🐹 City Of Subdued Driving 🚗🚗

Good morning, Bellingham. This is your Monday update from The Hamster Wheel.

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Or, hit reply to send me photos via email. 📧

The great slowdown of 2026 continues as Bellingham started putting up new 20 mph speed limit signs on residential streets and throughout downtown, part of a citywide speed limit update approved earlier this year. The new 20 mph default applies to non-arterial residential streets where another speed is not already posted, and the lower limit takes effect as crews install the new signs.

This is the first phase of a three-year project covering more than 500 lane miles around town. The City says the changes are aimed at reducing serious crashes, particularly for people walking and biking. Downtown traffic signals are already timed for 20 mph, so the lower posted speed there is not expected to require changes to signal timing.

More changes are coming, but not all at once. Select arterial streets are scheduled for 5 to 10 mph reductions beginning in 2027, with another round planned for 2028. For now, keep an eye on the signs as they go up. Bellingham Police will initially focus on education and warnings, with enforcement of the new limits beginning around the start of the school year.

After a summer hiatus, the North Cascades Audubon Society birdwatching field trips are ramping back up, and this one looks like a lot of fun. Tomorrow morning, September 1, the group will make a roughly two-mile loop from Tennant Lake to Hovander Homestead and back, moving through marsh, open fields, wooded areas, and a stretch along the Nooksack River. The outing starts with the Tennant Lake boardwalk, where Marsh Wrens are one of the possibilities, before continuing toward Hovander.

The walk runs from 7:30 to 9:30 am and meets at the Tennant Lake Fragrance Garden parking lot in Ferndale. Registration is required and the trip is limited to 10 people, so grab a spot if an early morning of poking around local bird habitat sounds good.

LOCAL READS

A Fragrant Forest Beauty
By Eric Worden · Whatcom Watch
Mock orange, Philadelphus lewisii, is a native shrub found in Whatcom forests and gardens, with fragrant four-petaled white flowers that attract bees and butterflies and vigorous stems that resprout after fire. Eric explains its local ecology, careful pruning needs, and long Indigenous use for tools, bows, and other implements. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

A Western star in the tech universe
By Frank Catalano · Franksplaining Business
A new statewide tech map places Western Washington University alongside much larger institutions as a source of company founders, linking WWU to 10 firms including Bellingham-based Place and ProShop ERP. Frank explains where those companies ended up and what the connections reveal about Northwest Washington’s role in the broader startup ecosystem. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Monday
Regional Fire Authority Planning Committee, 2:00 pm, City Hall

Tuesday
Bham Arts Commission, 5:00 pm, City Hall
Port of Bellingham Board of Commissioners, 4:00 pm, Harbor Center

Wednesday
Lake Whatcom Policy Group, 3:00 pm, Pacific Street Operations Center

Thursday
WTA Board, 8:00 am, WTA Office
Greenways Advisory Committee, 7:00 pm, Pacific Street Operations Center
Whatcom County Planning Commission, 6:00 pm, 5280 Northwest Drive - Portable Building

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Tuesday
Cornet Bay & Hoypus Point: Join the Salish Sea Alliance (formerly Northwest Straits Foundation) and Island County Marine Resources Committee in the ongoing stewardship of Cornet Bay & Hoypus Point. Register

Wednesday
Stream Team: Help Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) maintain older sites that need love. Meet at NSEA’s campus by 8 am and your group leader will shuttle everyone to the site. You can expect to be back to NSEA at 12 pm. Register

Thurs-Sun
Olsen Creek: Help Washington Trails Association implement a multi-use recreation opportunity just outside of Bellingham. Thurs, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Friday
Todd Creek: Join Whatcom Land Trust at a beautiful stretch of protected land along the South Fork of the Nooksack River for a day of trail work and invasive species removal at Todd Creek. Register

Uisce Irish Pub
Guffawingham (comedy) | Mon 8:30 pm

New Prospect Theatre
Pippin (theatre) | Fri-Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Salsa & Bachata - Viking Union - Mon 7 pm
Bellingham Embodiment Collective - Majestic Ballroom - Mon 6:30 pm
Country Line Dancing - Corner Taphouse in Fairhaven - Mon 6:30 pm
Contact Improv - Aikido Peace Education Center - Mon, class 5:30, jam 7 pm
Cuban Salsa - Cof& - Tues 6 pm
B’ham Hop - Crystal Ballroom - Tues 8 pm
Taster Tuesdays (hip hop) - Lost Giants Cider Co - Tues 6 pm
Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Revolution Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 7:00 pm
Beginner Ballet - Karate Church - Sat 10 am
Beginner Contemporary - Karate Church - Sat 11:30 am
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sun 10:30 am

Julie Salmon Kelleher introduces her new novel, The Sea-Glass Shore, at Village Books in Fairhaven tomorrow, September 1, at 6 pm. The local author and Western Washington University instructor sets the story in an alternate version of Bellingham, where folklorist Jack meets Rona, a half-seal selkie who gives up her sealskin to live as his human wife. Get tickets

Shannon Patiño performs at the Admiralty Lounge tomorrow, September 1, from 7 to 9 pm. A Mexican American singer-songwriter, Patiño blends pop, rock, and Latin influences in music centered on identity, self-worth, and love. Her songs move between English and Spanish, bringing a bilingual perspective to a set shaped by personal songwriting and a mix of musical traditions.

Cayley Schmid and Aaron Guest perform at the FireHouse tonight, August 31, from 3:30 to 5:00 pm. They play instrumental Celtic music on fiddle and piano, moving through reels, jigs, airs, and waltzes drawn from Scottish, Cape Breton, and Irish traditions. The pair first met while busking at the Bellingham Farmers Market in 2009 and later played together in Polecat before continuing as a duo. The event is not ticketed, with cash donations accepted.

Babes in Arms, Transition Outpost – A relaxed parent meetup from 4:30 to 6:30 pm with time to connect over drinks, plus $1 off when ordering with a baby in arms or mentioning Whatcom Family Village or Babes in Arms.

Monday Trivia, Fountain Brewing & Zeeks Pizza – Trivia runs from 7 to 9 pm with two rounds, five categories, teams of one to six people, and a $2 per person buy-in paid out to the top three teams.

World’s Best Trivia, ‘Ono Kitchen & Bar – Quizmaster Randall hosts a free-to-play trivia night from 7 to 9 pm with raffles, prizes, and casual competition.

Monday Music & Trivia →

Belly Dance Class, Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship – A free introductory class from 6 to 7:15 pm covers basic belly dance movement, with no experience or special clothing required.

Trivia on the Patio, Kulshan Brewing Sunnyland Taproom – Weekly trivia runs from 7 to 9 pm with a $2 per person buy-in, cash prizes for top teams, and patio seating.

Tuesday Music & Trivia →

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