🐹 Ski to Sea Throng ⛷️🌊

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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Puzzlers: A new game section is in the works. The first games are three daily Sudoku puzzles that range from easy to hard. I’m still debugging the solver-based difficulty validation and I need your feedback. Try solving a Sudoku and let me know how it goes.

Easy should be solvable using only: naked singles, and hidden singles; Medium may require: simple naked pairs, and simple pointing pairs/triples; Hard: may require more advanced logical techniques.

I’ve been solving the easy and medium ones daily. I’ve yet to solve the harder one. I’m excited to see how others do. 🧩

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

There are a series of interesting lectures, and discussions unfolding across Bellingham over the next two weeks, starting with the Fraser Lecture Series in the newly opened Lhaq ’temish ew’xw e tse XwLemi’ — House of Healing — Longhouse at Western. 👇

This event, which starts tomorrow and runs through Friday, brings together Kainai, Piikani, and Aamskapi Piikani elders, scholars, musicians, and cultural leaders for conversations on ecology, language, history, and ways of knowing and being. You can find the full schedule and livestream links here.

On Wednesday, Western’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation Spring Showcase will be held at Chuckanut Bay Distillery, where roughly 80 students will present startup ideas, creative ventures, and business concepts in a sprawling, science-fair-style format open to the public. Learn more here.

And on Friday, Western’s Urban and Environmental Planning & Policy department is hosting a day-long Universal Design workshop exploring how campuses and public spaces can become more accessible, navigable, and inclusive for everyone. This one’s at the Viking Union and it’s open to the public from 9 am to 4 pm.

Next week brings two public lectures focused on topics impacting our community. On Wednesday, May 27, the Bellingham City Club meets for a presentation called The New World Order: Canada’s Perspective and Leadership, a discussion examining changing global alliances, trade relationships, and the role of “middle powers” like Canada in a shifting geopolitical landscape. Speakers include Edward Alden, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and visiting professor at Western Washington University, and Craig Weichel, Canada’s consul general in Seattle. Information and tickets.

Then on Thursday, May 28, the Academy for Lifelong Learning is hosting Are We Prepared for the Next Wildfire Season? at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal. The lecture features wildfire resilience specialist Robert Walters 👆, a community wildfire resilience specialist for the Skagit and Whatcom Conservation Districts, who will discuss wildfire behavior, preparedness, and mitigation strategies. Admission is only $10 with the code “Lecture10.” Reserve a seat here.

I got a note this week from the folks at Stones Throw, who are preparing for a very busy Memorial Day weekend, with events, including benefit block parties, live music, a makers market, and race day festivities. The brewery is looking for volunteers to help with setup, gatekeeping, and breakdown duties throughout the weekend.

The greatest need is on Sunday, when the Ski to Sea throng hits Fairhaven, though they are looking for help any day of the weekend. Volunteers will receive meal vouchers for onsite food trucks along with beer coins redeemable for any draft pour at the brewery. You’ll find signup links here.

Last week, the Port of Bellingham announced the appointment of Tiffany DeSimone as its next executive director, a role she’s filled as Interim Executive Director since the unexpected removal of prior director Rob Fix last June. The decision follows a national search that drew nearly 100 applicants.

A lifelong Whatcom County resident, DeSimone has spent more than a decade at the port, most recently overseeing maritime operations that include the Bellingham Shipping Terminal, Squalicum Harbor, Blaine Harbor, facility rentals, and port security.

“As Executive Director, my role is to carry out the Commission’s vision with integrity, transparency, and a focus on results,” said DeSimone. “I am proud to serve the community where I was raised and to help shape a waterfront that reflects our maritime heritage, optimizes our many transportation gateways including our marine terminals and the airport, supports our business community, honors public access, and creates lasting opportunity. It’s a tall order and one that I know this community can come together to ensure our values are aligned. We are stronger together with action rather than divided with inaction”

Tiffany’s tenure begins as the port faces continued challenges, including ongoing debate over the waterfront redevelopment, and questions surrounding airport growth and passenger demand. I know we’ll all be interested to learn how she plans to bring new life to the long stalled waterfront property overhaul.

LOCAL READS

Pesky Pinnipeds
By Katie Stafford · The Planet
Wildlife managers, tribal fisheries officials, and conservation groups remain divided over how to protect Chinook salmon threatened by increasing sea lion predation near Bonneville Dam. Katie details how decades of research, litigation, and evolving federal permits have shaped a controversial effort to balance marine mammal recovery with salmon restoration. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Whatcom Transportation Authority’s Unfair Fare Hikes
By Preston L. Schiller · Whatcom Watch
Debate over WTA’s new fare structure has expanded into larger questions about regional transit funding, governance, and service efficiency across Whatcom County. Preston describes how alternatives like zonal fares, property tax support, and route redesigns were largely dismissed before the board approved the increase despite strong public opposition. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Monday
Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour, 10:00 am & 5:30 pm, Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant
Bellingham City Council, 1:00 pm with reg. meeting at 7:00 pm, Council Chambers
Western Labor Town Hall, 5:30 pm, WWU Academic Instructional West 204
Lynden City Council, 7:00 pm, 205 Fourth Street
Ferndale City Council, 5:00 pm, City Hall Annex
Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force, 9:00 pm, Count Council Office

Tuesday
Whatcom County Council, 9:00 am, Council Chambers
Whatcom County Food Systems Committee, 4:30 pm, 110 Unity Street zoom
Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour, 10:00 am & 5:30 pm, Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant

Wednesday
Downtown Neighborhood Meeting with Mayor Lund, 6:30 pm, Structures Brewing
Whatcom County Council Community Conversations, 6:00 pm, Birch Bay Community Bible Church

Thursday
Bellingham Planning Commission, 6:00 pm, City Council Chambers
Meet-A-Truck, 1:00 pm, Downtown Library
WTA Board Meeting, 8:00 am, WTA's office

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Wednesday
Sven Hoyt Community Garden: Help the city tend to community spaces at Sven Hoyt Community Garden. Register
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

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

Mount Baker Theatre
Under the Tangle (theatre) | Mon

Bellingham Christian School
Little Women: The Musical (theatre) | Thurs, Fri

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Ha Ha Da Vinci (theatre) | Fri

Sehome High School
Anything Goes (theatre) | Fri-Sun

BAAY
Honk! Jr. (theatre) | Fri-Sun

iDiOM Theatre
All Our Tragic (theatre) | Sat, Sun

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, 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
Ballroom, Swing, Latin - The Majestic - Fri 6:30 pm
Foundations: Hip Hop, House, Shuffle - Lost Giants Cider Co. - Fri 6 pm
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 7:30 pm
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Belly Dance - Karate Church - Sun 1 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sunday 10:30 am

Stones Throw Brewery hosts the Gifts of Music NW Spring Fundraiser tomorrow, May 19 from 6 to 8 pm. The nonprofit, which provides music education programs for incarcerated youth and seniors in assisted living, will share stories from its work alongside live music performances throughout the evening. Bellingham native Pete Ruble performs original country and folk songs before the organization’s founder closes the program with additional music and reflections on the project’s community impact. Tickets

The Bellingham Ukulele Orchestra presents its Spring Concert tonight, May 18 at 7 pm at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship. Led by Wendy Bohlke, the group has been performing together for more than 15 years and brings an eclectic repertoire spanning blues, folk, rock and roll, and classical music. The evening combines music and storytelling, with free admission and donations accepted.

Moondance Sea Kayak Adventures launches its seasonal Kelp and Seaweed Foraging Kayak Tours today with guided outings around Lummi Island from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm. The tours focus on identifying bull kelp and other regional seaweeds while teaching sustainable harvesting practices in offshore and intertidal environments. Register

Los Toms, Rugburn, Arcana, The Shakedown – A three-band night of psychedelic rock, fuzz rock, and experimental punk starts at 8 pm, with Los Toms visiting from Fort Collins and Rugburn bringing psychedelic grunge from Denver. Tickets

Monday Music & Trivia →

Mojave Road Radio, The Admiralty Lounge – Jeffrey Slough brings Mojave Road Radio to the lounge at 7 pm. His sets move naturally between original songs and thoughtfully chosen covers, woven together with brief stories that add context without ever getting in the way.

Tuesday Trivia, AB Crepes – Weekly trivia runs from 7 to 10 pm with rotating themes, prizes, and team-based competition hosted at the downtown creperie.

Tuesday Music & Trivia →

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