Bellingham parents charged with assault following 911 call to report their infant not breathing, Wet, windy storm heading toward Western Washington this weekend, Recent report shows Bellingham’s average delinquent credit card debt over $5,000, Travel outlet names Bellingham as best adventure destination in the world for 2024, WIAA releases amendment proposing separate sports for transgender students, Albertsons to sue Kroger following collapse of merger, Crime victim advocates in WA protest in face of funding “cliff”, Free and cheap
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KMRE brings you local news for Thursday, December 12th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Bellingham parents charged with assault following 911 call to report their infant not breathing
The parents of a 5-month-old baby have been arrested and charged with first-degree assault of a child after their infant suffered severe injuries consistent with shaking or impact.
On October 31st, 23-year-old Genesis Salvador and 22-year-old Antonio Isaias Villalobos (VEE-YAH-lo-bos) called 911 to report that the baby was not breathing. Medics were able to revive the child—who was having seizures— and later transferred him to the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for serious injuries.
Doctors stated the injuries were life-threatening and consistent with abuse. The child was placed in Child Protective Services’ care and released from the hospital on November 5th.
Salvador and Villalobos were arrested on November 24th and face class A felony charges.
STORY: Wet, windy storm heading toward Western Washington this weekend
The National Weather Service in Seattle says a wet and windy storm is approaching Western Washington this weekend.
Friday night into Saturday morning will likely see maximum gust speeds of up to 45 mph in Bellingham and 30 mph in Lynden. The strongest winds are expected north of Everett.
Up to an inch of rain is predicted in a three-day period for both Bellingham and Lynden, while 4 feet of snow are predicted at Mount Baker over the weekend.
However, though some river rising is predicted and flooding is possible in coastal Whatcom County, no rivers in our region are currently predicted to flood.
STORY: Recent report shows Bellingham’s average delinquent credit card debt over $5,000
A new report by Upgraded Points reveals that 7.5% of credit card holders in Bellingham are delinquent, and the average credit card debt is about $5,500.
Overall, Americans hold almost $1.2 trillion in household credit card debt, with a rapid 15.2% increase in 2023’s fourth quarter being the fastest credit card debt accumulation in nearly two decades. A card debt is considered delinquent when it is 90 days or more overdue, and the
number has risen across the United States as well— from 9.4% in 2021 to 12.2% in 2023.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, over a fifth of Bellingham cardholders utilize more than 75% of their credit limits, a factor that can negatively impact credit scores.
STORY: Travel outlet names Bellingham as best adventure destination in the world for 2024
Bellingham was named best adventure destination in this year’s Matador Network Travel Awards.
The travel destination company touted Bellingham’s mountain biking, hiking trails, water and winter sports as top reasons to visit, as well as mentioning the city’s more relaxing pastimes.
Village Books and Paper Dreams got a mention, as did several breweries, including Stemma, El Sueñito, and Otherlands. Bars around town like the Orion, Red Rum and Cap Hansen’s Lounge were noted, and Taylor Shellfish was described as having some of the finest seafood in the Pacific Northwest.
Whatcom County’s tourism has been steadily increasing. According to data released by the nonprofit Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism, total
travel spending hit nearly $751 million in 2023, while roughly 3.4 million tourists visited the county last year.
STORY: WIAA releases amendment proposing separate sports for transgender students
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) says it will consider significant changes to high school sports rules for next year, including new guidelines for transgender athletes.
Sixteen amendments to the WIAA handbook have been proposed, including one that would limit participation in girls’ sports to students assigned female at birth, replacing the current rule allowing participation based on gender identity. Both Lynden and Blaine school districts, as well as the Lynden Christian School, were among those who submitted the proposed amendment.
A separate proposal suggests the creation of an open division for transgender and nonbinary athletes.
An additional amendment would alter the transfer process, which would allow students to transfer schools once without family relocation, but at the same time discourage repeated transfers. Other proposals aim to reduce arm injuries in baseball and softball through stricter pitch count enforcement and penalties, as well as the addition of girls’ flag football as an official high school sport.
The WIAA Representative Assembly will finalize and vote on the amendments in early 2025, with discussions starting January 27th and voting beginning April 9th.
STORY: Albertsons to sue Kroger following collapse of merger Albertsons is suing Kroger after their merger was rejected in two separate court cases.
The Associated Press reports that the lawsuit stems from Albertsons’ belief that Kroger didn’t do enough to secure regulatory approval for the nearly $25 billion agreement. Albertsons says Kroger refused to divest the assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignored regulators’ feedback and rejected stronger divestiture buyers; on their end, Kroger says Albertsons was responsible for quote “repeated intentional material breaches and interference throughout the merger process” unquote.
The merger proposed by both chains in 2022 would have been the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history; however, the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the merger earlier this year, arguing it would raise prices and lower workers’ wages by eliminating competition.
WX: Mrs. Drizzle and the Magic School Bus
And now for your Whatcom County weather:
Today’s forecast heralds an upcoming rainy weekend, with showers expected to begin in the late afternoon. Daytime highs are projected in the
mid-40s, with calm east winds bringing in a bank of evening clouds. Nighttime lows will be in the upper-30s-to-low-40s.
Mild temperatures and rain are also expected tomorrow, but winds are expected to pick up substantially, with gusts of up to 39 mph at night.
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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STORY: Crime victim advocates in WA protest in face of funding “cliff”
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