July 25 - 31, 2019
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Birch Bay whale sightings worry experts, page 6
Update regarding Bay Medical Clinic, page 7
NWFR extinguishes attic fire downtown, page 12
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
City of Blaine to introduce paperless permitting By Jami Makan The city of Blaine is implementing new technology that will soon allow the public to apply for certain types of permits online. This comes after city council directed the community development services department in 2018 to explore the possibility of going paperless. The initiative became part of the department’s 2019 work program, and is now being overseen by Stacie Pratschner, the city’s community development director. The new cloud-based system, which is expected to go live in late July, will allow permit applicants to avoid in-person visits to city offices, and will also speed up the time it takes for permits to be approved. The new software, offered by the Utah-based company iWorQ, will be tested by city staff before being introduced to the public. The city uses a Microsoft Excel-based permitting system that was purchased in 2017 and allows the city to track and record all of its permits. The system has add-ons, and the city recently decided to purchase an add-on that allows the city to accept permit applications through an online interface. Currently, members of the public who wish to apply for a permit must visit city offices in person with a paper copy of their permit application. When the new interface is introduced, members of the public will just have to request a username and password from the city. They will then be able to submit their permit application through an online portal linked to the city website from anywhere in the world. Because their information will automatically populate the city’s Excel spreadsheets, the new system is expected to reduce the amount of time it takes for the city to process permits. “I would say that for a mechanical permit, it currently takes us a few hours to process,” said building official Tim Woodard. “This new program will enable us to (See Permits, page 3)
s The Birch Bay Rollback Weekend and Sand Sculpture Competition took place on July 20 and 21. The event featured a classic car show and a sand castle contest. To see more photos from the event, turn to page 18.
Photo by Chuck Kinzer
Guilty plea in Shannon Mani murder case By Jami Makan The Milwaukee man accused of killing Blaine High School (BHS) alumna Shannon Mani and her unborn child in April 2018 has pleaded guilty to two first-degree homicide counts. Quentin Neal, 28, was scheduled to stand trial in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on July 15, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Instead of proceeding to trial, Neal decided to plead guilty to the two felony counts. A third count, for possession of a firearm by a felon, was dismissed but
read into the record for sentencing. During the sentencing hearing on July 17, Neal was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The judge reportedly said it was one of the most brutal cases he’d ever seen. Mani, a BHS class of 2015 graduate, was 21 years old and four months pregnant when she was found murdered in Wisconsin in April of last year. At the time of her death, Mani was reportedly a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student, living with her family in Waukesha County. Neal, the father of her unborn child, shot and
stabbed her on April 13, 2018 before hiding her body in a storage locker. Her wrists and ankles were bound with duct tape. Initially, when Neal was interviewed by Waukesha police, he denied having contact with Mani that day. However, after being shown evidence found by police of their communications that day and a dispute at his home, he admitted to shooting and stabbing her. Neal told police where to find the body after they found traces of blood in his basement. “It was a bloodbath,” said prosecutor Hanna Kolber, according to Milwaukee’s Fox 6
CBP apprehends Chinese citizen with Interpol warrant By Jami Makan A Chinese citizen considered “armed and dangerous” by international authorities tried to cross into Blaine from Canada over the weekend, but was apprehended by border agents who chased him through a residential neighborhood. On July 20, a 34-year-old Chinese citizen presented himself for entry into the U.S. at the Pacific Highway port of entry. “The man had an armed and dangerous Interpol warrant on extortion charges,”
said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesperson. Headquartered in Lyon, France and founded in 1923, Interpol is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation, enabling its 194 member countries to share and access data on crimes and criminals. After CBP’s systems alerted border guards to the man’s Interpol warrant, CBP officers quickly reacted. The man panicked and attempted to drive off, but his vehicle, which contained a woman
and two children, was blocked by commercial traffic. The man then exited his vehicle, ran from the scene, climbed over a fence and fled into a nearby residential area. After a short chase, the man was apprehended by CBP officers and a border patrol K-9 team. According to the CBP spokesperson, the man claimed asylum due to his fear of being returned to China and Canada. The Chinese citizen was taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma for further processing.
INSIDE
(See Mani, page 3)
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Classifieds . . . . . 14 Coming Up . . . . . 17 Police . . . . . . . . . 17 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 17
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