June 13 - 19, 2019
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
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Local groups aim to feed kids this summer, page 5
Photos from the 2019 BHS graduation, page 10
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Explore Point Whitehorn this Saturday, page 13
Most Whatcom County beaches closed to shellfish harvest By Jami Makan The Washington state department of health has closed the recreational harvest of all species of molluscan shellfish on most Whatcom County beaches, after unsafe levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) biotoxin were detected in shellfish on county beaches. Lummi Island, Hale Passage, Lummi Bay and all beaches from Sandy Point north to the Canadian border are closed. Point Roberts beaches are closed as a precaution until shellfish samples can be obtained to determine biotoxin levels. According to a notice from the Whatcom County Health Department, Portage Bay, Samish Bay and Bellingham Bay south to the Skagit County border remain open. The department will be collecting additional samples each week to monitor biotoxin levels, and will notify the public when biotoxin levels have dropped below the closure limit. Molluscan shellfish include clams, mussels, oysters and scallops. Mussels usually contain the highest toxin concentration. PSP and other naturally occurring biotoxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing. Crab meat is not affected, but “crab butter” and crab entrails can harbor biotoxins so they should be discarded. According to the release, shellfish sold in restaurants and markets have been tested before distribution and are safe to eat. Mark Seymour, co-owner of Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, confirmed that shellfish sold at his restaurant is safe to eat. “If we’re selling oysters, customers can rest assured that we’re looking out for them and have had everything checked,” he said. He said the process starts near the Semiahmoo marina with officials testing mussels, which are considered a “signal species” for PSP. “[Mussels] pick it up the first and the highest,” said Seymour. When officials detect high levels of PSP in their weekly mussel survey, they then reach out (See Shellfish, page 2)
s The annual Hands Across the Border celebration took place on June 9, bringing nearly 2,000 scouts from the U.S. and Canada to the Peace Arch for a day of fun and fellowship. For more photos, see page 7.
Photo by Louise Mugar
CBP apprehensions rise at the U.S.-Canada border By Zoe Deal While the nation’s eyes are on the southern border, a steady increase of northern border apprehensions tells another story. Apprehensions along the Blaine sector of the U.S.-Canada border from October 2018 to February 2019 totaled 177, more than double the 78 apprehensions reported during the same period a year earlier. At this rate, it is likely that border apprehensions in 2019 will continue a trend of growth in apprehensions seen along the 5,545-mile-long U.S.-Canada
border since 2015. The Blaine sector of the northern border stretches 252 miles – 163 miles of water and 89 miles of land ending in the North Cascades. It is one of eight sectors that secure the northern border. In 2018, the northern border saw a 42 percent increase in apprehensions from 2017, totaling 4,316 apprehensions. Meanwhile, there were 396,579 apprehensions along the 1,954 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson Jason Givens said
there are a variety of factors that could be influencing the increase in apprehensions along the northern border. Givens said that one of the primary reasons is “a false perception that crossing the northern border is safer than crossing the southern border.” This could be due to recent changes to Canada’s electronic travel authorization system, which has opened up visa waivers to people from more than 50 countries including Mexico and Romania. Visa exemption allows travelers to fly into Canada without a visa, though they must still go
Whatcom wages rising faster than national average By Jami Makan Data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that wages in Washington state and Whatcom County are increasing faster than the national average. Recent BLS data from the fourth quarter of 2018 shows that average weekly wages in Washington state increased 6.3 percent compared to a year earlier. This is in contrast to wages for the United States as a whole, which increased by 3.2 percent. In Whatcom County in particular, av-
erage weekly wages increased 4.7 percent from a year earlier, also outpacing the national average. The average weekly wage in Washington state now stands at $1,292, compared to the national average of $1,144. However, Whatcom County wages are lower than the state and national averages, coming in at $944 per week. In addition to wages, the actual number of people employed has also gone up on all fronts. Nationally, employment rose by 1.5 percent in December compared to a year
earlier. At the state level, employment rose 2.4 percent, while in Whatcom County employment rose 2.3 percent. A closer look at the data reveals that certain industries are driving wage growth in Whatcom County. The industry that saw the largest wage increase in Whatcom County in the fourth quarter of 2018 was the federal government, which saw average wage increases of 18.2 percent compared to a year earlier. (See Wages, page 3)
INSIDE
(See Border, page 3)
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