Bellingham infant rescued from attempted kidnapping, Ferndale PD searching for Metal Works Skate Park vandal, Nooksack watershed adjudication claim forms to be mailed out this week, Whatcom severe weather shelter closes for season after over 2,000 guest stays, YWCA opens new shelter for women and children, Federal budget and educational funding take center stage at Ferndale town hall, Whatcom County aids Habitat for Humanity in purchasing land for future low-income housing site,
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KMRE brings you local news for Tuesday, March 18th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Bellingham infant rescued from attempted kidnapping
Bellingham Police prevented the kidnapping of an 8-month-old baby by the child’s father yesterday.
Officers responded to a 9-1-1 call about a burglary in progress just before 6 a.m. The suspect, who does not have custody rights, forcibly entered the mother’s home, took the sleeping infant, and fled in a vehicle with Nevada plates.
According to police reports, officers from the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office and the State Patrol tracked the suspect down on Interstate 90 near Bellevue. He was taken into custody without incident, and the baby was safely reunited with the mother.
Bellingham Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig praised the swift response.
STORY: Ferndale PD searching for Metal Works Skate Park vandal
Ferndale Police are asking for the public’s help in locating some suspected vandals.
CCTV footage shows the suspects tagging the Metal Works Skate Park with racist and antisemitic graffiti in the early hours of March 6th. Police believe several people may have been involved in the incident. The suspected vandals’ vehicle is an early-to-mid 2000s Ford Super Duty with an extended cab and at least five cab-style lights.
Anyone with information on the vandals is asked to contact Ferndale Police Officer Foeung (FONG) by email, or the dispatch center by phone.
STORY: Nooksack watershed adjudication claim forms to be mailed out this week
Residents in the Nooksack watershed should be on the lookout for important water adjudication (uh-joo-duh-KAY-shuhn) documents from the state Department of Ecology.
Claim forms have been mailed to approximately thirty-thousand landowners as part of the legal process to determine water rights in the area. The forms are being sent via Certified Mail, and require an adult signature upon delivery. Ecology’s adjudication manager Robin McPherson says that, if no one is home, a sticky note will be left with instructions for pickup. Recipients will have 15 days to collect their documents from the post office if the initial delivery attempt is unsuccessful.
McPherson urges property owners to take the process seriously, and notes that ignoring the forms will not exempt them from participation.
An informational webinar on completing the forms is scheduled for April 16th at 5:30 p.m., with in-person seminars slated to take place in Ferndale and Lynden in May.
STORY: Whatcom severe weather shelter closes for season after over 2,000 guest stays
Whatcom County’s Severe Weather Shelter has officially closed for the season.
The shelter was operated by the County Health and Community Services – or WCHCS – in partnership with Lutheran Community Services Northwest. According to a season recap provided by WCHCS, it provided emergency shelter to 315 individuals over 27 nights – for a total of 2,287 guest stays – and operated at full capacity for 24 nights. In addition, the shelter’s temperature threshold was raised from 28-to-32 degrees, which allowed it to open more frequently.
This season also saw an increase in shelter support services, which included 4,570 meals served, medical care for 85 guests, and 126 transportation rides provided.
The county plans to transition shelter management to an agency partner for the next winter season, with a request for proposals set to open in the coming months. A full report on the program is expected to be presented to the County Council by May.
STORY: YWCA opens new shelter for women and children
The YWCA in Bellingham celebrated the opening of a new shelter on Monday, which will provide safe housing for local women and children experiencing homelessness.
The facility, located at 315 Lakeway Drive, features 19 secure, soundproof rooms, a shared kitchen, bathrooms, and event space. It will also support pregnant women before and after childbirth, offering intensive case management.
At the ribbon cutting, YWCA CEO Alle Schene (SHEEN-ee) emphasized the shelter’s long-term support approach, which allows residents to stay as long as they need while they work toward stable housing. The shelter is already welcoming its first residents, including three women who recently gave birth.
Whatcom County and the City of Bellingham contributed a combined $2.39 million to purchase the building. During the ceremony, Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund highlighted the project’s role in addressing generational poverty, and expressed hope for more such initiatives in the future.
STORY: Federal budget and educational funding take center stage at Ferndale town hall
Concerns over Washington state’s twelve billion dollar budget shortfall took center stage at a packed legislative town hall in Ferndale last Saturday.
State Senator Sharon Shewmake and Representative Joe Timmons – both Democrats from Bellingham – and Representative Alicia Rule – a Democrat from Blaine – addressed the fiscal crisis and its potential impact on education and public services.
The Mount Baker School District has been hit hard. The district has lost a little over seventeen million dollars in state funding since 2020, which has led to shortages in supplies, larger class sizes, and potential reductions in advanced coursework.
The crisis extends to higher education, with Governor Bob Ferguson proposing a three-percent cut to public universities, including a nearly seven-and-a-half million-dollar reduction at Western Washington University. The university has already announced job cuts in response. Lawmakers are pushing for increased per-student funding for Western to make it align with other state universities, while Shewmake is advocating for an additional 10-to-15 million dollars in the budget.
Shewmake emphasized that tough decisions would lead to budget cuts and delayed program expansions, but lawmakers stressed their commitment to the preservation of funding for K-12 schools and WWU, both of which face financial difficulties.
Finding new revenue sources remains a contentious issue. While Democratic lawmakers suggest tax increases on the wealthy, Republicans argue new taxes are unnecessary. Former Governor Jay Inslee had proposed a one-percent wealth tax on individuals with assets exceeding one-hundred million dollars, which was projected to generate 10 billion dollars over four years. Ferguson says he will wait for the state’s next revenue forecast before he weighs in on tax increases.
Washington’s Legislative session concludes on April 27th.
WX: Part cloud. Part sun. All hero.
And now for your Whatcom County weather:
The weather should be sunnier today, with highs around 50 degrees. More cloud cover is expected as the evening wears on, giving way to balmy lows in the upper-30s.
Tomorrow is expected to bring a return to the rainier side of things, along with wind gusts of up to 28 miles per hour.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers Carlos Braga (BRA-guh), Connor O’Boyle, Kyler Cantrell, Theron (THAIR-in) Danielson, Paloma Ortiz, Stevie Sjogren (SHOW-gren) and Glen Hirshberg (HERSH-berg). 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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STORY: Whatcom County aids Habitat for Humanity in purchasing land for future low-income housing site
Whatcom County will help Habitat for Humanity acquire land to build 40 affordable homes in the King Mountain neighborhood.
The County Council unanimously approved seven-hundred thousand dollars in grants and loans for the nonprofit on Tuesday to purchase two-and-a-half acres at Telegraph Road from Kulshan Community Land Trust.
Deputy Executive Kayla Schott-Bresler called the project a “unique opportunity” to address local housing needs. Homes will be available to low-income residents earning thirty-to-eighty percent of the area median income, with a family of four qualifying at seventy-two thousand five-hundred dollars or below.
The funding includes a two-hundred and thirty-one thousand (231,000) dollar grant and a four-hundred and sixty-nine thousand (469,000) dollar loan from the Economic Development Investment fund. Habitat for Humanity follows a ‘sweat equity’ model, where future homeowners contribute to building their homes and those of others.
