March 14 - 20, 2024
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
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City of Blaine has new emergency number, page 3
WA presidential primary results, page 5
Spring sports start strong, pages 6-7
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
42nd legislative Wings Over Water festival this weekend district bills are sent to governor’s desk By Nolan Baker
(See Bills, page 2)
21st Annual
s A rufous hummingbird photographed by Gregory Green, the featured speaker at the Wings Over Water NW Birding Festival opening reception and featured artist presentation on Friday, March 15. The festival will also feature expert wildlife speakers during the day on Saturday, culminating with a 5 p.m. keynote presentation by Holly Merker on the “Power of Birdwatching.” For more information on the festival, visit wingsoverwaterbirdingfestival.com. Photo by Gregory Green
By Grace McCarthy Wings Over Water Northwest Birding Festival is taking over Blaine and Birch Bay for the 21st annual weekend event Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17. The festival will have free events open to the public, with the main event being an all-day birding expo from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 16 at the Blaine Pavilion, 635 8th Street. The birding expo will have a live raptor presentation from Sardis Raptor Center, youth activities, arts and crafts, wildlife exhibits and other activities. After the birding expo, keynote speaker Holly Merker will give a free presentation on the power of birdwatching 5-7 p.m. at
Blaine Senior Center, 763 G Street. Wild Whatcom will provide family bird and nature walks starting at the BP Heron Center in Birch Bay State Park at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday. No registration is necessary for the free events. The festival will also have paid bird watching and nature trips. As of March 7, $30 tickets were still on sale for the Wings over Water opening dinner, nohost bar and featured artist reception at 5 p.m. Friday at the Blaine Senior Center. Tickets were also on sale for the Sunday morning breakfast and Merker’s presentation, “Learning the Language of Birds” at 9 a.m. at the senior center. For more information on the Wings Over Water festival, visit wingsoverwaterbirdingfestival.com.
INSIDE
A number of bills from 42nd legislative district state representatives Joe Timmons and Alicia Rule and senator Sharon Shewmake passed both chambers of the state legislature, and now are either heading to the governor’s desk or already have been signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee. Shewmake bill to assist counties with incoming water rights adjudication Shewmake’s Senate Bill 5828 passed unanimously through the House and Senate, and was delivered to the governor on March 8 to be signed into law. The bill would add a section to the current water rights portion of state law to allow local counties to appoint attorneys to act as water commissioners as superior courts works through caseloads. The adjudication of the Nooksack River, the legal process of the state recording and doling out water usage claims to parties along Whatcom County’s 75-mile drinking water and irrigation source, will officially begin this spring. The process will take years and will result in thousands of claims to investigate and determine water rights by the state Department of Ecology and Whatcom County Superior Court. Timmons bill to add judge to Whatcom County Superior Court With a backlog of cases and a fast-approaching water rights adjudication of the Nooksack River, Timmons sponsored House Bill 1992, which would increase the number of judges on the Whatcom County Superior Court from four to five. The bill passed the Senate unanimously on February 29, and will hopefully allow the county more capacity to get through massive caseloads and thousands of water claims in the coming months and years. “The pandemic exacerbated the backlog of civil and criminal cases that the Whatcom County Superior Court handles and it was evident that we need another judge on this court to work through cases more efficiently and to process the department of ecology’s impending water rights adjudication,” Timmons wrote in a statement. Inslee, after signing the bill, would ap-
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . 11, 12 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . 6, 7 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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LifeLine Screening
ALL DAY BIRDING EXPO SATURDAY MARCH 16 • 10AM - 5PM Blaine Pavilion • 635 8th Street
FREE Family Fun For The Entire Family!
Kids’ Activities • Wildlife Exhibits • Wildlife Speakers • Art-Craft Vendors & More!
Northwest Birding Festival
MARCH 15, 16, 17
SEE AD ON PAGE 2