A matter of public records: challenges in the quest for transparency

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Click the Los Angeles Times image of farmworkers silhouetted in front of an indigo sky and the headline of the publication’s 12/9/19 article, “Berry farm company fined $3.5 million over worker abuses” to access the article on their website

March 31, 2022 Dena Jensen

From some of my experiences and observations over the course of the last year, I would say that we are in a period where the tools for community members in Whatcom County to hold their elected and appointed officials accountable are more challenging to employ in some ways. There are at least some public records requests that are being filled more slowly than they were in years past, and rules around providing open public comment at local government meetings have fluctuated, with some opportunities to do so in the City of Bellingham having been eliminated. It remains to be seen if this pans out to be a temporary phenomenon or one that we continue to increasingly struggle with.

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Support of farmworkers draws fire from Save Family Farming / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Image of two screenshots of some of the information included in Save Family Farming’s 5/17/21 corporate Annual Report on the Washington State Secretary of State website, plus one screenshot of an Amazon link to access Gerald Baron’s 2018 book for review or purchase.

March 24, 2022 Dena Jensen

PR specialist, Gerald Baron is at it again, continuing to carry out the agenda he described in a 2018 book promoting the defeat of activists, and specifically of Rosalinda Guillen of Community to Community Development (C2C). You can read all about their leadership and ecofeminist efforts at https://www.foodjustice.org/team.

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Regarding RV parking enforcement and equity in Bellingham / Letter to Bellingham City Council

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March 15, 2022 Dena Jensen

Click the screenshot of text describing the IChange Justice podcast, “One Crisis Away from Homelessness” to access the description and podcast on Google Podcasts

Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2022, 06:25:35 PM PDT

Subject: Regarding RV parking enforcement and equity in our community

Dear Bellingham City Council:

Yesterday I was able to listen to most of your March 14, 2022 Committee of the Whole meeting, and your entire discussion related to the “Update on RV’s and the 72 hour Rule.”  

First, I would like to mention the part of the committee discussion on enforcing parking code for RVs where Bellingham Police Department Lieutenant Claudia Murphy responded to Bellingham City Council Chair Hannah Stone talking about the challenge of packing up camping gear increasing in relation to how often people might have to do that. It was apparent in the discussion that most of the community members undergoing code enforcement were living in their RVs as their primary shelter. 

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A resource to learn about Whatcom County Council business rules, policies and procedures

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Click the image of the Whatcom County Council 3/1/22 Special Meeting agenda to access it on the Whatcom County website

March 13, 2022 Dena Jensen

For community members who regularly follow or who periodically become interested in the activities of the Whatcom County Council, the Council’s March 1, 2022 Special Meeting and informational retreat is a good resource when we have questions about standards, rules, and laws the Council should be following.

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Consider actions to protect beach access in Whatcom County / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the image to access the March 8, 2022 Bellingham Herald article, “After public outcry, Whatcom Council rethinking its closure of this popular beach”

March 10, 2022 Dena Jensen

From The Belingham Herald article, “After public outcry, Whatcom Council rethinking its closure of this popular beach” by Robert Mittendorf:

“Oregon and California give their residents broad freedom to cross private property to reach public tidelands, through the 1967 Oregon Beach Bill and the 1976 California Coastal Act.

“But Washington state’s 1972 Shoreline Management Act, established by referendum, has much less explicit language.”

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