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The Northern Light • September 24 - 30, 2020
Opinion
The Northern L ght The Northern Light is published weekly by Point Roberts Press Inc. Locally owned and managed, the company also publishes the All Point Bulletin, covering Point Roberts, Mount Baker Experience, covering the Mt. Baker foothills area, Pacific Coast Weddings annual guide, and the summer recreation guide Waterside as well as maps and other publications. Point Roberts Press Inc. is a member of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association, Chambers of Commerce of Bellingham/ Whatcom County, Birch Bay, Blaine and Point Roberts and the Bellingham/ Whatcom County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors. Letters Policy The Northern Light welcomes letters to the editor. Please include name, address and daytime telephone number for verification. Letters are limited to 350 words and may be edited or rejected for reasons of legality, length and good taste. Thank-you letters are limited to five individuals or groups. Writers should avoid personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered on an individual basis. Consumer complaints should be submitted directly to the business in question or the local chamber of commerce. Only one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be published. Email letters to letters@thenorthernlight.com. Publisher & Managing Editor Patrick Grubb publisher@pointrobertspress.com Co-publisher & Advertising Director Louise Mugar lmugar@pointrobertspress.com Editor Oliver Lazenby oliver@pointrobertspress.com Reporter & Copy Editor Grace McCarthy grace@pointrobertspress.com Reporting Interns Kyra Planetz, Ian Haupt prpintern@pointrobertspress.com Creative Services Ruth Lauman, Doug De Visser, production@pointrobertspress.com Office Manager Jeanie Luna info@pointrobertspress.com Advertising Sales Molly Ernst sales@pointrobertspress.com General Editorial Inquiries editor@pointrobertspress.com Contributors In This Issue Doug Dahl The Northern Light 225 Marine Drive, Suite 200, Blaine, WA 98230 Tel: 360/332-1777 Vol XXVI, No 15 Circulation: 10,500 copies
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Beach Cat Brewing ribbon cutting
s The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony at Beach Cat Brewing, at 7876 Birch Bay Drive # 101, on September 19. Pictured, from right, are brewery owners Darin Hamm and Jake Gobeille, chamber executive director Liz Thornton and chamber secretary and treasurer Doralee Booth.
Photo by Molly Ernst
The Editor: With the presidential election taking most of our attention, it is important not to shortchange the “down ballot” races. There is nothing “down” about them. Who we send to the state legislature has huge impact on our daily lives. The races for the state house from our district offer clear choices. It all depends on what kind of Washington you want to see. All four candidates are good people with sincerely held beliefs. There are, however, big differences on the issues. How they vote will shape what Washington will look like. I hope you have the time to compare the candidates’ positions and the voting records of the two incumbents for yourself. Here is my take. If you want state government that cares and is working on reasonable ways to make people’s lives better, protect the most vulnerable, if you believe that government has a legitimate role in setting reasonable boundaries and rules of the road for all and should work to protect us against the Covid-19 pandemic, you should vote for the Democratic candidates, Sharon Shewmake and Alicia Rule. If on the other hand, you believe that government has little or no role in protecting the vulnerable and to help find affordable housing for low-income earners and homeless, that all regulation is by definition unnecessary and bad, that taxes should be cut further even when the safety net is fraying – in other words, everyone for themselves – their opponents are for you. I cannot find what the positions of Sharon’s and Alicia’s opponents are on climate change. This is an important issue in itself, and more so now, with fires burning all along the West Coast. Given their apparent adherence to Republican doctrine, I fear they do not see any role for state government while the federal government takes us in the wrong direction. It is clear what kind of Washington I pre-
Letters
fer and why I strongly support Alicia Rule and Sharon Shewmake. If you agree, please join me in sending them to the state House to represent our district. Arthur Abercrombie Blaine The Editor: I have been so ill from suffering through having the virus. It is not just an attack to your body that is very scary, but the loneliness from not being able to be around others. It has been a wakeup call for us all, as we live our lives and something like this happens and we realize how good we all had it. I am sure everyone wants to get back to work and a routine for our children and grandchildren back in school. I am a writer, author and poet. Writing poetry gives me the courage to live my life. I hope that this poem finds meaning in your life. The placeholder fades … the beauty within glows There is nothing beautiful about pain. Nothing pretty, watching a healthy body deteriorate. The absolute heartache, of it all. Some can display an ocean size of courage The beauty can come from one’s mind of wisdom Words from a masterpiece quoted for all to hear The wonder that comes from someone who survives illness The person who shows such astounding bravery When losing so many pieces of themselves Witnessing their vulnerability Turns into the most beautiful sight of all Through the depths of their struggle Radiates light for all to see! The beauty of life is not found In the vain way humans look at one another. It is the brightness from within That gives the bravery to someone To share their scars.
It is found in the face of people showing How resilient and courageous they are! To me that is living life Bringing me to the depth of everything I know. Who we are as we evolve Is something you can’t buy, or find, or duplicate. It’s watching someone suffer on the outside As the beauty pours out of every cell. The placeholder fades … but the beauty within glows. The power of the element is all that is left An utter undeniable awe of true beauty. Julie Hanft Birch Bay The Editor: On September 18, 2020, this nation lost a loved and revered civil rights, women’s rights, and human rights icon and leader, Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She may have been tiny in stature, but stood tall and was a powerful force in her lifetime battle for justice and equality. Even though the country knew she had been gravely ill, we have been left stunned by the gravity of the loss at this most perilous time in our country’s history. I personally was brought to tears by the news. My admiration for this great lady was unbounded. This feeling of grief is supplemented by a cold fear and dread at the effect her loss will have on our democracy. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s last and dying wish was to not be replaced until a president had been chosen by the people of this country. To honor her memory, her last wish should be granted. This is the least this country can do for a woman of her great stature, who gave so much to her country. Joyce M. Menard Blaine (See Letters, next page)
