Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Opinion


Sorted by date  Results 1152 - 1176 of 1886

Page Up

  • “Rest of” closed businesses story

    Aug 19, 2020

    For those of you who are old enough, here is the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say. Last week King 5 News did a piece that aired at 5, 6 and 11 o’clock on their news broadcast about La Conner losing nine businesses due to COVID 19. Their motto “We stand for Truth” certainly did not reflect that in this piece. They stood in front of Bears and Things as one of the businesses that went out because of COVID 19. That business has been “going out of business” for 10 years and after the owner passed last year, the building was sold. By...

  • Stand up for post office

    Aug 19, 2020

    To the Editor: There are institutions that, while I don’t think about them much, I rely on them and I expect them to be there. The United States Postal Service is one of these institutions. Maybe I take them for granted. Not any longer. The current changes being made at the USPS have woken me up. Maybe I can wake up others. I live in “greater La Conner” and the La Conner Weekly News doesn’t get here until Thursday. When Monday came and still no paper, I called. I was told others had called about late papers. The paper finally did arrive...

  • Vote for women a step toward justice

    Ken Stern|Aug 12, 2020

    Next Tuesday we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, women gaining the vote. Especially if we are white, we take universal suffrage for granted, that everyone can vote. No one alive today remembers when women did not have the vote, but for 131 years, from 1789 till August 18, 1920, women could not vote. That is more years denied the vote than having it. Women have pushed men into the social evolution of our society. Into the 20th century – depending on where you lived, which state – women were considered property,...

  • Women gaining vote in Washington took decades

    Aug 12, 2020

    By: Andrea Doll and Wende Sanderson This month, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Although women in our state had voting rights since 1910, that was not true for most other states in our country. It wasn’t until 1919 that Congress voted to pass the 19th amendment. And then it was up to the states to ratify. By August 1920,...

  • Library Friends are forever

    Aug 12, 2020

    My wife and I recently returned to La Conner after a ten-year absence while she directed the Alternative Program for Neah Bay High and Middle Schools, and I served on the community hospital board. Desperately needing a break from herding cardboard boxes of stuff that appeared to be breeding in our new home, we snuck over to the final sales day at the Library Thrift Store in early July. What a wonderful way to meet new, happy people. They called themselves “Friends of the Library,” and indeed they were that day and have valiantly been for som...

  • Voting for a decent man

    Aug 12, 2020

    In response to Mr. Morrell’s letter of last week, I hope that the residents of the 2,626 counties who voted for Donald J. Trump in 2016 will think twice before casting their ballots for him this year. It’s time to elect a decent man, one who unifies rather than divides, one who vows to tell the truth instead of peddling lies and one who is capable of true leadership instead of saying he takes “no responsibility” for the state of American affairs. Proudly, I will be casting my presidential vote for Joe Biden on Nov. 3. Ashley Sweeney Shelter...

  • Anacortes water bill

    Aug 12, 2020

    Each year the City of Anacortes reconciles what it costs to deliver water to its customers versus the budgeted cost. Operating costs for 2019 are scheduled for audit this month, with the reconciliation following soon thereafter. The cost of providing irrigation water is included in the overall cost, so that La Conner pays its share for providing this water to farmers, temporary hook-ups and in-city commercial and residential users. This is not fair. The cost of supplying irrigation water should be offset against the overall cost of operations...

  • Our Founding Fathers and the myth of fair representation of voters

    Aug 12, 2020

    British rule of America began in 1607. The Revolutionary War started in April 1775, before any declaration of independence by the 13 colonies. With almost no form of self-government, the colonies were compelled to meet as a Continental Congress in an effort to manage their war effort. Our Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, proclaiming that “(A)ll men are created equal,” and citing “(M)any injuries and usurpations,” including no right of representation in the legislature. Despite the historic importance of the Declara...

  • Racism in Shelter Bay

    Aug 12, 2020

    Recently a neighbor here in Shelter Bay, a person of color, told us that he was out for a walk in the community when a white stranger accosted him to ask what he was doing there. The stranger told our neighbor that he didn’t look like anyone who lived in the community, and then the stranger demanded that our neighbor account for himself. We are infuriated and embarrassed to learn that an apparently out-and-proud racist is despoiling our beautiful neighborhood, and we refuse to tolerate it quietly. More importantly than what it might do to p...

  • Wants Stompin Grounds open

    Aug 12, 2020

    Stompin’ Grounds Coffee shop has been given notice their lease will not be renewed. Apparently this is due to discrepancies about enforcing masks. La Conner has lost nine businesses due to the virus. There will undoubtedly more before the virus is brought under control or runs its course. Stomping Grounds is one of the few businesses that has done well these last few months. It is popular for locals, visitors and school children. In short, it has become a draw to La Conner. To drive stomping Grounds out of business is unfortunate, not only f...

  • The numbers add up

    Ken Stern|Aug 5, 2020

    Coronavirus cases in Skagit County topped 800 – 826 – Monday. County deaths are at 21, a 40% increase in four weeks, from a total of 15 on July 7, a figure that had held steady since May 15. These are both high and increasing numbers. This is bad, and bad news, and not just for the infected people and their families, friends and employers. An early July outbreak at the Mira Vista elder care facility accounts for the deaths. The huge jump in cases – the count was 449 on June 5, the day the County moved into phase 2 of the...

  • For Bill Bruch

    Aug 5, 2020

    I am writing because of things written about Bill Bruch. I want to share with you what I know about Bill. I am a retired criminal attorney. I moved to Washington five years ago. A friend from the church I joined asked me to attend a Republican meeting in Skagit County. After that meeting I went to the Republican Office where I met Bill, the Chairman of the Skagit County Republican Party. In the past five years I have had many conversations with Bill, including when I did not agree with him on an issue. Bill always listened. Bill is very...

  • Finds press partisan

    Aug 5, 2020

    In its final issue before Tuesday’s election, the eight-page La Conner Weekly News published a cover story and four letters attacking – and even slandering – a candidate for the state legislature. With no chance of rebuttal, Bill Bruch, a La Conner resident running for the state House of Representatives, was targeted by known Democrat operatives. This is because Bruch, a Republican, along with the more than a quarter million people who signed the R-90 petition, is opposed to the mandatory sex education law pushed forward by his r...

  • Republican candidates truly for veterans

    Aug 5, 2020

    Dear Editor: Every two years democratic representatives tell us how much they support our veterans. This reminder always seems to coincide with the election cycle. Their advertisements are filled with platitudes towards veterans. These carefully scripted words are aimed to get the veteran’s vote but are soon forgotten after the elections only to be recycled for the next election. As the wife of a retired veteran of 28 years, I have witnessed this behavior over and over again by the Democrats. I am reminded of the poem by Rudyard Kipling, ...

  • Bruch against mandatory sex ed

    Aug 5, 2020

    Dear Editor: I just read the hit piece you printed in your paper on Bill Bruch, candidate for Legislative District 10 regarding his position on the mandatory sex education bill. It was clear from the article that its author had not done a thorough review of the actual curriculum being mandated. The point of view expressed was that the curriculum was age appropriate. I would hazard a guess that most of the folks supporting this appalling curriculum have never looked at it much less taken the time to read the entire thing. While there are some...

  • Make new park family friendly

    Aug 5, 2020

    (Sent to La Conner Town Council and Mayor Ramon Hayes) I have been a long time resident (1986) of La Conner, although right now I live outside the town limits. I wish to encourage you in your plans to create a new park and residences on the property where the “ball fields” are presently located on Maple Street. I have always been impressed with how the residents and business owners of La Conner have managed their diverse and similar concerns over the last 40 years. There has been the creation of Maple Hall complex, the La Conner Retirement Inn...

  • For Electoral College

    Aug 5, 2020

    Dear Editor: Your editorial sounded like a disgruntled Clinton supporter searching for a way for Vice President. Joe Biden to win. The truth is our Founders (you know the ones whose statues are being torn down by “peaceful” far left protesters) created the Electoral College to ensure that all state residents were represented fairly. They did not think it would be fair for a few densely populated areas to speak for the whole nation. There are 3,141 counties in the U.S. and Trump won 3,084 of them. Abolishing the electoral college would in eff...

  • American exceptionalism?

    Aug 5, 2020

    “‘Stay away.’ ‘Biggest petri dish in the world.’ The view from Canada, of us, isn’t so nice.” That is the title of Danny Westneat’s column published in the Seattle Times July 26. Its essential point: Even though Canadians are friendly and hospitable, they don’t want visitors from here until we’re able to get the pandemic under control. Currently, every American is seen as a loaded vector of disease, and an overwhelming majority of Canadians want to keep the border with the U.S. closed through 2020. [link below] This is relevant to La Conn...

  • Muzzall for state Senate

    Aug 3, 2020

    I have known Helen Price Johnson for a long time, yet I’m throwing my complete support to Ron Muzzall for state Senate. Helen is a nice person, but she is not the leader we need in Olympia at this critical moment in our state’s history. Ron is! As a life-long resident and business leader in Legislative District 10, Ron Muzzall is someone who knows and has lived the issues we all face. The Democrats are for growing taxation, a push for early sex education in our schools and a heavy-handed state response to COVID19. Ron is the person who can bri...

  • Support Angie Homola

    Jul 31, 2020

    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...

  • Prawn Pasta

    Patricia Aqiimuk Paul|Jul 30, 2020

    Aqiimuk's Kitchen Food Editor [email protected]@laconnernews.com A quick meal to prepare with cooked prawns. I am using whole wheat spaghetti. I used a wok in the preparation of this dish. If you love pasta, this is a great comfort dish. Ingredients - Cooked prawns, two cups peeled - Spaghetti pasta, ½ pound - Garlic cloves, 6 chopped - Hot pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon - Olive oil, 1 to 2 tablespoons Preparation Prepare your pasta, drain. Using a wok, heat the olive oil and add the...

  • Toppling the big one

    Ken Stern|Jul 29, 2020

    There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root . . . — Henry David Thoreau, “Walden” Our biggest historical monument, built at the birth of the nation, bridging the north and southern sections of the newly conceived and named United States, is the Electoral College. Crafted as a political deal to gain southern votes to pass the Constitution, it is our most visible heritage of racism hiding in plain sight. Our Founding Fathers were politicians, first and last. In their time, they agreed to – a...

  • If I ran the zoo

    Mel Damski|Jul 29, 2020

    A priest and a rabbi are sitting together in the back seat of a taxicab on the way to an ecumenical event. The taxi gets side-swiped, jumps the curb and comes to a grinding halt. The priest and rabbi each jump out of the car and cross themselves. The priest is confused. “Rabbi, YOU, thanking the Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost?” “No Monsignor, just checking.” He goes through the motions again, crossing up and down and then sideways, narrating “Spectacles, testicles, wallet, watch.” H...

  • Bruch campaign shameful

    Jul 29, 2020

    “A lie told once remains a lie, but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth.” This chilling statement has been attributed to Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of propaganda. The campaign of Bill Bruch, candidate for the Washington House of Representatives in the 10th Legislative District, has evidently taken its message to heart. I realize that this is a serious charge, and I do not make it lightly. Once again, however, the Bruch campaign, in a sensationalistic, dishonest and scurrilous hit piece I received in the mail today, says of Bru...

  • Democrat beat up at Republican rally

    Jul 29, 2020

    Since when is it okay for our Republican candidates for high state office to stand by and watch while a group of their ardent supporters harass and then physically assault a member of the public attending an “all are welcome” 4th of July event in Oak Harbor? Yes, the victim Zach Wurst is a Democrat, but he was just sitting there quietly listening. What were the Republican candidates saying that was so secret – in a field next to Walmart, under a clear blue sky, with dozens of people listening – that they couldn’t let anyone recor...

Page Down