Bellingham police arrest man on suspicion of assault, attempted kidnapping in Fairhaven, Former student causes security scare at Squalicum High School, Bellingham swimmer Gavin Jones becomes first to compete at U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Bellingham Parks and Recreation announces Civic Stadium renovations to begin in June, Bellingham’s Summer Concert Series in the Parks lines up free live music starting June 20, WA carbon auction demand drops, as prices remain lower, WA plans to use $32 million to help asylum seekers
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STORY: Bellingham police arrest man on suspicion of assault, attempted kidnapping in Fairhaven
Bellingham police arrested a man on Thursday following his alleged attempt to kidnap and assault a woman.
The victim reported to police that she had gone to meet up with John Brooks Ferlin at his Fairhaven apartment, only for Ferlin to approach her from behind and place a rag soaked with rubbing alcohol over her mouth. The victim was able to escape as Ferlin made additional threats.
Multiple 911 calls were made by bystanders who witnessed the victim running away, screaming for help. The victim later identified Ferlin to police, who was arrested without incident. A search of Ferlin’s apartment yielded illegal drugs and associated paraphernalia.
Ferlin was booked into Whatcom County Jail on charges of second-degree assault with a sexual motivation, kidnapping, and possession of a controlled substance. He remains in custody.
STORY: Former student causes security scare at Squalicum High School
A former Squalicum High School student caused a security scare at the school on Wednesday.
Both Squalicum and the nearby Northern Heights Elementary School were placed in Secure protocol for an hour-and-a-half after the former student was spotted on Squalicum’s soccer field. During this time, all doors to the school were locked, and no one was allowed in or out.
Police officers, as well as the individual’s family, were initially successful in addressing the issue. However, the individual was later spotted again on Squalicum’s property, which prompted the school to be placed back into the Secure protocol for nearly an hour. Police and the individual’s family were called back to the scene, and the person eventually left the property with assistance.
The Bellingham School District later said the individual showed no intent to harm.
STORY: Bellingham swimmer Gavin Jones becomes first to compete at U.S. Olympic Team Trials
A Bellingham man recently qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, beating the current record by over one second.
Gavin Jones swam the 200m breaststroke with a time of just over 2:14.72.
Jones attended Bellingham High School and formerly competed with the Bellingham Bay Swim Team at the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center but is now a junior at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. The five-time NCAA Division III All-American will compete in the 200m Breaststroke Trials tomorrow.
Jones is the first swimmer to come from Bellingham to compete in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
STORY: Bellingham Parks and Recreation announces Civic Stadium renovations to begin in June
Starting on Monday, June 17th, Bellingham’s Civic Stadium will undergo renovations on its south grandstand.
The renovations include concrete and ceiling repair, waterproofing, painting, roofing, and other needed tasks. Bellingham Parks and Recreation says stadium parking will not be affected by the construction. The track and field will be accessible through the stadium’s entrance on Orleans Street. The north grandstand’s restrooms will also remain open.
The project is expected to go until mid-October, and no public events are planned to be held at the stadium this summer.
STORY: Bellingham’s Summer Concert Series in the Parks lines up free live music starting June 20
Bellingham’s ‘Summer Concerts in the Parks’ series is about to start.
The City has announced free concerts will be held on Thursdays at Elizabeth Park and Fridays at Boulevard Park that will feature a variety of music groups. Concerts will run from June 20th through August 23rd and start at 6pm.
Funk & rock group North Sound Soul will perform at Elizabeth Park this Thursday, and the first Boulevard Park concert will feature the funk group GrooveBot.
You can find the full schedule on the City of Bellingham website.
STORY: Skagit County approves controversial gravel mine
Skagit County has approved plans for a controversial new gravel mine north of Sedro-Woolley.
The Grip Road Gravel Mine was previously approved in February of this year before being successfully appealed. According to Skagit County, the proposal has since been reviewed and certified by a new hearing examiner, and work is set to begin. Concrete Nor’west, the mine’s developer, will log nearly 70 acres of forested land and add 23 loaded gravel trucks to local daily traffic.
Despite the review, many in Skagit County still oppose the proposal in its current state. Kyle Loring and John Day, spokespeople for opposition group Central Samish Valley Neighbors, have stated that the decision still fails to address their environmental and safety concerns, and say they feel that the new hearing examiner did not take their counter-arguments into consideration when listening to their testimonials.
Concrete Nor’west has agreed to the road maintenance and safety improvements included in the decision. However, Day claims that these conditions still fall far short addressing residents’ concerns. Loring further stated that the project was approved as requested by the company, without vital changes.
The deadline for further appeals is June 25th. CSVN is currently evaluating whether or not to submit another.
STORY: WA carbon auction demand drops, as prices remain lower
Demand for carbon-emission allowances has dropped in Washington state.
Data from the Department of Ecology shows that, in addition to the slowing demand by polluters, the prices for allowances have remained low.
This time last year, allowances were being sold at around $56 each – and now are going for a little under $30. While the auction on June 5th still managed to raise $189 million in revenue for the state, this was still less than half of the amount generated this time last year, when the auction generated over $557 million in revenue.
Carbon auctions within a joint market between California and Quebec — where similar carbon-pricing programs launched a decade before Washington’s — have also seen dips in demand over the years. In a recent statement Michael Mann, the executive director of the Clean and Prosperous Washington advocacy group, said that in his view, buyers are risk-averse and being conservative in their projections. However, Brian Heywood, the man behind Initiative 2117 which would repeal Washington’s Climate Commitment Act, says that the shift is likely due to uncertainty regarding the future of the carbon market.
In November, Washington voters will decide the future of the nation’s first-ever climate act when they vote to repeal or maintain the CCA.
WX: Cloudy
Your Whatcom County weather today – Expect clouds all day, with a high of 64 degrees. Clouds will continue tonight, as temperatures drop to a low of 53. The sun is likely to return tomorrow.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Carlos Braga, Connor O’Boyle, Jayne Kuhlman, Kye Salinas (KEY suh-LEE-nus), Maggie Flowers, and Kyler Cantrell. 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 thanks for listening.
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STORY: WA plans to use $32 million to help asylum seekers
Washington officials are working to distribute around $32 million in state funding to aid asylum seekers.
The Washington Migrant and Asylum Seeker Support Project, with funding campaigned by The Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, will provide $5 million to King County and $2.5 million to the city of Tukwila. $25 million will be allocated to the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, where $20 million will go to community organizations to create coordinated support. The state will be utilizing one office as a hub for the operation, to connect new arrivals to the specific services they may need. Services include immigration related legal aid, housing, and “culturally responsive case management services.”
$1 million will go to schools serving asylum seeking students who are homeless. The first schools selected to receive funding, Shelton, Tukwila and Wapato school districts, were chosen based on the reported amount of homeless students who did not speak English as their first language.
Funds for The Washington Migrant and Asylum Seeker Support Project were approved by the legislature in March and will be available for use starting July. According to Sarah Peterson, chief of the state Office of Refugee and Immigrant Assistance, agencies involved will then need some time to distribute the funds, with some to be set aside for emergency housing.
Applications to receive funding through the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Services closed on Thursday, and the office plans to have contracts in place with organizations by the beginning of August.
