What’s happening in Whatcom County for Oct. 15

Send us your Halloween photos

Bellinghamsters love them some Halloween. Decorations are popping up all over town and we’d love to see yours.

You can upload your image to bellinghamherald.com/send-a-photo or email a phone image to newsroom@bellinghamherald.com. We’ll add them to a photo gallery online and may use them in print, too.

These jobs are going, going ...

Have your heart set on a future as a mail carrier or newspaper reporter? You’ll want to rethink that, as they’re among the 10 most endangered jobs, according to job search portal CareerCast. Read more about it here.

Problematic raccoon

The Blaine Police Department received an animal complaint on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and issued this report:

Police were called to a residence to assist with a problematic raccoon. The homeowner had spotted the critter perched in a tree directly over a hen house full of unsuspecting victims. The animal was unhappy about the attention it was receiving and waddled away, at least temporarily.

Sleep Country USA now Sleep Train in Washington

Sleep Country USA recently began changing signs across Washington state stores to Sleep Train.

The company began the process of changing its name to Sleep Train in Oregon this summer and is currently making the change to 38 stores in Washington. Once completed, 270 stores on the West Coast will be on the West Coast. The company has two stores in Bellingham, at 4229 Meridian St. and 1315 W. Bakerview Road. Details about the company can be found at sleeptrain.com.

Tweet of the Day

Demolition of some old buildings on Bellingham’s waterfront has begun:

Washington unemployment rate drops to 5.2 percent

Washington’s unemployment rate dropped slightly despite the fact that the number of jobs contracted in September.

The unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 percent last month while Washington experienced a loss of 2,200 jobs, according to a news release from the Employment Security Department. This could be because people who lost their job dropped out of the workforce to go back to school. The unemployment rate counts only those actively looking for work. The unemployment rate in August was 5.3 percent.

“Hiring across the state took a step backward in September, although forward momentum is still being sustained,” said Paul Turek, labor economist with ESD in the news release. “Some adjustments in hiring appear to be occurring as employers start transitioning to the holiday season, and some may be due to new challenges presented by global economic conditions.”

This story was originally published October 15, 2015 at 11:19 AM with the headline "What’s happening in Whatcom County for Oct. 15."