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Dear editor: A “musing” on my part led me to thoughts of words – words from paper mail, words from emails, words from twitter, words from articles and warnings on the internet, words from Facebook, words from texts. Our minds are overflowing with words, and these days; they are mostly about Covid-19. In the early days of social-distancing confinement, I spent hours pouring over words that might help me keep the invisible monster at bay. Some words were helpful; some were horrifying; some were infuriatingly false. Some of them were ble...
Do we really want things to go back to normal? Are you sure? One definition of normal is to be healthy in mind and body. Ahhh … that strikes a chord, doesn’t it? A global, unprecedented turn of events has focused the entire world’s attention away from life as normal. Now it’s on our collective health and its very personal impact as well as the dire, economic consequences to each individual on the planet when things go catastrophically awry. The COVID-19 virus is very different than anything we have ever faced before. It has certa...
There is a new normal out there but that day is still to arrive. It’s dawn is not yet on the horizon. The old normal, so much of the status quo, needs to spiral from crippled to life support. It is the one thing that needs to die and get buried. It has taken a crisis of once a century proportions to reveal the weaknesses behind the rhetoric and the structures of this, the greatest country in the world. Greatness stands solid in the storm. Strength shows in the protection of those first and most battered by disaster. Instead the winds and w...
The coronavirus threat has done more than put a damper on the local economy. It has also washed out one of La Conner’s favorite Tulip Festival highlights, the Not-So-Impromptu Tulip Parade downtown, that has been a crowd pleaser here for more than three decades. The uniquely funky local event was to have been held in town again on Saturday afternoon. Like the rest of the Tulip Festival schedule, it was scuttled to prevent spread of the COVID-19 virus. Parade-goers have gathered on First Street every April since the mid-1980s when the late La C...
On April 1 the Skagit Valley Food Co-op increased pay for its hourly staff $4 per hour and $5 per hour for cashiers. That is the second wage boost for staff: They were given a “Hero Bonus” of $2 per hour for all staff and $4 per hour for cashiers for all hours worked in March. Food Co-op member-owners were informed by Tony White, the new general manager of the Food Co-op, in an April 1 email. He praised staff for “the endless hours they have worked and for their incredible dedication to our Co-op. They truly have been heroes throughout this...
Laura Hill fashions colorful quilts that have kept family and friends warm on many a winter’s night. Now her latest project is one that is warming hearts in the La Conner area and beyond. An avid sewer and crafter, Hill has literally taken the campaign to stem spread of the coronavirus into her own hands. Using the quality cotton and flannel fabric that graces her quilts, Hill and two family members have sewn and donated masks that encourage social distancing, help wearers not touch their f...
There was no question Justine Benson was one of the best players at the 2B Girls Hardwood Classic in Spokane last month. Nor was there any doubt in the minds of Associated Press sportswriters that the La Conner High standout was among the top hoop talents statewide through the entire 2019-20 season. The AP writers recently named the 5’-8” senior guard-forward to the first unit 2B Girls’ All-State Basketball Team. It is the latest in a slew of awards garnered by Benson, the all-time Lady Braves...
The COVID-19 pandemic that led to a statewide Stay Home order has been brutal on local business owners and employees alike. It has also been tough on those who gladly work for free. La Conner area volunteers who log hours for service clubs, charitable organizations and a host of community-based programs and projects have had to adapt in real time with daily life being shut down to stem spread of the coronavirus. “COVID-19 has done a fine job of slowing down almost all volunteering,” lamented Town Parks Commissioner Ollie Iversen, also a La Conn...
No fooling, the national census, the Constitutionally mandated every 10 years count of every person n the United States, kicked off April 1st. Because we all count, it is critical that we all get counted. Federal funds for our communities and our state, and districting boundaries for state and national legislative seats are shaped by census results. If folks are missed, don’t get counted, everyone loses. Door-to-door canvassing is limited by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Your patriotic duty is t...
Business owners, get online now and apply for federal funds now. All area businesses, self-employed persons and nonprofits are eligible. The Weekly News has already applied for the Economic Injury Disaster Advance Loan. Run by the Small Business Administration, it provides up to $10,000 and becomes a grant: It does not have to be repaid when program requirments are met. The SBA webpage reads: “In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, small business owners in all U.S. states, W...
“Expected Returns on Most Northwest Ag Commodities Leveling Up” was the optimistic headline of Northwest Farm Credit’s quarterly Market Snapshot in January. The April 2 Snapshot says that in sector after sector, forecasts now range from “variable profitability” to “unprofitable returns”. “It’s all so new and changing so fast, it’s hard to get a clear picture,” said Don McMoran, director of the Washington State University Skagit County Extension. “It’s super clear that people are not buying flo...
Being members of the group likely to suffer the most from our current health crisis, Barb and I have been trying to practice “social distancing” during our day to day activities, and in most instances we have succeeded. Grocery shopping was when we felt vulnerable until we learned that Pioneer Market willingly accepted phone orders with deliveries to the trunk of our car. I ordered over thirty items, and slightly over an hour later they called that my order was ready for pickup. Except for a couple of out of stock items, all fresh and good qua...
