Drive By Shooting, Mayor Fleetwood proposes safe parking, Local blood supplies dwindling, New Parade route for Ferndale’s Old Settler’s Parade, More Wildfire’s Expected, Locals object to pipeline expansion, County Executive Primary Candidates interviews after news
______________________________
Independent, nonprofit community radio.
KMRE brings you local news for Wednesday, July 26. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: DRIVE BY SHOOTING
Two suspects in Monday’s drive-by-shooting in Ferndale are now suspected of another shooting in Blaine.
The Sheriff’s Department said 18-year-old Alejandro Villa Herrera of Bellingham was the driver of the vehicle and he admitted to driving in the area of Custer, north of Ferndale when his passenger, a 17-year-old male, pulled out a handgun and fired several shots out of the window.
At 1:30 a.m a Blaine resident reported hearing 3 gunshots in the area of Bayview and Mary Avenue. Additional witnesses reported hearing the gunfire and police later found evidence of bullet holes in a residential building. Police later discovered the firearm was reported stolen from Bonney Lake in February. The suspects have been charged with additional counts of drive-by-shooting, second-degree assault and possession of a stolen firearm.
STORY: Mayor Fleetwood proposes safe parking
Mayor Seth Fleetwood proposed a measure to city council on Monday that would provide supervised locations for people living in cars and RVs to park their vehicles.
The ordinance would include restrictions on parking near schools and other places children are present. Bellingham will be issuing a request for proposals to find a safe site and an organization to supervise and operate it.
RV Parking Audio
STORY: Local blood supplies dwindling
Local blood supplies are dwindling.
Bloodworks, the blood supplier to 95 percent of local hospitals will run out of blood within the next 7 days, unless they meet their minimum of 2,500 donations. According to community engagement manager Sasha Seiden, roughly 3 percent of the local area donates blood.
To encourage donations, Bloodworks has developed incentive programs that change monthly. For July, they are giving away a $3,000 prepaid gift card to one lucky donor. Appointments are required, but can be made on the same day.
STORY: New Parade route for Ferndale Old Settler’s Parade
The Whatcom Old Settlers Picnic Parade will follow a new route through Ferndale this year. The Junior and Grand Parades start on Saturday and are known to draw big crowds. Main Street between Hovander and Hamlin Road will close at 10:40, as well as Ferndale Road near Star Park. The Junior Parade starts and 11:00 a.m. immediately followed by the Grand Parade.
STORY: More Wildfire’s Expected
Washington’s typical wildfire season peaks in early August but state officials are warning that this summer, more fires are likely.
Despite some rainfall this week providing temporary respite to Western Washington, the grasslands east of the Cascades did not receive any rain. About 80,000 acres have already burned across the state, and according to fire officials, the risk may extend into November again this year.
Ongoing drought conditions are being magnified by the warmer and dryer conditions brought on by climate change. Officials say this winter, El Niño is expected to bring warm, tropical air, reducing the region’s snowpack and worsening the wildfire risk for next year.
STORY: Locals object to pipeline expansion
A pipeline that exploded in Virginia on Tuesday is owned by the company proposing to expand a fracked gas pipeline in the Northwest. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is voting on the project tomorrow. With more on the story, here’s Eric Tegethoff.
PIPELINE
STORY: County Executive Primary Candidates interviews after news
Primary election ballots are due next Tuesday, August first. The KMRE News team interviewed the Primary Candidates for Mayor and County Executive. Today, candidates for County Executive share their views on what they would focus on to help the homeless crisis County– please note, candidate Sukwant Gill was unable to attend. Make sure to tune in after the 5pm news, or head over to kmre.org to listen to the complete candidate interviews.
WX: Cloudy with afternoon rain
The weather today is partly cloudy with a high of 72 in Bellingham. Temperatures will cool to an overnight low of 57. Clouds are expected to hang around for the next few days keeping temperatures in the low 70s.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Myles Weber, and Emma Toscani. 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.
###
