Dispatch from the Twilight Zone

In late 2023, when Blaine community activists handed over their extensive evidence of official corruption by the City of Blaine to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criminal division and the FBI, they had reason to believe that the rule of law would be restored in their town. The City of Blaine--which had illegally upzoned the city's Critical Aquifer Recharge Area (CARA) into a Planned Unit Development (PUD) over the city's drinking water aquifer without preparing a legally required Environmental Impact Statement--was clearly in the wrong, but due to dereliction of duty to enforce the law by the Whatcom County Prosecutor and the Washington State Department of Ecology, Blaine officials had free rein to develop PUDs city wide in violation of the State Environmental Policy Act and federal Clean Water Act.

Pleas for help from Blaine citizens to the Governor and Washington Attorney General were ignored.

On November 13, 2024, Blaine City Council member Mike Hill--a property developer who refused to recuse himself when voting on upzone amendments that financially benefit him--accosted Blaine community activist Otto Pointer at the city council meeting, requiring intervention by the Blaine Chief of Police. Whatcom County Sheriff's Department is investigating the incident (case # 24A39027) which happened directly in front of Grace McCarthy, editor of The Northern Light newspaper. The Northern Light, having covered up City of Blaine crimes 2022-2024, never reported the incident.


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