Mark Personius as director of Planning & Development Services? Mr. Personius has been employed by Planning and Development Services since … Continue reading

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  May 2018

Memorial Park

Memorial Park, located in Bellingham’s Sunnyland Neighborhood, honors members of the U.S. military from Whatcom County who were killed in war. Each year, the park hosts heartfelt ceremonies as part of the community’s observance of Memorial Day. The land was … Continue reading

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  May 2018

Who Will Be There For You When You’re Dying?

When I heard specialist physicians, titled hospitalists, were hired to care for hospital inpatients, I asked the hospital for a job description so I might judge their impact on patients, especially at the end of life. PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical … Continue reading

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  May 2018

Open Letter to Peacehealth St. Joseph Cancer Center

Greetings, Cancer Center Board of Directors: Is there a sadder comment on cancer care than “I wish someone had told me?” That was my wish in 2009 about my wife’s glioblastoma treatment and was the despairing 2018 wish of a … Continue reading

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  May 2018

Bellingham Marches for Our LIves

On the morning of March 24, I boarded the WTA Route 1 bus at Fairhaven Station en route to the March for Our Lives event at City Hall, and there were only two other passengers on board — a couple … Continue reading

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  May 2018

Tips on Organizing a Rally

As someone who organized the first on-campus protest at the University of Illinois in 1961 (a peace march) and has been involved in several causes and organization efforts over subsequent decades I offer a few tips that I hope may … Continue reading

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  May 2018

Alternatives to Jail Save Money

Defining “Fair” and Maintaining Public Safety With capacity set at just over 200 inmates and an actual daily average population closer to 400, Whatcom County’s jail is beyond crowded. Since 2016, whenever the jail has reached capacity, both pre-trial inmates … Continue reading

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  May 2018

In Retrospect: From 2002 to 2018

Editor’s Note: Joe’s first article appeared in the April 2002 issue of Whatcom Watch. It was so successful editor Sally Hewitt asked Joe if he was intersted in writing a monthly column. He accepted the offer and the first Beaks … Continue reading

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