Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 477 - 501 of 1886
There seem to be a lot of “crises” in Olympia – a housing crisis, an opioid crisis, a public safety crisis, a climate crisis. Attaching this moniker has adverse effects on people by creating a false sense of urgency and helplessness and driving otherwise rational people toward the irrational. Lawmakers better serve the public by toning down the rhetoric. Instead of stoking the flames of division and panic, legislators should offer a positive vision of hope, unity and calm. There is too much...
Accusations of ethics violations are being used by the Shelter Bay board of directors to silence and dispense with dissension. As a member of the community, I know I’m joined by many others in completely rejecting the actions they have taken against two elected board members. Sadly, the officers have been unable to lead the board in governing for the community. There are nine board members. Four are appointed, five elected. While the president is an elected member, the vice president, treasurer and secretary are all appointed members. This r...
To those who are concerned from a Skagitonian. Choosing an environment to enhance a business when you’re young, or to enrich each day when you’re old becomes a vital decision. My family members chose Washington state’s Skagit County and have never regretted it. Farms with verdant fields framed by magnificent mountain ranges enhance every outing. Space allows eyes to absorb and minds to respond to our natural beauty. To block the openness with a commercial sign threatening this healthy, developing opportunity is a travesty. I implore you to co...
It has been absolutely heartbreaking to follow the news of the devastating effects of the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The number of deaths is nearing 44,000 as I write this column and will definitely be higher when it runs in the paper Wednesday. I’m wondering what we can learn from this. Apparently there is only a short warning period, something like 20 seconds, which is shocking to me considering how advanced we have come in technology. All you can do if you get that warning is d...
Last month, I wrote about the workforce shortage, which is holding back our economy and critical services like healthcare. The housing crisis is intertwined with our workforce shortage. Even if a local business or hospital recruits a great candidate for a job, no one can take that position without a place to live. Sometimes, the only home they can find or afford isn't anywhere near their work. That means they either can't take the job – or they suffer through long commutes every day, adding t...
Dear fellow citizens. Help, please, by paying attention to your state government and taking a stand to keep public records public, available to you – and to the journalists and activists. Tell your legislators and Attorney General Bob Ferguson that the documents created by legislators elected to serve citizens must be seen by citizens and not blocked behind a legislative privilege they claim and desire but does not exist. What do legislators tell us all the time? That they work behind the scenes, that they meet day and night – sometimes in clo...
Dear Town of La Conner residents, On behalf of the Skagit Community Band, I would like to thank the fabulous La Conner audience that came to our concert on Friday Feb. 3 at Maple Hall. It was truly a night to remember. When the power went out and I asked the band what they wanted to do, they said “Let’s go on.” That is when the magic began. The band scrambled to fix the situation by getting out stand lights and cell phones. The audience offered flashlights and offered to stand behind members to illuminate their music. It was the affir...
My post office (“small” 3x4 inch) box rates have been creeping up, especially in the last few years, from $60/year to $75/year and now $210/year. When I Googled “average post office box rates,” it said a small box averaged between $5.50/month or $66/year, to $38.33/month and $460 a year. So La Conner fits in between. However, we residents who live inside the town limits don’t qualify for home delivery and therefore are forced to rent a P.O. Box. Those who live outside town limits get free delivery even on Saturdays which isn’t an option for...
The 10th legislative district has one of the largest populations of veterans in Washington state. Island County, for example, has more veterans per capita than any other county. Between Island, Snohomish and Skagit counties, the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs reports over 72,000 veterans in our region. Our veterans return home and continue to serve our communities as our friends, neighbors and colleagues. They buy a home, start a family and reintegrate as heroes living among us....
What is more American than farmers on their farms? They were the first colonizers, clearing the land, putting down roots, both literal and figurative, forging the future out of the sweat of their brow, the force of their will and the strength of their imaginations, planning and plotting an ordered world as much out of their hopes for tomorrow as from steering a plow. Who was right behind farmers, chronicling, championing, challenging and questioning their every move? Some romantics might list journalists, maybe ahead, maybe just after the clerg...
The good news is raising the nation's debt limit is not a problem. The U.S. Congress has always voted to pay its bills– and will this spring. The source of those debts, of course, came from Congress first approving the annual budget and the corresponding appropriations. Our elected officials have a matching obligation to agree to pay for what they already committed to spend. That is what running the government – or a business, or a family – is. There is planning, spending to execute programs agreed to and paying all the bills as they come...
Last July, Adam Avery made an excellent pitch for a new fireboat to the La Conner Town Council. The old one doesn’t work well. Adam said that a new boat would cost between $275,000 and $375,000. The administrator referred to grants that might help and stated that we are more at risk than anyone in the county for fires such as what we might face. Adam said that he and his team would seek out the perfect boat for our needs and Mayor Ramon Hayes “pledged that the Town would help with a strategy for bringing on project partners.” ‘ That was then an...
There are lies, dang lies and statistics, but in the debate on fixing the failed "police reform" laws from 2021, it seems that no amount of research, pleading, facts or lived experience can overcome ideology. In my estimation, that is exactly the sticking point. Advocates of the public safety status quo that has facilitated significant upticks in police evasions, violent crimes and thefts, are unwilling to entertain any reasonable arguments for why their ideologically driven approach may need...
Late Saturday afternoon, approximately 40 people came to the La Conner Civic Garden Club to hear from newly elected Rep. Clyde Shavers of the 10th Legislative District. Shavers began by sharing three principles that guide him when researching, drafting and submitting legislation to the House: 1) Does the legislative policy reflect a story or an issue that was shared by a constituent? 2) Does the policy positively affect not just one individual, but the entire district and state? 3) Can we carry this policy forward into the future? In other...
What a beautiful clear, crisp blue sky day we had Sunday. Monday started sunny. February is here: there are more hours of sunlight and the sun is higher in the sky and starting its march northward. And, we live in a state with sane legislators reflecting the majority of people's concerns. More laws restricting firearms may soon be passed in the legislature. Can't this newspaper's editor leave that topic alone? No. Five Februarys after the Parkland, Florida high school murders, six years after the Las Vegas concert massacre, close to three...
King tides, like pesky mosquitoes, occasionally discomfort those that are having a picnic in paradise. Water runs downhill, right into the lowest places around, saturating the ground, drowning earthworms and roots, making us humans frown, as we put on our boots. Yeah, a few of us have lived in the lowlands for all of our lives and have never seen a wave of water lapping at the door. Unfortunately, I have. November of 1990 was the month and year when Fir Island was filled by a failed levee. Yeah, the Skagit River can be a wild thing, all the...
Here in the 10th District and throughout the state, we face challenges that affect all our families, including: • A shortage of housing. • Lack of access to healthcare. • Businesses who can't find skilled workers. The last point is key: a shortage of workers. That is the common thread to each of those problems. We can't make significant progress on improving ferry reliability, housing affordability, healthcare outcomes or the economy without addressing shortages of workers in those field...
Town of La Conner leaders continue to talk, plan and act in preparing flood control measures in the wake of Dec. 27’s flooding from the Swinomish Channel. Last night the town council created a flood commission by ordinance, cementing in place a group charged with developing responses to the next flood. Last Thursday Mayor Ramon Hayes, Councilmember Rick Dole and Administrator Scott Thomas met with U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and gained his commitment to have his staff pay attention to Town entreaties to federal agencies. No magic bullets there, b...
In January of 2022, a record-high king tide, coupled with strong winds and unusually low barometric pressure, pushed the waters of Edison Slough to breach the west-side town dikes, causing substantial damage to some homes and a number of businesses in “downtown” Edison. At its regular monthly meeting that January, the Edison Women’s Club, an active community group formed over 100 years ago to maintain safety and improve life for the citizens of Edison, collectively made a decision to address the dikes. A subcommittee was created. It organ...
Am I proud to be an American? Yes. This is the country that gave my parents a wonderful place to live after they barely escaped from Nazi Germany. Am I happy with the direction this country is headed into? No. Politics have overruled governance. Turn on CNN or MSNBC or any national or local newscast and little of it is positive news that makes me proud to be an American. As a former newspaper reporter, I’m a news junkie and I am finding it very painful to see the direction our country is m...
Washington has a proud history of agricultural leadership. Here in Skagit County, we have one of the largest and most diverse agricultural communities west of the Cascade Mountains. Island County is home to an ecosystem of organic and school district farms, training programs and community supported agriculture. We have a lot to be proud of – and a lot to protect. Agriculture should be home-grown and family owned. Local farmers mean a stronger local food pipeline, more robust local economy and a...
La Conner area residents are invited to engage this week and next with the two local institutions that define and make a difference in our lives. This is where citizens can have the most impact, making self-governing a reality. Your participation is needed first Saturday in a Town community conversation for the development of a communication plan. La Conner’s Council seeks conversation with citizens to clearly define the priorities, strategies and tools the town will use to communicate with the community. Open communication facilitates p...
In my 16th and final year as mayor, I would like to thank the La Conner community for the opportunity to serve as your representative. Although our resources are limited, La Conner has been fortunate to attract and retain staff who are dedicated to the community and whose work ethic, in many cases, far exceeds a 40-hour work week. La Conner is also blessed with a plethora of volunteers who participate in everything from our town council, planning commission, arts and parks commissions and, with 23 active volunteers, our fire department. Its...
By proclamation of the governor, January is School Board Recognition Month. It’s a great time to recognize our elected community members who selflessly give their time and energy in support of high-quality public schooling for our youth. School board members in La Conner are entrusted by this community with responsibility for an annual budget of $13,856,000 in 2022-2023, with an average of 527 students, 116 employees and nine buildings. School boards are charged with making decisions that can sometimes be quite difficult, or require sifting t...
We deserve better, even if we don't demand it. The latest findings from the Washington state auditor's office are unfortunately just a snapshot of an obscure yet growing problem in our state government, one that has only been made worse by large influxes of funding from the federal government and unprecedented economic growth in our state. In a time of scarcity, when many of our neighbors have been left behind, not only is state government failing to provide necessary and promised services, but...
