by Fred Rhoades What’s in a name? That which we call a [slime mold] By any other name would [look] as sweet. Of all the cryptogams (plant-like life forms that produce spores), perhaps the slime molds are the least well known. Like the mushrooms, they often pop up suddenly, unannounced [Read More...]
by Luisa Loi The current bout of sea star wasting syndrome was first noted in June 2013 along the coast of Washington state.photo: Michael Kyte The causes that lead to the disease are still unknown and recovery is inconsistent. A mysterious illness that appeared eight years ago and [Read More...]
by Giovanni Roverso Old Town Prepares for Redevelopment Whatcom County’s curbside recycling system went through a bit of a shakeup recently. Sanitary Service Company Inc. (SSC) trucks still collect recycling from customers in Bellingham, Ferndale, Blaine, and much of unincorporated Whatcom County and Nooksack Valley, almost as if nothing has [Read More...]
It’s hard to believe these photos were taken at the same spot less than two years apart. This photo was taken in 2016 before the Nooksack Salmon Enhance Association’s (NSEA) stream restoration project began — the small culvert was a barrier to fish passage for 30 years.courtesy photos: Nooksack [Read More...]
MusselsPhoto: U.S. Geological Surveyhttps://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=5 by Karlee Deatherage The small mussel, about the size of a grain of rice, appeared on an aquarium moss ball sold at a Seattle Petco earlier this year. It sounded the alarm across the United States, prompting agencies to work with Petco to issue [Read More...]
Editor’s Note: The Lake Whatcom Monitoring Project was initiated in the 1980s to measure and track long-term lake data for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity, and nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus. The work is performed by WWU’s Institute for Watershed Studies and funded by the city of Bellingham. This [Read More...]
by Maddie Smith 1983 The current Whatcom County jail in downtown Bellingham opened. 1996 Oct. 1 The county executive formed a blue ribbon panel to address criminal justice issues. On 3/20/1997, the panel recommended a 750-bed minimum security facility be funded by a one-tenth of one percent sales tax. 1997 [Read More...]
Single-use plastic foodware would be optional in Washington if Senate Bill 5022 passes the house and the governor’s desk. Bellingham City Councilmember Michael Lilliquist said he thinks it is time to continue working on a draft ordinance that would almost completely ban many kinds of disposable plastic.photo: Giovanni A. [Read More...]
Courtesy: Whatcom County by Maddie Smith Part 1 Navigating Through an Overcrowded Jail Three hundred twenty-two inmates were packed inside a jail built to house 148 in the early 2000s. This was the most crowded Corrections Lt. Caleb Erickson ever saw the Whatcom County Jail. (1) Despite additional beds [Read More...]
The removal of gravel for construction of this huge building in the 1950s could have helped create shoreline erosion at Birch Bay. See the article, "Blaine Air Force Station" for details about the building.Photo of the BlainePhotographer is unknown. Courtesy of the Whatcom Museum. by Hailee Wickersham After [Read More...]