Satpal Sidhu’s responses to my questions about a sanctuary ordinance and farm workers on the Riveters Collective Ask Me Anything event / Dena Jensen

July 27, 2019 Dena Jensen

One of the great election-related services that the Riveters Collective — which organizes and supports actions in Whatcom County and local communities — offers to our community, is their Ask Me Anything (AMA) events on Facebook, where members of their Facebook group can ask questions to find out what they want to know about candidates running for office during election season.

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Some thoughts on the Whatcom County Council District At-Large position B primary election race / Facebook post, Sj Robson

Screenshot of a photo from a Whatcom Republicans event. A man with a microphone is standing on grass in front of a platform with bunting on it and a banner reading “Trump – Keep America Great 2020.” There are photos on the platform of 2019 Whatcom County Executive Candidate, Tony Larson, and 2019 Whatcom County Council Candidate Kathy Kershner.

July 21, 2019 Sandy Robson

There is one Democratic candidate listed on the primary ballot in this At-Large position race, Carol Frazey, and I believe she is definitely the best choice. There are also three conservative candidates listed on the ballot: Brett Bonner, Bill LaFreniere, and David Ramirez.

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Port Commissioners’ comments on Cherry Point amendment process and Climate Strike youths, at their 3/19/19 meeting / Letter to Port of Bellingham Commissioners

Click the graphic to access the full platform of the US Youths Climate Strikes

April 23, 2019 Dena Jensen

I sent off an email today to the Port of Bellingham Commissioners about statements they made at their March 19, 2019 Port Commission meeting about the Cherry Point amendment process of the Whatcom County Council and about the youths that participated in the Climate Strike in Bellingham on March 15, 2019.

I was discouraged and disappointed in the Commissioners’ rehashing of Whatcom-Business-Alliance-promoted, pro-Cherry-Point-Industry (at the expense of community members and the environment) talking points.

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‘26,000 bucks a door is just a hard pill to swallow’: delinquent renovations of the Whatcom County Jail / Noisy Waters Northwest

Click the graphic to access the YouTube video of the Whatcom County Council March 12, 2019 meeting.

March 20, 2019 Dena Jensen

County Council Member Rud Browne expressed the sentiment twice at the Whatcom County Council March 12, 2019 regular meeting during the Council committee reports segment near the end of the meeting. One exact quote was: “Yeah, so anyway, anyway, so, I just, 26,000 bucks a door is just a hard pill to swallow.”

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Notes on Whatcom County Council 1/15/19 discussion on repealing code regarding correctional facility standards / Noisy Waters Northwest

Screenshot of files received through a Public Records Request of correctional standards, policy, and procedure materials that were provided to the Whatcom County Council by Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks at the 1/15/19 Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee meeting

February 22, 2019 Dena Jensen

I have written a couple posts now on the part of the January 15, 2019 meeting of Whatcom County Council’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee related to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s proposal to repeal and replace Whatcom County Code (WCC) 1.28 regarding correctional facility standards.

According to the documents supplied to the Council Members on the committee and the presentation given by Whatcom County Undersheriff Jeff Parks, the Title 289 Washington Administrative Code (WAC), which Whatcom County had adopted as WCC 1.28, had been deemed obsolete and was done away with in 2006.

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Sluggish and inadequate government response to local extreme weather threats to the unhoused / Facebook post, Sj Robson

City of Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville, left. Whatcom County Executive Jack Louws, right.

February 14, 2019 Sandy Robson

It is painful to witness the continued sluggish and inadequate response from the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County governments to the critical situation facing some unhoused/unsheltered people in Whatcom County during this current period of very cold weather and the accompanying build-up of snow.

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Council Members lead charge to immediately open emergency shelter in the Garden Room

About 2 hours into the Whatcom County Council’s 1 p.m. meeting for their discussion regarding the possible opening of an emergency shelter, there was a wonderful and compelling public comment from one of our valued community members, that closed with asking the County Council (serving as the Board of Health at the meeting) what they were going to do about keeping people from freezing tonight, not sometime in the future.

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Partial transcription of Undersheriff Park’s 1/15/19 presentation to Whatcom County Council Members / Noisy Waters Northwest

Click the graphic to access the 11/21/18 Memo written by Whatcom County Sheriff Bill Elfo regarding the request to repeal and replace WCC 1.28

I transcribed a portion of the presentation at the 1/15/18 Whatcom County Council Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee meeting given by Jeff Parks, Undersheriff, Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. The presentation was regarding an agenda item for the committee that I have discussed in a previous blog post.

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Whatcom County Council committee considering repealing and replacing Whatcom County Code 1.28, Standards for Correctional Facilities / Noisy Waters Northwest

Click the graphic to access the proposed ordinance to repeal and replace WCC 1.28 that includes a copy of Exhibit A

January 10, 2019 Dena Jensen

This week, now that the Whatcom County Council agenda for next week has been released, I have more questions about jail matters that I am uneducated on!

On the agenda for the Whatcom County Council Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee is a “Proposed Ordinance for Action January 15, 2019.” This proposal was introduced, (according to a reference on the copy of the proposed ordinance) by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office on December 4, 2018. I don’t know to what body or how that ordinance was introduced. There’s also a memo written by Sheriff Elfo explaining reasons for “repealing and replacing Whatcom County Code 1.28, Standards for Correctional Facilities.” 

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