Bellingham, the ugly truth.... (Seattle, Everett: casino, farms, bad areas)

[bartonizer]

Mayfair, You're right that something needs to be done. But who's saying that these things aren't a problem? And what are you and the others here proposing? I'd love to hear, because for the most part I'm just pushing back on the narrative commonly portrayed by several locals on city-data that absolutely everything is terrible in Bellingham, the place is uninhabitable, and that anyone who dares enjoy themselves visiting or living here is a fraud.

I've yet to see any proposed solutions on this forum, just collective griping. I've posted literally dozens of times acknowledging the issues repeated ad nauseum here, and you act as if simply condemning and being negative every time Bellingham is mentioned in any thread would make some magical improvement. Like the others, you simply ignore the parts of my comments you don't want to hear.

I've seen very few substantive discussions about what is absolutely a more complicated problem in modern society (and in some cases somewhat acutely represented here in town). The causes of homelessness are many, often systemic, and include things like:

Wealth inequality
Income stagnation
Global inflation
Building shortages
Low amounts of affordable housing

Again, these are complicated problems that won't be solved overnight. I'm all in favor of a new jail, more funding for drug and mental treatment, affordable housing and innovative approaches to increasing overall housing inventory (less red tape on zoning and building regulations, etc.), bringing in higher wage jobs, and anything else that could be helpful in mitigating the issues.

But... I still like living here, and you seem to think that as long as that's the case, I'm part of the problem. Let me remind everyone, I'm probably the only regular person here who owns property in city limits. And I live in an area of town that other posters seem to be terrified to visit. But, my voice doesn't matter, apparently.

Bellingham is so dramatically overrepresented on the C-D forums, it's ridiculous. As someone else mentioned, we already have several conservative online forums and social media groups with thousands of people who clearly think that it's the residents of Bellingham that are the problem, but I don't think their misguided anger alone seems to be making much of an impact. They also seem to imply that law enforcement alone would make all the difference, but I think that's but one variable and won't solve all of society's ills. So, what's your solution?

[mayfair]

I think the problems need to be solved by by the city council and the residents. People outside don't have the power to do it. In most PNW towns, you can't vote in council elections if you live outside city limits even if you do all your shopping and work in town. So it's up to the residents.

[bartonizer]

Originally Posted by mayfair

I think the problems need to be solved by by the city council and the residents. People outside don't have the power to do it. In most PNW towns, you can't vote in council elections if you live outside city limits even if you do all your shopping and work in town. So it's up to the residents.

Solved? I certainly agree that they should play a part to help mitigate them, but again these are huge societal problems and many of them are much larger than just Bellingham.

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

Solved? I certainly agree that they should play a part to help mitigate them, but again these are huge societal problems and many of them are much larger than just Bellingham.

I agree. Huge societal issues. And the homeless camps are a problem all up and down I5. I'm just saying that the part that exists in Bellingham needs to be dealt with by the city itself, since no one outside has any power to do so. Our power as individuals is limited, but the city is going to have the best chance of actually making a difference on these issues.

I don't have any power to suggest solutions, but the city can allocate money and resources to manage it before it gets out of hand.

[xPlorer48]

Originally Posted by mayfair

Something does need to be done because these issues only go in one direction once they get started if they get ignored. Then they get too big (like Seattle's homeless problem) and there's no easily workable solution at that point.

I think Bellingham needs to get going on doing something about their homeless camps and not just saying we're a city, so we have these city issues and they're not in wealthy areas (yet) so we can only talk about the positives. And if you stay away from the back of Walmart and don't look, then it's not a problem.

Yes, something needs to done but as a resident of unincorporated Whatcom County, I can only vote in county, state and national elections. The way I make my voice heard is to not shop in Bellingham if possible.

I have also sent an email to city council and the mayor for which I received no response. This was prompted by the experience of a young family whose neighbors were squatting on private property next to them. They were verbally threatened repeatedly and were confronted with machetes. Young families have enough stress without worrying about their safety.

There is one city council member who proudly displayed her ACAB banner on her FB page until she ran for her current position. There was a photo showing her with a megaphone at the City Hall grounds urging on the Antifa fringe and Homeless Industrial Complex. She narcissistically ran for mayor and lost so we won’t see her unless behind the scenes. A slight majority of voters in Bellingham are renters plus a sizable percent are students and other transients who will vote their own biases. Many of them lean far left and the vote shows this.

I think this coming election will show how serious voters are in this area about curbing rampant drug use and the crime ridden homeless encampments. I do see comments on social media showing some folks are becoming more aware and concerned about the status quo. We shall see. The mayor is well aware of the issues and, due to this being an election year, may be moving fast behind the scenes to at least begin to tackle the problems. But, you have the Boise and Blake decisions plus a legislature that just can’t make tough laws that have could have some teeth.

We just received our property tax assessment. Just about everyone who posted on Next Door and the Bellingham subreddit had very large increases including us. The auditor who is running unopposed promised to raise assessments during the last election to reflect current market rates and she did. There is a levy to add .2% of sales tax to build a new jail including mental health and drug addiction facilities. If this was a property tax increase, it would probably be voted down. If the measure wins, it may be too late as this will take time and lots of money, both in short supply.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by xPlorer48

Yes, something needs to done but as a resident of unincorporated Whatcom County, I can only vote in county, state and national elections. The way I make my voice heard is to not shop in Bellingham if possible.

I have also sent an email to city council and the mayor for which I received no response. This was prompted by the experience of a young family whose neighbors were squatting on private property next to them. They were verbally threatened repeatedly and were confronted with machetes. Young families have enough stress without worrying about their safety.

There is one city council member who proudly displayed her ACAB banner on her FB page until she ran for her current position. There was a photo showing her with a megaphone at the City Hall grounds urging on the Antifa fringe and Homeless Industrial Complex. She narcissistically ran for mayor and lost so we won’t see her unless behind the scenes. A slight majority of voters in Bellingham are renters plus a sizable percent are students and other transients who will vote their own biases. Many of them lean far left and the vote shows this.

I think this coming election will show how serious voters are in this area about curbing rampant drug use and the crime ridden homeless encampments. I do see comments on social media showing some folks are becoming more aware and concerned about the status quo. We shall see. The mayor is well aware of the issues and, due to this being an election year, may be moving fast behind the scenes to at least begin to tackle the problems. But, you have the Boise and Blake decisions plus a legislature that just can’t make tough laws that have could have some teeth.

We just received our property tax assessment. Just about everyone who posted on Next Door and the Bellingham subreddit had very large increases including us. The auditor who is running unopposed promised to raise assessments during the last election to reflect current market rates and she did. There is a levy to add .2% of sales tax to build a new jail including mental health and drug addiction facilities. If this was a property tax increase, it would probably be voted down. If the measure wins, it may be too late as this will take time and lots of money, both in short supply.

All of this is adding up to a very expensive, high tax, high cost, crime ridden place to live.
My co-worker's tax assessment on his home also increased 20%.

[Pahn]

Originally Posted by rkcarguy

All of this is adding up to a very expensive, high tax, high cost, crime ridden place to live.
My co-worker's tax assessment on his home also increased 20%.

And yet despite all your assertions that Bham is so horrible, and that you can make more money elsewhere and live better, you refuse to leave.


That's a fairly telling point, IMO.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by Pahn

And yet despite all your assertions that Bham is so horrible, and that you can make more money elsewhere and live better, you refuse to leave.

That's a fairly telling point, IMO.

I have elderly family here, kid with my current partner and kids with an ex. Can't just pick up the phone and "move my apartment please". The moons are aligning soon for our exodus, don't worry.

[rkcarguy]

Originally Posted by bartonizer

Bellingham is so dramatically overrepresented on the C-D forums, it's ridiculous. As someone else mentioned, we already have several conservative online forums and social media groups with thousands of people who clearly think that it's the residents of Bellingham that are the problem, but I don't think their misguided anger alone seems to be making much of an impact. They also seem to imply that law enforcement alone would make all the difference, but I think that's but one variable and won't solve all of society's ills. So, what's your solution?

The residents are part of the problem. Just for starters, one of the homeless camp residents was interviewed and said he loved Bellingham, there was even a "Weed and Pizza for the homeless" gofundme in Bellingham that delivered it right to the camp. "I don't even have to get up or work".....its enablement on a massive scale.
Bellingham residents, the city, and WA state together have opened the proverbial skyscraper sized bag of chips on the beach and the seagulls are coming from afar to get in on the action.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by mayfair

I think the problems need to be solved by by the city council and the residents. People outside don't have the power to do it. In most PNW towns, you can't vote in council elections if you live outside city limits even if you do all your shopping and work in town. So it's up to the residents.

So, you want only residents within Bellingham's borders to pay for solutions to problems that extend well beyond the city limits? Just because a homeless person is camping in Bellingham (where the "services" are) doesn't mean he/she came from there, say, rather than from Blaine or Deming, for instance.

These are problems that require a county, state, and federal response.