Excerpt from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries Jan. 15 press release: “Phillips 66 Refinery has been fined $324,000 for failing to correct serious workplace safety and health violations. A Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) inspection of the Ferndale facility found the violations put refinery workers at great risk in case of a fire or explosion. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: January 2016
More destruction of the irreplaceable Semiahmoo Spit / Facebook post, Whatcom Hawk, Wendy Harris
One of the saddest and stupidest planning decisions I have seen since living here…more destruction of the irreplaceable Semiahmoo Spit. Continue reading
Why We Need Wildlife Policies At Our Local Park / Facebook post, Whatcom Hawk, Wendy Harris
A trip today to the county park at Semiahmoo was not uplifting.
First, I saw heavy construction occurring in the middle of the spit right in the prime of the winter bird season. See that water in the first photo.. Drayton Harbor… it should be full of sea birds and waterfowl. I am not sure if this was planned, but it did not look like a sudden storm event that required emergency repairs. Continue reading
Eagles on the Nooksack / NorthwestCitizen, John Servais
Bad Planning Exemplified / Facebook post, Whatcom Hawk, Wendy Harris
I have explained on several occasions that it is a problem that both the city and the county are piece-mealing the comp. plan update and improperly treating the Critical Area Ordinance as a separate process from the comp. plan. Continue reading
The Ugly Underbelly of Corporations’ Pursuit of a Coal Terminal / Coal Stop, Sandy Robson
January 9, 2016 by Sandy Robson
The Lynden Tribune newspaper made the decision to publish a December 23, 2015 opinion piece submitted by Chair John Huntley and President Brad Owens of the Northwest Jobs Alliance (NWJA). Continue reading
Two proponents of GPT filed extensive, detailed comments for Cherry Point / Facebook post, Whatcom Hawk, Wendy Harris
Two proponents of GPT filed extensive, detailed comments for Cherry Point to support their partisan position with regard to the Comp. Plan on Jan. 8, the last day to file comments with the Whatcom County Planning Commission. Continue reading
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story / Facebook post, Whatcom Hawk, Wendy Harris
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.. like the fact that Intalco is cutting jobs all on its own, or that the coal industry is going bust, or that the Lummis have treaty rights, or that is the site of a marine reserve with several species that have been designated as biologically significant. Continue reading
All Charged Up, No Gas / Cascadia Weekly, The Gristle, Tim Johnson
Wednesday, January 6, 2016 Tim Johnson
ALL CHARGED UP, NO GAS: A new year begins, and with it the oaths of office and the swearing ceremonies of new public officials elected last November.[…]
Quake Wake Up in Northwest Washington: Short Update / Reading the Washington Landscape, Dan McShane

From the PNSN site
This woke a few people up in northwest Washington. Continue reading