Border Patrol rescues 3 immigrant who were abandoned on a mountain, Sheriff’s Office recovers $45,000 worth of stolen bikes in Birch Bay, Bellingham police seek funding for bicycle team, Lynden firefighter’s gender discrimination lawsuit scheduled for Sunday, Bellingham invites feedback on Comprehensive Plan update, Washington Ecology not flooded by applications for drought-relief grants, Union sues to stop state purchase of psychiatric hospital until labor dispute is resolved, Free and Cheap
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Independent, nonprofit community radio.
KMRE brings you local news for Friday, September 8th. Good afternoon, I’m __David Korb____.
STORY: Border Patrol rescues 3 immigrants who were abandoned on a mountain
Three immigrants were rescued from the mountains near Sumas after being abandoned by a smuggler last Friday.
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, Blaine Sector Border Patrol agents responded to a distress call from their party. Agents determined their location based on GPS coordinates and photos sent from their cell phone. A rope rescue was conducted by the Blaine Sector Special Operations Detachment at around 7:30 that morning. Three individuals were determined to be undocumented immigrants from Mexico, and were medically cleared after the rescue.
The day before, on August 31st, the Blaine sector of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrested 29 immigrants from Mexico after they entered the U.S. in a freight train from Canada, although CBP found no evidence that the events were related. No other details on the arrest of the 29 immigrants were made available.
STORY: Sheriff’s Office recovers $45,000 worth of stolen bikes in Birch Bay
Whatcom County Sheriff’s Deputies have recovered around $45,000 dollars in potentially stolen bicycles.
After receiving a tip, they conducted a search of a Birch Bay residence and found 15 high-end mountain and electric bikes. A 16-year-old male suspect was arrested and charged with Possession of Stolen Property 1st Degree.
STORY: Bellingham police seek funding for bicycle team
Bellingham PD has applied for a $20,000 grant from the Department of Justice to equip a new team of bicycle officers.
This new team will not be a part of regular bike patrols downtown, but rather assigned to crowd control for large events such as Ski to Sea and Northwest Tune-Up. According to the grant application, city officials state that “having a team of mobile officers who are trained in crowd control would have a huge impact on events by being able to respond more quickly to concerning areas.” There is currently no timeline for resuming regular bike patrols.
The Police Department’s budget has rebounded from a slight decrease during Covid, now at nearly $40 million for fiscal year 2024. The total expenditure is the highest it has ever been, according to recent budget reports.
The public will have a chance to comment on the grant at a public hearing before the City Council at 7 p.m. on September 11th. Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig said she hopes to have the team in place by summer 2024.
STORY: Lynden firefighter’s gender discrimination lawsuit scheduled for Sunday
A gender discrimination lawsuit filed against the City of Lynden Fire Department and 2 administrators will go to court on Sunday.
The civil lawsuit was filed by a former Lynden Fire Dept firefighter after alleged repeat harassment based on her gender made her feel unsafe and unwelcome in the department according to her letter of resignation in 2021.
She claims that men in the LFD tampered with her breast pump, hit her with a blast of water to the head that knocked her down in front of witnesses and she was “openly belittled for any perceived flaw.” The plaintiff’s claims have not been corroborated by other women in the department, but there is a “noted division” within LFD between Lynden newcomers versus Lynden-born-and-raised, regardless of gender.
STORY: Bellingham invites feedback on Comprehensive Plan update
Bellingham is inviting residents and visitors to give feedback on the city’s twenty-year guiding plan, called The Bellingham Plan.
Attendees will be able to share their opinions on how the city should grow and discuss such topics as climate resilience, housing, recreation, economic vitality, transportation, and equitable growth. Input from the sessions will inform approaches to growth the City may consider, and will guide topics to be covered in future public events regarding the Plan.
The plan hopes to lay out goals and policies that help city leaders make decisions with the next 20 years in mind. Created in 1980, it is updated regularly. The next set of updates are due in 2025.
The first public session will be held online on September 20th, and the second will be in person on September 26th at Options High School. A survey will also be sent out online and through the mail.
STORY: Washington Ecology not flooded by applications for drought-relief grants
The Washington Department of Ecology has over $2.7 million in grant money to help farmers affected by droughts but has received only a handful of applications since declaring several emergencies in July.
Ecology has so far only awarded one grant to the Clallam County Public Utility District for water hauling, and rejected another from the Okanogan Irrigation District. Three other applications are pending, but according to Ecology spokesman, Jimmy Norris, none of them are related to agriculture. Norris believes it’s possible the lack of applications is a sign the program may not be addressing current problems.
The grants are limited to projects relating to drought hardships that affect the delivery of drinking water supplies, the survival of fish and wildlife, and the viability of agricultural activities and livestock operations. Under this criteria, Okanogan’s application was rejected as not having a substantial benefit for irrigators or fish, relative to the cost.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reported Thursday that 75% of Washington was in some stage of drought. Among 11 Western states, only New Mexico has a higher percentage. Large parts of the county here in Whatcom are classified as in “extreme” drought, with the rest being “severe”. Grant applications are available until November 20th.
STORY: Union sues to stop state purchase of psychiatric hospital until labor dispute is resolved
The union representing former employees of the psychiatric hospital which is in the process of purchase by the state of Washington has filed a lawsuit to block the sale until the state promises to hire back the former employees and honor the prior contract.
The state plans to buy the hospital formerly run by Cascade Behavioral Health for $30 million after the Dept of Social and Health Services assumed control of the property in August and leased it from Cascade Behavioral Health. With plans to reopen the hospital, the DSHS will keep the current union, but does not consider itself to be the successor and thus does not believe they are required to rehire union members.
DSHS’ director of labor relations Peggy Pulse says the reasoning behind not honoring the rehiring clause is because the new hospital will admit different patients than Cascade Behavioral Health did. Elizabeth Ford, a labor law professor at Seattle University, finds the union’s lawsuit to be a solid document and considers DSHS’s argument a weak one.
The new hospital will be called Olympic Heritage Behavioral Health and spokespeople for DSHS encourage former employees of the old hospital to apply for work at Olympic Heritage.
The new hospital is part of Governor Inslee’s plan to expand behavioral healthcare as well as provide more support for jails that hold people with mental illness. Olympic Heritage will house about 100 beds according to authorities. Inslee has not read the lawsuit but he supports DSHS’s position on the matter.
STORY: Free and Cheap
WX: Sunny Weekend Ahead
The weather in Bellingham today will be sunny, with a high near 70 and light west-southwest winds. The skies are expected to remain clear tonight, with a low around 53. The weekend is also due to be sunny and highs are expected in the mid-70s, although there’s a moderate chance of showers on Sunday night.
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 your donations. I’m __David Korb______________… thanks for listening.
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