Blaine Confidential

My September 30 letter to city council : While Mt. Vernon celebrates the opening of its new library and community center with parking garage above, Blaine is pursuing condos downtown that will displace all public parking. In 2022, I implored the Blaine City Council to put together a master plan for civic center redevelopment (new library, art center, museum, parking garage) and apply for grants--like Mt. Vernon did with great success. Mayor Steward, unlike the mayor of Mt. Vernon, chose to serve developers, not the community. 

My  letter to the editor  of Cascadia Daily News was published this morning: Editor, The  comments by Blaine Planning Commissioners  in The Northern Light show that they are continuing to neglect the foundational matter of the illegality of the public process leading up to their deliberations over Central Business District (CBD) upzoning for condo developers that will displace parking for commerce. Upholding the law is clearly not a concern to any of them, since they have not responded to a single email of the many that I have sent them about the issue of official corruption by Blaine Community Development Services (CDS). Nor have they discussed the  Pentland report  from former Downtown Advisory Committee (DAC) member Glen Pentland who revealed the manipulation of DAC by CDS and the self-dealing by DAC members Gurdeep Bains and Scott Meaker. The Central Business District Project Charter (approved on Aug. 8, 2022) states the City of Blaine will “encourage early and continuous public pa

My 9/19/24 letter to Blaine Planning Commission  about the illegal Central Business District upzoning.

My LTE at CDN today: Editor, By depriving state and local governments of funds needed for roads, bridges, libraries, schools, housing and health care over the past 40 years, the federal government has turned our country into a society of beggars. Locally, that translates into the Whatcom County Library System taking money from the Cherry Point oil refineries that corrupt local elections and promote bigotry.  The $2 trillion Bush and Obama lavished on Wall Street investment banks during the 2009-2010 bank bailouts could have covered medical and dental care for all Americans, as well as housing subsidies so that no one is homeless. It’s a matter of priorities. Unfortunately, Wall Street owns Congress, so the theft of our public resources by private equity investors is likely to continue. This is what fascism looks like. Jay Taber Blaine

This letter to the editor at Cascadia Daily News was published 9/4/24. Editor, Why should we trust the Washington [State] Department of Ecology to manage Nooksack basin adjudication when they won’t protect Blaine’s drinking water aquifer? Washington state is not enforcing the Clean Water Act, allowing local SEPA officials to issue fraudulent designations forcing activists to go to federal court, which is a violation of our civil rights. Washington departments of ecology and health have told us they have no jurisdiction. The Washington Attorney General’s office says it won’t act unless the governor tells it to. Meanwhile, the Critical Aquifer Recharge Area for Blaine city drinking water is being clearcut in preparation for illegally rezoned, high-density residential development after our community development services director issued a Determination of Non-Significance. Jay Taber Blaine