Western Front - 2005 April 1

              HE WESTERN FRONT
Y, APRIL 1, 2005 • WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY • BELLINGHAM, WASH. • WESTERNFRONTONUNE.COM
ISSUE I
VOLUME 133
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Indian street loses parking
Five blocks to receive
bike lane and lighting
BY PETER JENSEN
The Western Front
Parking near campus has become tougher after the city
of Bellingham removed more than 100 parking spaces
along the west side of Indian Street to make space for a
bicycle lane.
The bicycle lane will span a five-block stretch north of
campus and is designated for bike traffic going toward
campus, Western Alternative Transportation Coordinator
Carol Berry said. The city also will install additional
lighting along the lane.
"I am very pleased with this project," Berry said. "With
bike lanes, more people are more likely to bike, which
will ease traffic and parking congestion at Western."
Constructing the lane will take until the end of June
and will cost the city approximately $5,000, said Dan
Remsen, a member of the Bellingham city Bicycle and
Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
While bikers have welcomed the idea of a bicycle
lane, Remsen said residents and students who are losing
parking spaces have not shared the enthusiasm.
"It's really frustrating," Indian Street resident Chloe
Akers, 22, said. "There are not a lot of parking spots to
begin with and now they're taking what little we have."
Although construction has yet to begin, the west side
of Indian Street has been a tow-away zone for two weeks,
Akers said. Signs are posted along the west side of Indian
Street to notify residents that parking there is illegal,-but
students who are unhappy with the new restrictions have
torn them down, she said.
Cars parked in the tow-away zone receive a $10 dollar
ticket, and owners are told to move their cars or risk
being towed. The tow-away zone ends when the project :
is slated to be finished June 24, according to signs. Akers
said she does not expect to park in front of her apartment
in the future.
see PARKING, page 5
CHRIS HUBER/The Western Front
A biker pedals up Indian Street on his way to Western's campus
Wednesday. The north side of Indian Street is blocked off to make way
for a new bike lane starting at the corner of High and Indian Streets.
Baker gets
fresh spring
snow base
BY KELSEY DOSEN
The Western Front
The Mt. Baker ski and snowboard area
has re-opened due to last week's increase in
snowfall.
This season has been less successful than
usual for Baker; a lack of snow caused the
mountain to close during the weekdays starting
March 14, said Gwyn Howat, spokeswoman
for Mt. Baker Ski Area.
After 10 days of weekend-only operation,
the mountain was able to open again with its
normal winter schedule this past Thursday,
March 24.
This is not the first time Baker has had to
close early, but Howat said this closing is one
of few.
"In 1976, our operations were affected
because of too little snow," Howat said. "It is
pretty unusual, but heavy snows in March are
not. We've been looking forward to that."
Baker received 30 inches of snow and a
continuous amount of snowfall last week,
including a total of 28 inches on Sunday and
Monday. The forecast calls for continuing snow
throughout the week. Howat said Mount Baker
could reach a 100-inch snow base by Sunday.
Howat said the change in weather is-because
the jet stream — relatively strong winds
focused in a narrow stream in the atmosphere
— shifted to the Northwest. This resulted in
a more normal weather pattern, causing the
snowfall.
The mountain re-opened near the end
of Western's spring break, allowing some
students to spend their remaining days of
vacation on the mountain.
-see BAKER, page 6
Senate bill helps schools
restrict credit advertising
BY MEGAN MULDARY
The Western Front
.Washington state could soon
have a law limiting the presence
of credit companies on public
university campuses.
Senate Bill 5506 would require
higher education schools to restrict
credit companies' access to students
with each school's own policy,
and would make credit companies
forewarn campuses about their
visits, limit the "freebies" used
to entice students to sign up for
credit cards and enforce education
about credit cards. The bill is at
the Washington state House of
Representatives now with a vote
scheduled for April 1.
With education about the
intricacies of credit cards as the
bill's main focus, Washington state
Rep. Maralyn Chase said she hopes
students will realize how easily
credit cards can lead to debt.
Chase said she introduced a
companion bill of Senate Bill 5506
to the House of Representatives
based on her belief that college
students need to be educated about
credit cards, and more importantly,
credit card debt.
"If you add up the amount of
money students borrowed in the
1960s, 1970s and 1980s, it equals
out to what students borrowed in
the 1990s," Chase said. "College
students triple the amount of credit
cards they carry in their wallet
from their freshman year to their
senior year."
see CREDIT, page 5
City council resuscitates medic one
BY ADAM BROWN AND
SEANMCGROREY
The Western Front
One of Whatcom county's Medic
One ambulance units will continue
running after the Bellingham City
Council's unanimous vote.
The council decided March .21.
that the Medic 3 unit, one of the
county's two Medic One units, will
continue running through the end
of June.
Whatcom County and the city
of Bellingham have funded Medic
One for 30 years, but the program
may face termination in 2006 if the
city does not approve an extension
agreement or funding is not found.
Currently, two Medic One
units serve Whatcom County,
and an additional two units serve
Bellingham. One unit also is
available in case of emergency.
SEAN MCGROREY/The Western Front
Fire and EMS dispatcher Cindy Sluys prepares to receive emer­gency
calls at Bellingham Fire Station One Thursday.
"In Whatcom county the cost of costs," said Roger Christensen,
an advance life support ambulance Bellingham Fire Department
is roughly $1.1 million per year,
which includes all operating see MEDIC, page 6
ON THE RISE
Bellingham hardcore bands
take the stage.
ACCENT, PAGE 8
iliillll^g|i^jli CREW PREVIEW
The Western womens' and
mens' rowing teams hope to
paddle their way to glory.
SPORTS, PAGE 10