January
• Birch Bay rang in the New Year with its annual Ring of Fire and Polar Bear Plunge events.
• Blaine middle and high school students started hybrid learning after winter break. Grades 6-9 started with half-day in-person learning that alternated weekly to online learning, while grades 10-12 began in-person learning on January 6.
• Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) deputy Derek Jones began working as Birch Bay’s neighborhood deputy on January 4.
• A district judge ordered the release of the January 2020 CBP Iranian detention
directive.
• Investigations continued into the December 22, 2020 Custer train derailment, but officials declined to give any indication on what caused the derailment.
• Covid-19 cases skyrocketed to the highest they’d been during the pandemic.
• A burglary of storage units at Pantec Mini Storage turned into a high-speed chase along I-5 on January 13. Three Whatcom County residents were arrested.
• Whatcom County Public Works said the Birch Bay berm upheld well during king tide storms in mid-January.
• The Covid-19 vaccine became available for people 65 and older on January 18.
• Good Samaritan Society – Stafholt residents received their first Covid-19 vaccine on January 19 after the Blaine nursing home had a Covid-19 outbreak in spring 2020.
• Blaine public works director Bernie Ziemianek adjusted to his new position with the city. Previously, Ziemianek worked as transmissions and distributions operations manager at Seattle City Light.
• Enrollment numbers at Blaine schools continued to drop from the start of the school year, worrying the district about financial impacts. By January, the district was down 75 students from what it had planned.
• The Crisis Stabilization Center opened in Bellingham to serve Whatcom County residents experiencing mental health and substance abuse crises.
• Washington State Department of Ecology said crews were unable to recover 5,400 to 8,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil after nearly 30,000 gallons of oil leaked during the Custer train derailment.
• The city of Blaine ditched pursuing a grade separation at the Bell Road and Peace Portal Drive intersection for streetlights and bypass lanes after the grade separation was deemed too expensive at $50 million. The new project to ease traffic congestion is estimated at $3 million.
• Good Samaritan Society – Stafholt nursing home experienced a second Covid-19 outbreak since the pandemic began. The Whatcom County health department confirmed three people tested positive, including one of whom died from the virus.
• Blaine City Council began considering the annexation of a 3.5-acre property at 4455 H Street Road during a work-study session. If approved by the city and county, this would be the first time the city has annexed land in east Blaine since 1996.
February
• Over 200 Blaine and Birch Bay residents fell behind on bills as the state utility moratorium prevented shutoffs. The city of Blaine and Birch Bay Water and Sewer District created payment plans to help those behind on their bills.
• The city of Blaine appointed Sukhwant Singh Gill as the at-large councilmember, filling former councilmember Alicia Rule’s seat.
• Covid-19 vaccine supply continued to not meet the numbers of people eligible for the vaccine and frustration grew by those anxious to receive a vaccine.
• Discovery Plus released a documentary on the Asian giant hornets found in east Blaine called “Attack of the Murder Hornets” that featured local beekeepers and landowners.
• North Whatcom Fire and Rescue and Whatcom County Fire District 4 considered creating a regional fire district to encompass both jurisdictions.
• Whatcom County Council, acting as the health board, sent a letter to governor Jay Inslee expressing frustration with the impact of his Roadmap to Recovery plan for smaller counties.
• Whatcom County Council closed the road adjacent to Tony’s Tavern to allow outdoor dining while state indoor dining restrictions remained in place.
• A new, drive-through Covid-19 testing site opened at Bellingham International Airport in partnership with Whatcom County Health Department and Northwest Laboratory.
• Infinity Dance Company opened a studio in Birch Bay.
• Blaine and Birch Bay restaurants opened to 25-percent capacity after three months of being closed indoors because of the state’s Covid-19 restrictions.
• City council discussed future action options after a January king tide storm eroded several spots along Blaine Marine Park and exposed dump debris from the former landfill in the area. The 2021 city budget didn’t include enough money for repairs, but the city faced losing parts of the park’s trail if it didn’t act.
• Local law enforcement faced hiring challenges.
March
• The Blaine Chamber of Commerce named Nimbus Real Estate as 2020 business of the year.
• Blaine school board directed superintendent Christopher Granger to plan for district layoffs for the next school year if state funding was reduced because of a decline in enrollment numbers.
• Whatcom County’s first mass vaccination site opened March 13 at Bellingham Technical College.
• Washington moved into Phase 3 of the governor’s reopening plan on March 22, expanding indoor dining to 50 percent capacity and allowing high-contact sports to start competing and more spectators at events.
• Southwest Airlines announced it would offer flights out of Bellingham International Airport by the end of 2021.
• Blaine residents reflected on their experiences during the one-year anniversary of the U.S./Canada border being closed to non-essential travel.
• Blaine City Council approved creating a commission in charge of bringing three murals to downtown.
• Blaine Library public service assistant Patty Macheras retired after 32 years working at the library.
• Concern over dilapidated east Blaine sewer lines were brought to council’s attention in early March, prompting the city to begin the engineering process and start repairs as soon as possible. The infrastructure update was estimated to cost $6 million and had been recommended since the mid-2000s.
• The Washington state insurance commissioner issued an emergency rule prohibiting insurance companies from using credit scores to determine rates on automobile, homeowners and renter’s insurance policies.
April
• Blaine school district returned all hybrid students to in-person learning fulltime on April 19. This came after the state Department of Health reduced physical distancing between students from 6 to 3 feet, allowing the district to increase the number of students it allowed in classrooms.
• Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu gave his first State of the County address April 6, which highlighted the unprecedented year since he took office.
• Whatcom County experiences five fentanyl deaths in two weeks, which the Whatcom Gang and Drug Task Force called a “disturbing trend.”
• Blaine High School spring sports began, which encompassed soccer, baseball, softball, golf, tennis and track and field.
• WCSO and Blaine Police Department deputies began a homicide investigation after a man’s body was found on Semiahmoo Spit April 7. After seeking tips from the public and finding probable cause, officers arrested a Bellingham woman April 13 on suspicion of second-degree murder.
• People who had been formerly incarcerated regained the right to vote in Washington state after governor Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1078 on April 7. The law was set to go into effect January 1, 2022.
• The city of Blaine was expected to receive $500,000 for its Marine Park Beach Naturalization project and $500,000 for the city’s downtown revitalization project from the state. City manager Michael Jones called the funding “a tremendous success.”
• The city worked to move its stuff out of the old city hall and prepared to demolish the building in the summer.
• Whatcom County Council rewrote its indecent exposure law to include an exception for breastfeeding.
• Local boat retailers saw a sharp increase in sales since the start of the pandemic, causing boats and engines to go on backorder for months.
• Canada Border Services Agency officers stopped a truck attempting to cross into Canada from Whatcom County with $3.5 million in cocaine.
• Blaine mayor Bonnie Onyon announced she wouldn’t seek re-election in November 2021.
• The Railway Café celebrated the caboose’s 100-year anniversary. Tony Andrews, of Tony’s Just A Bite, brought the 1921 caboose to Blaine in the mid 80s and it served as an assortment of businesses over the years, from gift stores to postal stores.
• Spencer Hill, of Blaine, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for drug distribution in Alaska. In 2019, the now 24-year-old was found in possession of more methamphetamine and heroin doses than the entire Ketchikan, Alaska are population.
• Sam Toepper, a 14-year-old Blaine gymnast, placed at USA Gymnastics regional championships in Montana.
• Scientists began trapping for European green crabs in Drayton Harbor.
• Whatcom County Council voted 5-2 to approve a six-month moratorium on accepting outdoor cannabis growing permit applications and at its next meeting, on April 20, included greenhouses to the moratorium. The moratorium came after rural residents complained of light pollution and smell from the operations.
• Washington state restaurants were allowed to continue curbside and to-go alcohol sales until July 2023 after Inslee signed House Bill 1480.
• Blaine Food Bank founder Evelyn Bonallo died April 23 as the food bank approached its 50th anniversary.
• North Whatcom Fire and Rescue commissioners withdrew from negotiations to create a regional fire authority with Whatcom County Fire District 4. Commissioners cited “cultural and strategic differences” between districts as the reason for their decision. Both districts said they would reconsider planning a regional fire authority after the November commissioner elections.
• A Blaine man and woman were arrested April 30 as suspects in a Birch Bay drive-by shooting that shot one man in the foot.
May
• The Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce began accepting applications for Birch Bay Task Force volunteers to provide Whatcom County Council with recommendations on recreational activities allowed on the berm path.
• The Whatcom County Library System announced a Birch Bay Capital Facility Area ballot measure would appear on the November 2021 election. The ballot measure would increase property taxes to fund the remaining amount needed for library construction.
• Whatcom County Council reintroduced the ordinance to establish a Drayton Harbor no-shooting zone, as well as a similar no-shooting ordinance for the Dearborn area, near Dakota Creek and Drayton Harbor. The Drayton Harbor ordinance was introduced in the county in 2019 at the urging of Blaine City Council but became dormant when the county focused on Covid-19 work in 2020.
• The 37th annual Blessing of the Fleet honored fishermen lost at sea at Blaine Harbor.
• U.S. lawmakers called on Congress to close loopholes that could have led to layoffs for Lister Chain and Forge, a Blaine anchor chain manufacturer that provides anchor chains for the majority of U.S Navy and Coast Guard ships.
• North Whatcom Fire and Rescue announced it would have a property tax levy in the August primary election.
• Blaine High School winter sports began competing in mid-May.
• The C Shop reopened for in-person sales for the first time since closing its doors in March 2020.
• Blaine City Council approved the next steps for annexing two adjoining H Street properties on May 12 after strong pushback in a public hearing before the vote.
• Blaine Senior Center started a phased reopening of in-person services May 17.
• Lummi Nation House of Tears carvers brought a totem pole to the future Birch Bay Vogt Community Library before starting their cross-country journey to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of land and water protection.
• Whatcom County health officials urged residents to get vaccinated to prevent rising Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in the county.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that a new train scanner would be installed at the border that will allow trains to travel twice the current speed, which may reduce Blaine and Birch Bay traffic delays.
• Loads of Love, a laundry program that pays for community members’ laundry, saw increased demand since the start of the pandemic.
• Blaine school district was able to keep four special education positions that administrators considered laying off because of potential budget cuts due to declining enrollment numbers.
• August primary election candidates announced bids for local races including Blaine City Council, Blaine school board and Whatcom County Council.
• Whatcom County Council tabled discussion on the Drayton Harbor no-shooting zone until the next meeting after rigid debates in a public hearing and between councilmembers. Council debated extending the current 300-foot buffer zone to become 1,000 feet, instead of a complete shooting ban. The discussion was later delayed a few months.
• Custer rest areas reopened after the Washington State Department of Transportation closed them for maintenance in mid-March.
• Birch Bay resident Kathy Jo Andersen pleaded guilty to second-degree assault with a deadly weapon after chasing her neighbor with a hunting knife in December 2020. Andersen was sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered not to come within 1,000 feet of the victim for 10 years.
June
• Western Washington University’s Salish Sea report, the first of its kind in over 25 years, cited environmental decline.
• A squirrel sparked Memorial Day power outages within the city of Blaine that lasted eight hours.
• Blaine Police Department swore in two new officers, Jordan Maphumulo and Katelyn Weaver, at Blaine City Hall.
• Blaine High School class of 2021 graduation was celebrated at the football stadium June 11.
• The state and county began using prizes as incentives for people to get vaccinated against Covid-19. State prizes included lottery drawings for up to $1 million and a year of college tuition, while the Whatcom County health department organized a vehicle drawing. The state’s Joints for Jabs program allowed local cannabis retailers to offer one free joint for a Covid-19 vaccination.
• KUOW, Seattle’s National Public Radio station, reported union officials representing BNSF Railway crews said sabotage caused the December 22, 2020 Custer train derailment. The National Transportation Safety Board released a report on how the tank cars operated a few days later.
• Southwest Airlines set Bellingham International Airport flights, announcing that flights out of Oakland, California and Las Vegas would start November 7.
• Blaine Library branch manager Debby Farmer retired after nearly two decades of working for the library.
• International Peace Arch Association opened a snack shack to accommodate the increased number of Peace Arch State Park visitors while the U.S./Canada border remained closed.
• Whatcom County Council considered revising the Birch Bay golf cart zone boundaries to remove the zone on part of Bay Road near the Bay Crest neighborhood, extend the zone from Parkland Drive to Gemini Street and potentially attach the zone to the Whisper Lake housing development.
• Blaine businessman Mike Mulder died June 16 after fighting an illness. Mulder was known for his strong community values, which he pursued through developing downtown Blaine properties and co-founding Wildbird Charity.
• Birch Bay kicked off summer with Kites for Kids at the future Birch Bay Vogt Community Library.
• The C Shop celebrated 50 years serving Birch Bay on June 26.
• Gig Harbor-based Harbor Custom Development purchased the Horizon at Semiahmoo housing development for $14.3 million. Developers said they were ready to spur development of nearly 230 residences immediately.
• Blaine City Council unanimously voted to allow businesses to lease the H, G and Martin Street plazas. This came after nearly a year-long emergency order that allowed establishments to use the plazas during the pandemic as a way to help business.
• Birch Bay Waterslides reopened June 30.
To be continued next week ...
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