Blaine Confidential

12/28/24 letter to City of Blaine : Long ago, the City of Seattle bought its drinking water watershed in order to keep it pristine and clean. By contrast, the City of Bellingham allowed residential development in its drinking water watershed and has had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars treating its water to remove the pollution from fertilizers, herbicides, and cars.  Apparently, the City of Blaine has chosen to follow the Bellingham model.

12/28/24 letter to City of Blaine : To understand how the City of Blaine might have expected to get away with recent water pollution crimes one needs to view them within the context of the nationwide public health crisis created by industrial polluters as a result of the corruption of the federal government (including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) over the last 40 years since President Reagan marshalled the new Republican Party, which was a marriage between heavy polluters and Christian white supremacists.  Whose Water  --a 2024 documentary film about the simultaneous pollution and privatization of drinking water across the United States--documents the colossal betrayal of public trust and the human rights tragedy unfolding worldwide due to skyrocketing avarice and institutionalized brutality.

During Jay Inslee's twelve years as Governor of Washington State, the Washington Department of Ecology came to adopt a careless attitude toward upholding the State Environmental Policy Act and the federal Clean Water Act, to the point they no longer monitor local governments for compliance with the law, enabling unchecked statewide corruption by local governments enthrall to real estate developers. Our next governor, Bob Ferguson, as Washington State Attorney General likewise took no action to stem bribery and self-dealing by public officials. When citizens are threatened and accosted in public meetings by public officials and developers and local law enforcement turns a blind eye, they look to state and federal officials to help them establish the rule of law and provide equal protection under the law. Inslee and Ferguson have clearly failed their duty to protect the citizens and environment of our state. Federal agencies (EPA and FBI) have one month to end this corruption establi...

12/9/24 letter to Blaine City Council : The Watergate break-in at the Democratic National Party headquarters by President Nixon's burglars happened on June 17, 1972. The U.S. Senate Watergate hearings began in February 1973, and on the verge of being impeached, Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974. Start to finish, a couple of years.  The Central Business District upzoning fraud perpetrated by Blaine Community Development Services director Alex Wenger, Blaine Planning Commission, Blaine City Council, and Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon recently passed the two-year mark and people are calling for Mayor Mary Lou Steward to resign. Mayor Steward's replacement wannabe Rhyan Lopez reportedly has skeletons of his own, but one tyrant at a time.  With all the official corruption going on in Blaine City Hall, we have what is called a target-rich environment for federal prosecutors as the city is undoubtedly headed for U.S. District Court for violating our civil rights. The volu...

In a week that numerous code violations in the City of Blaine that threaten the Drayton Harbor watershed were reported by Blaine Water Coalition to the U.S. EPA and Washington Department of Ecology, The Northern Light covered the Taylor Swift traffic jam and featured clam digging techniques and tools. 

12/12/24 letter to Blaine City Council : The Washington Association of Realtors and the Building Industry Association of Washington have always opposed environmental protection, treaty rights, and public participation in planning Washington's future. The fact you chose to appoint three realtors to Blaine Planning Commission says a lot about how you view the appearance of fairness and financial conflicts of interest. As obstacles to your avarice, you have selected to ignore them at your peril.

12/10/24 letter to Blaine City Council : One year ago, all seven Blaine City Council members marched in lock step to orders from developer Skip Jansen and council member Mike Hill. Now, two of you are starting to assert your independence alongside the newly appointed council member Eric Lewis, who was not complicit in the criminal misconduct and official corruption like the rest of you. This is progress, but you still have a long way to go in restoring public trust in Blaine officials, not to mention the rule of law in our community. All six of you who betrayed the public trust owe the community a big apology, as does Patrick Grubb, publisher of The Northern Light. His coverup of your crimes made them all possible. In time, we will replace the derelict six of you who neglected your duty with honest people. Your shame will live on as the public becomes aware of the criminal enterprise that took place in Blaine City Hall 2022-2024.  

12/9/24 letter to Whatcom County Executive: Dear Whatcom County Executive Sidhu, If you think your dereliction of duty and that of Whatcom County Prosecutor Eric Richey in the public works director scandal was publicly humiliating, wait until the media gets wind of the dereliction of duty by the county prosecutor and county planning department in the form of not responding to reports of criminal misconduct by the City of Blaine Community Development Services that threatens the Blaine city aquifer for drinking water, salmon streams, the Drayton Harbor estuary, and the treaty rights of Lummi Nation on the Semiahmoo peninsula and spit.  Mr. Richey has ignored calls for an investigation by Blaine citizens for over a year, as has the Whatcom County Council which has supervisory authority under state law of the cities in their jurisdiction to ensure compliance with state and federal environmental protection laws. Your continued inaction could easily lead to Whatcom County being named a d...

12/9/24 letter to Blaine City Council: Blaine Planning Commission  candidate Ben Meaker  is the son of Central Business District builder Scott Meaker, member of the Downtown Advisory Committee, and one of two committee members to vote for the unlawful zoning amendments for condominium developers on Peace Portal Way despite his private financial conflict of interest.

12/9/24 letter to Blaine City Council: Now that you have evidence of criminal misconduct by Community Development Services under the supervision of Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon, it is time to send Harmon and CDS director Alex Wenger packing. They are a liability to the City of Blaine in the forthcoming state and federal interventions to establish the rule of law in Blaine. Your inattention to this matter over the past two years is leading to federal lawsuits against the city and perhaps individuals named in the many official complaints from Blaine citizens. Closing your eyes to this official corruption makes you complicit.

12/9/24 Blaine Water Coalition letter to Blaine City Council: Dear Samuel,  Please enter this letter into the record for tonight's city council meeting and today's planning commission interviews.  Dear City Council Members, I am writing to express my concerns regarding the proposed appointments of  Sam Randhawa  and  Donald Enos  to the Blaine Planning Commission. As representatives of the citizens of Blaine, it is critical that you ensure the Planning Commission is balanced, ethical, and representative of the community's diverse interests. Unfortunately, the current composition of the Commission and the addition of these two candidates raise significant concerns. Overrepresentation of Development Interests The Planning Commission is already heavily weighted toward developers and real estate professionals. This creates an imbalance that prioritizes development over the public interest, often sidelining critical considerations such as environmental protectio...

12/8/24 letter to Whatcom Democrats, Rep. Alicia Rule, and Senator Sharon Shewmake: On February 12, 2024, Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward--without notice--closed oral public comment in the middle of a woman's testimony at the city council meeting when she exposed the financial conflicts of interest of council member Mike Hill. Oral public comment has been closed ever since. One year earlier, on March 24, 2023, at the Blaine City Council retreat with department heads, a scheme was hatched to violate public participation required by state and federal law by railroading through land use zoning amendments for developers in Semiahmoo, the Central Business District, and the Critical Aquifer Recharge Area without doing legally required Environmental Impact Statements. The amendments for the Central Business District were based on the vote of the Downtown Advisory Committee--selected by Blaine Community Development Services--that included self-dealing by two committee members with financial ...

In February of 2017, President Trump issued an executive order   directing the EPA and Army for Civil Works to review the Clean Water Rule and consider withdrawing it and replacing it with a weaker version.  In response, the agencies moved forward with several rulemakings, ultimately repealing the Clean Water Rule in late 2019 and replacing it with a much weaker rule that opponents refer to as the “ Dirty Water Rule .” These agencies finalized the Dirty Water Rule  in May 2020.   The Dirty Water Rule attempts to strip Clean Water Act protections farther than ever before, seeking to exempt entire categories of waters that have always been protected from pollution in the United States.  The Dirty Water Rule could strip protections from more than 50% of the Nation’s wetlands, and more than 18% of the country’s streams and rivers.  This e...

 12/3/24 formal legal complaint from Otto Pointer to City of Blaine re violation of Clean Water Act :

 11/26/24 letter from Otto Pointer to City of Blaine re compliance notification :

12/4/24 letter to city re timely posting of public comments from Otto Pointer: Dear Mr. Beck and Mr. Wenger, If the City Council is having a closed door hearing examiner session on December 9th, then a vote on the proposed Semiahmoo amendment, then citizens and the Council need to review all public comments for careful deliberation and duty of care. We believe the citizens and council members can benefit from the extensive work and public interest research from the Blaine Water Coalition. City Council members can use this information and research to make an informed voting decision on this high impact amendment and the likely legal challenges and the impact presented by a future $311M development next to a salmon pathway in Drayton Harbor. Also citizens can contact their ward representatives to vote using our public interest research. Why has the City of Blaine not published my comments and the contributions of the Blaine Water Coalition on the Hearing Examiner website toda...

11/25/24 letter to city from Donna Blaine : The Silent Reign Does Mayor Steward Have the Longest Public Comment Ban in America? 284 Days and Counting… Mayor Mary Lou Steward has earned an unparalleled and shameful distinction: she now presides over what we believe to be the longest-running public comment ban in American history. At 284 days and counting, her reign of silence has solidified Blaine’s place as quite possibly the worst free speech town in the entire United States. Out of the thousands of cities across America, where citizens routinely exercise their right to be heard, Blaine stands out for all the wrong reasons. With a population of just six thousand, this small town has somehow managed to achieve infamy on a national scale. We could not find another example where the voices of the people have been silenced longer. And, it was not even close. In a nation of over 330 million people, where the First Amendment guarantees the right to free speech and public ac...

11/29/24 letter to Blaine City Attorney : Dear Mr. Ruffatto, Blaine City Council member Mike Hill's participation in land use zoning votes where he holds a direct financial interest raises significant ethical and legal concerns under both local and state regulations. As Blaine City Attorney, you are no doubt aware of the many instances in which Blaine City Council member Mike Hill voted on upzoning resolutions and ordinances governing the Central Business District and Critical Aquifer Recharge Area where he has financial conflicts of interest. If you are aiding this official corruption in any way, you can be disbarred. Your failure to address this official corruption will be brought to the attention of the Washington Attorney General. Recommended Actions: 1. Investigate the matter thoroughly and determine appropriate enforcement actions, which may include censure, fines, or other penalties as prescribed by law. 2. Recommend that the City Council develop and adopt a compre...

12/2/24 letter to City of Blaine  and 12/5/24 r equest for confirmation of receipt of appeal : I wish to appeal the City of Blaine 2024 work plan and the Central Business District zoning amendments to shoreline setbacks, parking requirements and building heights. I refuse to pay a fee as the Blaine Hearing Examiner system behind closed doors where the public is not allowed to question or rebut misrepresentations by the Blaine Community Development Services director violates my civil rights. The habitual violation of public participation requirements under the State Environmental Policy Act, Growth Management Act, and Clean Water Act by the City of Blaine--especially by Blaine Community Development Services--invalidates the work plan and associated amendments to the Blaine Comprehensive Plan adopted by Blaine Planning Commission and Blaine City Council. Comprehensive Plans under Growth Management must include Critical Areas Protection (e.g., city aquifer) and Sustainable Economic De...

12/2/24 letter to Whatcom County: Setbacks from salmon streams, wetlands, Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas, and shorelines of statewide significance in the City of Blaine municipal code are half that recommended by state and federal oversight agencies. This is clear evidence of neglect by the city to abide by the federal Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and Marine Mammal Protection Act, as well as the State Environmental Policy Act, Shoreline Management Act, and Growth Management Act.  

12/2/2024 letter to City of Blaine : Few actions by the City of Blaine can rival the official corruption involved in upzoning the Central Business District (see my 11/28/24 letter to Blaine Chief of Police) and Salishan neighborhood. As my voluminous letters to the city on the topic illustrate, and the report by Glen Pentland documents, the public process was unlawful from start to finish. Beginning with incomplete SEPA considerations that ignored the impacts on Cain Creek restoration for endangered salmon and on the adjacent Shoreline of Statewide Significance (Drayton Harbor) saltmarsh where otters and Bald Eagles play. Impacts on downtown commerce, the environment, and the community from privatizing on-street parking for condominium tenants were utterly ignored by Community Development Services. Conflicts of interest defined the makeup of the city-appointed advisory committee illegally turned into an official voting body. Public participation as defined by state and federal law was ...