Blaine Confidential

Federal cannabis prohibition is contributing to the opioid crisis, even as U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell declares a national emergency over fentanyl. While medical practitioners continue passing out opioids to people who would benefit from the much more benign cannabinoids for severe pain relief, it is more than a little disingenuous to pretend that public relations can substitute for serious reform.

The once largest herring population in Washington State appears to have collapsed due to oil spills and toxic discharges by the Cherry Point oil refineries.

Dean Berkeley, candidate for Blaine School Board, ran as a Republican for state senate in 2018. In 2017, he was censured by his four fellow fire commissioners for "threatening and disruptive behavior."

I sent the following to Grace Lutheran church today: "Your bell ringing is annoying and rude behavior. I live directly across the street in senior housing. Disturbing our peace on Sunday mornings is inconsiderate of others." They could choose to be good neighbors with gentle ringing as I suggested to them, but apparently, they feel a need to be as loud and intrusive as possible. Witness the pastor and his wife frequently encouraging church and neighborhood kids to ring the bell as some kind of decibel-piercing athletic competition.  The bell ringing fetish is not limited to Sunday morning, where the annoying ritual is two-part, interrupted by a five-minute pause so we get startled from our sleep and again when we've just begun to recover. Recently, they added an afternoon service at which they repeat the bell ringing assault on our day of rest.

As a racist institution, the Republican Party is destroying America. Supporting Republican-owned businesses contributes to that destruction. In a small town, that isn't hard to determine. 

  Whiteswan Environmental is restoring Indigenous culture in the Salish Sea region.

Noticing the new sign on the former Wild Bird thrift store saying future home of Christ the King church, I wondered why a non-retail use is allowed in the heart of the tourism retail area.  After years of special downtown recovery committees and consultants working with the Blaine Community Development office, it is astounding that no one ever recommended making zoning consistent with the city’s goals and investments. It signals administrative incompetence. The block between the plazas was intended to be the economic generator. The zoning oversight by Blaine Community Development that allowed an incompatible use there thwarts years of planning.