OUTDOOR CINEMA BEGINS THIS MONTH ON VILLAGE GREEN

BELLINGHAM— The Fairhaven Village Green will present a different film every Saturday evening this summer beginning June 26 and ending Aug. 28. Each film will be preceded by entertainment, including live bands, a reader, and a live radio taping.

People begin gathering on the grass several hours before the movie starts to get a good seat and enjoy the atmosphere. As the movies become more popular, the amount of foot traffic through businesses grows as well.

“I think the outdoor cinema is great,” said Dean Richards, a patron of shows in the past. “I love the fact that they show older movies.”

Businesses expect more customers

The shops and restaurants in Fairhaven and near the Village Green look forward to seeing more people on the lawn for a boost in business.

Cody Dickenson, an employee of the Colophon Café, said the café experiences noticeably more business when the outdoor cinema begins. The café is located on the east side of the Village Green.

“People sit at our café’s outdoor seating on Saturday nights,” Dickenson said. “They enjoy desserts and drinks while watching the entertainment.”

Outdoor Cinema is not for everyone

The outdoor cinema is not for everyone. Beverly Noyes, a Fairhaven resident said she and her husband have never attended a film at the Village Green for a number of reasons, but thinks it is a great event for the community.

“We’ve never attended because you have to get there too early to reserve a spot,” Noyes said. “I’m really glad [the outdoor cinema] is there, and there are a lot of people taking advantage of it.”

Popular destination for teenagers

According Dickenson, it is common to see many teenagers around the partitioned-off area who come to talk and hang out. One of those teenagers is Morgan Vanbrink, 14, a Fairhaven Middle school student, who says it is a great place for her and her friends to congregate and spend time with each other.

According to the Fairhaven Outdoor Cinema website, Pre-movie seating is $5. Blankets and very low back lawn chairs are permitted on the grass; any other lawn chairs are permitted on the brick areas.

Food and beverages offered include popcorn, candy and soda. Outside food and beverages are also permitted.

The outdoor cinema schedule can be viewed at http://www.fairhaven.com/events/C17/.

SKI TO SEA BRINGS ANNUAL EXCITEMENT TO FAIRHAVEN

BELLINGHAM—The annual Ski to Sea race is set to bring business activity and excitement to the Fairhaven community this Memorial Day weekend.

The finish line of the event is positioned on the beach of Marine Park, where kayakers bring in the last leg of the seven-leg race and ring the finish line bell. The beach, which is the traditional finish line for the team event, is never short of activity when the event comes to Fairhaven.

A section of Fairhaven is to be closed on Memorial Day

The Fairhaven Festival, featuring a variety of community organizations, is working in accordance with Ski to Sea organizers to close down 10^th and 11^th streets from Mill Avenue to Harris St. in downtown Fairhaven. The area will be used to set up booths ranging from arts and crafts to food and live music.

Jeff Hegedus, a Fairhaven resident whose team placed 18^th last year, thinks of the Ski to Sea relay as the epitome of community sports events.

“Everyone from Olympic caliber to recreational [level] participates in the race,” Hegedus said. “It’s good for everyone; good for sport, good for health.”

Gory Freeman, a Bellingham Technical College student, and participant in the kayak leg this year, likes how this event brings ordinary citizens together.

“Ski to Sea seems to make everyone say hi a little more in a world where people don’t say hi much,” Freeman said. “This event gives the average, ordinary guy something to do.”

Expect a busy business district

With the after party/celebration of Ski to Sea centered in Fairhaven, the amount of economic capital for local business is expected to increase on Sunday.

Chad Mullavey, a former participant in the downhill running leg and employee of Fairhaven Runners, acknowledges the beneficial economic feature this event offers Fairhaven.

“[Ski to Sea] reflects on the local area; it helps out with sales, bringing people from different states and helping out with local awareness,” Mullavey said. “[Ski to Sea encourages] potentially great future sales for local businesses.”

Jené Pascu, employee of Pacific Chef, has volunteered in Ski to Sea events in the past and recognizes what this event can do for the local community.

“It showcases Fairhaven,” Pascu said. “[Ski to Sea] entices [visitors] to come back another time.”

What Ski to Sea is

The Ski to Sea Festival consists of eight racers for seven different race legs. The relay starts at Mt. Baker’s White Salmon Lodge where cross-country skiers take off in the beginning of their team’s 90-mile journey to Marine Park. The cross-country skiers hand off their baton to the downhill skier/snowboarders, who pass it to the downhill run. From there, it goes to the road bike section, the canoe section (featuring 2 team members), the mountain bike course, and lastly the kayak leg.

The Fairhaven Festival will consist of 26 different food booths serving everything from ethnic foods, to brats, pizza, and barbecue. The festival will also showcase over 60 arts and crafts booths, along with live music and a beer garden, according to the Fairhaven Festival website.

Ski to Sea official website: http://www.skitosea.com/

Fairhaven Festival website: http://fairhaven.com/content/fairhaven_festival

Give Blue Herons Room

BELLINGHAM – Springtime means breeding time for the great blue herons living in the Post Point Heron Colony, and people need to be aware that these creatures are very susceptible to disturbance. Blue herons utilize the beach adjacent to Marine Park to do necessary foraging for survival, and Fairhaven citizens need to be knowledgeable of their sensitivity, as disturbance during breeding season may lead to nest failure and colony abandonment, according to the Seattle Audubon Society for birds and nature.

Recorded human disturbances at or around Marine Park in the past include beach combing, clam digging, kayaking, trains, and educational groups, according to the 2009 annual Post Point Heron Colony report.

With the annual Ski to Sea race coming up over Memorial Day weekend there will be hundreds of people in and around Marine Park (the finish line) where the herons feed. This will amplify the human disturbance and is a greater reason why people should be aware of the vulnerability of these animals.

If intentional disturbance is observed people are asked to call Larry Bateman, Post Point Operations Supervisor at (360) 778 7852, or 9-11.

Post Point Heron Colony 2009 Monitoring Annual Report http://www.cob.org/documents/pw/environment/restoration/post-point-heronry-annual-report-2009.pdf

Bird Web

http://www.seattleaudubon.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=41

Bellingham Herald Article http://infoweb.newsbank.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=12710AFA1980A7F0&p_docnum=8&p_queryname=3

HERONS AND TREATMENT FACILITY SHARE WATERFRONT

The expansion of the Post Point Waste Water Treatment Facility is planned to encroach on the nesting area of Bellingham’s only heron colony. Concerns for the birds’ ecosystem may pose a concern to the Fairhaven community and their waterfront.

The colony is the only known heron-nesting site in the city, according to the Bellingham Department of Public Works, and is located in a unique ecosystem near Fairhaven.

The treatment facility, located in Fairhaven next to Marine Park is expanding up-grading because the system has exceeded the carrying capacity for the amount of wastewater the facility can process, and upgrading needs to be done in order to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems requirements.

The equipment used by the plant is nearing the end of its service life as well, according to the City of Bellingham plan project for the site.

The cost of this construction is estimated to cost between $73.3 and $128 million. The final design for expansion and upgrading of the plant is expected to be complete by 2011, and construction is estimated to begin by 2014 according to the facilities planning schedule.

There needs to be a balance

Ben Bayma, a citizen of Bellingham, said the blue heron nesting grounds are important, but acknowledges the need to expand the wastewater treatment facility.

“There’s got to be a balance,” Bayma said. “But the heron colony is very important… it should be critical in the management decision.”

Karl Lowry, an operations department employee at the Post Point Water Treatment Facility, said he had knowledge of sensitive conflict.

“The blue heron situation is one [city planners] are aware of,” Lowry said. “They are absolutely taking [the habitat] into consideration.”

Heron population experienced major setback

For an unknown reason the colony of herons abandoned their nests at Post Point in 2008, leaving their young at an age when they could not survive on their own. There was a 100 percent mortality rate for infant blue herons that year, according to Renee LaCroix, City of Bellingham Environmental Coordinator.

The wastewater treatment facility development planners are working closely with LaCroix, and have developed a “triple bottom line” decision process in order to optimize the social, economic, and environmental impacts of this development.

Some residents would like to see more done for the herons

Spencer Gueno, Bellingham resident, would like to see more resources being focused on the environmental component of the triple bottom line optimization.

“[Great blue herons] are like a badge of pride for Fairhaven,” Gueno said. “The animals were here first, that’s always my outlook.”

Anthony Blake, a patron of Marine Park also emphasized the need to think about the herons over the wastewater plant.

“You walk through here in the summer and see tons of nests,” Blake said. “That’s a lot to take away.”

Ratepayers will likely see increased sewage bills as Bellingham City Council approved a 46 percent rate hike increase over a 6-year period in 2007.

The City of Bellingham Waste Water Treatment Facility is a past recipient of Washington State Department of Ecology’s Outstanding Wastewater Treatment Plant Award.

TRESTLE RENOVATION SET TO BEGIN SEPT. 2010

BELLINGHAM – Renovations in the Fairhaven community could affect foot traffic from Bellingham’s Boulevard Park beginning Labor Day weekend.

The Pattle Point Trestle will be closed for 4-6 months starting Sept. 6 for a series of extensive renovations. The project will include widening the existing walkway to 12 feet, as well as adding a new walking surface, new handrails, and new benches. Business owners and patrons have expressed mixed feelings over the trestle’s reconstruction.

Lori Wetzel, chief of Book Fare Cafe was surprised to hear about the closure of the trestle.

“It will affect my business negatively,” Wetzel said. “I have ladies that walk that pathway every week… they have since I bought this restaurant.”

Despite the inconvenient for some, some citizens see the benefits outweighing the costs.

Some say the existing trestle is too dangerous

Bill Gregory, 57, a long time Bellingham resident and frequent user of the Pattle Point Trestle, is concerned with interaction between bikers and walkers on the existing structure; he says it’s too narrow.

“Bikes are absolutely dangerous [on the trestle],” Gregory said. “A dude came flying down the dock at least 20 mph, iPod in, and almost took out a little kid.”

Sheila Brillson, another Belingham citizen who frequents the trestle, said she has seen what renovations like this can do to a city. She served as mayor of Michigan City, Indiana for 15 years, and indicated that a temporary closure might be forgotten after the renovation is complete.

“Short term loss, Long term gain” Brillson said.

Environmental upgrade looks promising

The city of Bellingham is also taking into account the environmental consequences of this development. Fiberglass decking will be incorporated into the dock to protect habitat for native species such as eelgrass and surf smelt, according to the Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department.

Thomas Owen, 22, a student at Whatcom Community College, supports what Bellingham is doing environmentally with the renovation.

“Its nice to see a progressive community like Bellingham not only talk about environmental conservation and development, but act upon it” Owen said.

Funding for this project was approved by the city in 2006 under the Greenway Levy III and will cost $1.5 million, according to the City of Bellingham website.

Notice signs have been posted at Taylor Dock and Boulevard Park to inform the public of the upcoming renovation as well.

The 541-foot-trestle begins on the SW side of Boulevard Park and continues to meet Taylor Avenue Dock, which connects to Taylor Avenue in Fairhaven.

Taylor Avenue dock was originally constructed between 1890 and 1902 as an industrial dock. It was reopened and dedicated in Sept. 2004.

Citizens from both sides of Bellingham Bay see the potential Lummi Island ferry route change having opposing outcomes

DECISION PENDING IN LUMMI FERRY RELOCATION

BELLINGHAM— Bellingham’s Fairhaven waterfront remains a contender in the deliberation for the fate of the Lummi Island ferry. The decision to relocate the current Lummi Island ferry terminal from Gooseberry Point to the Port of Bellingham’s Alaska ferry dock would affect Fairhaven citizens as well as Lummi Island ferry patrons.

The Lummi Nation’s present goal is to negotiate a new 25-year lease, directed at keeping the Gooseberry Point dock in its current location. The other available option is for the Lummi Island to divert the ferry route to a new terminal in Fairhaven. Although a decision is still pending, members of both the Fairhaven and Lummi island communities have begun analyzing the potential repercussions.

Fairhaven citizens see optimism in the route change.

Vicki Dodd, an employee of Inside Passage gift shop in the Alaska ferry terminal, expressed a positive attitude towards economic changes that could follow the move.

“We don’t get much business as it is,” Dodd said of the current Alaska ferry district. “The foot traffic exposure would be beneficial for business.”

Owner of Fairhaven Smoke Shop, Michael Waters, thought the move would be constructive to businesses in the Fairhaven community as well.

“I see no downsides to [the route change],” Waters said. “I’d love to see it happen.”

While Fairhaven citizens seem optimistic about the potential economic boost of the route change, patrons of the current Lummi Island route have a different perspective.

Current Lummi Island ferry patrons foresee negative outcome.

Kevin Wolfe, a Lummi Island property owner and frequent ferry patron, was not happy about the proposed ferry route change.

“It’s gonna suck big time!” Wolfe said. “Longer waits, service interruption, the Chief is not capable of making [the trip from Lummi Island to the Alaska ferry terminal] in severe weather.”

Steven Thomas, who uses the current ferry as part of his commute, voiced an opinion of upholding the tradition between the two locations.

“Traffic from Gooseberry Point to Lummi Island has been going on for 1000s of years,” Thomas said. “It’s going to stay that way.”

Currently, the Whatcom County Council has approved an interim agreement with the Lummi Nation to keep operating the ferry from the Gooseberry Point location.

The Lummi Nation’s goal of keeping the ferry terminal at Gooseberry point is what they see as the optimal plan for the majority of ferry patrons, however it would come at a financial cost.

According to a document by Frank Abart, head of the Whatcom County Ferry Division, the new Gooseberry Point terminal has an projected cost of $17,413,500. The terminal is currently in need of physical renovation, as well as the development of new safety measures.

The change in route would increase the trip duration from five minutes, to about 50-minutes.