Are You Glad Birch Bay is Quiet Again?

Independence Day weekend provided a taste of what our community might be like with 5,000 more residents when their cousins from Seattle and friends from California come to visit.

After six years away from San Francisco we were pleased to see all the people. In mid-afternoon on the 4th we walked up to CJ's Beachhouse. There was so much traffic no cars could go faster than the speed limit. And there were only a few problems. We saw a young couple on bikes apparently getting a ticket from a 'cycle deputy sheriff dressed in black. But the other deputies, in their their usual olive drab, were not busy. Deputy Cliff, in his command car with his computer parked by the Blue Fish, agreed it was “controlled chaos.”


Fireworks that started at dusk Saturday evening were filled the sky from north to south. In San Francisco there was always fear that fog would come in to block the action, so we would leave the convenience of our condo roof and go over toward Ghirardelli Square to find a view spot. Now we have a front-row seat on our deck. We are too prudent (tight) to buy fireworks, but we enjoy the show put on by our neighbors and their visitors. These “volunteers” put on a better and longer show than the pros who charge sponsors in big cities tens of thousands of dollars.

In those big cities street cleaners, paid overtime wages, clean up the aftermath mess. In our village volunteers do the cleanup. Organized by Pat Allese, of the C-Shop, and Chair Kathy, of the Steering Committee, some 50 people turned out to pick up 2.17tons of trash on nearby thoroughfares as well as the beaches. When these folks started turning up to sign in, they were surprised to find a note, presumably from condo residents on either side of the Alderson entrance to the beach. They must have been up at dawn to get their beach clean before 9 o'clock.


















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(Comments are not only welcome, they are eagerly sought.)

Emergency Services on High Alert

Temperatures are up and conditions are dry. Seven deputy sheriffs are assigned to Birch Bay for the Independence Day weekend, and stations of the the North Whatcom Fire & Rescue Service in Birch Bay, Blaine and Semiahmoo will be fully staffed. So Chief Tom Fields reported at the commissioners meeting Thursday, July 2. The chief will be living in his trailer at the Birch Bay station that is serving as his incident command post.

For the past three years the district was “incident free” over the July 4th holiday. That record will be difficult to maintain with the dry conditions this year. So drive slowly and keep a water supply handy.

But don't let that keep you from enjoying the fireworks!

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Iconoclastic Views of Current Events

On Michael Jackson:

“I often thought of a veal calf when I saw him – he had been raised to perform under extreme pressure before he had any idea of what life could be beyond performing for others. Then he spent decades trying to build a life without ever having seen one. He had the best ear in the world but he had no aparent idea of how to experience everyday comfort, or even boredom."

- Sasha Frere Jones – New Yorker.com

On Bernard Madoff:

“Madoff and those he defrauded were co-dependent, the one offering a cover of devine paternalism and the other buying into the act...but to call Madoff a sociopath isn't really to explain our failure to pick up on his scam.”

– Daphne Merkin, New York Times Magazine

An Easy Way to Make a Big Difference

With a single click, you can provide some woman with a free mammogram – really. This is a genuine opportunity to do good work with ease.

Snopes.com, “The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation,” says,
“Let this be your good deed for today … it only takes a second. Go to the site below. All you do is click a button and a woman gets a free mammogram at no cost to you. It is paid for by corporate sponsors (who gain advertising in the process because you see their logo). All you do is go to the site and click the free button. It takes one second. However, you are only allowed one donation, so please pass the word.”

www.thebreastcancersite.com

While it is true, as snopes says, that you are only allowed one donation, that is one a day. Post a reminder to click every day, for mammograms and other causes. Options on the site allow you to combat hunger and/or support child health, literacy, the rainforest and animal rescue.

Added 7/3/09 - Forgot to say, you can get a daily reminder sent to your email - it sure helps to be able to click that link and start contributing.

rah

Probing the Blaine-Birch Bay Relationship

At the Chamber, 6.16

Al used his three minutes at the monthly meeting of the Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce to ask: Why does Blaine dislike us? That started a discussion that lasted 10 minutes. Some of the comments:

> They see people coming across the border, driving through Blaine and stopping at Birch Bay;

> They resent having railroad tracks that cut off their beach;

> They envy that Birch Bay has development, one reason given is Blaine's high cost of municipal personnel to residents ratios -– that is a turnoff for developers.

But some other comments agreed that the two communities have more in common than differences. Gary Tomsic was named as one who has encouraged cooperation.


At the Fire District meeting 6.18



In the public comments period at the start of the meeting Al read from the Blaine proposal to the County Council that included, “Blaine does not have adequate police and fire protection.” His question to the commissioners was: Isn't Birch Bay an equal member of the fire district? They were quick to agree that North Whatcom Fire and Rescue belongs as much to Birch Bay as Blaine. And Chief Tom Fields added that in his opinion the Blaine police department is, “understaffed and grossly underfunded.”

Asked about relative valuations and tax revenue, the Chief Fields estimated that Blaine and Birch Bay represent about 60 percent of the district. He said he thinks the two communities are about equal and is asking the county auditor for a breakdown.

Despite being the only citizens there, we found this an interesting meeting. The five commissioners are good old boys, in the best sense of the term, and seem to enjoy working together. For us it was better that watching TV.

In an agenda section devoted to UGA proposals, Chief Fields, who prefaced his comments with, “I may get tarred and feathered,” said he found favor with the Blaine proposal regarding Birch Bay's weaknesses, that it would be easier to serve an incorporated city.

In these discussions we've acknowledged that we are “fanning the flames of contention,” and explained that our intent is to “burn the fires out” by confronting people in both communities to recognize there is greater value in cooperation.

The Elder's View

“You should have been here 20 years ago,“ said Patrick Alesse who came by the Chamber's visitor information office Friday afternoon. Mr. Alesse explains that relations between Birch Bay and Blaine are much better now than when the Blaine mayor threatened to shut of Birch Bay's water. Mr. Alesse, a longtime Blaine water and sewer commissioner, says that commissioners of the two systems are now working well together. By way of example he explains that Birch Bay is supporting the Blaine system in adding new wells and cooperating on service areas.

About the size of Birch Bay's UGA

On Friday, the Herald published a report by Jared Paben that listed the population and acreage allocations in the proposed Urban Growth Act allocations. He repeated the previous information that Birch Bay is allocated 4,329 new residents-- growing 82 percent of the present estimated population -- by 2031 and keeping the present size of the UGA.

But Kate Koch, the county planner, who has facilitated the public meetings sponsored by the Birch Bay Steering committee, said in a phone conversation that the acreage allotment is likely to be reduced before the planning department's recommendations to the County Council, expected by July 31.

The aerial photo below shows the areas likely to be subject to reduction outlined in red.




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