Whatcom County Council seeks to lighten workload by cutting back on community voices / Letter to Whatcom County Council

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Click the screenshot of a 12/2/2022 memo from Whatcom County Council Member Carol Frazey to access the document on the Whatcom County website

December 5, 2022 Dena Jensen

In this post is an email I sent last night regarding tomorrow’s 12/6/22 Whatcom County Council Committee of the Whole meeting. The COW agenda says Council will be discussing general meeting rules. It is left to community members who have some experience on where to find more details, to learn that apparently this discussion is to be solely focused on limiting our time to speak at their meetings. It would have taken very few extra words to say that on the agenda. Here is the link to the memo for the meeting: https://whatcom.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=11493559&GUID=01A69383-70BC-41D5-A732-01A369E4CD18

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Update on previous email related to information and activation for accessible severe weather sheltering / Letter to Whatcom County officials

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November 27, 2022 Dena Jensen

Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2022, 07:30:34 PM PST

Subject: Update on previous email related to information and activation for accessible severe weather sheltering

Dear Whatcom County Health Department, Whatcom County Council, and Whatcom County Executive Sidhu:

Below my signature line, I am including a copy of the email  I sent you earlier today regarding information on the County website and various social media pages related to severe weather shelters being available. 

I wanted to write again on a related matter having to do with the recording on the night by night shelter hotline, at 360-788-7983.

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Displacement creates a stronger need for increased emergency sheltering options / Letter to Bellingham and Whatcom County officials

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Click the screenshot of a NEWS webpage on the website of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness to read the statement from USICH Director Olivet, “Collaborate, Don’t Criminalize: How Communities Can Effectively and Humanely Address Homelessness”

October 31, 2022 Dena Jensen

On Friday of last week, I had posted on Facebook about a recent article in Cascadia Daily News, “Bike lanes to displace homeless campers on Cornwall. At the time of my post, I was just responding to information in the article. Since that time, I have had a chance to listen to a recording of the Bellingham City Council Members’ October 24, 2022 Committee of the Whole discussion of the proposal to eliminate parking on portions of four Bellingham streets, including the section of Cornwall Avenue that is near the Bellingham waterfront.

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Services needed to address more regular occurrence of severe smoke events / Letter to Whatcom County officials

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October 18, 2022 Dena Jensen

Keep sharing the things you learn and observe with our officials that will help result in more and better services for our community members who are in crisis or are in danger of being so.  

Here is an email I sent this evening to the Whatcom County Council and the County Executive:

Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2022, 05:31:04 PM PDT

Subject: Services needed to address more regular occurrence of severe smoke events

Dear Whatcom County Council, and County Executive Sidhu:

I have been watching the rapid increase today in poor air quality due to wildfire smoke. I am including a couple screenshots. 

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Calls for action regarding 2022 plans for Whatcom County severe weather shelters / Letter to the Whatcom County Council

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Click the image of a screenshot of a chart that is included in the Whatcom County Coalition to End Homelessness 2022 Annual Report to access the chart in the report on the Whatcom County website

October 14, 2022 Dena Jensen

I sent the following email to the Whatcom County Council this afternoon related to the presentation on severe weather sheltering that was given on September 27, 2022 by the Whatcom County Health Department Human Services Manager to members of the County Council’s Committee of the Whole at their meeting that day. Here is a link to a transcription of that presentation along with some highlights from it: https://noisywatersnw.com/2022/10/05/transcript-update-from-the-whatcom-county-health-department-on-severe-weather-shelter-plans-noisy-waters-northwest/

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Calling on Whatcom County officials to protect those exposed to extreme climate impacts/ Letter to Whatcom County Council and Executive Sidhu

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Click the screenshot to access a Facebook post by Community to Community Development displaying a video of Skagit Farmworkers out in the pumpkin fields during smoky conditions in early September 2022

September 18, 2022 Dena Jensen

Many of our friends and neighbors are put in a position to feel they have to work, without critical protections under severely smokey or hot conditions. There are currently no sufficiently protective provisions from our local, state, and federal governments for farmworkers and certain groups of people whom we have left to live or work outside during dangerous weather conditions.

I am including below an email I sent to Whatcom County officials today to call on them to take action locally and use their influence to urge state and federal governments to take action, as well.

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Whatcom mayors press for new jail ahead of services / Noisy Waters Northwest

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September 6, 2022 Dena Jensen

September 9, 2022 is the next meeting of the Justice Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee. They need to know the public wants to participate in decisions about mental and behavioral health services for our community and a potential new jail. This is their email address: sac@co.whatcom.wa.us. Here is a link to the Sept. 9 agenda: https://www.whatcomcounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/68996/Agenda—SAC-Group-Discussion—Sept-9-2022

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Transcription of remarks about barriers to homeless sheltering and housing for veterans in Whatcom County / Letter to Whatcom County Council

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Click the screenshot of a summary of the HUD VASH program for supportive services for homeless Veterans to access it on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website

August 18, 2022 Dena Jensen

Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2022, 06:32:14 PM PDT

Subject: Transcription of remarks made about barriers to homeless sheltering and housing for veterans in Whatcom County at the August 4, 2022, Whatcom County Coalition To End Homelessness (WCCEH) meeting

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Regarding Bellingham Police Department officers using text messages to conduct agency business / Letter to Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood

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The images above display screenshots from Bellingham Police Department Lieutenant Claudia Murphy’s body cam video recordings in late 2021 related to her work enforcing City of Bellingham parking code for recreational vehicles

August 4, 2022 Dena Jensen

There is an August 1, 2022 post here on Noisy Waters Northwest related to the subject of this email sent today to City of Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood. As of the time of that post, I had not yet received a response from the Mayor or Bellingham City Council President Hannah Stone regarding questions I had about Bellingham Police Department officers being advised, back in January of 2021, to delete their text messages weekly. Here is the link to that post: https://noisywatersnw.com/2022/08/01/waiting-for-answers-regarding-bellingham-police-department-texting-practices-noisy-waters-northwest/

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Some relevant perspective regarding Whatcom County concerns related to 22 North / Noisy Waters Northwest

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To access the full set of slides for the presentation “22 North Stabilization Progress Report,” click the image of a slide from a presentation to Whatcom County Council’s Finance and Administrative Services committee on June 21, 2022, provided by representatives of the Opportunity Council

July 13, 2022. Dena Jensen

I was not able to attend the Whatcom County Council meeting last night in order to give public comment, but I did manage to send off an email I’m including in this post, right before the meeting started.

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