December 11 - 17, 2025
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Incorporation feasibility study meeting, page 3
Protection order upheld after city council speech, page 5
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Port commission expansion, page 5
Blaine school Abominable Snowman and Rudolph visit Blaine board swears in new members By Nolan Baker
(See School, page 13)
s Children are able to get in the holiday spirit by dropping off letters to Santa in front of the Blaine Visitor Information Center and Hill’s Chevron in downtown. Photo opportunities with the Abominable Snowman and Rudolph are available next to the mailbox. Also, read more about the Great Blaine Elf Hunt on page 15. Photo by Louise Mugar
Port of Bellingham: Behind Closed Doors, Part II: The Contractors Further analysis reveals concentrated relationships and contracts priced to the penny.
B y P a t G r u bb The contractors One contract was awarded at exactly $49,999.49. That’s fifty-one cents below the $50,000 threshold at which state law requires the Port of Bellingham to document competitive solicitation for professional services. The contract, awarded to TranTech Engineering in 2018 for Waterfront Franchise Utilities work, then grew to $308,205 – more than six times its original value. Two weeks ago, The Northern Light reported that 85 percent of Port professional services contracts lacked required pro-
curement documentation. This investigation examines who benefited from those patterns. Further analysis of the Port’s contract database reveals that a small circle of consulting firms received the bulk of contract amendments. Between 2018 and 2024, contracts starting at $45,000 or more that grew by at least 50 percent totaled $8.2 million at signing. Through amendments, they reached $34.3 million – $26 million in additional work. Four firms account for a disproportionate share: Anchor QEA, Landau Associates, Aspect Consulting, and CRETE Consulting. Each has multiple contracts that grew by hundreds or thousands of percent.
INSIDE
The Blaine school district board of directors swore in two new members and one returning board member during its regular meeting on December 9, marking a new era for the school district’s five-member governing body. District 3 director Bob Feaster and District 5 director Chelsey Belarmino were sworn in by superintendent Dan Chaplik to begin their first meeting of their four-year terms that expire in December 2029. District 4 director Ryan Swinburnson was also sworn in after serving on the board since February 2024 when he was appointed to replace a resigning board member. With the new board set, the body designated Swinburnson as board president, District 2 director Ben Lazarus as vice president, Belarmino as the legislative representative, and Feaster as the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association representative. All members were voted unanimously to their respective positions by the board. Multiple school board members expressed interest in attending the upcoming Washington Association of School Administrators annual legislative conference on January 9 and 10. The conference is a chance for school district staff to learn about statewide issues prior to the 2026 state legislative session and to prepare for the debate over the impending 2027-29 biennial budget. School board members also expressed a desire to attend Education Advocacy Day on January 29, where school district representatives travel to Olympia to rub shoulders with state legislators. Feaster asked about inviting community advocacy groups to either the conference or “Hill Day” in Olympia as a way to show state lawmakers how dire the public education funding crisis has become. Feaster mentioned inviting representatives from Fund Schools Now, the Blaine-based interest group working to bring back services that have been slowly whittled down by years of budget cuts. Chaplik also mentioned bringing
TheNorthernLight.com TheNorthernLight
(See Behind closed doors, page 11)
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Sheriff . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . 6, 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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