Bellingham Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Workers at PeaceHealth feel their access to health care is limited with new insurer

By Lauren Gallup January 21, 2025

A photo at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham during National Nurses Week in 2021.

When employees at PeaceHealth hospitals around the state need a prescription filled for themselves or a family member, they can get them filled at PeaceHealth pharmacies for lower costs. It’s one of the benefits of the health care organization's insurance plan for its employees. But in Bellingham, Washington, PeaceHealth workers can’t use that benefit. There isn’t a Read More

Art and science on display from the man behind the curtain

By Lauren Gallup August 19, 2024

David Miller stands over his work table in the basement of the Whatcom Museum. Here he works on items for the exhibits upstairs, as well as his work as a scientific illustrator. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

In a big, open room in the basement of Bellingham’s old city hall, little cupboards line the walls holding spray paint, different kinds of tape, cans of WD-40, and at least four different handheld drills. Wearing round-framed glasses and an explorer’s hat, museum preparator David Miller stands over the work table, messy with progress. He is sculpting fake dinosaur bones. Read More

Why do atmospheric rivers hit some areas more than others?

By Lauren Gallup December 18, 2023

The NOAA radar, showing the storm that moved over Western Washington. The rain shadow is shown in the center. (Credit: Lauren Gallup / NWPB)

Rain, flooding, storms – all pretty standard for Western Washington, but sometimes weather patterns spare some areas that have flooded before. That was the case at the beginning of December, when Western Washington got so much rain that it caused flooding from the Stillaguamish River to the town of Rosburg. Read More

Residents near Lake Whatcom issued Level 2 Evacuation Notice

By Rachel Sun August 29, 2023

Residents on Blue Canyon Road near Lake Whatcom have been issued a Level 2 evacuation warning as crews fight a roughly 30-acre fire that likely started due to lighting Monday evening.Read More

Idaho abortion patients traveling to WA increased more than 50 percent after Dobbs

By Rachel Sun July 6, 2023

People stand outside the Pullman Planned Parenthood building during 2016. The clinic has seen an increase in patients from Idaho seeking abortions in recent months, following the passage of laws that have curtailed abortion in Idaho. (Credit: The Lewiston Tribune)

Doctors say end of federal protections affect more than just abortion careRead More

Inslee talks clean energy jobs, Malden rebuild and battling climate change

By Mary Ellen Pitney May 25, 2023

Washington Governor Jay Inslee speaking outdoors with the Mayor of Malden, Ted Maxwell.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee visited Washington State University's Pullman campus on Thursday. He spoke with Northwest Public Broadcasting's Mary Ellen Pitney on climate-related issues including building more electric car charging stations, helping towns become fire resistant and recovery efforts in Malden, three years after that Labor Day fire.Read More

Geheim Gallery Brings Contemporary Art To Bellingham

By Lauren Gallup July 28, 2022

Geheim Gallery, based in Bellingham, Washington, made their first fair appearance at the Seattle Art Fair in July. Photo courtesy of Jackson O'Rourke.

Geheim Gallery introduced Seattleites to artists from Bellingham this weekend. Lauren Gallup caught up with the owner and an artist at the Seattle Art Fair. Read More

Train Carrying Crude Oil Derails, Catches Fire In Whatcom County Near Canadian Border

By NWPB News December 22, 2020

Fire crews respond to the scene of a derailed train in the city of Custer, Washington, in Whatcom County on Tuesday, December 22, 2020. A BNSF spokesperson said seven train cars derailed and two caught fire. CREDIT: Washington Dept. of Ecology

A train carrying crude oil derailed and caught fire in Whatcom County Tuesday morning, prompting officials to evacuate all nearby residents and businesses for several hours.Read More

From Pullman To Ellensburg To Bellingham, College Towns Feel The Coronavirus Economic Slump

By NWPB News September 24, 2020

The Cougar Cottage in Pullman, known widely just as "The Coug," is a staple for students, staff and alumni during the year, especially football season and celebrating big events like graduation. It's been open as it could during the pandemic, with safety measures in place. Courtesy of The Cougar Cottage

Online classes and no fall college sports spell trouble for Washington college towns like Pullman, Ellensburg and Bellingham that lean on a higher education-fueled economy.Read More

Ferry Service Boosted To Washington Town Of Point Roberts, Cut Off By U.S.-Canada Border Closure

By Tom Banse September 3, 2020

Point Roberts , Washington, on the southern tip British Columbia is stuck between a rock and a border closure during the pandemic. CREDIT: Esmy Jimenez/KUOW. Created with DataMapper

The Port of Bellingham is increasing temporary ferry service to the isolated enclave of Point Roberts, Washington. That community was largely cut off from the U.S. mainland when Canada and the U.S. closed their land border this spring to nonessential crossings to control the spread of the coronavirus.Read More

Coronavirus Closed The Border. This Bellingham – BC Couple Was Stuck On Opposite Sides

By NWPB News June 14, 2020

Ryan Hamilton and Savannah Koop had planned to marry on May 8, and then the border closing due to the pandemic changed their plans. CREDIT: Eilis O'Neill /KUOW

When COVID-19 caused border closures, a woman from British Columbia and her fiancé in Washington were unable to see each other — not even for their wedding.Read More

Seattle BLM Protest Turns Violent As Man Drives Into Crowd, Shoots; Spokane Sees Big Event Again

By NWPB News June 8, 2020

A man drives into the crowd at 11th and Pike, injuring at least one person, before exiting the car and brandishing an apparent firearm, Sunday, June 7, 2020, in Seattle, during protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The man reaching into the car to stop it was injured. CREDIT: Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP

At least one person was injured Sunday as a car drove into a crowd during a peaceful protest in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. The Seattle Fire Department said the victim was a 27-year-old male who was shot and taken to a hospital in stable condition.Read More

A Bellingham Doctor Lost His Job After Criticizing His Hospital On COVID-19. Now He’s Suing.

By NPR News May 29, 2020

Dr. Ming Lin was fired from his position as an emergency room physician at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington after publicly complaining about the hospital's infection control procedures during the pandmic.

Dr. Ming Lin was let go in March from a hospital in Bellingham, Wash., after posting criticisms and suggestions on social media. The ACLU is helping him sue for damages and job reinstatement. Read More

Bellingham’s Shuksan Healthcare Nursing Home Tries To Avert Another COVID-19 Disaster

By NWPB News March 25, 2020

Sisters Seri Sedlacek, left, and Susan Simpkins look in on their father, Chuck Sedlacek, at the Life Care Center, Wednesday, March 18, 2020, in Kirkland. Shuksan Healthcare Center in Bellingham is working to avoid what happened at the Kirkland facility. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

More than 30 residents and employees of a Bellingham nursing facility have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting officials to take steps to avoid a deadly scenario that played out in Kirkland, Washington's Life Care Center.Read More

Stay In A Western Washington Motel 6? You May Have Claim On A $12M Settlement

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa August 28, 2019

The hotel chain Motel 6 agreed on Thursday to pay $12 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Washington state claiming hotel guest information was improperly provided to immigration officials, according to Attorney General Bob Ferguson. CREDIT: Elaine Thompson/AP

Motel 6 turned over the private information of more than 100,000 guests to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, doing so without warrants or consent. Now, those guests can claim their part of a $12 million settlement. Read More

Trial Begins In 1987 Case Of Victoria, BC Couple Killed In Northwestern Washington

By NWPB News June 14, 2019

In this April 11, 2018 photo, Snohomish County Cold Case Detective Jim Scharf, right, shares details of the unsolved case of the 1987 double homicide of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg. William Earl Talbott II is charged. CREDIT: Ian Terry/The Herald via AP

On Friday, jurors heard about the mysterious final days of a young Canadian couple killed in 1987 — as well as the novel method authorities used to finally make an arrest three decades later.Read More

Celebrating 25 Years Of The Bellingham Festival Of Music: A Conversation With Michael Palmer

By Anjuli Dodhia July 6, 2018

The Bellingham Festival of Music is celebrating its 25th Silver Anniversary season. It’s also Artistic Director Michael Palmer’s 50th year as a conductor. Anjuli Dodhia sat down for a conversation with the Maestro about his career, the Bellingham Festival of Music, and what concert-goers can look forward to this season.Read More

‘Arch of Healing’ Remembers Anti-Immigrant History In Bellingham

By Tom Banse April 19, 2018

In late winter, organizers blessed the site of the Arch of Healing and Reconciliation before contractors poured the pad. CREDIT: WHATCOM COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

Bellingham, Washington, dedicates a new monument this Saturday that speaks to the Pacific Northwest's long and conflicted history with immigration. The "Arch of Healing and Reconciliation" memorializes the past expulsions of immigrant Sikhs, Japanese and Chinese.Read More