In the Media

Three years after a fire gutted Delft Square - leaving behind the burned remains of the 42,900-square-foot building - the city is proposing to bring it back to life as a hotel, public market and entertainment center with a rock climbing wall and movie theater.
That redevelopment idea, which could include ownership of the building and adding a third floor to it, will go before the City Council on Monday, July 18.
The council will be asked to allow the city to take a lead role through the following actions:

One manufacturer began operations during the low point of the Great Recession. Another reopened during it. And a third invested more money and hired more employees.

These may seem unusual during a period of tight credit and economic uncertainty. But all three businesses — milkmakers, Cosmo Specialty Fibers and Cashmere Molding — made it work. And all three now sell their products nationally or internationally.

These businesses have one thing in common — innovation. Here are their stories.

The Washington Department of Ecology will step into the environmental review of a proposed coal-export terminal north of Bellingham, and assume a co-lead role on the review at the request of Whatcom County, which has the statutory responsibility to do the environmental assessment.

Letters were exchanged Friday (July 15) between the county and state, with Whatcom County making a formal request that the state take co-lead responsibility and Ecology accepting the invitation. County and state officials had been discussing the prospect for some time, and several mayors from Washington cities along the railroad line that would ship coal from the Powder River Basin to the Gateway Pacific Terminal north of Bellingham were in the process of sending a formal request to Gov. Chris Gregoire that the state take a co-lead role.

Pat Lombard planned to retire at age 55.
A nurse at St. Joseph Medical Center, she arranged for private health insurance, which she figured would cost about $300 a month until she was eligible for Medicare. But before she told her employer of her pending retirement, she was notified that her premiums would be $1,000 a month.
"I was in shock," says Lombard, now 64.

Janet Oakley, 65, of Bellingham faced two big changes in her life by going back to one of her first loves.
Big life change #1: Oakley, the mother of three boys and now a grandmother, had to deal with the unexpected death of her husband of 27 years. Rolf Oakley, a Vietnam veteran and a geologist, died of a heart attack in October 2001.
"You never expect to be a widow at age 55," she says.

From electric cars to solar-powered heating systems, Shoreline Community College was awash Saturday with gadgets and techniques to help pave a way for a more sustainable future.

The event, the Northwest SolarFest, is the biggest grassroots festival of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. Now in its 8th year, SolarFest brought inventors, engineers and even an acclaimed television personality to talk about sustainabilty through technology and lifestyle choices.

Early on, Tom Resick noticed a pattern to references about fellow Bellingham lawyer Frank Atwood.
"The phrase was, 'the respected Frank Atwood,'" Resick recalled. "There was a reason for that. ... You could trust the man."
Atwood, a longtime member of the bar and an influential state senator for a dozen years, died July 9. He was 84.

With a number of changes on the horizon and the Meridian School District expected to start construction on a new high school in September, every aspect of the school is likely to see some level of adjustment over the next couple of years.
That certainly includes the Trojans' athletic programs, which this week learned who will lead them into what the black and gold faithful hope is an exciting new era of Meridian sports.
Meridian superintendent Dr. Tim Yeomans said former Mount Vernon High School Dean of Students, Kurt Harvill, will assume the role of high school vice principal and athletic director this fall. Harvill replaces Chad Larsen, who last month announced he was taking the AD position at Bellingham after 11 years as a teacher and coach in the Meridian School District, including the past 21/2 years as the AD.

Western Washington University will hold an information session for the Everett-based Master in Business Administration (MBA) program from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, at University Center of North Puget Sound, Gray Wolf Hall, Room 380, 2000 Tower St., Everett. 

Classes begin in January 2012; interested applicants are encouraged to apply now to ensure all enrollment requirements are met by the application deadline of Nov. 15.

Several law enforcement agencies in Whatcom County will ramp up patrols for speeding drivers from now through Aug. 7.
The following agencies will participate in the emphasis patrols: Washington State Patrol, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, and the Bellingham, Ferndale and Western Washington University police departments.