Terminal Building fire search temporarily suspended, BPD call for public’s help in murder investigation at Lake Padden Park, Bus and car incident on Hannegan ends with bus under toppled canopy at nearby gas station, Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce receives funding for tourism in 2024, More businesses opening at Bellingham’s waterfront container village, Hiker rescued following 1,200 feet fall on Whidbey Island, WNS – Groups urge WA to warn about gas-burning health effects, Feds pledge $600M for new I-5 bridge linking Washington and Oregon
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Independent, nonprofit community radio.
KMRE brings you local news for Tuesday, December 19th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Terminal Building fire search temporarily suspended
The search in the remains of Fairhaven’s Terminal building was put on hold yesterday due to safety concerns.
In accordance with structure experts, Firefighters were only allowed to cut holes in the building to search it without causing the structure to collapse. The search was called off after the team were unable to find anything.
The owners of the building are working with their insurance company to get machinery that can be used to maintain its structure while it is searched.
The terminal building used to house Tony’s Coffee, which became The independent Coffee house and Harris Avenue Cafe.
Nathaniel V. Breaux (BRO), the owner of the two coffeehouses, is still declared missing.
Fire chief Bill Hewett stated that the search should continue today.
STORY: BPD call for public’s help in murder investigation at Lake Padden Park
Bellingham police are seeking the public’s assistance in the fatal shooting of Isaac “Izzy” Ruiz over seven months ago in Lake Padden Park.
A recent BPD post on Facebook is asking for help from individuals with information about the incident. Anyone with information about the events on May 15th at Lake Padden is urged to contact the police. Online tips can be submitted at www.cob.org/tips, and Detective Travis Hauri can be contacted at 360-778-8791.
STORY: Bus and car incident on Hannegan ends with bus under toppled canopy at nearby gas station
First responders were called to the intersection of E Pole and Hannegan Road yesterday following reports of a collision involving a Whatcom Transportation Authority bus and another vehicle.
WTA spokesperson Maureen McCarthy says the bus was driving westbound on Pole Road around 7:50 pm when it collided with a car that ran a red light at the intersection with Hannegan. The bus then collided with the fuel pump island at the Hi-Notes Corner Gas Station, causing a portion of the canopy to collapse. There were no reports of fire.
Only one passenger was on the bus during the incident and they were not hurt. The bus driver was taken to the hospital and was later released, the other driver was treated at the scene.
STORY: Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce receives funding for tourism in 2024
The Whatcom County Council has approved funding for the Birch Bay Visitor Center earlier this month.
The center will receive $136 thousand for operations in 2024. The funding hopes to capitalize on the growth in tourism in the area following the end of the pandemic. According to Danielle Gaughen (GAW-en), executive director of the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce, 2023 was a return to normal for summer tourism. The chamber reported a 44 percent increase in visitors to the information center from 2022 to 2023, and a 17.5 percent increase in visitors to various chamber events compared to 2022.
Other recipients of the tourism fund included the Mount Baker Foothills Visitor Center, Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism, Northwest Tune-Up, Port of Bellingham, and Sustainable Connections.
STORY: More businesses opening at Bellingham’s waterfront container village
The Port of Bellingham has announced the arrival of multiple new businesses on the downtown waterfront in 2024.
Zeeks Pizza as well as Bin 13 Wine Bar will both open up locations at the Portal Container Village, a collection of used shipping containers repurposed to highlight Bellingham’s art and culture. The Portal Putt mini-golf course will also expand to 18 holes, and additional retail space will be added for local artists to display their talent. A larger restroom will also be added to accommodate increasing visitors.
The Port of Bellingham is looking to expand the village again in 2025, and is currently turning to community members for ideas. For more information, or to submit a container business proposal, visit PortOfBellingham.com.
STORY: Hiker rescued following 1,200 feet fall on Whidbey Island
A Search and Rescue team successfully rescued a 30-year-old male hiker who fell over 1,200 feet down a ravine in the Olympic National Forest on Saturday.
The crew launched from Air Station Whidbey, eventually spotted the hiker with the help of a flashing light near a boulder field, and quickly hoisted him back onto the helicopter. The patient was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, and was treated for a broken arm, symptoms of hypothermia, and significant abrasions.
This is the 33rd rescue by Whidbey Search and Rescue this year.
STORY: WNS – Groups urge WA to warn about gas-burning health effects
A coalition of groups are petitioning the Washington State Department of Health to clarify the effects of burning gas in homes after they claim the American Gas Association misled the public for decades.
GAS AUDIO
STORY: Feds pledge $600M for new I-5 bridge linking Washington and Oregon
More than half-a-billion dollars will go into replacing the I-5 bridge across the Columbia River.
A $600 million dollar grant from the federal government will cover about 8-to-12% of the cost of replacing the bridge linking Washington and Oregon. Both states are routing a billion dollars to the bridge replacement, and driver tolls are anticipated to generate another 1.5 billion.
The bridge replacement project has been under discussion for two decades when it was found to be at risk of collapse in the event of an earthquake. One of its two spans is 65 years old, while the other span is over a century old.
Construction is expected to begin in 2025 and will last until 2032.
WX: Rainy
Today will be rainy and cloudy with a high of about 51 degrees and a low around 43. Calm winds in the morning will pick up throughout the day and reach high speeds of up to 13 mph. Tomorrow will be partly sunny, partly rainy.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Carlos Braga, Connor O’Boyle, and Tristan Trudell. 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. If you would like to help keep local news accessible, check out our new Patreon page at patreon.com/kmrenews or go to kmre.org and click on the banner. I’m ________________ and thanks for listening.
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