Business and Commerce Advisory Committee seeks emergency housing measures to import workers / Noisy Waters Northwest

Click the graphic with a KGMI logo, some text and links, and a picture of Don Goldberg holding a phone receiver to access the July 27, 2019 (dated on the SML webpage July 29, 1019) Saturday Morning Live podcast

July 29, 2019 Dena Jensen

The Whatcom County Business and Commerce Advisory Committee is recommending that Whatcom County declare a housing emergency – not from the perspective of current residents not having affordable and ample shelter – but from the perspective that employers who want to grow their businesses want to potentially import hundreds of workers at a time from outside of our county. The committee gave a presentation to the County Council’s Finance and Administrative Services Committee on July 9, 2019. 

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Water protectors targeted by WBA president’s false alarms / Noisy Waters Northwest, Sandy Robson

Screenshot photo of WBA President Tony Larson’s “Leading Off” column featured in the Fall 2017 issue of Business Pulse Magazine. Click the graphic to access the Fall 2017 issue of Business Pulse, and the page 10 article

February 24, 2018  Sandy Robson

The Fall 2017 issue of Whatcom Business Alliance’s support publication, Business Pulse Magazine, featured WBA President Tony Larson’s “Leading Off” column, titled “Apparently doing the right thing is just not enough: How to protect your business against, [sic] unwanted, uninformed demonstrators.” Continue reading

Cherry Point Amendments and Critical Areas Ordinances need to reflect measures to protect orcas / Letter to Whatcom County Council, Dena Jensen

scientists shipping noise herald

April 15, 2016  Dena Jensen

Dear Whatcom County Council:

I am sending this email for you to earnestly consider during your review of the Cherry Point Amendments to Whatcom County’s Comprehensive Plan and the Critical Areas Ordinance. The information below is why it is critical that expanded vessel shipping going anywhere out of Cherry Point is, at this time particularly, unacceptable.  Thus, this is another reason it is critical that the County include the study in the Cherry Point Amendments that will help the County find legal ways to limit the export of unrefined fossil fuels, above current levels, out of Cherry Point. Continue reading

Thank you for approving the interim moratorium for Cherry Point and other things regarding the Cherry Point Amendments / Letter to Whatcom County Council, Dena Jensen

interim moratorium agenda bill

March 29, 2017  Dena Jensen

Last week Whatcom County Council voted 6-1, Council Member Brenner opposed, to approve the “ordinance imposing an interim moratorium on the acceptance and processing of applications and permits for new or expanded facilities in the Cherry Point Urban Growth Area, the primary purpose of which would be the shipment of unrefined fossil fuels not to be processed at Cherry Point.”  I wanted to write this week to thank them for approving the moratorium. Continue reading

Public testimony of retired refinery worker, Steve Garey, at 3/21/17 Whatcom County Public Hearing regarding increased unrefined fossil fuel export moratorium/ Noisy Waters Northwest

steve garey 032117 council meeting

Click the graphic to view Mr. Garey’s public testimony, which begins at around the 01:00:40 mark on the video (the linked graphic should take you to that location on the video) at the March 21, 2017 Whatcom County Council Meeting.

March 24, 2017  Dena Jensen

Here is a transcript of the public comment offered by retired refinery worker Steve Garey, at the March 21, 2017, Whatcom County Public Hearing on “imposing an interim moratorium on the acceptance and processing of applications and permits for new or expanded facilities in the Cherry Point urban growth area the primary purpose of which would be the shipment of unrefined fossil fuels not to be processed at Cherry Point.”  The interim ordinance was approved by the Whatcom County Council on the evening of the hearing, by a vote of 6-1, Council Member Brenner opposed.  Continue reading

WBA, under the leadership of President Tony Larson, uses propaganda that can mislead the public /Facebook post, Sj Robson

wba-preserve-cherry-point-blurb

Initial text and graphic displayed, as of this writing (02/25/2017), by Whatcom Business Alliance on preservecherrypoint.com , a webpage used by the WBA for eliciting oppositional emails to proposed Whatcom County planning policy that would study legal ways the County can work to limit unrefined fossil fuel exports above levels in existence as of July 5, 2016

2 hrs  February 25, 2016  Sandy Robson

Once again, Cherry Point fossil fuel industry advocate Whatcom Business Alliance (WBA), under the leadership of its President Tony Larson, uses propaganda that misleads the public, in an effort to motivate people to submit WBA’s form-generated comments on the Cherry Point Amendments to the County Comprehensive Plan Update, currently under review by Whatcom County Council. Continue reading

Larson’s WBA claim that “school districts” are members of their Cherry Point coalition / Facebook post, Sj Robson

sandy-to-frey-01142017

23 hrs February 5, 2017

I sent an email letter today to the Whatcom County Planning Commission and the County Council, regarding Tony Larson’s Whatcom Business Alliance’s (WBA) claim that “school districts” are members of the WBA Cherry Point coalition/stakeholder group. I looked into this matter and sent my findings to the Commission and Council. Continue reading

Of particular concern are Council’s activities, decisions and comments July 12-26, 2016 RE: proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan, Chapter 2, Land Use, Cherry Point / Letter to the Whatcom County Council, Paula Rotundi

cornell alcohol commerce clause

August 7, 2016  Paula Rotundi

Dear Whatcom County Council Members,
Only courts decide what the U.S. Constitution permits and what it prohibits. So I am concerned that County Council appears to be legislating and regulating according to lobbyists’ interpretations and Council Members’ own personal interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Of particular concern to me are Council’s activities, decisions and comments July 12-26, 2016 regarding proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan, Chapter 2, Land Use Cherry Point. Continue reading