Wrong way drive on 1-5 dies, Money reallocated by council for Bellingham Food Bank, Free bus rides start tomorrow, Hwy 20 re-opens, but trails, camping still closed, Covid cases on the rise again, Community BBQ in Renton supports youth of color, NWS calls for hot weather precautions next week
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Independent, nonprofit community radio.
KMRE brings you local news for Wednesday, August 9th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Wrong way driver on I-5 dies
Two vehicles collided on I-5 when a motorcycle drove the wrong way on Northbound lanes near Alger yesterday at 1 pm.
The motorcyclist died at Providence Hospital, and his name has been withheld until next of kin is notified. The second driver has been identified as Julio Jimenez. He was reported as injured, but his condition is unknown. Investigators have not determined if drugs or alcohol were involved in the collision.
STORY: Money re-allocated by council for Bellingham Food Bank
Bellingham City Council has passed a budget amendment that re-allocates 2.1 million dollars of American Rescue Plan money to help the underserved.
City Council President Michael Lilliquist had this to say when introducing the amendment.
ARPA FUNDING AUDIO
The city allocated half a million dollars to the Bellingham Food Bank, which has seen visits more than double since January of 2022, according to Executive Director Mike Cohen.
Another $265,000 will be used to support Lighthouse Mission’s emergency shelter in downtown Bellingham while construction of the mission’s new, 300-bed shelter on Holly Street is ongoing.
The remaining 1.6 million dollars will fund land acquisition for the affordable housing project on Bellis Fair, which is expected to break ground next year. The first phase of that project will include about 60 affordable housing units and potential childcare facilities, said Deputy Finance Director Forrest Longman.
STORY: Free bus rides starting tomorrow
Starting tomorrow, the WTA will be offering free rides on all bus trips within Whatcom County. All bus and paratransit rides, save for the Route 80X service to Mount Vernon, will be free until August 19th, including the Lynden Hop service. The free rides will coincide with the Northwest Washington Fair.
STORY: Hwy 20 re-opens, but trails,camping still closed
State Route 20, known as North Cascades Highway, has reopened after weekend closures due to the Sourdough Mountain fire.
The fire is still active, burning 17 hundred acres as of this morning, and the road could close again, according to the Washington Department of Transportation. The National Park Service has closed recreation, including camping and trailheads, east of Newhalem between mile 120 and mile 139.
The Sourdough fire threatened hydroelectric infrastructure on the Skagit River as it spread close to the town of Diablo. Seattle City Light employees were evacuated from the area on Thursday and the utility company took some transmission lines offline to prevent shorts and outages from wildfire smoke.
Power generation from the Diablo Lake dams has been reduced by as much as half, according to Andrew Strong, a senior manager at Seattle City Light.
The estimated affected area of the fire was over 2,900 acres as of a few days ago but after infrared helicopter mapping, the actual area burned is nearly 1,400 acres at 0 percent containment.
The project will stay open for the time being, while Ross and Diablo dams have been taken offline for the safety of fire crews.
STORY: COVID cases on the rise again
New cases of Coronavirus have been rising this summer.
Health experts advise caution but indicate there is no cause for alarm.
The number of weekly Covid-19 new hospital admissions in the United States rose from 65 hundred to about 9,000 in the month of July, according to the Center for Disease control.
A new strain of the virus called EG.5 is responsible for most new infections this year. Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead on Covid-19 says this subvariant of omicron has increased transmissibility but is less severe than previous variants of the virus.
STORY: Community BBQ in Renton supports youth of color
A barbecue in Puget Sound is bringing the community together this weekend. It also will support after-school programming for youth of color. Reporter Eric Tegethoff has more.
BBQ AUDIO
STORY: NWS calls for hot weather precautions next week
A severe heat event has been forecasted by the National Weather Service for Washington state next week, prompting the agency to call for hot weather precautions as temperatures could potentially approach 100*.
People are encouraged to take precautions to reduce heat-related risks for themselves and others. Among the suggestions–stay alert for social media and news heat forecasts and check on vulnerable members of the community such as older adults, people with disabilities, children and pets.
WX: Overcast/Cloudy
The weather forecast for Bellingham is expected to be overcast, with a high of 71*. It’s expected to stay cloudy throughout the night, with a low around 59* and a south of 7 to 11 mph. Clouds are expected to roll back in overnight, followed by partial clearing tomorrow and a high in the early 70s.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Myles Weber, 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.
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