The Editor:
The Semiahmoo Quilt & Garden Show returns on Saturday, Aug.15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Spend the day strolling through picturesque gardens while enjoying an impressive collection of quilts, crafts and artwork created by talented local artisans. Many items will be available for purchase, making it the perfect opportunity to find a unique gift or special addition to your home.
Enjoy refreshments in the garden and enjoy the beauty of nature and art.
The event also features a plant sale benefiting the Blaine Food Bank.
Admission is a donation to the Blaine Food Bank. Please bring non-perishable food items to help support local families in need.
The event is in two locations near each other in Semiahmoo: 5528 Peregrine and 8776 Goshawk roads.
Bring your friends and family for a day filled with color, creativity, inspiration and community spirit. For more information, please contact dwendt02@me.com.
Donna Wendt
Blaine
The Editor:
We all want to see the Plover continue sailing in Drayton Harbor. The Plover is being retired next year due to money issues, not lack of support. I support the Plover 100% and have argued its case in City Council and Blaine Tourism Advisory Committee (BTAC) meetings.
The Plover is like a mascot to Blaine. Its picture is used in advertising pieces from Blaine to Bellingham and beyond. I’ve seen the lines waiting to board the Plover and I’ve listened to our Visitor Center volunteers tell me about the many calls they receive asking about the Plover.
Operating the Plover is expensive; there’s insurance, captain and crew wages, moorage and maintenance. This runs in excess of $50,000 per year.
In tourism meetings we talk about “heads in beds.” Lodging taxes have paid a large part of the Plover’s expenses in the past through BTAC, but BTAC’s funds are dwindling. Unfortunately, the Plover doesn’t put a lot of “heads in beds” so it doesn’t generate a lot of lodging tax.
The only way the Plover is going to keep sailing is if the community unites and starts raising funds and getting grants. So, I’ve decided to form a “Friends of the Plover” group. Anyone willing to help the Plover is encouraged to join me.
I can be reached at shurt@cityofblaine.com or text me at 360-201-8249.
Sonia Hurt
Blaine City Council member, chair of Blaine Tourism Advisory Committee in 2025
The Editor:
The 82-year-old historic Plover ferry, now fully restored, is good for another 40 years and more of service with proper stewardship and maintenance. As a reminder the USS Constitution is a wooden ship that is 229 years old and is still an active commissioned U.S. Navy ship.
The venerable former APA cannery launch represents the last of Blaine’s passenger ferries, a legacy going back at least 142 years and is a constituent element of Blaine history that enabled the ferry to be entered onto the National Register of Historic Places along with the Peace Arch.
The Plover’s existence as we know it is in jeopardy because of policy changes by the city of Blaine. Before the city of Blaine had taken over the operation and maintenance of the ferry in 2024, the average annual cost to maintain, insure and operate the Plover between 1996-2023 was at the most $35,000 a year.
Those funds came from the bed tax generated by the Resort Semiahmoo. The rest came from ferry ridership. Considering the City Council approved budget of $44.3 million, spending 0.08% of the city annual budget to preserve and operate this unique, venerable community asset and tourist draw is a small price to pay for keeping this historic asset preserved and active.
Lastly, the average liability insurance cost to keep a boat moored in Blaine Harbor hovers around $1,000 a year. Again a small price to pay, and the city is required to spend that money to keep the Plover preserved while out of service in its boat house until there is a policy change at City Hall regarding the ferry’s active future.
Richard Sturgill
Blaine
Director Drayton Harbor Maritime, former manager of the Plover
The Editor:
City Hall is now bringing the “Big City” to Blaine, pursuing high-density, high-rise towers and hoping to move hundreds of condo-owner vehicles to park on downtown streets.
In stark contrast, many residents prefer Blaine’s 2019 Marketing Plan recommendation to protect (not destroy) Blaine’s small-town charm with a turn-of-the-century architectural theme for the downtown and establishing a Design Review Committee.
This recommendation builds upon the excitement when Ken Imus (who developed Fairhaven) redeveloped Blaine’s historic Steakhouse building — and his compelling turn-of-the-century vision for Blaine’s downtown.
City Hall now touts an irresponsible wild west approach to planning; claiming sky-scrapper buildings, not the Steakhouse building, reflect the community’s values and priorities. Residents again pushed aside, never invited to participate in meaningful dialogue to develop a vision or plan for Blaine’s downtown.
Strong communities are built when residents are brought into the planning process — resulting in better planning decisions, adherence to planning best practices, stronger civic pride and greater community volunteerism. Most importantly, successful planning reflects the heart and soul of the community, not the reckless whims of City Hall.
Glen Pentland
Blaine
The Editor:
As the midterm elections approach, it is important to look back on the last 2-1/2 years. Trump and the GOP Congress have kicked millions off health insurance through cuts in Medicaid, implemented chaotic tariffs that have increased prices, created obstacles to voting access, gerrymandered congressional maps, and weaponized the federal government against political opponents. Not to mention starting a war he can’t seem to win, and Iran may come out stronger than ever.
Recently Trump posted a “campaign” picture of himself with the caption “Trump 2028,” and Trump’s popularity has sunk to 34%, according to Pew Research Center.
When fascist leaders have the support of the highest courts, control the military and appoint their own law makers, they don’t care what the masses think of them. It’s more crucial than ever to vote and support the candidates who can stop this dangerous turn toward authoritarianism.
Cathy Taggett
Birch Bay
