Beloved orca dies before return to the Salish Sea, Woman attacked downtown, man arrested, San Juan County moves to 32 hour work week, More DUI Patrols in ramp up of holiday, More News on fish passage funding, New option for student borrowers opens this week, Hwy 20 set to re-open today, Stage 2 burn ban ended
______________________________
Independent, nonprofit community radio.
KMRE brings you local news for Wednesday, the 23rd. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Beloved orca dies before return to the Salish Sea
Tokitae (TO-kuh-tay), the orca taken from our region over fifty years ago, died suddenly last Friday. News of her death has been a shock to the conservationists who believed she was only a few months away from returning to her natural habitat as a member of the Southern Resident orca.
Tokitae, also known as Lolita or Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (SKALL-uh CHUKH-tah-not), was 57 years old and had spent the last 53 years in captivity. She was removed from her original habitat in the Salish Sea during the Penn Cove roundup of orcas in 1970, and was the oldest orca to survive the roundup. Five orcas drowned during the roundup.
Her death was a surprise to many, because in previous weeks she was considered to be in stable condition, and was shown frolicking in videos posted to social media. The Miami Seaquarium transported her body by truck to the University of Georgia where a necropsy is ongoing.
The Lummi Nation, who consider the Southern Resident orcas their “Relatives Under the Water”, as well as local conservationists say they are determined to have her remains returned to her home here in the Salish Sea.
Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut (SKALL-uh CHUKH-tah-not) was the second oldest orca in captivity.
STORY: Woman attacked downtown, man arrested
A Bellingham man was arrested last Saturday for randomly assaulting a woman.
According to the victim, she was sitting in the 100 block of Prospect Street on Saturday afternoon when a man, suspected to be 54-year-old Patrick Dixon, came up behind her and assaulted her. Police located Dixon nearby and arrested him on charges of second-degree assault and felony harassment. He remains at the Whatcom County Jail.
Information about whether the victim was injured has not been made available.
STORY: San Juan County moves to 32 hour work week
Starting October 1st, San Juan County employees will be switching to a 32 hour work week.
The San Juan County Council voted unanimously yesterday to approve the switch after negotiations with the labor union. This change comes as a result of financial concerns and staffing challenges for the County, and the well-being of islanders. County administration cited a 10 to 15 percent job vacancy rate across many key departments. Officials said the reduction in hours was seen as an alternative to raising taxes as it tries to remain a competitive employer. Even with fewer hours, the county expects wages and productivity to remain comparable to current spending. Services will remain the same and offices will stay open, though some departments may adjust their hours or close one day a week. The Sheriff’s Office and its services will not be affected by this change.
The county hopes that the increase in personal time will attract employees to a region where it’s generally more difficult to fill vacant positions.
San Juan is one of the first counties in the nation to make this switch.
STORY: More DUI patrols in ramp up to holiday
Washington’s roadways will be seeing more patrol units over the next few weeks as the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office begin their “Drive Sober Or Get Pulled Over” campaign on Friday.
Each year, DUI-related fatalities spike between mid-August and Labor Day Weekend. Because of this, Bellingham, Ferndale, and Everson Police Departments, along with the Skagit and Whatcom County Sheriff’s Offices, will participate in extra patrols through September 4th. All agencies are partnering with Northwest Region Target Zero to prevent traffic fatalities as summer comes to an end.
STORY: More news on fish passage funding
The Biden administration has announced a $196 million investment in fixing or removing culverts across the country. The projects will help with fish passage along streams and rivers. The funding will support three major projects in Whatcom County alone, with over 11 culverts being replaced. Eric Tegethoff has more on this story.
CULVERT AUDIO
STORY: New option for student borrowers opens this week
After President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program was struck down by the Supreme Court in June, the administration is opening up a new repayment plan they hope will become a permanent piece of the student loan system.
Known as the ‘Saving on a Valuable Education Plan’, or SAVE for short, the plan offers a way for millions of borrowers to more affordably pay their monthly student loan bills. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona promises that the payment will be affordable and that people will no longer be saddled with a lifetime of debt under this plan. Being income-driven, the payments are based on your earnings and household size. After monthly payments are made for a set number of years, usually 20, any remaining balance is forgiven.
The SAVE plan will replace the Revised Pay as You Earn program, or REPAYE. Much of the new program is available now, but it won’t be in place in its entirety until July 2024. The administration urges borrowers who want to sign up for SAVE to do so now to ensure that their paperwork will be ready before the first payment is due.
More information about the plan is available at studentaid dot gov.
STORY: Hwy 20 set to re-open today
Highway 20 has reopened again to through-traffic only from Newhalem to the Silver Star gate.
No stopping or camping is allowed. Trailheads in the area remain closed. Cross-state travel is still not possible on Highway 20, so use Interstate 90 or Highways 2 or 12 if traveling cross-state.
STORY: Stage 2 burn ban ended
Yesterday, the Northwest Clean Air Agency called off the Stage 2 air quality burn ban that had been in effect for Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties since last Saturday.
Fire safety burn bans on outdoor burning remain in effect in all three counties until local fire officials determine that fire danger has passed.
WX: Sunny skies
The weather in Bellingham today will be a sunny affair, with a high near 69* during the daytime and south-southwest winds blowing at 7-10mph. The temperatures at night will drop to a low around 54*, with south-southwest winds becoming calmer in the evening and blowing at 5mph.
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.
###
