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STATEWIDE CRISIS

My issues of concern are local, but reflect a statewide crisis caused by a betrayal of trust by local governments. Many citizens no longer trust public officials to tell the truth or follow the law, and for good reason.  This is not a partisan issue, but a constitutional crisis for our society. Democrats and Republicans have abandoned the public welfare for private wealth care. Low income seniors and young people paying off student loans can no longer survive in our society, and the real estate industry is partly driving this crisis. By asking nothing in return of developers who drive up rents and utility bills for low income people, local governments are causing the homeless crisis to worsen.
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HOW?

Blaine Anthropological Society (BAS) asks the perpetual question, "How did we get into this mess?"  The answer is that you won't find out by reading The Northern Light, the developers' voice.  Maybe we should start a real community newspaper that isn't in bed with the real estate industry at city hall.
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DOWNTOWN LOOTING

In Blaine City Council lifts downtown building, design requirements for one year , Blaine Planning Director Alex Wenger said,  “I would look at it like an economic stimulus package that’s valid for up to one year." Interesting euphemism for looting public assets on behalf of a Canadian developer. Part of the municipal give-away by Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward and City Manager Mike Harmon approved by Blaine City Council on March 9, 2026 is all downtown on-street parking for the hundreds of condominium tenants coming soon. Those public parking spaces were built by Blaine taxpayers.
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NORTHERN LIGHT PABLUM

The A-1 above-the-fold story in The Northern Light this week is a home decor boutique for real estate staging service . Recent A-1 stories include BP Cherry Point celebrates the Seahawks . During this debut by Kari Mar as the new publisher, Blaine open government activists alleged criminal misconduct by Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon, Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward, Blaine Hearing Examiner Phil Olbrechts, Blaine Chief of Police Rodger Funk, and Blaine City Councilwoman Sarbie Bains.  No mention of any of this in The Northern Light.
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TRANSPARENCY BATTLES

Washington Coalition for Open Government president and former Seattle Times executive editor Mike Fancher reports on the legislative battles in Olympia protecting the public's right to know what their governments are up to. In Blaine, we have fought the same battle to obtain public records .
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INSOLENT CITY COUNCIL

The contemptuous conduct of Blaine City Council is something straight out of the President's playbook:  lawlessness, looting, and thuggery.
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KARI MAR'S SHAME

During her two-months as publisher of The Northern Light, Kari Mar has done two major stories; one in which she allowed Ferndale Police Officer Richard Hart to call open government activists in Blaine criminals for holding Blaine officials accountable for self-dealing, and another in which Mar covers up the crimes by Blaine officials that took place on March 9 at the city council meeting, where the city conferred unlawful privileges on downtown developers, including Councilwoman Sarbie Bains' husband, Gurdeep.
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