At-risk minor reported missing in Bellingham, Bellingham K9 team arrest man violating protection order while reportedly carrying small sword, Seattle-Vancouver Amtrak service suspended after landslide, Road work at intersection of E. Smith and Hannegan expected to cause delays for remainder of week, Public hearing to be held on establishment of all-way stop in Everson, Northern giant hornet reportedly eradicated in Whatcom, and country at large, Skagit Delta farmers seek to overturn salmon finding, Free and Cheap
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KMRE brings you local news for Thursday, December 19th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: At-risk minor reported missing in Bellingham Bellingham Police are asking the community to help locate a missing girl.
14-year-old Lilly Perrin is 5’5 and weighs 120 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes, and was last seen in Bellingham wearing blue PacMan pajama pants and a black backpack. Anyone who might have seen her or know where she might be is asked to call the Washington State Patrol.
STORY: Bellingham K9 team arrest man violating protection order while reportedly carrying small sword
A newly formed Bellingham police K9 team logged its first arrest on Monday night.
Officer Shaun Nelson and K9 Stella successfully tracked a male suspect who violated a felony domestic violence protection order. In a phone call with KMRE Radio, BPD spokeswoman Megan Peters confirmed the suspect’s identity as 46-year-old Kenneth Kiyoshi de Los Santos. He was reportedly banging on windows at the protected person’s residence before fleeing on foot when police arrived. The K9 team tracked de Los Santos through woods and into another apartment complex, where Stella alerted
to his presence near a vehicle. de Los Santos was found hiding under the vehicle, and arrested without incident.
de Los Santos was found in possession of a small sword, and now faces charges for violating a court order. He remains in custody at the Whatcom County Jail as of today.
STORY: Seattle-Vancouver Amtrak service suspended after landslide The Seattle-to-Vancouver Amtrak service is out of service today and tomorrow morning due to a landslide in Canada.
The Seattle Times reports that a landslide covered the railroad tracks near White Rock in British Columbia. Yesterday afternoon, BNSF Railway placed a 48-hour moratorium on passenger service.
Ticket holders for the Amtrak Cascades trains will be provided bus service; passengers can also call Amtrak to change their reservation at no additional cost.
Service is expected to resume around noon tomorrow.
STORY: Road work at intersection of E. Smith and Hannegan expected to cause delays for remainder of week
Expect delays the rest of the week at the intersection of East Smith and Hannegan roads, as Whatcom County Public Works crews install lights at the newly completed multi-lane roundabout.
Construction is underway daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with potential delays of up to 20 minutes. Drivers are encouraged to take alternate routes.
STORY: Public hearing to be held on establishment of all-way stop in Everson
Whatcom County Public Works is also seeking public input on whether the intersection of South Pass and Goodwin Road in Everson should remain an all-way stop.
After a fatal crash on Halloween night that killed an 11-year-old girl, crews installed LED flashing stop signs, which turned the intersection into a four-way stop. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance will be held on January 14th. More information on how to participate in the hearing is available at the Whatcom County website.
STORY: Court ruling will allow SENTRI cardholders to request a revocation explanation
A decision from a federal appeals court in California may help people understand why their NEXUS cards were revoked.
NEXUS is part of the federal Trusted Traveler Programs and allows for easier crossings at the U.S.-Canada border, while a similar program called SENTRI allows for expedited crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The decision comes after a 2018 incident where Jacobo Jajati’s (huh-CO-bow juh-JAH-dee’s) SENTRI membership was revoked. Jajati’s
estranged ex-wife was arrested at the border with methamphetamine. Jajati was notified by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol the same day that his SENTRI membership was revoked because he failed to meet the program’s guidelines; the Border Patrol offered no other explanation for their decision. Jajati’s membership was later reinstated, and then revoked again without explanation.
Jajati brought a lawsuit against CBP in 2022. After a federal district court dismissed his claim by saying the CBP had discretion in the way the program was run, he filed an appeal. In May, the federal appeals court in California ruled that people whose SENTRI cards are revoked without explanation can request a judicial review into why their card was taken.
It is unclear, however, if the SENTRI ruling will also apply to NEXUS revocations.
STORY: Northern giant hornet reportedly eradicated in Whatcom, and country at large
The northern giant hornet has been eradicated from Washington state and the United States at large.
Both state and federal departments of Agriculture made the announcement yesterday. It follows three consecutive years without confirmed detections, meeting federal guidelines for eradication.
The last confirmed sightings occurred in 2019, when the hornets were first discovered in Blaine and Nanaimo, Canada. There were no confirmed
detections in 2024, including in Washington and British Columbia, despite one unverified report near Port Orchard. November 30th marked the end of the trapping season in Whatcom County.
The USDA says this achievement concludes efforts to eliminate the invasive species, which posed ecological and agricultural risks.
STORY: Skagit Delta farmers seek to overturn salmon finding Washington farmers are asking a federal judge to compel the National Marine Fisheries Service to withdraw its assertion that repairing a Skagit Delta tide gate could drive Puget Sound salmon and killer whales to extinction.
Marine Fisheries claims the tide gate harms salmon habitat, indirectly affecting killer whales that depend on salmon for food. Skagit County Dike District 12 filed a motion arguing that Fisheries’s stance, which blocks repairs to a 140-year-old tide gate that protects 200 acres of farmland, defies logic and ignores precedent.
The agency has suggested costly fish restoration efforts as a condition for repair, but the district argues that approach is impractical and misapplies the Endangered Species Act by treating the tide gate as a new structure. The district also contends the farmland protected by the tide gate would not revert to fish habitat even if the gate were removed.
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community has joined the lawsuit on NMFS’s side, advocating for stricter fish restoration requirements connected with potential tide gate repairs.
The case could set a significant precedent for other tide gate projects in the 70,000-acre Skagit Delta.
WX: Infrequent showers, as the Comic-Con foretold.
And now for your Whatcom County weather:
We’re expecting a day of clouds and scattered showers, with highs in the low 50s. Be prepared for some rather forceful winds today, with gusts up to 16 miles per hour, alongside a slight chance of thunderstorms. Evening lows will be in the mid-40s.
Expect continued gray skies and intermittent rain tomorrow.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers Carlos Braga (BRA-guh), Connor O’Boyle, Kyler Cantrell, Theron (THAIR-in) Danielson, Riley Weeks, Brodey O’Brien, Paloma Ortiz, Anna Hedrick and Miguel Garduño (MEE-gel gar-DOO-ño). 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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