November 9, 2021 Dena Jensen
I provided a public comment during Whatcom County Council’s Open Session tonight. You can send your comments to council@co.whatcom.wa.us.
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November 8, 2021 Dena Jensen
But I just truly hope that a lot of people that would have normally never paid attention to a Council race or a campaign this long, and never thought that they could see themselves in local government and/or being able to have an impact – I’m hoping I inspired a handful who will go on to do the same, so that there’s just more people who understand the exact crises that we’re up against, being able to discuss them at a level that actually has impact.
— Kristina Michele Martens
November 6, 2021 Dena Jensen
On October 20, I sent an email to Mayor Fleetwood, Bellingham City Council, the Whatcom County Executive, Whatcom County Council, and Bellingham Police Chief Flo Simon, providing links to the completed segments of the review I had written, “Whatcom Barriers to Equity, a review for 2021 candidates.”
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November 4, 2021 Dena Jensen
So here’s an email chain on which to reflect and see how we can break through this particular barrier to generate action.
I wrote to Whatcom County Health Department Human Services Supervisor Ann Beck back on October 18. She had mentioned to me, in an email from September 27, a conversation which her Environmental Health colleagues, City of Bellingham staff, and the Homeless Outreach Team Manager had had about “available access to restrooms and other ideas that can help address public health concerns.” (Restroom access and other sanitary provisions like hand washing stations are recommended by the CDC in the guidance for encampments they issued in March of 2020 and which still remains in place.) https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/homeless-shelters/unsheltered-homelessness.html#facility-encampments
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November 3, 2021 Dena Jensen
It’s been almost three months since I made a blog post about City of Ferndale permits being issued and/or processed for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office on the business property of Mahmoud Boulos in Ferndale. I have done some more research recently and have additional details to share about this office that is hiding in plain sight in Whatcom County, at 1380 and 1390 Commerce Place in Ferndale.
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October 27, 2021 Sandy Robson
I read an article published recently by The Front that featured the two candidates running for the Port of Bellingham Commissioner District 1 race for this November 2, 2021 general election. John Huntley, who is Whatcom Republican Party’s recommended candidate, is challenging incumbent Port of Bellingham Commissioner candidate Michael Shepard, who is endorsed by the Whatcom Democrats.
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October 25, 2021 Press release, POOR Magazine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
A Homeless People’s Solution to Homelessness…
POOR MAGAZINE, a collective of Poor, Homeless, Indigenous, Black and Brown writers and activists, hit the road to share an innovative model to solving homelessness called Homefulness. Members of POOR Magazine will share their innovative “Homefulness Handbook,” accompanied by a series of writing/poetry workshops in encampments, community centers, schools and jails with other homeless and formerly homeless communities. Leading a tour on stolen land and hoarded resources, they share the template of Homefulness via storytelling and spoken word performance with fellow houseless and housed residents of so-called Bellingham, WA., Bend and Eugene, OR.
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October 24, 2021 Glenn Stewart
Local proposals are rarely articulated in clear partisan terms; certainly they lack a Party label. It can sometimes be difficult to see the ideological influence behind them, they become obscured by promises to “revitalize” and “make more efficient,” “lower taxes,” etc., etc. But then, who’s not for that stuff? Fortunately, most of us see through the bumper-sticker slogans.
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October 22, 2021 Sandy Robson
Some Whatcom County voters may not be familiar with Bellingham School District director (position 4) candidate, Philip Stockton. He is running against incumbent Bellingham School District director candidate, Jenn Mason, who is running for re-election this year.
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October 19, 2021 Dena Jensen
From Introduction – Whatcom Barriers to Equity, a review for 2021 candidates :
Materials that were responsive to a number of recent public records requests obtained from the City of Bellingham, and one request from Whatcom County, provide insights into notable communications strategies of existing City staff, the mayor’s office, and some City Council Members regarding many of the winter’s events related to homelessness. On some of these matters, communications were being coordinated between the City and County executive branches.
Based on information contained in those materials, an important question arises regarding future actions of folks newly stepping up to run, or those continuing on to serve their community in public office: will they take action to eliminate government approaches that view or portray individuals and community organizations serving people in crisis as adversaries?
Chapter One: The County Executive – Whatcom Barriers to Equity, a review for 2021 candidates
Chapter Two: City Staff and the Mayor – Whatcom Barriers to Equity, a review for 2021 candidates
Chapter Three: The Police Department – Whatcom Barriers to Equity, a review for 2021 candidates
[Editor’s note: all redactions in this chapter are provided by the editor in the interest of not providing specific names of private persons considered unnecessary to the integrity of this review.]
During the Bellingham City Council’s public comment period at their February 22, 2021 regular Council meeting, a community member read the demands that were current at that time, that had been posted on social media by Bellingham Occupied Protest Mutual Aid, also known as BOP Mutual Aid.
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noisy waters northwest 
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