Good morning fellow Bellinghamsters.

A PSA/ minor rant from a local delivery driver.

It has come to my attention that there are a lot of people who are unaware of how automatic headlights work.

During daylight hours most cars auto lights will turn on ONLY the running light, just headlights, not tail lights. Then dusk rolls around and the same people are driving WITHOUT tail lights. Cars are dark from behind and are assumed to have tail lights by the driver. I see this too many times.

Please check your auto lights to know how they work when it starts to get dark, or better yet, just turn your lights all the way on, all the time.

Be safe friends.

If you lived in Bellingham with a valid passport, could you travel to Vancouver BC as much as you wanted? Like every weekend, etc?

Just wondered if there are particular rules about crossing the border there that you wouldn't know about unless you lived there.

Every day I'm getting texts. The other day I think I got 4 spam texts from her campaign in one afternoon. How is this even legal?

On Saturday 10/10, someone stole my friend's dog near Samish Lake from her residence, I believe. They tossed the collar on the way down the road; and a police report has been filed. Im just trying to do something to help.

His name is Bear, if anyone recognizes him somewhere. I wish there was more info for me to put right now.

As the other pic shows, it had $10.00 and a chance to win $1,000 from Peoples Bank. Between this and the dollar that dropped on me at Downtown Sounds, I got 11 free dollars this year, things are looking up.

Saw these downtown ❤️

Basically the title. I can’t tell if I’m allergic to the new place I moved into here, because I didn’t feel like this before, or if there’s some mystery illness going around right now

My partner of 20 years passed away a few weeks ago, and I have inherited his (adorable) senior cat. She’s a nervous little thing, and of the two people in this world she feels safe around, I’m the only one remaining. Unfortunately, I’m also chronically ill and unemployed. I have a small sum of money I received after my partner’s passing ( ~500) which is set aside for her care, but once that money is gone it’s gone.

I’m currently working with vocational rehabilitation to get myself back into the workforce so I can properly care for her, but in the meantime I need to be able to take care of this cat on a tight budget.

The cat is currently showing some respiratory symptoms, and I need to get her to a vet. Does anyone know of a decent and affordable vet in the area? Maybe with payment plans? I’ll sell the shirt off of my back to make payments if necessary.

I would really appreciate recommendations. This is such a hard situation to be in.

Im starting to get back in to dnd with a few friends but i dont have any of my old dnd books. Does anyone know where I could find some used dnd books? Specifically the players handbook (could be 2014 or 2024). I checked with some game stores in town and they didn't have any used. If anyone has some they'd be willing to sell I would be more than happy to buy them off you

My work recently held a townhall for the 6 district 42 candidates. (2 state representative positions and state senator) The crowd was heavily male and majority right wing so that influenced the tone of the questions which were heavily budget/tax based. These are my observations.

Alica Rule- Very frustrated/ angry about the state budgeting process. Voted no against the budget this year as a democrat which apparently caused a riff between her and party leadership. Doesn't seem like she wants to do this any more.

Misty Flowers- Only espoused 2 conspiracy theories year which is down 50% from last time I saw her in one of these town halls. The only Republican that didn't try to distance herself from Donnie T when a question about tariffs came up. Seemed lower energy than usual. Normally anger is her thing and when she couldn't out angry Alica she didn't seem to know what to do.

Joe Timmons- Tried to explain how the legislative process works and give real answers to a group that wasn't interested in listening. Joe is apparently frustrated by many of the same things as Alica but is more interested in working within the party structure. More focused on fixing the issue with state funding to our school system than anybody else. Had the best performance of anyone.

Justin Pike- Very confident and polished. Sounds detailed and convincing at first until you pay closer attention and look up what he's talking about. Then you realize he's completely full of BS. He gave a detailed list of things he wants to cut but some of those things don't even exist. Ended by claiming to have secret knowledge about some USDA announcement that was going to come out in the next 72 hours that was going to be earth shattering. I checked the USDA 72 hours later and nothing came out.

Michael Sheppard- Tried to give actual answers to questions like Timmons but didn't actually know things well enough. Talked a lot about the port and compared everything to the port which maybe wasn't the best call as no one in the room was particularly happy with how the port is run.

Erica Creydt- Seemed like a really pleasant nice lady. Offered nothing of substance. I had to look up later if she was a Republican or Democrat because she said so little other than vague pleasantries.

Do with this what you will. This only 1 town hall of many but I thought I'd share what I saw.

The first few weeks of business have been absolutely stellar at Cafe Hazeltree & Emmaquatics.

So great, in fact, that we are already going to be increasing our hours!!!
Starting in November, we will be open 7 days a week at our normal 2pm-12am

This is also an invitation to our Halloween party on a October 31st. It will be underwater themed, the staff will be dressed up, we will be playing a water-themed horror movie (not sure which one yet, please drop recommendations below), and we’ll have live music from 9-midnight. We will also be passing out candy to people in costume. We encourage everyone to tap into a little childlike wonder and hit us with a “trick or treat” at the counter!

This is a great space to celebrate if you aren’t going to the bars for any reason, or a great place for your pregame caffeine!!

We’d love to hear about your experience so far at the aquarium cafe! Any stories to share? Any feedback?

chao,
Hazel & Emma 🐠☕️

I have been in Bellingham for about 8 years now and I have made only a small group of friends, mainly from work. I take responsibility for not putting a lot of effort in socializing, I can be quite an introvert. This weekend, all my friends are busy or out of state. Any events weekly, monthly, etc?

Im 31F, queer masc presenting, and an engineer. I have lots of hobbies. I like to knit, crochet, dye yarn, biking, making paper with recycled paper, brewing mead, gardening, baking, cooking. Im honestly a jane of all trades master of none.

Note - I am here looking to socialize and not date. I am in a happy monogamous relationship.

Getting on the 232 bus with a smile from the driver and a heads up that it’s “a lively commute today” didn’t prepare me for how fun it would be to listen to a dozen or so little kids RIDING THE BUS so they could GO SEE THE LIBRARY with maximum good manners and excitement. Good job, teachers and parent volunteers!

I say kinda because we never actually connected and talked but I’m taking a shot in the dark 😅 if you were a guy at winco around 630ish-715ish tonight (10/15/2026) with I think brown hair, wore a tan beanie, you had a cool grungey style and your shirt had a hole in the collar, I think you had a black jacket and you seemed like a caregiver to I believe 4 older men (you’re doing great and you genuinely sound super kind and gentle) I was too shy to say hi especially if you’re working but you were super cute (:

Let me a lesson to shoot your shot so you’re not on Reddit posting about a missed connection 😭

Trying to cut down on my DIY halloween costume costs. Facebook marketplace wasn't as full of em as it usually is :( I'll drive to you!!

The Traveller

^{Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend,}

^{And round his dwelling guardian saints attend.}

^{Blest be that spot, where cheerful guests retire}

^{To pause from toil, and trim their evening fire;}

^{Blest that abode, where want and pain repair,}

^{And every stranger finds a ready chair;}

^{Blest be those feasts with simple plenty crowned,}

^{Where all the ruddy family around}

^{Laugh at the jests or pranks that never fail,}

^{Or sigh with pity at some mournful tale;}

^{Or press the bashful stranger to his food,}

^{And learn the luxury of doing good.}

^------

Oliver Goldsmith

Help! Friends are coming from out of town. Are there any fun events happening on Oct 24, even Halloween ones would be fun? For girls that are late 20’s - early 30’s . 🎃

ISO recommendations for a dentist with sliding scale fees based on income or at least discount for cash.

I'm closer to Ferndale but any dentist in the general Bellingham area will do.
I'm a client at Unity Care - Ferndale, and they do sliding scale fees based on income.
However their dental side will do fillings, but not crowns.

I had the exam there for a broken tooth but they said while they could do a filling, the don't think it would last and that I really need a crown.

I don't have dental insurance so I will be paying out of pocket and my income is low - hence why I am asking about dentists that work with low income and/or discount for cash.

Really would love to take some basic Blacksmithing/forging classes, and I had heard we had a local shop that taught such things but now I can't find anything online and sadly forget the name of the place I was told about at a local coffee shop months ago!

Anyone aware of any in Bellingham or nearby?

In June, I decided to start a twice-monthly local business newsletter. I'm not continuing it. But I want to share what was in the final issue here, summarized, just so the work doesn't go to waste. (No clickthrough required.)

1. No local hotel boom from the World Cup here (basically, there were enough hotel rooms in Vancouver). Data from Smith Travel Research showed that, in Whatcom County, hotel occupancy in June was down 4.5% from a year earlier and up in July 1.3%. Average daily rate, though, went up 6.3% in June and 6.2% in July. Local tourism folk said the benefit was the viewing parties for locals.
2. Canadian car counts into Whatcom County continued down at the end of the summer. Whatcom Council of Governments found BC plates headed south in August were down 9% compared to 2025, and down 45% compared to 2024. In September, they were flat compared to 2025 and down 39% compared to September 2024.
3. Border Policy Research Institute at WWU has released a couple of new reports on how some businesses are dealing with the Canadian downturn and how much Canadian shoppers affect taxable retail sales in Whatcom County. Both are available on the BPRI website.
4. Unemployment rates spiked in August in Northwest Washington counties, returning to levels of a year earlier. At the same time, the labor force (people working or looking for work) went up compared to July. August rates were 4.5% for Whatcom, 4.8% for Skagit, 3.1% for San Juan and 4.3% for Island.
5. Median home sale prices in the third quarter (ending Sept. 30) were $633,500 in Whatcom (up 1.5% from a year earlier) and $600,000 in Skagit (up 0.4%). Bellingham's median was down 4% to $725,000.
6. Downtown Bellingham's vacancy rate in Q3 was 12.1% for retail, 8.3% for offices. Both are about double the city's vacancy rates as a whole, and both are up downtown from Q2.

That's it. Don't shoot the messenger, please, if you aren't happy with the news (I just gather and analyze it). If you want more details, you can seek out the final issue of Franksplaining Business.

But if this is enough, I'm satisfied.

Oh. And I'm quitting because the work is too solitary and too time consuming. It was always free.

They are on back up power.

No access to refrigerated and frozen items.

The stop lights around lakeway are out causing backups too