Week of Nov. 2, 2026
- ConnectionNov. 7, 2026Bellingham and Olympia weigh closing elementary schools as enrollment falls. Marysville already did.
Connection 16 · Money. In each district below, enrollment fell, and state school money, which follows students, fell with it. Each looked at closing buildings to save money. - StoryNov. 7, 2026A Bellingham board votes Nov. 10 on removing some parking on Holly Street downtown
Transport · Bellingham. Bellingham's Transportation Commission votes Nov. 10 on removing parking along parts of Holly Street. - StoryNov. 7, 2026Bellingham plans to offer about $4.5 million for housing and social services in 2027
Housing · Bellingham. Bellingham is preparing to offer about $4.5 million in grants for housing help and social services in 2027. - StoryNov. 7, 2026The Port of Bellingham holds a hearing Nov. 12 on borrowing up to $41.7 million
Money · Bellingham. The Port of Bellingham may borrow up to $41.7 million by selling tax-exempt bonds. - StoryNov. 7, 2026Bellingham's school board may vote Nov. 12 on closing two elementary schools
Money · Bellingham. Bellingham Public Schools is considering closing Columbia and Carl Cozier elementary schools after this school year. - StoryNov. 7, 2026Whatcom County may lend $1 million toward 64 affordable apartments in Bellingham
Housing · Whatcom County. Whatcom County may lend $1 million toward 64 affordable rental homes in Bellingham. - ConnectionNov. 5, 2026Three Washington places asked voters Nov. 3 to raise property tax past the yearly limit
Connection 15 · Money. Each place below asked voters to let it collect more property tax than the state's yearly limit allows. - StoryNov. 5, 2026Lynden voters are rejecting a property tax increase for police, fire and city staff
Money · Lynden. Lynden voters are turning down a property tax increase in the unofficial count from the Nov. 3 election. - ConnectionNov. 3, 2026Washington weighs a $200 bail cap; New Jersey and Illinois already cut cash bail
Connection 14 · Health & safety. Several places have limited cash bail, so fewer people wait in jail before trial only because they cannot pay. - ConnectionNov. 3, 2026Cities pay the county to hold the people they arrest, and the deals differ
Connection 7 · Money. A county runs the jail. Cities send it the people their police arrest. An interlocal agreement sets what each city pays: a share of a dedicated tax for… - StoryNov. 3, 2026State Supreme Court weighs a $200 cap on most misdemeanor bail; hearing Nov. 10
Safety · Washington. Washington's Supreme Court holds a hearing Nov. 10 on new rules for bail before trial. - StoryNov. 3, 2026Comcast will cut 159 Washington jobs starting Dec. 31, including some in Bellingham
Money · Bellingham. Comcast told the state it will lay off 159 Washington workers, starting Dec. 31. - ConnectionNov. 2, 2026Bellingham weighs permits for private Lake Whatcom launches; other lakes check boats instead
Connection 13 · Environment. Lakes trying to keep out invasive mussels choose how strict to be at the launch: voluntary checks, required inspections, or permits. - ConnectionNov. 2, 2026Bellingham's shelter moves to every night; nearby places choose every night or cold nights only
Connection 12 · Housing. Places that shelter people in winter use one of two models: open every night all season, or open only when the forecast turns cold.
Week of Oct. 26, 2026
- ConnectionNov. 1, 2026Bellingham may extend its temporary housing rules; other cities renew theirs the same way
Connection 11 · Housing. Washington cities often meet new state housing laws with temporary zoning rules, then renew them while they write permanent ones. - StoryNov. 1, 2026Blaine gets $66.4 million to lift Bell Road over the train tracks
Transport · Blaine. Blaine will get $66.4 million in federal money to build an overpass at the Bell Road rail crossing, the area's member of Congress announced Oct. 29. - ConnectionOct. 31, 2026Blaine pauses data centers and battery storage for a year; other Washington places did too
Connection 10 · Environment. Blaine and several other Washington governments have paused new data centers while they write rules for them. - StoryOct. 31, 2026Whatcom County now allows a cannabis store in one Guide Meridian industrial area
Housing · Whatcom County. The County Council changed its zoning rules Oct. 27 to allow a cannabis store in one industrial area on the Guide Meridian, the draft minutes record. - StoryOct. 31, 2026Whatcom County approves its updated disaster plan, which federal prevention grants require
Environment · Whatcom County. The County Council approved an updated plan for cutting disaster losses on Oct. 27, 7 to 0, the draft minutes record. - ConnectionOct. 30, 2026Bellingham plans a tiny home village for 2027; other cities show what running one costs
Connection 9 · Housing. Bellingham is building a village of 35 to 40 tiny homes for people without housing, at 2140 Division Street. - ConnectionOct. 28, 2026Starting with 2027 tax bills, more Whatcom seniors and people with disabilities can pay less property tax
Connection 8 · Money. Washington cuts property taxes for some older homeowners and homeowners with disabilities whose income is under a set limit. - StoryOct. 28, 2026The County Council made its first 11 changes to the 2027-2028 budget, and the budget itself is still not adopted
Money · Whatcom County. On Oct. 20, the County Council held a special meeting on the County Executive's recommended 2027-2028 budget. The draft minutes record 11 approved… - StoryOct. 28, 2026Lynden holds off on Homestead's water rights while the golf course's new owner files its own claim
Environment · Lynden. Lynden wants to keep the water rights tied to the Homestead neighborhood and its closed golf course. - StoryOct. 28, 2026Sumas is choosing how to cut its flood risk, and residents can weigh in Oct. 29
Environment · Sumas and Whatcom County. The 2021 flood put more than 3 feet of water on Sumas's main street and caused more than $150 million in damage, a County planning document says. The City… - StoryOct. 27, 2026State commission suspends the $7,500 and $75,000 limits on late campaign contributions
Money · Washington State. The state Public Disclosure Commission says it will immediately suspend enforcement of the limits on contributions in the 21 days before a general election: $75,000 for statewide campaigns and $7,500 for any other.
Week of Oct. 19, 2026
- StoryOct. 22, 2026Lynden teachers set an Oct. 28 strike date
Money · Lynden School District. Lynden School District educators authorized a strike that would start Wed. Oct. 28 if there is no contract. Vote Oct. 13, no contract since Sept. 1.… - StoryOct. 22, 2026County winter shelter contract with Road2Home
Housing · Whatcom County. The Finance and Administration Committee of the Whatcom County Council approved a Road2Home contract for a winter overnight shelter in Bellingham on Oct. 13.
Week of Oct. 12, 2026
- StoryOct. 18, 2026Two Whatcom areas are nominated for a second round of federal Opportunity Zones, downtown Bellingham's tract and Lummi Nation's Salish Village
Money · Downtown Bellingham and Lummi Nation. On Oct. 8 the Governor announced 99 Washington areas nominated as Opportunity Zones, out of 152 applications. - StoryOct. 18, 2026The Port's 2027 budget was on the Oct. 20 agenda, and neither its levy request nor its lease terms are on the record yet
Money · Port of Bellingham. The 2027 budget was on the agenda for the Port of Bellingham Commission's Tue., Oct. 20 meeting at 4 p.m. (1801 Roeder Ave., also on Zoom and YouTube). - ConnectionOct. 16, 2026Capped at 1%, budgets across the state are choosing cuts, saved-up tax room or the ballot
Connection 4 · Money. State law lets most cities and counties grow their property tax collections 1% a year without a vote. - ConnectionOct. 16, 2026How fire and ambulance service gets paid for is changing across the region
Connection 6 · Health & safety. Fire and EMS used to come out of a city's general fund or a fire district's property tax. - ConnectionOct. 16, 2026The state gave local governments new taxes, and for one of them the first to act keeps it
Connection 5 · Money. In 2025 and 2026 the Legislature let cities and counties add small taxes without a public vote. - StoryOct. 16, 2026Police drones flew 143 times in their first 8 flying days, and the log doesn't show how often they got there first
Safety · Bellingham and Puget Sound. Bellingham's drones logged 81 flights from Oct. 12 through Oct. 15, up from 62 in the program's first four days, for 143 since launch Oct. 6. - StoryOct. 16, 2026Fire District 1 asks again for the levy that failed by 124 votes in August
Health & safety · Fire District 1 (Everson, Nooksack area). Prop. 2026-08 would raise the district's fire levy to $1.48 per $1,000 of assessed value, from $1.12 now. The same request failed in the August primary… - StoryOct. 16, 2026A failing 60-year-old water main near Cherry Point puts at least $60M on PUD water bills
Utilities · Whatcom County PUD. The PUD found deterioration at 12 of 13 exposed joints on its 24-inch Douglas Road raw-water line, built in the mid-1960s, and determined it can't be repaired… - ConnectionOct. 12, 2026The citizen boards are being rearranged
Connection 3 · Power. Three recent changes touch the volunteer boards where residents sit inside a decision before it's made. - ConnectionOct. 12, 2026Who provides your services is being redrawn
Connection 1 · Growth & boundaries. Four places are changing who provides a public service, and each change moves who pays and who answers for it. - ConnectionOct. 12, 2026The state is writing more of the local rulebook
Connection 2 · State & local. The state is setting more of the rules local councils used to set. - StoryOct. 12, 2026Ambulance fees rise $200 to $368 to cover costs the 2014 rates no longer meet
Health & safety · Bellingham. The City Council passed new Bellingham Fire ambulance rates on first and second reading Oct. 5, 7-0 (AB 25081). - StoryOct. 12, 2026The board that redraws city lines is missing two members
Who decides · Whatcom County. Two of the five seats on Whatcom's Boundary Review Board are empty: the mayors' seat and the special districts' seat. - StoryOct. 12, 2026Rural Whatcom's stream and wetland rules get their 10-year rewrite
Environment · Whatcom County. The County is updating its critical areas rules for the first time since 2017. - StoryOct. 12, 2026Police drones flew 62 times in their first four days
Safety · Bellingham and statewide. Bellingham's drone program started answering 911 calls Oct. 6, from three bases. - StoryOct. 12, 2026Lummi Island's new ferry is close to going out to bid
Transport · Lummi Island. County Public Works asks the Council to move $300,000 of ferry surcharge money into the Lummi Island ferry replacement fund (AB2026-735). - StoryOct. 12, 2026Same product, different punishment, depending on the city
Health & safety · Bellingham and statewide. Starting Tuesday, selling kratom or 7-OH inside Bellingham is a gross misdemeanor. Buying and using it stays legal. - StoryOct. 12, 2026Bellingham's wetland bank, 10 years in the making, sets a 2027 opening
Environment · Bellingham. The City asked the Council on Oct. 5 to let the Mayor sign the agreement that creates the Bellingham Mitigation Bank, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers… - StoryOct. 12, 2026Utility reviews now run on the permit clock too
Housing · Statewide, landing locally. Since June 11 (HB 2418), water and sewer districts and other agencies that review a housing permit face the same deadlines as the city, and owe the applicant… - StoryOct. 12, 2026Weigh in on regional transportation through 2050
Transport · Whatcom County. WCOG's survey for its long-range transportation plan is open at wcog.org/rtp2050. - StoryOct. 12, 2026Shelters wherever homes are allowed
Housing · Statewide, landing locally. A state law in effect since June 11 (HB 2266) requires cities to allow transitional and permanent supportive housing wherever homes or hotels are allowed, and…
Weekly snapshots
The front page as it stood each Thursday.