(648) stories found containing 'services'
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 648
2024 Legislature wrap-up: Update on a successful legislative session
We have wrapped up the 2024 legislative session, and I'm pleased to report that state lawmakers worked together to pass legislation and fund projects to benefit Washingtonians. I'm especially proud...
Fire district preps for March 30 windstorm exercise
You play how you practice. That was the mantra shared last Thursday by Skagit County Fire District 13 Commission chair Bruce Shellhamer, a former Sedro-Woolley High School sports standout. He wasn’t alluding to athletics. He was talking about the f...
Give feedback on SKAT service
Skagit Transit wants citizen feedback on a comprehensive service analysis it’s conducting to optimize public transportation for residents across Skagit County. This analysis will play a role in SKAT’s Long-Range Transit Plan, reflecting the age...
Renew EMS levy to preserve service
To the editor: I would like to thank the Skagit Board of County Commissioners for placing an EMS levy renewal on the April 23, 2024, special election ballot to continue critical funding for emergency medical services in our community. Every second...
From the editor - Rick Larsen's Israel dilemma
On Feb. 13, the United State Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill containing military aid of $61 billion for Ukraine and $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is in no hurry to take it up in the...
Musings - On the editor's mind
I can’t believe anyone assessing the results of Washington’s presidential primary today and throughout this week will be surprised. Actually, there is one vote tally that is not certain: the total for uncommitted delegates in the Democratic pri...
Mayor shares tribe's Didgwalic Wellness Center plans
Word is getting out on one of Skagit County's best-kept secrets. That's thanks to La Conner High School alum and former Swinomish Tribal Community Senator Leon John, now the outreach director at...
Donna Kay Cushing, January 19, 1945 - February 21, 2024
Donna Kay Cushing (Griffin), 79, of La Conner, passed away in the evening of Feb. 21, 2024, of heart failure. Donna was the second child of four born to Jack and Elva Griffin on Jan. 19, 1945, in...
Tribe plans to sue feds over salmon habitat
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community has notified the federal government it intends to sue for its failure to protect threatened and endangered salmon runs. In a 15-page document submitted Feb. 22 to the Environmental Protection Agency, National...
Sinclair Refinery gift helps Fire Dist. 13 heavy lifts
Fire District 13 emergency responders are used to pulling their weight – and then some. Now they’re getting much appreciated help. The added muscle is in the form of a new power loader gurney system purchased with funds from the HF Sinclair Ref...
Where is our storm sewer?
When we bought our home in La Conner in January of 2019, we were told that our block, the only block on Washington Street where there is no storm sewer, was in “Phase 2” of the project to provide storm drainage throughout the town. Shortly after we...
District 13 firefighters in training for 69-floor cancer research fundraiser
Local firefighters are taking a step in the right direction when it comes to winning the fight against cancer. Make that many steps. Six members of Skagit County Fire District 13, including Chief Wood Weiss, will take part in the 33rd annual...
If I Ran the Zoo
It’s heartbreaking to be updated on how many homeless people there are in Skagit County. Fortunately, they are no longer camping out on sidewalks in our towns. I can no longer visit my friend in S...
Feds pledge $1 billion to deliver 2,700 electric, low-emission school buses
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration announced $1 billion in funding for more than 2,700 electric and low-emission school buses across 37 states in January. This is a second part of funding of a $5 billion, five-year initiative from the b...
Forum tackles solar energy, emergency preparedness
The future is looking brighter for solar energy in La Conner. “You have a big advantage,” Markus Virta, managing partner and co-founder of Cascadia Renewables, told two dozen people attending a community solar storage feasibility study meeting at...
One vote determines a tribal senate primary
Every vote counts is no mere cliché. Just ask Bruce James, Jr. James advanced to the Swinomish Tribal Senate general election next month by a single vote, edging incumbent Brian Wilbur 84-83 and placing second in primary balloting last Saturday....
Small drugstores, high drug prices
La Conner Drug Store is not the first small-town, family-owned drug store to go out of business in recent years. Rite Aid, hopefully the new home of former employees from La Conner Drug and Island...
Keeping local businesses alive
As a long-time (14 years) La Conner resident I have appreciated having certain local services such as a local bank branch, a grocery store, a pharmacy and a local newspaper. It has meant that I don’t need to travel far for services, supplies and i...
Marna Hanneman leads first town council meeting as mayor
A new year, a new mayor. It's been a long while – going back to January 2008 – since that sentence has applied to the Town of La Conner. Now it does. Former planning commissioner Marna Hanneman, who h...
La Conner School District report card
As we start off the 2024 year, I want to personally thank all of the parents and families of our students who every day navigate all of the obstacles in life while supporting their school-aged children. We strive to create a welcoming environment...
FD 13's CARES program reduces stress on 911 system
Skagit County Fire District 13 cares. In both deed and name. The district has implemented a proactive injury and illness prevention program that is providing medical care and assistance while reducing strains on the 911 system. Its coverage area...
I am working on what you told me
How can we listen to each other and find common ground – and solutions that work for our community? I think it starts with listening to each other. The legislative session began on Jan. 8 and runs f...
Swinomish Senate primary start of 2024 election season
The calendar has flipped from December to January; 2023 to 2024. That means it’s a general election year. And the first local polling are two Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Senate primary races later this month. Six candidates, including the i...
Inslee pitches budget plan with $2.5B in new spending
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee outlined a plan to boost state spending by nearly $2.5 billion in the next 18 months with the largest sums devoted to increasing behavioral health services, reducing homelessness, and combating climate change in...