Owner formally donates Governors Point to Whatcom Land Trust, Suspect identified in 45 year-old murder of a 16-year-old girl, WWU is partnering in new $15M NSF-funded earthquake research center, 5-day road closure in Sudden Valley, Free Tire Recycling Events for Whatcom County Residents, Data shows drop in multi family home construction in Washington, WA courts paid back $10m in fines as a result of Blake drug possession ruling
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STORY: Owner formally donates Governors Point to Whatcom Land Trust
A new area will soon be open for hiking. Governor’s Point in the Chuckanut Mountains and along the coast south of Larrabee, was partially donated to Whatcom Land Trust yesterday.
The nearly 100 acres of donated land will be preserved as a nature reserve, with two paths to the land’s western and southern beaches.
The remaining 25 percent of land will be kept by the owner, with plans to build 16 small-footprint houses on the land south of the donated area.
STORY: Suspect identified in 45 year-old murder of 16-year-old girl
A 45-year-old murder has a suspect thanks to DNA matching. There were no leads at the time of 16-year-old Krisann Baxter’s murder investigation in 1978, as DNA technology was limited at the time.
After copying the data from database to database in the years since, a familial match for the killer was identified. That information eventually led to Keith D. Lindblom, who became a person of interest in the case.
Three years prior to the murder, Lindblom was convicted of violent assault and rape of a 16-year-old girl, but he was released from custody shortly before Baxter’s murder took place.
Krisann Baxter’s case is closing however because of exceptional circumstances, as Lindblom died in a fire in 1981.
STORY: WWU partnering in new $15M NSF-funded earthquake research center
Western Washington University is participating in a new multi-institution earthquake research center, which will receive $15 million from the National Science Foundation over five years to study the Cascadia subduction zone and bolster earthquake preparedness.
The Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center, or CRESCENT, will be the first center of its kind in the nation focused on earthquakes at subduction zones– areas where one tectonic plate slides beneath another. The center will bring together scientists from 14 institutions around the US, including UW, Central and WWU. Those involved will use the lab to help model and forecast specific local and regional impacts from quakes caused by the zone off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
The lab is part of an ongoing effort to prepare for “The Big One.” Research has shown that the Cascadia subduction zone could produce an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or greater, with many communities along the coast disastrously underprepared.
If a quake of that magnitude were to happen, it could cause tsunamis to landslides, collapsing buildings and bridges, disrupting power and gas lines, and leaving water supplies inaccessible for months.
While the fault hasn’t produced a quake since 1700, research shows that the zone produces magnitude 8 earthquakes about every 500 years on average, so the west coast is best off preparing for it soon.
STORY: 5-day road closure in Sudden Valley
A half-mile section of Lake Whatcom Boulevard between Lake Louise Road and Southern Court will be closed next week.
The closure, scheduled from 7am on Monday to 4pm on Friday, will apply to all traffic, including emergency vehicles and school buses. According to the announcement from Public Works, the closure is due to emergency work needed to replace a culvert that is failing and causing severe erosion of the road shoulder.
During the closure, motorists are advised to take alternative routes.
STORY: Free Tire Recycling Events for Whatcom County Residents
Whatcom County Health and Community Services announced yesterday that Whatcom County residents will have the opportunity to dispose of old tires at two free drop-off events in late September and early October.
The tire recycling event is hosted by Health and Community Services and funded by a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology. Over the past eight years, similar events in Whatcom County have collected over 300 tons of waste tires for recycling and disposal.
Both drop-off events are set to take place at the Cedarville Drop Box and Recycling Center in Everson. The first event will take place on Sunday, September 24th, from 9:30am until 4:30pm, and the second event will take place a week later on October 1st at the same time.
The Cedarville Transfer Station will only be open for tire recycling on both these days, with Whatcom County residents being able to drop off up to 20 tires per load. Only passenger vehicle and light truck tires will be accepted, and only Whatcom County residents are allowed to take part. Valid ID is required.
STORY: Data shows drop in multi family home construction in Washington
Building permits for apartments and other multifamily housing in Washington were down in the second quarter of the year while permits for single-family homes continued to rise.
Numbers that the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council released Tuesday showed there has been a 7,000-unit drop in multifamily permits during April to June of this year whereas single family permits increased. Overall, residential construction continues to be below last year’s levels.
The slowdown comes as Washington leaders continue to push for more housing construction to help with the state’s affordable housing shortage.
Lawmakers this year passed a number of bills to help increase production, such as expanding where duplexes and triplexes can be built, loosening regulations on backyard cottages and other “accessory dwelling units,” and attempting to streamline permit review processes. But most of those laws only went into effect in July and could take years to be fully implemented.
STORY: WA courts paid back $10M in fines as a result of Blake drug possession ruling
Since the Supreme Court’s landmark 2021 ruling that voided Washington’s drug possession law, the state has paid back nearly $10 million dollars in fines.
The state’s drug possession law was overruled after the Supreme Court ruled the law was unconstitutional because it did not require individuals to have knowledge of the drug possession. The state addressed the ruling by adopting a law making knowingly possessing illegal drugs or using in a public place a gross misdemeanor statewide. The state also started vacating convictions of those affected by the ruling and reimbursing those that were given court-ordered fines or costs. Previously, the only way to receive reimbursements was to apply via mail and receive reimbursement from the local municipality. To make applications easier, the state launched the Blake Refund Bureau website in July, streamlining the process and expanding access to the application. Since then, the Administrative Office of the Courts has approved more than $276,000 in refunds, with the number increasing hourly.
The total refunded to this day is $9.4 million out of a total of $50 million dollars set aside to reimburse individuals who paid fines and fees as a result of the convictions. An additional $47 million was approved for the efforts of vacating hundreds of thousands of possession charges, and adjusting sentences for thousands of incarcerated or supervised individuals.
WX: Clear Clear Clear
Today is clear and sunny, with moderate humidity and a high of 74. Tonight will cool to an overnight low of 54, predicted to also be clear. The sunny skies are expected to stay clear for the next few days, and moderate temperatures are expected to continue.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Susan Lindsey, Emma Toscani and Carlos Braga. 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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