Welcome to Noisy Waters Northwest! Many facts, figures, stories, and perspectives are, sadly, often unheralded in Whatcom County, Washington. Click on the title of items on our story board for a refreshing splash of information that won’t be held back. There is a search page to search all information on this blog site. All posts note their categories of commentary or news related content. Continue reading
Whatcom County’s 2023 pro-jail PAC lets their inaccurate allegations stand/ Noisy Waters Northwest
September 28, 2023 Dena Jensen
We can try, right? And keep trying. Because even when we fail, we learn.
If elected officials and those leading the charge in the political campaign to promote funds to prioritize building a new jail – and in a few years a few new services don’t make amends for inaccuracies in media assertions that can marginalize and discredit, not only people they have worked with on the Justice Project, but an array of voices promoting an end to injustice against themselves and/or their communities, then we discover a bad sign, on top of others, regarding at least some of those pro-new-jail political action committee (PAC) members and the project they are pushing. It helps offer another confirmation to our sense that there is some bad faith in the mix, and to an increasing degree.
Comparison: sales-tax constant for Whatcom Executive is we may have too many funds for behavioral health services / Noisy Waters Northwest
October 22, 2023 Dena Jensen
🟥🟩Comparison of our County Executive’s remarks, one month apart, related to the amount of funding from the 2023 ballot measure sales tax that was to be made available for non-jail projects.🟥🟩
Continue readingWhat County Council Members were told last week about Whatcom County’s District Court Probation / Noisy Waters Northwest
September 18, 2023 Dena Jensen
At their September 12, 2023 Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee meeting, committee members Barry Buchanan and Carol Frazey, along with County Council Member Kailey Galloway received a report from District Court Probation. Notes from the report using language that is fairly close to that used by presenters are included further down in this blog post.
Continue readingInjustice in Whatcom County: the push to marginalize continues / Noisy Waters Northwest
September 17, 2023 Dena Jensen
It’s unfortunate and disappointing that ballot measure sales tax proponents Peter Frazier and Stephen Gockley are making some misleading and inaccurate assertions such as the ones below from sections of their September 15, 2023 guest commentary, “Voters can have both: a safe jail and more treatment,” in Cascadia Daily News:
Continue readingAdditional funding available to support the operation of a continuous Winter Shelter, if necessary / Noisy Waters Northwest
September 14, 2023 Dena Jensen
From a recently closed Whatcom County Request for Proposal (RFP): “The County and the City would consider making additional funding available to support the operation of a continuous Winter Shelter, if necessary.”
“…if necessary”??? What kind of language is this after years of brutality to many community members otherwise left to sleep outside during winter?
Continue readingWhat percent of a new tax would go to a Whatcom jail?: officials don’t know yet / Noisy Waters Northwest
August 16, 2023 Dena Jensen
[Editor’s Note: The original blog post contained only two emails sent to and from myself and Jed Holmes on August 16, 2023. Below the copies of those emails included in this post, I have provided an update with two additional emails between myself and Mr. Holmes from August 17, 2023]
The following statement by Jed Holmes, Community Outreach Facilitatory for the Whatcom County Executive’s office, is something we have been missing regarding the 2023 Whatcom County ballot measure sales tax related to a new jail and other Justice Project projects that we will be voting on in November:
“The revenue scenario and allocation plan presented here should not be confused with a spending plan. Actual revenues received, recommendations of the advisory bodies contemplated in the ordinance, and decisions of future County Councils will ultimately determine how revenues from the new sales and use tax are spent.”
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Lack of places to which LEAD can lead: Task Force members / Letter to the Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force
August 7, 2023 Dena Jensen
Sent: Monday, August 7, 2023, 04:11:24 PM PDT
Subject: Regarding 2E2SSB 5536 and the LEAD program
Dear Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force:
I am writing related to the portion on your July 17, 2023 meeting where there was a brief discussion of the changes in state legislation – specifically 2E2SSB 5536, on controlled substances, possession, and treatment.
It is noteworthy to me that I am hearing a continued focus on the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program when some government bodies are speaking of services to address dangers posed by public drug use and possession. This has been the case at Bellingham City Council meetings surrounding both their own legislation outlawing public use of controlled substances in Bellingham that was passed back in April, and their more recent adoption of the state legislation.
Continue reading‘What we’re trying to say is that there is a built-in exclusion’: Bellingham Immigration Advisory Board member / Noisy Waters Northwest
August 4, 2023 Dena Jensen
I listened to this great episode of the Community Voz podcast yesterday that brings up such valuable points related to oppressed and marginalized communities. Here is the link where you can find the episode “The Uses of Anger – IAB Update”: https://www.foodjustice.org/community-voz-radio
Continue readingWhat if long-term homeless solutions are increasingly too little too late? / Noisy Waters Northwest
July 28, 2023 Dena Jensen
After about a month of nights where beds were not quite filled up at Base Camp, numbers have been back up near capacity (and above) this week.
I realize that people are working on putting things in place for services that may possibly emerge in the future, but severe weather season starts in three months and I want to point out a list of things that have been happening this year, some of them in the last few months, some in the last few weeks, and some loom ahead as possible in the future.
Continue readingA look at what became Dan Hammill’s one-man-stand against open public comment / Noisy Waters Northwest
July 26, 2023 Dena Jensen
Last month a number of local political organizations were engaging with candidates running for office in the November 2023 election who were seeking those groups’ endorsements. On June 10, I attended the meeting of the 42nd Legislative District Democrats to hear the statements of those candidates who were present.
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