November 11 - 17, 2021
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Lawmakers demand CBP apology letter, page 2
Blaine WWII veteran remembered, page 8
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Southwest Airlines starts flying out of BLI, page 16
Not the vaccine DelBene visits Blaine as Canadian travel opens police, local attorney says B y P a t G r u bb
s From l.; Whatcom County executive Satpal Sidhu, Blaine mayor Bonnie Onyon and U.S. congresswoman Suzan DelBene, in H Street Plaza on November 8, discuss the impact the closed U.S./Canadian border has had on Blaine residents and businesses. The U.S. border opened to Canadians for nonessential travel on November 8, but there were few to welcome back. Photo by Ian Haupt
By Ian Haupt Looking across the intersection of Peace Portal Drive and H Street from H Street Plaza, U.S. congresswoman Suzan DelBene could see the city’s banner welcoming Canadians as she said how important the reopening of the U.S./Canada border to vaccinated Canadians was for people and businesses in Blaine. DelBene, who has been a strong advocate for border towns like Blaine and Point Roberts since the border closed in March 2020, visited local businesses No-
vember 8, with Whatcom County executive Satpal Sidhu, mayor Bonnie Onyon and city manager Michael Jones to celebrate the border reopening 597 days after its closing. Joined by staff and media, the foursome walked around town and stopped in at the Drayton Harbor Oyster Company, the Living Pantry, The Vault Wine Bar & Bistro, and Mail Boxes International to discuss with storeowners the impact the border closure has had on business. These businesses are among many impacted by the lack of Canadian visitors.
City council dedicates $118,000 in Covid-19 funds to fund a G Street pavilion By Grace McCarthy Blaine City Council voted 6-0 with councilmember Eric Davidson absent to use nearly $120,000 of federal Covid-19 stimulus money to fund a pavilion on the G Street plaza. Construction of the pavilion, which will serve as cover for the plaza’s existing bandstand, is expected to begin in 2023. “I think it will be an extremely attrac-
tive feature downtown and will encourage even more activity in the plaza,” mayor Bonnie Onyon said. “It will be one more icon for Blaine.” The pavilion was envisioned in 2004 when the city received an economic development investment program loan from Whatcom County to create the G and H street plazas. In addition to the plazas and pavilion, the plan also envisioned a boardwalk adjacent to the railroad.
In July, the city received the first of two installments for the $1.5 million American Rescue Plan Act funds to offset revenue lost during the pandemic; $1.1 million remains unallocated following a midyear budget amendment. After approval from the Blaine Tourism Advisory Committee during its October 12 meeting, the city will allocate $118,000 of the federal funds (See Pavilion, page 15)
The congresswoman, county executive and mayor all told of the difficulty the closed border put on the residents of Blaine. Onyon said how important it was that the U.S. would only require proof of vaccination and not a negative Covid-19 test, which Canada still requires for those traveling north. Living Pantry owners Seppi and Shawna Morris discussed with DelBene what it was like opening their zero-waste store during the pandemic and border clo(See Dignitaries, page 15)
INSIDE
The first day of relaxed border restrictions saw wait times of over an hour first thing Monday morning as anxious Canadians attempted to beat the rush after waiting 20 months to enter the U.S. for nonessential purposes. By 10 a.m., only a few cars were waiting to enter at the Peace Arch port of entry and traffic trickled in for the remainder of the day. The relative lack of traffic could be attributed to the Canadian government’s requirement that returning travelers must present a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of crossing, an expensive undertaking for Canadians thinking about a daytrip. Canada’s chief public health official, Dr. Theresa Tam, stated last week that the health agency was reviewing the need for the testing requirement, pointing out that just 0.15 percent of vaccinated travelers crossing the land border into Canada in the period ending October 23, had subsequently tested positive. According to Blaine immigration attorney Len Saunders, it doesn’t look like CBP officers consider themselves to be “vaccine police.” Out of five clients who crossed the border yesterday to meet with him, “not one of them was asked if they were vaccinated. One person who was secondaried inside for another reason, even he wasn’t asked. I’m shocked but I’m not shocked. Do you know what I mean?” he said. “It’s totally understandable,” he said. “These people consider their job to catching illegal aliens, seizing drugs and deterring terrorism. Where does vaccination status come in that equation?” “The funny thing is, it used to be that flying to the States was the loophole. Canadians didn’t have to have an essential reason to fly to the U.S. Now, they will be required to show proof of vaccination when they fly to the U.S. but won’t be asked for proof when they go across the land border. Now, it’s the land border that’s the loophole, not the flying loophole,” Saunders concluded.
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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