Whatcom

City & County

Restoration of a downtown coastal habitat starts this June

By Andrew Ford | June 8

Little Squalicum Park, located next to Bellingham Technical College, a haven for dog walkers, will soon welcome back its native marine ancestors. The lower part of the park will be closed through December 2022 for the construction of an estuary and beach restoration project that will restore 4.85 total acres of “essential” coastal habitat that has been lost to development, according to the project’s summary.

City & County

Community voices on public safety

By Jenelle Baumbach | June 8

Bellingham City Council opened the floor for a special meeting to allow the general public to discuss their worries about public safety on May 16.

City & County

Summer is right around the corner, the Bellingham container village is ready for customers

By Emily Paulson | June 8

At a new container village on the Bellingham Waterfront, visitors can drink beer, eat ice cream and rent a bicycle to ride at the nearby pump track. In the next couple of months, they’ll be able to eat hamburgers and drink cocktails at a bar as the first part of a project to turn old shipping containers into new space for businesses nears completion.

City & County

Uvalde school massacre leaves nation questioning school safety

By Michaela Camlin | June 5

Uvalde’s school shooting has people across the nation worried for the safety of their schools and their children's lives.

City & County

After 17 years, Everyday Music will permanently close its doors

By Joshua Solorzano | June 5

A staple of downtown Bellingham for the last 17 years, Everyday Music, a CD, DVD and record store will close its doors to the public sometime in mid-August, according to Rian Zenner, the store’s manager.

City & County

Everyone has a place outdoors

By Ani Lowe | June 2

Sierra Farrell had never been backpacking when she decided to embark on a three-month-long Outward Bound trip following her senior year of high school, traveling to Patagonia, the Everglades and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

City & County

New owners lock in positive changes at The Eureka Room

By Jordan Oliver | May 31

Bellingham’s first escape room business, The Eureka Room, has seen some revamping in the past couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic – including a change in ownership.

City & County

After experiencing racism at Western, students of color demand change

By Simone Higashi | May 31

On Feb 1, HSOC released a list of 10 demands to the Honors College. The group also created a petition to bring attention to their demands in response to the racism and neglect the students felt within the honors community.

City & County

Fairhaven Festival returns following Ski to Sea race

By Sam Kristofferson | May 31

The annual Ski to Sea race, which blends multiple extreme sports like downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, cyclocross biking, canoeing and sea kayaking starts on Mount Baker and ends on the Bellingham Bay waterfront in Historic Fairhaven. The race is typically followed by a block party celebration on the streets of Fairhaven called the “Fairhaven Festival”, put on by the Fairhaven Association.

City & County

Shopping at these Whatcom County stores will guide you into a zero waste life

By Michaela Camlin | May 28

Businesses in Whatcom County are being acknowledged for being proactive in serving the environment. Their main focus is to minimize the amount of waste they generate while inspiring locals to do the same.

City & County

Sighting of orca calf spotted along Pacific Northwest waters

By Michaela Camlin | May 26

A recent sighting of a newborn orca calf swimming among the unique Southern Residential family known as K pod brings hope to decreasing numbers in the population.

City & County

Bellingham City Council hears proposal for constructing an immigrant resource center

By Jenelle Baumbach | May 26

Bellingham City Council heard a proposal from the city’s Immigrant Advisory Board on May 9, to establish an immigrant resource center that Whatcom County’s immigrant population could utilize.

City & County

New South Side parking lot opens

By Andrew Ford | May 24

Mountain bikers flooded into the South Lake Padden Parking Lot May 13 looking around with curious eyes, taking in the pristine asphalt and grandeur of new space surrounding them as they got out of their cars.

City & County

Ferndale Food Truck Fridays is back for another summer

By Joshua Solorzano | May 24

Pioneer Park in Ferndale is ready to host another summer of Food Truck Fridays with live events, a social atmosphere and of course, food trucks, all starting on June 3. The event will happen every first Friday from June to September.

City & County

Lights, camera, action: celebrating female film directors in Bellingham

By Jordan Oliver | May 24

The Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival returned for its first in-person festival in two years from May 12 to 15 at the Pickford Film Center in Bellingham.

City & County

Shockwaves from anti-abortion legislation throughout the U.S. ripple as far as Whatcom County

By Jordan Oliver | May 23

As anti-abortion legislation prepares to go into effect in various states across the U.S., reproductive health services in Whatcom County are readying themselves for a potential increase in out-of-state patients.

City & County

The 'spot' for Bellingham’s backyard gardeners

By Ani Lowe | May 19

When Rick Baunach bought his second home, he found a concrete Japanese lantern in the garden, he calls this his Japanese garden seed. He became interested in Japanese gardening techniques and his love of gardening grew. Baunach started the Whatcom County Gardener’s page on Facebook nine years ago, the page has since expanded to over 10,000 members

City & County

Bellingham boaters take to the bay for Opening Day of Boating

By Paige Thibaut | May 16

The first Saturday of May each year marks a special occasion for Bellingham: the opening day of boating season. Saturday, May 7 marked the Opening Day of Boating, an event organized by the Bellingham Yacht Club to commemorate the start of the new season.

City & County

Number of Whatcom County families waiting for housing has more than tripled since 2019

By Joshua Solorzano | May 16

Six years ago, when Teri Bryant started working at the Whatcom Homeless Service Center, she said Whatcom County’s system to help homeless families was close to functional zero, but now the story is different. “What [functional zero] means is that your system's resources are adequate to immediately serve every person presenting for services,” Bryant said. “So we would have robust resources for every family that comes in and says they’re homeless.”

City & County

Grand opening of new bagel shop downtown Bellingham

By Michaela Camlin | May 11

Owners Nate Gray and Bayly Peterson have planned on opening a bagel shop for two years. With the renovations of the building near complete, there will not only be one but two bagel shops located in downtown Bellingham. Bellingham locals are known to love and support their cafes, restaurants, breweries, and bakeries. Otherside's opening has the community excited and eager to try out everything they have to offer.

Western Watchdog