Bellingham, Washington

Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state, with 80,885 residents at the 2010 Census. The boundaries of the city encompass the former towns of Fairhaven, Whatcom, Sehome, and Bellingham.

Bellingham is acclaimed for its small-city flavor, easy access to outdoor opportunities in the San Juan Islands and North Cascades Mountains as well as proximity to the cosmopolitan cities of Vancouver and Seattle.

History
The name of Bellingham is derived from the bay on which the city is situated. George Vancouver, who visited the area in June 1792, named the bay for Sir William Bellingham, the controller of the storekeeper's account of the Royal Navy.

Prior to euro-American settlement, Bellingham was in the homeland of Coast Salish peoples of the Lummi and neighboring tribes. The first Caucasian settlers reached the area in 1854. In 1858, the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush caused thousands of miners, storekeepers, and scalawags to head north from California. Whatcom (Bellingham's original name) grew overnight from a small northwest mill town to a bustling seaport, the basetown for the Whatcom Trail, which led to the Fraser Canyon goldfields, used in open defiance of colonial Governor James Douglas's edict that all entry to the gold colony be made via Victoria, British Columbia.

Coal was mined in the Bellingham area from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries. It was Henry Roeder who had discovered coal off the northeastern shore of Bellingham Bay, and in 1854 a group of San Francisco investors established the Bellingham Bay Coal Company. The mine extended to hundreds of miles of tunnels as deep as 1200 feet. It ran southwest to Bellingham Bay, on both sides of Squalicum Creek, an area of about one square mile. At its peak in the 1920s, the mine employed some 250 miners digging over 200,000 tons of coal annually. It was closed in 1955.

Bellingham was officially incorporated on November 4, 1903 as a result of the incremental consolidation of four towns initially situated around Bellingham Bay during the final decades of the 19th Century. Whatcom is today's "Old Town" area and was founded in 1852. Sehome was an area downtown founded in 1854. Bellingham was further south near Boulevard Park, founded in 1853; while Fairhaven was a large commercial district with its own harbor, also founded in 1853.

In 1890, Fairhaven developers bought Bellingham. Whatcom and Sehome had adjacent borders and both towns wanted to merge; thus they formed New Whatcom. Later on October 27, 1903, the word "New" was dropped from the name, because the Washington State legislature outlawed the word "NEW" from city names, making it into simply "Whatcom". At first, attempts to combine Fairhaven and Whatcom failed, and there was controversy over the name of the proposed new city. Whatcom citizens wouldn't support a city named "Fairhaven", and Fairhaven residents wouldn't support a city named "Whatcom". They eventually decided to use the name "Bellingham", which remains today. Voting a second time for a final merger of the four towns into a single city, the resolution passed by 2163 votes "for" and 596 "against".

In the early 1890s, three railroad lines arrived, connecting the bay cities to a nationwide market of builders. The foothills around Bellingham were clearcut after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to help provide the lumber for the rebuilding of San Francisco. In time, lumber and shingle mills sprang up all over the county to accommodate the byproduct of their work.

In 1889, Pierre Cornwall and an association of investors formed the Bellingham Bay Improvement Company (BBIC). The BBIC invested in several diverse enterprises such as shipping, coal, mining, railroad construction, real estate sales and utilities. Even though their dreams of turning Bellingham into a Pacific Northwest metropolis never came to fruition, the BBIC made an immense contribution to the economic development of Bellingham.

BBIC was not the only outside firm with an interest in Bellingham utilities. The General Electric Company of New York purchased Bellingham's Fairhaven Line and New Whatcom street rail line in 1897. In 1898 the utility merged into the Northern Railway and Improvement Company which prompted the Electric Corporation of Boston to purchase a large block of shares.

Bellingham's proximity to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and to the Inside Passage to Alaska helped keep some cannery operations here. P.A.F., for example, shipped empty cans to Alaska, where they were packed with fish and shipped back for storage.

Economy
The mean annual salary of a wage earner in Bellingham is $37,990, which is below the Washington State average of $44,710.

Adjusted for inflation, wages in Bellingham and Whatcom County have been declining for more than 30 years as service-oriented jobs gain prominence in the local economy, and goods production (mining, construction and manufacturing) decline as a share of total employment. Service oriented jobs now constitute at least 77% of all non-agricultural employment in Whatcom County.

Between 1989 and 1999 median household income grew 41% in Whatcom County while housing costs grew 108% over the same period. In each year 1998–2000 the average wage in Whatcom County was not enough to afford a two-bedroom rental unit.

For the year 2005, the median price of all homes sold in Whatcom County was $259,000 while the median price of homes sold in the Bellingham area was $269,000. This compares with a statewide median home price of $260,900.

Largest Employers
According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:

Note that #6, #9 and #10 above are all grocery merchants

Geography
The city is located at 48.75°N, -122.48333°W (48.75, −122.48). The city is situated on Bellingham Bay which is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia. It lies west of Mount Baker and Lake Whatcom (from which it gets its drinking water) and north of the Chuckanut Mountains and the Skagit Valley. Whatcom Creek runs through the center of the city. Bellingham is 17 mi south of the US-Canada border and 50 mi southeast of Vancouver.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.7 sqmi, of which 25.6 sqmi is land and 6.1 sqmi (19.2%) is water. The lowest elevations are at sea level along the waterfront. Alabama Hill is one of the higher points in the city at about 500 ft. Elevations of 800 ft are found near Yew Street Hill north of Lake Padden and near Galbraith Mountain. South and eastward of the city limits are taller foothills of the North Cascades mountains. Mount Baker is the largest peak in the local area, with a summit elevation of 10778 ft that is only 31 mi from Bellingham Bay. Mount Baker is visible from many parts of the city and western Whatcom County. Lake Whatcom forms part of the eastern boundary of the city, while many smaller lakes and wetland areas are found around the region.

Climate
Bellingham's climate is generally mild and typical of the Puget Sound region that includes Seattle. The year-long average daily high and low temperatures are 59 °F and 44.1 °F, respectively. Western Whatcom County has a marine oceanic climate that is strongly influenced by the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains. The Cascades to the east retain the temperate marine influence, while the Olympics provide a rain-shadow effect that buffers Bellingham from much of the rainfall approaching from the southwest.

Bellingham receives an average annual rainfall of 34.84 in, which is slightly less than Seattle. As evident in the table below, November is typically the wettest month, with numerous frontal rainstorms arriving. Still, precipitation is distributed throughout the rainy period extending from October through April. Bellingham was reported to have the lowest average sunshine amount of any city in the US.

Despite this, Bellingham also has mild, pleasant summers. The hottest summer days rarely exceed 90 °F and the warmest temperature on record is 96 °F on July 29, 2009. This is markedly cooler than the record high for Seattle 103 °F and most other Washington locations. Bellingham experiences an average of 5.7 rainy days in July and August combined, which compares favorably with the Phoenix, Arizona average of 10 rainy days during the same period. Drought is rare, although some summers are noticeably drier than others and some normally reliable wells have been known to run dry in August and September. Nevertheless, crops are more frequently ruined by too much rain rather than too little.

Bellingham's proximity to the Fraser River valley occasionally subjects it to a harsh winter weather pattern (termed a 'north-Easter') wherein an upper level trough drives cold Arctic air from the Canadian interior southwesterly through the Fraser River Canyon. Such an event was recorded on November 28, 2006, when air temperatures of 12 °F were accompanied by 30 to 48 mph winds. Wind chill equivalents reached -10 °F according to NOAA. Several days into this pattern, local ponds and smaller lakes freeze solidly enough to allow skating. Outflow winds can collide with a Gulf of Alaska moisture and create ice, snow, or heavy rains. This transition can also lead to freezing rain, referred to as a "Silver Thaw" that produces hazardous driving among other inconveniences.

Another weather phenomenon, known as the "Pineapple Express", happens in the autumn. For most of a day, an unusually warm and steady wind comes out of the south. It is essentially a reverse northeaster. (Some film of a northeaster and a "Chinook" can be seen at this link:. ) A variation that occurs in winter following several days of northeast outflow winds described above can melt significant snow accumulations very quickly, pushing drainage systems to their limits.

Demographics
As of the 2010 census, there were 80,885 people, 27,999 households, and 13,999 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,619.3 people per square mile (1,011.5/km2). There were 29,474 housing units at an average density of 1,149.3 per square mile (443.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 87.88% White, 0.98% Black or African American, 1.48% Native American, 4.25% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 2.16% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races. 4.63% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race. As shown in the table, Bellingham has experienced rapid growth in recent decades, doubling its population between 1970 and 2010.

There were 27,999 households out of which 23.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.0% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.7% under the age of 18, 23.8% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,530, and the median income for a family was $47,196. Males had a median income of $35,288 versus $25,971 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,483. About 9.4% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those aged 65 or over.

See the urban populations at the right.

Education
In addition to its public school system, Bellingham is home to several colleges and universities, the largest (with more than 15,000 students) being Western Washington University, which includes Fairhaven College; Huxley College; and the Woodring College of Education. Others institutions include Whatcom Community College; Bellingham Technical College; Northwest Indian College; a satellite campus of Trinity Western University; Charter College;

There are three public high schools in the city: Bellingham High School, Sehome High School and Squalicum High School. The city also has four middle schools, including Whatcom Middle School which was recently rebuilt after extensive fire damage in 2009.

For-profit schools include Evergreen Team Concepts and Lean Leadership Institute.

Government
Bellingham has a non-partisan strong-mayor, weak-council form of government. The directly elected mayor serves a four-year term. Six of the seven city council members are elected by ward for staggered four-year terms. The seventh council member is elected at-large every two years.

A municipal court judge is also elected for four year terms.

The city maintains its own municipal police and fire department and operates the countywide Medic One medical emergency response service through an agreement with Whatcom County.

Events

 * The Ski to Sea race is a team relay race made up of seven legs: cross country skiing, downhill skiing (or snowboarding), running, road biking, canoeing (2 person), mountain biking, and kayaking. The racers begin at the Mount Baker Ski Area and make their way down to the finish line on Bellingham Bay. Organized by the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the event was first held in 1973 and traces it roots to the 1911 Mt. Baker Marathon.


 * The Bellingham Highland Games & Scottish Festival is held every year at Ferndale’s Hovander Park the first full weekend in June. The outdoor event celebrates Scottish culture and heritage, with two days of games, spectator sports, dancing, music and food.


 * Whatcom Community College and Whatcom Human Rights Taskforce host the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Conference on MLK weekend every January. Event workshops, guest speakers, a silent auction and food address the general theme of Human Rights as expressed in the teachings of Dr. King.  This event has been held since 1998.


 * LinuxFest Northwest is a free conference dedicated to discussion and development of the Linux operating system and other open-source and free-software projects. Held at Bellingham Technical College during the last weekend in April, it draws nearly a thousand computer professionals and enthusiasts from across the northwestern US and western Canada. Since the first conference in 2000 it has become one of the largest events of its kind.


 * The annual International Day of Peace is celebrated in Bellingham on September 21. The holiday was instituted by the United Nations as a 24-hour global cease-fire. The Bellingham-based Whatcom Peace & Justice Center publishes a calendar of upcoming activist events with a theme of non-violence, community dissent, and worldwide Peace.


 * The Bellingham Festival of Music is an annual celebration of orchestral and chamber concerts, held in July, hosting musicians from North American orchestral ensembles.


 * Bellingham Pride is a gay pride parade and festival held in July each year to celebrate LGBT people and their friends. The parade takes place on a midsummer weekend, passing through the downtown and ending in the public market area.


 * The Bellingham Wig Out, held each year the Friday before Memorial Day, is a celebration of fun and irreverent welcoming Spring. Events include the Wig Walk, a promenade of Wig wearers through the downtown business district, a Wig Competition, complete with categories from Wee Wigster to the Best Handmade Wig, and a Wig Out Party held at various locations that evening. The Wig Out folks also participate the next day in the Ski to Sea Parade.


 * The Bellingham Greek Festival is held each year in September the weekend after Labor Day at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church.


 * The Imperial Sovereign Court of the Evergreen Empire is a drag queen charity organization that has been in Bellingham for more than 30 years. The group raises money for scholarships and other charitable organizations and holds their largest event, Coronation, the second Saturday of January each year. The Bellingham Gay Pageant is held the third Saturday of each September.

Local attractions
Although Bellingham is smaller than neighboring metropolitan areas such as Seattle, Vancouver, or Victoria, the city and its surrounding region offer many attractions which are popular for both residents and visitors. The Whatcom Museum of History and Art sponsors exhibits of painting, sculpture, local history, and is an active participant in the city's monthly Gallery Walks which are pedestrian tours of the historic buildings of the city, offering history and art lessons for local schools and adult groups, and historic cruises on Bellingham Bay. The Bellingham Railway Museum is where one may find educational displays explaining the history of railroading in Whatcom County, as well as model trains, and a freight-train simulator. The American Museum of Radio and Electricity is a unique local establishment which features a collection of artifacts from 1580 into the 1950s, providing educational resources about the history of electronics and radio broadcasting. The AMRE also operates KMRE-LP 102.3 FM, a low-power FM radio station which broadcasts a number of old shows popular many decades ago, as well as programming of general interest to the local community. Mindport is a privately funded arts and science museum, and is also occasionally involved in the Gallery Walks.

The Bellingham Farmers Market is open on Saturdays from early April thru late December. Originally opened in 1993, the Farmers Market now features more than fifty vendors, music and community events. There is a tradition that "on opening day a cabbage is thrown by a city official to a long standing vendor." The association also operates a weekly Wednesday market in nearby Fairhaven.

The scenic splendor of Bellingham and Whatcom County is appreciated by residents and tourists. Whatcom Falls Park is a 241 acre large public park encompassing the Whatcom Creek gorge, running directly through the heart of the city. It has four sets of waterfalls and several miles of walking trails, and is a hub of outdoor activity connecting and defining several different neighborhoods of Bellingham. Popular activities during warmer weather include swimming, fishing, and strolling along the numerous walking trails. About 50 km east of Bellingham the Mount Baker Ski Area is home to many of the world's first snowboarding champions, and it holds the world record for the greatest amount of snowfall in one season (winter 1998–1999). During most years the depth of accumulated snow exceeds 12 ft and results in the closure of the ski area before the end of the winter months.

South of the city of Bellingham one may travel along Chuckanut Drive (Washington State Route 11), a route which offers cliffside views of the sea, the San Juan Islands, the hills and forests of the Chuckanut mountains, and several small picturesque bays along the edge of the Salish Sea. Several miles from Bellingham in the southern part of Whatcom County there are many places enjoyed by vacationers and enthusiasts of outdoor recreation, including: Larrabee State Park (popular for hiking), Lake Padden (popular for swimming, fishing and golfing), and Lake Samish. To the east of the city lies Lake Whatcom, a beautiful natural resource which provides the local public water supply and is the source of Whatcom Creek. Between Lake Whatcom and Lake Padden is North Lookout Mountain, known locally as Galbraith Mountain, which is renowned for its many fine mountain bike trails.

In the waters of the Georgia Strait and Puget Sound it is possible to go whale watching. Several pods of orcas (killer whales) are known to travel from the open Pacific Ocean into the area, and families of these huge aquatic creatures can be seen swimming and hunting near the local bays and islands.

Transportation
The Bellingham International Airport offers regularly scheduled commuter flights to and from Seattle and Friday Harbor, Washington, and regularly scheduled jet service to Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, and Palm Springs, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Reno, Nevada, and Phoenix/Mesa, Arizona. In 2010 Alaska airlines began regularly scheduled direct flights to Hawaii. The airport is home of the first Air and Marine Operations Center, to assist the US Department of Homeland Security with border surveillance.

Amtrak Cascades provides Bellingham with regularly scheduled passenger rail service to Seattle and to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Whatcom Transportation Authority offers regular scheduled bus service throughout the Bellingham area, including service to Mt. Vernon.

The Fairhaven section of the city is the southern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway. The ferry service offers vehicle and passenger service north to Ketchikan, Alaska and points north including Juneau and Haines. San Juan Cruises, located at the Alaska Ferry Terminal, provides seasonal passenger ferry service to the San Juan Islands / Friday Harbor.

Music scene
Being located on a major highway, halfway between two major cities, Bellingham has traditionally had a natural advantage of drawing many diverse and highly acclaimed acts to perform at various venues. Also, the presence of a large university-age population has helped Bellingham in that it has been home to a number of regionally and nationally noted musical groups such as Death Cab for Cutie, The Posies, Crayon, Idiot Pilot, Mono Men, No-Fi Soul Rebellion, Sculptured, Federation X, The Trucks, Black Eyes and Neckties, The Whiskey Wailers, Black Breath and Shook Ones. Local independent record labels include Estrus Records and Clickpop Records. The town is also home to What's Up! Magazine – a publication devoted to the local music scene for over 10 years.

Bellingham is also the home of an active classical music scene which includes the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, North Sound Youth Symphony, numerous community music groups and choirs, and the internationally recognized Bellingham Festival of Music.

Film scene
Bellingham also has a burgeoning independent film community, which is supported by the Whatcom Film Association, a local group of film appreciators with over 1500 members and the Northwest film school, a hands-on filmmaking program. While not as large-scale or well-financed as some of Seattle's independent film efforts, Bellingham's annual NW Projections Film Festival has grown substantially in attendance since its creation in 1999.

The Pickford Cinema offers classic, alternative, cult, and independent films. Outside of the realm of corporate movie theater's restrictive offerings, the choices vary widely.

Literary scene
Bellingham is also home to an active writers community, both at the local universities and independent of them. Western Washington University's English Department publishes the Bellingham Review. This year the city hosted the first annual Chuckanut Writers Conference, run by Whatcom Community College and Village Books, a local bookstore. The city is home to a number of well known writers including Steve Martini and George Dyson.

Literary references
Robert James Waller’s best-selling novel The Bridges of Madison County began with the story of a National Geographic photographer from Bellingham, but Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation omitted this starting point.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Dillard wrote a historical fiction, The Living, set in the American Northwest in the late 19th century and focusing on the settlement at Whatcom on Bellingham Bay.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder, in his 1969 collection "Earth House Hold," wrote of a summer spent at a fire lookout's cabin on Desolation Peak in the North Cascades during the '50s. In a passage dated June 28, 1953, Snyder detailed a trip to Gooseberry Point, stating "We went back by the same road, and by the outskirts of Bellingham Jack pointed out a ratty looking place called Coconut Grove where he said he had spent time drinking with a 'rough crowd.' They drank beer out of steins and called the place the Cat's Eye instead." Though some have postulated that the 'Jack' in this passage refers to Jack Kerouac, it does not. Kerouac spent a summer on Desolation Peak in the summer of 1957, four years after the passage related in Snyder's book.

In Footfall, a bestselling novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Bellingham was mostly destroyed after an alien invasion when Earth's defenders launched an Orion-type vehicle. Bellingham was chosen for this honor after Niven had a bad experience as guest of honor at a local science fiction convention.

Local theater
Bellingham is home to a rich theater culture which is further boosted by the performing arts department at Western Washington University. There are several notable theaters and productions in Bellingham:


 * Bellingham Theatre Guild – This non-profit community theater is nearly 80 years old. Hilary Swank performed here before moving to LA to pursue her career in acting.
 * Historic Mount Baker Theatre – This beautifully restored theater built in 1927 features a fine example of Moorish architecture and is the largest performing arts facility north of Seattle. The theater is listed on the register of National Historic Places.
 * Upfront Theatre, an improv comedy venue established by Bellingham resident Ryan Stiles of Whose Line Is It Anyway? fame.
 * Northwest Ballet, a regional ballet company, performs classical ballets like The Firebird, Petrushka and Daphnis et Chloé, as well as annual productions of The Nutcracker. Northwest Ballet's regional ballet, Emerald Bay is set in Fairhaven in 1885 and features historical characters like Dirty Dan Harris, Goon Dip, and Mark Twain.
 * iDiOM Theater
 * Firehouse Performing Arts Center, a Fairhaven firehouse converted into a dance classroom and theatre, features audience seating descending from the ceiling in a counterweight system and a radiant-heated wood floor. Performances include theatre, music, and dance.
 * The high schools of Bellingham School District perform a combined musical production every several years.

Activism
Bellingham is home to the longest-running Peace vigil in the US. Started by Howard and Rosemary Harris more than 48 years ago, it has seen more than 4 generations. On the corner of Magnolia Street and Cornwall, in front of the Federal Building, every Friday starting at 4 pm and lasting until usually about 5 pm.

International Day of Peace has been observed for the last six years by hundreds of participants. The event commemorates the United Nations' observance of September 21 as a day for international peace and cease-fire. Participants hold a rally at Maritime Heritage Park, and then marched to an event at First Congregational Church.

The Whatcom Peace & Justice Center was founded in 2002 by local activists, and has been one of the most active such centers in the nation.

Bellingham has a strong chapter of Code Pink, Veterans for Peace, and also a chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Chapter #32.

Bellingham has two strong chapters of Food Not Bombs. The Sunday chapter has been serving for more than ten years. Food is served Sundays at 4:00pm at the intersection of Railroad and Holly. The Friday chapter serves during Bellingham's Peace Vigil on Cornwall and Magnolia, also at 4:00.

Bellingham has an active branch of the Trotskyist organization Socialist Alternative, the US section of the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI).

City Councilman Terry Bornemann has been a staple of the local activist community, and sponsored the October 2006 Troops Home! resolution, making Bellingham the first city in the state of Washington to pass the resolution.

In July 2008, the Bellingham City Council unanimously passed a resolution urging elected representatives and the federal government to avoid war with Iran, becoming the first city in the state to do so.

Future development
In March 2005, Kiplinger's Personal Finance named Bellingham one of the top retirement cities in the nation. Purchase price of homes has risen and rents have stably risen for the last decade. Many of the condominiums recently built as a result of the demand for affordable housing have subsequently become rental units.

Bellingham has seen a resurgence of real-estate development as house prices climb, caused in part by new residents moving in to the community. In order to accommodate this growth, new properties have sprung up all over the city, including the Downtown, Fairhaven, Happy Valley, Cordata, and Barkley neighborhoods. The city has reiterated their commitment to developing a wide range of housing options for all income categories, while retaining the integrity of existing communities. Annexation of surrounding rural lands has been kept to a minimum due to public concern for environmental preservation, but several controversies have risen over the city's decisions to counteract the loss of land by allowing taller buildings in the city core, major new development on previously undeveloped land, and a lack of parks and open spaces in some of the more recently developed areas.

Waterfront redevelopment
The Bellingham waterfront has served as an industrial center for the past century, most notably the area encompassing the former Georgia-Pacific mill. G-P purchased the Puget Sound Pulp and Timber Company in 1963 and operated a pulp mill on the central downtown waterfront until 2001. In 1965, G-P built a Chlor-Alkali facility, which became a source of mercury contamination in the Whatcom Waterway and on the uplands of the site for decades. The documentary film, "Smells Like Money – The Story of Bellingham's Georgia Pacific Plant" tells the story of the site, which has since been purchased by the Port of Bellingham chiefly to create a marina in the 37 acre wastewater lagoon. The Port of Bellingham purchased the G-P site for $10 with the understanding they would assume liability for the contamination. The City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham entered into several interlocal agreements in which the City agreed to pay for all infrastructure costs, and the Port would create a marina, clean up the site, and retain all zoning.

The City and Port have entered into a partnership to redevelop the property, which has been unofficially renamed New Whatcom after the township of which the area was originally a part. A general plan for the city's waterfront was developed by the Waterfront Futures Group, and the new Waterfront Advisory Group has been convening to develop a more detailed plan focused on this particular site. The draft plan includes "a new city neighborhood with homes, shops, offices and light industry, as well as parks and promenades, a healthy shoreline habitat along Bellingham Bay..."

Some citizen groups have opposed the Port's plan, most notably the Bellingham Bay Foundation (formed in 2005). During the summer of 2006, the Bellingham Bay Foundation formed People for a Healthy Bay over a concern that many of the areas slated for development contained high mercury levels (as high as 12,500ppm in the soil under the former Chlor-Alkali facility). People for a Healthy Bay launched an initiative that would have required the City of Bellingham to advocate for removal of mercury to the highest practical level. The City successfully sued to keep the initiative off the ballot.

The Washington State Department of Ecology is currently reviewing public comment for the Port's cleanup documents of the Whatcom Waterway.

Ecology will host a second public comment period for the Cleanup Action Plan, at which time the specifics of the cleanup will be discussed and decided. The City of Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham will develop a Master Plan and implement tax-increment financing for the City's portion of funding of infrastructure. Infrastructure alone is expected to cost roughly $200 million. Whatcom County has declined participation in the financing, citing unmet gaps in funding, a lack of benefit to the County, and the need for County taxes to go toward emergency, jail, and mental health services.

Sports
The people of Bellingham pursue a diverse range of amateur sports, with skiing and snowboarding at the Mount Baker Ski Area popular in the winter and kayaking and cycling in the summer. Mt. Baker claims an unofficial world record for seasonal snowfall, with 1140 in recorded in the 1998–1999 season.

Western Washington University, located in Bellingham, is home to NCAA Division II National Women's Rowing Champions. Although always nationally ranked, the Lady Vikings, in 2005, became Western's very first NCAA champion team and won again in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2011.

Western Washington University also operates a successful collegiate road cycling program that took top-5 positions nationwide at the 2006 nationals.

Future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. began his professional career with the Bellingham Mariners. He played in the Northwest League on the team based in Bellingham.

Newspapers
The Bellingham Herald is published daily in Bellingham. Other newspapers include The Cascadia Weekly, The Western Front, Whatcom Watch, the AS Review, and The Bellingham Business Journal.

Television
Bellingham and Whatcom County are part of the Seattle television market.


 * KVOS is a Me-TV television station licensed in Bellingham. The station broadcasts on channel 12. KVOS also enjoys significant viewership from neighboring Metro Vancouver and Victoria.
 * KBCB is a ShopNBC television station licensed in Bellingham. The station broadcasts on channel 24.
 * Bellingham TV Channel 10 (BTV10).

Magazines

 * Bellingham Alive Magazine the premier lifestyle magazine focusing on life in Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan and Island counties. Subscriber based,sold on newsstands and is bi-monthly. www.northsoundlife.com
 * Frequency The Snowboarder's Journal is an independent snowboarding magazine based in Bellingham, published quarterly.
 * What's Up! is a monthly music magazine focused on local music. It covers live shows, band bios and new artist releases.
 * The Betty Pages is a monthly publication serving the GLBT and alternative lifestyle communities.
 * Bible Study Magazine is a Christian magazine printed and distributed by Logos Bible Software.

Notable people

 * Jon Auer – vocalist / guitarist / songwriter / founding member of the Posies.
 * Ken Stringfellow – vocalist / guitarist / songwriter / founding member of the Posies.
 * Ben Gibbard – lead singer for Death Cab for Cutie.
 * Jason McGerr – drummer for Death Cab for Cutie.
 * Ryan Stiles – Emmy Award-nominated actor and comedian.
 * Hilary Swank – multiple Academy Award-winning actress.
 * Billy Burke – Television and Motion Picture Actor.
 * Dana Lyons – Folk and alternative rock musician, author, and environmentalist.

Sister cities
Bellingham maintains sister city relationships with five Pacific Rim port cities and Vaasa, Finland.

Bellingham Sister Cities Association is very active in promoting Bellingham's sister city relationships and is very well supported by the community. The relationship with Tateyama, the oldest relationship (which celebrated its 50th year in 2008), is the most active and includes regular events such as an annual city hall staff exchange and community cultural visits. Tateyama frequently fields a team for the annual Ski to Sea race, or at minimum has representation in the Ski to Sea parade.

As of May 2011, the Bellingham Sister Cities Association is working on establishing a new sister city relationship with:
 * 🇲🇳 Tsetserleg, Mongolia