June 2018 (volume 27, issue 6)

Kinder Morgan’s Oil Spill Problem

by Clark Williams-Derry This article originally appeared on the Sightline Institute website sightline.org and is reprinted with permission. Firm Faces Steep Costs and “Unlimited Liability” for a Trans Mountain Spill For Kinder Morgan, the decision made by Canada’s National Energy … Continue reading

About Lake Whatcom

by April Markiewicz It is the primary drinking water source for about 100,000 residents in Bellingham and Whatcom County. The lake is comprised of three sub-basins from which samples are collected in October through December, in February and April through … Continue reading

Climate Challenges: Lake Whatcom Update

by April Markiewicz Lake Whatcom, our community’s primary drinking water source, is already showing the effects of climate change as evidenced by increasingly common summer temperature extremes. The most recent occurrence was in 2015, followed by warmer than usual, but … Continue reading

An Eastside Retrospective

by Joe Meche As winter has finally loosened its grip we are currently making preparations for another departure to signal the beginning of our own camping season. After last month’s look back over the past sixteen years of Beaks and … Continue reading

Cooperation Spawns Hope

by Lorraine Loomis “The spirit of cooperation must guide us. It is how we will be able to bring back the salmon.” These words from our late leader Billy Frank Jr. become more important every day. Even though we’ve all … Continue reading

Port of Bellingham Commission

Compiled by Bill McCallum Action Taken at April 3, 2018 Meeting Shall the commission: 48. Approve lease modifications with rental car agencies operating at the Bellingham airport? The modifications are with Avis Rent a Car System; Budget Rent a Car … Continue reading

Whatcom County Council

Compiled by Barry MacHale Action Taken at April 10, 2018 Meeting Shall the council: 56. Authorize the executive to sign a ,440 contract (amendment #1) with FCS Group of Redmond? At the 12/5/2017 meeting, vote #255, the council voted to … Continue reading

Bellingham City Council

Action Taken at April 9, 2018 Meeting Shall the council: 46. Authorize the mayor to sign an agreement with the Northwest Clean Air Agency for a greenhouse gas reduction project? The city was awarded the greenhouse gas reduction grant by … Continue reading

Initiative 1600: Single-Payer Health Care in Washington State

by Bill Walker Bernie Sanders had many great ideas on how to reform public policy so that all Americans could be served equally by a just and fair system of government. And now here in Washington State we have the … Continue reading

Gardening With Wildlife

by Peter Heffelfinger One of the first chores of spring is to let a few winter-hardened brassicas, such as kales or collards, go to seed. The early flowers attract native bees and the cultivated honey bees, as well as the … Continue reading

poetrywatch

“When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” — John F. Kennedy Do … Continue reading

Missing Streams, Uncounted Fish and Ubiquitous Pipes

by Stephen C. Conroy To celebrate 27 years of publishing Whatcom Watch, we will be printing excerpts from 20 years ago. The article below appeared in the June 1998 issue of Whatcom Watch. Editor’s Note: In 2013, federal court Judge … Continue reading

How Can We Talk About Morals and Politics?

by Bob Schober This section is devoted to studying the local impacts of specific issues the Trump Administration or Republican Congress will propose.   Perhaps it is human instinct to deny or forget uncomfortable thoughts. Or maybe it iswillful hypocrisy, … Continue reading

Ask Questions Before Device Or Implant Surgery

by Robert A. Duke Don’t expect to be told everything you need to know when electing surgery. Despite the length and thoroughness of pre-surgery preparations, you’ll discover most information is for the surgeon, not the patient. First, the surgeon is … Continue reading

Ten Tips For Device Surgery

by Robert A. Duke 1. Learn the name or brand of the device to be implanted so you can search for its success rate and its recall history. I discovered devices similar to my fusion spacers were available from Taiwan … Continue reading

Trump vs. Trump

by Sharon Robinson Our President is at war with his own government. He claims in unending Tweets that he’s being persecuted and deprived of his Constitutional rights, which were designed to protect citizens from abuse of political power. President Trump … Continue reading