March 25 - 31, 2021
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City council approves mural commission, page 6
Road Rules, page 9
New pastor at Northwood Chapel, page 10
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Wings Over Water educates local children U.S./Canada border closure extends until April By Grace McCarthy
s Wings Over Water NW Birding Festival educated children at Blaine Marine Park on birds that migrate through the Blaine area. The virtual 19th annual festival, which ran March 19 through March 21, held a socially distant activity for kids, with help from Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 and pirate Dorothy Copeland. See more photos on page 9. Photo by Donna Raimey
City’s emergency Covid-19 provisions set to expire By Grace McCarthy Now that Whatcom County is in Phase 3 of governor Jay Inslee’s Roadmap to Recovery, city manager Michael Jones updated council with the city of Blaine’s emergency provisions during the March 22 council meeting. Whatcom County entered Phase 3 on March 22 and will have its Covid-19 metrics re-evaluated by the state on April 12 to determine if the county remains in Phase 3, moves back to Phase 2 or advances to a currently undefined Phase 4. Phase 3 al-
lows for 50 percent indoor occupancy at restaurants. “Some have become obsolete and have already passed or been rescinded by me,” Jones said of the orders, resolutions and directives issued over the last year. “Others were self-limiting with time components.” The emergency resolution that allows businesses to use the H Street and G Street plazas by a special-use permit was set to expire when the county entered Phase 3, after being updated from its original October 1 deadline. Jones issued the emergency resolution last June.
WSDA asks public to continue hornet outreach By Grace McCarthy It’s that time of year again: The days are getting longer, spring flowers are blooming and Asian giant hornets are waking up from winter hibernation. Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) asks Blaine residents to continue reporting sightings of the world’s largest hornet now that queens are expected to emerge any day from their winter nests. In the springtime, the queens will search for a nest location, forage and pre-
pare for workers expected to start emerging in July. “We want to make sure we continue with our messages of, ‘If you see it, report it,’” said WSDA managing entomologist Sven-Erik Spichiger. Although the first nest in the U.S. was eradicated in east Blaine last October, WSDA officials warn more could still be in the area. Spichiger previously said they found the nest just in time because new queens were preparing to leave and start their own
nests. Entomologists said during the press conference it is also possible if two additional nests exist after hornet sightings in Birch Bay and Blaine proper last year. Not including the hornets found in the eradicated nest, there were 31 confirmed hornet sightings in the U.S. last year – 15 trapped by WSDA and 16 found by Whatcom County residents. All of the six confirmed hornet detections in B.C. and half of Washington’s detections came from (See Hornets, page 5)
Drayton Harbor Oyster Company is the only restaurant using the space for outdoor dining, said Jones, who sent a letter to the restaurant asking its owners to take down the tent within 30 days. Thirty days is a normal compliance time period, he added. Councilmember Richard May proposed council take action so the emergency provisions continue until a higher indoor business capacity is allowed. “In retrospect, I think we should have specified Phase 4 and not Phase 3 because (See Phase 3, next page)
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
INSIDE
The U.S./Canada border closure to non-essential travel has been extended for the 12th time with a continued closure until at least April 21, 2021. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension in a March 18 tweet. “Informed by science and public health guidance, we will work with our counterparts to identify an approach to easing restrictions when conditions permit and with the protection of our citizens from COVID-19 at the forefront of our minds,” a DHS spokesperson tweeted following the announced extension that will also affect the U.S./Mexico border. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau also publicized the 30-day extension on Twitter March 18. The U.S. is further ahead in vaccinating residents than Canada. As of March 23, 13.7 percent of people in the U.S. were fully vaccinated and 25.3 percent had received at least one vaccine dose. In Canada, just 1.57 percent of the population had received two doses while only 6.8 percent of people had received one dose. The U.S. has 29,708,385 confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to March 23 CDC data. The increase of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. over the past seven days, 385,581, is 40 percent of Canada’s 942,320 total confirmed cases during the pandemic, according to CDC and Canadian government data. The U.S. has a rate of 8,948 confirmed cases per 100,000 people since the start of the pandemic, which is more than three times higher than Canada’s rate of 2,479 cases per 100,000, according to data from CDC and the Canadian government. People traveling to Canada by air are required to quarantine for two weeks after arrival and provide a negative Covid-19 test taken no later than three days before leaving. The U.S. also requires air travelers entering the U.S. to submit proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken three days before flying. Government officials have not given a timeline or plan for reopening the border.
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