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April 23 - 29, 2026 IN THIS
ISSUE
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
Motorcyclist transported to Harborview, page 3
Blessing of the Fleet, page 4
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Women’s film festival returns for 10th year, page 11
Gray whale sightings reported in Birch Bay, Blaine Blaine receives nearly $400K for two downtown parks By Grace Mccarthy The city of Blaine secured $392,000 in state funds that will revitalize and add amenities to two small downtown parks with water views. The Legislature approved the funding at the end of its session last month. The money will pay for two parklets on Peace Portal Drive, at the intersections of Clark and Martin streets. The parks were originally in the city’s downtown revitalization project that was constructed last year but were removed at the last minute because of budget constraints. “When the state gives us money, it’s our own tax money coming back,” Blaine City Councilor Richard May said during the last meeting. “I’d like to see more of this.” Blaine City Manager Mike Harmon said no major changes are expected to the parklets’ designs, which Cascade Engineering Group created. The City Council approved the preliminary versions in February 2024. The Martin Street parklet, between Chada Thai and Railway Cafe, is designed to have a timber stacks play area, lawn, seating and picnic tables. Road access that has unofficially been used between the two restaurants would close, city officials have said. The Clark Street parklet is designed to have a swing set, shelter with picnic tables and barbecue grill, lawn, signage and additional plantings. Construction is anticipated next spring, but Harmon said that timeline could change based on any funding parameters that the state sets. Construction should take no more than three months, he said, and significant road closures aren’t expected. (See Park funds, page 2)
A gray whale surfaces in Birch Bay about 4:30 p.m. April 15, as seen from Birch Bay Drive. The sighting is one of many in recent weeks. Residents have taken to social media to report sightings on March 9 in Birch Bay, April 2 in Drayton Harbor and April 19 in Birch Bay and Semiahmoo Bay. Whale sightings can be submitted to Orca Network at orcanetwork. org/report-sightings. Under state law, people must remain 100 yards from gray whales and boaters who see a whale must slow to under 7 knots (8 mph) when within a half-mile.
Photo by Rick Holmes
Investigations open into BP Cherry Point explosion By Grace Mccarthy
Little remains publicly known about an explosion at the BP Cherry Point refinery near Birch Bay that shook the community and sent three workers to the hospital on Saturday morning. Representatives from BP and the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries said they’ve launched investigations into the incident.
Blaine and Birch Bay residents reported on social media that they heard a loud boom from BP just before 10:20 a.m. Saturday. The explosion shook the ground at Birch Bay State Park and Point Whitehorn, while it could be heard in Custer and on H Street in Blaine. Cesar Rodriguez, U.S. media relations manager for BP, said three workers were transported to the hospital
and released by the evening. PeaceHealth spokesperson Amy Drury said the workers were evaluated at St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, but declined to comment on the general extent of their injuries or treatment. Rodriguez said the incident was contained Saturday morning and did not (See Explosion, page 3)
Blaine School Board discusses behavioral data, impacts of policy changes By NolaN Baker
The Blaine School Board held a work session on Monday focusing on student behavior, discipline and how schools are tackling behavioral problems, featuring presentations from administrators from each of Blaine’s four schools. School principals from primary to high school showed data on behavioral incidents from the 2024-25 and cur-
rent school year. Two major aspects that stood out in the data was how the district has responded to more stringent closed campus and cell phone policies introduced in the 2025-26 school year. Chris Bolt, dean of students at Blaine High School, presented to the five-member school board two years of behavior incident data. Bolt showed that non-attendance behavior has gone
up from 101 incidents in the 2024-25 school year to 228 incidents so far this school year. One of the largest year over year increases in behavior incidents was cell phone use, which spiked from 10 reported incidents in 2024-25 to 92 through roughly eight months of the 2025-26 school year. (See School Board, page 2)
Coming Up . . . . 10 Classifieds . . . . . .8 Letters . . . . . . . . .4 Police . . . . . . . . . 10 Sports . . . . . . . . . .6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 10
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