May 2017 (volume 26, issue 5)

Clean Water: Lake Whatcom Water Quality Update

by April Markiewicz Clean water. Each of us gets up every morning, turns on the water faucet and expects to have clean, fresh water at our disposal. We make coffee with it, prepare food, brush our teeth, take a shower, … Continue reading

Character The Content of Bellingham’s Neighborhoods Part II

by Dick Conoboy This article was first posted on nwcitizen.com on April 11, 2017 Editor’s Note: From here forward, Whatcom Watch will allow authors to offer a rebuttal to an article critical of their article in the same issue. Correcting … Continue reading

Birding on Bikes

by Joe Meche A few years back, one of the field trips that I offered through the North Cascades Audubon Society was called Birds on Bikes. While the title evoked a few chuckles, it was a great way to spend … Continue reading

Clarification for Real Change Vendors

To the Editor: I want to express my deep appreciation to Kathryn Fentress and Whatcom Watch for featuring Real Change for Whatcom County in its April edition. As we prepare to welcome Real Change News vendors to Whatcom County, we … Continue reading

Bellingham City Council

Action Taken at March 13, 2017 Meeting Shall the council: 40. Authorize the mayor to sign a ,444 settlement agreement for water damage? On Jan. 16, 2017, a water main broke resulting in extensive water damage to the home at … Continue reading

Whatcom County Council

Compiled by Barry MacHale Action Taken at March 7, 2017 Meeting  Shall the council: 39. Appoint Michael Shepard to the Portage Bay Shellfish Protection District Advisory Committee? The Portage Bay Shellfish Protection District Advisory Board advises the County Council on … Continue reading

Port of Bellingham Commission

Compiled by Andrew S. McBride Action Taken at February 21, 2017 meeting Shall the commission: 23. Authorize the executive director to sign an agreement with Whatcom County for real estate services? Whatcom County owns a building at 3720 Williamson Way … Continue reading

Elizabeth Park Whatcom County’s First Official Park

From July 2000 through April 2002, Whatcom Watch ran a 16-part series on Bellingham parks. Aaron Joy wrote the series based on his self-published book, “A History of Bellingham Parks.” The 394 page book had almost 200 pages of predominantly … Continue reading

Denying Climate Change and Attacking Science

by Lyle Harris Sr. Climate change is a bunch of nonsense. At least according to Scott Pruitt, President Trump’s new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. In fact, he supports eliminating the EPA, commenting: “I think people across the country … Continue reading

Celebrating Twenty-five Years

With the April 2017 issue of Whatcom Watch the paper completed twenty-five years of publishing. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our long-time subscribers and advertisers. The below dates are the years our current contributors started subscribing … Continue reading

Great Tomatoes

by Peter Heffelfinger Growing tomatoes in the Maritime Northwest can be a challenge, even with the warmer summer temperatures of the past few years. Tropical plants native to South America, tomatoes struggle with our more temperate, though sunny and dry, … Continue reading

poetrywatch

Boris Schleinkofer, poetrywatch editor “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.” — … Continue reading

Are Environmentalists Shooting Themselves in the Foot?

by Bob Keller To celebrate 26 years of publishing Whatcom Watch, we are printing excerpts from 20 years ago. The excerpt below is from the May 1997 issue of Whatcom Watch. Editor’s Note: Bob Keller died in February 2017. A … Continue reading

Ellen Murphy and Nonviolence

by Kathryn Fentress Ellen Murphy, 80, has been a lifelong nonviolence practitioner and teacher for peace and justice. She was arrested many times as a 10-year member of The Desert Waves Affinity Group at the Nevada Nuclear Weapons Test Site … Continue reading

Climate Facts Trump You Know Who

by Bob Schober A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. Max Planck, physicist … Continue reading

Algorithms Can Treat Physician Fallibility

by Robert A. Duke Part I Yes, physicians are fallible. They are human, just like you and me. And the intense pressure of their profession often flaws and distracts their thinking despite their best efforts to be clinical. In fact, … Continue reading