Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 312 - 336 of 2077
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...
History stands to repeat itself in Concrete on Friday. Just as was the case in 1952, when the Concrete High School gymnasium first opened, visiting La Conner hoop teams will take the floor Jan. 5 in a rivalry that precedes the Great Depression. Members of the 1952 Concrete and La Conner teams will be honored as part of a “70-plus Years Anniversary” celebration at the iconic Concrete gym. The night’s events will also include a brief historical presentation and introductions of all-time Skagit County scorers Gail Thulen and Andy Otis of La Conne...
December was frosty and frozen 4-Jan La Conner Community combats wave of saltwater flooding 4-Jan Flood damage cost estimate $1.8 million 11-Jan Council creates emergency management commission 1-Feb Center Street condos a go 15-Feb Marna Hanneman will be next La Conner Mayor 24-May Festival celebrates author Tom Robbins 6-Sep Earthquake rattles La Conner Sunday 11-Oct 29 newspaper contest awards for Weekly News 11-Oct Blessing the La Conner Swinomish Library 18-Oct Town's short-term rentals...
Sunday, December 24 9:40 p.m. Weaved away— Erratically driven vehicle on Mclean Road and then into the town of La Conner. Vehicle turned on to Maple Avenue and the caller stopped following. No plate provided and no further complaints.. Morris St. / Maple Ave., La Conner. Monday, December 25 1:35 a.m. Dog ran free — Small dog running loose in the middle of the road. Caller was off duty officer but advised they could not catch it and it kept running away. Unknown owner and no response from a deputy. Summers Dr. / Best Rd., Greater La Conner. Wed....
The 88 homes sold in Skagit County in November was a drop of 22.8% from 2022. The La Conner school district market had seven home sales close, the same as last year, bucking the statewide trend. The two homes sold in the town of La Conner, as reported last month, on Maple Avenue and Benton Street, went for $725,000 and $1.25 million, respectively. Three of the Shelter Bay home sold for under $461,000 so our market’s $565,000 median monthly sold home price was just below the county’s median price of $575,000. The 88 homes sold are the third mon...
In La Conner, there's always one thing you can bank on. Tami Mason can be counted upon to pitch in and help when a community need arises. Mason, customer service supervisor at WaFd Bank's La Conner branch, volunteers for several organizations – from the Skagit County Historical Museum and La Conner Sunrise Food Bank boards of directors to the Chamber of Commerce and La Conner Volunteer Firefighters Association. "I love giving back to others," Mason told the Weekly News on Friday, as she w...
From an editor who takes each week’s editorial very seriously, I report that this is one of my most important editorials of the year. Each December ends with shining light on unsung heroes in the community, the critical souls who day after day and every week show up, dig in and through their steadfast efforts are contributing to the larger good, making the greater La Conner region the place we are so proud to call home. I have known for months that I would praise the staff, freelancers and volunteers who make the Weekly News the success that i...
La Conner Planning Director Michael Davolio has come up with a way to follow both the letter and spirit of a new state policy that limits to a single public meeting topics reviewed by a hearing examiner. He wants the planning commission to receive all pertinent information in advance of hearing examiner sessions so they can chime in before a decision is rendered. “I want to make sure the public and planning commission has an opportunity for input,” Davolio said at the 90-minute Dec. 19 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. “I want the planning commi...
Cynthia Elliott isn't the retiring type. The proof is in her willingness – eagerness, actually – to become a La Conner Planning Commissioner, a role not for the faint of heart, just 13 months after wrapping up a 35-year career. Mayor Ramon Hayes announced his choice of Elliot during the Dec. 12 town council meeting to fill the seat vacated by Marna Hanneman, who becomes mayor Jan. 1. Hayes stressed that three "very qualified candidates" had applied and that he and Hanneman reviewed applications....
Throughout their shared histories, La Conner and Concrete high schools have been fierce foes vying for league, district and state sports titles. But when they next meet it will be a friendly rivalry in the truest sense of the term. La Conner teams and fans have been invited to participate in celebrations Jan. 5 honoring the “70-plus anniversary” of the opening of the Concrete High School gymnasium to coincide with that night’s girls’ and boys’ basketball games. La Conner was the visiting team in the first-ever boys’ high school junior vars...
