July 14 - 20, 2016
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Community Newspaper of Blaine and Birch Bay HHHECRWSSHHH Postal Customer
IN THIS
ISSUE
New leadership at Banner Bank in Blaine, page 2
Downtown “street trees” will need management
Luke Ridnour retires from the NBA, page 6
PRSRT STD U. S. Postage PAID Permit NO. 87 Blaine, WA 98230
Blaine Gardener’s Market puts down roots, page 8
Drayton Harbor Music Festival
By Oliver Lazenby
(See Trees, page 7)
s Drayton Harbor Music Festival jazz faculty playing a noon concert on Monday, July 11, at the G Street Plaza in Blaine. The Drayton Harbor Music Festival continues through Saturday. More photos on page 10.
Photo by Oliver Lazenby
Thirty percent jump in crime reported in Blaine last year, but statistics may be skewed By Oliver Lazenby Are crime rates rising in Blaine? A new study shows that crime increased last year, but Blaine Police Department records and administrative manager Lisa Moeller said it’s probably not a long-term trend. The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs’ most recent report showed a 31.5-percent jump in the num-
ber of crimes reported by Blaine police in 2015. Some of the biggest increases came in burglary, destruction of property and other property crimes. In total, 422 criminal offenses were reported in 2015, up from 321 in 2014, and Blaine police made 91 arrests. Moeller said a few factors are skewing the numbers, and the jump in reported crimes last year may not reflect an overall rise in crime.
Medical pot dispensaries close with little local impact By Oliver Lazenby As of July 1, medical marijuana dispensaries are illegal in Washington. State legislators ended the nearly 20-year experiment last spring with a bill that required medical dispensaries to obtain marijuana retailer licenses – allowing that they could snag one of the limited permits – or close shop. Green crosses are coming down across the state, but not in Blaine; the city didn’t
have any medical marijuana dispensaries, said Michael Jones, the city’s community development director. Throughout Whatcom County, however, about a dozen dispensaries will have to close. Jacob Lamont doesn’t expect the change to have much of an impact on his recreational marijuana business, Evergreen Cannabis in Blaine. “Do I think I’ll see a spike in revenue? I think it will trickle in,” he said. One purpose of the bill is to eliminate
what some lawmakers see as unfair competition – medical dispensaries operated without some of the regulations that govern state-licensed stores. Lawmakers hope to bring medical patients into the state-licensed retail marijuana market, which will increase taxes collected from the industry and allow the retail industry to better compete with the still-existing black market. (See Marijuana, page 3)
One factor is that 2014 was a particularly low year for crime in Blaine, so that makes 2015 look worse by comparison. There were 15 burglaries in 2014, for example, and the average number of burglaries for the previous few years was in the mid 20s, Moeller said. In 2015, the number of burglaries (See Crime, page 2)
INSIDE
Street trees have a sweet spot in their life cycle. Too young and their roots don’t go deep enough to survive a drought and they don’t reach the full potential of their psychological, economic and environmental benefits. Too old and they outgrow their space and begin to damage surrounding pavement. According to a recent study, the trees on Peace Portal Drive are in that sweet spot, but they won’t be for long and some are already starting to damage sidewalks. The study, funded by a Department of Natural Resources grant and performed by Urban Forestry Services, Inc., of Mount Vernon, looked at 110 trees from Cherry Street north. The arborists who conducted the study recommended maintaining the trees as long as possible, even though nearly half the trees – mostly Armstrong maples with some Katsura trees on the corners – are already pushing up the sidewalk. “Most of the trees appear healthy and vigorous,” the study stated. “As they decline or cause excessive infrastructure damage, they can be removed.” Presented with this information at its July 11 meeting, Blaine City Council directed city staff to write a 15-year plan for those trees. Ideally, trees will be removed and replanted in intervals that don’t leave chunks of the street devoid of trees, councilmembers said. Staff won’t begin developing a plan until after the city passes its 2017 budget, and the planning process will include public outreach, said public works director Ravyn Whitewolf. Mayor Harry Robinson said the trees should be maintained in a way that keeps maintenance costs consistent from year to year.
Letters . . . . . . . . . 4 Classifieds . . . . . 11 Sheriff . . . . . . . . . 13 Coming Up . . . . . 14 Tides . . . . . . . . . . 14
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