charlie

About Charlie Crabtree

Long time observer of State and Local Politics. Charlie was born and raised in Whatcom County Washington. Served in the US Air Force in the 70's and served for 12 years on the Meridian School Board (north of Bellingham Washington) and a stint on the County Charter Review Commission. Retired except for Blogging and enjoying life.

Whatcom County Health Department in Turmoil; Director on Leave.

Be Brave Washington, Opinion What County Health Department Head Erika Lautenbach on Leave As many of you are aware, the Whatcom Health Dept. Director/Erika Lautenbach has been put 'on leave' by the County Executive/Satpal Sidhu. This is the latest scandal/upheaval in our community and it will be interesting to see how things unfold. And, it will be interesting to see what information is revealed through Public Records Requests and to see if liberal Council ...

By |2025-03-18T11:17:43-07:00March 18, 2025|Fourth Corner News|3 Comments
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Influencing Olympia Effectively 3/18/25

📣 3/18 Tuesday Hearings: Taxation, Public Safety, 2A Restrictions and more Taxation! Time to testify! Nancy D Churchill Mar 17, 2025 This is a very long list of bills that will have a hearing on Tuesday, 3/18. ! There are only 2 PRO bills, but 25 (‼️) CON bills! Some of these are brand new! A few we didn’t notice before, but at least one is “NTIB,” or necessary to implement the budget. I ...

By |2025-03-18T09:11:40-07:00March 18, 2025|Fourth Corner News|0 Comments
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162 Western Wash. University Professors and employees sign “anti-Semitic” Boycott document

WWU Faculty Call on Administration to Meet Student Demands Dear President Randhawa, Provost Johnson, and WWU Board of Trustees, Students on college campuses across the country are demanding that their institutions live up to the values they claim to uphold. On May 3, 2024, a diverse coalition of Western  Washington University (WWU) student organizations, led by WWU’s Jewish Voice for Peace and Arab Student Association, presented you with a list of demands. Students are ...

By |2025-03-10T08:21:46-07:00March 10, 2025|Fourth Corner News|15 Comments
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WA Farmers Put EPA and DOJ on Notice: Backroom Tactics will be Exposed

WA Farmers Put EPA, DOJ On Notice: Backroom Tactics Will Be Exposed "Save Family Farming files new public records requests to demand transparency, hold agencies accountable as EPA, DOJ continue campaign against Washington state farms." "Dairy closes under the cost of dealing with EPA and Department of Justice" (EVERSON, Wash.) Farmers are demanding transparency from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Justice, by filing new requests for key public records ...

By |2025-03-09T12:22:13-07:00March 9, 2025|Beyond the Fourth Corner, Environment and Climate Change, Fourth Corner News, Fourth Corner News|0 Comments
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Who’s Raising Taxes in Whatcom County

Who's Raising Taxes in Whatcom County 2025 Hannah Ordos Future 42 Whatcom County Director LYNDEN, Wash. – As we reflecton 2024, the high cost of living and taxes have been a significant topic of discussion in our community and throughout the state. We can anticipate slight tax increases from time to time for essential services such as public safety, roads, and education. However, we also expect our local governments to prioritize financial responsibility, accountability, and transparency. Whether ...

By |2025-03-02T17:53:27-08:00March 2, 2025|Education, Fourth Corner News, Rural Living, The Fourth Corner|1 Comment
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Farmers and Farmworker Legislation 2025

  PRESS RELEASE - Feb. 25, 2025 Press Contact: Dillon Honcoop, dhoncoop@savefamilyfarming.org   Is Sen. Saldaña More Worried About ‘Climate Resiliency’ Than Helping Struggling Farmworkers? Despite claims of providing economic relief for farmworkers, new Saldaña proposal fails to put any money back in workers’ pockets—while paying farms to fight climate change. (OLYMPIA, Wash.) A new proposal claiming to ease the burden of new state agricultural overtime rules is moving forward in the state Senate, ...

By |2025-03-03T09:44:07-08:00March 2, 2025|Beyond the Fourth Corner, Fourth Corner News, Rural Living, The Fourth Corner|0 Comments
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Voter Integrity- Vote by Mail?

HB 1584 Ending vote by mail for non-absentee voters and restoring in-person voting at polling places and voting centers. Please COMMENT and SUPPORT: By Misty Flowers: When it comes to politics, some subjects have been too taboo to discuss on both sides of the political isle: Election Integrity is one. The concern has been, if we discuss election problems, voters aren't going to turn out. But the truth is Election Integrity has been a major ...

By |2025-02-25T17:01:12-08:00February 24, 2025|Fourth Corner News|5 Comments
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Community Information Week Of Wednesday Feb 13th 2025

Notes from the Be-Brave Organization: Saturday Feb. 15th: * RALLY for Parental Rights in Olympia!!! 12pm NOON State Capitol, North Steps. Several bills are being pushed through to protect perpetrators of sexual misconduct with children and to WITHOLD student information from Parents This week I will highlight a few worth responding to although there are MANY. HB 5181 So MANY BILLS! Since Trump's entry into the White House, there has been a very busy ...

By |2025-02-12T09:42:13-08:00February 12, 2025|Fourth Corner News|0 Comments
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John Lesow on Recent British Columbia elections and “growth management”

John Lesow Guest Writer   In May of 2024, I suggested in a Guest Editorial that Planners in Washington and British Columbia were on the same page--the Wrong one--in their efforts to address the "Housing Crisis" and "Affordability" in their respective communities of Bellingham and North Vancouver, B.C. The results of the Provincial election in British Columbia on October 19 show that the electorate remains deeply divided on the government's plan to ...

By |2024-11-07T09:58:03-08:00November 7, 2024|Beyond the Fourth Corner, Education, Fourth Corner News|0 Comments
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Is Ranked-choice voting right for Whatcom County?

Is Ranked-choice voting right for Whatcom County?   First the definition - Ranked-choice voting is when voters choose their top three candidates for positions in order of preference. If a candidate wins a majority of votes, he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. All votes that rank the failed candidate as their first choice are eliminated and ...

By |2024-10-14T10:11:08-07:00October 14, 2024|Education, Fourth Corner News, Fourth Corner News|1 Comment
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