October 2022
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Visits to health clinic are increasing, page 6
Parks board appoints new member, page 7
ECRWSS PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 14
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Apple harvest festival approaches, page 9
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A glorious September sunset Canada to drop Covid-19 border crossing restrictions B y P a t G r u bb The Canadian government has announced that effective October 1, it will be dropping its Covid-19 vaccination requirement and end random Covid-19 testing for people entering the country. The current Covid-19 emergency order in council is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on September 30. Effective October 1, 2022, all travelers, regardless of citizenship, will no longer have to submit public health information through the ArriveCAN app or website; provide proof of vaccination; undergo pre- or on-arrival testing; carry out Covid-19-related quarantine or isolation; or monitor and report if they develop signs or symptoms of Covid-19 upon arriving to Canada. Transport Canada is also removing existing travel requirements. Travelers will no longer be required to undergo health checks for travel on air and rail; or wear masks on planes and trains. Although the masking requirement is being lifted, all travelers are strongly recommended to wear high quality and well-fitted masks during their journeys. Cruise measures are also being lifted, and travelers will no longer be required to have pre-board tests, be vaccinated, or use ArriveCAN. A set of guidelines will remain to protect passengers and crew, which will align with the approach used in the U.S. On September 20, 16 Members of Parliament and mayors of 15 Canadian and seven U.S. cities sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden calling on them to drop Covid-19 restrictions at the border. “When COVID-19 was at its peak and border measures were effective at slowing transmission rates, we did our part to keep Canadians and Americans safe,” they wrote. “Now, we have been left behind in the recovery effort as both countries have largely returned to normal life.” On hearing of the change in policy, one of the signatories to the letter, Windsor, Ontario mayor Drew Dilkens said, “I’m pleased to see that border restrictions and (See Border, page 3)
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WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN
s Warm summer days continued throughout the month of September, many ending in glorious sunsets like this one captured by Sue Johnson at the end of Gulf Road. Photo by Sue Johnson
PRCAC asks county for faster broadband buildout B y P a t G r u bb Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu is considering an unanimous request made by the Point Roberts Community Advisory Committee (PRCAC) to have the county fund and deploy a wireless broadband service immediately. The executive forwarded PRCAC’s request to county council and told them his office would discuss the request with the Port of Bellingham’s and Public Utility District #1’s broadband team and would report back. He reminded council that the county has $250,000 specifically allocated to Point Roberts by the state legislature. As the county’s economic development agency, the Port of Bellingham is the pri-
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mary conduit through which federal and state dollars aimed at improving broadband access flow. The PUD is also a major player in this area. PRCAC members voted unanimously at their September 15 regular meeting “to recommend that the county support authorizing use of the $250K in the state budget, and provide additional matching funds of at least $250K, to accelerate access to broadband in Point Roberts that meets the following criteria: • Meet the Washington state goal of symmetric (down/up) 150Mbs bandwidth to all residences and businesses • Be reasonably priced – approximately $50/month for the 150Mbs service (could
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Inside
Church ............................................... 8 Classifieds ......................................... 12 Coming Up ....................................... 14 Crossings ............................................ 5 Library Picks .................................... 13 Obituary ........................................... 13 Opinion ............................................... 4 Tides ................................................. 12