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Home Trust of Skagit is a community land trust that serves all of Skagit County. Currently, we are serving 28 homeowners and 18 renters. Home Trust of Skagit offers affordable homes now and preserves that affordability for future homebuyers. Our goal is to have homes in neighborhoods and communities throughout Skagit County (preferably near community transit routes) and to provide opportunities for both homeownership and affordable rentals. With a healthy mix of housing types and home sizes available, we strive to serve those earning up to 80%...
The Rexville Grange is so grateful for the many inquiries and requests to help support or join our local Grange hall. Our thanks to Anne Basye, Ken Stern and the La Conner Weekly News for highlighting the history of this unique community hall and explaining some of our current concerns (Weekly News May 1 and 8). We are so pleased to hear from many of our neighbors and new friends willing to help us grow into a bright future. Reach us at [email protected]. Thank you. Rexville Grange board president Greater La Conner...
Thank you, Maggie, for your letter addressing concerns about Glyphosate / Roundup and the considerable and the enormous dangers to our environment. I would like to support that with some additional information. In 2016, Monsanto was taken to the World Court in the Hague and found guilty of health crimes against humanity and the environment, among other things. The suit was brought by over 1,000 international organizations including the Organic Consumers Association; Greenpeace; Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights; Ecoworld of Scandinavia;...
Wind energy – both on land and offshore – has been falling in cost almost as dramatically as solar power. It’s down well over 90% since 2000. The relevant technologies are still improving. Furthermore, wind has some advantages over other forms of electricity generation, including other renewable generation systems. For instance, wind generators can be installed in far more places than hydroelectric or geothermal generation plants, both of which require very specific geology. On average, a well-...
If there is fault to be had and people to be held accountable for the state auditor’s staff finding shortcomings in the oversight of the La Conner Rural Partial County Library District – for that is what the library’s official name is – that fault lies with all the Skagit County commissioners for the years and decades of a lack of vision and leadership that has allowed all residents countywide to languish with antiquated, piecemeal and completely underfunded and understaffed independent municipal and partial county library districts. It is no...
Almost 50 years ago I extracted myself from a life and livelihood in our nearest metropolis to follow a dream, a soul mandate, to live in Skagit Valley. A decade earlier, when I was 16 years old, I’d seen it for the first time and its beauty kept calling: those flat vistas, miles of mist and farmland. As the greening of this place happens once again and we celebrate this season, let me, please, rain a bit on your parade by mentioning something your sense of beauty, indeed none of your senses, will be good at detecting: Glyphosate. While Mons...
Well, I don’t need to write what is happening in our own country and around the world. Unless one is living under a rock, or is deliberately denying what is before our very eyes each day, we clearly see the U.S. and other countries are in a world of hurt. The only solution, in my opinion, is: we better turn back to the God of the universe, repent of our sins and let God back into our individual lives, our government, our schools, our business ventures, etc. In other words, recognize He is God and we desperately need Him. He is the answer. We a...
What a weekend we had, weatherwise. Saturday was perfect for the Skagit County Master Gardeners plant sale and so tomato plant seekers were lined up at 6:30 a.m. at the county fairgrounds. Sunday was perhaps better, a gift to mothers and their families to make Mom’s day a picnic, or at least opportunities to go for a walk. Highs were in the 70s May 9-12 and after 1.9 inches of rain May 2, skies have been mostly blue. It is almost like Oregon, if not quite California. Maybe we don’t want too much sunshine too soon or for too long. But that is...
Knowing what to believe these days can be a challenge. From AI-generated images and text to blatant disinformation from political campaigns and foreign governments, the number of scams, spoofs and charlatans seems to be never-ending. However, there are those who continue to stand against the tide of false information, men and women who will continue to seek truth and report it, without fear or favor. I recently worked with some of these people to highlight the importance of local news, during the April 29 forum hosted by the League of Women...
Mr. Doerflinger last week accused the editor of this paper of “outrage and personal insults against some (Supreme Court) justices” (“More light, less heat on court,” letter, May 8). I looked back and could not find examples that would justify his accusations. Yes, the editor has found fault with the court, for good reason. Certain justices appear to have been influenced by gifts and associations. The taint of corruption has stained the image of the current court. Add to that the fact that, while president, Donald Trump appointed three of the ju...
I am heartsick every time I see a wounded or dead child injured in the Israeli attack on Hamas. I sit in sorrow for a time, then I realize why they are suffering just like the children in Germany in World War II. The residents of Germany supported murderous leaders like Hamas who taught hate for Jews and dedicated their lives to killing every Jew and driving them from the face of the earth. The so-called Palestinians unequivocally support Hamas in their efforts. Hamas fighters slaughtered, raped tortured and killed 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 and...
For most of the last 10 years, electric consumption in Washington has been relatively flat or even falling. Innovative technologies like LED lighting and heat pumps have been replacing less efficient incandescent lighting and the older generation of HVAC systems. Moderate weather, on average, in both winter and summer has also flattened electric loads. Some Washington utilities have been concerned that falling demand would affect their ability maintain their systems without substantial rate...
Last Saturday some 13 people – mostly La Conner residents, along with Channel Drive and Pull and Be Damned neighbors and the Home Trust of Skagit executive director – met Mayor Marna Hanneman at the La Conner Swinomish Library for her monthly community check-in. There were mostly familiar faces around the conference room table. These residents have attended Hanneman’s earlier library gatherings, as many of them joined in town-organized community mingles on short-term rentals, First Street parking and the town-acquired Jenson property. That...
A leading theme of the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council has been “reading the signs of the times.” The signs of the times are clear: human dignity is under grave threat. The Vatican has issued an important new declaration on human dignity. “Dignitas Infinita” is the title of this 23-page document. In its preface, Pope Francis explicitly asked that the document “highlight topics closely connected to the theme of dignity, such as poverty, the situation of migrants, violence against women, human trafficking, war and other the...
I have been living here just a year now, but my neighbors and the community as a whole have been so open, friendly and inviting that I feel totally at home here. One of the things I truly love about our town is its “walkability.” The beautiful new Swinomish La Conner Library is just a few blocks away, with a steep hill to get my heart rate up on the return trip. And what a wonderful place it is to visit. Not only do they offer a lifetime of fiction and non-fiction books to read, but magazines, DVDs, events and programs for all ages. A new exp...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent questioning of attorneys on both sides in the Trump immunity case has provoked outrage, and personal insults against some justices, by our esteemed editor (Weekly News, May 1). But the Court made it clear months ago that it may not give an outright “win” to either side, by framing the question before it as “whether, and to what extent,” a president is immune from criminal prosecution for acts while holding office. One appellate court said Trump was not immune from prosecution for any of the acts cited by prosec...
This moment, Superintendent Will Nelson’s resignation is an opportunity for the La Conner Schools. I am in full agreement with the assessment by the school board, to focus within the district instead of initiating a search for a replacement. With school funds low, the financial outlay of a search and the salary of a superintendent are funds better spent focused on what already exists and lessening the load placed on staff members due to the funding shortage. Experts in their fields; David Cram, director of finance and operations, and Beth C...
I was sorry to read in last week’s Weekly News concerning the Jenson property (“Residents engage,” May 1) that there was only minimal interest in housing. What worries me is that without diversity La Conner wouldn’t be the rich connection community it is today. People who have received a hand up from supporters of the arts and the appreciation of that diversity. Creative, brilliant people that gave La Conner its diversity and flavor. La Conner is built on the history of our heroes: People who lived on Pull and Be Damned, Fishtown, the marsh....
A bedrock principle of our society is the rule of law. The cliches are true because they are fundamental to justice: A nation of laws, not of men. And, of course, no man is above the law. But every red-blooded American knows that everyone gets the amount of justice that they can pay for. And when you are a billionaire ex-president who has appointed three Supreme Court justices, not only are the books cooked, but the defendant has aces in his back pocket as well as up his sleeve. Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments over former President...
A little perspective: In 1869 bearded men in tall black hats whacked in a golden spike completing the Transcontinental Railway at Provo, Utah, establishing the first sit-down transportation between the East Coast and San Francisco. In January of the following year a magnitude 9 earthquake set off a flood that drowned Native coastal villages from mid California to the northern tip of Vancouveer Island. In short, it was a whopper; but almost completely unrecognized for over 100 years. In January 1700, the offshore portion of that fault fractured...
At its recent convention in Spokane, the Republican Party’s endorsement committee removed gubernatorial candidate Semi Bird’s name from consideration due to Mr. Bird’s failure to disclose a prior federal conviction for bank larceny. This action by the state committee resulted in such a chaotic uproar from the Bird supporters in attendance that the committee removed the governor’s endorsement entirely from consideration. Once again, Bird’s supporters vociferously objected. As a result, former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, the leading contender...
Dear Editor, Skagit County Emergency Medical Services and the Board of Skagit County Commissioners want to thank residents for supporting the recent ballot measure to renew the emergency medical services levy. The levy funds a county-wide coordinated EMS system through contracts with cities, towns, fire districts and other agencies that serve all county residents. Our EMS system consists of Basic and Advanced Life Support for county residents and visitors, which is the highest level and quality of service possible when it comes to a medical...
If they were protesting Saudi Arabia’s human rights abuses would they be branded anti Islamic? History has shown that the students were right about the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Listen to the students. Jai Boreen La Conner...
As longtime readers know, Jenelle bought an all-electric Chevy Bolt a couple of years ago. We’ve driven it about 18,000 miles. It replaced a Buick SUV that had about 85,000 miles on it. The total cost of the Bolt out of pocket, after the trade-in and the electric-vehicle rebate, plus the cost of adding a 240-volt (Level 2) charger to our garage, was about $25,000. The Buick got about 20 mpg, so we’ve saved 900 gallons of gas. Gas has been around $4 a gallon here for most of that time, so tha...
Monday was the 54th anniversary of Earth Day, organized in 1970 as a teach-in on college campuses to emphasize the harm out-of-control pollution has on human health as well as the environment. In typical homo sapiens fashion, giant inflatable earth balls got tossed around, guitars were played and laughter and music filled the air. So, for 50 years the seriousness of human-fueled devastation danced with the joy of opening our eyes to the beauty and wonders of the natural world. “It is only a little planet / but how beautiful it is” the poet Rob...
