Happy Groundhog Day!
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay
February 2 - 8, 2023
HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Whatcom County Council news, page 3
Flooding forces The Bridge to relocate services
Sidhu among candidates Downtown thrift preparing for election, page 3 store closing, page 6
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Blaine boys basketball finishing regular season
By Grace McCarthy
(See The Bridge, page 5)
s Lawrence Creasey Pulphus with the ball in the Borderites’ 60-49 loss to Sehome High School on January 31. Blaine boys basketball plays its final regular season game against Ferndale on Thursday, February 2. Read more sports news on page 7. Photo by Ian Haupt
Alcoa says no plans to demolish Ferndale smelter, while union workers see changes at plant By Grace McCarthy Despite a letter union leaders sent to Alcoa asking to halt plans to demolish the Intalco smelter, the aluminum company says it has no plans to demolish the Ferndale plant right now. However, a union representative says activity at the smelter shows otherwise. In a January 18 letter to Alcoa president and CEO Roy Harvey, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) international president Robert Martinez Jr. asked the Pittsburgh-based company to stop its planned demolition of the Intalco smelter. Martinez also wrote that IAMAW’s advocacy helped ensure Congress supported aluminum producers in the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law in August 2022, and could help the Ferndale plant reopen. President Joe Biden and governor Jay Inslee were sent the letter. Alcoa spokesperson Jim Beck said in an email to The Northern Light that Alcoa was evaluating its options for the curtailed smelter.
“Decisions regarding the future of curtailed sites are based on a variety of factors, including global economic conditions, market pricing, energy prices, capital requirements, and the prospects for long-term, sustainable competitiveness,” Beck said. “Alcoa seeks viable opportunities for all its curtailed or closed sites to be returned to productive and sustainable use.” Union representatives and others invested in the facility’s revitalization have been thrown into a tug-of-war of potential buyers and energy agreements since the smelter closed in 2020. Alcoa laid off nearly 700 employees after low aluminum prices made the operation uneconomic. New York City-based private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC began negotiations with Bonneville Power Administration in July 2021, but Blue Wolf exited the project in December after failing to reach a power agreement with BPA. The power agreement had been considered the last major hurdle after Blue Wolf had reached an agreement with Alcoa and union workers. The state budget
has $10 million secured until June 2025 to help reopen the smelter and add environmental improvements. While Alcoa has not announced it will permanently close the smelter, local union representative Luke Ackerson said the workers are concerned that activity at the smelter points to an impending (See Smelter, page 2)
INSIDE
The Bridge Community Hope Center is temporarily operating out of a new location on Birch Bay Drive after repeated flooding forced the nonprofit to move out of its Alderson Road facility. The Bridge is moving its operations to 7620 Birch Bay Drive after the flooding in late December filled The Bridge’s Alderson Road building with three feet of water, as high as its doorknobs. The Bridge executive director Lee Connors said this was the largest flood the building had endured as flooding typically only reaches one foot. “We pretty much lost everything,” volunteer Doug Lang said. “We filled a 30-yard container up with all of the stuff and could probably get another half one.” Lee and The Bridge director Rosemary Connors said they only started having flooding in the past three years after having rented the Alderson building for the past seven years. The Bridge’s services are continuing at the new location, a quarter of the size of the old location. The nonprofit resumed its food bank program, which will run 2:304:30 p.m. Fridays, on January 27. The International Veterans Coffee Group, which offers veterans a place to talk, resumed February 1 and will be held 1-3 p.m. every Wednesday at the new location. The clothing boutique, which sells clothing at affordable prices and through vouchers, will return in mid-February and be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. The location will soon have an area for coffee, juices and sodas by donation. The Bridge Coffee Bar program, which trains teenagers on professional development, will be paused until the nonprofit finds a space for it, Lee said. While the learning center hasn’t returned, which offered a space for studying with computers, people who would like to arrange one-onone tutoring for their students can contact The Bridge and use the Grace Core Academy office. The Bridge will continue offering counseling services at its Grace Core office, which opened in October 2022 at 4823 Alderson Road, unit 106. Lee said Jack Gerity, who owns the Alderson Road facility, told the nonprofit it could move into his Birch Bay Drive building and offered two months of free rent. Great Floors donated flooring, Rodda Paint donated paint, Pacific Building Center donated cleaning supplies and Northwood Chapel and Christ the King Community Church in Birch Bay provided volunteers. Lee said they need to spend the next few months determining what options are available to repair the building and prevent further flooding in the building. But, at the moment, he said it doesn’t look promising. Lee and Rosemary said they’ll need fi-
TheNorthernLight
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
@TNLreporter
@TheNorthernLightNews
TheNorthernLight.com