Cover Story

  August 2019

How Is Whatcom Dealing With Recyclables?

by Nichole Schmitt In 2018, the United States became suddenly aware of how ill-equipped we are for handling our own waste. Without much advance notice, China stopped accepting the world’s garbage. Shipping containers were turned away at the port and … Continue reading

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  July 2019

More Than 10,000 Expected at Lummi Stommish Grounds

by Tara Nelson Part 2 Imagine a young person telling you they have no direction, purpose, or sense of belonging within their own community. It’s something that’s been heard repeatedly and it’s exactly the kind of thing Paddle to Lummi … Continue reading

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  July 2019

This Year We Could Really Use Ranked Choice Voting

by Stoney Bird And here is a chance to try it out! This year Bellinghamsters and their neighbors have a huge array of contested elections and the candidates to go with them. Of nine elections total, we have eight — … Continue reading

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  July 2019

How Ranked-Choice Votes Are Counted

by Stoney Bird For both single-winner elections (like mayor or county executive) and multi-winner elections (like the state legislature or the county council), the voters vote for as many candidates as they favor and rank their choices. If the election … Continue reading

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  June 2019

Tribal Canoe Journey Ends at Lummi

by Betsy Pernotto Part 1 The annual Tribal Canoe Journey (Paddle to Lummi 2019) will be held on July 24-28, 2019, at the Lummi Reservation. Community Connections Committee member Betsy Pernotto interviewed Freddie Lane, the director of Paddle to Lummi … Continue reading

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  June 2019

What Is 5G and Why Should You Care?

by Leslie Shankman Maybe you know, maybe you don’t. Somewhat quietly, the next generation of wireless technology called 5G, for 5th Generation, is sprouting up in cities around the globe. The lineage of technology generations started in the early 1980s … Continue reading

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  May 2019

Glaciers of the North Cascades: A Dwindling Water Resource

by Erin McConnell   It’s a sunny August day, and all four members of the North Cascades Glacier Climate Project (NCGCP) research team are pretty beat. Today marks one full week into the field season, and the day-long backpacking treks … Continue reading

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  May 2019

Lake Whatcom Water Quality Continues to Decline

by April Markiewicz   “Something is going on.” That is the phrase being used behind the scenes to describe some of the latest data in the Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project 2017/2018 Report by Matthews et al. (2019). Lake Whatcom (for … Continue reading

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  April 2019

Orca Survival Status Quo No Longer an Option

by Eleanor Hines L-Pod orca blowing bubbles, as seen from San Juan Island’s Westside Preserve Land Bank                                                … Continue reading

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  April 2019

When the Spirit Rebels

by Rob Lewis It would have been a strange vision for any one of our great grandparents, if they had tried to imagine one day the emergence of something called Extinction Rebellion. “What? A rebellion against the end of life … Continue reading

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