Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 3011
Skagit County’s collaborative effort in the Great ShakeOut 2024 includes the county government, sheriff’s office, the cities of Anacortes, Burlington, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley, the towns of Concrete, Hamilton, Lymon and La Conner, the Skagit County Fire Chiefs Association, Skagit County Dike District Consortium, Skagit 911 and Skagit County Emergency Medical Services The Great ShakeOut drill is Oct. 17 at 10:17 a.m. and aims to educate and prepare the community for the possibility of an earthquake. Tsunami sirens will sound and an ale...
OLYMPIA —Following a public process, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission voted Oct. 10 to keep the cabins at Cama Beach Historical State Park permanently closed. Significant septic and infrastructure failures led to the closure of the cabins and other buildings in the beach area of park in February 2024. In addition to this issue, impacts of rising sea levels have damaged buildings in the area. Data shows these impacts will only increase in the coming years. There are also known cultural and historical complexities that i...
I am a border in Mexico. I am a border in Gaza. I am a child getting shot through a border fence as I play in the sand. I am a word. I am a phosphorous cloud. I am a sprinkling of stars. I am an echocardiogram. I am the smell of a pony. I am a poem with "promises to keep / and miles to go before I sleep." The Skagit River Poetry Foundation's biannual festival Oct. 4-5 at Maple Hall and other venues around La Conner inspired the above paragraph. The festival was attended Friday morning by over...
MOUNT VERNON - The four candidates for two county commissioner seats were tested with a lightning round question-and-answer format during a one-hour Skagit League of Women Voters public forum Monday night. Final grades on their candidacies will be issued by voters after mail-in ballots are returned. A large crowd of close to 100 squeezed into the Skagit PUD's Aqua Room for the briskly paced event, in which opening and closing statements by challengers Richard Brocksmith and Rylee Fleury and...
By Ken Stern OLYMPIA – Four Skagit County organizations won $2.8 million in grants, 5.6% of the $50.3 million the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board awarded for 145 projects across the state to improve habitat for salmon, steelhead and bull trout, the board announced Sept. 30. Almost half ($21.6 million) was funded through the Climate Commitment Act and targeted restoration of shorelines and riverbanks – riparian areas – essential to salmon. Forested riparian areas create micro...
The Center Square — Incumbent Chris Reykdal and Peninsula School Board member David Olson found some common ground during Saturday’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction debate at the Bellevue Public Library. Both think the state’s funding model for public education is flawed. “Our state only spends about 3.1% of its GDP on education, and the national average is 3.6%,” said Reykdal, who is running for a third term. “Even with all the gains we made over the last seven or eight years, we still only barely got close to the national av...
The Concrete Herald is for sale, Publisher and Editor Jason Miller announced in the October editorial of his monthly newspaper. “After more than 15 years at the helm, I’ve decided to pass our hometown newspaper to its next caretaker,” his editorial starts. Interested? Call Miller at 360-630-4603....
A jigsaw approach was taken to solve the puzzle that is the old Moore Clark property at a Sept. 30 public forum. Attendees at the three-hour workshop at Maple Hall divided into three breakout rooms to brainstorm and then report to the whole group potential future uses for the former fish food production plant and adjoining parcels in what was once La Conner's bustling south waterfront industrial hub. The consulting team charged with drafting a plan for revitalizing the 4-acre area, which has...
The process to create community ownership of the La Conner Weekly News is moving forward following the Sept. 25 community meeting that drew more than 60 interested people. A small group from that meeting gathered Oct. 3 at the La Conner Swinomish Library to start the next steps of organization and fundraising. Andrew Ashmore has been spearheading the community effort, and he expects more people will offer to help or serve in some capacity. He said the meeting focused on creating an interim...
The Town of La Conner Planning Commission resumed it review of updates to elements of the town’s comprehensive plan at their Oct. 1 meeting in Maple Hall. The emphasis was on changes to the land-use and transportation elements. The downtown First Street switch to one-way southbound traffic came up, a change that went into effect today. “I, for one, am convinced that making First Street one-way will be a tremendous advantage,” Planning Director Michael Davolio said. Davolio and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills said that First Street traffic flow...
Port of Skagit Commissioner Steve Omdal died unexpectedly Sept. 28. Omdal was first elected as a Port of Skagit Commissioner representing District 2 in 2012. His motivation for seeking the position was to bring new ideas and a “for profit” business background to enhance the ability of the port to improve economic development opportunities for all Skagit County residents, Port Communications Director Linda Tyler said in a news release announcing Omdal’s death. Omdal grew up on a dairy and crop farm in Bow. The experience helped him embra...
Food for thought was on the agenda for the La Conner School Board's Monday luncheon meeting. Board members and district administrators met separately with two student groups over pizza to elicit input on campus topics ranging from attendance and preferred teaching styles to areas in need of improvement, class sizes and schedules and the new cell phone free zone policy. "It was really good feedback," board president Susie Deyo told the Weekly News afterward. "It was very positive. It's always...
Defending Washington’s election system against cyberthreats and misinformation campaigns has been a dominant theme in this year’s contest for secretary of state. This was the case again Oct. 1 when Democrat Steve Hobbs, the incumbent and Republican Dale Whitaker, the challenger, debated in Edmonds. Hobbs, of Lake Stevens, was serving as a state senator when, in 2021, Gov. Jay Inslee tapped him to be secretary of state after Republican Kim Wyman left to work for an election security post in President Joe Biden’s Administration. At that momen...
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. LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.laconnerswinomishlibrary.org/events. Open 10 a.m.-6...
When La Conner High School alum Margaret Hillard earned her college degree in human services, little did she know how apropos that major would prove. What she couldn't have predicted then was landing a position in her hometown that was both service-oriented and involved tapping the human aspect of community development. Hillard has been the guiding force at the La Conner Senior Center for the past seven years, a tenure that justified her decision to go back to school in middle age. "I interviewe...
It’s Flood Awareness Week in Skagit County and statewide, running Oct. 7-11. Check out the Flood Awareness Week insert in this issue of the La Conner Weekly News. Flooding has been a serious concern in Skagit County since the late 1800s, with the threat of extreme flooding generally occurring between October and March. Measures have been taken throughout the years to reduce the risk of flood damage in the valley. “The Skagit Valley is prone to flooding each year and we urge community members to take precaution and be prepared,” said Peter...
Everyone has a chance to prepare for an earthquake at 10:17 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, when people across the state of Washington – and internationally – get to practice. Millions of people worldwide will participate in earthquake drills at work, school or home. The Washington website from shakeout.org has webpages for “learn(ing) the latest,” planning your drill, checking the stats for finding that one million Washingtonians have signed up – and how many nationally and worldwide are participating – and apps for playing and sharing. Register fo...
About 60 La Conner area residents filled the Civic Garden Club Sept. 25 to consider the future of the La Conner Weekly News. Publisher Ken Stern, 69, has made clear his plans to retire in December, after seven-and-a-half years of ownership. In his efforts to sell the newspaper over the last two years, he's had several nibbles from prospective buyers, but "it hasn't gone very far," he said. None has made an offer for the business, priced at $250,000, which is less than its 2023 gross revenue of m...
Residents and tourists alike will find that vehicles only travel south on La Conner's First Street starting next Wednesday, Oct. 9. Since early September, Town of La Conner staff have been promoting First Street will become one way southbound, and Commercial Street will become one way eastbound. The change was made from widespread concern for public safety. The larger size of today's vehicles that park on both sides of the street impede first responders' equipment in emergencies. This week La...
Well over 500 Mount Vernon and Skagit County residents cheered the ribbon cutting ceremony of the $61 million Mount Vernon Library Commons building Saturday morning. The loudest acclaim and applause throughout the program were recognizing city and HKP architectural firm and other contractors' staff. Jill Boudreau, Mount Vernon mayor from 2011-2023 and project administrator for the Mount Vernon Library Commons since 2023, was the master of ceremonies. She received a standing ovation as well as a...
A Louisiana-style dinner served in La Conner last Thursday boasted a distinctly Skagit Valley flavor. The second annual Genuine Skagit Valley Tidewater Boil at the Port of Skagit's La Conner Marina featured many of the area's favorite farm and sea-based foods and beverages in a setting akin to a Gulf Coast shindig. Held under a large tent on a damp and chilly late September night, the event served as a celebration of Skagit cuisine and formally honored the valley's food producers. The Tidewater...
Tom Beckwith warmed up for the past Monday night public workshop on the south-end revitalization project with a 20-minute presentation at the Sept. 24 Town Council meeting at Maple Hall. Beckwith, hired to craft a blueprint for rezoning and development of the formerly bustling 4-acre industrial area, having shared his insights with the town's planning, parks, arts and emergency management commissions, again stressed that his team will address market potential and feasibility for the area,...
La Conner’s housing crunch is longstanding, but apparently not yet so severe that town officials approve all potential remedies. The town planning staff had recommended denial of a bid by applicant Jason Lindeman to convert part of the Slider’s Cafe building on Morris Street, formerly a full-service fuel station, to long-term residential use before the proposal was to be considered by hearing examiner David Lowell. The applicant subsequently withdrew the application. “Applicants always have the choice whether to continue or rescind an appli...
The Leagues of Women Voters of Washington and Seattle-King County will present the candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction in a public debate at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5. This debate will be held at the Bellevue Public Library, 1111 110th Ave. NE, Bellevue. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. The debate will be in person and will be recorded and livestreamed by TVW. The public is invited to attend. The debate offers voters a chance to ask the candidates questions and hear their answers regarding how they would do the job of Superintendent of...
Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs opened a secure portal for all Washington residents, public employees, and state retirees to donate to Hurricane Helene relief efforts. The Disaster Relief Center, a special function of the Secretary of State’s Combined Fund Drive, provides links for one-time donations to verified and registered crisis-relief charities during periods of natural or humanitarian disasters that exceed a region’s capacity to provide help. Hurricane Helene left catastrophic destruction in its wake across the southern Uni...
