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KRBD Public Radio Ketchikan could soon have a new city manager. Its City Council voted Saturday to start negotiations with Delilah Walsh of Las Cruces, New Mexico, ending a three-month search. Walsh is the utilities director for the city of Las Cruces. Mayor Dave Kiffer says that made her a good fit to manage both Ketchikan’s city government and the publicly-owned water, electric and telecom provider, Ketchikan Public Utilities. “First of all, she’s got experience in both utilities and in government. So that’s what we were looking for, and to b...
Surrounded by a carefully curated assortment of tiny toys and random delights, Tom Robbins, one of the most engaging writers of serio-comic culture, leans over his keyboard. He is replying to one of the many love letters received daily from his fandom. It is July and the fireplace crackles inside this 148 year-old cabin in La Conner. Here and there, tables and shelves overflow with treasured memorabilia reflecting the boyish sweetness of a childhood maintained. Notable amongst this collection...
Articles last week in the San Diego Union-Tribune and the New York Times highlighted the causes of homelessness and the needed solution. The west coast headline was “Cause of homelessness? It’s not drugs or mental illness, researchers say,” while the Times answered that question in their headline: “A housing shortfall.” Both stories sourced the University of Washington’s Gregg Colburn, an assistant professor of real estate. His new book, “Homelessness is a Housing Problem,” is co-authored with Clayton Page Aldern, a data journalist. Edi...
Nancy Shimeall We thank the Weekly News for its coverage over the past few months of Shelter Bay events, including several topics of interest and concern to the residents. Your editorial of July 13 regarding elections and the importance of voting prompts us to write this letter. Shelter Bay had a 53% turnout for our annual Board of Directors election, more than in recent memory and electing these three new directors was the first step in effecting changes. Through multiple neighborhood gatherings, comments at board meetings and personal...
Here the Magic Skagit mingles into the Bay, sheltered yet centrally located; Swinomish is a place of great healing. People here enjoy a diverse, continuous and bountiful ecosystem. The soil is rich. Water is always accessible. Food is found easily in plentiful amounts. The climate is mild. People are drawn here. Some may realize a portion of why they are drawn here, yet few are fortunate enough to have experienced the full spectrum of its gift. In a field of rich and intoxicatingly beautiful diversity it is easy to loose perspective and take...
Hatfield elbowed McCoy only half playfully as the two men jostled to enter the Tav. Inside, they headed to their bar stools to watch the prime time Jan. 6 congressional hearing. They expected it to be a doozy. They found their stools at the bar, and looked up at the TV screen. They were ready for the congressional hearings even if no one else in the room was watching. It was almost 5 p.m. McCoy looked like the bird that had swallowed the canary. He smiled at his friend. “This is it, you know. They made a real mistake in allowing Steve Bannon t...
May was, and each year is, Mental Health Awareness month. It’s likely that you weren’t aware of that. I wasn’t. But now I am, because of two events. First, was the PBS release of a documentary, “Hiding in Plain Sight.” The second was the rollout of 988, a national mental health hotline. “Hiding” is a moving look into the lives of 20 young people who have experienced – are experiencing – mental illness. Their stories are powerful. These young people, whom you will come to know and likely come to care for, have a truly amazing abili...
For nearly a decade Heather Carter was a regular presence at La Conner Town Council meetings, presenting a monthly Chamber of Commerce report. Carter has moved on to head CASA, the Camano Island animal shelter. In her place, longtime La Conner business owner Chris Jennings, the Chamber’s board chair, updated council members last week, during what is the business community’s busiest time of year. Jennings noted that while the economy here has bounced back nicely from the COVID-19 pandemic – 2021 was a banner year for sales tax revenue and...
Arlene Anne (Gannon) Kimbell (Arly) of La Conner (formerly from Everett), 87, peacefully went to be with her Lord and Savior on July 8, 2022. Mom was born on April 30, 1935 to Ansel and Mary (Kappel) Gannon in Everett, WA. Mom was raised with her younger sister Linda, helping out in their family grocery store in Pinehurst. She had so much fun coming home from school and getting specialty candies from the jars on their store counter. Mom graduated from Everett High School where her nickname was...
It likely will take a larger scale operation to fix the popular fish slide at Conner Waterfront Park beneath the Rainbow Bridge. At the July 19 Town Council meeting, Mayor Ramon Hayes and council members endorsed having the 13-foot sculpted slide professionally assessed to determine if it can be saved. Weather blistering makes annual repair work necessary to its surface and interior by volunteers John Doyle and Ollie Iversen. Doyle, a retired Town administrator, and Iversen, a Town parks...
La Conner School board members went on retreat Monday to plan a path forward for the 2022-23 academic year, addressing a wide range of discussion topics – from finances and goal setting to maintenance priorities and student enrollment– during a three-hour afternoon in-person public session at the Swinomish Casino conference room. The dozen agenda items included reports from district business manager Brian Gianello and operations and planning director Bobby Vaughn. Gianello had good news, reporting that an infusion of $852,000 in...
Washington’s congressional legislators are stepping in to help Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom counties blueberry growers challenged by steep Japanese tariffs on frozen berries, a key export market. Recently, Reps. Rick Larsen (D-Everett) and Suzan DelBene (D-Medina) urged U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel to work with their Japanese counterparts to ensure equal market access for Washington farmers by eliminating Japan’s damaging frozen blueberry tariffs. While the U.S.-Japan Phase One trade dea...
Summer has been anything but vacation time for Fire District 13 personnel. Service calls, including hospital transports, have continued to follow a six-month upward trend, chief Wood Weiss told fire commissioners during their regular hybrid meeting July 14. Weiss’ mid-year statistics showed that the district had received 636 calls for service since January 1, a significant increase over the same period in 2020 and 2021. The fire district had fielded 538 calls during the first six months of 2020. In 2021, the mid-year count was 567 calls. T...
The many achievements and accomplishments of the pioneer Nelson family and descendants have long been heralded. Now members of that family will punctuate their legacy in Skagit County by speaking at the 118th annual Pioneer Picnic on Aug. 4 at Pioneer Park. Speakers include the five grandchildren of Emil and Anna Dalan Nelson. Reggie Nelson, who has helped preserve several generations of the family’s history, will describe its Norwegian and Danish roots and recount how Emil and Anna Dalan Nelson met and were wed in Burlington in 1910. He w...
Serve with fresh berries and whipped cream. When the fresh berry season arrives in Skagit County, we enjoy this cake often. The vanilla flavor and crunchy edges offers so much more than what we might buy in a grocery store. Quick to assemble, using basic ingredients and it’s quick to bake. I bake it in a round 8-inch cake pan. The center rose into a rounded dome. What we don’t eat within three days, we store the rest in the refrigerator, air tight, to keep that fresh flavor. Ingredients 1 cup...
Tuesday, July 12 1:08 a.m.: Furniture fraud – Caller reporting a theft of furniture. Deputies determined this was a civil issue and the furniture was going to be returned. Maple Ave., La Conner. 2:37 a.m.: Driver deceased – Deputies responded to a moving vehicle accident. Deputies arrived and found the driver deceased. Washington State Patrol took over the investigation. McLean/Best Rds., Greater La Conner. 2:59 p.m.: Fender damage – Caller left their car in the marina parking lot while on a boat trip. When the caller...
La Conner High School baseball prospect Nathan Bailey made history last weekend. Bailey was in Atlanta representing the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community at the first-ever Native American All-Star Showcase as one of 50 tribal high school players selected nationally to take part in a pro-style workout and compete in a marquee Sunday afternoon game. Bailey blasted a run-scoring triple. The Atlanta Journal-American’s digital gallery posted a photograph of him running to third base. The two-day e...
Gunshots were exchanged inside the Walmart in Mount Vernon Sunday, July 17 at 9:50 p.m. The initial investigation from the Mount Vernon Police Department found that a group of 19-year-old males entered Walmart together and had an altercation with a separate group of males. During the dispute shots stuck five people. “A couple of individuals were in the store when another group showed up,” Mount Vernon Police Chief Chris Cammock told the press. “They ran into each other in the store, and that’s when the confrontation occurred and shots were fi...
