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Eligible voters receive their Nov. 5 election ballots in the mail this week. While this is not the most significant election of our lifetime, it requires, as with every vote, thoughtful consideration of the candidates and issues. Our decisions do make a difference, including voting for alternative candidates or not voting. There are four initiatives on the ballot. Please spend the necessary time to learn their purposes, consequences and who their sponsors are. Brian Heywood is the money behind them. Last week this billionaire’s organization, L...
I’d just like to say I’ve bought at least one copy of the La Conner Weekly News every time I’ve been to La Conner. Lunch at Slider’s just wouldn’t be the same without it. I sincerely hope that if the paper is sold that the community be the ones to own it, what a great idea. Thanks for all the good work Ken and company. Corey Coffell via email...
I woke in the middle of the night, terrified Donald Trump could be elected; mystified that even his recent, repeated lies about Democrats, hurricanes and FEMA, toward his own political ends, have not outraged his followers. The word, fealty, has been used to describe a loyal Trumpist, like number two in the Republican leadership, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who has repeated (!) Trump’s lie, “They (Democrats) use that (FEMA) money helping illegals here that they brought into America” (The Guardian). The word fealty is defined historically as, ...
Southern Resident Orcas are intelligent, social, biologically important as apex predators – and critically endangered. Only some 75 remain and recent research published in the journal Nature highlighted that human-produced noise is a key to the decline of the orcas – the noise from boats interferes with their ability to hunt, reproduce and survive. The same research foresees extinction for the Southern Resident Orcas. I’m thrilled that Janet St. Clair, running to be our state senator, says “I’m a fierce protector of salmon and our iconic or...
We have many things on our minds at this time, the fate of our newspaper and La Conner’s south end industrial area, the critically important elections locally and nationally, the Russian incursion in Ukraine, the climate crisis, hurricanes and more. But I would like to draw your attention to the war in the Middle East where Israel is reacting to the Hamas attack last October that killed 1,200 and took 240 hostages. Israel has so far killed, at a minimum, 42,000-plus Palestinians in Gaza, more on the West Bank and now is proceeding into L...
Today’s small-scale renewable energy generation and storage systems don’t have to be placed exclusively at big, centralized locations. It’s easier than ever to distribute electric generation and energy storage systems near places where energy is actually used. Distributed energy resources (DERs) have advantages over legacy systems based on huge power generation plants. Installing small generation systems at multiple points, instead of big systems at a few locations, can improve relia...
The world is witnessing the start of year two of slaughters in Palestine. Hamas fighters started the killing Oct. 7, 2023, murdering over 1,200 innocents in their surprise attack. Since then the murder and mayhem has all been under the direction of the Israeli government and completely controlled and manipulated by its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. As horrific as the civilian death count is in Gaza – some 42,000 verified – the vast majority women and children, it is certainly an undercount, including only the found bodies and those dea...
As a follow up to last week’s editorial (“Let’s vote for president now”), let us call for a series of regional constitutional conventions in order to: (a) Let we the people be heard (b) Avoid anarchy and suppression of voices in the name of law and order (c) Instill hope for democracy to live by example here in the heart of the free world (d) Guarantee representation at the table of all people invested in this country by birth, by naturalization, by labor and by service for the common good. To “get real,” people and powers that be: Regional re...
Thanks for your review of “Arsenic and Old Lace” at the Lincoln Theatre. I just want to offer a clarification on names and dates associated with the play. Written in 1939, the play opened on Broadway in 1941 and was a big hit. Boris Karloff played the murderous brother Jonathan, who in the play keeps getting told by other characters that he looks like Boris Karloff. When Frank Capra prepared to make the movie, he asked for the play’s cast members to be given temporary leave so they could repeat their performances on screen. This was grant...
To our La Conner Community: To benefit others, the La Conner Kiwanis and the La Conner High School student body are asking for your help please. Together, they are sponsoring a volunteer-based Halloween blood drive on Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Landy James Gym on the school campus (last building on your right). Your donating will absolutely change and preserve a life! Search: bloodworksnw.org, then go to its donor portal and La Conner please. Please call if you have clinical questions: Dorothy, RN, 360-431-9234, or about...
I was so looking forward to learning more about the proposed revitalization of the industrial dead zone at the south end of town. I had submitted my two bits on the town survey and had great expectations. However, the turnout was not impressive and the acoustics in the room seemed to absorb the presenter’s voice. Granted, my hearing is impaired, but others also raised their hands stating they could not hear him. There was no microphone available. Unable to hear, I left. Perhaps I am unfairly comparing this event to the recent one at the Civic G...
The La Conner-based Skagit Valley Clean Energy Cooperative has changed its name to Skagit Valley Clean Energy Alliance. Its business structure has also changed. Rather than being a membership-based, non-profit cooperative like REI or Orcas Power, the SVCEA is now a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization. The goal of the alliance remains the same as the goal of the cooperative: Accelerate the use of renewable energy, energy conservation and related energy management technologies throughout...
Finally. October is here, the home stretch. It is now 34 days to election day. Oh my god, still five more weeks till the campaigning ends. Since almost every one of us is ready to cast our vote for president and, if many of us had our way, we would have voted in January, or the day after President Joe Biden turned the reigns over to Kamala Harris in July, why can’t we vote tomorrow, or next Tuesday? We can’t because the U.S. Constitution sets the date of national elections. So, let’s change the Constitution. That starts most readily with petit...
Sunday is the start of the 84th annual National Newspaper Week. The Newspaper Association Managers started these promotions of the newspaper industry in the United States and Canada in 1940. This year, publishers are prompted to remind readers why journalism matters. The relationship between readers and newspapers was very different in 1940. Back then news came into the community via two means – the radio or the newspaper – and only the newspaper was locally owned and downtown. Back then, just about everything but radio programs were loc...
Since the earliest days of sailing, boats and ships have been powered by renewable energy. At first, the motive energy came from muscles manipulating oars. I would have said human muscles, but boats predate modern humans. Almost a million years ago, Homo erectus settled several Indonesian islands that couldn’t have been reached without boats. Boats with sails aren’t known to be that ancient; the first evidence of their existence starts around 7,000 years ago. Recreational sailboats, and var...
My name is Randi Perlman and I live in Alaska, but that is another story … . A dear friend of mine relocated from Alaska to Shelter Bay several years back to care for her aging mom. During the next eight years, my friend found a beautiful lot on a bluff overlooking the Swinomish Channel, built a new home with a spectacular view and firmly ensconced herself in lovely La Conner. For each of the last two years, it has been my good fortune to spend a month here house-sitting and caring for her aging dog while she travels. After spending a c...
Well patriots, it’s that time again! Time to select the men and women who represent us in the offices of governance, for better or worse! You know, like the marriage vows, “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health” and we’ve been witnessing the downside of each vow for the past four years! We’ve had the “worst” economy, we’ve become “poorer” and “sicker” as well, due to government shutdown policies! 1: What do you look for in the person who will represent you? I look for strong constitutionalists who...
Thank you to everyone who participated in the “Save the La Conner Weekly News” meeting last Wednesday at the Garden Club. The outpouring of community support for our local newspaper was overwhelming. For me this reinforces what a special place La Conner is. Andrew Ashmore La Conner...
At 7 p.m. tonight, people wanting the La Conner Weekly News to exist in 2025 are meeting in the La Conner Civic Garden Club on South Second Street. The possible audience extends to anyone reading these words. Perhaps that includes you. The newspaper you are holding, whether reading a paper copy or reading on your phone or computer, what is your weekly news? Is it highlighting last week's events in our community, from the winners of the giant pumpkin contest at Christianson's to a state economic...
I have always loved the fall. Even though it meant the end of carefree summer days and working for Hedlin Farms, I enjoyed the way the light and air temperature changed, and I enjoyed the anticipation of starting a new school year and establishing a new routine in La Conner Schools. I am pleased that the start to our 2024-25 school year has been very positive and successful overall. The roll-out of the Yonder cell phone pouches has gone very well, and I have my staff to thank for their work in making this a smooth process. Teachers have...
Last week I reread an article in the Weekly News from Sept. 4 regarding various news in town including First Street going one-way (about time) and the town working with the fire department to obtain a new fire boat and a new ladder truck. The one that really got my attention was news of burglaries in the north end of town and LATE arrival by the sheriff’s office. My view: Fire boat and ladder truck: Absolutely agree the fire department should have the right equipment to fight fires in or near our town. However, as I stated at a council m...
They are just kids. For most kids, their anatomy matches how they feel, but for some it is not that way. The adherence to a binary male/female dichotomy is not accurate. Chromosomes differ, genes go their own way, hormones have different results in different kids. A child is born. Unpredictability is a predictable outcome. No two of us is the same. Some of us are transgender. So, at age 3, 4 and 5, personality emerges. This is the child you have. To understand this person, you need to observe and listen. If this child has a gender identity...
My name is Jeannette DeGoede and have had the privilege of living in Skagit County for 64 years. In 1959 I married Anthony DeGoede who was a bulb grower. The farm was called Tulip Town. Our lives consisted of hard work and wonderful opportunities for our children, Anthony passed away five years ago. I sold the farm, and now, living on the channel in La Conner, most of my neighbors are seniors. The Senior Center is a part of my life that I truly enjoy. In conversations with my senior friends, most of us are 80 and older. We all have our homes...
Here are some facts about Donald trump. Not emotions, opinions or internet conspiracies, but hard, cold incontrovertible facts. Trump is a sexual predator. At least 26 women have accused him of sexual misconduct from unwanted kissing to rape. Their stories bear a chilling resemblance to his “grab them by the …” Access Hollywood tape. With men like Trump, if 26 women came forward, there are many more too frightened to do so. Trump is a criminal convicted last May of 34 felonies. His company was convicted of 17 felonies in 2023. His accou...
The American Library Association’s 43rd annual Banned Books Week starts Sunday. It runs Sept. 22-28. This year’s theme is “Freed Between the Lines.” The ALA champions: “We can find freedom in the pages of a book – but book bans and censorship threaten that freedom, along with many other rights and institutions. ... (L)let’s share our love of the right to read and the freedom found in books. Let’s be Freed Between the Lines!” Opening a book, surfing the internet, even playing a video game offers all of us, children to elders, the opportunity t...
