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April 9 - 15, 2026
IN THIS
ISSUE
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
Cub Scouts return to Blaine, page 3
Track and field hosts rivals, page 6
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Road Rules, page 9
Easter activities brings family fun to Blaine, Birch Bay County hearing examiner sides with environmental group over AltaGas facility By NolaN Baker
(See AltaGas, page 3)
Children race to fill their baskets with candy during the Easter egg hunt on April 4 at American Legion Post 86 in Birch Bay. See more Easter photos on page 5. Photo by Grace McCarthy
Birch Bay resident pushes for community ZIP code By Grace Mccarthy
The U.S. Postal Service is reviewing a resident-initiated request to create a ZIP code for Birch Bay, which would remove Blaine from the community’s mailing address. Birch Bay resident Lisa Guthrie sent a letter to USPS Seattle District Manager On Bong Wong on March 24, asking USPS to consider creating a ZIP code for the census-designated place of Birch Bay. Birch Bay has about double the population of Blaine, at over 10,000 residents, but shares the city’s 98230 ZIP
code and mailing address. In her letter, Guthrie cited population growth, community identity and operational efficiency as reasons for a Birch Bay ZIP code. “Just in terms of our community identity, having our own ZIP code is important to a lot of us,” Guthrie said. “I live in an urban growth area of over 10,000 people, and I wanted to be able to say I’m from Birch Bay and not have to explain it to people.” Support letters were also sent to USPS by state Sen. Sharon Shewmake (D-Bellingham), the Birch Bay Cham-
Bellingham woman sentenced for 2021 Semiahmoo Spit homicide By Grace Mccarthy
A Bellingham woman was sentenced to over 23 years in prison for the murder of Thomas Flood, a 67-year-old Whidbey Island man found shot to death on Semiahmoo Spit exactly five years prior to the April 7 sentencing. The 2021 murder was the first homicide discovery in the city of Blaine in nearly four decades. Judge Robert E. Olson handed down a 23.3-year sentence to Lynda Clare Mercy, 67, for second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement in Whatcom Coun-
ty Superior Court. Mercy will receive a five-year credit for the time she served in jail and is ordered to three years of community custody following her release. The sentencing is the maximum of Mercy’s standard sentencing range. The range, which is based on the crime and her criminal history, was set between 15.25 and 23.3 years in prison including five years for the firearm enhancement. Olson told the courtroom the sentencing was “one of the most difficult decisions” he’s made in his career on the bench. “While I am sympathetic to the chal-
lenging circumstances of Ms. Mercy's life, nothing about the life she is able to build, despite her lifelong challenges, justifies her behavior surrounding the shooting death of Thomas Flood,” Olson said. On the night of April 6, 2021, Mercy was idling near the Coupeville ferry terminal after returning from a trip to Port Townsend. Surveillance footage showed Mercy entering a ferry worker’s vehicle and then leaving after being confronted, saying she was seeking warmth. She was
(See Homicide, page 2)
ber of Commerce, the Birch Bay Community Advisory Committee (BBCAC) and the Birch Bay Incorporation Association (BBIA). Whatcom County Councilmember Ben Elenbaas, who represents Birch Bay, wrote in an email to The Northern Light that he planned to send a letter in support and to ask the County Council to submit a letter as well. Supporters echoed Guthrie’s reasoning for a Birch Bay ZIP code, including Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce Pres-
(See ZIP code, page 2)
INSIDE
The Whatcom County hearing examiner ruled that the county’s planning and development department did not properly vet 33 approved project permits for the Ferndale Liquid Petroleum Gas Terminal at Cherry Point, according to a March 31 decision. The projects in question will now be required to undergo more extensive review of their fossil fuel capacity and environmental impact by the county permitting department. Rajeev Majumdar, the hearing examiner, sided with a coalition of six environmental groups who appealed the permitting process in September of 2025. The coalition argued that AltaGas expanded liquid petroleum gas (LPG) production despite the county amending its code in 2021 to limit the expansion of fossil fuel exports in Cherry Point. Since those amendments were made, AltaGas made 31 unpermitted changes that it said did not expand its operations, and thus did not need permitting. Another two changes were scheduled to be made, and all 33 were approved by the planning department on September 9, 2025. The hearing examiner stated that increased marine traffic out of the Cherry Point facility would likely impact southern resident killer whale (SRKW) populations, among other environmental concerns. “There is sufficient evidence in the record to demonstrate that it is substantively probable that an increase in marine traffic would have an impact on the SRKW without mitigation,” Majumdar wrote. Jan Hasselman, senior attorney at Earthjustice, one of the six appellants in
Coming Up . . . . 10 Classifieds . . . . . .8 Letters . . . . . . . . .4 Police . . . . . . . . . 10 Sports . . . . . . . . . .6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 10
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