Lelo joins class action lawsuit against immigration court, Domestic assault suspect arrested in Ferndale after refusing to exit vehicle, Bomb squad deployed to Lynden after man digs up dummy grenade, Tribal health organization partners with St. Joe’s in effort to reduce maternal death and disease among indigenous women, State cuts to child literacy program expected to impact over 4,000 children in Whatcom alone, Garden Minute airs today, Correction, WA breweries avoid raised increased excise tax on beer, though it remains on the agenda for next legislative session, Residents of Bellingham apartment complex receive notice of drastic rent hike just ahead of new statewide cap
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KMRE brings you local news for Wednesday, May 14th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Lelo joins class action lawsuit against immigration court
Prominent farmworker activist Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino (LAY-lo who-ARE-is zeh-fuh-RENO) is now a named plaintiff in a federal class action lawsuit.
Juarez Zeferino was detained by ICE agents in Sedro-Woolley on March 25th, based on a 2018 deportation order. His attorney, Larkin VanDerhoef (van-der-HOFF), says the activist was taken into custody after ICE agents smashed his car window while he was dropping his girlfriend off at work. He was denied bond on May 8th, after Immigration Judge Theresa M. Scala (SKAA-luh) ruled she lacked jurisdiction. However, she noted that if she had the authority, she would have granted the $5,000 bond request.
Juarez Zeferino is now part of a federal class action lawsuit filed by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. The suit alleges the Tacoma Immigration Court routinely denies bond to immigrants detained after entering the U.S. without inspection—granting only 3% of bond requests last year, the lowest rate in the country.
Juarez Zeferino’s legal team is also working to suppress his original 2015 arrest, arguing it was unlawful and may have violated his rights.
His next hearing is scheduled for early June, and his legal team is hopeful that developments in the lawsuit could change the outcome of his case.
Juarez Zeferino remains in detention, but is reportedly in good spirits. His attorney has appealed the bond denial, though the process could take several more months.
STORY: Domestic assault suspect arrested in Ferndale after refusing to exit vehicle
A domestic violence suspect is in custody following a standoff outside a Ferndale restaurant yesterday morning.
Just after 7:30 a.m., officers from the Lynden Police Department responded to reports of a domestic disturbance involving a man in an SUV parked near the intersection of Barrett Road and Main Street in Ferndale. Witnesses reported the man was arguing with the driver of the vehicle.
The male passenger refused to comply with officers’ commands, and officers used a non-lethal method to gain compliance and successfully detain the suspect. A 23-year-old Lynden man was arrested and booked into the Whatcom County Jail. He faces charges of fourth-degree domestic violence assault, obstructing law enforcement, and resisting arrest.
No injuries were reported during the incident. The suspect’s name has not yet been released.
STORY: Bomb squad deployed to Lynden after man digs up dummy grenade
A surprising discovery in rural Whatcom County this morning had law enforcement on alert.
A man digging a trench near the 11-hundred block of Van Dyk Road, just south of Lynden, unearthed what looked like an unexploded hand grenade.
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Deb Slater told the Bellingham Herald that deputies responded quickly, along with the Bellingham Police Department’s bomb squad.
Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm. The bomb squad determined the object was a hollow training grenade filled with dirt.
Bellingham’s bomb squad is made up of four nationally certified technicians who must recertify every 3 years. According to the City of Bellingham, the team responds to up to 40 similar calls each year.
STORY: Tribal health organization partners with St. Joe’s in effort to reduce maternal death and disease among indigenous women
The Northwest Washington Indian Health Board has been awarded a 400-thousand dollar grant to boost maternal health services for Tribal communities.
The organization will receive funds over a two-year period, funded through Washington’s 2025 Maternal Health Innovations Program. The grant will support a new community-based doula network and expand the organization’s partnership with Bellingham’s St. Joseph Medical Center, the region’s only birthing hospital.
The initiative focuses on providing culturally rooted childbirth education, lactation support, and perinatal (peh-ruh-NAY-tl) mental health care—addressing critical gaps in maternal services for Tribal families. The funding is part of a statewide push by the Department of Health to reduce maternal health disparities in under-served regions.
STORY: State cuts to child literacy program expected to impact over 4,000 children in Whatcom alone
State lawmakers have cut funding for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Washington from the final 2025-2027 budget.
The literacy program, which was founded by Parton in 1995 in honor of her father—who could neither read nor write—provides a new, age-appropriate book every month to eligible children from birth to age five, at no cost to families. The Washington chapter—the first on the West Coast– was established in 2022, after the state promised essential funding through House Bill 2068.
In a statement on the Washington affiliate’s webpage, Executive Director Brooke Fisher-Clark called the decision to halt funding, quote, “a heartbreaking loss to our team, our 46 local Imagination Library partners, and, most importantly, the 121,000 children across Washington who receive the gift of a free book each month” unquote. According to the Library’s quarterly report from December, over 4,600 of those children reside in Whatcom County.
Fisher-Clark is calling on the public to donate through the ILWA website and help ensure the program’s continued viability.
STORY: Garden Minute airs today
What should you be doing in your garden right now? Tune into the Garden Minute today after the 5pm news to find out the latest tips and hints–– this week we’ll hear from Paige from the Garden Spot Nursery.
STORY: Correction
And finally, in yesterday’s story on the strikers at PeaceHealth we said that Nurse Practitioner Katie Pernick is an SEIU union member. Ms. Pernick is, in fact, a member of the UAPD. We apologize for our mistake.
WX: And Now His Rain is Ended
And now for the weather:
Some scattered morning showers are expected to give way to partly sunny skies later today, with highs around 60 degrees. Be prepared for some mild winds and a very slight chance of thunderstorms. Our evening forecast calls for fairly cloudy and cool weather, with lows in the high 40s.
Tomorrow looks to be mostly overcast, with some infrequent rain here and there.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers Carlos Braga (BRA-guh), Connor O’Boyle, Kyler Cantrell, Theron (THAIR-in) Danielson, Cody Mills, Aidan Larson, Glen Hirshberg (HERSH-berg), Kathi O’Shea (O-shay), and Kai Blais-Schmolke (KI BLAZE-SHMOLE-kee). 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 your donations. Check out our Patreon page or visit kmre.org and click on the banner. I’m _________, and thank you for listening.
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STORY: WA breweries avoid raised increased excise tax on beer, though it remains on the agenda for next legislative session
STORY: Residents of Bellingham apartment complex receive notice of drastic rent hike just ahead of new statewide cap
The same day Washington’s first-ever rent cap law was signed, some tenants at a Bellingham apartment complex received notices of steep rent hikes—well beyond the new legal limit.
Governor Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 1217 last Wednesday. The law limits residential rent hikes to no more than 7% plus inflation—or 10%, whichever is less—over a 12-month period. It will remain in place for 15 years. However, just days before the law kicked in, Arpeg, the Vancouver-based company that owns the complex, sent certified letters announcing sharp increases.
The Cascadia Daily News reports that one tenant, Madison Williams, is facing a 31% rent hike in November—on top of a 10% increase earlier this year. Another tenant, Janet Melman, called the timing “circumvention” of the new law and said it threatens low-income renters who have nowhere else to go.
Critics argue the move undermines the very intent of the law. Housing advocates say it highlights the urgent need for stronger renter protections, while some landlords warn the rent cap could backfire—leading to reduced housing supply and higher rents in the long term.
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