North Cascades Highway reopens as wildfire rages, Global tech outage affects Sea-Tac services and flights, Bellingham Big Lots to close amid possible bankruptcy filing, WSDOT introduces new colors to help keep drivers safe, WTA considering additional green plans as electric bus fleet faces hurdles, Free and cheap
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KMRE brings you local news for Friday, July 19th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: North Cascades Highway reopens as wildfire rages
While Easy Fire continues to rage – The North Cascades Highway reopened yesterday evening with no stops between milepost 148 and 158, according to WSDOT (WASH-dot).
The fire was first reported on Wednesday evening, and had grown to 300 acres with no containment by 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, burning around Easy Pike Trailhead, according to Inciweb. The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning due to lightning storms without rain.
Despite the smoke, the Air Quality Index rating in bellingham is still ‘good’ due in part to ocean breezes carrying the smoke away, according to Northwest Clean Air Agency.
STORY: Global tech outage affects Sea-Tac services and flights
A global technology outage briefly knocked the world offline – leaving planes grounded, hospitals scrambling, and Seattle businesses scratching their heads.
The cause of the outage was traced to an update from the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, who claim that this was not a cyberattack and was simply a faulty update for computers running Windows.
Seattle Children’s hospital posted on Facebook that it was forced to close today due to the update shutting down their IT database. The outage also affected Harborview Medical Center, but they were able to get back online early this morning. At the Seatac Airport, spokesperson Perry Cooper says that as of 9:41 a.m., 100 flights were delayed and 51 were canceled due to the outage.
The underlying issue was fixed at around 4 am this morning, but Microsoft warned users that the outage may still affect customers as the company works to solve the problem completely.
STORY: Bellingham Big Lots to close amid possible bankruptcy filing
The Bellingham’s Big Lots store will close permanently as the company suffers failing sales and speculations that it may declare bankruptcy.
Big Lots reported that it lost $205 million in the first quarter of this year, after reportedly losing over $72 million last year. Sales drops are attributed to inflation, higher prices, and consumer cutbacks. The retailer expressed quote “substantial doubt” unquote in its ability to continue as a company, driving concerns that they may be filing for bankruptcy sometime in the near future.
The Bellingham store joins at least 35 other Big Lots around the country in closing– at this time no official closing date has been announced.
STORY: WSDOT introduces new colors to help keep drivers safe
If you see green and yellow flashing lights on the road don’t be alarmed – but please do pay attention.
The new green and yellow lights are simply one more way the State Department of Transportation is helping keep its crews and all travelers safe on the roads. In addition, red and white reflective warning stripes will be applied on the back of all roadway work vehicles. The red and white stripes are in an upside down “V” design. It’s another visual cue to be extra alert, slow down and give vehicles space to do their work safely.
The DOT is making these changes – both the lights and the stripes– based on new research by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and the Transportation Research Board. According to the research, the stripes and the lights changing between two colors helps people more easily see the vehicles – which is the entire goal. The green lights are also more visible in fog.
Last year, the total number of work zone crashes increased nearly 5 percent. Of those injured, 95 percent were not workers– but drivers, their passengers, and pedestrians.
STORY: WTA considering additional green plans as electric bus fleet faces hurdles
The Whatcom Transit Authority has announced that eight more electric buses will be put into service this year as part of its plan to transition to all zero-emission vehicles.
However, the new buses have experienced hiccups. According to WTA reports, electric buses can only do 58% of the routes due to range limitations. Each bus costs $1.25 million and has been funded through state and federal grants — as the WTA can’t afford them alone. The supporting infrastructure for electric buses is expensive and there are challenges with the software.
At the WTA Board of Directors meeting yesterday, challenges to transitioning the 63-bus fleet were discussed, along with options which would prioritize other solutions such as increasing ridership. WTA’s other goals include the use of renewable fuels like R99— a transportation fuel made from 100% renewable raw materials like vegetable oils, animal fats, and oil waste. In addition the board discussed local carbon offsets, possible hydrogen technology, and working with SmartTrips to encourage people to get out of their cars.
The board says it remains committed to bus decarbonization, however, according to WTA Board Chairperson Ali Hawkinson electric buses can’t be the only method, and that ultimately the goal has to be to get people on the bus.
STORY: Free and cheap
Here are some free and cheap options to enjoy the sun this weekend:
The Pickford Film Center’s Rooftop Cinema premieres tonight with a showing of “Shaun of the Dead.” Each Rooftop Cinema event is free to attend for people of all ages as well as dogs, as long as they remain leashed. The event begins at 7pm with live entertainment by World’s Best Trivia and accompanied by a Boundary Bay beer garden and selection of food vendors.
Those wanting to catch a movie tomorrow can attend the Fairhaven Outdoor Cinema on the Village Green for a showing of the Barbie movie along with performances by The Song Wranglers. Entertainment starts 90-min prior to sunset and tickets are $7.
If you’re looking for something to do during the day this weekend, The Raspberry Festival has kicked off in Lynden. Free street events include the Berry Fair Street Market, Razz and Shine Classic Car and Truck Cruise-In, Razz “Beery” Time-Out Garden, Razz-tastic Music and Entertainment Performances, and much more. To see an entire list of events visit the Lynden Chamber of Commerce website.
WX: Sun
And now for your Whatcom County weather:
Today’s weather will be much the same as the last few days, with highs in the low to mid 80s, modest southwestern winds, and nighttime lows hovering right around 60. This weather pattern is expected to persist virtually unchanged throughout the weekend as well.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers Carlos Braga (BRA-guh), Connor O’Boyle, Jayne Kuhlman (COOL-mun), Carlee Schram (CAR-lee SHRAM), Tristan Trudell, Kyler Cantrell, Ikumi Mashiko (ih-KOO-me muh-SHE-ko), Anna Vickers, and Theron (THAIR-in) Danielson. 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. Check out our Patreon page or go to kmre.org and click on the banner. I’m ________________, and thank you for listening.
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