Lummi Health agencies issue emergency alert following overdose deaths, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut ceremony postponed, Dry cleaning detective received unauthorized send-off after firing, Washington Education Association establishes 1.5 million Promise Scholarship for WWU’s aspiring teachers, Warmer than normal winter for Whatcom, AG Ferguson’s unemployment fraud recovery initiative nets $42 million, Prices skyrocket on WA transportation projects, and fewer contractors want the jobs, Free and Cheap
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STORY: Lummi health agencies issue emergency alert following overdose deaths, Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut ceremony postponed
The Lummi Healing Spirit Clinic and the Lummi Tribal Health Center issued a joint emergency alert warning about a new batch of fentanyl that resulted in four deaths this week. Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s (skallie-CHUKH-ten-not) ceremony has been postponed in light of the deaths.
The health agencies advise safe practices while using fentanyl, as the new batch in the area is either stronger than usual, or could be a mixture similar to that of “tranq dope.” They released in the emergency alert safe practices, including never using alone, not using at the same time as a friend, always having Kloxxado or Narcan on hand, testing the supply, leaving doors open or unlocked, using slowly, and remembering that a person’s tolerance lessens after a couple days of decreased use, which puts you at risk for overdose.
The Lummi Nation also released a statement yesterday announcing the postponement of Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (skallie-CHUKH-ten-not)’s ceremony that was to happen this weekend. In the statement, the Nation does promise to honor her as their ancestors directed. They also wrote in the press release “Our community has been hit hard with an overwhelming amount of grief this week, and we feel at this time we must come together as a Nation to wrap our arms around the families that are mourning the loss of a loved one.”
Community members are handing out test strips for fentanyl and “tranq dope” at the clinic, health center, as well as some gas stations and bus stops.
STORY: Dry cleaning detective received unauthorized send-off after firing
A former Bellingham police detective got an unauthorized hero’s send-off earlier this month after being fired for misuse of public funds.
Adam McGinty was fired by the Bellingham Police Department on August 18th after an internal investigation revealed that he circumvented the department’s allotment of dry-cleaning services by using another detective’s name without their knowledge. A memo summarizing the results of the investigation said that McGinty had committed second-degree theft, a felony involving between $750 and $5,000 in goods or services.
McGinty’s dismissal was followed by a flag raising and a vehicle escort of up to six vehicles – including police cars with emergency lights flashing. According to Whatcom County’s prosecutor’s office, such events are reserved only for those who retire or otherwise leave the police department in good standing. The celebratory events were made public when McGinty’s wife, Beth McGinty, shared details in several NextDoor posts on September 12th. In those posts, she also described a private going-away party, attended by around 120 people – including prosecutors, city officials, and retired and active-duty officers of all ranks.
In a statement to Cascadia Daily News, Bellingham Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig said she is disappointed by the unsanctioned escort and flag raising and that she will be instituting policies to prevent this from happening again.
STORY: Washington Education Association establishes $1.5 million Promise Scholarship for WWU’s aspiring teachers
The Washington Education Association (WEA) has pledged $1.5 million in scholarship support to the students of Western’s Woodring College of Education.
Beginning this fall, the WEA scholarship will be awarded to fifth year students so that the teaching candidates can continue receiving financial support while student teaching. Additionally, those students will receive one-on-one mentoring from WEA members. The $1.5 million scholarship will be awarded over the next five years in hopes to better prepare the next generation of teaching professionals in Washington State.
Currently, more than 4,000 educators in the Washington state school systems are graduates of Woodring, and every county in Washington state has a Woodring-trained graduate on its workforce.
STORY: Warmer than normal winter for Whatcom
Northwest Washington is likely to see a warmer-than-normal winter with less rainfall than average.
A report issued last week by the Climate Prediction Center indicates a 71% chance of a strong El Niño, a climate pattern that would steer heavy winter storms south of Washington state. The agency also issued a long-range forecast for the winter, predicting a 60-70% chance of above-normal temperatures and a 40-50% chance of below-normal rainfall. The reports doubled down on what meteorologists were already thinking, though the forecasts do not mean extreme weather events such as lowland snow or flooding won’t happen.
Western Washington just endured a rare three-year La Niña pattern, which normally results in colder and wetter winters in Whatcom County. During that period, the Nooksack River flooded three times, killing one person and causing more than $200 million in damages. Because of the El Niño forecast, the U.S. Drought Monitor lists Whatcom County in a period of severe drought, and indicates that dry conditions will continue.
STORY: AG Ferguson’s unemployment fraud recovery initiative nets $42 million
The Attorney General’s office announced yesterday that their fraud recovery initiative netted a total of $42 million in stolen funds from 26 financial institutions.
Using the state asset forfeiture powers, the AG recovered more than two-thirds of stolen unemployment funds of a possible $647 million. The money was recovered from bank accounts where thieves did not withdraw all their stolen funds and will go back into the state unemployment trust fund and to the federal treasury.
Beginning in April 2020, Washington’s unemployment insurance program was one of the first to suffer an unprecedented nationwide attack of imposter fraud. Fraud rings used stolen identities to steal as much as $135 billion from 53 government programs that received federal pandemic unemployment benefits. Washington State’s Employment Security Department estimates that during the COVID-19 pandemic, fraudulent claims accounted for 3% of the overall $21.7 billion in unemployment benefits paid to workers. Similarly sized states like Arizona and Virginia experienced much larger losses, at 4.4 billion and 1.6 billion dollars respectively.
STORY: Prices skyrocket on WA transportation projects, and fewer contractors want the jobs
The Washington State Department of Transportation has announced that it is facing significant cost overruns on multiple infrastructure projects and the rising costs are raising concerns among lawmakers.
According to the Department, declining competition is a large part of the problem. In 2021, the state typically received more than six bids per project, but in 2023, the number dropped to around 2½ bids per project. Contractors are in high demand due to ongoing infrastructure projects in Washington and across the country. Combined with labor shortages, the effect has been a limited number of available contractors. Multiple projects have been met with bids that are up to 40% more expensive than the project costs.
To address this issue, the state is exploring options to make its mega-projects more appealing to contractors by breaking them into smaller pieces. However, in the short to medium term, lawmakers are rethinking major highway projects and potentially find additional funding sources.
STORY: Free and Cheap
Looking for something to do? This week is Bellingham’s fifth annual Climate Action Week, with events happening from today through next Saturday.
Tonight at 5:30 is the Green Building Slam, a networking event all about green construction. It is 21 and over only, and is hosted at the Underground Nightclub. Tickets are available online with a student discount, but the event is free for volunteers.
The Bellingham Unitarian Church will be hosting a one time showing of Wild Pacific Rescue on Saturday, about the Vancouver Aquarium’s rescue of animals harmed by plastic pollution. The showing starts at 9:30 am and free registration is online.
On Sunday, the Whatcom Million Trees Project is hosting a volunteer work party to remove invasive English ivy from threatened trees. The event starts at 1, and the sign up form is available online.
Throughout the week, the WTA will be tracking bus rides and planting a tree for every 100 rides.
WX: Sunny weather before weekend storm
Today is expected to be sunny, with a high of 72. The nice weather won’t last for long however, as tonight clouds are expected ahead of the expected rain starting tomorrow and going into next week. The overnight low will be 54*. Temperatures are expected to drop gradually with the storm coming.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Susan Lindsey, Emma Toscani and Carlos Braga. Tune in to local news on KMRE weekdays at 3, 4 and 5 p-m. For news tips and feedback, send us an email at news@kmre.org or call 360-398-6150. KMRE is a nonprofit community radio station, powered by listener donations. I’m ________________ and thanks for listening.
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