{"word_count": 178, "character_count": 1157}
The spring edition of the Border Policy Brief is now available on our website, www.wwu.edu/bpri.  Titled “Testing a Reconfiguration of FAST at the Blaine POE," the article provides an early glimpse of the results of a pilot test conducted by USCBP at the Pacific Highway truck crossing in Blaine, WA.  At the invitation of USCBP, the BPRI partnered with the Whatcom Council of Governments, the Washington State Department of Transportation, and the B.C. Ministry of Transportation to conduct a field project designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot configuration.  For four weeks now, FAST trucks have mingled with the standard truck traffic stream, and the (previously) dedicated FAST booth has been used to process the mingled stream.  This configuration has led to a large reduction in the aggregate amount of wait-time observed at Blaine.A reminder that the Center for Canadian-American Studies here at Western Washington University is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a dinner and a conference to be held this coming Thursday and Friday, April 28 and 29.  For more information about the event, see http://www.wwu.edu/canam/40thHome.shtml.