The Front, Bellingham, WA (2025)

12/11/2025

Shredding through heaps of snow, trees and drops is a regular occurrence for Western Washington University’s Freeride Ski and Snowboard team. The sport tests the limits of each athlete as they maneuver through all the features a mountain offers during competitions.

The team practices out of Mt. Baker Ski Area, although they don’t have a set practice schedule for all the members. Instead, small groups of the athletes from the team will frequently meet up to work together on their skills.

Freeride and Ski has the foundation of traditional skiing and snowboarding teaching, but in the competition space, it gives the riders freedom to be creative while testing their own abilities. The competition venue is in a sectioned-off area of a mountain slope, and the competitors get to scope out the different zones and features they have and choose where they will be riding down, said Garrette Doyle, co-president of Freeride and Ski.

“The more creative you get and the more you push the boundaries of skiing, I would sort of say, the more points you get,” said Ripley Scales, an athlete on Freeride and Ski.
Athletes are scored on line, control, fluidity, style and technique. While they aren’t required to do any tricks, many do, knowing that the judges measure their confidence while riding down the mountain.

“I threw my first 360 in a competition last year,” Scales said. “Didn't land it, but did ski out of it.”

Story by Katherine Konicke-Dunlop
Photo courtesy of WWU Freeride Ski and Snowboard

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12/05/2025

For many women and gender-diverse students at Western Washington University and Washington state, access to reproductive healthcare is more than a clinic appointment; it's a lifeline. But federal cuts to Planned Parenthood, coupled with shifting state funding, are reshaping who can access care, when and how.

On March 31, 2025, the Trump Administration began withholding Title X, also known as Title 10 funding, which provides family-planning support from Planned Parenthood. Nearly a quarter of all 86 Title X service grants awarded nationwide for fiscal year 2024 were affected, with 16 grantees immediately barred from accessing program funds, representing a significant disruption in reproductive health services.

In Washington, several Planned Parenthood affiliates rely on this funding. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the withholding could impact up to 30% of Title X patients nationwide — about 834,000 people — disproportionately affecting marginalized and low-income communities.

Elizabeth Montoya, the lead project coordinator for Repro Futures, an independent project that has the Whatcom Peace and Justice Center’s support, mentioned that the defunding of Planned Parenthood sparks concerns, especially for patients who rely on their services for birth control, STI testing, cancer screenings and abortion care.

“The federal cuts to Planned Parenthood have created a huge gap in basic reproductive and sexual healthcare across the country,” Montoya said.

Story by Mabaindu Mbawa
Photo by Mabaindu Mbawa

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12/04/2025

Whatcom Transit Authority has proposed increasing bus fare prices in response to rising operating costs and will seek board approval later this winter.

“Raising fares is not something that we take lightly. It's not something that we just decided on a whim to do,” said Genevieve Carrillo, community relations and marketing manager for Whatcom Transit Authority.

The fare for fixed routes is expected to increase from $1 to $2, while the fare for paratransit is expected to increase from $1 to $3.

WTA has also proposed replacing the day and month passes with a fare capping system with a daily fare cap of $6 and a monthly fare cap of $60.

Carrillo explained that the fare capping system will remove paying for a daily or monthly pass upfront, and instead will track what riders have paid over the day or month. Once the fare cap is reached, rides are free over that day or month.

“By fare capping, you're able to get more rides out of your dollar,” Carrillo said.
WTA bus fares have not increased in price since 2008, according to their site.

Carrillo said WTA was able to maintain a $1 fare by maintaining expenses and revenues through grants and other funding sources, but now costs for fuel, maintenance and new buses have increased since the pandemic.

“It's kind of gotten to the point now where we don't have a lot of other options if we want to continue to stay financially secure and continue to be able to provide reliable transit,” Carrillo said.

Story by DuPree Nugent
Photo by DuPree Nugent

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11/28/2025

Sehome Unified sports program forges a legacy of inclusivity in culture and the community. The program has established an environment that provides access to competitive sports, while still creating bonds, empathy and understanding within sports.

“It makes it clear within the school context that people with disabilities are as much a part of the community as anyone else,” said Don Helling, coach of Sehome's Unified Soccer team. “They just need to be given the opportunity to participate in the community at the level that they're able to.”

In the program, the athletes are people with forms of communication and learning disabilities. Additionally, there are athletes with strong experience with the sport or some with none at all.
“What's so unique about unified is the pairing,” said Sheryl Kent, parent of Kai Borton, a senior in Sehome’s Unified program.

Helpers, able-bodied members of the team, are at every practice and game, playing with the athletes to maintain the team's inclusive atmosphere and make certain every athlete leaves a game with a positive experience. That could be anything from setting up a goal for a player on either team or having an athlete switch teams so they have more opportunities to play, Hellings said.

“My favorite part, I think, is the relationships I've made,” Emma Jenkins, a helper on Sehome’s Unified Sports program. “The fact that someone trusts me to be their friend, learn from me and I can support them is really meaningful to me.”

Story by Katherine Konicke-Dunlop
Photo courtesy of Craig Collier and from WWU athletics

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11/25/2025

Last month, a Bellingham man was arrested on campus again after his second campus trespassing offense within a year. He was initially banned from Western Washington University in 2018 after pleading guilty to voyeurism for taking photos of female students.

University Police arrested Charles Gregory Vergin, 65, at approximately 2:57 p.m. on Oct. 16 inside the Wilson Library, on the Haggard Hall side. The arrest came after someone who recognized Vergin reported his presence on campus, according to a campus advisory and a University Police report of the October incident obtained by The Front through a public records request.

Vergin was located by Officer Jayson Christopherson on the library’s fourth floor, seated at a study desk across from a female student. When Christopherson told Vergin that he was not supposed to be on campus because he had previously trespassed, Vergin did not respond and looked down at the desk, the police report states.

According to a separate University Police report of the November 2024 incident obtained by The Front through a public records request, officers responded to Wilson Library after a female student reported that an older man, later identified as Vergin, had followed her across multiple floors of the building.

The report states that the student told Christopherson, who was the responding officer for the 2024 incident as well, that Vergin sat near her each time she moved, sometimes carrying a book that he did not appear to read, instead staring at her and other women nearby.

She said the behavior had occurred several times during the school year, including one incident that she reported to library staff, and that she no longer went to the library alone because the encounters “creep her out,” the November police report states.

Story by Mishele Ross and Janessa Bates
Photo courtesy of Julia Berkman

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11/21/2025

There are no barriers at the Western Hub of Living Essentials (WHOLE) pantry. The space is open every day, and the door is always unlocked and open for students to walk right in.

This no-questions-asked approach reflects the pantry’s core philosophy: remove as many obstacles as possible between students and the food that they need.

Even though federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were reinstated Nov. 12, when the government shutdown ended, the disruption highlighted how dependent many students are on these programs — and how fragile access to food can be.

At Western Washington University, this vulnerability is evident in the day-to-day operations of the WHOLE pantry and the Basic Needs Hub.

In early November, when federal SNAP funding froze, food access tightened overnight. Many recipients were left unsure about if or when their November funds would arrive.

These concerns came on top of new federal work requirements and stricter eligibility rules that went into effect in July 2025.

“All of this adds up to more restrictions to enrollment and, potentially, less money available,” said Gigi Berardi, a Western professor who researches food systems and community vulnerabilities, via email.

Story by Ellie Wright
Photo by Ellie Wright

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11/19/2025

On Oct. 21, a lease agreement was signed between The Port of Bellingham and Puget Sound Energy to install a solar array on the Fisherman’s Pavilion roof at Squalicum Harbor as a part of a community solar program.

By leasing the space rather than purchasing and installing the solar array itself, the port avoids spending capital and raising taxes to fund a big project during a tight budget period, said Adrienne Douglass-Scott, sustainability program manager for the Port of Bellingham.

“It sort of mixes in with our other solar program, where we're looking at how to install solar in a cost-effective way around the port,” Scott said.

According to Douglass-Scott, the Fisherman’s Pavilion was selected because of its visibility in the community, hosting events like Seafeast and the Dockside Market, in addition to its low electricity demand.

“It's a really good building from a community storytelling point of view,” Douglass-Scott said.

Story by DuPree Nugent
Photo by DuPree Nugent

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11/13/2025

From Nov. 7-9, downtown Bellingham witnessed The Salish Sea Poetry festival, which included stops such as the Pickford Film Center, Structures Brewing and Boulevard Park.

In Bellingham, the poetry community is vast, spanning across all different ages and demographics. Poetry is something that links artists in the Bellingham and Whatcom communities, and the organizers of the Salish Sea Poetry Festival understand this and hope to embrace it.

“I want poetry to be available to people … I think it helps create human connection,” Elizabeth Vignali, organizer of the festival, said.

Vignali has been working on the idea of a Bellingham poetry festival for about five years. She started with a poetry reading series in her home, where a group of people would meet to share poetry.

Story by Dylan Tassan
Poster provided by Elizabeth Vignali of the Salish Sea Poetry Festival organizers

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11/13/2025

On Nov. 6 the Western Washington University Vikings played to a 1-1 draw against the Simon Fraser University Red Leafs, on the Robert S. Harrington Field to continue their impressive run in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

With back-to-back GNAC titles, they improved their record to 10-0-3 in conference
play and 12-1-15 overall this season, with one game left to play before the postseason as of this game.

Head Coach Travis Connell has come to expect this high level of play from the Vikings and knows that this is still just the beginning for the team.

“There’s lofty goals that we have, and so this is one step in the right direction, and really, what it does is it shows that we’re doing some things right,” Connell said. “But we know we have to keep improving and getting better, and the job’s not done.”

Story by Christian Larrañaga
Photos by Christian Larrañaga

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11/13/2025

The Western Washington University men’s hockey team cinched another victory for the season, scoring 12-2 against the Idaho Vandals on Oct. 31.

The Vikings built on a dominant season with two victories at the Bellingham Sportsplex this past weekend, sweeping both games in the series by a combined score of 22-6.

“The way I thought about this weekend and the last weekend, it’s the closest thing to game practice that we’re going to be able to get,” said Patrick Pierson, Vikings captain. “These are teams that we should be beating like this without question. So, taking this opportunity to work on the small things … that’s kind of the goal of these last couple weekends.”

Story by Christian Larranaga
Photos by Christian Larranaga

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11/12/2025

Due to high costs and maintenance WTA will be focusing on renewable fuel and phasing out their hybrid-electric vehicles.

“We are steering away from those (electric buses) because of the lack of infrastructure around charging them,” said Edwin Williams, a member of the WTA board of directors. "It's not practical at the present time. The buses are too expensive.”

The WTA had plans to transition to a zero-emission or an all-electric fleet by 2040. Although, due to the needed infrastructure, vehicle performance issues and lack of federal support, that progress has been hindered.

The 12-year lifespan of a hybrid-electric vehicle costs more than $425,000 compared to a conventional bus, according to the WTA. Electric buses need infrastructure for charging stations, and the current electric vehicles do not meet WTA’s standard for range or performance.

Williams said that there's only so many miles you can drive the buses before you need to charge them again.

“If you had to drive it up to Blaine, it'll get to Blaine, but you'd have to sit for another 45 minutes to charge it up again to come back,” Williams said.

Story by Adah Bassok
Photo by Adah Bassok

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11/12/2025

A brand-new playground was introduced to Blodedel Donovan Park, with its updated design welcoming children of all abilities. Features such as accessible ramps, swings and educational elements were implemented in efforts to build inclusivity.

While conducting an inventory as part of their Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan, Bellingham’s Parks and Recreation department determined that the former playground equipment, built in 1999, was run-down and no longer met park safety or Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

The new playground’s design was decided in 2024 by a community vote on the City of Bellingham’s Engage Bellingham website, where community members can make their voices heard during the development of public works projects. The project’s construction cost $515,000 and was paid for with funds collected from the city’s park impact fees.

“The option that was selected had a ton of play value,” said Patricia Lenssen, owner of Bellingham architecture firm Pacific Landscape Architecture. “That refers to, can you climb, can you swing, can you fiddle with something on the ground, can you hide under a place, can you be in a group, can you be alone? All of these different things.”

Story by Sophia Jellinghaus
Photos Sophia Jellinghaus

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