Robert Mittendorf

Bellingham

Reporter at The Bellingham Herald

Hard-charging journalist and firefighter embracing the wet, wild Northwest.

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Articles

Candidate filing period is over. Here’s who’s running in Whatcom County

5 days ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf

A filing period closed Friday for races in nonpartisan off-year elections that focus on the Whatcom County Council, Bellingham and other city councils, courts, school boards and local commissions such as fire districts and cemetery officials. Nonpartisan offices with three or more candidates will appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot. Otherwise both candidates will advance automatically to the general election, the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office said.
Candidate filing period is over. Here’s who’s running in Whatcom County

5 days ago | yahoo.com | Robert Mittendorf

A filing period closed Friday for races in nonpartisan off-year elections that focus on the Whatcom County Council, Bellingham and other city councils, courts, school boards and local commissions such as fire districts and cemetery officials. Nonpartisan offices with three or more candidates will appear on the Aug. 5 primary ballot. Otherwise both candidates will advance automatically to the general election, the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office said.
Whatcom County activist held by ICE appeared in court. Here’s what we know

6 days ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf |Shea Johnson

An immigration judge made no immediate ruling Thursday over the question of bail for a Whatcom County farmworker and immigrant rights activist who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials nearly two months ago. Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino, who was being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center after his March 25 arrest by ICE agents, is asking for his release in advance of a November court date on charges that he is in the United States illegally.
Timeline set for opening of new Bellingham tiny home village

1 week ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf

Bellingham City Council member Michael Lilliquist helps frame one of the tiny homes being built by volunteers for the new North Haven tiny home village on Northwest Avenue in Bellingham, Wash. B.J. Plaskett Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald A village of tiny homes for those without permanent shelter will open by the end of May, combining two similar tiny home villages that must move.
WSDOT releases updated information about Chuckanut Drive slide closure

1 week ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf

A aerial view shows the rock slide that closed State Route 11, also known as Chuckanut Drive, south of Bellingham, Wash., on April 22, 2025. Washington State Department of Transportation Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald Chuckanut Drive will be closed for several more weeks south of Bellingham as road crews remove debris and stabilize a sheer rock wall after an April 22 rockslide.
Air agency grants fund clean energy projects for Bellingham, Opportunity Council

1 week ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf

Funds from a settlement with a Whatcom County petrochemical company are paying for clean-energy projects in Bellingham aimed at helping low-income residents and reducing the effects of climate change. Officials at the Northwest Clean Air Agency announced grants of $3 million for the city of Bellingham and Opportunity Council in a statement Thursday afternoon:▪ The city of Bellingham was awarded up to $1.7 million for a proposed solar array that could result in $69,000 per year in cost savings.
Iconic Bellingham boulder will be removed from site along Interstate 5

1 week ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf

A massive rock along northbound Interstate 5 south of Bellingham, used as a community billboard for more than 50 years, will be removed soon as part of an upcoming freeway construction project. Its future remains uncertain as officials with the Washington State Department of Transportation consider what to do with landmark roadside attraction.
Here’s how Whatcom, Skagit counties fared in annual clean-air report

1 week ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf

Smoke from wildfires both locally and across the region is still keeping Bellingham off the list of U.S. cities with the overall cleanest air — an honor it held 20 years ago. Air quality in Whatcom County got a “D” for 24-hour particle pollution because of wildfire smoke, according to the American Lung Association’s 2025 “State of the Air” report. Other counties across Washington received similar marks, according to the report, which was released Wednesday.
New trail connection and boardwalk will link north Bellingham park to Greenways system

1 week ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf
Indoor shooting range near Bellingham on track to open this year

1 week ago | bellinghamherald.com | Robert Mittendorf

Outdoor ranges at the Plantation Rifle Range east of Bellingham closed in 2022 because of lead from bullets in the soil and water. Whatcom County Parks and Recreation Courtesy to The Bellingham Herald Indoor shooting is expected to return later this year at the Plantation Rifle Range, a public facility operated by Whatcom County that has been closed for more than three years.