Seth Fleetwood: keeping up or falling behind with homeless services? / Noisy Waters Northwest

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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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Indefensible injustice in Whatcom County: no end in sight to public defender shortage / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the image of a YouTube video screen to access a portion of the recording of the July 6, 2023 Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force Steering Committee meeting discussion of the shortage of public defenders

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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2023 Opportunity Council update to Whatcom County Council on 22 North / Noisy Waters Northwest

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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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Public hearing on jail-first sales tax coming up on 7/11/23 / Noisy Waters Northwest

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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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Whatcom proposed sales tax revenue won’t fund crisis relief center first / Noisy Waters Northwest

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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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Conservative Whatcom candidates favor law enforcement and executive oversight of proposed jail tax funds / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the image to access the agenda for Whatcom County Council’s June 26, 2023 Special Meeting, a final workshop on the proposed sales tax ordinance related to the Justice Project

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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Community voice: Liz Darrow runs for Bellingham City Council Ward 3 / Q&A for Noisy Waters Northwest

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Image of community contributions made during a gathering organized by Liz Darrow for Healthy and Safe Neighborhoods. Darrow is running for Bellingham City Council Ward 3 in the November 2023 election

June 23, 2023 Dena Jensen

The 2023 election season is underway and candidates are busy making themselves known to the community. Liz Darrow is one of those candidates, and is also a person who has been making herself known to the community through her acts of showing up for many years to support and learn from those who live and grapple with challenges in Bellingham and Whatcom County. So much so, that a more home-body type like me, who lives in north Whatcom, has met her in person and is happy to keep getting to know this individual who I am lucky to be able to call a friend.

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Where is the equation for replacing unused jail cells in new facility with services? / Letter to Whatcom County Council

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June 15, 2023 Dena Jensen

During a June 13, 2023 Whatcom County Council Special Committee of the Whole meeting, committee members participated in a work session focused on the June 9, 2023 draft Justice Project Implementation Plan and a ballot measure to be approved by voters in November. The ballot measure would be for a tax which is currently referred to in that latest amended draft implementation plan as a “proposed new sales tax” which is, among other things, “the only feasible funding mechanism to generate the revenue needed to pay for a capital project the size of the jail and behavioral health treatment center.”

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Task Force to reduce jailing recommends most proposed tax funds for a larger jail that’s anticipated to expand / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic showing IPRTF members to access the recording of the June 12, 2023 Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force meeting

June 12, 2023 Dena Jensen

The Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force (IPRTF)/Law and Justice Council approved a motion today to “endorse the Justice Project Implementation Plan as ultimately approved by the County Executive and County Council.” The vote was 17 yes with 4 opposed. (Link to the meeting recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywj7BNTQJqw&t=3927s )

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Bellingham Mayor Fleetwood calls for slowing down services, speeding up new jail / Noisy Waters Northwest

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Click the graphic to access a copy of the full June 6, 2023 letter sent by Whatcom County mayors encouraging the County Council to delay funding for social services

June 8, 2023 Dena Jensen

Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood has signed on to each one of the Small City Caucus letters posted on the Justice Project comment webpage and sent to Whatcom County Council Members regarding their county’s Justice Project so far. All three letters have emphasized the building of a new jail over behavioral health services, but none so clearly as the one dated June 6, 2023, or with the amount of alarming and detailed proposals.  (As of the date of this post, there is not an active link to the letter on that comment webpage, but the letter is listed there and a link to the letter was found elsewhere on the Whatcom County website.)

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