20 proposed amendments by Charter Review Commission/ Facebook post, Sj Robson

proposed amendment 19June 15 at 9:17pm  Sj Robson

Charter Review Commissioner Ken Bell wrote this in a March 19 email to his fellow commissioners: “I have cast a couple of votes with trepidation and uncertainty and am not comfortable doing that any longer.”

At the time he wrote that, there had been 5 amendments voted on by the commission. I am curious as to which votes he was referring to. Continue reading

Hansen-Iron Street Rental Megaplex Planned for York Neighborhood / Northwest Citizen, Dick Conoboy

Hanson-Iron street rental

Jun 01, 2015, 3:49 am Dick Conoboy

In what could be an appalling and game-changing precedent for many of Bellingham’s single-family neighborhoods, a megaplex of three seven-bedroom (five bedrooms plus two “bonus rooms”) single-family homes is planned for three adjoining lots on Iron St (1623, 1625, and 1627) in the York Neighborhood by local developers David and Jon Hansen under Cottonwood Units, LLC. Continue reading

When is a “rail loop” not a loop/track? BP Cherry point / FB post, Sj Robson

 bp cherry point gets extra track
June 10 at 11:20am  by Sj Robson on Facebook

Whatcom County planning and development continues to be asleep at the wheel on the BP crude by rail facility. When is a “rail loop” not a rail loop/track? When BP’s project plans describe it only in linear feet instead of describing it as a “third loop” but then show the “third loop” in a diagram of the facility. Continue reading

Farmworker/Sakuma Farms issue / FB post, Sj Robson

sakuma June 12 at 5:23pm  by Sj Robson on Facebook
Just posted this to The Bellingham Herald Politics Blog Facebook Page. Let’s put the pressure on the Herald to start covering the important that has been ongoing for years now. Below, is the content of my post:

Why isn’t The Bellingham Herald reporting on this important issue that other news media is reporting on?

The farmworkers/Sakuma Farms issue is not simply a Skagit issue, especially because many wholesale farmers in Whatcom County are customers of Sakuma Farms. Continue reading

The Import of a Local Election in the Coal Export Scheme / Coal Stop, Sandy Robson

coal-from-powder-river-basin-300x200April 26, 2015  Sandy Robson

[Updated October 7, 2015: Since the publication date of this article, proposed Whatcom County Charter Amendments 1, 3, and 10 have been placed on the November 2015 Whatcom County general election ballot as Propositions 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Also, the Whatcom County Charter Review Commission made revisions to amendments 3 and 10 since the publication date of this article. The link to a list of the charter amendment propositions on the November 2015 Whatcom County general election ballot is:  http://www.whatcomcounty.us/1553/Proposed-Amendments]

Continue reading