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As our communities face harsher climate effects including droughts, heatwaves, and floods, it is important for all of us to work together towards ensuring a healthier environment. That’s why we are dedicated to pursuing two approaches to environmental protection. First, I am committed to investing in clean energy technologies that create good-paying jobs, lower energy bills and support a path toward energy independence. House Bill 1924—which supports fusion technology—passed the Senate and will be signed into law. By incorporating this techn...
On Feb. 7, 16 year-old sophomore Nex Benedict went into the girls’ bathroom at the high school in Owasso, Oklahoma. An altercation occurred in the bathroom which ended in Nex receiving a serious head injury. Three students were involved in the altercation. The school did not call an ambulance nor did they report the incident to police. Nex had been consistently bullied since school started last fall because they identified as non-binary. This means that Nex considered themselves neither a boy nor a girl. Nex was just Nex. Family members took Ne...
Much concern has been raised regarding the former president’s attorneys’ attempts to delay, delay, delay his pending criminal trials. Some fear that unless the former president is convicted in a court of law prior to election day, the conduct alleged against him may not be considered by voters. As a retired prosecutor, I believe the law applies equally to all. Also, the due process clause of the Constitution accords every criminal defendant the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. As a conscientious cit...
I've always been a bird lover. I grew up with birds in cages in my house and now I have feeders in the front and the back of my house. My dog Rosie loves to sit by the window and watch the birds come and go. When you drive around Skagit County, you see many photographers holding cameras with very long lenses patiently waiting to get wonderful shots of birds. Bird populations have been decreasing on a regular basis, but lately I've noticed enormous numbers of white birds gathered in the fields...
The Skagit Valley Clean Energy Alliance will be sponsoring a new Solarize program this year, to help facilitate and accelerate the installation of new rooftop solar generation systems throughout Skagit County. When final details are available, I’ll write a whole column about this year’s Solarize program, including details on how you can participate, starting with a no-obligation analysis of your home by one of the pre-selected participating contractors. In the meantime, though, we’ve gotte...
If the 30 residents at the Feb. 20 community mingle on what was billed as a forum to discuss parking on South First Street had their way, the clear sentiment was to improve safety in the downtown by making it a one-way street south of Washington Street, past the post office. At the start of the evening, La Conner Fire Department Chief Aaron Reinstra was asked to speak on safety from his perspective. He did. The data he shared showed that on average, a fire department vehicle was called to First Street twice a month over the last two years. But...
Nothing changes your outlook on life quite like the birth of a child. Seeing the helpless life for which you’re now responsible can be scary, but as many parents find, that gives way to excitement and optimism for what the future holds for this precious gift. What will their personality be like? What will their laugh sound like? What impact will they have on our community and world? I’m eagerly awaiting the birth of a grandchild and considering what the world will look like for them. It got me thinking that too many people aren’t as optim...
Oh how I wish I didn’t think about our little town’s budget, but as a businessman, I can’t help myself. I had to manage a small farm’s budget, and I didn’t get any grants from either the state or the feds, and I had to educate my employees, since they hadn’t been educated by the education system in place. I employed many college grads who had no understanding of economics, even with their four-year degrees. So, it was with great interest that I read La Conner Schools Superintendent Will Makoyiisaaminaa (Nelson)’s letter of recognition to our sc...
Recognizing Zach Battle’s life I was shocked and saddened to read of the death of Zachery Battle in the Feb. 21 issue. I got to know Zach when I was fundraising for the new library several years back. We became friends. And he became a supporter of the library. Here’s what he said for one of our presentations: “This inviting and spacious facility, with up-to-date materials and technology, programs relevant to the needs of its users, and a trained and helpful staff will be a hub for innovation and will spur personal and business growth in our c...
The one project and institution that, indisputably, all people in our community and on both sides of the channel rallied around and supported with time, ongoing work and money, was the building of the La Conner Swinomish Library. That became a dream realized over many years. It is now a reality being shaped into our future hopes. One step, one day, one hour reached for after another brought us to it’s opening in 2022. Now with that base built, more good deeds will be realized, continuously, on into the future. The library’s vision may be “a pla...
Here’s an inside look at how your democracy works in Olympia. We just passed the deadline for bills to make it out of the House of Origin, meaning House bills needed to pass the House and Senate bills had to get voted out of the Senate. That meant we spent all day debating bills for about a week. More than once, we voted until about 2 a.m. I’m proud to report that we actually agree far more often than we disagree. Of the 270 bills we passed this year in the House, 76% received strong bipartisan support and 54% were passed unanimously. Thos...
The Oxford English dictionary defines progressivism as “advocacy of progress, reform, change or innovation.” I think all of us can agree that these efforts are vital to our society if it is to succeed as time and circumstance proceed and change. Sen. Muzall’s (“The problem with Progressivism,” Feb. 7, Weekly New) characterization of progressivism is in most part purposely crafted to obscure and demonize those citizens that are attempting to identify and correct the social problems facing our country today. Progressives don’t seek to cast off...
On Feb 13, 2024, the Skagit Valley Herald printed a story titled “Effects of the Boldt Decision Felt 50 Years Later,” showing the same bias Judge Boldt had to begin with in 1974. Article 5 of the 1855 Point Elliott Treaty had one sentence dealing with fishing rights for Indians. There are twenty-six words in that sentence. The Herald chose to print the first 13 words which states “Tribes reserved the right to fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations ... .” The last eight words the Herald wouldn’t print say, “... in common with all citi...
Viewing parts of the electric grid, such as transmission towers and substations as public art is actually a decades old concept. The colored glass used in high-rise buildings since the early 1960s isn’t just for aesthetics. That technology was initially developed to help control the heat in the buildings. The use of energy systems in art isn’t limited to very large structures like high-rises and transmission towers. Smaller pieces of energy infrastructure are visible to the public and offer sur...
This modern world. It works against us humans, as individuals, families and communities and in people’s efforts to get along together and build a common place. The norms of living, of doing business, are you aware of how often they work against you? The Weekly News is handicapped in publishing and distributing each issue to you by this modern world. As subscribers, you are customers. The Weekly News’ responsibility is to deliver excellent customer service. Probably the most frequent call to the office is, “Where is my paper? Why wasn’t it deli...
Too many of us lie awake worrying about what will happen if someone in our family gets seriously ill. Will I be able to find affordable health care? Do we have enough nurses and doctors in our rural, community hospitals? That’s why, as your legislator and vice chair of the House Education Committee, I’m committed to tackling our health care workforce on the front end – with our students. This legislative session, I introduced House Bill 2236 which expands and strengthens career and technical education in our high schools by creating the Core...
When we bought our home in La Conner in January of 2019, we were told that our block, the only block on Washington Street where there is no storm sewer, was in “Phase 2” of the project to provide storm drainage throughout the town. Shortly after we moved in, members of the town council told us that there was no money at present for such improvements. We were asked to be patient. Our lot periodically floods and such phenomena as atmospheric rivers leave behind a pond of 6-8 inches in depth, which can remain flooded for several weeks and whi...
Muzzall is wrong on progressivism As he stated last week in his legislative column, Sen Ron Muzzall (R-Oak Harbor) has a problem with progressivism. It appears he does not understand what progressivism is about and attempts to use it as a whipping boy for our state’s (and the nation’s) horrific problem with “behavioral health and substance abuse.” That reasoning is as flawed as the Republican Party’s suggestion that the Jan. 6 insurrectionist riot was instigated by the left with the cooperation of “the Feds.” Progressivism is the attempt to lev...
One of the least publicized but nevertheless significant obstacles to the new infrastructure required to support development of new energy resources is that this infrastructure can be unsightly. A few years ago, I was working on a consulting assignment at a well-known university. Management had a strong interest in developing on-campus renewable resources. Funding was easy to acquire. The biggest obstacle to progress was that a politically powerful, well-funded neighborhood association nearby...
The United States was born out of conflict. Profound disagreement led to a war with tragic losses of life and property for the revolutionaries who put at stake their lives, fortunes and sacred honor. The promise of progress was worth the risk even as many of the fledgling nation’s potential citizens fled north to Canada or returned to the United Kingdom. Similarly, during the Civil War, it became apparent that the evils of slavery could not stand, and the Union’s moral certitude required imposing progress. From today’s vantage point, I can’t...
It’s heartbreaking to be updated on how many homeless people there are in Skagit County. Fortunately, they are no longer camping out on sidewalks in our towns. I can no longer visit my friend in San Francisco who has a nightclub because it is so upsetting for me to see so many homeless people camped out in the most expensive parts of that city. Skagit County has provided very nice grassy areas for people to pitch their tents. Some of the homeless people have addictions to alcohol and drugs, b...
The La Conner School District is among hundreds of districts nationwide examining the feasibility and long-term cost advantages of switching from diesel to electric school buses. Key advantages include: reduced use of energy for bus power, accompanied by lower net emissions; stable and predictable energy prices; reduced maintenance costs; and greater student and driver comfort with the elimination of on-board emissions and nearly silent operation. Electric vehicles have far fewer moving parts...
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration announced $1 billion in funding for more than 2,700 electric and low-emission school buses across 37 states in January. This is a second part of funding of a $5 billion, five-year initiative from the bipartisan infrastructure law. In total, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program has awarded nearly $2 billion and funded approximately 5,000 electric and low-emission school buses nationwide. Washington schools will receive a combined $14.9 million through the program. That mon...
It occurred to me: If the Democratic Party is warning their membership not to vote for a specific candidate and the MAGA Republicans are pressuring other Republicans not to support that same individual, you likely have one of the most viable presidential candidates this country has seen in a very long time. Nikki Haley is the right person at the right time to unite this country around what really matters: We’re all Americans. And make no mistake, we will either rise or fall together. As a South Carolina lawmaker, highly popular governor and wit...
This editorial is as timely and critical as when a version was published in 2022, during the last short session of our state legislature. It is updated. Your actions are still needed and needed today. Here is a nonpartisan issue that this community – and indeed, every resident in the state – can rally around in agreement: putting our Washington on standard time year round. That is right: legislation will ditch the semi-annual spring ahead fall-back scenario of artificially changing sunrise and sunset by moving clocks ahead an hour in March and...
