AN UNFRIENDLY VIRTUE

April 25 letter to Blaine City Council:

The Irish have a proverb that "Efficiency is an unfriendly virtue." Vesting all power over Blaine environmental decisions in a single person, and imposing a $5,000 fee to question his edicts, is decidedly unfriendly. 

The Title 17 amendments to the Blaine Municipal Code--proposed by city manager Mike Harmon--are efficient in eliminating public participation in order to eliminate environmental protection for our drinking water, salmon streams, and oyster farm, but violate our civil rights and the treaty rights of Lummi Nation.

Efficiency by Blaine planning and code enforcement resulted in 22 violations of the Shoreline Management Program (see attached), efficiently unenforced by Blaine Code Enforcement. Think of all the staff cost saving when developers aren't prosecuted for criminal violations that destroy Dakota Creek and Drayton Harbor.

Without public participation, Blaine officials--like former planning commissioner Sam Randhawa and current Councilwoman Sarbjit Bains--can engage in self-dealing (see attached complaints) without facing public scrutiny.

Efficiency is the rallying cry of despots like our country's president and Blaine's city manager. Efficiency is great, unless you value clean water, free speech, and equal protection under the law. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BLAINE TOXIC COVERUP

2/25/25 letter to City of Blaine : BLAINE TOXIC COVERUP A Town that Never Learns By  Jay Taber Blaine Water Coalition Blaine City Council member  Mike Hill --recently under investigation by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Department for accosting Blaine Water Coalition activist Otto Pointer at the November 12, 2024, city council meeting (Case #24A39027)--has a problem with his plan to develop condos across Peace Portal Drive from his  Chevron  station downtown. In a November 28, 2023,  Hazardous Materials Analysis Report  presented by GeoEngineers to the City of Blaine, Hill's Chevron is listed as a 'high-risk' Department of Ecology site (Cleanup Site ID # 9280) due to confirmed releases of petroleum products--including  Benzene --on and off the property,  contaminating the groundwater  that migrates from the Chevron station under Starbuck's toward  Cain Creek  and  Drayton Harbor . The  Drayton Harbor estuary  is home t...
Read more

GUEST COMMENTARY REJECTED BY CASCADIA DAILY NEWS

The CDN article about the  East Blaine de-annexation  and UGA Swap excludes any mention of the extensively documented Blaine Water Coalition objections we sent to CDN well in advance. I feel this is not fair and balanced coverage. CDN reporter Julia Tellman attended the July 14, 2025 Blaine City Council meeting where as a city council vacancy applicant I introduced myself as a member of the Blaine Water Coalition (BWC) speakers bureau, and provided both an oral and written presentation with alleged legal violations by the city related to the proposed UGA Swap, as well as BWC's legal objections to previous well-documented evidence of City misconduct. Tellman mentioned none of this, nor the fact that I alone was hastily appointed at the meeting to write the voters pamphlet statement against the city-sponsored initiative, despite four additional qualified  ‘Con’  applicants  (important n ote: the City received only one ‘Pro’ Applicant) . . This city attem...
Read more

CARA PROTECTION DISTRICT PROPOSAL

November 24 letter to Whatcom County Council : Protect ing  Blaine and Birch Bay Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas (CARAs) Whatcom County oversees many special purpose districts with taxing authority to meet public needs. A  CARA Protection District  for Blaine and Birch Bay that can purchase the east Blaine and Birch Point CARA properties under county jurisdiction in order to protect our joint public water supply system, reduce flooding, and control urban pollution fits that purpose well.  Combined with improved stormwater management in the Drayton Harbor and Birch Bay watersheds, putting these aquifers in public hands would allow for public health, educational and recreational opportunities within an area beset by luxury, gated, planned unit developments. They could become forested 'greenway parks' as a n oasis from the surrounding chaos. Recommendation Whatcom  County Council   adopt  a  moratorium on  new  development applications...
Read more