The Hammer, Vol. XXIII

We Kid the COB a Bit: With the headline. Said office might actually still one day be open. But for the moment, looks like nobody’s home. 

Next Door, However: Lights still burning, fueled no doubt by some liquid angst, with Hizzoner Seth Fleetwood’s announcement that the city’s ballyhooed Climate Action Fund tax proposal has been pulled back off the table, at least for now, due to the rank recalcitrance of members of the mayor’s own political party.

Is That Embarrassing? Nah. It’s the process working. The upside is that it shows the mayor is savvy enough — and enough of a listener — to get that if your own folks aren’t even on board, the wagon isn’t pulling out anytime soon.

And Besides: The city’s greens seem to be arguing more about definitions and spending priorities than the existence of a tax itself. But coupled with what likely is to be a significant anti-tax sentiment among taxpayers fretting over a recession-trending economy, pulling the plug on CAF is probably a wise move.

Is it Dead? Doubtful. The Hammer’s guess: special election later on.

What This Means, However: Is that the rest of the world, on the edge of its planetary seat, in the eyes of some local big thinkers, for Bellingham’s example of how to solve the climate crisis, are just going to have to come up with their own ideas. So it goes.

New ‘Shoes: Salut! to the owners of the landmark Horseshoe Cafe, who’ve re-upped their investment in a local icon with a fancy new horseshoe sign outside the iconic eatery/drinkery, where Holly Street intersects with the universe. As to the argument about whether shoe-up or shoe-down is the proper orientation for good luck, The Hammer says: Shoot, as long as it’s standing, it’s all good. 

Can Confirm: Port Townsend-to-Coupeville ferry (motto: “seasonally occasional”) still goes to Keystone, not Coupeville. 

It Sez Here That: COVID-19 tests at the Bellingham Intergalactic Airport location, once free to patients with symptoms, cost up to $189 now that federal funds have run out. Could the national health-insurance industrial complex give any clearer of a signal that it no longer cares to, or is capable of, tracking COVID infection rates?

And Finally: Question overhead in the newsroom: “How old do kids get to be before they have to stop asking for money?” Awaiting wisdom.

The Hammer is swung on Wednesdays and updated as needed.