The Editor:
Blaine citizens, 50 and over, we owe a huge thank you and debt of gratitude to the new center director, Pete Nelson. What wonderful and wonderful changes he has brought to an important community resource. It is now a welcoming place to all with a multitude of programs old and new. The building is finally filled with laughter and good times. The new longer hours make the resources available to those who work part or full-time. It has become a wonderful place to be. After the pandemic it is especially welcome as new friends are made and old friendships renewed.
I have become a member for the first time in years. I now enjoy going to the center as compared to my previous negative interactions, causing me to no longer join or participate. To those who are negative and complaining, please note change, although sometimes difficult, is not always a negative. In this case, change has finally caused the rebirth of what should be and has once again become a valuable community resource and asset.
Thank you, Pete!
Beth Tableman
Blaine
The Editor:
Just wanted to tell Doug Dahl that he’s awesome. Back in the day I used to enjoy reading the police reports because of the wit injected into them, and Doug follows in the tradition of presenting the facts with some welcome personality. His responses to our traffic questions indicate that he has researched and continues to study what he reports, and his ability to find humor in the lesser things while challenging us to adhere to the rules on serious matters makes his columns both entertaining and informative. I’ve already learned a lot from his columns, and I appreciate The Northern Light’s decision to give him regular space in the paper.
Darrin Matter
Birch Bay
The Editor:
Income inequality plays a role in the Bellingham minimum wage Initiative 1, which qualified for the November 7 ballot, and a ballot initiative in Los Angeles to cap hospital executive pay that will be on the ballot in the City of Angels.
The L.A. ballot initiative caps hospital executive pay at $450,000, the same amount the U.S. president makes. The cap does not apply to medical staff, who provide patient care. The measure states that hospital executive pay “is often excessive, unnecessary, and inconsistent with the mission of providing high-quality, affordable medical care for all.”
The California Hospital Association filed suit challenging the measure, but a Los Angeles judge denied the association’s challenge.
When PeaceHealth Vancouver management cut Whatcom County’s outpatient palliative care program, they pegged the closure to lost revenue during the pandemic and also claimed outpatient palliative care was not sustainable, yet executives continued to receive sizeable compensation increases throughout the Covid-19 crisis.
University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) announced that all executives would take a 5 percent pay decrease until June 30, 2024, to improve the organization’s financial picture, so they wouldn’t need to cut patient care. UNMH’s frontline medical providers will not see their pay decreased – only “chiefs, associate chiefs and executive directors.”
Minimum wage workers in Bellingham hope to get a $1 per hour wage increase to help keep a roof over their heads. It’s a very rare minimum wage job that offers healthcare benefits. These workers could seek a ballot initiative to cap hospital executive pay in Whatcom and Clark counties.
Micki Jackson
Bellingham
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