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Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 2077
Ken Stern is moving on from what he calls his "best job ever" to a retirement that will likely involve travel near and far. Stern, after all, rarely ventured beyond what he calls the greater La Conner area during seven-and-a-half years as publisher of the community's weekly newspaper, which came to be defined by his topical, lively and – often by design – controversial editorials. "For seven years," Stern reflected last week, "I've been chained to my desk here in La Conner. I haven't seen anythi...
Once the Puget Sound Mail ruled the La Conner roost as the town's weekly newspaper, undergoing successive ownership changes from 1879 through and past Pat O'Leary's tenure, 1939-1973. Alan Pentz started the Channel Town Press in 1976 and outcompeted the Mail, which closed in 1982. Pentz ran a commercial print shop for additional income. After his death in 1990, his wife, Audrey, took over for the next 16 years. On Sept. 27, 2006, "We're Back!" was the lead page 1 headline, with Tim Dunlap as...
The miracle of Christmas came to La Conner early this year. On a day that began with fierce winds that brought down trees and power lines across Puget Sound and imposed choppy currents on local waterways, then ended with a cold, drizzly rain – and in some cases hail – a two-hour evening window of calm, comfortable weather emerged here. Clouds parted and the almost-full moon was plainly visible. It just so happened that last Saturday's respite from harsh wintry conditions coincided with the ann...
A detailed presentation, insightful questions and dreams of the future for La Conner's south waterfront and long underutilized former industrial area marked a nearly two-hour Dec. 11 public forum at Maple Hall. A large audience – at one point requiring Town Administrator Scott Thomas to set up additional chairs – attended the workshop, which explored potential zoning and code revisions and design concepts for the four-acre site commonly known as the old Moore-Clark property. Consultants Tom Bec...
It was more ho-hum than ho-ho-ho as the La Conner Town Council approved a $7 million 2025 municipal budget during its final meeting of the year. No public comment was offered at a budget hearing, part of the nearly hour-long Dec. 10 agenda at Maple Hall. “People come to the meetings here to talk about things and sometimes it can be fairly trivial,” Town Councilor Ivan Carlson noted wryly, “so I’m surprised that no one is here to speak to the proposed budget.” Mayor Marna Hanneman had a ready explanation. “Either we’re doing a great job,” H...
The La Conner School Board on Monday endorsed and approved a four-year replacement levy on the Feb. 11 ballot to bridge the gap between state funding and the cost of staff, materials, services and facilities during a briskly paced 40-minute meeting. The proposal seeks $ 4,745,000 starting in 2026, $1.11 per $1,000 assessed valuation, the present tax rate. The levy and contributions from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community offset a $1 million shortfall between state funding and rising costs in...
TOWN OF LA CONNER NOTICE OF SUMMARY ORDINANCE Notice is hereby given that the Town Council of the Town of La Conner, Washington, passed Ordinance No. 1252 at the December 10, 2024 Town Council meeting. A summary of Ordinance No. 1252 is as follows: An Ordinance amending the 2024 Budget. Complete copies of Ordinance No. 1252 are available at La Conner Town Hall, P.O. Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257 Dated this 11th Day of December, 2024. /s/ Maria DeGoede, Town Clerk Published in the La Conner Weekly News, Dec. 18, 2024. TOWN OF LA CONNER NOTICE OF...
LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.laconnerswinomishlibrary.org/events. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Closed Sundays. Storytime for Children, 11 a.m. Fridays. Tech Help Mondays, 3-5 p.m. Get 30 minutes of one-on-one technical help. Must register. After-school LEGO club, ages 5 and up, 3-4 p.m., second Fridays monthly. Mount Vernon Public Library. 208 W. Kincaid St., Mount Vernon. 360-336-6209, mountver...
La Conner's favorite tourist is an early riser who also enjoys the local nightlife. Santa Claus, the renowned North Pole toymaker who makes visits to La Conner a winter priority, was in town early on Saturday to greet local children and partake in the local Rotary Club's annual pancake breakfast fundraiser. Following a ride on La Conner's vintage white 1941 fire truck, Santa appeared after nightfall at Gilkey Square for the much-anticipated Chamber of Commerce Christmas tree lighting. Whether...
Once there were two newspapers in La Conner. Soon there will be none. The pending closure of the La Conner Weekly News and retirement of its owner, Publisher and Editor Ken Stern, is the latest headline – though hardly a joyous one – from a robust local journalism tradition dating to the 1870s. The story begins, oddly enough, in Bellingham with James Power, who established himself as a politician and newspaperman of note before Washington became a state. Power published the Bellingham Bay Mail,...
Town revenue golden for ’24 The Town of La Conner’s $58,133 in November sales tax receipts raised the year’s total above $600,000, 98.5% of the 2024 budget. As in the past three years, the town will again exceed its sales tax revenue goal after December is reported. Hotel/Motel tax revenues have already beaten the budget by a larger amount in 2024, at $187,102, 33.3% above the $140,400 projection. November’s totals were $20,919, almost 10% above 2023 and the second highest November total ever, same as the month’s sales tax revenues. The same...
The Town of La Conner had a survey for the residents and business\people about the south end (aka transition zone, aka the subarea plan, aka the property in the vicinity of “big blue” and the old Moore Clark building, aka the freezer building. The survey asked for ratings on ideas about various categories. One of the survey categories is “access improvements” (roads, parking and paths). The highest rating possible is 5. “Extend waterfront path to Pioneer Park” received a seriously spectacular rating of 4.36 out of 5. Nothing else even reache...
The Dec. 3 planning commission meeting featured coming attractions related to potential redevelopment of La Conner’s former south end industrial area. Commissioners previewed proposed revitalization plans for the four-acre site that will be shared by consultant Tom Beckwith and his team at a public workshop at Maple Hall tonight at 6 p.m. Beckwith guided commissioners through a nearly hour-long presentation on concepts for the once bustling industrial zone. The Moore-Clark fish feed plant with its massive Victorian era warehouse dominated t...
Better safe than sorry. That’s the mantra embraced by members of the La Conner Emergency Management Commission, which oversaw flood barrier placement along the downtown waterfront and in low-lying areas the past two king tide seasons and recently reviewed La Conner’s emergency operations center at Town Hall. “King tides are not a problem themselves,” Chairman Doug Asbe reminded commissioners during their Dec. 3 meeting at Maple Hall, “but in combination with low atmospheric pressure, winds and the inflow of fresh water from the Skagit Ri...
Skagit Community Band with special guest A’Town Big Band will present a free concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, at Maple Hall in La Conner. Enjoy an evening of holiday cheer with the SCB as they perform a program of festive and exciting holiday music. Joining the SCB will be the A’Town Big Band putting its own spin on “Swinging” holiday favorites. More info at: www.skagitcommunityband.org. Theater Arts Guild presents “The Secret Garden, the Musical” with performances on Dec. 12-15 and 19-21 at the Lincoln Theatre 712 S. First St., Mount Verno...
Sunday, Dec. 1 11:28 p.m.: Maybe too fast for conditions – Driver was crossing the bridge to Fir Island in the extreme fog and did not see that the road turns right just past the bridge. The driver hit the guard rail, causing significant damage but no injury. Moore and Best roads, greater La Conner. Tuesday, Dec. 3 8:14 a.m.: Still too fast – Another vehicle failed to negotiate the turn at the Fir Island bridge due to heavy fog. Minor damage done. Fir Island and Best roads, greater La Conner. Thursday, Dec. 5 10:25 a.m.: Hey, no parking – Compl...
HEADS UP Town of La Conner public workshop on the use of the Commercial Transition Zone, aka the Moore Clark Area, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, in Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St. Info: www.townoflaconner.org. Join us again at Pioneer Park as we remove invasive English ivy, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Dec. 14, rain AND shine. We’ll meet at the top of Fourth Street, near the water tower gate. More info: [email protected]. Holiday origami ornaments with Mike Berry, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Museum of Northwest Art, 121 S. First St. C...
News scoop: Santa's advance schedule of early La Conner visits has been leaked to the Weekly News. Parents, are these times on your calendar? Saturday morning Santa will be posing for photos at Maple Hall when the Rotary Club of La Conner holds its annual Santa Breakfast, 8-11 a.m. Dec. 7. Breakfast is $10 and $5 children, with those under 5 eating free. There is no charge for photos, but donations will help support the La Conner Rotary Club's literacy initiatives. In past years this was a...
The effort by the La Conner Community News group to purchase the La Conner Weekly News and secure its future into 2025 and beyond appears to have fallen short, but not for lack of effort. Unless an angel investor comes forward in the next two weeks, the final issue of the La Conner Weekly News under publisher Ken Stern will hit the streets and mailboxes on Dec. 18. "It's a sad day for La Conner," Mayor Marna Hanneman said. "It takes a village and when something important in the village goes, it...
History is full of mysteries and a good one focuses on a collection of old photographs stored for decades in the attic of a rural La Conner home. Steve Thein, of Landing Road southeast of town, came across the studio-quality black-and-white prints while clearing space to insulate his attic. The photos, judging from hairstyles and clothing fashions they reveal, appear to date from the early to mid-20th century. Some photos are identified only by first name, others not at all. Only a few photos ar...
The clock is running out on “Saving the La Conner News” . . . 3 weeks, 2 weeks, 1 week, GONE . . . say it isn’t so! . . . say it isn’t happening!! How shall we learn about town government meetings? School sport events and scores? Maple Hall events? New businesses and our wonderful current ones? Activities of fraternal organizations? Arts events? Emergency management efforts? La Conner redevelopment initiatives? The latest miracles from the Clean Energy Alliance? The vox populi in the Letters to the Editor . . . What’s on at the library a...
I saw the announcement of a “Public forum” on Dec. 11 that is called to address “the town’s south end plan.” I see that title as an obfuscation, by the town, to hide the important process of dealing with the blight and danger present in the Moore Clark property. Reality is that the Skagit County Assessor’s Office current fair market value appraisal of the property, parcel P74496, is actually $442,300, not the $2,300,000 that the town administrator keeps quoting. So far there has been no attempt for the current owner to purchase insurance a...
The La Conner public parking lot, east of Maple Hall, occupies about an acre. It’s big enough to host a 400 kilowatt solar generation system, built in the form of a canopy covering most of the lot. Such a canopy would also provide protection from snow, rain and sun. Building a solar canopy over most of the lot would require installation of support structures and some analysis on how the power would be delivered to the grid, or whether it would be better to install batteries and keep the s...
It was a La Conner Town Council meeting that nearly wasn’t. The Nov. 26 session at Maple Hall was almost scuttled due to lack of a quorum among the five-members. Councilmembers Ivan Carlson, Mary Wohleb and Annie Taylor were absent as the 6 p.m. start time approached. Fortunately, Taylor – who Mayor Marna Hanneman said was under the weather – shook off the effects of fatigue and illness and arrived to save the day 10 minutes later. “We’ll try to make this as short as possible,” the mayor stressed, as Taylor took her seat, “so that Annie ca...
The Town of La Conner has scheduled a public workshop on Dec. 11 to hear citizen feedback on future uses of the Commercial Transition Zone, also known as the Moore Clark Area. The Moore Clark warehouse dominates the area south of Town Hall and west of the South Third Street public parking lot. Draft concepts for the area will be presented. Consultant Tom Beckwith and his team have crafted revitalization scenarios. Zoning changes will likely be made to encourage development. The meeting will be...
