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Sorted by date Results 303 - 327 of 2077
So much for El Nino. The climate pattern linked to warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean and which led to forecasts of above average temperatures this winter went AWOL for more than a week. A major storm swept into Skagit County last Wednesday on the heels of an arctic blast that had earlier plunged thermometers and wind chill gauges into single digits. The result was an extended stretch of icy and snowy roads and streets that forced local business closures and pushed...
La Conner Drug Store is not the first small-town, family-owned drug store to go out of business in recent years. Rite Aid, hopefully the new home of former employees from La Conner Drug and Island Drug, is itself in bankruptcy. The conservative advocacy group Association of Mature American Citizens reports that 2,000 U.S. pharmacies closed between 2017 and 2020. Forbes wrote last September, "CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid were closing nearly 1,500 stores. Between 1980 and 2022 the number of...
The La Conner drugstore closed Monday, as reported in the Weekly News, a victim of the ongoing corporatization of the American economy, where small companies are forced out because – in ways too many people don’t see or care to understand – the books are cooked and the game is rigged. Small businesses in small towns closing is not a new story, of course. That has always been the American way, the thug-like pressure to get big or get out, or, more commonly, as Judy Booth writes this week on so-called pharmacy benefit managers, the press...
Last Thursday I reached out to Rep. Dave Paul (and our two other state reps as well) and shared my frustrations and asked for help over the La Conner Drug Store closing. Here is the core of my message to Rep. Paul: Don’t know if you can do anything about this but I feel you should know that Rite Aid just purchased our only local pharmacy – La Conner Drug. This little business was first established in 1877. The corporate chain operation made this acquisition only to close the store and transfer the prescription files to their store in Ana...
As a long-time (14 years) La Conner resident I have appreciated having certain local services such as a local bank branch, a grocery store, a pharmacy and a local newspaper. It has meant that I don’t need to travel far for services, supplies and information. I like personally knowing the people with whom I do business. This is the advantage of small-town living. Then I read the stunning news of the closure of the La Conner Drug Store! I have steadfastly used their pharmacy for my several prescriptions refusing mail-order offers of ...
Hours before snow hit outside, the La Conner Planning Commissioners plowed through a busy agenda during their 80-minute Jan. 16 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. The pile of issues addressed were housing and parking issues, the status of the Talmon Project at 306 Center Street, population projections for the town and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community’s plans to convert its Maple Avenue apartment complex to a staffed home recovery facility. The tribe has designed a program for persons and families who have completed treatment at the Didgwalic W...
Residents can learn about a feasibility study for a grant to allow solar and storage of energy at the La Conner’s fire department and school district campus at 10 a.m. Feb. 3 at the La Conner Swinomish Library. The presentation explores solar and storage opportunities and how they can help build resilience and support community needs. The Town of La Conner Emergency Management Commission will be available to discuss their work with emergency preparedness. Information: townoflaconner.org/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=51; [email protected] or M...
La Conner High School seniors started their freshman year wearing masks and learning from home in front of their computers. Three years later they’re still playing catch-up from the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus the La Conner’s Class of ‘24 has lagged in fundraising, not possible with the campus closed. The class must still raise about half of the estimated $25,000 needed for its June trip to Disneyland. Senior class advisor Theresa James apprised school board members at their Jan. 22 meeting that despite the yeoman effor...
We hope everyone’s New Year is off to a great start, It is hard to believe that January is almost over already. Our little taste of winter made for an interesting start to 2024, but now that things are finally thawing out, come to the library for a cozy day of reading or come to one of the many programs we have coming up through Feb.. Our first armchair Travels with Teri program had to be postponed due to the snow; however, we are going to reschedule. Stay tuned to our website or come by the library to get the new date. We have tons of fun c...
When the iconic Rainbow Bridge, the often-photographed arched orange span synonymous with La Conner opened in 1957, it looked like a million. Fast forward to 2024 and the now faded local landmark requires several millions – as in dollars – to reclaim its original bright orange appeal. The estimated cost of repainting Rainbow Bridge, which links La Conner and the Skagit County mainland with Fidalgo Island and Swinomish Reservation, is about $4 million, town resident Linda Peterson learned fro...
Tuesday, January 16 11:14 a.m. Horses in winter – Another report of the horses at the polo club not being fed or watered. We checked the horses and found adequate food and water on site with all horses being fed. La Conner Whitney Rd., Greater La Conner. 5:47 P.m. Big talk, no action – Call of a verbal argument at the La Conner Shell Station between an employee and a customer. The argument did not get physical and cooler heads emerged and were able to solve the situation. La Conner Whitney Rd., Greater La Conner. Thursday, January 18 8:14 a.m...
Mayor Marna Hanneman called a special meeting of the La Conner Town Council for Friday, Jan. 26 at 1p.m. held through Microsoft Teams. The meeting purpose is: discussion of the 2021 and 2022 state audit conducted by the Office of the Washington state Auditor. Contact Town Hall by 9 a.m. Friday for the link or for phone access: 360-466-3125...
Extreme tide changes on Swinomish Channel have made difficult the efforts by multiple agencies to find a 27-year-old Kirkland woman whose last known whereabouts was the La Conner waterfront early on New Year’s Day. “At this time,” Sgt. Brad Holmes, who administers the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office La Conner Detachment, said on Sunday, “the missing female has not been located and most search efforts have been maxed out.” Intense searches involving divers from throughout the Puget Sound region have been conducted during low tide periods on...
A new year, a new mayor. It's been a long while – going back to January 2008 – since that sentence has applied to the Town of La Conner. Now it does. Former planning commissioner Marna Hanneman, who has spent the past six months prepping to succeed retiring four-term mayor Ramon Hayes, transitioned into her new role at a Jan. 9 hybrid town council meeting at Maple Hall that ended with a half-hour executive session. Council members Annie Taylor and Mary Wohleb also took ceremonial oaths of office...
Town of La Conner residents have two weeks to offer their two cents – or perhaps exceedingly more valuable recommendations – as possible amendments to the town’s comprehensive plan – and the development code, too. Submittals made through Jan. 31 are free. More important is the schedule, for proposals through January are considered this year, in the 2024 cycle by the staff, planning commission and council. Stay awake. This is important for the future of anyone planning to stay or move into La Conner. The Washington state Legislature mandate...
For the past nine years I have complained in writing about the way the City of Anacortes reconciles the amount of money its wholesale (regional) customers owe for water. Last month, Anacortes billed the Town of La Conner $444 for 2021 and $5,540 for 2022. The truth is that the City of Anacortes owes the Town of La Conner a total of $49,631.52 for both years. Counting O&M alone and considering both years, the city made a profit of $8,173,301 on water. The accountant charged “Taxes and Assessments” to both Regional Expenses (RCC) and Admin Ove...
Now that I live in the beautiful, abundant Skagit Valley after thirty-plus years in an Alaskan coastal rainforest, I have the climate and desire to learn how to grow a vegetable garden. I turned to fellow Master Gardener Cathy Markham and asked her to mentor me. With many years of experience gained from multiple acres of gardens and knowledge collected from gardeners who have gone before her, Cathy graciously agreed to guide me. Here are some of the guiding principles Cathy encourages new gardeners to lean on: Grow what you love to eat. You...
Bird lovers will flock to Maple Hall Feb. 3 and 4 for the La Conner Birding Festival. The festival marks the local return of the Skagit community’s celebration of winter birds. Art, education and family activities promise to inspire residents and visitors to appreciate the migratory birds that winter here. Doors open Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. Photographers, painters and other artists will display their work upstairs. Downstairs families will find bird-related activities for kids. Some of the birding educators will bring birds. “I want it t...
The popular La Conner waterfront, usually a place for leisurely board-walk strolls, outdoor dining and festive selfie photography, became a grim scene last week as a search was undertaken in Swinomish Channel for a missing 27-year-old Kirkland woman. Several search and rescue agencies from throughout the Puget Sound region, coordinated by the Skagit County Sheriff's Office, descended on La Conner after family members confirmed evidence located in the channel was linked to their relative,...
New Town of La Conner Mayor Marna Hanneman chaired her first town council meeting yesterday, Jan. 9. The council packet she received the week before included a memo from Town Administrator Scott Thomas. Its first point summarized for council the town’s need to plan for 124 housing units by 2045, required by the state’s Growth Management Act. Thomas writes “Of these units, 92 are expected to be occupied by low to moderate income families.” Looking at the data, 82 units, 66%, are to be priced for people making less than 80% of the area median...
In the event of a disaster, the single most important factor for an effective response will be availability of information, La Conner Emergency Management Commission member Jerry George said last week. “And that information,” he stressed, “has to be accurate.” George and the advisory panel are attentive to communications and information systems well ahead of the next flood, earthquake, windstorm, cold snap or heat wave. At its Jan. 2 meeting at Maple Hall commissioners heard from Skagit County Emergency Management Coordinator Joan Cromley...
For more than two-thirds of his life, Doug Jones has been a Rotarian. The 95-year-old Channel Drive resident joined Rotary when he was 31. He has been a Rotarian longer than the 52 years he was married to his late wife Ruth and almost, but not quite, longer than he has been a father. "Rotary has been a way of life," Jones told an appreciative crowd at the Dec. 18 La Conner Rotary Christmas party, as his 64 years with the service club were celebrated. The club has been a constant throughout his...
Hello and Happy New Year! First and foremost, I hope you have been able to spend time with loved ones and had some time to reflect on 2023. Secondly, I wish you and yours a safe and prosperous New Year. May 2024 bring the necessities we need to make La Conner the best it can be. The following note represents my reflections of social, economic and environmental perspectives that impact our town as I take office. Think of it as a “State of La Conner” of sorts. One of the great things about our community is that it is a unique microcosm of a bro...
How does one thank a person who has unstintingly given 16 years of his life to our community? Ramon Hayes has been La Conner’s mayor twenty four hours a day for every one of those years. Many of us have had the pleasure of chatting with him on his daily walks, often accompanied by his smiling, gregarious wife. A useful way of taking the pulse of the town person to person, he seemed to genuinely enjoy his walks. But the mayor’s day was often much more than glad-handing. He chaired 16 years of town council meetings, some being quite con...
The Town’s newest advisory panel didn’t wait long getting to work in the New Year. The six-member Emergency Management Commission, which spent much of 2023 developing and implementing immediate saltwater flood barriers along the waterfront and in low-lying areas, met yesterday afternoon at Maple Hall. The main agenda topic was their ongoing efforts to craft a community emergency management plan for La Conner. Commissioners were scheduled at their Jan. 2 hybrid session to hear from Skagit Department of Emergency Planner Joan Cromley. “We need to...
