August 2025
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Primary ballots And a fun time was had by all ... due August 5; hospital seat up for election By Nolan Baker The Whatcom County Auditor’s office announced ballots for the August primary and special elections were mailed to registered voters on July 16, and voters should have received a ballot by July 22. Election day is Tuesday, August 5. Ballots must be returned to an official ballot drop box before 8 p.m. on August 5, or by mail, postmarked by August 5. This summer’s primary election includes plenty of local races as well as a county-wide levy lid lift for the Whatcom County Library System. Port of Bellingham Commissioner District 2 will feature incumbent Ken Bell, who has held the position since 2017, running against challengers Carly James, a Bellingham-based small business owner running for office for the first time, and Kaylin A. Bosley, also running for office for the first time. Point Roberts Public Hospital District commissioner position two is open for election, with five candidates throwing their hat in the ring. Current commissioner Stephen Falk will step down after holding the position since being appointed in 2018 and elected in 2019. Allison Calder, Jen Olson Kurcz, Alyssa Clark, Alice Strombom and Solomon Loop are all running for the hospital district commission position. For more information about each candidate, and to read their statements, visit bit.ly/4eRSgLp. Whatcom County Library System, which oversees library access for everywhere in the county beside Bellingham, is asking voters to pass a levy lid lift to secure funding for WCLS operations, maintenance and development. If passed, the property tax levy rate for WCLS would be set at $0.42 per $1,000 of assessed home value. State law caps property tax increases to one percent annually, meaning the library system is unable to keep up with inflation without voters agreeing to increase the levy rate. Voter registration and address changes online or by mail must be received by the county auditor’s office by Monday, July 28. (See Election, page 2)
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WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN
s The second annual Strings & Things International Music Festival featured great music, great weather, great food, great beer and was a huge success in every which way! More photos, page 18. Photo by Ashley Strub
Port commission expansion to go to voters By Grace McCarthy Whatcom County voters will be tasked with the decision to expand the Port of Bellingham commission from three to five candidates during the November 4 election. The commission voted 2-1 to place the measure on ballots during their July 15 meeting, with commissioners Ken Bell and Michael Shepard in support and Bobby Briscoe opposed. The audience erupted in applause following the port’s decision, which came months after the subject was previously. If voters approve the expansion, it’ll be the first time the port has added represen-
tation since being formed in 1920, according to port documents. The commission last put forward an expansion measure in 2012 that failed to meet the simple majority threshold for support. If passed, the port would then need to draw up five districts by January. The districts would likely mirror Whatcom County Council districts. The three incumbent commissioners would represent districts one, two and three. Races for the new seats would be included in the August 2026 primary if there were more than two candidates running in a district. If not, the candidates would only appear in the November 2026 election. (See Port, page 3)
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Inside
Church ............................................. 15 Classifieds ......................................... 16 Coming Up ....................................... 14 Crossings, Tides ............................... 17 Library ............................................. 12 Obituary ........................................... 17 Letters ................................................ 4 Senior, Sheriff’s ................................ 12
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