Sheriff candidate Chadwick favors property to double suggested jail size in future / Noisy Waters Northwest

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April 24, 2023 Dena Jensen

Here’s something to be aware of. The current Whatcom County Undersheriff, Doug Chadwick, who also is one of the candidates running to replace Bill Elfo as Sheriff in the November 2023 election, indicated that he wants to ensure that the County will be able to double the size of a proposed new jail in the years ahead and favors building on a property that would accommodate the size of a horizontal design, i.e. the property purchased for a jail in Ferndale years ago.

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Law enforcement remains in the lead to re-criminalize drug use and possession / Noisy Waters Northwest

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April 20, 2023 Dena Jensen

April 20, 2023  Dena Jensen

On April 10, 2023, five out of seven members of the Bellingham City Council voted to approve an ordinance making it illegal to publicly use controlled substances in their city. Council Members took the action after amending the original ordinance which had been presented by Mayor Seth Fleetwood about a month earlier. Enforcement will guarantee that some people living outside will be exposed to increased scrutiny and pursuit by the Bellingham Police Department.

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New Bellingham drug use law looks to rely on diversion program with high barrier to entry / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access video and meeting materials for the 4/10/23 Bellingham City Council Public Health, Safety and Justice Committee

April 14, 2023 Dena Jensen

I’ll try to give a rough overview of the Bellingham City Council Members’ discussion on Monday, April 10, 2023 in their Public Health, Safety, and Justice Committee meeting about potentially proceeding forward to approve their ordinance to make public use of controlled substances a crime. (I haven’t gotten a chance yet to listen to the brief review of community courts which was the second item on their agenda).

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McGill points to services as solutions for crises in our community: response to new Bellingham public drug use law / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to view the public comment of Northwest Youth Services Executive Director Jason McGill that was given at the April 10, 2023 Bellingham City Council meeting at 01:44:10 mark.

April 13, 2023 Dena Jensen

For some folks who may have missed the public comment of the Executive Director for Northwest Youth Services, Jason McGill, at Monday’s 4/10/23 Bellingham City Council meeting, I am posting it here. It was the second to the last comment in a nearly two hour public comment session that night. It was fitting to have his comment and one from a student and renter who is on rental assistance from Northwest Youth Services close it out.

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On top of sweeps, no sitting or lying, aggressive parking enforcement: how the race to displace continues now / Noisy Waters Northwest

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March 31, 2023 Dena Jensen

Click the screenshot to access the information in the 3/27/23 Bellingham City Council regular meeting summary

On Monday night March 27, 2023, Bellingham City Council voted to advance (first and second reading) “An Ordinance Prohibiting the Use of Controlled Substances in Public Places” toward approval by a vote of 5-2. The earliest final vote on the ordinance will not be until the next regular Council meeting in two weeks on April 10, 2023. If approved on that date, the ordinance would go into effect two weeks later.

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Current Whatcom County Justice Project needs assessment was not comprehensive / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the screenshot from a portion of the Summary section The Vida Agency Draft Research Report Justice Project Engagement Findings to access the draft report

March 23, 2023 Dena Jensen

Here is an excerpt from Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) for the Whatcom County Justice Project December 15, 2022 10:00 – 12:00 pm Meeting Minutes: 

“TVA [The Vida Agency who created the Public Engagement Plan for the needs assessment] conducted 6 listening sessions with 29 participants, and 8 informal interviews. The participants included representatives of immigrant communities, Lummi Nation, and formerly incarcerated people and their families.

• It is important to keep in mind the small sample size when interpreting the results.”

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Reordering Justice Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee facility recommendations / Letter to Whatcom County Council and the SAC

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March 6, 2023 Dena Jensen

On February 21, 2021 Whatcom County Council voted 7-0 to approve a resolution accepting the the Justice Project Needs Assessment Report. The report includes many recommendations developed during the Stakeholder Advisory Committee needs assessment process, including one to “build a new jail.” The County will now be moving forward with an implementation plan. The resolution states that part of the plan will be efforts to hear our input.

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Work in progress: Bellingham City Council 2023 searchable meeting minutes / Noisy Waters Northwest

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February 18, 2023 Dena Jensen

In this post – which will be a work in progress during the course of this year – you’ll find the content of the City of Bellingham’s City Council regular meeting minutes that have been approved so far for 2023, here in one place. This allows folks to search on things like key words, topics, dates, public hearings, and people’s names. For each meeting date, a link is also provided near the top of that edition of minutes to access the agenda and media associated with that particular meeting.

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February 7 severe weather sheltering update reveals need to prioritize funding / Noisy Waters Northwest

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February 16, 2023 Dena Jensen

Time to call on Whatcom County Council Members to be proactive in making sheltering a priority. Contact info is at the bottom of this post.

With forecasted lows in the 20s starting to show up for next week this time, it’s all the more relevant to consider the on-the-fly severe weather shelter update that Whatcom County Health Department’s Community Health and Services Manager Ann Beck gave to Whatcom County Council’s 2/7/23 Finance and Administrative Services Committee which I’m including in this post.

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Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole 2022 searchable meeting minutes / Noisy Waters Northwest

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February 10, 2023 Dena Jensen

In this blog post, folks can find the meeting minutes for all of Bellingham City Council’s 2022 Committee of the Whole meetings that can be browsed or searched for information of interest related to that committee’s proceedings. This is the first group of government agency committee meeting minutes I have assembled, having previously put together posts with minutes of a couple years of regular council meetings for Whatcom County and City of Bellingham.

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