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AVANT GARDENINGFood Not Lawns P.15

#RECREATERESPONSIBLYA staycation summer P.08

ACTION ALERT

Save Our Stages! P.10

c a s c a d i aREPORTING FROM THE HEART OF CASCADIAWHATCOM*SKAGIT*SURROUNDING AREAS

05-27-2020 • ISSUE: 22 • V.15

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TOC LETTERS STAFF

BOUNCED CHECKLast week’s Postal Service mail brought me an

Economic Impact Payment check from the U.S. Treasury. This check resulted from the CARES Act, passed in March by a rare unanimous vote. The check conspicuously displayed Trump’s name, as though he were the source of such beneficence.

Catching a faint whiff of electioneering oppor-tunism, I disdain to accept it and have made it over to Planned Parenthood, which is one of his favorite charities.

It is also worth noting that Trump attempted to make the Postal Service swallow a poison pill in return for a $10 billion line of credit related to coronavirus costs.

—Peter Willing, Bellingham

NO ONE MESSES WITH MOTHER NATURE

I am not a scientist or profess to be. I have lived long enough to see what is happening in this world and I think Mother Nature is pissed off at what the human beings have done to her planet. All of us, of the world, have been spinning ideas for so long with no regard to Mother Nature.

Where is the country that has the most pollu-tion? Of course, China. They have opened up the whole country with manufactories, and have no regard as to what impact they have had on their land and air and rivers. So Mother Nature got an-

gry and lashed out to the biggest destroyers. I be-lieve she inputted the coronavirus in China know-ing they could easily spread it through the world through the Chinese people. They got on planes and spread it through the airplanes and beyond.

No one (especially Donald Trump) recognized it as a threat. Then people started dying and Trump took back his “fake news” reports. But still sat on his McDonald’s ass. Finally faced with the fact that this is real, he backpedaled to make him seem like he discovered it and now knows how to fix it. Such B.S. He kept the country fighting a political war to divert our attention with his name-calling and his great way to always blame someone else. How many people were “fired” or quit because of him? He has the morals of a snail.

It all started with the Democrats who ran for office. Trump thought he could bully his way through all the candidates. As the pandemic started rising I hope people finally saw Trump for what he truly is: an arrogant, narcissistic, mentally ill man who only thinks about his needs and wants. The man has no class and no morals.

This next election will prove the point that there is pollution, climate change, racism and many more important issues facing the world and our country. So in case you want to piss off Mother Nature, vote for Trump. I’m sure he has more up his sleeve.

Or if you want to please Mother Nature and

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c a s c a d i aREPORTING FROM THE HEART OF CASCADIAWHATCOM*SKAGIT*SURROUNDING AREAS

05-27-2020 • ISSUE: 22 • V.15

THISWEEK

Views & News02: Mailbag

O3: Biz Briefs

04: Gristle and Rhodes

06: Last week’s news

07: Fuzz Buzz, 52 Women

Arts & Life08: #Recreate Responsibly

09: Art for the end

10: Save Our Stages!

Rear End12: Sudoku, Comix

13: Crossword

14: Free Will Astrology

15: Food Not Lawns

COVER: Photo courtesy of Anacortes Kayak Tours.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are more than just spacemen—they’re also best friends, and when they loaded into SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft on Weds., May 27, they unlocked another friendship achievement as the first American astronauts to launch into space from American soil in almost a decade. “I think there’s a lot of people that wish they could [fly with their best friend], and we’re lucky enough to do it,” Hurley said as part of a NASA promotional video. He then confessed that one of the things the pair is looking forward to is the “celebratory” vomiting at the end of their journey. It wouldn’t be a boys trip without it.

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SEND YOUR LETTERSGot something on your mind? Share how you feel. Send us letters and please keep them short and consise (300 words or fewer). Send to letters@cascadiaweekly.com

repair this country and the world to what it used to be, vote Joe Biden or all Democrats.

—Patty Hutchins, Lynden

ORCHESTRATED GENOCIDE?In 2016 Trump campaigned against im-

migration and particularly Latin Ameri-can immigrants. Despite his countless lies disparaging the value of Hispanic Americans, it is a fact that the incidence of crime in Hispanic communities is less than that in the average population. Since his election he has done everything he can to stop Hispanic migration into this country.

To enhance his selfish goals he has worked to build his wall and has com-mandeered (stolen) monies that were meant to be used for better housing and safety for our military personnel and their families.

His recent executive order to put pack-ing plants back to work is nothing short of orchestrated genocide.

He has once again conspired with his corporate friends to enhance his immi-gration, and political goals. This order subjects the most vulnerable, susceptible and poor people in our society to being exposed to a deadly virus with little or no protection and no recourse.

These poor people have to go back to work knowing they are not going to have safe and secure working condi-tions. Regardless how sick they may be or how afraid they are to bring a virus home to their family they will have to work because they will have no alterna-tive. There will be no further assistance or unemployment monies.

The Trump edict lets the corpora-tions (such as Tyson and Smithfield) reopen with no real rules or oversight for employee protection (by the way, Smithfield Foods is owned by a Chinese conglomerate). In the process he is re-lieving them of any liability or account-ability for employees that become sick as a result of the virus.

So he is going to force the poorest, hard working people to go back to work for those in power even though it puts them and their families in grave danger.

You think this might be bit like 300 years ago? This is as close to genocide as America has every experienced. This is

beyond disgraceful!As long as Ruth Bader Ginsburg can

hold on for another nine months (pray for her) we may be able to salvage our de-mocracy. If Trump is elected for another term our democracy is finished and you will be bowing to the emperor.

—Gene Bogner, Bellingham

ON MEDSContrary to the plentiful platitudes,

Canada’s supposedly universal healthcare system has much room for improvement.

I—one who champions truly compre-hensive health-services coverage—had tried accessing one-on-one therapy in our “universal” system; within, however, were/are crucial health treatments that are either universally non-existent or, much more likely, universally inacces-sible, except to those with the extra dough to blow.

Canada is the only universal health-coverage country that doesn’t also cover medication. The bitter irony is, many low-income outpatients cannot afford to fill their prescriptions and as a result end up back in the hospital system—thus burdening the system far more than if the outpatients’ generic-brand medi-cation was also covered.

This lesson was learned and imple-mented by enlightened European na-tions with genuinely universal all-inclu-sive health care systems that also cover necessary medication.

Why Canada has to date steadfastly refused to similarly do so, I know not.

But I do know that the only two health professions’ appointments for which I’m fully covered by the public health plan are the pharmaceutically prescribed psy-chiatry and general practitioner health professions. Health specialists such as dentists, counselors, therapists and na-turopaths are not covered.

—Frank Sterle Jr. White Rock, B.C.

BIZ BRIEFS

05.27.20BY CAREY ROSS

HIT THE JACKPOTSILVER REEF CASINO RESORT

After revamping their physical space and processes, the Silver Reef has reopened. They’re operating at 50 percent capacity with socially distant machines and tables.Along with the gaming floor, the casino’s eateries—Red River Cafe, Piz-zanini, and Portage Bay Bar—are open. For info about the safety measures and the revised gaming experience, see www.silverreefcasino.com.

FOOD FOR YOU1-UP LOUNGE

Among the hard-hustling business owners navigating COVID-19 shutdowns are Alex and Hugh Newmark, owners of 1-Up Lounge. From alco-hol delivery, to incen-tivizing sales with the promise of free stuff on Sundays, they’ll do just about anything to keep the lights on. Now they’ve gotten clear-ance to sell food along with their boozy wares. Find out what they’re cooking up at www.1updelivery.com.

A COVID CRISISQUICKSILVER PHOTO LAB

Cate Lawson-Reed, owner of Quicksil-ver Photo Lab, has spent her quarantine preserving people’s precious memories at her Cornwall Avenue shop via curb-side pickup and drop-off. However, her COVID-crippled business took another

RESTAURANTS REOPENA whole host of restaurants have

revamped, retooled and readied themselves to reopen for takeout service for your dining pleasure.

ROCK AND RYE OYSTER HOUSE: www.rockrye.com, Food, cock-tails, takeout

LETTERED STREETS COFFEE-HOUSE: (360) 933-4689, Coffee, tea, takeout

KEENAN’S AT THE PIER: (360) 756-1005, Food, family meals, cocktails, curbside pickup

DANIELLE’S BACK EAST BBQ: (360) 746-8700, Food, family meals, takeout

D’ANNA’S CAFE ITALIANO: (360) 714-0188, Food, family meals, cocktails, cocktail kits, curbside pickup

THE CORNER PUB: (360) 757-6113, Food, cocktails, takeout

SEAVIEW CAFE AND GENERAL STORE: www.semiahmoo.com, Food, cocktails, takeout

GALLOWAY’S COCKTAIL BAR: (360) 756-2795, Food, cocktails, cocktail kits, takeout

BROTHERS BUS BISTRO: (360) 224-2755, Food, takeout

SUPER MARIO’S TACO TRUCK: (360) 920-4330, Food, takeout

hit when she suffered a major equip-ment failure. She’s raising money via GoFundMe for new equipment to keep the local mainstay going. For more info: www.facebook.com/QuicksilverPhoto

GET YOUR BEER HEREASLAN ANNIVERSARY

Normally Aslan Brewing Co. celebrates its birthdays by throwing a huge all-day birthday party where both beer and community goodwill flow freely. This year, that’s not a possibility, so they marked the occasion with the release of their fourth organic flagship beer. Joining Batch 15, Dawn Patrol, and Classic is Cosmic Dreams, now available at the brewpub and taproom.

BREAK OUT THE TAKEOUT

Investing with ImpactCreating Economic, Social and Environmental Value

Susan RiceFinancial Planning SpecialistFinancial Advisor2200 Rimland Drive, Suite 105Bellingham, Wa 98226360-788-7005 800-247-2884susan.e.rice@morganstanley.comNMLS # 1290656 © 2019 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC Member SIPC.

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SINCE I work from home (if you can call what I do work), sheltering in place is not a problem. My only contact with outsiders is a trip to the grocery store, which I call my hour of living dangerously.

There’s a lot of routine to my life these days. Every morning I turn on my flashlight and shove it as far down my throat as I can get it. The president suggested that ultraviolet light might cure COVID-19, so I’m giving it a try. I’m not sure if my flashlight is an ultraviolet model, but this must be working because I feel fine. Ex-cept that my throat really hurts all the time. If I actually do get the virus, I’ll follow each flashlight treatment with a glass of Clorox.

Following the flashlight regimen, it’s breakfast time. Since I limit my grocery store exposure to twice a month, if I run out of something I just make do. We were out of milk this morning so I had Hawaiian Punch on my Rice Krispies. The only other options were Coke Zero and Worcestershire sauce. The Hawaiian Punch wasn’t great, but I certainly wasn’t going to eat dry Rice Krisp-ies. I’m not an animal.

After breakfast I do my chores. Being home all the time I get a lot accomplished. For example, I recently alphabetized our canned vegetables. We didn’t have a full 26-letter assortment of veggies, and I hate unfinished projects, so I went online and ordered the miss-ing varieties. Now we’ve got the works, from artichokes to zucchini. I hate canned zucchini.

A couple of days ago, as I was lin-ing up my shoes in the closet by date

of purchase, I started worrying that I might run out of projects. Fortu-nately, at that moment I spotted on a top closet shelf my old Dymo Label Maker that I bought in 1973.

Nothing in this house is labeled, I thought. Let’s get to work!

This will come in handy if I ever slip into dementia and can’t re-member what things are. My wife suggested that the fact that I’m la-beling chairs, lamps and appliances might be a sign I’m already there. I thought this was a very bad atti-tude. I put the labels in inconspicu-ous places, of course. The label that says “Refrigerator” is on the inside of the refrigerator and not on the door. I’m not an idiot.

My chores take me to lunchtime. We were out of mustard but it turns out that lemon curd isn’t all that bad on hotdogs, and at least the color is sort of right.

For my postprandial activity I work on my book. I’m putting to-gether an anthology of the stupid-est things people have said during this pandemic. There is tough com-petition from such luminaries as Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, and Tim Eyman, but Whatcom’s own state senator Doug Ericksen was not about to be left out. Medical experts say that in order to get a handle on this virus we need wide-spread testing followed by contact

tracing to locate those who might have been infected. Doug, sens-ing something sinister was afoot, saw right through this nefarious scheme and sounded the alert: “Now the deep state is proposing Communist Chinese style, free-dom destroying, liberty crushing techniques to fight the Communist China Virus.” Wow! You’ve outdone yourself again, Dougie Boy. You never disappoint.

During the day I set my televi-sion to record news programs and presidential “briefings.” After din-ner I get out my Winky Dink screen for my evening entertainment. If you’re too young to remember Winky Dink, he was a 1950s TV cartoon character. You could send away for a piece of clear vinyl that stuck to your TV screen and some special crayons. If Winky Dink got into a bind and needed, say, a lad-der, you could draw it for him. I wisely held onto my Winky Dink screen. Now I freeze-frame shots of Donald Trump on my television and add my own embellishments, such as Mike Pence mooning the president, or Dr. Fauci hurling a scalpel at his head. Recently I cap-tured a good side view of Trump and I drew a hose connecting his ass to his brain. I think this is where he gets all his ideas.

Even though I’ve kept busy dur-ing this partial lockdown, I’ll be glad when things get back to nor-mal. I really miss my croquet league and playing music with my ampli-fied ocarina quintet.

Alan Rhodes can be reached at mr_cranky@cascadiaweekly.com

THE GRISTLE

VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF CASCADIA WEEKLY

viewsYOUR VIEWS THE GRISTLE

BY ALAN RHODES

Corona Days, Corona DazeMR. CRANKY SHELTERS IN PLACE

NAPOLEONS IN EXILE: In a vote split along familiar 4-3 lines, Whatcom County Council reluctantly ex-tended their interim moratorium on the acceptance of applications and permits for major unrefined fossil fuel export projects at Cherry Point for the eighth time. They could hardly have decided otherwise—the public process for considering these amendments to the county’s Comprehensive Plan is all but in a coma as council meetings are telecast amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and even the fossil fuel industry itself is coughing and sputtering in economic collapse. Never the less, the delay plays into a misleading nar-rative that County Council does not support heavy industry and job growth at Cherry Point.

Council member Kathy Kershner objected to the extension even being introduced—“during this time of absolute uncertainty with businesses, with the loss of a renewable fuels project [at Cherry Point], with the notification that Alcoa is going to be dis-continuing their business in Whatcom County,” Ker-shner reasoned. “I don’t think that the County Coun-cil should be taking any action that would encourage our industries at Cherry Point to consider this as an unfriendly business environment.”

Her motion to withdraw the item from the agenda was supported by Ben Elenbaas and Tyler Byrd.

Yet, inaction is itself action. Without consider-ation and vote the moratorium would simply expire without extension, sweeping four years of legisla-tive process and volumes of public comment into the dustbin. The Whatcom County Planning Commission has not completed their own extensive review on the Comprehensive Plan amendments for Cherry Point.

“We have a situation where something that has been in existence for a long time, that was put in place to allow the Council to come up with new regu-lations, is on the verge of expiring,” Council’s legal advisor Karen Frakes explained.

Council’s Terrible Trio objected to the introduction of the item on grounds of procedure and public pro-cess, then immediately pivoted to a procedural and public process violation of their own—introducing a matter that was not even on the published agenda at all. This is a trio that grouses without end about surprise introductions of proposals and lack of trans-parency in legislative decisions.

As their meeting concluded last week, Elenbaas proposed sending a letter to the governor, demand-ing more local control on the reopening of Whatcom County’s businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a proposal that would essentially neuter the gover-nor’s authority over public health initiatives related to coronavirus.

“We would like you to consider modifying your order to allow county governments which have well established health departments, administrations and functional legislative bodies to be more ‘in control’ of their own futures as we reopen,” Elen-baas wrote in his proposed letter to the governor.

Comically citing the state’s Growth Management Act as a model (a law the county refused to comply with for more than 20 years), Elenbaas noted “local control and planning is very beneficial as each county has its own strengths and unique challenges. We believe these challenges can be best met by granting local govern-ments more leeway in determining their future. Please consider an option for counties to deviate from your

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THE GRISTLEreopening phases without a burdensome ‘ask permission step’ as long as we can document a thoughtful process and ap-propriate mitigation factors that per-tain to the COVID-19 emergency.”

“That is a meaningless low bar, that every county in Washington would clear at any time,” Council member Todd Donovan noted in dissent to the let-ter, and would allow counties to reopen their economies without regard to data related to infection rates, hospital ca-pacity and related outbreak concerns.

“My understanding was that Mr. Elenbaas was going to work with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Ms. Frakes” to prepare a more cogent letter to the governor for introduction at a later date, Donovan observed.

Elenbaas objected to the letter be-ing reviewed by the county’s legal counsel. Elenbaas sent the letter to Council members mere hours before in-sisting on a vote on it. Council spent considerable time massaging the pro-posed text—mostly in deletions of its truculent and confrontational lan-guage—despite the inconvenience of not having the text actually available to them for discussion.

“I wrote it with a theme in mind,” Elenbaas admitted.

“Fortunately, Council did remove from the letter references to conspir-acy theories about reopening being linked to approval of the Green New Deal,” Donovan observed dryly. “But that remains the context from which this letter was approved.”

“I think Mr. Elenbaas’ concerns have largely been addressed,” Browne observed, “that if the coun-ty achieves a goal of lowering new cases, then we do get more latitude in our decision-making—and it is set by an objective measure.

The measure is R0, a mathematical term that indicates how contagious an infectious disease is—and Whatcom County is meeting its goals of lower-ing that value below R1.

“The letter is not specific in what it is asking the governor to allow us to approve,” Browne noted.

It’s a wonder Council approved the letter at all, given the unorthodox manner in which it was introduced and the lack of coordinated thought that went into its contents.

Napoleons-in-exile, the Corona Coun-cil is beholden only to their fiefdoms and the interest groups that are com-municating privately with them. The absence of a public meeting space ex-acerbates their isolation and their scat-tershot approach to open meetings. It’s no substitute for government.

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05.20.20

WEDNESDAYImpostors have used the stolen information of tens of thousands of people in

Washington to fraudulently receive hundreds of millions of dollars in unem-ployment benefits. “This is happening because bad actors have acquired peo-ple’s personal information through other data breaches outside of the agency,” Employment Security Commissioner Suzi LeVine said. “Criminals then use this information to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits in someone else’s name. There has been no data breach from ESD’s system.” The state is working with federal law enforcement, financial institutions and the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate the fraud and try to recover the money paid out during the huge spike in joblessness during the coronavirus crisis. [ESD]

05.21.20

THURSDAYGovernor Jay Inslee requests an extension of authority and addition-

al funding for the Washington National Guard in support of COVID-19 pandemic emergency response operations through July 31, 2020. “This na-tionally declared emergency is causing second and third order effects that will last long beyond the immediate threat of the COVID-19 pandemic,” In-slee said. “National Guard response missions are absolutely critical to the state’s efforts to sustain a safe and responsible opening of our economy.” [Office of Governor]

Republican legislative leaders call on Gov. Inslee to convene a special leg-islative session to work on budget and other coronavirus-related issues. The announcement comes as GOP lawmakers grow increasingly critical of Inslee’s steps to gradually restart the economy amid a massive spike in unemployment and preliminary projections showing a $7 billion state budget shortfall over the next three years. “The Legislature has been kept on the sidelines for more than two months while the governor exercised emergency powers long past the time when his original goal of ‘flattening the curve’ was realized and hospital resources were not overwhelmed,” Senate GOP Leader Mark Schoesler said in a statement. [Seattle Times]

05.22.20

FRIDAYA judge throws out a lawsuit from a coalition of states, environmental

groups and tribal leaders that sought to revive an Obama-era moratorium against U.S. government coal sales on public lands in the West. The U.S. District Court said the Trump administration had fixed its initial failure to consider the environmental impacts of ending the moratorium. The mining in-dustry and two coal states, Wyoming and Montana, joined the case on the side of the federal government. Opponents of the coal-leasing program included

The

Week that WasBY TIM JOHNSON

MAY20-26

the Democratic attorneys general of Califor-nia, New York, New Mexico, and Washington. [Billings Gazette]

Bodies were still buried beneath the mud of the Oso hillside in May 2014 when pastor Gary Ray funneled $30,000 in cash—dona-tions meant for grieving families of the 43 killed—into a church bank account where only he had access. “People were still search-

ing for the dead,” said deputy prosecutor Mi-chael Safstrom in court. “So this is the most glaring contradiction between public words and private deeds.” Ray is sentenced to 18 months in prison for a series of swindles that went on for years, totaling more than $152,000 stolen from Oso families, col-lection plates and his own church congre-gations in Snohomish and Island counties. [Everett Herald]

LAST WEEK’S

NEWS

SILVER REEF CASINO REOPENS WITH LIMITED CAPACITY

Tribal leaders across the state are cautiously exploring reopening their gaming operations, with safety measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Silver Reef Casino Resort opened last week with limited capacity and requirements for personal protective gear including face masks. The operations were made in consultation with public health officials.“We will be conducting daily temperature tests,

providing masks, enhancing sanitization mea-sures, and implementing other safety measures to protect our staff and patrons,” Silver Reef CEO Marty Sauvage said.“Many factors were taken into consideration

while making this decision to reopen,” Lawrence Solomon, chairman of the Lummi Indian Business Council said in a statement. “We are confident in our precautionary measures and our ability to mitigate and minimize risks to staff and patrons. We have stringent requirements for social distancing, personal protective gear for staff and patrons, and disinfecting in place, and we are committed to remaining vigilant in our efforts to combat the transmission of COVID-19 within the Silver Reef Casino Resort.“Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Lummi

Indian Business Council has had to make many difficult decisions to protect our people,” Solomon said. “To protect the health of our members, we declared a public health emergency

on March 3, issued a shelter-in-place order even before the state of Washington, we moved quick-ly to offer drive-thru testing, and implemented procedures for conducting contact tracing, quarantine and isolation.”As sovereign nations, the tribes were under no

compulsion to respond to the governor’s orders to limit business and shelter in place; nevertheless, Washington’s tribes did respond to the order the instructions of state health officials.“We are responsible to our people to pro-

vide essential government services,” Solomon said. “In making our decision, we took into consideration the overall well-being of our staff and our tribal members. Our relatives and the greater community are facing incredible hard-ships during this time and it is imperative that we continue working together to combat this global pandemic.“Thanks to the quick and comprehensive

response of our public health team and the dedication of our people to stay home, we have seen a decrease in the number of confirmed cas-es,” Solomon said. “There have been no reports of our local hospitals being inundated with COVID-19 cases. It was with this in mind that we consulted our Lummi Public Health team to consider a partial reopening of the Silver Reef Casino Resort.”Nooksack Northwood Casino may open this week.

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The women of the YWCA have given to this community for more than 100 years. It was impossible to choose just one woman to represent the organization and the roles throughout the century.

Housed in the handsome Georgian build-ing built by the Larrabee family in 1915, the YWCA continues to serve their mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. At present, they provide housing and support services for women in transition. Rentals from the lovely main-floor ballroom and kitchen help supply revenue. The basement holds the Lillian Hellman Back to Work Boutique. Previously, the organization has supported Traveler’s Aid, Girl Reserves,

Moms and Tots, swimming lessons, Y Teens, Y Wives, and the Sunset Club for seniors. By 1969, more than 10,888 women and girls had participated.

As a more social justice emphasis evolved, the YWCA served as an incubator for:• Women in Trades• Eco Action (sparking the creation of

Boulevard Park)• Options for GEDs • Rape Relief, Battered Women—Crisis Line• Murphy House—Jail Alternatives• Encore—Breast cancer support• Other Bank• Displaced Homemakers

2020 marks the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and the formation of the League of Women Voters. Every week in 2020, the LWV is proud to feature a woman who made a difference in What-com County through their accomplishments, active community involvement or inspiring representa-tion in different fields. Visit the LWV website to learn more www.lwvbellinghamwhatcom.org.

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FUZZ BUZZSHELTER IN PLACEOn May 24, Bellingham Police checked on a report of people cursing at one an-other in an apartment in the Lettered Streets neighborhood.

On May 25, a vacuum and a picture frame were damaged during an argument on Texas Street in Bellingham.

On May 11, a Porta Potty was knocked over at a construction site in Anacortes and $60 of cleaning supplies were stolen.

On May 10, Blaine Police checked on a report of a landlord-tenant dispute. Of-ficers learned the landlord of the apart-ment building would like to evict the tenant in one of his units after just a few days of renting to her. “The landlord advised officers the tenant moved her boyfriend into the apartment who is not on the lease and is causing a lot of dis-turbances,” police reported. Officers ad-vised the landlord it’s a civil matter and he would need to file the proper eviction paperwork through the Sheriff’s Office.

On May 9, Blaine Police were dispatched to a motel room after an occupant thought someone was attempting to unlock their door from the outside. “Officers arrived and discovered no one in the area,” police reported. “Officers determined the indi-vidual may have been impaired by drugs.”

On May 22, a man called Bellingham Po-lice to complain about his neighbor.

On May 24, Bellingham Police learned of a large fight that had broken out in the courtyard of an apartment complex in York neighborhood. No charges were filed in the dispute.

On May 24, Bellingham Police tried to resolve a dispute between neighbors in Birchwood neighborhood.

On May 24, Bellingham Police took a report of another dispute in Birchwood neighborhood.

On May 20, Bellingham Police took a re-port of a dispute in Puget neighborhood.

On May 14, Blaine Police learned sever-al teens appeared to be getting ready to fight. Officers contacted several individ-uals who were yelling at each other in front of a residence. Police spoke with all the persons involved and determined no

crime was committed and no one wished to pursue a complaint. The combatants agreed to stop yelling at each other and go their own separate ways.

On May 10, Blaine Police learned a man had walked into a home without permis-sion and began yelling at children in-side. Officers learned the man was upset about the behavior of the children. Po-lice advised the man to seek out an adult to address the children’s behavior.

On May 19, Bellingham Police checked on a report of a missing child. The child was quickly located in another room of the residence.

MORE ZERO THAN ZORROOn May 10, Anacortes Police learned of a shirtless man who was swinging a sword. “An officer contacted the swordsman who had since robed and said he was just playing around,” police reported.

GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORSOn May 9, a woman crashed her white Chevrolet pickup through a fence in Blaine and left the scene. The driver was even-tually located and arrested for hit and run and driving under the influence.

On May 16, Anacortes Police tried to make contact with a woman seen in a construc-tion zone. They were unable to locate her, but did make note of the derogatory mes-sages she had written in lipstick on heavy equipment parked in the area.

PET POLICEOn April 25, “two small socialites showed up on the back doorstep of a Kingsway residence,” Anacortes Police reported. “The responding officer took custody of the well-adorned K9s—one was wearing a pink sweater, the other had a harness with hearts on it—and took them to the pound after attempts to reach the owner were unsuccessful.”

On April 27, an Anacortes man wanted police to know about a coyote that had taken up residence in the greenbelt be-hind his home.

On April 20, an Anacortes resident want-ed to report her neighbor’s neglected cat. The Animal Control Officer learned that the neighbor was willing to rehome the cat so she could get the care she needed. The ACO took custody of the feline and brought her to the Cat’s Meow so she could be cared for and put up for adoption.

MAKE OFFER, GET RESULTSOn May 23, a man attempted to bribe a Bellingham Police officer. The 36-year-old was arrested.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF BELLINGHAM AND WHATCOM COUNTY52 WOMEN OF

WHATCOM COUNTY

Janet Marino (b. 1975) has come full circle as the program director of RE Sources. While a student in WWU’s po-litical science department, she worked at the RE Store for seven years. After a year in Olympia, she came back to Bell-ingham and was hired as the YWCA’s operations manager. Marino cites the importance of mentoring to help career advancement, both at the YWCA and RE Sources. She helped to pass the first Bellingham Home Fund measure partly because “the most rewarding moment I had at work was to move a resident into her first apartment.” Marino became the executive director of Whatcom Peace and Justice Center in 2011 and remains board president today, even after moving back to RE Sources. She feels fortunate that she has work that makes a difference in the world. Marino shows her intricate pen-and-ink drawings, volunteers at the Stringband Jamboree and for various local campaigns, and gardens.

I feel fortunate that I have work that makes a difference in this world. —Janet Marino

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BY AMY KEPFERLE

Staycation SummerHOW TO #RECREATE RESPONSIBLY

THE WASHINGTON Recreate Responsibly Coalition didn’t exist at this time last year. It didn’t need to.

It wasn’t until a global pandemic stopped the world in its tracks that the coalition of more than 50 Washington state organizations banded together in order to formu-late a solid game plan about how to make recreating responsibly easier to remember, follow and share.

The newly formed group was brought together under the leadership of the Washing-ton Trails Association, outdoor retailer REI, and state land managers. Included in the conversation were various government agencies, nonprofits and outdoor businesses that, according to a recent press release, are “inspired by a love of the outdoors and a desire to help people safely experience the benefits of nature while ensuring that our public lands stay open.”

Based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pub-lic health guidelines and recreation experts, the tips the Washington Recreate Respon-sibly Coalition is hoping to incorporate into the statewide and even national lexicon are focused on common-sense directives such as planning ahead, staying close to home, practicing physical distancing and playing it safe as Governor Jay Inslee reopens state lands and waters (see the full list of tips in the sidebar).

alone—the coalition realized that focus-ing on and solidifying the simple direc-tives would help ensure understanding and awareness of shared best practices.

Eric Artz, REI’s president and CEO, thinks the Recreate Responsibly Coali-tion could have a reach far beyond the boundaries of Washington state.

Expansion is already in the works. Just before Memorial Day weekend and the un-official kickoff to summer, REI, the Out-door Alliance, and the Outdoor Industry Association convened a group of partners who are interested in ensuring the con-versation continues at the national level. At press time, the number of members was 18 and growing.

As the weather gets warmer and more people venture outside to ride bikes, hike trails, run, kayak in various bodies of wa-ter, fish, ride horses, golf or camp, COV-ID-19 policies might need to be updated, and other activities such as climbing, off-roading, trail maintenance and resto-ration may require additional protocols.

And, since one of the main directives to #RecreateResponsibly focuses on not traveling far from home, staycations are likely to be on the rise this summer.

Since May 14, when Governor Inslee is-sued a memorandum that outdoor recre-ation tours and guide operations would begin to open in segments—offering guidelines for staffed outdoor tennis facilities, guided ATV, paddle sports, horseback riding, guided fishing, go-kart tracks, motocross facilities, and partic-ipant-only motorsports—organizations such as the Washington Outdoor Business Alliance are encouraging people to seek out professional tour guides and outfit-ters close to their own zip codes.

“It really is important for people not to overload those smaller communities in their restaurants or otherwise,” In-slee says. “It’s really a time to remain close to home. And we know some of these smaller communities have tried to reiterate that with us so that they are not overwhelmed.”

For those living in or near Skagit County, for example, Anacortes Kayak Tours is a good example of a business that already specializes in small group excursions where personal space is built into the activity, and safety and stew-ardship are top priorities.

Being in a kayak naturally provides more than double the recommended so-cial distancing space recommended by experts, the tour company’s Erik Schorr points out.

“There is no need to take a plane, a bus, a boat or a ferry,” he says. “You can drive directly to Anacortes on lovely Fi-dalgo Island and experience the fresh, healthy air of the San Juan Islands from the comfort of a stable sea kayak.”

For more details, go to www.recreation northwest.org/the-alliance

HIKING RUNNING GARDENING

outside

SIX TIPS FOR A SAFER SUMMER Know Before You Go: Check the status

of the place you want to visit. If it’s closed, don’t go. If it’s crowded, have a plan B.Plan Ahead: Prepare for facilities to be

closed, pack lunch and bring essentials such as hand sanitizer and a face covering.Stay Close to Home: This is not the

time to travel long distances to recreate. Most places are only open for day use.Practice Physical Distancing: Adven-

ture only with your immediate household. Be prepared to cover your nose and mouth and give others space. If you are sick, stay home.Play It Safe: Slow down and choose

lower-risk activities to reduce your chance of injury. Search and rescue operations and health care resources are both strained.Leave No Trace: Respect public lands

and communities and take all your gar-bage with you.

For more details, go to

www.recreateresponsibly.org

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“As Washingtonians, we continue to fight to slow the spread of COVID-19,” says Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Pub-lic Lands. “As a community that trea-sures the outdoors, we are so profoundly grateful to get back outside. It is one small stop back to normalcy for us. Due to our shared sacrifice and the heroic work of our first responders, doctors and nurses, we can now begin reconnecting with nature again. However, we must all take the proper precautions to keep our communities, our families and ourselves safe from the virus so we can continue to enjoy the healing powers of nature.”

Although many of the guidelines the WRRC are touting have been mentioned throughout the course of the coronavirus crisis—which has thus far claimed more than 100,000 lives in the United States

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visualGALLERIES OPENINGS PROFILES

BY AMY KEPFERLE

Spring Show SHELTER IN PLACE WITH FISHBOY

VISITING FISHBOY’S home studio is akin to entering a circus funhouse. Located in the the heart of Bellingham’s Sunnyland neighborhood, the spot on the corner of Virginia and Iron streets reveals a series of structures and outdoor spaces designed to show off the contemporary folk art of Randy Clark, the longtime artist and retired WTA driver whose nickname points in part to his practice of “fishing” for found objects such as recycled wood and paint to bring his joyful work to life.

Although those eager to get a peek at FishBoy’s creative process during his annual spring open house won’t be able to tour the funhouse just yet, an online “Shelter-in- Place Spring Show” running “from now until the end” offers a look at what he’s been up to, with new pieces added regularly. Cascadia Weekly: Are you getting more online sales than you were before the shelter-in-

place order took effect? FishBoy: I’ve never sold online before. For 20 years while I was working, I depended

on three or four one-day, seven-hour shows in my gallery—which is also my home—to sell my work. It was clear by the end of March that we weren’t going to be able

to have an on-site spring show. We’d been posting a piece of art on Face-book every day for a couple of weeks by that time, prompted by a friend who said it made him happy to see my work every day.

People started messaging and ask-ing if certain pieces were available, and we started selling. So we thought, OK, if art lovers can’t come here for a show, what if we take the show to them instead? The Shelter-in-Place Spring Show has been successful be-yond our wildest imaginings.

CW: You’ve already got such a fantastic setup for waiting out a pandemic. What are you glad you already have on-site, and what are you lacking?

FB: I pretty much have everything I need here. I figure it’s my own fault if I don’t succeed in making do with what I have. I live with art on my walls every day, I have the companionship of my girlfriend (children’s author Barbara Jean Hicks), who has been sheltering in place with me since the beginning of lockdown, I have enough to eat and drink, and I have satisfying work to do. In addition, I get to see what’s go-ing on in my garden every day; I notice when a plant grows an inch and when a flower blooms. And I’ve made friends with a Stellar jay, Blu-Blu, and a black squirrel, Peewee, who both come into my studio for peanuts while I’m work-ing—not at the same time, though.

CW: What else are you doing to keep your-self sane during these trying times?

FB: Taking naps whenever I want to,

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binging on Netflix and Amazon Prime, going for neighborhood walks and meeting new friends and neighbors over fences. Exploring and discover-ing new artists and rediscovering local artists online. So many locals—Lorna Liebert in Bellingham, Ria Harboe on Lummi Island, Todd Horton in Skagit Valley, Steve Jensen in Seattle, to name a few—are doing what I’ve been doing, posting work on Facebook every day.

CW: Your new wheeled tower/rolling liquor cabinet that has 20 paintings all in one seems like it was built for people who might be stocking up on spirits for the apocalypse. What was the inspiration?

FB: We started it last fall when my broth-er Doug had a lot of scrap wood left over from a construction project. It wasn’t planned to be a liquor cabinet—it was meant to be a rocket. It turned out much larger than the structure I envisioned. Instead of a rocket to take us to outer space, it’s a storage port for the fuel that takes us to inner space. Either way, it’s about escape, isn’t it?

CW: A lot of your work is focused on struc-tures—shacks, corner stores, big-city scenes, etc. Why do you think that is?

FB: I’ve been interested in architecture since I was 5 years old, when I request-ed a dollhouse for Christmas—much to my dad’s chagrin. (I was interest-ed in the structure, didn’t care about the dolls). Now part of my interest in painting structures is just architecture for architecture’s sake—a celebration of the amazing shelters we build to keep the rain off our heads. On another level, these paintings are about hearth and heart. My buildings are symbols of home, wherever that might be.

CW: How has the coronavirus changed your outlook on art?

FB: It’s made me think more about my own mortality, which leads me to two things: I’d better be doing exactly what I want to do with my art, and I’d better make sure that what I’m doing is my best work.

CW: The “Some of My Friends” piece is fas-cinating, as it shows that your acquain-tances go beyond the typical human ones. What’s the story?

FB: The painting is a composite of draw-ings from many different sketchbooks over many years. It was painted before the pandemic, but now when I look at it I see all these people, animals and plants in various stages of develop-ment, some confusion, some loss, some ”I don’t quite know where I fit any-more,” and I sense a lot of that hap-pening right now. But, as the painting conveys, everyone and everything is still growing, and most important, we are still a community. We are all in this together, and this too shall pass.

Check www.fishboygallery.com to preview current works for sale.

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musicSHOW PREVIEWS RUMOR HAS IT

ALONG WITH CRAZY pandemic dreams—like the one I had recently about being attacked by a giant hermit crab—the thing we all have in common right now is worry.

I live and die by to-do lists and I feel like I have a checklist of worry and I tick off each item without fail every day.

One of those items: How long can our ven-ues remain closed in the absence of govern-ment relief and still expect to survive?

An unwelcome an-swer came, in part, Sat., May 23 when the Firefly Lounge announced its per-manent closure on Facebook, attrib-uting the decision directly to the pro-longed COVID-19 shutdown.

The loss of one of Bellingham’s precious stages is one that will reverberate through-out our music scene. But to me, the loss of owners Erin Gill and Justin Smith as two of the voices of our music community is the one that will be more keenly felt.

Justin came to us via the Green Frog, which was what the Firefly was before it be-came the Firefly. He was the guy who showed up in our inboxes every week as the author of the venue’s enthusiastic, highly person-able newsletter that he always concluded with “be excellent to each other.” As he said in his final newsletter, he was the first and last customer at the Green Frog before sign-ing on to the Firefly, and his love and insti-tutional knowledge of that stage run deep.

Erin was a more recent transplant. We got her from Olympia, but about five seconds after she showed up, it seemed she’d al-ways been here, had always been part of our tight-knit music scene. She was the voice and face of the Firefly, and a more fun-lov-ing, good-natured, big-hearted steward of that space you’d never find anywhere.

They made a good team in terms of run-ning their venue, but even better, their partnership benefitted the community as a whole. The lifespan of the Firefly was marked by vibrant energy, radical inclu-siveness and a seemingly endless supply of goodwill toward the public. Their stage was open to one and all, and they used it to host music from Americana to metal, as well as drag and burlesque shows, open mics and karaoke, and the fundraisers and benefits that shore up this town. They gave the warmest of welcomes to everyone who came through their doors—while exhib-iting zero tolerance for people who were hurtful or exclusionary.

If doing a good thing the right way en-sured success, the Firefly Lounge would be with us forever. It goes without saying that it will be missed.

BY CAREY ROSS

rumor has it

BY CAREY ROSS

Save Our StagesHOW YOU CAN HELP

“WOW, EVERYONE, this thing is hard to write.”So began a Sat., May 23 missive from the owners of the Firefly Lounge.It went on to say, “We love you. We love every one of you who believed in us,

who loved our beers, our whiskies and cocktails, our staff and our dreams. We love you, and wish to raise a glass to you. To Bellingham, and beyond.

“It’s been a long, beautiful road. As much as we want to continue to walk it, unfortunately, the soles of our shoes have worn thin.

“COVID-19 has impacted so many industries, and performance venues have been hit particularly hard. We optimistically closed our doors in March, but now, facing an uncertain future…the time has come to close our doors for good.”

And just like that, in four short paragraphs, Bellingham suffered the first permanent loss of one of its prized music venues. If ever there was an object lesson in the potential reckoning facing our music scene, this is it.

However, we don’t have to sit back and watch them fall, one by one. Bell-ingham is not just a town with a rich musical history, it is also a community built on a foundation of fierce activism. We are who we are and this place is what it is because we have fought to make it so.

For those of us who have spent our lives in dark rooms, fists thrust in the air as the music washes over us, this is our time. COVID brought the fight to us, and we have no choice but to come out swinging.

So, then, what do we do?Locally, we can provide direct support with our dollars to our beloved

live-music spots. Hanging on to a ticket for a now-cancelled show? Con-sider calling it a donation instead of asking for a refund. Buy a gift cer-tificate for when your favorite venue reopens—and then wait to use it until they’ve got their feet back under them financially before flooding

them with gift cards that don’t put an im-mediate influx of cash in their tills. If places where you like to see live music are currently slinging food or drinks—Boundary Bay Brew-ery, Greene’s Corner, Kulshan Brewery, Ho-tel Bellwether, Old World Deli, Stones Throw Brewery, and the Shakedown (pop-ups only) all come to mind—purchase their wares. And if your preferred venue happens to be all-ag-es—Make.Shift, the Bellingham Alternative Library—hit them with a donation.

But wait, there’s more.All of those efforts are well and good, but

the plain fact is none of us is sitting on a coffer of cash large enough to keep our ven-ues solvent as COVID closures drag on. But you know who is? The government, at both the state and federal levels.

This is where organizations such as the Wash-ington Nightlife Music Association and the Na-tional Independent Venue Association come in. Both are comprised of independent music venues that have joined together to leverage their collective power to call upon government bodies to carve out venue-specific funding to, as the NIVA tagline says, “Save Our Stages.”

And they need our help. Both organiza-tions are crystal clear that one of the stron-gest arrows in their quiver is, to put it simply, us. They ask, urge, implore and, if they could, command us to reach out early, late and often to our legislators to ask that dedicated fund-ing be set aside for those places whose only revenue stream comes from ticket sales and the gathering of people. Lucky for us, they’ve made doing so easy, with clear suggestions and email templates on their websites (www.wanma.info and www.nivassoc.org). Many of us are operating with a lot more free time than normal, a heightened level of boredom and anxiety, and a lack of funds with which to remedy our personal situations. You know what is a great time-filler and anxiety-killer that also happens to be free? Political action on behalf of the places we need and love. People bring about change all the time with little more than big ideas and a lot of persis-tence. We can be those people. Hell, we are those people.

The goodbye letter from the Firefly con-cluded with, “We end this adventure, grate-ful for the experiences; holding close to our hearts the new friends we made and the old ones with whom we share new, fond memo-ries. Thank you for a wonderful two years.”

It’s a truly lovely sentiment. And I never want to read another one like it again.

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ACROSS1 Raised-eyebrow

remarks

4 From Bangkok

8 Loud two-year-old,

maybe

14 Kabuki relative

15 Fair share, between

two

16 Baltimore player

17 Start of a best-

selling 2003 Mark

Haddon title

20 Remote button

21 Meas. for really fast

rotations

22 Band supposedly

doing their final con-

cert in 2021

23 Pellets found in

some old pocket

puzzles

24 Catches

26 100 centesimi, once

29 Sargasso, for one

30 Scandinavian native

properly called S᭩

33 Start of a time-trav-

eling Mark Twain title

38 Like the Beatles

39 Some time ___

40 Colin, to Tom Hanks

41 Wildebeest

42 Start of a Fannie

Flagg title (the mov-

ie title being shorter

than the book)

46 New Age vocalist

from County Donegal

47 Chicago trains

48 Closed facilities

(work out at home!)

49 Run off to get

married (wait, how

would that work

these days?)

51 “On the Road” narra-

tor Paradise

53 See 12-Down

56 Aries symbol

57 December garnish

61 Start of a classic

1972 Judith Viorst

kids’ book title

64 1998 Olympics city

in Japan

65 Japanese seaweed

66 Metal container?

67 Wallace’s canine

sidekick

68 Big thick book

69 It gets caked on

DOWN1 Where “I’m not a

doctor” spokespeople

usually “play one”

2 Hostess snack cake

3 “Falling Up” poet

Silverstein

4 Part of a “hang

loose” sign

5 Long-eared hoppers

6 Sports Illustrated’s

Sportsman of the

Century (1999)

7 Befuddled comment

8 ___ nova

9 “Entourage” agent

Gold

10 Shares a secret with,

maybe

11 Focal points

12 53-Across students

13 Tasting party op-

tions

18 Like the mojito’s

origin

19 Lifts

25 Actress Emily

26 “___-A-Lympics”

(1970s Hanna-Bar-

bera cartoon)

27 Words of support

28 One of the Bee Gees

29 Paper packaged

with a board game,

perhaps

31 Variety of owl,

hippo, or seahorse

32 Airline that went

bankrupt in 1991

34 Winner of the most

French Open singles

titles

35 Pad see ew ingredi-

ent

36 Opposing argument

37 “May contain ___”

43 Procedure where

you may be asked to

select numbers

44 Terbium or erbium,

e.g.

45 Looked the wrong

way?

50 “Ready ___ ...”

51 Band of murder

hornets, e.g.

52 The Governator,

familiarly

53 Candidate who

dropped out in Feb-

ruary 2020

54 Fruit spray banned

by the EPA

55 Blocks that inspired

an animated Batman

movie

58 Chemistry 101 model

59 Drive-___ window

60 Pay attention to

62 “Fuel” singer

DiFranco

63 Kanga’s kid

Last Week’s Puzzle

©2020 Jonesin’ Crosswords

rearEnd crossword

Books I Didn’t FinishIT’S OK, YOU GET THE IDEA

Last week’s puzzle was published in our digital edition, which can be viewed on the Cascadia Weekly website www.cascadiaweekly.com.Last week’s digital edition also includes the solution for the prior week's puzzle.

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BY ROB BREZSNY

FREE WILL ASTROLOGYARIES (March 21-April 19): “The best of my nature reveals itself in play, and play is sacred,” wrote the feisty Aries author Karen Blixen, who sometimes used the pen name Isak Dinesen. The attitude de-scribed in that statement helps illuminate the meaning of another one of her famous quotations: “I do not think that I could ever really love a woman who had not, at one time or another, been up on a broomstick.” In my interpretation of this humorous remark, Blixen referred to the fact that she had a strong preference for witchy women with rascally magical ways. I bring this to your attention, Aries, because I’m inviting you to cultivate a Blixen-like streak of sacred play and sly magic in the coming days.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Taurus music legend Willie Nelson has played the same guitar since 1969. He calls it “my horse,” and named it after Trigger, a famous horse in Hollywood films. Although Nelson still loves the tones that come from his instrument, it’s neither sleek nor elegant. It’s bruised with multiple stains and has a jagged gash near its sound hole. Some Tauruses want their useful things to be fine and beautiful, but not Willie. Having said that, I wonder if maybe he will finally change guitars sometime soon. For you Bulls, the coming months will be time to consider trading in an old horse for a new one.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I’ve got a message for you, courtesy of poet Lisel Mueller. I think her wisdom can help you thrive in the coming weeks. She writes, “The past pushed away, the future left unimagined, for the sake of the glorious, difficult, passionate present.” Of course, it’s always helpful for us to liberate ourselves from the oppressive thoughts of what once was in the past and what might be in the future. But it’ll be espe-cially valuable for you to claim that superpower in the coming weeks. To the degree that you do, the present will be more glorious and passionate and not so difficult.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): When Lewis Carroll’s fictional heroine Alice visits the exotic underground realm known as Wonderland, she encounters two odd men named Tweedledee and Tweedledum. The latter tells her, “You know very well you’re not real.” He’s implying that Alice is merely a character in the dream of a man who’s sleeping nearby. This upsets her. “I am real!” she protests, and breaks into tears. Tweedledum presses on, insisting she’s just a phantom. Alice summons her cou-rageous wisdom and thinks to herself, “I know they’re talking nonsense, and it’s foolish to cry about it.” I suspect you Cancerians may have to deal with people and influences that give you messages akin to those of Tweedledum. If that happens, be like Alice.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): “The less you fear, the more power you will have,” says the rapper known as 50 Cent. I agree with him. If you can dissolve even, say, 25 percent of your fear, your ability to do what you want will rise significantly, as will your influence and clout. But here’s the major riddle: How exactly can you dissolve your fear? My answers to that ques-tion would require far more room than I have in this horoscope. But here’s the really good news, Leo: In the coming weeks, you will naturally have an abundance of good insights about to dissolve your own fear. Trust what your intuition tells you. And be receptive to clues that serendipity brings you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): For his film Parasite, Virgo filmmaker Bong Joon-ho received Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. In his natal horoscope, Joon-ho has Pluto conjunct his sun in Virgo, and during the time Parasite began to score major success, Saturn and Pluto were making a favorable transit to that powerful point in his chart. I’m expecting the next six months

to be a time when you can make significant progress toward your own version of a Joon-ho style achieve-ment. In what part of your life is that most likely to happen? Focus on it. Feed it. Love it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): According to my analy-sis of the astrological omens, the coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to seek out, seduce, and at-tract luck. To inspire you in this holy task, I’ll provide a prayer written by Hoodoo conjurer Stephanie Rose Bird: “O sweet luck, I call your name. Luck with force and power to make change, walk with me and talk through me. With your help, all that can and should be will be!” If there are further invocations you’d like to add to hers, Libra, please do. The best way to ensure that good fortune will stream into your life is to have fun as you draw it to you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio comedian John Cleese does solo work, but many of his successful films, albums, stage shows, and TV programs have arisen from joining forces with other comedians. “When you collaborate with someone else on some-thing creative,” he testifies, “you get to places that you would never get to on your own.” I propose you make this your temporary motto, Scorpio. Whatever line of work or play you’re in, the coming weeks will offer opportunities to start getting involved in sterling synergies and symbioses. To overcome the potential limitations of social distancing, make creative use of Zoom and other online video conferencing.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “Wherever I am, let me never forget to distinguish want from need,” vows author Barbara Kingsolver. “Let me be a good animal,” she adds. That would be a stirring prayer to keep simmering at the forefront of your awareness in the next six weeks. According to my understanding of the astrological omens, you’ll be getting clear signals about the differences between your wants and needs. You will also discover effective strategies about how to satisfy them both in the post-pandemic world, and fine intuitions about which one to prioritize at any particular time.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Writing some Chinese characters can be quite demanding. To make “biáng,” for example, which is used in the name for a certain kind of noodle, you must draw 58 separate strokes. This is a good metaphor for exactly what you should avoid in the coming weeks: spending too much time and devoting too much thought and getting wrapped up in too much complexity about trivial mat-ters. Your focus should instead be on simple, bold ap-proaches that encourage you to be crisp and decisive.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Singer-songwriter Jill Scott is strongly committed to her creative process. She tells us, “I was once making a burger for myself at my boyfriend’s house and a lyric started pouring out and I had to catch it, so I ran to another room to write it down, but then the kitchen caught fire. His cabinets were charred, and he was furious. But it was worth it for a song.” My perspective: Scott’s level of devotion to the muse is too intense for my tastes. Personally, I would have taken the burger off the stove before fleeing the scene to record my good idea. What about you, Aquarius? According to my analysis, you’re in a phase when creative ideas should flow even better than usual. Pay close attention. Be prepared to capture as much of that potentially life-altering stuff as possible.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): To protect ourselves and others from the pandemic, most of us have been spending more time than usual at home—often engaged in what amounts to enforced relaxation. For some of us, that has been a problem. But I’m going to propose that it will be the opposite of a problem for you in the next three weeks. In my astrological opinion, your words to live by will be this counsel from author and philosopher Mike Dooley: “What if it was your downtime, your lounging-in-bed-too-long time, that made possible your greatest achievements? Would they still make you feel guilty? Or would you allow yourself to enjoy them?”

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needs of each neighbor in our commu-nity, and by doing so build a network of trust and resilience.”

Duke says for the past year she and her housemates—some of whom help run the Alternative Library—had been ponder-ing offering free labor to motivate folks to grow some of their own food, but it took the pandemic for the idea to become action. With a number of friends out of work and eager to help, it wasn’t long before the York neighborhood had been pasted with posters advertising free gar-den consultation and construction, and also calling out for additional volunteers to assist in turning underutilized lawn spaces into productive edible gardens.

So far, Duke reports, 10 yards have

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BY AMY KEPFERLE

Avant GardeningBELLINGHAM FOOD NOT LAWNS

I FIRST became aware of Bellingham Food Not Lawns in mid-April, when I glanced across the street and spied a few hardy individuals digging up my my neighbor Gabe’s front yard.

Since anything out of the norm seems interesting when shel-tering in place, I spent more time than usual pondering what was going on. Why were the shovel-wielding workers replacing the lawn with garden beds—and for what reason were branch-es, twigs, dried leaves and upturned grass being layered at the bottom of them? Also: Who in the heck were these people?

Not long after, I found out the latest iteration of Bellingham Food Not Lawns was behind the agrarian action, and those who’d toiled the soil in the rain that day were volunteers interested in the idea of building community resilience via mutual aid.

“While we can’t fix our entire country and all its interdependent systems, we can work locally and help ourselves and our neighbors adapt to forthcoming change by supporting each other,” project leader Meg Duke explains. “If the grocery stores were empty and the food supply stopped, what good would my garden do me if everyone else in the neighborhood decided to take food from it? Mutual aid understands that your problems aren’t just yours. Locally, we can create solutions that address the

UPCOMING EVENTS SAT., MAY 30ANACORTES MARKET: The Anacortes Farmers Market is open from 9am-2pm at the Depot Arts Center, 611 R Ave. Please follow all signs, markers, barriers and instructions from market staff or volunteers.

WWW.ANACORTESFARMERSMARKET.ORG

MOUNT VERNON MARKET: The Mount Ver-non Farmers Market takes place from 9am-2pm at Riverwalk Park, 501 Main St. Only 25 customers are allowed in at a time.

WWW.MOUNTVERNONFARMERSMARKET.ORG

CONCRETE MARKET: The Concrete Saturday Market takes place from 10am-1pm at the Concrete Community Center, 45821 Railroad St. For now, it’s a drive-in only market.

WWW.CONCRETESATURDAYMARKET.COM

BELLINGHAM MARKET: Attend the Bell-ingham Farmers Market from 10am-2pm at the Depot Market Square, 1100 Railroad Ave. At the modified market, social distancing is strongly enforced, patrons are not allowed to touch the food, and only 20 vendors are allowed on site to sell farm produce and gro-cery staples such as bread, meat and cheese.

WWW.BELLINGHAMFARMERS.ORG

doit

been transformed into gardens, made possible by 15 work parties (some yards take multiple days), coordinated by 14 consultations. From smaller jobs like Gabe’s—which featured hugelkultur-style garden beds that include layers of wood debris and other compostable plant materials to improve soil fertility—to an entire front yard in the Sunnyland neigh-borhood that was transformed into raised beds, BFNL is keeping busy.

“Folks are super-jazzed about grow-ing food, have a lot of free time due to the virus, and have no/little/some idea of where to start but want to brainstorm with someone,” Duke says. “By hearing their vision for their yard and by check-ing their household’s capacity, we can tailor a garden that will suit them and their situation. Plus, we can reduce a week’s worth of work into a day.”

The crews involved in the “avant gar-dening” use as many materials as pos-sible that are already on site (yard waste, woody debris, pallets, etc.) or advise homeowners and renters where they can find, collect or buy what else they need, so by the time the project begins there’s usually a vision for how it will end. Social distancing is enforced, volunteers are encouraged to take the space and breaks they need, and although they share the tools they bring to get the job done, they all wear work gloves for safety.

As queries continue to come in, Duke says they’d love to involve more volun-teers for work parties, and are also hop-ing to grow the project into decentralized, neighborhood-based teams that are able to build beds for those who live nearby.

Although they won’t be around to en-joy the fruits (or veggies) of their labor, Duke says each of the 20-plus volunteers who’ve gotten involved thus far aren’t in it for free lettuce.

“Some love giving to and creating their community, some love manual labor, some love learning about building different types of beds, and some love socializing with new folks who are also down to mani-fest growth,” she says. “We’re all getting a more resilient, cooperative community.”

Approximately six weeks after their first project at my neighbor’s place, his beds are filling in nicely with a variety of salad greens, tomatoes and a variety of other vegetables. Some crops are ready to harvest, but others are waiting for the summer heat to come into their own.

When asked what she hopes others who get involved with Bellingham Food Not Lawns take away from the experience, Duke says a fat harvest.

“And perhaps, if they have extra, they can share with their neighbors or donate to the Food Bank and pass along the spir-it of mutual aid to their communities.”

Contact gardens@altlib.org to arrange a consultation or to get involved building garden beds for neighbors.

Unity Care NW is here for Whatcom County now and into the future. Emergency Dental Care is now available to Whatcom County residents.

Call (360) 676-6177 to make an appointment.

BELLINGHAM • FERNDALE • UnityCareNW.org

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