Severe weather warning in place for western WA as “bomb cyclone,” forms offshore, Whatcom County Courthouse vandalized in break-in early Monday morning, Bellingham man under arrest for intentionally ramming pedestrian with electric scooter, Pressures rise on property owners of Bakerview homeless encampment, WA among states investigating E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots, New health care backfill plan now available for some, Bellingham resident sets world record for women’s ultramarathon, WA state courts’ network back online following “unauthorized activity”
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KMRE brings you local news for Tuesday, November 19th. Good afternoon, I’m ______.
STORY: Severe weather warning in place for western WA as “bomb cyclone,” forms offshore
A wind advisory will go into effect this afternoon and remain until early tomorrow morning for northwest and west-central Washington.
A giant storm system is currently sitting off the Northwest coast, spanning from California to British Columbia, and coastal regions are expected to be impacted with higher than normal amounts of wind, rain, and snowfall. The National Weather Service says residents can expect gusts of up to 50mph, heavy amounts of rain– especially along the coast– and up to a foot of snow in the North Cascades and Mt. Rainier National Park. Mt. Baker Ski Area has announced they will open for the season this Thursday.
The intense weather predicted is the result of a powerful pairing: an atmospheric river and a bomb cyclone both expected to hit the Western coast at the same time. Charles Lindsey is a long-time meteorologist and a continuing education instructor at WCC. He sat down with KMRE reporter Susan Lindsey to help explain what’s happening.
SOUNDBITE WHAT IS HAPPENING
Although residents of the Pacific Northwest are familiar with rain and wind during the winter season, Lindsey says this time, it’s different
SOUNDBITE WHAT IS DIFFERENT
From fall of last year to spring of this year, the west coast has been hit by 51 atmospheric rivers.
STORY: Whatcom County Courthouse vandalized in break-in early Monday morning
A Bellingham woman was arrested Monday after allegedly breaking into the Whatcom County Courthouse and causing over $10,000 in damage over five hours.
According to police reports, 29-year-old Victoria Coe broke a courthouse window and entered the building around 12:45 a.m. Coe then spent nearly five hours vandalizing items inside the courthouse, damaging equipment and spreading debris. She allegedly stole a metal box from the jail lobby, and proceeded to write graffiti and vandalize an ATM and other parts of the courthouse. Coe fled when deputies arrived, but was later arrested and booked for second-degree burglary, first-degree malicious mischief, third-degree theft, and resisting arrest.
According to a release by Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Deb Slater, County Executive Satpal Sidhu has requested proposals to improve courthouse security in response to the break-in, particularly after hours.
Coe remains in custody at the Whatcom County Jail.
STORY: Bellingham man under arrest for intentionally ramming pedestrian with electric scooter
A Bellingham man was arrested after he allegedly rammed a pedestrian with an electric scooter.
The incident occurred on November 8th, when a person was nearly struck by a speeding electric scooter on the sidewalk. The person reportedly yelled at the driver, 35-year-old Richard Arra, to get off the sidewalk, to which Arra responded by turning around and intentionally driving into him before fleeing the scene. The witness fell to the ground, which resulted in an injury to his arm that required medical attention.
Another witness helped the victim identify Arra, who was arrested by Bellingham Police last Wednesday. He was booked into the Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of second-degree assault, but was released yesterday after posting bail.
STORY: Pressures rise on property owners of Bakerview homeless encampment
A growing homeless encampment at the intersection of Northwest Avenue and Bakerview Road in Bellingham has led to escalating complaints from nearby businesses and residents.
The encampment, which has up to 70 residents and is located near Jack in the Box, has prompted city officials to pressure property owners to clean and secure the area.
According to the City of Bellingham, issues include a significant reported rise in thefts and shoplifting at the Fred Meyer, Bellingham Public Schools moving a bus stop due to safety concerns, and neighbors reporting encampment residents acting erratically. Bellingham Police Lieutenant Claudia Murphy says that not all of the theft increase can be attributed directly to encampment, but the increase over the year as the encampment has grown shows an impact.
Reports by neighbors also indicate dire living conditions at the camp, with mental health crises and evidence of drug use, weapons, and hazardous materials. Recently, Mayor Kim Lund warned property owners to address
the situation or face enforcement actions, including lawsuits or fines. Cleanup is estimated at $96,000, with additional fencing costs exceeding $500,000, a cost expected to be shared by the property owners.
Fred Meyer says they have increased security and partnered with Bellingham Police for quote-unquote “shoplifting blitzes.” In addition, police presence has increased in the area in response to recent violent crimes in the encampment that include felony and sexual assaults.
City officials emphasize balancing public safety with compassion for the vulnerable individuals in the encampment and say they aim to address underlying issues like homelessness and substance abuse while mitigating community impacts.
STORY: WA among states investigating E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots
The CDC and state health officials are investigating a multistate E. coli outbreak linked to recalled organic bagged whole and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms under multiple brands.
As of Sunday, eight cases have been reported in Washington, but none in Whatcom County.
The recalled product include:
– Baby Organic Carrots: Best-if-used-by dates from September 11th to November 12th, 2024, sold under brands like 365, Trader Joe’s, and Wegmans.
– Whole Organic Carrots: Sold from August 14th to October 23rd, 2024 without best-by dates, under similar brands.
Consumers are advised to check their refrigerators and discard or return recalled carrots, and seek medical care for severe E. coli symptoms, including high fever, bloody stools, or signs of dehydration.
Visit the CDC for further information.
WX: Windiana Jones and the Unsecured Recycling Bin And now for your Whatcom County weather:
High winds are in the forecast today, with gusts reaching upwards of 40 miles per hour, accompanied by scattered rain and daytime highs in the
mid-40s. The wind is expected to persist into the small hours of tomorrow morning, as evening temperatures drop slightly to a low of around 40 degrees.
There is currently no wind advisory in place for tomorrow, though we are still forecasting rain and gusts above 20 miles per hour.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers Carlos Braga (BRA-guh), Connor O’Boyle, Jayne Kuhlman (COOL-mun), Kyler Cantrell, Theron (THAIR-in) Danielson, Riley Weeks, Brodey O’Brien, Paloma Ortiz, Anna Hedrick, and Miguel Garduño (MEE-gel gar-DOO-ño). 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 thank you for listening.
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STORY: New health care backfill plan now available for some People who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid can sign up for Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) to get more comprehensive health coverage. The deadline to enroll is December 7th. With more on this, we go to Eric Tegethoff.
DSNP AUDIO
STORY: Bellingham resident sets world record for women’s ultramarathon
STORY: WA state courts’ network back online following “unauthorized activity”
Washington state courts began restoring online systems on Monday after a two-week shutdown caused by unauthorized activity.
The Administrative Office of the Courts initially took the network offline on November 4th to secure it. Officials reported no data breach or ransomware attack, attributing this to swift action to secure the network. Municipal courts, including the King County District Court, were partially affected but used emergency measures to continue operations.
Courts remain under emergency orders extending rules until the state systems are fully functional.
