September 5 - 11, 2024
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Borderite fall sports preview, page 6
Plover issued Judge blocks Healthy Children’s Fund repeal, page 7 no-sail order, page 15
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Derby Day closes out summer festivities bp Cherry Point to receive $26.8 million for sustainable aviation fuel By Grace McCarthy
(See Fuel, page 3)
s Event volunteers throw rubber ducks into Terrell Creek for the rubber duck derby at Birch Bay Derby Day on August 31. Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce ended its summer events with the one-day festival that included a 5K fun run on the berm, pancake breakfast, youth activities, family-friendly poker run, book sale, crab derby and rubber duck derby. See more photos on page 10.
Photo courtesy Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce
Interim medical examiner candidate named By Grace McCarthy Whatcom County executive Satpal Sidhu announced in a September 3 letter to Whatcom County Council that he intended to appoint Dr. Aldo Fusaro as interim medical examiner while the county recruits a new examiner. Fusaro is expected to start September 10. Fusaro has served as deputy medical examiner of the Montana State Medical Examiner’s Office since 2017 and previously served as associate medical examiner for King County from 2005 to 2017. He started his career in the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Chicago from 1997 to 2005 after attending medical school at Des Moines University. As he serves concurrently as deputy
medical examiner in Montana, Fusaro will split his time between states, according to the letter. Local pathologists will perform autopsies when Fusaro is in Montana. Sidhu announced August 5 that the county began searching for a new medical examiner, which he made in the same announcement that the county had concluded its independent investigation into the storage of two bodies that decomposed over a hot weekend in mid-May. The incident was found to be isolated, and the executive’s office noted the report showed the medical examiner’s office had gaps in protocols. Fusaro will still need to be approved by the Northwest Washington Medical Society and Sheriff Donnell Tanksley, as well as confirmed by Whatcom County Council during its September 10 meeting, Sidhu wrote.
Port of Bellingham’s PR deal just under legal threshold raises questions B y P a t G r u bb A contract between the Port of Bellingham and Conflux Associates to provide services designed to improve public perception of the port that was authorized by port commissioners at their August 13 regular meeting appears designed to skirt Washington laws that require proof of competitive bidding. The proposal submitted by Conflux
Associates called for a three-year term and listed the services that would be provided in that time frame. The cost for those services would be $8,283 per month or $298,188 over the life of the contract. The standard agreement for personal services approved by the commissioners was amended to a one-year term for a total expenditure of $99,396. It further stated that the agreement could be extended for multiple terms or
reinstated at the discretion of the port. The proposal itself remained unchanged as the services provided followed the same three-year timeline. The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) stipulates that ports must call for formal bids for contracts valued between $50,000 and $200,000. According to port public affairs administrator Mike (See Port, page 13)
The Northern Light previously reported that Sidhu appeared to have not followed the Whatcom County Charter when hiring the previous medical examiner, Dr. Allison Hunt in 2021. The charter outlines that the county executive can only appoint a medical examiner approved by the medical society and sheriff. Dr. Marta Kazymyra, the representative for the medical society, said she did not recommend the county’s hire of Hunt. A public records request showed then-sheriff Bill Elfo had concerns about Hunt’s managerial and administrative experience from his notes in the first interview, but his final recommendation remained unknown. Kazymyra said the county was including (See ME Office, page 3)
INSIDE
bp Cherry Point near Birch Bay is slated to receive nearly $26.8 million to help the refinery to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for the first time. The grant funding comes from the help of U.S. senator Maria Cantwell (DWA), who worked to secure the grant program in the Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in August 2022. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, SAF consists of renewable biomass and waste that has a smaller carbon footprint than petroleum-based jet fuel. The $26.8 million will fund infrastructure and equipment for SAF production at bp Cherry Point. The project is anticipated to create 96 jobs and produce 10 million gallons of fuel annually, according to a news release from Cantwell’s office. The Cherry Point production will supply fuel to airports in the region through the Olympic Pipeline, which runs from Ferndale to Portland. “These grants will kick-start SAF production to supply airports across the Pacific Northwest, build low-emission engines for cleaner regional air travel, and develop technologies to reduce fuel burn and cut costs,” Cantwell wrote in the statement. This comes after county executive Satpal Sidhu announced in March 2023 that the bp corporate office in London had designated Cherry Point as a preferred location for sustainable aviation fuel production with a green hydrogen capability. The bp grant was the second highest amount awarded in the U.S. of 36 grants. Cantwell secured over $36 million in federal grants for sustainable aviation projects in the state. Other funds are going toward a hydrogen-electric propulsion research and development facility at Paine Field International Airport in Everett, Seattle-based company
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