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. 📧

In the early morning hours tomorrow, March 3, we may get a front row seat to a total lunar eclipse. The show begins just before 2 am, with totality settling in between 3 and 4 am.

For about an hour, the full Moon will slip into Earth’s shadow, dimming and potentially taking on a deep copper or red hue before gradually brightening again toward dawn. The video below 👇 by NASA does a great job illustrating this transformation.

All of that, of course, depends on the classic PNW variable: clear skies. Lunar eclipses do require a line of sight to the Moon, and as of now, the forecast is not especially promising. Fingers crossed that Monday’s clear skies last longer than expected. 🤞

A lunar eclipse occurs when Earth moves directly between the Sun and the full Moon, casting a shadow across the lunar surface. 👆 As the Moon enters the darker inner shadow, it can look as if a bite is being taken out of its edge. Once fully immersed, the change becomes more dramatic.

The reddish tint that sometimes appears during totality is what gives rise to the term “blood moon.” The effect is not caused by anything happening to the Moon itself, but by Earth’s atmosphere. Sunlight bends around our planet and filters through a thick layer of air, scattering shorter blue wavelengths and allowing more red and orange light to reach the lunar surface. In a sense, it is as if every sunrise and sunset on Earth is briefly projected onto the Moon.

Late last week, the city announced the reopening of the stretch of the Interurban Trail that was closed for the Padden Creek Fish Passage Project. The work replaced aging culverts with two fish-friendly crossings that allow salmon to move upstream more easily.

Addental upgrades made to the trail include “resurfacing, new railings, and fresh topsoil, mulch, and native plants.“ The city asks that pets and people remain on the trail to protect young plants and prevent erosion.

LOCAL READS

Viola Patten’s illustration chosen for cover of WCLS Whatcomics
By Bill Helm · Lynden Tribune
Lynden High School senior Viola Patten’s illustration “Life’s Fruition” was selected as the cover of the 19th annual Whatcomics, a teen art anthology published by the Whatcom County Library System. Bill reports that Patten, a Running Start student studying political science, sees her bold, abstract piece as a way to engage conversations about “chaos... and order and emotion of the world brought together by art itself.” Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Ranch Quarry Mine Expansion Story
By Liam Walsh · Whatcom Watch
Residents near Sumas are mobilizing against a proposed 70-acre Ranch Quarry project, arguing the open-pit gravel mine would degrade air and water quality in the Saar Creek watershed and alter the valley’s rural character. Liam reports neighbors, organized as HOMEWhatcom, raise concerns about asbestos exposure, truck traffic and environmental impacts as a required Environmental Impact Statement and public comment period approach. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Monday
Lynden City Council, 7:00 pm, Council Chambers
Ferndale City Council, 5:00 pm, City Hall Annex and Council Chambers, agenda

Tuesday
Bellingham Arts Commission, 5:00 pm, Mayor’s Boardroom at City Hall, watch online
Forest Advisory Committee, 4:00 pm, 5280 Northwest Drive - Portable Building, agenda, watch online
Whatcom County Council Special Committee of the Whole, 9:00 am, Council Chambers, agenda, watch online
Port of Bellingham Board of Commissioners, 4:00 pm, Harbor Center, YouTube

Wednesday
Meridian-Birchwood Roundabout Open House, 6:00 pm, Parkview Elementary School
King Mountain Neighborhood Community Meeting, 6:00 pm, Bellingham Covenant Church

Thursday
WTA Board, 8:00 am, WTA's offices at 4011 Bakerview Spur, zoom
Greenway Advisory Committee, 7:00 pm, Pacific Street Operations Center, watch online

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Friday
Bell Creek: Join Whatcom Land Trust at Bell Creek to remove invasive species and protect habitat for spring Chinook, bull trout, and other native wildlife. Register

Saturday
Native Plant Nursery: Help the city prepare its native plant nursery for another year of restoration projects. Volunteers will pot bare-root plants and tidy the Parks Native Plant Nursery. Register
Smith Creek: Work with NSEA to remove invasive blackberry and replace it with native trees and shrubs, helping ensure the water remains cold, clean, and clear for coho, chum, steelhead, and Chinook salmon. Register

Sunday
Whatcom Humane Society’s Division St. Shelter: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project in planting native trees in the dog-walking field to provide shade and support the nearby wetland. Register

If you're like most people, no one talked to you about money growing up—much less told you that money is emotional. No one taught you how to have healthy money conversations with yourself, partner or kids. As a result, you may believe that you’re “bad with money” or can’t stick to a budget. You may feel ashamed, guilty, stressed or overwhelmed. All of that can change!

Financial therapy is a process that combines therapeutic and financial skills to help people think, feel, communicate, and behave differently with money. I’m Susan Fee, a Certified Financial Therapist™. I help individuals and couples change their money mindset by changing their money story.

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

iDiOM Theater
The Plague (theater) | Thurs-Sat

Bellingham High School
Sister Act (theater) | Fri-Sat

BAAY Theater
The Wizard Of Oz (theater) | Sat

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Tony Deyo (comedy) | Sat

Mount Baker Theater
The Moth Mainstage (storytelling) | Sat

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

Salsa & Bachata - Viking Union - Mon 7 pm
Bellingham Embodiment Collective - Majestic Ballroom - Mon 6:30 pm
Contact Improv - Aikido Peace Education Center - Mon 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
Flow Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Hip Hop, House, Shuffle - Lost Giants Cider - Fri 6 pm
Dance Fusion - BSAC - Sat 10:30 am
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 5:00 pm
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Belly Dance - Karate Church - Sun 1 pm

A Composers of Western concert is offered tonight, March 2 at 7:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall. This free event features music by Milo Palmer, Mara Schober, and Keith Terry, offering audiences a look at contemporary composition at Western. Open to all at no cost.

At the Admiralty Lounge tomorrow from 7 to 9 pm, Curtis Roy Moore brings a career that spans continents and coastlines. After starting guitar as a child in Belgium, he went on to perform across North America, from Leavenworth to Key West and later co-founded the Canadian rock band Pacific Disturbance.

Western’s music department presents A WWU Choral Extravaganza tomorrow, March 3 at 8 pm in the Performing Arts Center Concert Hall. The concert features Concert Choir, Advanced Treble Chorale, University Choir, and Room Sixteen Vocal Jazz, offering a cross section of the university’s choral ensembles in one performance. Tickets.

Trivia Night, Zeeks Pizza – A 6 to 8 pm trivia night featuring two rounds with five categories each, $2 buy in per person, teams up to six, and cash payouts to the top three teams.

Taize Service “Singing Our Way to Hope,” Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship – A 7 pm meditative service with candles and song, held in the sanctuary.

Monday Music & Trivia →

Waffle Giveback Tuesday, Sweet As Waffles – A 5 to 10 pm fundraiser supporting Youthnet, with 15 percent of all food and drink sales donated and an info table available during the event.

Crafts and Drafts with Shifting Gears, Structures Brewing - A 6 to 8 pm community craft gathering held during Wild Women’s Week. Bring knitting, coloring, or other projects to work on while sharing a pint. All are welcome.

Tuesday Music & Trivia →

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