March 17 - 23, 2016
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
State to stop taking pot shop applications, page 8
Haggen stores sold to Albertsons but name lives on
Car Care special section, page 9
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Wings Over Water photo gallery, page 10
Birders descend on Blaine
By Oliver Lazenby
(See Haggen, page 8)
s Birders from around the state and B.C. flocked to Blaine last weekend for the annual Wings Over Water Northwest Birding Festival. Above, a young birder looks through a scope at a bird-viewing station at the Blaine Pier at the end of Marine Drive. More photos on page 10.
Photo by Oliver Lazenby
Senator Doug Ericksen behind switch in highway funds By Oliver Lazenby A last-minute switch that took funding from a long-awaited Blaine interchange improvement and redirected it to projects in Ferndale and Lynden was apparently the handiwork of state senator Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale). The improvement would have added an exit and on-ramp to exit 274 and had been slated to get $45 million from the state in previous versions of the budget. However, the senate removed the project from its supplemental transportation budget and instead directed funds to two projects that weren’t previously in the budget. About $40 million will go toward upgrades to improvements on State
Route 539 in Lynden and $19 million will go toward work on Thornton Road in Ferndale. The amended budget was passed by the state house of representatives on March 9. Ericksen proposed the amendment that transferred funding and said the Thornton Road and SR 539 projects had been left out of the previous budget by mistake. “There was actually an error for last year’s projects in terms of the project list,” he said. “They used the wrong lists in the final budget, unfortunately.” The Blaine improvements would have made the 274 interchange a fully functioning interchange, with on-ramps and exits in both directions. Currently, there
Workshop aims to make businesses more Google friendly By Oliver Lazenby Two workshops next week aim to make Blaine businesses easier to find online. At the workshops, called Let’s Put Blaine on the Map, city of Blaine staff, Blaine Chamber of Commerce members and local volunteers will coach business owners through the process of making their business easier to find on Google Maps and Google Search. The one-hour workshops are sched-
uled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23 and 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 24, at the Blaine Library. The workshops are part of a Google initiative called Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map. Google wants more small businesses to claim their Google-generated profiles in order to make its search listings more accurate and help small businesses succeed. Search Google for a particular business
and often a Google-generated listing for the business appears on the right side of the screen. It includes such information as business hours, location and a link to the business’ website. Business owners can claim these pages for free, which allows them to add information and keep the listings up to date. Many Blaine businesses are missing out
is only a southbound on-ramp and a northbound off-ramp. The upgrade would have allowed southbound I-5 traffic to exit into Blaine near Blaine Road. Currently, southbound drivers who miss exit 276, the only other southbound exit in Blaine, have to continue 8 miles to exit 270 in Custer before they can turn around. Blaine mayor Harry Robinson said the lack of off-ramps in town hinders economic growth and makes new businesses reluctant to set up in south Blaine because of the limited access. The city hoped the project could also alleviate (See Interchange, page 3)
INSIDE
Haggen will sell 29 of its core stores – including five in Whatcom County – to Albertsons, pending court approval. That’s almost all of the bankrupt company’s remaining stores, but the Haggen brand name won’t disappear. Fifteen stores purchased by Albertsons will carry on the name and continue to be operated from Haggen’s Bellingham headquarters, according to a March 14 press release from the company. Stores that will retain the Haggen banner include 14 locations that predate the company’s failed expansion into the Southwest and one recently converted location in Oak Harbor, according to the news release. Albertsons will pay a base amount of $106 million for the stores plus a “closing adjustment amount,” according to court documents. A Haggen spokesperson wouldn’t say whether John Clougher would continue to lead Haggen as CEO, though Clougher was quoted in the company’s press release. “We are excited about the opportunity to have the backing of Albertsons and look forward to being part of the Albertsons grocery family,” he said. Haggen’s focus on sustainably sourced and locally produced products won’t change, according to the press release. The other 14 stores in the deal will transition back to the Albertsons banner. Albertsons previously owned the stores, but sold them to Haggen in January 2015 to get Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approval on its merger with Safeway. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware that’s overseeing Haggen’s bankruptcy must approve the deal. A court hearing on the proposed sale is scheduled for March 29. It’s possible that some of the stores’ landlords could object to the sales, as happened with a few Haggen stores sold at auction in the past year. Albertsons didn’t buy all the remaining stores. A store in Oregon City, Oregon;
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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