August 4, 2023 Dena Jensen
I listened to this great episode of the Community Voz podcast yesterday that brings up such valuable points related to oppressed and marginalized communities. Here is the link where you can find the episode “The Uses of Anger – IAB Update”: https://www.foodjustice.org/community-voz-radio
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July 28, 2023 Dena Jensen
After about a month of nights where beds were not quite filled up at Base Camp, numbers have been back up near capacity (and above) this week.
I realize that people are working on putting things in place for services that may possibly emerge in the future, but severe weather season starts in three months and I want to point out a list of things that have been happening this year, some of them in the last few months, some in the last few weeks, and some loom ahead as possible in the future.
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July 26, 2023 Dena Jensen
Last month a number of local political organizations were engaging with candidates running for office in the November 2023 election who were seeking those groups’ endorsements. On June 10, I attended the meeting of the 42nd Legislative District Democrats to hear the statements of those candidates who were present.
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July 22, 2023 Dena Jensen
For folks who are receiving campaign literature with claims like this one of current Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood’s, “Sustaining and expanding shelters, with a threefold increase in facilities for our unhoused population.” >>>>>>>
Be sure and do your homework to prevent yourself having illusions of grand services being provided without context for what terms like “threefold increase” really mean related to benefits to the community. In other words, does this mean are we actually getting ahead or falling behind in getting folks into stable living situations?
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July 16, 2023 Dena Jensen
In a Bellingham Herald article back in mid-May this year, Denver Pratt had reported on the local shortage of defense lawyers during that timing when Whatcom County was waiting for a public defender to be named.
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July 14, 2023 Dena Jensen
At yesterday’s Whatcom County Council Public Works and Health Committee meeting, there was a presentation from the Opportunity Council on the status of the 22 North 40-unit apartments that are aimed at providing permanent supportive housing. The presentation comes about a year after the County approved funding in the interest of significantly improving services to the residents, as well as their hopes of reducing crime and disturbance to neighbors in the area.
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July 7, 2023 Dena Jensen
There are two public hearings scheduled for the Tuesday 7/11/23 Whatcom County Council meeting. The one for the sales tax for the jail and services comes first. (The second is about Nooksack River tubing regulations to better protect endangered-species-listed salmon). Here’s the link to the Council meeting agenda: https://whatcom.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1007093&GUID=EB6D8780-A7ED-41A1-B94C-DAFDD2B40057
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July 5, 2023 Dena Jensen
I am almost done listening to the Bellingham City Council’s 6/26/23 Committee of the Whole meeting. That’s the one where they were having discussions about adopting the state legislation making drug possession and public use a gross misdemeanor (which I’m going to talk about in a later post) and about the City Council’s “Resolution Affirming the City of Bellingham Values with Regard to the Proposed Ballot Measure for the Purpose of Providing Funds for Costs of Public Health, Safety and Justice Facilities and Services, Including Behavioral Health, Housing, Public Safety, and Criminal Justice Facilities and Programs.”
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June 28, 2023 Dena Jensen
So far, I have made it through watching the first three hours of Whatcom County Council Members’ 10:30 a.m., June 26, 2023 workshop on the draft copy of an ordinance for a sales tax that will potentially fund a new Whatcom County Jail and behavioral health services. I still have a couple hours left of their full workshop that day to finish watching.
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June 25, 2023 Dena Jensen
It will be good to pay attention to this special meeting for the Whatcom County Council on MONDAY 6/26/23 at 10:30 a.m, (same day as Bellingham City Council meetings for this week,) as it relates to conditions surrounding a new jail and also to people campaigning to fill Whatcom County government positions during the 2023 elections (Meeting details are here: https://whatcom.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1109912&GUID=E6B2D3F9-57C3-4CA0-BAF2-CA77423B70D0&Options=info|&Search= )
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noisy waters northwest 
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