Welcome to Noisy Waters Northwest! Many facts, figures, stories, and perspectives are, sadly, often unheralded in our local media in Whatcom County, Washington. Click on the title of items on our picturesque story board for a refreshing splash of information that won’t be held back. There is a search page to search all information on this blog site. All posts note their categories of commentary or news related content. Continue reading
Court Slashes Fine for WA Farm Where Worker Died / Public News Service, Suzanne Potter
Click the graphic to read or listen to the complete Public News Service report
June 20, 2018 Suzanne Potter
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Farm-labor advocacy groups are furious after a District Court judge in Bellingham slashed the fine to $35,000 on Tuesday for a berry farm accused of unsafe working conditions, after a worker there collapsed and died last August.
Sarbanand Farms shamelessly mitigates fine after worker dies on their farm / Press Release, Community to Community Development
June 18, 2018 Press release, Community to Community Development
For Immediate Release: Bellingham, WA June 18th, 2018
What: hearing to rule on the mitigation of health & safety violations
When: Tuesday 8:30 am
Where: Whatcom County Courthouse, 4th Floor
Rally in front of Courthouse, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, WA.
Tiny homes video portrays lives being saved in Eugene, OR / Noisy Waters Northwest
Click the graphic to access the video “Tiny Homes For A Growing Epidemic,” posted on the Road Trip: Listen To America Facebook page
June 13, 2018 Dena Jensen
OpportUnity Village is one project of Square One Villages, an organization whose projects benefit people experiencing homelessness, and that believes, “that everyone deserves a safe and stable place to call home.” Based in Eugene, Oregon, the organization which hosts three separate tiny home projects, says on their website About Us page, “SquareOne seeks to bridge the often insurmountable gap between the street and conventional housing with a variety of simple, cost-effective housing options.”
Whatcom nonprofit forms to end homelessness and create homes — now! / Real Change, Jim Peterson
June 13th, 2018 Jim Peterson
Opinion
Whatcom County is nestled between the Salish Sea, Mount Baker and Canada, about 100 miles north of Seattle. By most accounts, it is an idyllic location: a university town (Bellingham), agriculture, outdoor recreation, a beautiful climate. But it has problems too, including ever-increasing homelessness.
After the June 5, 2018 Port of Bellingham Commission meeting / Letter to the Port Commissioners, Dena Jensen
Click on the graphic to listen to the section of the June 5, 2018 Port of Bellingham Commission meeting regarding Action Item #2
June 8, 2018 Dena Jensen
Dear Port of Bellingham Commissioners:
I have been able to listen to almost all of the June 5, 2018 Port Commission meeting.
I want to thank Port Commissioners for deferring until early fall of 2018, any vote on authorizing the Executive Director to enter into agreements with event organizers to close Port parks and hold private events for up to three uses per year.
ACLU of Washington lawsuit: Whatcom County Jail violating ADA by refusing medication to people with opioid use disorder / News Release, ACLU of Washington
June 7, 2018 News Release, ACLU of Washington
The ACLU of Washington has filed a class-action civil rights lawsuit against Whatcom County and the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office for denying people with opioid use disorder (OUD) in the County Jail medications necessary to treat their addiction. The lawsuit challenges the Whatcom County Jail’s policy of refusing to provide people access to “Medication-Assisted Treatment” (MAT), including buprenorphine (Suboxone and Subutex) and methadone, even though it provides other clinically appropriate medications to inmates. This policy is harmful, unwise, and illegal. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) forbids discrimination against people with OUD, who are just as entitled to medication as those suffering from any other ailment requiring medical treatment.
HomesNOW!: ‘Let’s not lose this momentum. Let’s keep this going!’ / Facebook post, Noisy Waters Northwest
Click on the graphic to access Jim Peterson’s post in the HOMES NOW! BELLINGHAM Facebook group where you can watch Jim’s video update
June 6, 2018 Dena Jensen
I am going to start first with the ending of Jim’s June 4, update video, since it is powerful and shouldn’t be missed: Continue reading
