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A storied chapter from La Conner's past, often spoken in hushed tones, was revisited with screaming headlines on March 23. This year's La Conner Chamber of Commerce Murder Mystery, set during the Prohibition Era of rumrunning and bootlegging, spelled out details of the event in a special March 23, 1924, edition of the "La Conner Territorial News," one of the resources used by aspiring sleuths to solve a fictional homicide case. Mother-daughter duo Chris and Nicole Jennings crafted the engaging s...
Crime won’t be taking a holiday in La Conner anytime soon – at least in terms of the town’s popular murder mystery event. Former Weekly News reporter Nicole Jennings co-wrote the Prohibition Era murder mystery script with her mom, Chris Jennings. They’re already planning next spring’s third annual production. Nicole Jennings is developing for next year a mystery steeped in World War II intrigue. Her aim is to craft story lines around local weapons testing and espionage, with fictional plots bolstered by research into the history of nearby Nav...
Monday was the four year anniversary of Gov. Jay Inslee’s March 23, 2020 emergency proclamation in response to the emerging coronavirus pandemic. He imposed a “Stay Home – Stay Healthy Order throughout Washington state by prohibiting all people in Washington state from leaving their homes or participating in social, spiritual and recreational gatherings of any kind regardless of the number of participants, and all non-essential businesses in Washington State from conducting business, withi...
The interim ordinance that places a temporary moratorium on new event venues on land zoned Ag-NRL “is not a free pass for existing venues,” Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney Will Honea said Monday at a post-adoption hearing in the county commissioners’ office. Twenty-six people attending gave testimony on the moratorium, adopted by the Skagit County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 29. The moratorium was a surprise. It essentially ignored the agritourism code changes proposed by the county’s Agricultural Advisory Board and recommended by the...
This year's Tulip Festival is all about traffic – on the road and on social media. Eighty percent of the traffic to the Tulip Festival website comes from people on mobile devices. On its new mobile-friendly website, people can buy display garden tickets, get bloom updates, even check Skagit County weather right from their phones. A large paid media campaign sponsored by the Skagit Tourism Bureau and the Festival has enticed many new website visitors. While "tulips are our crown jewel," said T...
The Anacortes City Council and the Port of Anacortes commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the Port’s executive director to enter into an interlocal agreement regarding the conceptual design of an event center at the corner of Ninth Street and R Avenue at a joint meeting at Anacortes City Hall Monday evening. The Port has been discussing a future event center for Anacortes since 2016. In 2021, it announced it would close the Transit Shed as an event center and its permanent return to maritime industrial use after 2023. It closed Dec. 3...
Swinomish Tribal Senate chair Steve Edwards, a La Conner High School graduate, enjoyed a warm homecoming when he met with school board members March 25. Edwards, known for his conciliatory leadership style, focused his remarks on building bridges between the La Conner School District and Swinomish. “It’s great that we can come to the table and have an open discussion,” said Edwards. “We all grew up together. We all know one another. We’re a community here.” Edwards was the second local elected leader to address the board in recent weeks, foll...
Much has been made the last couple years about tough personnel and program cuts at La Conner schools forced by steadily shrinking student enrollment. But in the most recent example of difficult funding choices – and one not of its making – La Conner is again paying the price. La Conner Elementary School Principal Heather Fakkema told school board members at their March 25 public meeting that pending closure of the popular Little Braves preschool program is rooted in national budget decisions, not local. She said the national Head Start org...
Barbara A. Hammer 1944-2024 Shelter Bay/La Conner resident Barbara Ann Hammer died peacefully at age 79 on Tuesday, March 12, at Rosario Assisted Living in Anacortes. Barbara was born to Billy Stanford and Anna Lorene Boehm on June 15, 1944, and grew up in Southern California. She was preceded in death by her sister and brother. In 1978, Barbara married Karl C. Hammer, who passed away in August 2015. They moved to Washington 29 years ago from California, where Barbara worked in the airline...
The Town of La Conner’s sales tax revenue was significantly down in December, to $47,549, the lowest since 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. The total, reported to the town council by the state Department of Revenue, is $15,554, 24.6% below 2023’s record December collection. The special-use fire tax revenues were similarly down, at $4,739, 24.5% below 2023. Tourists were spending less at restaurants and stores, but probably staying in town overnight more, or longer. The December hotel/motel tax collection was $13,915, alm...
No joke! Monday starts Food Waste Prevention Week, championed in Skagit County by Washington State University Extension. It is a food security issue, a family budget issue – the cost of wasted food – and has an environmental impact on the planet. The Skagit Food Waste Prevention Coalition has activities next week: classes, social media game and a compost event. A cooking demonstration, “Cooking with Ends and Stems: A Sustainable Culinary Adventure,” is 12:30-1:15 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, at the La Conner Swinomish Library. You’ll get a kit to ma...
Reducing energy use during the design and construction phase of a new building is almost always easier than retrofitting the building afterwards. There are many techniques that can be used to reduce the amount of energy a building needs. Using efficient systems like LED lighting and heat pumps are obvious. However, the building architecture itself can be designed to save energy, both without management of control systems (passive technologies), and with controls (active technologies). Architectu...
In the 1951 movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” the landing of a spaceship on the Washington Mall and the emergence of Klaatu in a spacesuit and helmet immediately changed everything worldwide. By the film’s end, humanity learned valuable lessons and nothing would be the same ever again. Ah, stories. In real life, catastrophe strikes, say a three-year-plus worldwide coronavirus pandemic – for that is what a pandemic means, worldwide infections, sickness and death – and societies near and far, local and global hunker down, survive and a year...
To the editor: Thank you so much for the effort to get the newspaper out earlier to those of us in the 98273 ZIP code area of the school district. Much appreciated! Gale Fiege Pleasant Ridge...
The COVID-19 pandemic limited fundraising opportunities for La Conner High School’s Class of 2024. Santo Coyote Mexican Kitchen is helping the class make up for lost time. Santo Coyote donated 20% of its proceeds March 22 to the La Conner High School senior class, which looks forward to taking its end-of-year trip to Disneyland later this spring. Restaurant manager Cristal Perkins said that Santo Coyote’s benefit raised about $800, including what was collected in a donation jar, toward travel and lodging costs to be incurred by the class dur...
La Conner High School thinclads seem to be on the right track two weeks into the 2024 campaign. The school’s boys’ and girls’ track teams enjoyed a second straight strong outing March 20 at Coupeville with several among coach Peter Voorhees’ charges making their season debuts. “It was another good week for us,” Voorhees said. The Lady Braves placed a close second and the boys were third on their respective team leaderboards. The La Conner girls, behind dual-event winner Morgan Huizenga and superb finishes in the relay events, trailed mee...
Being better armed proved the difference for La Conner as the Braves edged Darrington 3-2 in a classic pitcher's duel at home March 22. La Conner hurlers Nathan Bailey and Kenai Zimmerman combined to one-hit the Loggers and fan 14 batters while yielding just a pair of unearned runs in the NW2B/1B debut for both clubs. Bailey, who threw 83 pitches, struck out 10 and gave up just one safety – a ground-ball single in the fourth inning that caromed off the third base bag and advanced a Darrington r...
It seems that spring has finally arrived, and we have lots happening at the library to get you ready for warmer weather. Library Giving Day is here! You are invited to support the La Conner Swinomish Library as a vibrant, welcoming place for all! Your gift, now through April 4 as part of National Library Giving Day, will directly benefit your library as we look toward our youth summer reading program, ongoing use of our meeting space, author readings, musical events and more. Our goal this year is $15,000, with the first $5,000 matched thanks...
Most gardeners know from experience the benefits they feel from working in their gardens. These moments are what keep us going back season to season, year after year. As author Sue Stuart-Smith writes in "The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature," "Gardening is more accessible than other creative endeavors, such as painting and music, because you are halfway there before you start; the seed has all its potential within it – the gardener simply helps unlock it." Gardening rewards u...
The final gavel has fallen in Olympia and the Legislature is adjourned. I thought I might wax philosophical about this year's events as I've done in previous columns, but let's start with a high-level accounting of what your state government is doing for you. Given it's an even-numbered year, our main task was to develop a supplemental budget, making tweaks to the two-year spending plan we adopted last year. Incredibly, our state continues to see ever-increasing tax collections and that's both...
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 that my bill to lower the cost of health care by capping the price of asthma inhalers and epi-pens passed both the House and the Senate unanimously. This is great news for families who use these life-saving medications for asthma and allergies. In addition, the Legislature passed two very important...
March 7 marked the last day of the 2024 legislative session – and I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve. For two years as your state representative, I worked as hard as possible each and every day to fight for you. In a time of political hostility and divisiveness, I've tried my absolute hardest to move forward with kindness and caring. And after reflecting on our combined stories and struggles, I'm hopeful about our future. Our country is great because of you – your res...
Join Rep. David Paul and Mayor Marna Hanneman for a town hall event from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, at La Conner Swinomish Library, 520 Morris St., La Conner....
MEET THE DAFFODIL COURT - The La Conner Kiwanis announced the 2024 Daffodil Court. These La Conner Elementary School fifth graders will ride in the Tulip Party on the Kiwanis Kid float. From left are Prince Parker Fischer; King Brennan Hockenberry; Queen Ella Jackson and Princess Georgia Brown....
Sunday, March 17 12:42 p.m.: Picturesque roadblock, part 1 – Deputy responded to reports of vehicles blocking the road to look at and photograph snow geese. All cars moved along or moved off the roadway. Fir Island Rd. 2:50 p.m.: Picturesque roadblock, part 2 – More calls of subjects blocking the road to photograph the geese. A deputy made a PA announcement to move the cars and all subjects complied. Fir Island Rd. Thursday, March 21 9:27 a.m.: Vehicle collision – A driver turning south onto La Conner-Whitney Road did not see oncoming traff...
