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May 1 - 7, 2025
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IN THIS
ISSUE
Blessing of the Fleet returns May 4, page 5
Family Care Network announces Blaine clinic opening
Whatcom candidate filing week, page 5
Council votes on Blaine Senior Center, page 8
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Sen. Patty Murray meets with Blaine leaders
By Grace McCarthy
(See Clinic, page 5)
s Clockwise, from r.; U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) meets with Blaine businessman Gurdeep Bains, Blaine city manager Mike Harmon and Blaine mayor Mary Lou Steward during a roundtable discussion on impacts to border towns during the Trump administration on April 24 at Blaine City Hall. Read more on page 3. Photo by Grace McCarthy
Blaine City Council approves city put Grandis Pond de-annexation plan before voters By Grace McCarthy Blaine City Council unanimously approved city staff to prepare an official plan to de-annex the Grandis Pond urban growth area (UGA) that could go before Blaine voters as soon as the November election. The city then plans to redistribute that UGA land from east Blaine to Semiahmoo for high-density housing. UGA swap Under the city’s proposed UGA swap, it would de-annex about 500 acres of land be-
tween the Grandis Pond property in east Blaine and the Harbor Shores property near the mouth of Dakota Creek. It would then add 460 acres of UGA land and nearly 300 acres of UGA reserve southwest of Semiahmoo. The plan would also add 124 acres of UGA land behind the fire station on Odell Road that the city is interested in zoning for manufacturing. The earliest the swap could happen would be late this year or early next year, when the city completes its comprehensive plan update, Wenger said. De-annexation could potentially be put
Loss in federal funds leaves food bank reeling By Nolan Baker Local food banks are struggling after a series of federal funding freezes impacted finances and cut the amount of food coming in for hungry community members. For the Blaine Food Bank, problems began in December when the city of Blaine discontinued $50,000 in funding earmarked for fresh milk that it had started providing during the pandemic with Covid-19 funds.
In the four months since, nothing has gotten easier for the food bank, director Lisa Dobbin said. Federal funding cuts by the Trump administration and an economic retraction resulting in less donations from grocery stores and other sources mean the food bank is having to get creative to make sure it doesn’t turn anyone away for lack of food. “What has changed is two things, the amount of food coming in through federal agencies and partnerships, and
the amount of food coming in through grocery store rescue programs,” Dobbin said. The Local Food Purchase Assistance program was eliminated without any warning, removing $150,000 in funding to county food banks to purchase local produce. Roughly 15 percent of that produce had gone to Blaine. The Emergency Food Assistance Program was cut by roughly 30 percent, (See Food bank, page 10)
on the November 4 ballots, city officials said. The city would then need to annex the land it’s seeking to use as UGA and UGA reserve in west Blaine.To annex land in Washington state, the most common way is the 60 percent petition method, which requires the support from property owners representing 60 percent of the assessed value of the proposed annexation area. Wenger said there were two property owners of the proposed west Blaine UGA land, (See UGA swap, page 13)
INSIDE
Family Care Network (FCN) has announced that its long-awaited primary care clinic will open in Blaine on June 16. Birch Bay Family Medicine will close the same day and patients will be moved to Blaine. Blaine Family Medicine, at 861 Grant Avenue, is a 5,800-square-foot clinic with 12 exam rooms, a procedure room, triage room, on-site lab services and behavioral health services. Birch Bay Family Medicine physicians will move to the Blaine clinic. In addition to the four Birch Bay physicians, Dr. Roma Nagin and Dr. Zafir Khan will join the team in the fall. The Blaine clinic will start only scheduling appointments for existing Birch Bay Family Medicine patients and then transition to accepting new patients in mid-August. “After many years of planning, it is exciting to be in the final stages of this project,” Dr. Rodney Anderson, CEO of FCN, wrote in a statement. “This clinic represents our ongoing, long-term commitment to the communities and patients we serve in the north county.” The Blaine clinic will keep Birch Bay Family Medicine’s number, 360/3715855. Birch Bay Family Medicine will be closed June 12-13 for the move, but the phone will be monitored for emergencies. Anderson previously told The Northern Light that FCN decided to close the Birch Bay clinic because it was in a small building with limited parking that couldn’t expand. The Blaine clinic has been over five years in the works. FCN showed interest in building a healthcare clinic on the city’s old airport property in 2019. After
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