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It's not over till it's over. While the future of the La Conner Weekly News remains uncertain after this issue under Publisher Ken Stern, he remains hopeful. He is more so after a Tuesday morning phone call with Andrew Ashmore, board chair of the La Conner Community News community group that's seeking to buy the Weekly News. At a meeting with Ashmore, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association director Ellen Hiatt, and retired publisher Dave Gauger on Friday, Dec. 13, Ashmore tendered Stern an...
Ken Stern is moving on from what he calls his "best job ever" to a retirement that will likely involve travel near and far. Stern, after all, rarely ventured beyond what he calls the greater La Conner area during seven-and-a-half years as publisher of the community's weekly newspaper, which came to be defined by his topical, lively and – often by design – controversial editorials. "For seven years," Stern reflected last week, "I've been chained to my desk here in La Conner. I haven't seen anythi...
Once the Puget Sound Mail ruled the La Conner roost as the town's weekly newspaper, undergoing successive ownership changes from 1879 through and past Pat O'Leary's tenure, 1939-1973. Alan Pentz started the Channel Town Press in 1976 and outcompeted the Mail, which closed in 1982. Pentz ran a commercial print shop for additional income. After his death in 1990, his wife, Audrey, took over for the next 16 years. On Sept. 27, 2006, "We're Back!" was the lead page 1 headline, with Tim Dunlap as...
The miracle of Christmas came to La Conner early this year. On a day that began with fierce winds that brought down trees and power lines across Puget Sound and imposed choppy currents on local waterways, then ended with a cold, drizzly rain – and in some cases hail – a two-hour evening window of calm, comfortable weather emerged here. Clouds parted and the almost-full moon was plainly visible. It just so happened that last Saturday's respite from harsh wintry conditions coincided with the ann...
A detailed presentation, insightful questions and dreams of the future for La Conner's south waterfront and long underutilized former industrial area marked a nearly two-hour Dec. 11 public forum at Maple Hall. A large audience – at one point requiring Town Administrator Scott Thomas to set up additional chairs – attended the workshop, which explored potential zoning and code revisions and design concepts for the four-acre site commonly known as the old Moore-Clark property. Consultants Tom Bec...
It was more ho-hum than ho-ho-ho as the La Conner Town Council approved a $7 million 2025 municipal budget during its final meeting of the year. No public comment was offered at a budget hearing, part of the nearly hour-long Dec. 10 agenda at Maple Hall. “People come to the meetings here to talk about things and sometimes it can be fairly trivial,” Town Councilor Ivan Carlson noted wryly, “so I’m surprised that no one is here to speak to the proposed budget.” Mayor Marna Hanneman had a ready explanation. “Either we’re doing a great job,” H...
La Conner is closing Town Hall at 3 p.m. today, Dec. 18. Town Hall will open at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, its normal hour....
LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.laconnerswinomishlibrary.org/events. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Closed Sundays. Storytime for Children, 11 a.m. Fridays. Tech Help Mondays, 3-5 p.m. Get 30 minutes of one-on-one technical help. Must register. After-school LEGO club, ages 5 and up, 3-4 p.m., second Fridays monthly. Mount Vernon Public Library. 208 W. Kincaid St., Mount Vernon. 360-336-6209, mountver...
La Conner's favorite tourist is an early riser who also enjoys the local nightlife. Santa Claus, the renowned North Pole toymaker who makes visits to La Conner a winter priority, was in town early on Saturday to greet local children and partake in the local Rotary Club's annual pancake breakfast fundraiser. Following a ride on La Conner's vintage white 1941 fire truck, Santa appeared after nightfall at Gilkey Square for the much-anticipated Chamber of Commerce Christmas tree lighting. Whether...
Once there were two newspapers in La Conner. Soon there will be none. The pending closure of the La Conner Weekly News and retirement of its owner, Publisher and Editor Ken Stern, is the latest headline – though hardly a joyous one – from a robust local journalism tradition dating to the 1870s. The story begins, oddly enough, in Bellingham with James Power, who established himself as a politician and newspaperman of note before Washington became a state. Power published the Bellingham Bay Mail,...
Town revenue golden for ’24 The Town of La Conner’s $58,133 in November sales tax receipts raised the year’s total above $600,000, 98.5% of the 2024 budget. As in the past three years, the town will again exceed its sales tax revenue goal after December is reported. Hotel/Motel tax revenues have already beaten the budget by a larger amount in 2024, at $187,102, 33.3% above the $140,400 projection. November’s totals were $20,919, almost 10% above 2023 and the second highest November total ever, same as the month’s sales tax revenues. The same...
La Conner Schools officials joined colleagues throughout Skagit County Dec. 5 in assigning homework to state lawmakers for the 2025 legislative session. The county’s school administrators and board members asked legislators during an hour-long webinar on Thursday to explore strategies for increased funding support of crucial academic services. Anacortes School District Superintendent Justin Irish moderated. La Conner Superintendent David Cram spoke directly to the lawmakers, citing fiscal stress caused by soaring costs related to special educat...
The Dec. 3 planning commission meeting featured coming attractions related to potential redevelopment of La Conner’s former south end industrial area. Commissioners previewed proposed revitalization plans for the four-acre site that will be shared by consultant Tom Beckwith and his team at a public workshop at Maple Hall tonight at 6 p.m. Beckwith guided commissioners through a nearly hour-long presentation on concepts for the once bustling industrial zone. The Moore-Clark fish feed plant with its massive Victorian era warehouse dominated t...
Better safe than sorry. That’s the mantra embraced by members of the La Conner Emergency Management Commission, which oversaw flood barrier placement along the downtown waterfront and in low-lying areas the past two king tide seasons and recently reviewed La Conner’s emergency operations center at Town Hall. “King tides are not a problem themselves,” Chairman Doug Asbe reminded commissioners during their Dec. 3 meeting at Maple Hall, “but in combination with low atmospheric pressure, winds and the inflow of fresh water from the Skagit Ri...
for battery energy storage system The Skagit County hearing examiner will hold a public hearing 9 a.m. Dec. 20 to consider a special use permit application from NextEra Energy to develop a battery energy storage system near the Port of Skagit. The project would be located on 22.6 acres, on property zoned Bayview Ridge Heavy Industrial in the Bayview Ridge Urban Growth Area and would be capable of storing up to 200 megawatt hours of energy for a 4-hour duration. The BESS would provide increased power capacity and grid resiliency for Skagit...
With about three weeks left in flood season, Skagit County Dike District 1 commissioners are feeling pretty good. Fields are soggy, but no “pineapple express” storm has overwhelmed the Skagit River system. If one comes, the dikes will be in good shape – and a new agreement will help prevent future flooding by keeping more water behind Ross Dam, northeast of Newhalem. Each year District 1 invests two-thirds of its annual budget in maintenance and reinforcement of dikes on the west side of the Skagit River between Avon Allen Road and the North...
HEADS UP Town of La Conner public workshop on the use of the Commercial Transition Zone, aka the Moore Clark Area, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, in Maple Hall, 104 Commercial St. Info: www.townoflaconner.org. Join us again at Pioneer Park as we remove invasive English ivy, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Dec. 14, rain AND shine. We’ll meet at the top of Fourth Street, near the water tower gate. More info: [email protected]. Holiday origami ornaments with Mike Berry, 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Museum of Northwest Art, 121 S. First St. C...
News scoop: Santa's advance schedule of early La Conner visits has been leaked to the Weekly News. Parents, are these times on your calendar? Saturday morning Santa will be posing for photos at Maple Hall when the Rotary Club of La Conner holds its annual Santa Breakfast, 8-11 a.m. Dec. 7. Breakfast is $10 and $5 children, with those under 5 eating free. There is no charge for photos, but donations will help support the La Conner Rotary Club's literacy initiatives. In past years this was a...
The effort by the La Conner Community News group to purchase the La Conner Weekly News and secure its future into 2025 and beyond appears to have fallen short, but not for lack of effort. Unless an angel investor comes forward in the next two weeks, the final issue of the La Conner Weekly News under publisher Ken Stern will hit the streets and mailboxes on Dec. 18. "It's a sad day for La Conner," Mayor Marna Hanneman said. "It takes a village and when something important in the village goes, it...
History is full of mysteries and a good one focuses on a collection of old photographs stored for decades in the attic of a rural La Conner home. Steve Thein, of Landing Road southeast of town, came across the studio-quality black-and-white prints while clearing space to insulate his attic. The photos, judging from hairstyles and clothing fashions they reveal, appear to date from the early to mid-20th century. Some photos are identified only by first name, others not at all. Only a few photos ar...
Another high-rain month in November, 4.8 inches worth, with 1 inch falling the first two days. The 0.9 inch storm Nov. 1 was the highest single-day amount. Fourteen days in a row of rain Nov. 9-22 dropped 3 inches, with most of it, 1.9 inches, Nov. 17-22. The month's last large rain event was 0.4 inches Nov. 25. Seventeen of the 20 rain days were 0.1 inches or more. Six were at least 0.36 inches. Five years since 2015 November has had at least 5.6 inches of rain. Ten times since 2011 at least...
It was a La Conner Town Council meeting that nearly wasn’t. The Nov. 26 session at Maple Hall was almost scuttled due to lack of a quorum among the five-members. Councilmembers Ivan Carlson, Mary Wohleb and Annie Taylor were absent as the 6 p.m. start time approached. Fortunately, Taylor – who Mayor Marna Hanneman said was under the weather – shook off the effects of fatigue and illness and arrived to save the day 10 minutes later. “We’ll try to make this as short as possible,” the mayor stressed, as Taylor took her seat, “so that Annie ca...
The Town of La Conner has scheduled a public workshop on Dec. 11 to hear citizen feedback on future uses of the Commercial Transition Zone, also known as the Moore Clark Area. The Moore Clark warehouse dominates the area south of Town Hall and west of the South Third Street public parking lot. Draft concepts for the area will be presented. Consultant Tom Beckwith and his team have crafted revitalization scenarios. Zoning changes will likely be made to encourage development. The meeting will be...
Sound Defense Alliance invites the public to attend an online listening session at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, to discuss how the U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler jets based on Whidbey Island affect their lives. To talk about or hear personal experiences with the Navy's EA-18G Growler jets, go to www.sounddefensealliance.org/events and sign up as a storyteller or listener. This event is free. Sound Defense Alliance uses its listening sessions to learn about the diverse impacts the jets have on people...
State Route 20, the North Cascades Highway, has closed for the season due to adverse conditions and avalanche risk, Washington State Department of Transportation announced Nov. 18. The highway is closed the 37 miles between Ross Dam trailhead (milepost 134) on the west side and Silver Star gate on the east side (milepost 171)...
