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
The goal is to marginalize no one: email to Whatcom and Bellingham leaders / Noisy Waters Northwest
February 19, 2021 Dena Jensen
Here is an email I sent this morning:
Subject: The goal is to marginalize no one
Dear Mayor Fleetwood, Bellingham City Council, Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department, and Homeless Strategies Workgroup Members:
Continue readingSolutions needed to help heal the community: Homeless Strategies Workgroup meeting 2/19/21
February 18, 2021 Dena Jensen
Whatcom County Homeless Strategies Workgroup meets tomorrow, Friday, February 19, 2021, 1:30-3:00 p.m. Here is the Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/91936129280?pwd=QmZYaVdFMm1SZW5hcmpBdHcyVHkxQT09
Thoughts on the Camp 210 Sweep / Commentary by Kai Rapaport
February 5, 2021 Kai Rapaport
[Author’s Note: I am not a representative of Camp 210, but a concerned community member and volunteer; mistakes are my own]
Dear Bellingham,
This message is a plea to our Mayor Fleetwood to stop the sweep of our houseless neighbors at Camp 210, in their new location by Puget and Fraser near Civic field Friday at 4pm. This article is also an invitation to the community to support our houseless neighbors in voicing their concerns about this sweep.
I understand this message is long so I can summarize it now:
Please contact your Mayor, principally; your health department; the parks department; your City Councilmembers; and encourage your organizations to denounce this sweep. Sweeps do not solve houselessness, they only move our houseless neighbors.
Continue readingRE winter emergency sheltering efforts in Whatcom County prior to the 2020 cold weather season
The City of Bellingham and Whatcom County Government have been increasingly focused since the cold weather season has hit, on putting out information about their housing and sheltering efforts. There is no doubt that they have been making efforts to create low income housing and to sustain and enhance some sheltering solutions. But a significant challenge being faced right now by our community is a failure of our government agencies to respond effectively to hostile weather emergency sheltering needs, especially during a pandemic.
Continue readingWhatcom County Council continues discussion of racism as a public health crisis / Noisy Waters Northwest
November 1, 2020 Dena Jensen
For those who didn’t get to listen to the discussion of the resolution Affirming Racism is a Public Health Crisis at the October 27, 2020 Whatcom County Council meeting, here is a little information on that.
First, here are some details I am aware of because my partner, Sandy Robson, called Whatcom County staff to find out why notice of discussion of the resolution seemed to not be available on the County website.
Continue readingA call to provide winter shelters in Bellingham and Whatcom County / Letter to Bellingham City Council and Whatcom County Council
October 30, 2020 Dena Jensen
Sent: Thursday, October 29, 2020, 07:39:21 PM PDT
Subject: A call to provide winter shelters
Dear Bellingham City Council and Whatcom County Council:
I am calling on you to take immediate action to address the absence of ample winter shelters to keep individuals being left with no other option than to sleep outside overnight during conditions that can cause hypothermia, and in the middle of a pandemic. According to an October 16, 2020 King5 report, “Washington State remains on track for a cooler, wetter winter.” https://www.king5.com/article/weather/weather-blog/winter-outlook-wetter-colder-washington-state/281-8a300d02-79fb-48b3-837f-2303c49133af
Continue readingContact Whatcom County Council to Affirm Racism is a Public Health Crisis
October 25, 2020 Dena Jensen
‼️Heads up‼️ regarding a resolution “Affirming Racism is a Public Health Crisis.”
This is a quick call to action to contact the Whatcom County Council to support the Whatcom County Public Health Advisory Board resolution. The County Council was supposed to discuss/vote on the resolution Affirming Racism is a Public Health Crisis in one of their committees by October 27, which is why we all should contact them ASAP.
PUD Commissioner McClure’s past actions aided the quest for a coal terminal at Cherry Point
September 2, 2020 Sandy Robson
Back in 2010, Jeffrey McClure, who is currently an incumbent candidate for commissioner for Whatcom County Public Utility District No. 1, signed onto a June 15, 2010, letter to then-Department of Natural Resources Public Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark, urging him to remove what the letter described as “inherent conflicts” in the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ draft of its Cherry Point Environmental Aquatic Reserve Management Plan.
Continue readingFall, wind, and rain are here; legal homeless camping or emergency shelters aren’t
September 24, 2020 Dena Jensen
Fall, wind, and rain are here. Late-November, (which is the last time severe weather shelters were offered) is two months away. At Friday’s 1:30 p.m. Homeless Strategies Workgroup meeting, 5 minutes are scheduled for discussing Winter Shelter (temporary and emergency) and 5 minutes are scheduled for discussing Encampment clean-up/sweeps. How are these critical topics not a priority topic when people who are unsheltered are in positions -right now – to have their tarps and tents either blow away or be flooded, and freezing temps are weeks away?
Continue reading‘She comes and goes addressing the camps’: Who decides homeless camp ‘clean ups’ for the City of Bellingham? / Noisy Waters Northwest
September 12, 2020 Dena Jensen
On Friday, September 11, 2020 Whatcom County’s Homeless Strategies Workgroup (HSW) held their most recent meeting. Many critical issues were discussed and people should watch and listen to the whole meeting. Homelessness is an emergency for many members of our community.
In this blog post, however, I am providing a transcription of a discussion during the meeting, which began shortly before public comment was taken and continued throughout some of the public comments later on. The discussion focused on Bellingham Police Department (BPD) policy/procedure related to City of Bellingham unauthorized homeless “camp clean ups”, as they are referred to by COB.
