The Editor:
Unlike Coupeville, Lynden and La Conner, Blaine has long-struggled to embrace public participation to achieve a strong, vibrant community-lead vision and plan for its downtown.
The state’s Growth Management Act — requiring Blaine to initiate “early and continuous” public engagement — never happens. The repeated recommendations of consultants for Blaine to engage the community are ignored.
This mounting failure has now culminated in the “Wild West,” “Hail Mary” jettison of our downtown building codes. The city has transferred accountability to profit-seeking developers to create the vision and plan for Blaine’s downtown. The Blaine community once again ignored.
This impulsive giveaway of tens of millions of dollars or your downtown comes with no strings attached, no negotiation and no community input. Tossed aside is the incredible potential of Blaine as a scenic, ocean-side downtown with resounding beauty and historic small-town charm.
Desperation is not leadership. Nor is the consistent effort to deny the public meaningful participation in their community.
Glen Pentland
Blaine
The Editor:
I patronize and truly appreciate local businesses in Blaine. Although I am only a part-time resident, I believe that we should all support our local community and neighbors, especially our dining and drinking establishments.
Recently, while enjoying a weekly trivia contest at a local spot, The Vault Wine Bar, I was disappointed to see so few customers inside. I have seen this at other establishments downtown.
Folks, I encourage you to utilize your hometown businesses. Spend some of your disposable income here. They have enough issues with our friendly Canadians not showing up in droves and this troubled economy.
I don’t think you want more businesses closing in town.
Please go out and enjoy some food. You have lots of choices here.
Pizza, fish and chips, ice cream, steak, hamburgers, breakfast, pad thai, sandwiches, beer, butter chicken, shaved ice, sushi and a glass of cabernet to name a few …
John Kros
Semiahmoo
The Editor:
While David Ensign is correct that ZIP codes are designed for efficient mail delivery, his argument overlooks the practical and economic value they carry for communities like Birch Bay. With a population of over 9,000 — significantly larger than nearby Blaine — Birch Bay is more than deserving of its own geographic distinction. If residents, visitors and businesses already recognize it as a unique destination, then aligning that identity with a dedicated ZIP code is not merely symbolic — it’s practical.
Addresses matter in everyday life. Whether locating a business, ordering services, or navigating unfamiliar areas, clarity reduces confusion. Currently, listing Blaine forces many to double-check locations, adding unnecessary friction.
A Birch Bay ZIP code would not redefine the community — it would simply reflect what already exists while improving efficiency and visibility. Rather than being a symbolic gesture, it is a logical step that supports both residents and local economic activity.
Sharman Burnam
Birch Bay
The Editor:
Coming soon is my new book, “A Breath.” It is about my husband and I’s unique life and love story. The book should be released in the fall.
I had died in silence,
enveloped in shadows of my own despair,
you came, a quiet flame,
your breath found me there.
One gentle inhalation,
a whisper to come back across the void.
And life stirred once again in my chest.
I thought the spark was destroyed.
Since that pulse of air,
we have moved as one,
through the storms and endless tides,
under the rising sun, moon and stars,
“a breath,” a fragile gift.
Julie Hanft
Blaine
The Editor:
“Concurrence” is a series of events happening simultaneously; for first responders, concurrence means need for assistance in multiple locations simultaneously.
Whatcom County Fire District 21 has three staffed fire stations in Birch Bay, Blaine and near Bellingham serving about 33,800 residents. Both population and emergency call volume have increased since 2014; concurrence is now about 30%. FD21’s goal is a response time under 10 minutes, but this goal is increasingly unmet.
If the crew and equipment of the closest station is dispatched, another station farther away must be mobilized. Response times over 10 minutes are dangerous for us and devastating to first responders. Raising the levy to $1.20/$1,000 assessed home value increases a homeowner’s monthly property tax by about $18/month, will open and staff Station 62 in Semiahmoo, and help everyone in north Whatcom County by decreasing response times.
Support our first responders and vote “yes” for the levy restoration.
Jennifer Plombon
Blaine
The Editor:
Americans are going down a yellow brick road, not unlike the Wizard of Oz fairytale.
The Democrats are Dorothy as she stumbles through misadventures. The scared lion is a Congress that hasn’t the courage to protect democracy; the Senate, played by a tin man with no heart, stands by, while the wizard creates wars. The Senate even looked the other way while protesting Americans were murdered in our cities. And the straw man without a brain is the conservative Supreme Court who gut the Constitution whenever the wizard demands it.
The wizard, Donald Trump, is just an angry, misguided and convicted (but unpunished) felon wearing a scary bully’s mask provided by Project 2025.
Your taxes pay for this show. Have no fear fellow Americans. In the end, the wizard is impeached, Congress replaced and judges are seen as enemies of the Constitution they were sworn to uphold.
End of fairytale.
Cathy Taggett
Birch Bay
