Bellingham council suspends immigration board, Woman dies in early-morning Lummi Nation house fire, Bellingham Community Food Co-Op’s 170 employees consider unionizing; voting this week, Blaine Arts and Jazz Fundraiser set for February 3, Youngest J pod southern resident orca presumed dead, New Ecology grant to help build coastal climate resilience, Bill aims to increase WA school board pay for first time since 1987, The Federal Trade Commission is sending letters to funeral homes in Washington and across the country warning against illegal business practices.
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KMRE brings you local news for Tuesday, January 30th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Bellingham council suspends immigration board
A City Council advisory board formed to advocate for the immigrant community has been suspended.
In a meeting yesterday afternoon, City council members, led by member and immigration lawyer Hannah Stone, cited the Immigration Advisory Board’s exclusion of city staff from meetings, failure to undergo mandatory training, and lack of by-laws adoption as reasons for the pause.
Stone acknowledged her role in the board’s inefficiency and strained relationship with the city, while Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig blamed board members for personal attacks and hindering collaboration with law enforcement.
Members of the Immigration Advisory Board claim that the city hindered their progress by failing to participate adequately and obstructing training, particularly by not offering presentations in Spanish.
At the same meeting, council members committed to work toward returning the IAB to active status– restarting its watchdog role over limiting law enforcement’s interactions with federal immigration agents, and helping the city develop an immigrant resource center.
STORY: Woman dies in early-morning Lummi Nation house fire
A Lummi Nation woman was killed in a house fire yesterday morning.
Firefighters responded to a mobile home fire on Scott Road shortly after 2 a.m. on Monday. Crews were initially unable to enter the home as the fire was too intense. Once they were finally able to search the residence, they found a deceased woman in her 70s. A survivor of the fire was awakened by the sounds of the blaze – he, too, attempted to enter the house to rescue the woman, but the intensity of the fire prevented him from doing so.
The cause of the fire, which completely destroyed the mobile home, is still under investigation. The woman’s identity has not yet been released.
STORY: Bellingham Community Food Co-Op’s 170 employees consider unionizing; voting this week
Employees from the Bellingham Community Food Co-op are meeting this week to vote on whether or not to unionize.
The National Labor Relations Board said that employees of the Downtown and Cordata locations filed a petition earlier this month for a representation election, after which letters were sent to the co-op administration from both the NLRB and the Teamsters. The union would include all employees working for both Co-op locations, but exclude employees at the Holly Street custom bakery, managers, supervisors, and administrative roles.
The vote to unionize the downtown location will take place tomorrow, and the vote for the Cordata location will be held on February 1st.
STORY: Blaine Arts and Jazz Fundraiser set for February 3
The Blaine Fine Arts Association (BFAA) will have its 27th annual fundraiser at Blaine Middle School this Saturday.
The event will feature displays of the students’ artistic talent, including a silent auction for student art, performances from the music students; hors d’oeuvres (ORE-derves) from the culinary students; and a show put on by the theater department.
All funds raised will go towards scholarships and programs for grades 6-12 art students within the district.
The fundraiser will be held this Saturday at 7 p.m. in Blaine Middle School.
STORY: Youngest J pod southern resident orca presumed dead
The youngest J pod Southern Resident Orca, known as J60, is presumed dead according to researchers.
Last week, the J pod of southern resident Orcas was seen in the San Juan channel, however J60 was missing from the group. J pod is one of three families of southern resident orcas that frequent the Salish Sea.
According to Micheal Wiess (WEES), research director of The Center for Whale Research, it is estimated that only half of southern resident calves survive. The primary threat to the species is a lack of salmon, which causes more toxins to be transferred from the mothers to their calves.
Wiess says, with their increasingly inbred and underfed populations, introducing more fish into their habitat appears to be one of the only ways to help curve the species away from extinction.
J60 was born just last December. The Center for Whale Research estimates that there are now only 74 J pod orcas.
STORY: New Ecology grant to help build coastal climate resilience
A collaborative partnership between four Washington organizations has been formed to help combat climate change.
The Washington Sea Grant, along with the Departments of Ecology, Transportation, and Fish and Wildlife, announced an $850,000 grant from the National Coastal Resilience Fund.
Rising sea levels and altered rainfall patterns are affecting the extensive coastline along Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. To address these challenges, the new collaboration aims to address coastal hazards like flooding, erosion, and landslides in Washington’s 15 coastal counties.
The money will fund the climate impact vulnerability assessment for state roadways as well as nature-based resilience projects along the coast.
STORY: Bill aims to increase WA school board pay for first time since 1987
A proposed bill would see an increase in pay for school board members for the first time since 1987.
Senate Bill 6223, supported by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, proposes a pay increase from a maximum of 4,800 dollars, to 6,000 dollars with an additional 50 cents for every student enrolled in the district. In the Bellingham School District, this would mean school board members would get a maximum of around 12,000 dollars a year. In the Ferndale School District, the maximum would be around 8,000 dollars. At Seattle Public Schools, the state’s largest district, the maximum yearly wage would total 31,000. All school board wages are paid by the state.
According to Brandon Hersey (HER-see), a member of the Seattle School Board, the change would help boards expand in diversity – allowing those who couldn’t participate due to money concerns, to run for school board.
The legislature estimates that the bill would cost the state approximately 12.8 million dollars a year.
WX: Rain, Landslide warning
Due to recent rainfall, the National Weather Service has put out a Special Weather Statement, warning of an increased threat of landslides. The warning covers Western Whatcom County as well as many other coastal regions.
There is a 20 percent chance of rain today, with a high of 60 degrees and gentle winds. 20 will turn to 40 percent later tonight, with lows of around 50 degrees. Rain is expected to continue all week.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Carlos Braga, Connor O’Boyle, and Tristan Trudell. 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. If you would like to help keep local news accessible, check out our new Patreon page at patreon.com/kmrenews or go to kmre.org and click on the banner. I’m ________________, and thanks for listening.
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STORY:
The Federal Trade Commission is sending letters to funeral homes in Washington and across the country warning against illegal business practices.
In a recent release, the FTC announced that Mountain View Funeral Home and Crematory did not provide accurate information during undercover calls in February and August 2023. The funeral home gave materially different prices for the same goods and services on each call, violating the federal Funeral Rule.
A federal rule in effect since 1984 mandates the disclosure of itemized price information for general funeral services, including caskets and burial containers, and prohibits unauthorized fees, and the misrepresentations of legal requirements or ‘required’ purchases.
Although FTC staff does not currently plan formal legal action, Mountain View Funeral Home and Crematory has been advised to take immediate action to ensure accurate information is provided over the phone about prices and offerings.
