March 23 -29, 2017
FREE
Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
Community remembers the legacy of Ken Imus, page 3
Blaine softball team talks strategy, page 6
New pot store comes to Blaine, page 9
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Inslee signs City hopes sewer extension will spark development in east Blaine bill assuring levy lid until 2019 expiration B y G r a c e S wa n s o n WNPA O ly m p i a N e w s B u r e a u
(See Levy, page 2)
s Blaine City Council voted to extend sewer lines through Lincoln Park and along D Street last month. With construction expected to start at the end of March, city staff are hoping the move will encourage development in east Blaine. See page 3 for a map of the new Photo by Stefanie Donahue extension.
B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e Blaine City Council voted to approve a 1,450-foot extension of sewer line through Lincoln Park and along D Street. With construction slated to begin at the end of March, city staff hope the project will spur long-awaited development in east Blaine. The council voted February 27 after issuing a call for bids on the
project. The city hired Colacurcio Brothers Construction Inc., which submitted a bid of $250,645, about $12,000 above the city staff estimate. This is a big step for the city, explained Blaine Public Works director Ravyn Whitewolf, who said the extension is “intended to be the catalyst for the east Blaine projects to start.” Currently, three medium-to-large development projects, Bridges Plat, East
Suzan DelBene to host town hall meeting in Ferndale B y S t e fa n i e D o n a h u e U.S. Congresswoman Suzan DelBene will host a town hall meeting from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 25 at the Pioneer Pavilion Community Center at 2007 Cherry Street in Ferndale. “As your representative in Congress, one of the most important aspects of my job is to stay informed of the thoughts and opinions of my constituents, and I appreciate the time you take to share them with me,” DelBene
said in a statement. Ferndale is the first of several stops she’s making throughout congressional district 1 (which includes Blaine, Birch Bay and Point Roberts) to host town hall meetings. She also plans to visit Redmond, Snohomish, Mount Vernon and Kirkland this April. She’ll continue hosting town halls over the phone when she returns to Washington, D.C. The meeting is RSVP-only. Those wanting to attend need to register on her website at
delbene.house.gov/townhalls. Congressman Rick Larsen will also be holding a town hall meeting on Saturday to discuss constituents’ concern about the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the Republican replacement health bill. The meeting will take place from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Heiner Theater, Whatcom Community College, 231 W. Kellogg, Bellingham. To RSVP for Larsen’s meeting, email Douglas.Wagoner@mail.house.gov.
Maple Ridge and Grandis Pond, await infrastructure such as connection to sewer and power. Combined, the projects contain more than 1,400 lots and each has received approval to build from the city. According to Blaine community development director Michael Jones, East Maple Ridge and Bridges Plat were approved in 2010, while Grandis Pond re(See Utilities, page 2)
INSIDE
Governor Jay Inslee signed into law March 15 legislation that will keep the school levy lid at 28 percent for most schools until 2019. That lid was scheduled to drop to 24 percent in 2018. “By this bill we are going to rescue our schools from the levy cliff,” Inslee said during a press conference. A levy cliff can occur when the levy lid, the amount that local school districts can raise through voter-approved special operating and maintenance levies, is lowered without additional funding coming from the state. This can lead to teacher dismissals, program cuts and students without access to resources. Lowering the levy lid would have made a difference of up to $1.4 million in the Blaine school district’s budget for next school year, said Amber Porter, district director of finance and operations. The law takes effect on July 23. Inslee also added that passing this bill, SB 5023, won’t remove the legislature’s motivation to put forth a plan to fund basic education as mandated by the Washington Supreme Court in the McCleary decision. “It clears the way for legislators to focus on the larger task at hand – fully funding education this year,” he said. In 2010, the court determined the state wasn’t fulfilling its constitutional duty to fund basic education and ordered the legislature to implement a funding plan by September 1, 2018. Meanwhile, the legislature’s delay in meeting its duty has accumulated a daily $100,000 penalty, imposed by the Supreme Court in 2015, which has
Coming Up . . . . . 14 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Police . . . . . . . . . 14 Sports . . . . . . . . . . 6 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
TheNorthernLight.com TheNorthernLight
@TNLreporter
@PointRobertsPress