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Halloween has morphed into Howell-oween at The Slider Café on Morris Street in La Conner. Managers Levi and Kimberly Howell have decked out the restaurant with creative and colorful decorations that celebrate the cute rather than scary elements of the otherwise spooky holiday. The Howell-oween theme has even been enlisted for their daughter Annabelle's Oct. 27 birthday party at the café. Turns out, the Howell family isn't alone when it comes to embracing the Halloween spirit. "It makes e...
NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND - Naval aviators Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay Evans, the flight officer, and Aviator Lt. Serena N. Wileman died when their EA-18G Growler crashed near Mount Rainier Oct. 15 during a routine training flight. Both were 31 and from California. The U.S. Navy released their names Monday after family were notified. The Growler aircraft from Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 crashed east of Mount Rainier. Search and rescue teams were first dispatched from NAS Whidbey Island to...
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Help get all ballots counted quickly: Vote and return your ballot now. Sign your ballot return envelope. Mail your ballot by Oct. 30 so it’s postmarked no later than Nov. 5. Use a county dropbox. Place ballots in a drop box by 8 p.m. Nov. 5. La Conner-area election drop boxes: 614 Morris Street (in front of the old library) 17337 Reservation Road (Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Social Services Building) You can register to vote on Election Day. Voting information: register at VoteWa.gov. Skagit County E...
More rain than average fell in September, with the 1.6 inches of rain Sept. 25 almost as much rain as most Septembers have gotten this century, an average of 1.9 inches. For the month, 2 inches fell in just six days; the 0.2 inches on Sept. 14 was the only other precipitation greater than a tenth of an inch. After no rain the first nine days, it rained four of the next five days, with four events under 0.01 inch. The 2 inches of rain was the ninth year of at least 2 inches of precipitation....
Emergencies and natural disasters are no fun, but planning for them can be. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community proved as much with its second annual Emergency Preparedness Fair at John K. Bob Ball Park on Oct. 17. The event was a festive affair with fun demonstrations (the one featuring use of fire extinguishers was especially popular), blaring rock-n-roll music, a food truck and giveaways of home emergency-related items. Flu and Covid vaccinations were also made available to those...
The Board of Skagit County Commissioners adopted an interim ordinance Sept. 23 imposing a moratorium on the acceptance of permits for electrical energy generation or storage facilities on Skagit farmland. The moratorium is for six months and may be extended. The Skagit County Planning Commission is considering a new ordinance for electrical energy generation and storage facilities on lands zoned Ag-NRL (natural resource land). County commissioners are concerned that the prospect of new regulation could cause a rush of new permit applications....
The community group working to secure the future of the La Conner Weekly News now has an interim board of directors and a name that reflects its mission: La Conner Community News. Board President Andrew Ashmore said the group has completed its articles of incorporation with the state and can now do business. It has an Employee Identification Number for the IRS. Tillinghast Postal & Business Center is providing a free mailbox. A Gmail account will soon be active. Joining Ashmore on the interim board are Jerry Willins, vice president; John...
Thanksgiving came a month early for members of La Conner's planning commission. Mayor Marna Hanneman expressed her thanks at their Oct. 15 meeting for the role they and others played in the conversion of downtown First Street to one-way southbound traffic. "I want to thank everyone," Hanneman said at the outset of the 75-minute public session at Maple Hall. "It's a miracle. It was a team effort on First Street." Hanneman and Fire Chief/Code Enforcement Officer Aaron Reinstra were among those...
The shorthanded La Conner Emergency Management Commission managed some heavy lifting last week. Commissioners Doug Asbe and Jerry George at their Oct. 15 meeting took a deep dive into a risk analysis of various emergency scenarios listed in a draft community Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan due for completion by the end of the year. They were joined by Administrator Scott Thomas, who called the 75-minute session “a productive meeting” after the trio discussed challenges posed by some 20 potential disaster threats ranging from storm sur...
The Mount Vernon Library Commons library opened Tuesday. Hours are 10 a.m-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m-4 p.m. Saturday. Use the main entrance on the corner of Kincaid and Second streets. Park in the lot at the old library on Snoqualmie Street. Visit and use the library. Some services may be unavailable until construction is completed. The parking garage and conference center are closed....
Karl Olson gave up hunting and sports a quarter-century ago in favor of distance walking. The former La Conner resident has for an even longer time been tracking steps taken to protect the rights and improve the quality of life for members of the developmentally disabled community. All too often, said Olson, a member of La Conner High School’s class of 1988, progress has been measured in baby steps. Olson believes that despite passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and related state and federal legislation, more can and should be d...
It is October in the western Skagit Valley and that means that tens of thousands of snow geese have migrated down from Wrangel Island in Russia for the winter. These immigrants will be flocking to farm fields, areas set aside as refuges and other lands they spot....
YOU CAN HELP La Conner Kiwanis and the La Conner High School student body are sponsoring a Halloween blood drive from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Landy James Gym. Your donation will preserve a life. Visit bloodworksnw.org, then go to its donor portal and search for La Conner. Please call if you have clinical questions, Dorothy, RN 360-431-9234, or about required registration, Lori, 360-630-0809. HEADS UP Skagit Habitat for Humanity will break ground on three new affordable homes in La Conner. Come to the corner of S. Third and Cal...
La Conner is no one-horse town. But on Saturday it was a one Brahma bull town, and proud of it. "Little Wick," a 4-year-old purebred Brahma steer, made his way that morning up the Washington Street hill, avoiding the new one-way traffic flow downtown, to take part in the opening of the much-anticipated Wick Peth exhibit at the Skagit County Historical Museum. The late Wick Peth, of a La Conner and Burlington area pioneer family, was a legendary bullfighter who brought athleticism to rodeo...
Total turn around. The $68,591 reported in sales tax revenues to the La Conner Town Council in September by the state’s Department of Revenue is the highest ever for the month, $5,315 above last year’s, and the second highest total in 2024. After below normal collection totals four of the first five months this year, sales taxes the last three months total $203,359, 42.7% of the year’s total and putting the town on course to meet this projected income for the year. Likewise, the $6,798 firetruck sales tax receipts are a record for the month...
Great staff, great results: The La Conner Weekly News won 37 WNPA best newspaper awards at the annual Better Newspaper Contest of Washington's community newspapers, a bit short of doubling last year's total of 21. More individuals, 14, won in more categories. Weekly News staff swept first, second and third place five times, including art reviews, art features and general and topical columns. Bill Reynolds led with 11 certificates, with first place for a news and an education story. He shared...
The candidates vying to represent Washington in the U.S. Senate went head-to-head Oct. 8 at a debate in Spokane, sparring over affordability, immigration, foreign affairs and fentanyl. Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell and Republican Raul Garcia, a Yakima emergency room doctor, met at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center at Gonzaga University for a debate hosted by The Spokesman-Review in partnership with Gonzaga University, KSPS, the Black Lens and the Washington State Debate Coalition. It was the first debate between the two...
During the week they shifted historic South First Street one-way southbound traffic flow, La Conner’s leaders put the brakes on any free-wheeling budget plans for 2025. Town Administrator Scott Thomas shared a tight financial forecast with Town Council members at their Oct. 8 meeting, confirming projections submitted in writing by Mayor Marna Hanneman. “This is a tight budget year,” Thomas stressed. “Inflationary costs have risen dramatically. Expenses are going up. I’ve told the staff this is a year that we have to cut and choose....
The state’s Public Disclosure Commission issued a fine of $20,000 Oct. 9, half of it suspended on certain conditions, finding political action committee Let’s Go Washington violated state campaign finance laws. The PDC found that LGW failed to report subcontractors used by signature-gathering firms and failed to produce campaign records when requested by PDC. The decision and order includes: “LGW has an obligation to inquire and confirm whether its contractors have used subcontractors. Failing to ask or failing to follow up on a contr...
BREW WAS SAMPLED CLOSE TO THIS SLOUGH - Visitors young and not so young flocked to Maple Hall Saturday for the La Conner Chamber of Commerce's first Brew on the Slough since 2019. There were 12 breweries pouring, a room full of people tasting, and the CC Adams Band performing. Plus a silent auction to raise money for the Chamber....
Why are you seeking office? This is a moderate district that expects its legislative leaders to bring people together to find practical and bipartisan solutions that best serve our community. As we see our nation become increasingly polarized, I'm proud to continue to work across the aisle to serve our community and state. I am committed to building bridges that help connect diverse people, groups and communities within our District and finding points of bipartisan consensus. It's especially...
Why are you seeking office? I am running for State House LD10 Position 2 because I feel that with one party control in Olympia, we are not getting good policies. As an example, HB 1589 which my opponent voted for and coincidentally Democratic Lt. Gov. Denny Heck called "a hot mess" is one example. The Seattle Times just endorsed I-2066 stating "The legislature could have and should have done better". I think the fact that there were seven initiatives, four of which are on this year's ballot, is...
Why are you seeking office? With soaring costs, our economy isn't working for us. That's why I fought to lower property taxes for more seniors, veterans and people with disabilities; and cap medication costs. I increased retirement benefits for teachers and public employees; and funded affordable housing across our district. I'm 100% pro-choice, an environmental advocate and champion for veterans and military families. Over the past two years as your representative, I'm proud of the progress...
Why are you seeking office? If one's dishonest or outed during an election, why would anyone trust or listen to anything they say or plan to do? I believe LD-10 Position 1 deserves an individual who is honest and trustworthy to represent them. I believe as a We The People candidate, I wish to represent the citizens of LD-10, Washington state and America to the best of my abilities of bring common sense honesty with integrity to represent the community, state and country I love! How will you...
Why are you seeking office? My experience in business and governance has provided me with a broad understanding of important issues. I've lived and worked in this district my entire life, giving me an understanding of this district that few have. My moderate perspective and accountability-first attitude not only align with the values of this district but also enable me to work with legislators across the aisle to get things done. How will you increase funding for public school special e...
