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A local controversy that has lingered for more than three decades will soon be an historical footnote. The net pen salmon farm off Hope Island and Lone Tree Point is going away. Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz and state Department of Natural Resources staff informed Cooke Aquaculture last week that the state will not renew an expired lease for the Skagit Bay facility, nor one for a similar net pen operation near Bainbridge Island. Cooke Aquaculture must finish operatio...
Gilday-Shavers tight election means recount needed Democratic challenger Clyde Shavers holds a 162 vote and 0.22% margin in the state legislative district 10 State Representative Position 1 contest against State Rep. Greg Gilday (R-Camano Island). An estimated 260 votes will be counted by Nov. 29 in the three county district when the Island, Skagit and Snohomish County election offices certify their respective election results. There will be a mandatory recount since after the final count less than 0.5% of the total number of votes cast...
Democratic challenger Clyde Shavers held a 137 vote lead districtwide against State Rep. Greg Gilday (R-Camano Island) for state legislative district 10 State Representative Position 1 after Monday’s ballot tallies in Skagit and Snohomish counties. Skagit County election staff reported the count of most of the remaining 800 ballots Tuesday after the Weekly News went to press. Snohomish County staff are to list the result of the bulk of their remaining 100 ballots today, Nov. 23. It is not known how many ballots are from LD 10 precincts. M...
Skagit County Auditor Sandy Perkins has given election workers a ringing endorsement for their yeoman work processing tens of thousands of mail-in ballots. But there's still room for improvement, she and elections supervisor Gabrielle Clay insist. Only they are speaking in literal terms and not in reference to job performance. "We need more space," Perkins explained during an hour-long interview with the Weekly News last Thursday as the Nov. 8 election votes continued to be counted under the...
Topics related to litigation against Shelter Bay board members could not be discussed, but there was still plenty to talk about during the second in a series of Shelter Bay town hall forums at the community clubhouse Sunday night. The scheduled one-hour session lasted 90 minutes as a large gathering – though somewhat smaller than the standing room only crowd that last month's meeting – waded through several subjects, most notably increased HOA (homeowners' association) fees and the status of...
Thanksgiving is Thursday. Feasts will take place at dining tables across the country as family and friends gather in celebration and care for each other. There will be few masks and little social distancing. Everyone wants the coronavirus pandemic to be over and most Americans are acting like it is, not paying attention to the almost 100 million cases and over one million deaths the past three years. Our small individual gatherings bind families together. That is not the reason that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of...
This letter is written by four women. Two of us are professional, working artists. One is a long-time collector of fine art, who recently donated a major sculpture to the town of La Conner. The fourth is a long time gallery owner and the director of the La Conner Arts Foundation. We write out of concern for the proposed Love La Conner sign. We feel that the town is not being well represented by this ill-conceived project. While perhaps good intentioned, these kinds of projects actually degrade La Conner’s image. Attempts to promote La Conner t...
My daughter treated me to the last performance of the opera, Otello, at McIntyre Hall two weeks ago. This moving and beautifully performed tragedy dealt the cards of viciously spread “misinformation,” lies, deceit and racism in order to overthrow the Moor, Otello, to discredit his victories, honorably won, his position of power and deep domestic happiness, all for the goal personal power. Iago, our lying villain (beautifully and compelling sung), personifies, not only the evil of the 1500s in Cyprus, but of the recent political reality in this...
I attended the Nov. 8 town council meeting. There was a lot on the agenda, including proposed changes to the municipal code. I would like to suggest that in the future when there are detailed material to present and discuss, especially when language precision is important, such as amending code language, using a screen and Power Point or similar desktop publishing software that has redline and strikeout functions. There were several instances of council members having difficulty tracking the changes that the planner was discussing, even though...
Dear La Connerites, I want to thank everyone who was concerned about me and trying to help me find a home. This is my community and I did not want to leave here. Thanks to my family, who are helping me buy a house in Shelter Bay. It is a safe place to be and close to my work. Now I can continue giving people touch and helping people have better health along with bringing color into their lives through plants. Thank you to all of you who have supported me through the years. May the holiday season bring you all much joy. Joanne Mitchelle La...
Local immigrant families will be able to stay safe and warm this holiday season, courtesy of Immigrant Resources and Immediate Support, a non-profit organization serving Skagit and Whatcom counties. Donations will be used to purchase food, blankets, warm winter clothing and household necessities. Additionally, IRIS will connect each family to a local program providing holiday toys. Donations can be made online at irisnw.org/donate or mailed to the IRIS Holiday Drive, 1050 Larrabee Avenue, Suite 104, #498, Bellingham, WA 98225. Dec. 15 is the...
The public is invited to attend an open house hosted by the Port of Skagit Thursday, Dec. 1 to share ideas and learn more about the vision and goals for redeveloping the La Conner Marina. Staff welcome more feedback from the community as the Port looks at the future of the 13 acre commercially-zoned parcel in the center of the La Conner Marina property. Staff will answer questions and there will be opportunities to offer input on the vision and goals for the La Conner Marina. The open house is 4-6 p.m. at the Swinomish Yacht...
Removing all limits on U.S. oil production will reduce oil prices, if other countries do not reduce their supplies to match our increased supplies. Is that energy independence? Energy independence in the United States offers three possibilities for us: low energy prices, stable energy prices and energy prices unaffected by the actions of foreign governments. How did energy independence become important? The price of oil was $3.38 a barrel in October 1973. Then, OPEC, the Organization of...
Jon Skiffington, long-time resident of La Conner, peacefully went to meet Jesus on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at home surrounded by family. He was born in Seattle, March 31, 1952, to Lennon and La Vonne. After high school, Jon served as an Air Force SERE Survival Instructor. There Jon encountered Jesus in an amazing way. From that day to his final moments on earth, Jon shared the love of Jesus with everyone he met. He earned a degree in Pastoral Studies from Northwest Bible College where he...
By Aven Wright-McIntosh “I should be able to do whatever I want on my land to generate revenue and enable me to continue farming,” a farmer commented. An engaged group of two dozen attendees gathered last Thursday evening at Maple Hall to discuss with Skagit County planners the development of agritourism and its impact on farms and farmers. Staff are reviewing what agritourism means to the County’s agricultural community, rural residents and other stakeholders. Agritourism is generally considered to be a commercial enterprise at a worki...
The special Friday morning hybrid meeting at which Fire District 13 commissioners approved a 2023 budget lasted just 20 minutes. But the real hard work crafting the fiscal plan of slightly more than $1.6 million and operating expenses nearing $1.4 million took place in the weeks before Nov. 18. Chairman Bruce Shellhamer praised district secretary Tracy Berg and Fire Chief Wood Weiss for preliminary work in developing the budget. "Tracy and Chief Weiss have been working hard on this," said...
More than a year after her passing, the legacy of the late Lorraine Loomis continues to grow. Loomis, a longtime Swinomish Tribal Community fisheries manager who served seven years as chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, will be honored posthumously Nov. 30 in Seattle as recipient of a Do Epic Award presented by Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. The memory of Loomis, who died in August of 2021 at age 81, will be celebrated at the Seattle Convention Center during a 12 p.m. ceremony next Wednesday....
Donate to the Museum of Northwest Art’s year-end campaign on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29. Help raise $135,000 by the end of the year to sustain the quality and impact of MoNA’s programs. Donations can be made at monamuseum.org/make-gift or by mail at PO Box 969, La Conner. Source: Museum of Northwest Art...
There's plenty of drama going on at La Conner Schools these days. Which is just fine, especially when blended in equal measure with comedy, stage craft and set construction. Theater arts, which boasts a long and storied tradition here, is back on campus after an intermission imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A trio of young college- trained theater aficionados is welcoming La Conner students back to the stage twice weekly as an extracurricular program – similar to the format used in districts w...
It only seems fitting that the high school basketball team plans an up-tempo style this season. That's because the Braves have gotten the 2022-23 hoops campaign off to a running start thanks to logging nearly 80 off-season games. "It's a group that got to be together a ton in the off-season," head coach and athletics director C.J. Woods told the Weekly News. "When you get to be with a group that you enjoy being with, every day we get to play basketball is exciting." Building camaraderie before...
Ellie Marble delivered some big hits in Yakima for the state champion La Conner High School volleyball team this November. In turn, Marble was a big hit with Washington Interscholastic Activities Association officials. Marble was named the WIAA Athlete of the Week based on her play in leading the Lady Braves to a fourth consecutive 2B net title. A 6'-0" senior outside hitter, Marble totaled 92 kills and 101 digs and was 68 of 72 on serve receive over four matches at the SunDome. Marble and her t...
Looking at the photos and reading the stories in Jeanne Hansen's book, "Alternative Voices: 1980s Punk San Francisco," one thing is clear to me. We lived in different worlds during the 1980s. I was the editor of a windsurfing magazine and spent my time traveling to beaches around the world, interacting with sun-kissed athletes, while she immersed herself in documenting the punk rock alternative scene in San Francisco. I did visit San Francisco in the '80s, but I spent my time down at the beach...
Identifying a species of bird is usually based on color patterns, size and its movements, but occasionally it becomes more complex and can lead to dead ends. Sometimes actions overlap and size doesn’t help. I’ve spent some time hiking the dike trail on the west side of the parking lot on Padilla Bay and had problems identifying some common species. The habitat was basically acres of low grass grown as lawn grass for seed. It is short and green all year. Birds seen at a distance were foraging for worms, mainly cutworm and wireworm. They wer...
“Always Patsy Cline” was sold out Friday and probably on Saturday at the Lincoln Theatre in Mount Version and deservedly so. Ria Peth as Cline and Kelly Visten as fan Louise Seger were great and so was the band. It was a production of which to be proud. Friday night’s audience thoroughly enjoyed it....
When your sister turns 70 there better be a shout out in the newspaper. Here is it: Happy 70th birthday Margaret! Much love from your siblings....
