Current Whatcom County Justice Project needs assessment was not comprehensive / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by
Click the screenshot from a portion of the Summary section The Vida Agency Draft Research Report Justice Project Engagement Findings to access the draft report

March 23, 2023 Dena Jensen

Here is an excerpt from Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC) for the Whatcom County Justice Project December 15, 2022 10:00 – 12:00 pm Meeting Minutes: 

“TVA [The Vida Agency who created the Public Engagement Plan for the needs assessment] conducted 6 listening sessions with 29 participants, and 8 informal interviews. The participants included representatives of immigrant communities, Lummi Nation, and formerly incarcerated people and their families.

• It is important to keep in mind the small sample size when interpreting the results.”

Continue reading →

Reordering Justice Project Stakeholder Advisory Committee facility recommendations / Letter to Whatcom County Council and the SAC

Posted on by

March 6, 2023 Dena Jensen

On February 21, 2021 Whatcom County Council voted 7-0 to approve a resolution accepting the the Justice Project Needs Assessment Report. The report includes many recommendations developed during the Stakeholder Advisory Committee needs assessment process, including one to “build a new jail.” The County will now be moving forward with an implementation plan. The resolution states that part of the plan will be efforts to hear our input.

Continue reading →

Voice your support for Whatcom County Council passing an ordinance establishing a Racial Equity Commission / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by
Click the image of the event information graphic for the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission Bring All the Bright Celebration to access information on the Facebook information page for the event

October 10, 2022 Dena Jensen

I sent in my email of support for the Racial Equity Commission this last weekend. I’m including that email, a response from Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu, plus my email reply to him below. 

Meanwhile, there are addresses at the bottom of this post where you can send your own. There is a Public Hearing for the ordinance establishing the REC at the October 11, 2022 Whatcom County Council meeting that starts at 6:00 p.m. Additionally, there is a celebration starting at 4:00 p.m. the same day on the Bellingham Public Library lawn in honor of all the work that has been done to create this community-driven public/private advisory commission.  (Pizza and cupcakes will be shared!)

Continue reading →

Introduction – Whatcom Barriers to Equity, a review for 2021 candidates / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by

July 9, 2021 Dena Jensen

Introduction

In May of this year, Whatcom County 2021 candidate filing yielded seven candidates running for a total of four Bellingham City Council seats. There are fourteen candidates vying to fill four County Council seats, along with five Port of Bellingham candidates to potentially fill two seats. Whether running unopposed, or facing challengers, each one of them has potential to generate public conversation and advance solutions for critical community issues. 

Continue reading →

Notes: Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole continues to broach civilian oversight of law enforcement / Noisy Waters Northwest

Posted on by

June 22, 2021 Dena Jensen

At Bellingham City Council’s June 21, 2021 Committee of the Whole meeting, Council Members discussed the content of a memo prepared by the City’s Legislative Policy Analyst Mark Gardner. The memo provided them with information samples of boards and commissions that provide oversight of law enforcement in other small and medium-sized cities in the United States. The memo also noted, “A few larger cities are included for comparative purposes.”

Continue reading →