Watching Government

  December 2016

Port of Bellingham Commission

Compiled by Andrew S. McBride Action Taken at October 4, 2016 Meeting Shall the commission: 163. Authorize the executive director to renew the port’s liability and auto insurance coverage? The premium will be $183,426 (for the period 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017) … Continue reading

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  December 2016

Whatcom County Council

Compiled by Barry MacHale Action Taken at September 27, 2016 Meeting Shall the council: 165. Authorize the public works department to spend up to $150,000 to purchase radios and related accessories on an as-needed basis from vendor Motorola Inc. of … Continue reading

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  December 2016

Bellingham City Council

Action Taken at September 26, 2016 Meeting Shall the council: 155. Approve a request for sewer service at 3214 Locust Ave.? The single-family residence was constructed in 1934, the homeowner has been informed by the Whatcom County Health Department that … Continue reading

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  December 2016

TPP is About Protectionism

To the editor: Those who favor the domination of multinational corporations claim that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will be voted on soon, is about free trade. To the extent that there are some provisions about trade, the TPP is protectionist, … Continue reading

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  December 2016

Cartoonist George Jartos

George Jartos, a cartoonist who for years enlivened Whatcom Watch with his drawings and sense of humor, died October 19, 2016, of unknown causes at his Railroad Avenue apartment in downtown Bellingham. Jartos’ work appeared everywhere from Playboy to Reader’s … Continue reading

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  December 2016

US Recognizing Tribal Rights

by Lorraine Loomis A wave of federal recognition of tribal sovereignty and treaty rights has reached a high-water mark in the closing days of President Obama’s administration. We hope President-elect Donald Trump will help push that wave even higher. Obama … Continue reading

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  December 2016

Expose of Gannett as Nasty, Unscrupulous Corporation

To celebrate 25 years of publishing Whatcom Watch, we will be printing excerpts from 20 years ago. The below excerpts are from the December 1996 issue of Whatcom Watch. Editor’s Note: When this article was written, the Gannett Corporated owned … Continue reading

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  December 2016

How to Improve Whatcom Water-use Efficiency?

by Eric Hirst The Colorado River Research Group wrote that, “Water users consume too much water from the river and, moving forward, must strive to use less, not more. Any conversation about the river that does not explicitly acknowledge this … Continue reading

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  December 2016

Beth Brownfield, Committed Activist

by Kathryn Fentress Beth Brownfield, 75, moved to Bellingham with her husband in 2004 from Minneapolis, Minn. They have two adult children and two grandchildren. Beth and her husband spent two years in the Peace Corps in Honduras before starting … Continue reading

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  December 2016

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 Boris … Continue reading

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