Armed robbery near Wendy’s, Crash closes southbound 1-5 lanes through Bellingham during evening commute, City settles accident-related lawsuit involving fired Bellingham Police detective, Birch Bay Vogt Library Express reaches funding goal, WWU faculty reel in $1.4 million NSF grant to help boost science teaching in local elementary schools, First day of legislature, Washington House passes bill to allow splitting of residential lots
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KMRE brings you local news for Tuesday, January 9th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Armed robbery near Wendy’s
An armed robbery took place at 9am this morning behind the Wendy’s restaurant building at 140 Samish Way. The suspect, described as a white male wearing a brown hoodie and blue jeans, held up a passerby at knifepoint and demanded money. The suspect then fled towards the Sehome Arboretum.
Bellingham Police were called to the scene by the victim, and ended their search about an hour later. Neither the suspect nor the victim were found by the police. Western Washington University has stated that no one was injured in the incident.
STORY: Crash closes southbound I-5 lanes through Bellingham during evening commute
Another crash closed down I-5 for several hours yesterday.
First responders were dispatched to the southbound lanes of I-5 between Meridian Street and Sunset Drive around 4:15 on Monday after reports of a crash involving a jackknifed semi-truck. Images posted online showed the semi-truck with its front folded in, blocking both southbound lanes impeding all traffic. As of 5:25pm, traffic backups extended over 3 miles in both directions. According to the PulsePoint EMS dispatch log, at least 1 patient was transported from the scene via a medic unit.
Users online report being stuck in traffic for around 3 hours, with the lanes only being opened up around 7 pm. A similar crash happened on the same interchange just a few days earlier on Thursday— blocking both northbound lanes. That blockage lasted around an hour.
STORY: City settles accident-related lawsuit involving fired Bellingham Police detective
The City of Bellingham settled a lawsuit involving a former Bellingham Police detective yesterday.
Back in 2018, a Bellingham woman filed a lawsuit in County Superior Court against both the City and former detective Adam McGinty. The lawsuit accused McGinty of rear-ending the woman’s vehicle in July 2015. She claimed she used her brakes to avoid hitting two dogs who had run into the road and that McGinty, who was driving the patrol car behind her, failed to stop and hit her vehicle resulting in injury and economic loss.
The Bellingham City Council approved a $40,000 settlement and dismissal of the lawsuit and all related claims.
McGinty was fired last year after an internal affairs investigation revealed misuse of public funds. He is currently facing charges of misappropriation or falsification of accounts by a public officer, official misconduct, and third-degree theft. McGinty pleaded not guilty to all charges back in December. If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.
STORY: Birch Bay Vogt Library Express reaches funding goal
After years of effort, the Whatcom County Council has allocated $315,000 in county funds to the Whatcom County Library System for the construction of the Birch Bay Vogt (VOTE) Library Express.
Originally planned as a full-service library to replace a bookmobile, the project faced multiple setbacks, including two failed elections.
The currently-proposed 1,700 square-foot library express is smaller than initially envisioned and will be renovated in the existing Vogt home on Birch Bay Drive. The money, combined with a $2 million dollar state grant and private donations will fund the renovations, which will begin in 2025.
The new Express is expected to bring comprehensive library services to the community.
STORY: WWU faculty reel in $1.4 million NSF grant to help boost science teaching in local elementary schools
A project led by three Western Washington University faculty members has received $1.4 million dollars from the National Science Foundation.
The project, called Science Education for Equity in K-6, aims to build a community of teacher-leaders to integrate science into K-12 education. The initiative is a collaboration between Western’s College of Science and Engineering and Woodring College of Education and according to the proposal, would establish long-term science leadership programs within sixteen Whatcom and Skagit schools. The project includes professional development, collaborative planning, and integration of science education with literacy.
According to project leaders, the goal is to foster collaboration among elementary educators and produce equitable and high-quality science education.
STORY: Wildfire smoke is poisoning killer whales, study finds
A study from the University of British Columbia has shown that toxic smoke is poisoning killer whales off the west coast of North America.
Researchers found that fossil fuels, oil spills, and forest fires are all contributors to muscle and liver damage in two types of endangered killer whale species. The pollutants have been found in the critically endangered Southern Resident orca population, a group that lives off the coast of Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
There are 75 southern resident orcas today, among them is L25, the world’s oldest living orca at around 95 years old. These whales live directly along the coast, making them more at-risk for pollution from these sources.
The study also showed that the whales are transferring the toxic chemicals to their unborn calves. Lead researcher Kiah (KEYE-uh) Lee hopes that the study will influence policymakers in charge of developing oil pipelines.
STORY: First day of legislature, Washington House passes bill to allow splitting of residential lots
The Washington state House of Representatives passed a bill which would allow residential property owners to split their lots into smaller parcels.
The same bill passed the House last year but failed to make it through the Senate. Yesterday, it passed the House 94-4. Under the proposal, most large cities could no longer prohibit property owners from splitting lots. The new lots would need to be no smaller than 2,000 square feet, be at least 40% of the size of the original lot, and could not require alteration of existing affordable housing structures. Authors of the bipartisan-supported Bill say they hope it will facilitate affordable housing construction in cities across Washington.
According to local lawmakers, this legislative session will prioritize housing-related proposals, including tenant protections, rent stabilization, co-living homes, and denser housing construction near transit stops. The bill is now headed to the Senate for consideration.
WX: Rainy, Advisories
There are multiple weather advisories going on today. There’s a Wind Advisory until 10 pm, with gusts as high as 45 mph. A Coastal Flood Advisory is in place until 4 pm, with 1 to 2 feet of flooding possible in coastal areas around Whatcom and Skagit Counties. And lastly– a Special Weather Statement has been issued, warning of possible landslides in steep areas due to heavy rainfall.
Expect rain all day, with a high of 47 degrees and strong winds. Showers will continue overnight, with a low of 35 degrees. Tomorrow will also be rainy, but with much calmer winds.
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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