PeaceHealthy St. Joseph Medical Center penalized $21,000 for dangerous waste violations, Thieves break into the Comics Place in Bellingham, Sheriff’s Office investigating after possible human remains found at Ross Lake, City to buy 114 acres in Lake Whatcom watershed, Whatcom County Council agrees to spend more money on affordable housing projects, Strain continues as WA ferry fleet loses another boat, WA removes advisory votes from ballots, Democracy Block
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STORY: PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center penalized $21,000 for dangerous waste violations
The Washington Department of Ecology has fined St. Joseph Medical Center $21,000 for repeated violations of the state’s dangerous waste laws.
An Ecology inspection in 2022 found a lack of preventative measures (like dangerous waste management and emergency procedure training), failure to inspect and document waste storage areas, and failure to submit required annual reports to Ecology. St. Joseph had already received a penalty for similar violations in 2018.
PeaceHealth St. Joseph has 30 days to pay the penalty or appeal it to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.
STORY: Thieves break into The Comics Place overnight in Bellingham
Thieves burglarized The Comics Place in Bellingham early Tuesday morning. Security camera footage showed two people stealing a variety of comics and cards worth thousands of dollars from behind a glass counter, shoving the items in their backpacks, and leaving.
Among the items stolen was an issue of Fantastic Four #48, with a chunk missing from the lower right cover, valued at around $500. Comics Place co-owners Django (JANG-oh) Bohren and Jeff Figley have asked that other comic shops and buyers keep an eye out for identifying marks as it is likely the thieves may try to sell the stolen goods.
STORY: Sheriff’s Office investigating after possible human remains found at Ross Lake
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after possible human remains were found in Ross Lake.
The Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the National Parks Service earlier in October after a suitcase with the remains was found during a fishing trip. Detectives from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the two fishermen, and the remains were given to the Whatcom Medical Examiner.
The case is still under investigation.
STORY: City to buy 114 acres in Lake Whatcom watershed
The Bellingham City Council has approved the purchase of an additional 114 acres on property in the Lake Whatcom watershed.
The purchase comes as part of the Lake Whatcom Land Acquisition and Preservation Program. The program aims to purchase land in order to protect it from development, help improve water quality, and reduce flooding risks.
Earlier this year, city staff announced plans to remove 1,500 acres in the watershed from potential development. City administration hopes that removing the land from development will help mitigate the high levels of phosphorus pollution in the area’s main drinking water source.
The city now owns more than 2,600 acres of property around the lake.
STORY: Whatcom County Council agrees to spend more money on affordable housing projects
Whatcom County Council unanimously passed a resolution to increase funds for affordable housing projects.
The Economic Development Investment Fund Program retains sales tax revenue for essential facilities, and will be used to help fund affordable housing. The EDI Fund is projected to generate over $6 million in 2024.
The new resolution prioritizes housing affordability and homelessness with a focus on affordable and workforce housing projects. The county anticipates needing nearly 35,000 new housing units by 2044, with over 60% of them required to be affordable.
As of last month, rent in Bellingham for an average one-bedroom apartment was $1500, a 13% increase from the previous year. According to recent statistics, less than 30% of Whatcom County housing is considered affordable for median-income households.
The Washington State Department of Commerce reports the need to develop over one million homes state-wide in the next two decades. According to projected numbers, more than half of them need to be affordable for low-income residents in order to accommodate population growth.
STORY: Strain continues as WA ferry fleet loses another boat
Washington ferries hit a low point this weekend as another boat was taken out of service.
The Chimacum (CHIM-ma-kum) ferry was decommissioned for repairs after a rod broke in one of its engines. The boat was the sole vessel operating between Seattle and Bremerton due to previous service cuts. To accommodate riders, a ferry was moved from the Kingston-Edmonds route, making both crossings serviced by only one boat each. The Chimacum was among Washington State Ferries’ newer boats, and there is no estimate of when it will be repaired.
A third of the Washington ferry system is currently out of service. The state plans to add an additional 16 boats to the fleet and retire many of the aging vessels. However, contracts for new boats have yet to be agreed on, with estimates pointing to 2027, at the earliest.
Washington’s ferry system now has 14 working ships out of a fleet of 21.
STORY: WNS – WA removes advisory votes from ballots
For the first time in more than a decade, Washington residents won’t see advisory votes on their ballots in this year’s elections. Reporter Eric Tegethoff (TEG-it-off) has more.
BALLOT AUDIO
STORY: Democracy Block
KMRE and Cascadia Daily have collaborated on a series of interviews with some of the 2023 candidates for office. We’ve chosen specific questions from those interviews so that listeners can compare the candidates’ positions on issues that matter most to Whatcom County.
Today after the 5pm news, the challengers for Whatcom County Sheriff– Doug Chadwick and Donnell ‘Tank’ Tanksley– share their views on local law and justice.
WX: Sunny
Today will be mostly cloudy with a high of 57° and calm winds. Tonight has lows around 50 and heavy rain after 8 pm. The rain will continue into tomorrow, with gusts of winds up to 28 mph.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Carlos Braga, and Connor O’Boyle. 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.
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Run after ruling–
The Washington State Supreme Court is set to hear a significant case involving the rights of people sheltering in their vehicles.
A growing number of homeless individuals in Washington are living in their vehicles, but they face challenges due to local laws, including bans on vehicle habitation, restrictive parking rules, and towing. These laws often force people to leave their communities, even if they have lived there for a long time.
Jack Potter, a longtime resident of Lacey, was forced to live in his travel trailer due to housing market pressures. Lacey passed a law prohibiting vehicles used as shelter from parking in town for more than four hours, essentially forcing Potter and others out of their community.
Tomorrow, Potter’s case will be heard by the Washington Supreme Court.
