By John Stark, The Bellingham Herald, Wash. Aug. 6--The Washington Department of Ecology has approved Whatcom County's new Shoreline Master Program, and state officials hailed the locally developed set of environmental rules as a model for other counties to follow.

By John Stark, The Bellingham Herald, Wash. Aug. 6--Wild chinook salmon runs in the south fork of the Nooksack River have lingered on the brink of extinction for decades, but Whatcom County Indian tribes are persisting in their efforts to restore a thriving population.

By The Bellingham Herald, Wash. Aug. 5--Western Washington University has been awarded a $4,500 grant by State Farm for the Future Teachers of Color Promise Scholarship program at Woodring College of Education.

By John Stark, The Bellingham Herald, Wash. Aug. 5--BELLINGHAM -- A Las Vegas-bound Allegiant Air flight got stuck on a Bellingham International Airport taxiway Monday, Aug. 4, after the pilot made too wide a turn, putting the MD-80's nose wheel into the dirt.

By Cat Sieh, The Bellingham Herald, Wash. Aug. 5--A California Sea Lion that hauled itself onto a Ferndale family's boat off Clark Island Sunday, Aug. 3, is likely suffering the poisoning effects of a toxin found in algae, marine mammal rescuers say.