Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 457 - 481 of 755
For months, efforts have been ongoing to turn the corner on the COVID-19 pandemic. But last weekend one could hardly see around corners as thick wildfire smoke from blazes in eastern Washington and Oregon came north to the Puget Sound region, hovering over La Conner and Skagit County, and pushing air quality to dangerous levels. The local Air Quality Index (AQI) topped 250 on Sunday, the afternoon sun more resembling the moon as it tried shining through a heavy orange blanket of choking haze....
More help is on the way. It will not be part of a new federal economic stimulus package, but instead additional CARES Act funds from legislation passed last spring and which will be earmarked for support of La Conner businesses. Town officials last week said La Conner is receiving about $15,000 in added Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) monies after a previous $28,800 award. The earlier funding was dedicated to Town staff’s wages and other COVID-related items, including placement of a port-a-potty in front of the Morris S...
At last week’s town Council meeting, the Mayor, Administrator and four of the five Town council members rushed through (in my opinion) an extension of the current contract for police services with the Skagit County Sheriff. The extension covers Dec. 2020-Dec. 2021 at a cost of $331,097! In return the town receives 80 hours of “police service” a month! However, the contract provides that the Sheriff will patrol south to Conway and north to Bayview – within those 80 hours. Mine was the sole voice to question the value of service we recei...
Defunding the police was never an issue in La Conner this summer. The question instead was whether the Town could afford a three per cent hike in its law enforcement services contract with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office amid fears of falling municipal revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A 4-1 Town Council majority approved $331,097 for 2021, closing the books on a month-long discussion at its Aug. 25 meeting, Councilmembers Bill Stokes and Jacques Brunisholz had earlier said there were obstacles to contracting with Swinomish, a move t...
Back-ups on town streets and roadways around La Conner last Wednesday were not the usual summer tourist traffic but especially troubling, as was its cause: a horrific double fatality head-on collision on the SR 20 Duane Berentson Bridge over the Swinomish Channel. The two vehicle, wrong way head-on collision killed Jill Powell, of Mount Vernon, and Raymond Koladycz, of Oak Harbor, who drove his Toyota Highlander westbound on the eastbound span. Circumstances of the two-vehicle collision were...
Two Morris Street businesses are making big changes this summer. Lucy Kelly and her cat Six will be retiring soon. Tillinghast Postal and Business Center and its building are for sale. The beautiful, custom-built home of Pransky & Associates is also on the market, but George and Linda Pransky and staff are very much in business. Lucy has loved her years running La Conner’s only office-services store with Ginger Olson, who helped her open the business in 2013. She hopes that a new owner will c...
The Swinomish Medical Clinic is again hosting a drive-through COVID-19 testing site after tribal public health officials confirmed seven positive cases for the coronavirus in a public notice released Monday. “Several of the individuals are asymptomatic, meaning they do not have any symptoms of the illness,” the release stated. Testing ran last Wednesday-Friday and started Tuesday. An end date has not been set, staff on the site said Tuesday. The Swinomish Public Health Team is contact tra...
Conducting day-to-day affairs online is working well for local government and business leaders – with a few exceptions. The Town Council’s pledge of allegiance, for instance. When the Council meets at Maple Hall, everyone stands to salute a flag that all can see. On Zoom, there’s no central flag for the dozen or so participants to salute. And with computer cameras in a fixed position, “if I stand, everybody is looking at my belt buckle or my stomach,” says Town Administrator Scott Thomas. Town staff, along with staff of Fire Distric...
This year has brought numerous challenges requiring new visions, including Rotary Club of La Conner’s annual auction on Aug. 20. Typically held at La Conner’s Maple Hall, this year’s virtual, online only auction’s theme is “Through the Looking Glass: 2020 Vision.” Proceeds from the La Conner Rotary auction support La Conner High School scholarships, dictionaries for third graders, a book a month from birth through age five for all children in the La Conner School District through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, bookmobiles in Guatemala a...
Angie Homola is a candidate for position 1 in our legislative district (the 10th). My career working as a policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services demonstrated how important it is that we have legislators who understand a broad range of issues and who have been active in the communities they represent. That’s a major reason I am enthusiastically supporting Angie’s candidacy. Her experience in local government, in her small business architectural practice, her Masters in Environmental Law and Policy and her com...
It is summer and time to be more careful about outside burning. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community issued a burn ban June 24, as has the Skagit County Fire Marshall. Environmental conditions are such that fires can spread out of control and impact air quality with smoke. Good air quality is especially important this year since COVID-19 affects the respiratory system, and we want to protect our lungs from any additional sources of irritation. SITC has the authority to call a burn ban independently of Skagit County, according to our own...
This year’s primary election has more candidates than can be covered in the Weekly News. Get past the 36 candidates for governor and drill down to the contested election contests close to home. You can send Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, back to Washington or you can send him packing. At the other end of the ballot are three candidates for Skagit County Superior Court Judge, Position 3. The basic information here is a start for researching contenders for local and regional offices not highlighted the last two weeks. Voting can be hard work. C...
Wood Weiss has settled into his new role as District 13 Fire Chief. Now Weiss is helping others take on new duties as well. Last Thursday he received approval from District 13 Commissioners during their monthly video-conferenced meeting for key firefighting and emergency services support positions, including a district fitness officer, wildland fire coordinator and grief counselor. “We’ve never had a fitness officer before,” said Weiss. “It’s been a big push for me for many years. This would be to promote physical fitness among our firefight...
The Washington State Legislative District 10 is one of the few competitive districts in the state this election. The Position 1 seat has four Democrats and one Republican hoping to replace retiring longtime Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton. Dave Paul, D-Oak Harbor, holds the Position 2 seat, which he wrested from Rep. Dave Hayes by just over 700 votes in 2018. Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, retired last fall from the District’s Senate seat. Ron Muzzall, a farmer from Oak Harbor was appointed t...
It didn’t take Dave Paul long to make his mark in La Conner once he arrived in Olympia at 2019’s legislative session as a new state lawmaker. Within weeks, Paul, an Oak Harbor Democrat, teamed with Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow) to sponsor the Capital Budget Request that led to an allocation of $720,000 for the long-sought La Conner-Swinomish Regional Library. Paul, whose career path led him to higher education, proved a quick study when it came time to help the La Conner area write a key cha...
In Skagit County, the Board of County Commissioners is the legislative authority and administrators of several County operations. They adopt the annual budget, levy taxes and set five department budgets: emergency services, health parks, planning and roads. They legislate ordinances “concerning the general welfare of the County.” They also have quasi-judicial duties. The Commissioners are partisan elected officials. Candidates are nominated in the primary election, by ballots cast only the...
Q: Long term County public health role for the coronavirus pandemic? A: Skagit County’s primary role in the pandemic is to realistically assess it and act accordingly, not to play politics. We need to continue to coordinate our efforts with the state’s and then, along with other counties and the state, work with our newly elected federal officials to establish a national strategy of testing, contact tracing, and then an effective vaccination program. Q: County response for the long-term economic...
This year’s primary election offers multiple choices for state constitutional offices, Congress, the state legislature and county positions. Here are the Legislative District 10 candidates. Start your research at voter.votewa.gov. State Representative Pos. 1. Open seat with Rep. Norma Smith retirement. Greg Gilday Party: GOP Hometown: Stanwood Job now: Lawyer Funds raised: $63,062 Know this: Endorsed by Rep. Norma Smith Angie Homola Party: Democratic Hometown: Oak Harbor Job now: Architect Funds raised: $ 46,475 Know this: Has Masters in E...
By: Albert Ondo The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the injustices and inequalities that have plagued our society and our state for far too long. Too often, our state representatives in Olympia have not placed people first. Our health and safety should be a priority; working people should have livable wages; strong education must be the foundation of life and work; transportation ought to meet the demands of our 21st century economy; and sustainable farms, forests, and fisheries will create sustainable jobs. Now is the time to elect people like...
Comings and goings continue with the La Conner School Board. The school district’s governing panel lost its most senior member, Brad Smith. He submitted his resignation June 19. Smith represented District 3, the Shelter Bay area, for 14 years and was the board’s liaison with the state legislature. La Conner High seniors Avery Sloniker and MacQuaid Hiller were welcomed aboard as new student representatives for the 2020-21 academic year during the same June 22 video-conferenced meeting. Sloniker and Hiller will succeed recently graduated sen...
This is our twelfth week since Gov. Jay Inslee started shutting down Washington’s economy, ordering us to Stay Home to Stay Safe. We are not nearly as shutdown as we were when March ended. We are not all safe, either: Last week 50 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Skagit County. Two weeks ago, public health staff told the Country’s Board of Health that the rise in cases precluded applying to the state to move to Phase 3. The increasing number of cases and the rate of increase, metrics of “community spread” make advancing to Phase 3 by Decembe...
Richard Stewart has been down this road before, only this time it has led him to La Conner. Stewart, a veteran Washington state public school administrator, agreed to a contract Tuesday with the La Conner School District Directors to become interim superintendent. The Board interviewed Stewart last week. It voted Monday to hire the Ferndale resident during its video-conferenced summer retreat. He will be appointed and administered the oath of office at a 4 p.m. Board meeting Wednesday. Stewart...
Wednesday June 24 7:58 p.m.: Time out – Deputies re-contacted a juvenile runaway. The juvenile refused to go back home with his father. Deputies took the juvenile into protective custody and called Child Protective Services. Deputies released the juvenile to a family friend with CPS permission. A skate park. N. 6th St., La Conner....
The 126th annual La Conner High graduation ceremonies were truly the first of their kind. With the COVID-19 pandemic having nixed traditional indoor commencement exercises marked by large crowds, celebratory music, tossed mortar boards and release of balloons and confetti, the school’s Class of 2020 still wasn’t denied fanfare. La Conner High seniors were honored Thursday evening with a drive-thru graduation event outside Landy James Gym followed by a car parade through town led by fir...
Fifty-years-ago the La Conner commercial scene boasted canneries, full-service fuel stations and a major fish-food processing plant. All are gone now. But 1970 also saw the ribbon cut for launch of a new and key cog in the local economy – one that not only remains but has grown significantly over the past half-century. The first phase of the Port of Skagit’s La Conner Marina was dedicated in late May that year with a ceremony keynoted by U.S. Sen. Henry Jackson, of Everett, who twice sough...
