The City Council has started their review of the Mayor’s proposed $45-million budget for the coming year. The Council met with city department heads one at a time Monday night to go over the budget. 

Police last week arrested a man who drove his car into a city Parks Department truck at Washington Park and tested at nearly five times the legal limit for alcohol. The driver was identified as a 33-year-old Bellingham man who smelled strongly of intoxicants and could barely stand on his feet.  

Charlie Noble, former-Coast-Guard-officer-turned-marine-PI, is back. This time, he is hot on the trail of a human trafficking scheme that begins in Mexico…and ends in murder in Bellingham writer Clyde Ford's new book Precious Cargo.

The state Department of Ecology is soliciting comments on proposed documents that will help shape the cleanup of a large section of Anacortes waterfront. The cleanup could spur economic development and recreation along Fidalgo Bay. 

Anacortes Port Commissioners have okayed a contract to remove the derelict tug Enchantress. Work will start next week to prepare the boat for removal from Fidalgo Bay.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie continues to amaze me. It's been on the Northwest Bestseller list for weeks now. Also on this week's list are Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain and The Other by David Guterson.