Citizen Journalist • Member since Feb 08, 2009
Michael has lived in Bellingham since 1968. He retired from his job at Whatcom County Parks after 20 years of service in 2015.
Michael Chiavario writes about our county parks department. Michael has lived in Bellingham since 1968. He retired from his job at Whatcom County Parks after 20 years of service in 2015. Note: On [...]
"Beautiful piece Doug. You have my 100% spport with the Homes Now model. Now we continue the struggle to create emough permanently affrodable homes for every persons need in Bellingham.
"The CCFPD Mission Statement:Our Mission: The mission of the Chuckanut Community Forest Park District is to ensure the entirety of the property is protected in public ownership in perpetuity, [...]
"The article leaves out the key to the point of continuing the Park District a little longer: having a legal government body whose mandate(in addition to paying off the [...]
"Dick: A-After first use of ‘person’ and up to the word ‘unless’ use the phrase “may reasonably appear to directly or indirectly to financially benefit”. B - similar change [...]
Governor Inslee hereby directs that Washington state and United States flags at all state agency facilities be lowered to half-staff …
Preserve public property rights & save the trail
14 comments, most recent 1 hour agoBetween the professional service of Comcast, and the “professionals” at COB, start training Carrier pigeons.
2 comments, most recent 1 week agoIt is time for Bellingham City Hall to take control by dumping YouTube for having taken down a video of a City Council meeting.
8 comments, most recent 2 days agoThe Whatcom County Council is afraid to make an appointment of a temporary District Court judge before the Primary Election. Is the “fix” in?
1 comment, most recent 1 week agoYet another eyesore bunker-like building for bunking students at market rental rates.
3 comments, most recent 2 weeks agoThe city granted building permits while the Planning Department knew this was a state historical Indian village site.
1 comment, most recent 2 days agoBellingham website goes dead with one person taking a few days off. So much for an administration and a system. Third world government.
4 comments, most recent 2 weeks agoEffective, efficient and low cost, high speed broadband service continues to elude Bellingham and Whatcom County
5 comments, most recent 1 week agoBellingham continues to have its mail dropoff options changed willy-nilly.
3 comments, most recent 2 weeks agoTime to put the kibosh on the CityView private dormitory project for the good of the neighborhood and the good of the city.
Riley and Bryna Sweeney write about the petition to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in the Meridian School District.
How Mayor Fleetwood and his city attorneys are violating the basic laws that our nation was founded and built upon.
5 comments, most recent 4 weeks agoCity attorney James Erb removed from legal case against Judge Lev for conflict of interest by Superior Court judge.
6 comments, most recent 3 weeks agoMail collection boxes seem to be a thing of the past. Why have one postal vehicle collect from the boxes when hundreds of people can drive to the post office to mail a letter?
3 comments, most recent 3 weeks agoA new and local county wide technology group of Internet and broadband experts has been formed. Jon explains why and lists the members.
2 comments, most recent 4 weeks agoMary Kay Becker writes about the Bellingham Municipal Court Controversy
Tonight the Bellingham City Council - with no agenda notice - authorized the mayor to begin process to abolish the Bellingham Municipal Court
4 comments, most recent 1 month agoWhat does a little stream matter? Spoiler alert! It’s not a joke and, if it were, it would not be a nice one.
5 comments, most recent 2 weeks agoThe presiding judge of Whatcom County District Court has suddenly resigned effective July first.
5 comments, most recent 1 month agoA day to remember the US service men and women who have passed away.
6 comments, most recent 2 months agoDebra Lev, Bellingham’s municipal court judge, is suing Mayor Seth Fleetwood and the city
7 comments, most recent 2 months agoCity staff report outlines “issues” with megalithic CityView complex. You have a chance to comment.
1 comment, most recent 2 months agoDouglas Gustafson guest writes. Our two tiny home villages, and the possibility of a third, are in jeopardy. Do we need them?
3 comments, most recent 1 month agoDespite willing property sellers, and Fleetwood’s campaign promises, and the unanimous Greenways Committee vote …. sigh.
6 comments, most recent 1 month ago“Differential Privacy:” A statistical adjustment system that may render 2020 census population data unusable.
1 comment, most recent 2 months agoAn essay on climate change, millennials’ concerns, and large corporations and governments complacently stealing our kids futures.
5 comments, most recent 1 month agoBAG - the Bellingham city hall Broadband Advisory Group is stacked in favor of mega corporations and against local public Internet service.
12 comments, most recent 1 month agoNew state legislation will cause cascade of changes to Bellingham’s codes
2 comments, most recent 2 months agoCityView, the project that will not die, will soon be subject to scrutiny during an extraordinary meeting of the Planning Commission.
2 comments, most recent 2 months agoThe more contagious and possibly more deadly B.1.1.7 and P.1 coronavirus strains appear to be leaking down into Whatcom County from British Columbia.
10 comments, most recent 2 months agoDaniel Kirkpatrick writes Mayor Fleetwood requesting he veto the council vacation of a street with a walking trail.
9 comments, most recent 2 months agoUgly and expensive. That is what we have brought to the Waterfront.
10 comments, most recent 3 months agoSB 5188 to establish a Washington state Financial Cooperative is in an uncertain state in the legislature
Broken promises, bad administration, and still NO access to our publicly-owned resources
4 comments, most recent 3 months agoWashington moves ever closer to public banking for the good of its citizens and the fiscal health of the state.
8 comments, most recent 3 months agoThe advantage of an “advisory” group, (as in Broadband Advisory Group,) is that you don’t have to listen to them.
3 comments, most recent 4 months agoDoug Gustafson offers a point/counterpoint account of opposing strategies for tiny homes
27 comments, most recent 3 months agoFourteen February cases of the B.1.1.7 variant coronavirus strain suggest that it is beginning to surge in the county.
10 comments, most recent 4 months agoAfter clearing the Senate, Washington’s bill to create a public banking cooperative advances to the Democratically controlled House.
4 comments, most recent 4 months agoRiley shares some thoughts, concerns, and observations on the uncommon phenomenon of mask-wearing during this pandemic.
7 comments, most recent 4 months agoAtul Deshmane guest writes and provides us with a resume of the internet infrastructure issues now being discussed in Bellingham
7 comments, most recent 3 months agoPart of a series of articles on the progress of a public banking cooperative in Washington.
1 comment, most recent 4 months agoWith a recent dispute between the newspaper’s reporters and management over, the real work can begin.
3 comments, most recent 4 months agoGarrett O’Brien guest writes about how Bellingham can learn from successful programs for the homeless elsewhere and would do well to abandon ineffectual approaches.
5 comments, most recent 4 months agoCity council and planning commission meetings were poor arrangements to begin with, and with Zoom it is very much worse.
4 comments, most recent 2 months agoIrene Morgan writes a public letter to Governor Inslee about a new director of prisons
A substitute bill for the original SB 5188 was accepted and moved to the Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.
2 comments, most recent 5 months agoCurrent legislation, moving forward in Olympia, would permit localities to adopt ranked-choice voting as an upgrade to their currently mandated top-two system.
1 comment, most recent 5 months agoThe monumental, pre-COVID levels of cruise ships and world tourism were not sustainable.
4 comments, most recent 5 months ago
