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Remember the Birdman of Alcatraz? I am introducing you to the Birdman of Shelter Bay. I'm buying a house in Shelter Bay with different feeding areas, including a bird watering hole. I'm converting one of my patios to a seed station. About 55 years ago, give or take, I was hired to work at a sleep-away camp in New Hampshire. It was a big deal because I was the only one of my friends who could not afford to be a camper, but now I was going as a counselor. The only opening was to be the rifle...
Unpredictable gasoline and heating costs. Reliable electricity. Wars in the middle east and Ukraine. Energy independence. The environment. And more. The energy industry affects almost everything, from the price of groceries to geopolitics. People have reacted to energy issues by developing new technologies and policies for the production, delivery and use of energy. These innovations are being adopted faster than energy professionals believed possible 20 years ago. You are probably aware of...
Will there be any close races in November’s Skagit County elections? The closest primary result, County Commissioner’s Lisa Janicki’s 225 vote, 2.3 percentage margin in her district 3 position, was the biggest August surprise. Republican challenger Christian Burns will have to gain votes countrywide. This is the opposite of Republican Commissioner’s Ron Wesen’s 2020 victory against Mark Lundsten. The Democrat won that August’s primary. Lundsten was beaten by eastern county votes, swamped by then President Trump’s red tide turnout. Jani...
First time candidate Clyde Shavers has won once, topping State Rep. Greg Gilday (R-Camano Island) for his legislative district 10 position 1 seat in the Aug. 2 primary election. Shavers won convincingly in Skagit County, with 58.5% of the vote. Districtwide, it was close, 51.9-47.9% and an almost 2,000 vote margin. Tuesday the remaining 250 or so votes in the three county district were counted and each county’s totals certified. Not all outstanding ballots were in the 10th district. This race is competitive. Gilday can win in November, as D...
Danny Hagen is handily winning his primary race for Skagit County Assessor, replacing his boss, Dave Thomas, who is retiring. The Shelter Bay resident, running as an independent, leads Republican Karie Storle by almost 3,000 ballots and over nine percentage points after Monday’s Aug. 8 vote count. Hagen and Storle will face each other on the November ballot. All county races were between two candidates or had officeholders unopposed. Incumbents were winning handily in every contest. Auditor Sandy Perkins’ portion has dropped to 57.5% of the...
I found the burn ban article (Weekly News Aug. 3) to be poor journalism. Although you admitted professionals "will not speculate," you named a local family and all but accused them of arson. Everything from the title of the article to the description of the scene was speculative and sensationalist. I feel like a legitimate newspaper should take a cue from said professionals and report back to the community when you have actual findings, not feelings. Austin Kinney Shelter Bay...
Danny Hagen is handily winning his race for Skagit County Assessor, replacing his boss, Dave Thomas, who is retiring. The Shelter Bay resident, running as an independent, leads Republican Karie Storle by almost 3,000 ballots and over 11 percentage points after votes were tallied daily Aug. 2-5. Hagen and Storle will face each other on the November ballot. All county races were between two candidates or had officeholders unopposed. Incumbents were winning handily in every contest. Auditor Sandy Perkins continues to have over 59% of the vote and...
A few points in response to Randy Hageman’s pious screed in last week’s Weeky News: Men are responsible for 100% of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. Every. Single. One. And, if they have sex 200 times in a year, they can cause 200 pregnancies, while a woman will only get pregnant once in that year, no matter how often she has sex. Yet, Hageman chose to lecture women about responsibility. Obviously, men don’t risk pregnancy when they are irresponsible. Every time they have sex with a woman, they have chosen to risk her health, her caree...
Rainbow Park in Shelter Bay, site of unauthorized tree-cutting in 2020 that led to over $90,000 in fines imposed upon the residential community by Swinomish Indian Tribal Community officials, appears poised for a facelift. The Shelter Bay board of directors agreed to a restoration plan for the park at their July 20 session, viewed as a key first step in tackling issues that headlined the community’s May board elections. “We’re working on settling out a couple of other important issues, with more to follow soon, hopefully,” newly elected board m...
The actress Bo Derek was famous in the 1970s for being considered a perfect 10. Shelter Bay’s Jean Collins has her beat 10-fold. She’s a perfect 100. Collins, famed for her regular one-mile walks at Whitaker Field, was honored Thursday, July 21 at Maple Hall on her 100th birthday. She didn’t get her laps in at the track, but Collins kept up her step count circling the room, greeting the many well-wishers who gathered from near and far to share her special milestone. As proof, shortly after enjoy...
Residents of the La Conner Retirement Inn celebrated life in the fast lane Friday, July 22. The seniors were treated to a three-hour classic car show that featured a dozen vintage vehicles. The event’s People’s Choice Award winner was a 1930 Ford Model A entered by Shelter Bay resident Colin Banks. Balloting was by Retirement Inn residents, said show coordinator Bob Ferari, also of Shelter Bay, who entered “Bella,” his 1957 Chevy Bel-Air. “Since it was the residents who voted,” Ferari told the W...
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...
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...
Town Administrator Scott Thomas is one of five finalists for the top managerial post in Ketchikan, Alaska, the Weekly News learned on Monday. Thomas, an attorney who for more than two decades has served as city attorney for four cities in Washington state, succeeded John Doyle as La Conner’s chief administrator in January 2018. He is interviewing for the dual jobs of city administrator and general manager of the southeast Alaska community’s publicly owned utility, according to Ketchikan radio station KRBD. It posted the city’s news relea...
Danny Hagen’s race for Skagit County Assessor is not his only pursuit these days. The Shelter Bay resident competed in this year’s Skagit Valley Highland Games at Edgewater Park in Mount Vernon on Saturday, July 9. Sport truly trumped politics last weekend for Hagen, an independent who will face Republican Karie Storle in the November general election. As evidence, Hagen donned a kilt and tee-shirt rather than a candidate’s business suit. Hagen has made the local Highland Games compe...
Five years. Two-hundred-sixty issues. Today’s Weekly News is the 261st printed since I bought this newspaper in 2017. Thank you for reading your community newspaper. This issue starts my sixth year as publisher and editor. Still, as I have written before, I own it, but it is your newspaper. What have I learned, covering the community through good times and bad? I am biased as I view our most important institutions, binding greater La Conner together, as the La Conner School District, the Town of La Conner government, the La Conner Regional L...
With your June 26 editorial, you crossed a line Mr. Stern. Referring to former President Trump's supporters, you wrote: "They want a white nation. Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans, they want them at least out of the country if not dead." With that one line, you yourself crossed a line. A line of civility, with a strong push towards divisiveness. As I sat somewhat stunned after rereading that line (twice), I began to wonder why you would print such a thing (?). George Soros, BLM and Antifa are hell-bent to divide this country. Are...
New members of the Shelter Bay Board of Directors were issued their oaths of office during a special hybrid meeting July 1. Nancy Shimeall, Dan McCaughan and Judy Kontos, the top three vote-getters in the residential community’s balloting this spring, were sworn into office. The trio of challengers were joined by incumbent Louise Kari, who placed fourth in the May election, but returns to the panel with the June 8 resignation of board chair Jack Galbraith, announced at the board’s June 15 meeting. Elaine Dixon was appointed to fill the boa...
There’s a strong current of support for the Town to order a new fireboat to better protect La Conner’s historic waterfront and local marinas. During the June 28 town council meeting, La Conner Hook & Ladder chief Aaron Reinstra and assistant chief Adam Avery addressed the fire department’s goal to replace its aging fireboat that has been out of service for more than a year. “Having a fireboat on the water,” stressed Avery, “would be a huge advantage for us. You need multiple points of contact.” Mayor Ramon Hayes and Town Administrator...
While travel – especially on water – has long been a passion for new Shelter Bay manager Rick Tanner, the Idaho native is thankful to now lay his anchor in La Conner. “La Conner is among the most beautiful places we have ever lived, partly because it offers coastline, small town feel and some of the most beautiful farms and land I have ever seen,” Tanner, who has worked and lived in more than a dozen states, said. Shelter Bay, the 900-home residential community on land leased fro...
I see you're still at it Mr. Stern! Oh, how the liberals love the blame game. Obama blamed Bush. Biden blames Trump. And you sir, as recently as your diatribe June 15, continue to blame Trump for the January 6 incident: "... attempted coup unleashed by then-president Donald Trump." And "... Donald Trump worked to overthrow the government ... ." And "There is the United States flag or the Trump nation flag.” Oh my. Mr. Stern, our current worst-ever president and his handlers have given us the following "achievements" including: Record high a...
Regarding your “Rule of Law or Mob Rule” column, come on man! Your lack of self-awareness and proportionality is simply stunning. Such myopic shrillness and clumsy stereotyping of Republicans is truly beneath a publication that portends to be competent and inclusive. You are better than that. Democracy and the rule of law are indeed under great threat in our country. But a reasonable argument can be made that these threats are much more resident in the ongoing mayhem released upon the American citizenry by Democrats’ embrace of open borde...
School’s out for summer. The next La Conner School District board director elections are in 2023, but this spring the district’s school board made slight adjustments to the five director district boundaries. The 2020 census obliged adjusting director boundaries to match population growth, now over 5,000 residents. The school board voted on new boundaries at its May meeting, adopting maps that adjusted the five district boundaries distributing residents as equally as possible to fairly rep...
Jim peacefully entered heaven on May 8, 2022 at the age of 80 with his wife by his side. He was born on February 12, 1942 to Lucy and Andrew Valenzuela of Madera, CA. He married Mary Alice Rameriz in Coachella, CA at the young age of 17. They were married for 62 years at the time of his death. Jim’s hobbies included wood carving, fishing, football and travel. He took many deep-sea fishing trips with family and was a loyal Seahawk fan to the end, which made for healthy family rivalry, e...
