April 2 - 8, 2026 IN THIS
ISSUE
New Patio furniture coming downtown, page 3
‘No Kings’ brings crowd to downtown Blaine
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
Blaine senior center grooves, page 7
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Girls golf wins NWC clash, page 5
Whatcom-Skagit Housing gives 12 Blaine families chance at homeownership
By Grace Mccarthy
(See No Kings, page 11)
María Estrada and Patricio Contreras pose with the keys to their new home on March 31 in Blaine. The couple, along with 11 other families, spent more than a year building their homes at The Ridge at Harbor Hills with the help of Whatcom-Skagit Housing. View more photos from the key ceremony at thenorthernlight.com.
Photo by Grace McCarthy
By Grace Mccarthy Twelve families had their dream of homeownership become a reality when they were handed keys to their new Blaine homes during a Whatcom-Skagit Housing ceremony on Tuesday. Dozens of people gathered for the key ceremony at The Ridge at Harbor Hills subdivision to celebrate the newest cohort of homeowners through Whatcom-Skagit Housing, a Ferndale-based nonprofit. The nonprofit helps qualifying families become first-time homeowners by having them build their homes and fellow participants’ homes, while directing them to affordable loans and down payment assistance. Andrii and Alina Karashchuk, their three children and a Ukrainian refugee living with them were among 45 peo-
ple who called The Ridge home after Tuesday’s ceremony. Andrii Karashchuk, who heard about the program through relatives, said Whatcom-Skagit Housing seemed like the only path to homeownership. “To own a house is to be free,” he said. The celebration of the Karashchuk family and the 11 new families on their block drew speeches from nonprofit executive director Julia Menkee and Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward as well as representatives from Olympia and Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office. Since its founding in 1977, Whatcom-Skagit Housing has helped over 700 families build homes in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Sue Sturgill, a founding board member and Blaine resident, said the nonprofit’s first
5 decades of chocolate Easter bunnies at The C Shop By Grace Mccarthy For nearly 55 years, The C Shop has been handmaking chocolate Easter bunnies that are delivered to candy baskets from Birch Bay to Norway every spring. The tradition started shortly after 1971, when co-founders Patricia and Patrick Alesse opened The C Shop. Patricia began making a white chocolate bunny out of the original candy shop, now Jacob’s Landing Condominiums,
before the Alesses moved to The C Shop’s familiar yellow building on Alderson Road. While much of the world around The C Shop has changed, its chocolate bunnies have remained a constant over the past five decades. Chocolatier Molly Martin said the Birch Bay candy shop uses the same bunny molds from the ’70s and sticks to largely the same process, with slight improvements made throughout the years.
“They’re handmade and the oldtime look is special,” Martin said. In the weeks leading up to Easter, Martin sorts through hundreds of bunny molds in the candy shop’s attic, finding both classics and new options. She then embarks on an Easter escapade that requires 500 hours of labor among all chocolatiers. Her crew includes candy maker Faye Alesse, who is taking on the legacy that
(See Easter, page 6)
homes were in Blaine before expanding to Ferndale, Nooksack, Everson and other rural areas despite recent federal funding challenges. “It’s so positive,” Sturgill said of the program. “Not only are the families getting a home, but once they finish building a home, they have the skills to take care of it.”
HOW IT WORKS The nonprofit searches for rural land it can hold for families with limited incomes to build on. It then helps those families secure an affordable loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development office and obtain down payment assistance
(See New homes, page 2)
INSIDE
Hundreds of people gathered for a “No Kings” rally on Saturday in downtown Blaine, one of thousands of demonstrations across the nation protesting the Trump administration. Americans and Canadians alike demonstrated during the hourlong Blaine rally, organized by Blaine-based grassroots organization Indivisible 4th Corner. Protesters displayed signs with varying messages against the Trump administration at G Street Plaza, in front of the Black Forest building and by Hill’s Chevron as speakers and singers addressed the audience. Co-organizer Cathe Hargenrader estimated about 250 people attended the rally, one of Blaine’s largest protests in recent years and the first “No Kings” rally in Blaine. Two other “No Kings” rallies occurred nationwide in June and October of last year. Indivisible 4th Corner, which formed last year, protests at 11 a.m. every Saturday in G Street Plaza. It also holds special rallies, such as for Presidents Day and the five-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, which paid tribute to people who defended the nation’s Capitol. The group aims to “stand up, speak up and resist the Trump-led goal to tear down our nation’s democracy,” according to its website. Among protesters was Blaine resident Ren Sapp, who said as a transgender person, they’ve experienced significantly more difficulty finding health care and support systems since the Trump administration took office. “You have to hide now,” Sapp said. “There are so many people out there who are against it because of what the Trump administration has done.” Vancouver resident Reid Moorsmith drove about an hour to attend
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