February 28 - March 6, 2019
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PeaceHealth to open clinic in Lynden, page 6
New tourism website coming soon, page 7
Birch Bay Drive to be repaved by July 4, page 15
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
U.S. Congresswoman hosts community forum
Applications being accepted for police chief By Jami Makan Applications are now being accepted for the role of Blaine police chief. Applicants are encouraged to apply by March 24, when a first review will be conducted. The position will remain open until it is filled. The successful applicant will earn between $110,000 and $118,500 plus benefits. The search is being conducted by the Prothman Company, the consulting firm that the city paid to help with the search for former police chief Allen Schubert. The Prothman Company is based in Issaquah, Washington and specializes in providing national and regional executive recruitment services to large and small cities, counties, special districts, nonprofits and other governmental agencies throughout the United States. The city’s contract with the company included an 18-month warranty, meaning if the person hired does not stay in the position for at least 18 months, for any reason, the company will conduct the search again at no charge. Schubert held the position for just over 160 days. Requirements for the position include a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in criminal justice, public administration or a related field, and 10 years of increasingly responsible law enforcement experience including at least five years of senior command and management experience. Applications, supplemental questions, resumes and cover letters will only be accepted electronically. To apply online, go to prothman.com, click on “submit your application” and follow the directions provided.
s U.S. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene visited Blaine City Hall on Saturday, February 23.
Photo by Jami Makan
DelBene addresses the shutdown, health care By Jami Makan U.S. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who represents Washington’s 1st congressional district, hosted a community forum in Blaine on Saturday, February 23 in which she addressed the recent government shutdown, rising health care costs and other topics. In the hour-long session, which took place at Blaine City Hall, audience members asked questions and made comments on topics ranging from homelessness and the environment to firearms and robocalls.
Here’s how Congresswoman DelBene, a democrat, responded to different topics that were raised. On privacy of information: “Consumer privacy and control of their data is very important in this day and age. In the last congress, I introduced legislation on privacy. You have to proactively opt in, and you have to receive an explanation in clear, plain English, of how your data is going to be used.” On robocalls: “Robocalls have to be addressed. It gets to this core problem of your personal information being exchanged by others.”
On firearms: “Safety is critical. We’ll be voting this coming week on universal background checks.” On health care costs: “Everyone in our country should have access to affordable, quality health care. There should be no debate on that.” On the shutdown: “If we don’t pass a budget for a full year, how do you do your job or run your agency, when you only have money for 30 days? How do you hire someone or keep a program running? It’s cost us billions of dollars, and the human cost has been great. The Coast Guard didn’t even have toi(See DelBene, page 3)
By Oliver Lazenby Whatcom County scheduled an April 10 hearing for the Birch Bay berm beach restoration project’s shoreline substantial development permit. With the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of the project finally complete – the county fulfilled NEPA requirements early this year after more than two years of work – the shoreline permit is one of the biggest remaining hurdles for a roughly $12
million project decades in the works. The project calls for adding about 150,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel to 1.6 miles of beach along Birch Bay Drive between Lora Lane and Cedar Avenue. That will raise the beach to protect the roadway from storms, replacing a series of ineffective seawalls and other concrete structures. The project also includes new bicycle and pedestrian paths. The hearing examiner, Michael Bobbink, will decide whether to grant or
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deny the permit after the hearing. Whatcom County added the project to its Birch Bay Community Plan in 1977, but people shouldn’t expect the hearing examiner to know the project’s significance to Birch Bay residents, said Whatcom County public works special projects manager Roland Middleton. “Do not assume that the examiner is going to know that this is an important project to you. You have to tell him,” he (See Berm, page 3)
INSIDE
Permit hearing for Birch Bay berm scheduled for April 10
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