March 20 - 26, 2025
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Improper burning at bp Cherry Point, page 2
Whatcom County health director let go from position
Borderite spring sports start, pages 6-7
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Wings Over Water, page 15
Blaine students walkout in support of the arts
By Grace McCarthy
(See Lautenbach, page 13)
s Roughly 100 Blaine High School students walked out of school and congregated outside the district office to protest possible cuts to the theater arts and band programs. Blaine school district has not yet publicly announced its proposed cuts, which are expected to be made public during the school board meeting on March 24. Students at the walkout said their teachers had informed them of the expected cuts to the arts programs. This was the second such walkout within the past two years. Read more on page 2. Photo by Nolan Baker
Growing number of Canadians shun U.S. travel, destabilizing Blaine businesses By Grace McCarthy Surrey, B.C. resident Kay Pearl watched President Donald Trump’s inauguration address from her living room, 10 minutes from the Pacific Highway border crossing, on January 20. The next morning, she got up early and crossed the border to be at Banner Bank in Blaine by the time it opened at 9 a.m. She withdrew everything she had before closing the bank account she opened more than two decades ago. When the teller asked for the reason, she told him, “Trump. Your government is threatening my government, and I don’t feel safe here anymore.” Then she watched as the teller wrote, “Account not needed anymore.”
“I feel like the U.S. has declared war on Canada and the only way I can help is to keep my dollars here,” Pearl said. Pearl is among a growing number of Canadians who have pledged to not travel into the U.S. after Trump started a trade war against the country and continues talks of Canada becoming a 51st state. “Buy Canadian” campaigns emerged in early February, after Trump’s tariffs were originally expected to go into effect and have gained momentum as more Canadian consumers look to keep their dollars in their country. In February 2025, 544,000 cars traveled into Washington from B.C., 136,000 fewer than the 680,000 cars that traveled into the (See Border, page 3)
INSIDE
Whatcom County Health and Community Services Department director Erika Lautenbach was let go from her position on March 19, with Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu citing “a need for better alignment with the county’s strategic priorities.” The Whatcom County Executive’s Office announced Lautenbach’s resignation in a March 19 statement provided to The Northern Light. Sidhu gave no specific reasons for Lautenbach’s dismissal but instead offered an anodyne description of a new leadership structure. “Last year Executive Sidhu established a new leadership structure in his office, providing increased departmental oversight and a stronger focus on stabilizing the County’s budget and operations,” the statement read. “As a result, Executive Sidhu ultimately determined that new leadership is needed for alignment on these priorities.” The county put Lautenbach on administrative leave on March 5. Whatcom County Council was informed of Lautenbach’s leave on March 11. Efforts to reach Lautenbach were unsuccessful. However, in a statement she sent to the Bellingham Herald, she said she was surprised to hear she was terminated. “I believed our legal teams were negotiating a separation agreement in good faith, and we were still within the lawfully required period of time for my consideration. I have served the county with integrity and have, in all matters, put the health and safety of the public first. I did nothing illegal, unethical or otherwise. The reasons stated for my termination are inaccurate. I have been concerned for some time by the executive’s actions and believe this termination is directly related to these concerns,” she wrote in the statement provided to the Bellingham Herald. Lautenbach was appointed as health director on March 18, 2020, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. At
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