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Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 2077
TOWN OF LA CONNER NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town of La Conner will hold a Public Hearing on Tuesday April 9, 2024, to establish the funding of The Transportation Benefit District. The Public Hearing will be held during the 6:00 PM regular town council meeting located at 622 S. Second Street (Garden Club). The Public Hearing shall be for the purpose of receiving public comments, written or oral. Written comments are to be submitted by email from April 3, 2024, to no later than 12:00 PM on April 9, 2024, to...
Crime won’t be taking a holiday in La Conner anytime soon – at least in terms of the town’s popular murder mystery event. Former Weekly News reporter Nicole Jennings co-wrote the Prohibition Era murder mystery script with her mom, Chris Jennings. They’re already planning next spring’s third annual production. Nicole Jennings is developing for next year a mystery steeped in World War II intrigue. Her aim is to craft story lines around local weapons testing and espionage, with fictional plots bolstered by research into the history of nearby Nav...
Monday was the four year anniversary of Gov. Jay Inslee’s March 23, 2020 emergency proclamation in response to the emerging coronavirus pandemic. He imposed a “Stay Home – Stay Healthy Order throughout Washington state by prohibiting all people in Washington state from leaving their homes or participating in social, spiritual and recreational gatherings of any kind regardless of the number of participants, and all non-essential businesses in Washington State from conducting business, withi...
Swinomish Tribal Senate chair Steve Edwards, a La Conner High School graduate, enjoyed a warm homecoming when he met with school board members March 25. Edwards, known for his conciliatory leadership style, focused his remarks on building bridges between the La Conner School District and Swinomish. “It’s great that we can come to the table and have an open discussion,” said Edwards. “We all grew up together. We all know one another. We’re a community here.” Edwards was the second local elected leader to address the board in recent weeks, foll...
The Town of La Conner’s sales tax revenue was significantly down in December, to $47,549, the lowest since 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. The total, reported to the town council by the state Department of Revenue, is $15,554, 24.6% below 2023’s record December collection. The special-use fire tax revenues were similarly down, at $4,739, 24.5% below 2023. Tourists were spending less at restaurants and stores, but probably staying in town overnight more, or longer. The December hotel/motel tax collection was $13,915, alm...
La Conner School District Director of Finance David Cram offered a realistic assessment last summer when presenting student enrollment numbers and the year’s budget to the school board and Superintendent Will Nelson. The head count in the elementary, middle and high schools had dropped below 500, to 490 full-time students. He projected a student population of 448 in 2026-2027. Cram’s forecast is turning into reality. His mid-March estimate for September, the 2024-2025 school year, is for 30 fewer students. His larger concern is that the new...
Harvest time on the La Conner flats is months away, but the time is ripe now to cultivate goodwill. That was the prevailing theme at the annual La Conner Rotary Club Farmers and Merchants Night dinner and program Monday at Maple Hall. The event, which underscores the club's ongoing mission of public service and education support, was attended by more than 100 people representing the local agricultural and commercial sectors plus government leadership. "We're a hands-on service club," La Conner...
The high tide of saltwater flood season has passed. Town Administrator Scott Thomas said the final king tide on Swinomish Channel until next fall will allow removal of flood barriers that have lined the La Conner waterfront for months. “If you want to go out and get a picture of those orange sandbags so that you can remember them you’d better get out there,” Thomas told town council at its March 12 meeting. “They’ll be going away in a couple weeks and won’t be back until October.” The Public Works Department will remove sandbags and ecology b...
Inside Mortenson Signs on the corner of Avon Allen Road and Bennett Road is an explosion of colorful signs and art. This hints at the body of work Bob Mortenson has made since he opened the shop in 1981. Iconic signs throughout Skagit Valley bear Mortenson's mark: RoozenGaarde, Calico Cupboard, Nasty Jacks and even the La Conner Weekly News. Now, the impact of his art is receiving special attention. The Skagit County Historical Museum's next exhibit is "Signs, Signs, Everywhere – Signs: The A...
It can be a fine line that separates comedy and drama. A versatile cast of La Conner student actors, often playing dual roles, showed last weekend that it can deliver multiple fine lines that deftly meld comedy and drama. The La Conner Drama Club did so with its well-received performances Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon of Mark Dunn's "A Delightful Quarantine," literally the story of what people do when there's no place to go. Two more shows are scheduled at 6:30 p.m. March 22 and 23 at the Bruce Performing Arts Center on the La...
Tuesday, March 12 4:08 p.m.: Hot dog? No – Report of a dog left in a vehicle parked outside of Maple Hall. A deputy checked and found a window was open and the dog was fine, other than barking a lot. Commercial St., La Conner. Wednesday, March 13 12:14 p.m.: What rules of the road? – Report of an erratically driven vehicle entering town. The caller told dispatch the car had crossed the bridge. The call was transferred to Swinomish PD. La Conner-Whitney Rd. Greater La Conner. Thursday, March 14 6:39 p.m.: Is this yours? – Retailer found a walle...
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR SKAGIT COUNTY In Re The Estate of: MICHAEL EUGENE LONG, Deceased. No. 24-4-00076-29 PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS (RCW 11.40.030) (NTCRD) PATRICK LONG has been appointed as Personal Representative of this Estate. 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 Personal Representative or the Personal Representative’s a...
Dear Editor: I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the recently announced closure of Little Braves preschool due to lack of funding. As a member of our community and a parent who understands the importance of early childhood education, I believe that eliminating programs for young children only harms our community and creates hardship for families. The Little Braves Preschool program, which operates in the elementary school through funding from Head Start, is the only publicly funded early education program in La Conner. The...
A cold wind ripped up the Swinomish Channel, swirled around Gilkey Square on Saturday and undid plans for the La Conner Pet Parade's red-carpet walk. Still, around 50 registrants and a small crowd of intrepid pet lovers, their pets all dolled-up for photo ops, shivered down First Street from the La Conner Marina to Gilkey Square, up to Maple Hall and back to the square for judging. Mayor Marna Hanneman was on hand and the La Conner Chamber of Commerce "made a showing." Cameras were clicking,...
Earth, wind and fire. It's not just a famous 1970s soul band. The three elements also represent threats to the vacant and dilapidated Moore-Clark warehouse and areas around the former industrial hub, a landmark on the La Conner waterfront since 1898. Residents wary of the building's vulnerabilities shared their concerns with the Town Emergency Management Commission during its March 5 meeting at Maple Hall. "I think of Lahaina," Lori Wise, who has a background in real estate development, said of...
Town officials say they heard plenty of valued input during the recent community mingle addressing First Street parking and traffic issues, but there’s still plenty of time to get the last word in. “We haven’t taken anything off the table,” Town Assistant Planner Ajah Eills told planning commissioners during their March 5 meeting at Maple Hall. “We’re still in the information gathering mode.” Among those whose insights are being sought is Public Works Director Brian Lease. Commissioners want to hear from Lease before a target date is set f...
Town officials over the next few months will begin examining potential options for the Jenson property located south of Channel Cove near the Maple Avenue approach to Pioneer Park. The Jenson family sold the land to the town at a reduced price – about one-third its assessed value – on condition it be utilized in the best interest of the community. Suggested uses for the property have ranged from affordable housing to a public garden. “We have saved the letters and emails that we have received about options for the use of the property when...
New La Conner Emergency Management Commission chair Jerry George had sad news to share when the panel met March 5 at Maple Hall. George had the unenviable task of announcing the death of commission charter member Duane Carpenter, 64, whose expertise in meteorology was frequently tapped during the board’s inaugural year as it considered flood mitigation strategies. George said that Carpenter, with an extensive background in cartography and weather analysis, died unexpectedly March 1 from complications following a surgical procedure. “Duane was...
The last king tides of this winter season are this week on the Swinomish Channel. The USHarbors.com tide table predicted 11-foot-plus tides Monday-Wednesday mornings and a 10.9-foot tide March 16 at 8:27 a.m. The last 10.9-foot tide is scheduled for 4:36 p.m. Friday, March 27. Town of La Conner public works staff plan to remove and store the channel area sandbags by the end of the month....
No one in town knows a better yarn than Chris Jennings. The owner of Jennings Yarn & Needlecrafts, a fixture on First Street for more than a half-century, is spinning a yarn in the literary sense these days, coordinating the plot for La Conner’s Second Annual Murder Mystery event set for March 23. Chamber of Commerce Director Mark Hulst credits Jennings with weaving the thread that ties together “The Case of the Bumped-Off Bootlegger,” a throwback to the 1920s Prohibition era of rumrunners and speakeasies, among the more colorful chapt...
Dear Neighbors: First of all, it is not too late for you or for me to keep the ideas about parking flowing in. That is what they say at their meetings every week but it doesn’t always get out to the public. So opine on. I want the town to start with incremental changes rather than going whole hog into all the possible changes at once. I personally would want to start with the writing of an ordinance to limit parking to three or four hours at a time between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Write it, do it. Watch and see the effect. Let the people who have a h...
The public got to peek into the Mount Vernon Library Commons Project, under construction across from the Skagit County Courthouse, with a series of tours on Saturday afternoon. Designed for climate resiliency and as an integral community hub for the next 100 years, the $53 million facility will feature a 4,000-square-foot children’s library, the largest one north of Seattle; a teen and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) center; study rooms; a computer lab; and quiet reading spaces. The building’s commons area will be highlighted...
Word is getting out on one of Skagit County's best-kept secrets. That's thanks to La Conner High School alum and former Swinomish Tribal Community Senator Leon John, now the outreach director at Didgwalic Wellness Center northwest of town along Highway 20. The Didgwalic facility is a rehabilitation center for anyone, tribal and non-tribal, dealing with addiction or other challenges to mental and physical health. John outlined the Didgwalic mission as guest speaker for the second in a series of...
It was a four-letter word that defined a briskly paced, 45-minute hybrid Town Council meeting at Maple Hall on Feb. 27. That word was code. As in the council’s approval of both a formal town code of ethics and update to La Conner’s uniform development code. The ethics code was one of Mayor Marna Hanneman’s first initiatives upon taking office in January. “In this climate of people not being civil to each other – not that this is happening here – I asked for a code of ethics,” Hanneman said. Upon adoption of the code, following a motion by cou...
To those wondering whatever happened to that March 2023 Skagit County Superior Court civil complaint against five Shelter Bay Community board members, alleged to have breached their fiduciary duty and for malfeasance by a property owner, an update is on page 1. It was last April that the court denied an injunction and temporary restraining order that would have prevented the board members from making financial decisions. But Judge Laura Riquelme did not dismiss the case, though in August she issued a stay, preventing the plaintiff’s attorneys f...
