Where should funds for Justice Project social services come from? / Noisy Waters Northwest

June 1, 2023 Dena Jensen

Here’s some information relevant to funding for recommended actions related to behavioral health services and facilities, among other things, in the draft Justice Project Implementation Plan. (Link to the draft plan: https://www.whatcomcounty.us/…/Implementation-Plan… ) Whatcom County’s Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force is seeking feedback from community members about the draft implementation plan, now through June 11, 2023.

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Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force 2023 searchable meeting summaries / Noisy Waters Northwest

May 21, 2023 Dena Jensen

In this post you will find the content of the meeting summaries of the Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force that are currently available so far for 2023. This is a period when the focus of the Task Force has more prominently centered on the intersection of their work with Whatcom County’s Justice Project.

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Whatcom County Justice Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee 2022-2023 searchable meeting summaries / Noisy Waters Northwest

May 1, 2023 Dena Jensen

Over the next few months, our community will have a more intensive opportunity to review and speak out about the process (and outcome of that process) by which Whatcom County Council has come to accept recommendations, and potentially propose funding, for a new jail along with mental and behavioral health services related to incarceration and reducing and preventing incarceration.

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

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

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

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

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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Farmworkers hold their 10th Annual Farmworker Tribunal at the Capitol / Press release, Community to Community Development

March 14, 2023 Press release, Community to Community Development

For Immediate Release:  

For a Just and Resilient Food System, Nothing about us without us! Farmworkers hold their 10th Annual Farmworker Tribunal at the Capitol 

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON – Community to Community and Familias Unidas por la Justicia hold their 10th Annual Farmworker Tribunal at the State Capitol today in Cherberg JAC at 1:30 pm. The tribunal is an opportunity for lawmakers and allies to witness the power, vision, and self-determination of the Farmworker Movement. 

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