Here are the top local news stories that ran in The Bellingham Herald last week. For the full story, click on the heading for each item.
SECURITY TO CHANGE IN WAKE OF FAIR SHOOTING
After a fight just after 10 p.m. Aug. 20 turned to gunfire at the Northwest Washington Fair, fair organizers are considering a string of security changes for next year.
Three people were shot and one was stabbed in the incident, with all the victims expected to recover fully. A police officer tackled the suspected shooter as he ran through the fairgrounds.
At the time, there were more than 25 law and security officers on duty at the fairgrounds, according to fair officials. Officials are discussing increasing police and security presence, improving lighting at the fairgrounds and asking law enforcement to identify local gang members to prevent incidents.
A court date for the suspected shooter, a 16-year-old Bellingham boy, is set for Sept. 1.
TRAFFIC CAM INSTALLATION PUT ON HOLD
Crews won't install red-light or school-zone cameras until after the initiative against the cameras is resolved, a city of Bellingham spokeswoman said Tuesday, Aug. 23.
Meanwhile, a state appeals court is expected to decide soon whether the initiative lands on the November ballot. Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Ira Uhrig allowed the measure to proceed, but camera company American Traffic Solutions appealed that decision.
Bellingham has signed a contract with ATS to install four red-light cameras and two speed cameras in school zones. That's been put on hold by mutual agreement between the city and the company.
CARGO PORT STUDY SLOW TO LAUNCH
The process for determining the environmental impacts of the Gateway Pacific Terminal coal and bulk cargo pier still may be months away from beginning in earnest, a state official said Thursday, Aug. 25.
While SSA Marine of Seattle began the lengthy permitting process for the Cherry Point project by submitting some documents to regulatory agencies almost six months ago, those agencies have yet to begin the process of selecting a consultant to oversee the crucial environmental impact statement process. That statement will analyze a wide range of potential impacts and determine what SSA Marine must do to prevent environmental damage.
CORDATA ELEMENTARY BURGLARIZED
Two weeks before the new Cordata Elementary School opens its doors to students for the first time, burglars stole many of the school's computers.
Twenty new laptops, several desktop computers and a ukulele were reported stolen early Wednesday, Aug. 24, with a value of about $20,000. Bellingham Police said there was no evidence of forced entry. Bellingham School District officials plan to start the school year as scheduled at Cordata, and they're working with the district's insurance company to replace as many computers as possible.
PARK TREE VANDALIZED FOR VIEWS
Someone hacked a ring of bark away from a maple tree in Boulevard Park, in what may have been an attempt to kill it because it was blocking the view from a condominium, according to the Bellingham Police Department.
At the root of the vandalism, police suspect, may be a long-standing feud between the city and residents of Spinnaker Reach, a condo complex overlooking the park. About a week ago its tenants sent a petition to the city asking to have the tree trimmed because it's blocking their view of Bellingham Bay.
The kind of damage the 40- to 70-year-old tree sustained usually causes a slow death.
A Lynden man went on a spending spree with his elderly mother's money after getting power of attorney, and once he burned through it, he went to the state for assistance for her care.
Kenneth Dwayne Rogers, 58, bought a new home, spent thousands on remodeling and landscaping and bought his wife a three-stone diamond ring just months after getting power of attorney in March 2006. By September 2009, he had blown through all of his 80-year-old mother's savings - more than $400,000.
He was sentenced in August to serve 120 days in Whatcom County Jail, and he's paid back the money.
