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Sorted by date Results 12 - 36 of 2069
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...
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. 6-8, 12-15 and 19-21 at the Lincoln Theatre 712 S. First St., Mount...
Jo Wolfe has a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. The executive director of the Skagit County Historical Museum says that its recent fall party netted the museum about $25,000 – a new high for an event that is just three years old. The new fire detection system, paid for by the raise the paddle segment of last year’s fundraiser, is up and running. When problems are detected, the system alerts Guardian Security, which calls the La Conner fire department, all in a matter of minutes. Visitors and participants in museum-sponsored pro...
SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR KING COUNTY IN RE THE ESTATES OF DEAN EDWARD MILLER AND KAREN L. MILLER (HUSBAND AND WIFE) DECEASED. NO 24-4-07131-5 SEA NOTICE TO CREDITORS Glen R. Clausing has been appointed as personal representative of these estates. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the undersigned at the address stated below a copy of the...
HEADS UP Kiwanis Annual Holiday Craft Show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Christmas shop with locals. Ornaments, bags, stickers, jewelry, tablecloths, toys, cards, wall art, cookies and pies for sale. Come early for the Rotary Club Santa Breakfast and stop by the vendors on your way out. 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. LIBRARIES La...
Only 26 shopping days remain until Christmas. But another significant deadline looms even sooner. The Town of La Conner will hold its second public workshop on proposed revitalization of the four-acre former south end industrial zone on Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at Maple Hall. That's just two weeks away. Draft concepts for the area will be presented. Planning Director Michael Davolio confirmed that a spokesperson for property owner Triton America, whose focus is aviation, has been invited to all...
Jerry George vowed for several months that a draft La Conner Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan would be completed by year's end. The town's Emergency Management Commission approved and sent the 36-page document to the town council at its Nov. 19 meeting. It includes a risk assessment for potential natural disasters and spells out emergency response procedures, operations and communications policies. Ironically, the hour-long session at Maple Hall was held just ahead of a bomb cyclone that...
HEADS UP Kiwanis Annual Holiday Craft Show, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Christmas shop with locals. Ornaments, bags, stickers, jewelry, tablecloths, toys, cards, wall art, cookies and pies for sale. Come early for the Rotary Club Santa Breakfast and stop by the vendors on your way out. 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. LIBRARIES La...
The more things change, the more they stay the same – even for an iconic half-century-old La Conner business that will have new ownership in January. A downtown fixture since 1972 when it was launched by Jack Wilkins and Jim Reynolds, Nasty Jack's Antiques has carved out a unique niche in the Puget Sound region with its eclectic selection of gift and novelty items, vintage toys, collectibles, housewares, tin signs, decorations, political and sports memorabilia and much, much more. That won't c...
Like parents or counselors for a 900-member family, Mayor Marna Hanneman, the La Conner Town Council and staff, primarily Town Administrator Scott Thomas and Finance Director Maria DeGoede, are wrestling with short, medium and long term funding needs as they advance the town’s 2025 $8.4 million draft budget. Hanneman reflected on the challenges of the past five years in her Nov. 12 budget message: the COVID-19 “pandemic, flooding, extreme weather events and the highest inflation in half a century.” Hanneman, Thomas and DeGoede discussed the p...
It is budget time again. Across Washington state and throughout the country, governments of towns, cities and countries with fiscal years starting January 1 are going through similar steps of developing their annual operating budgets. Big yawn, right? This is the time of year when newspaper subscribers really learn of – if not realize – the value of their subscriptions. For about $1.15 a week Weekly News readers get the advantage of reading stories by professional journalists summarizing and analyzing their local government’s budget proce...
Fire District 13 Chief Wood Weiss got the green light on Thursday to commit up to $700,000 toward purchase of a Pierce tender truck that would bolster an aging District 13 emergency response fleet. District commissioners authorized Weiss to pursue acquisition of a new tender shortly after approving a preliminary 2025 draft budget that projects a fund reserve exceeding $1 million. “That sounds like a lot of money, until you have to buy some equipment,” commission Chair Bruce Shellhamer cautioned when referring to the seven-figure bank bal...
The shorthanded La Conner Emergency Management Commission, which this year has juggled flood mitigation, neighborhood mapping and the crafting of a community disaster preparedness plan, received a much needed shot in the arm last week. Brianna Wilson, owner of Thrive Direct Health Care, was appointed by town council at its Nov. 12 Maple Hall meeting. A commission vacancy remains, said Mayor Marna Hanneman, who nominated Wilson. The Council unanimously approved Wilson, noting that her medical...
It's always nice to have connections. Just ask the staff at La Conner Swinomish Library. Its connections extend not only across town with several local art partnerships but by extension to the other side of the world. The library this year has displayed in its children's section the popular "Path to La Conner" quilt comprised of panels, depicting familiar storefronts on First Street. The La Conner-centric imagery was inspired by "Path to Edo" quilt work created by Japanese students and part of...
TOWN OF LA CONNER SUMMARY ORDINANCE NO. 1251 Notice is hereby given that the Town Council of the Town of La Conner, Washington, passed Ordinance No. 1251 at the November 12, 2024 Town Council meeting. A summary of Ordinance No. 1251 is as follows: An Ordinance amending the 2024 Budget. Complete copies of Ordinance No. 1251 are available at La Conner Town Hall, P.O. Box 400, La Conner, WA 98257 Dated this 13th Day of November, 2024 /s/____________ Maria DeGoede, Town Clerk Published in the La Conner Weekly News, Nov. 20, 2024. TOWN OF LA CONNER...
HEADS UP Kiwanis Annual Holiday Craft Show 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St., La Conner. Christmas shop with locals. Ornaments, bags, stickers, jewelry, tablecloths, toys, cards, wall art, cookies and pies for sale. Come early for the Rotary Club Santa Breakfast and stop by the vendors on your way out. 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....
La Conner residents received an Ivy League education at Pioneer Park on Saturday. The volunteers, led by trained natural resources specialist Steve Phillips, spent a couple hours removing invasive English ivy from a patch below the town water tower. It marked the second such work party at the park this fall. Phillips envisions the ivy removal project continuing monthly through autumn and winter and in the years ahead, if possible. "We decided to do this now, because summers are so busy, and...
Looking pretty good: La Conner's $65,990 in October sales tax revenue was $387 above 2023's and only $658 below 2022's October record high. These are August's funds, reported by the state's Department of Revenue on a two-month time lag. The $542,101 total for the year is 89% of 2023's estimate. It is almost certain that the town will beat it forecast of $609,181. This is the fourth month in a row that sales tax revenues are above $60,000. When sales tax revenues are high, so is the fire...
Communication was the word that resonated at the Nov. 5 La Conner Emergency Management Commission meeting. Commissioners continued their review of a draft Community Emergency Management Plan, which communicates strategies for dealing with natural disasters and provides a risk analysis of each potential scenario – from earthquakes and flooding to fires and tsunamis. “It’s a work in progress,” commissioner Jerry George called the draft plan, due for approval by the end of the year. Fine tuning the plan has been a priority this year. “We nee...
The La Conner Planning Commission forwarded one recommended comprehensive plan update to the town council but tabled action on another during its Nov. 5 public meeting at Maple Hall. Commissioners were unanimous in advancing updates to the comp plan's transportation element, including language addressing electric vehicle charging stations. The element, reviewed every five years, will eventually include a Transportation Improvement Program schedule. Deferred was a draft parks and recreation...
