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Sorted by date Results 406 - 430 of 1886
Thank you for your spot-on Musings (June 7 Weekly News) in regard to Memorial Day, especially the service at Pleasant Ridge Cemetery on May 29. As always, it was a moving service, conducted quite ably by Rev. Don Robinson. As I listened to and observed the folding of the flag protocol and recounting of the military conflicts that our flag has symbolized, whether noble or otherwise, I, too, was struck by the omission of the Civil War. This was no careless omission. The Civil War was the most pivotal point in the history of the United States. It...
I recently received an invitation from the Skagit County Republican Party to its annual Lincoln-Reagan gala. I've never voted for a Republican, but I do recall long political discussions with my father, a lifelong Republican,. We often disagreed on policy, but never about basic facts. So, out of curiosity, I explored the website of the Skagit County Republicans and was immediately swept down the proverbial rabbit hole. In one blog post (April 27) county chairman Bill Bruch refers to "the Marxists who are currently running our country", meaning...
I was very sad to hear that the city council had voted to remove the salmon slide. The letter (Weekly News, June 7) mentioned that it was going to be removed because of the continued cost of maintenance. Having watched it closely for the past few years I know that the only maintenance that was done was done by Ollie Iverson, the parks commissioner. I question the so called high maintenance costs that the city claims. The cost of its removal would be exorbitant and would make no sense. The salmon slide was the highlight of our grandchildren’s v...
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein Thursday La Conner High School seniors graduate, 47 of them. Local merchants and institutions recognize them by sponsoring the seniors’ photographs on today's back page. Take a look at these young, confident, about-to-be adults heading into their futures. That future is our future, to be shared with them but so far shaped by us, the elders reading these words. The graduates step into a world not of their making nor choosing. As they start to make choices, we already hear them voic...
What poisons have been unleashed in America? In Jewish mythology, a dybbuk is a malicious, possessing spirit, believed to be a dislocated soul. Pandora opened her jar (dubbed a box in the 16th century) out of curiosity, thus releasing all manner of evil and misery upon mortals, put into the jar by the gods to punish Prometheus for giving fire to mortals. The non-mythical Donald Trump, via his embrace of violence and untruth, has both enshrined violence and released evil and misery across our land, and by doing so become a malicious, possessing...
I’m officially old. It happened on a single day last week, Thursday, June 1. It was not a surprise. It had loomed on the near horizon for years. I’d dutifully prepared for it – watched innumerable how-to videos, talked with older friends who’d reached the same situation (and survived), waded through unsolicited voluminous mail offering to help with the transition, completed practice questionnaires, even worked with a consultant to get all the information straight before I submitted my application for society to recognize me as old: I am now...
After reading in the Weekly News about the La Conner Town Council’s decision to destroy the fish slide in Conner Waterfront Park due to money issues and other things, I have some questions. As I’m involved, of course I have some thoughts. The only real money the Town has spent so far was to hire renowned local artist/sculptor Tom Jay to design and build the slide, since then the monies spent were on some grinding wheels, epoxy-like material and paint used by John Doyle and myself, volunteering to maintain the slide and keep it looking goo...
No political party, no politician can heal the evident and destructive ills of our country. We, long ago, took God out of our schools, eliminated the Ten Commandments and crosses from public areas. Now in that void, evil has moved in. I have lived a long time and have never seen such darkness displayed, daily, by so many politicians and citizens. We are in the throes of a spiritual battle. Back to God in this country, or we will have a country not worth living in. "There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation ... one is by the sword ......
Memorial Day was May 29th this year. That is John F. Kennedy's birthday. I know that because it is also my mother's birthday, Mary Madeline Nemunis Stern. My mother was born in 1920. She would have been 103. I believe my mother hated war. She never told me that. Nor did she ever take her five children to a demonstration against the Vietnam War or go on her own. She did tell me this story once, that in 1964 my parents were at some work-related social function of my dad's, of course, for few women worked outside the home then. He worked for the U...
Whatever your politics and values, this year to date may have seemed generally gloomy, at least. Inflation stays persistently high, the potential of recession seems to be forever looming, wages are lower than the ongoing rising costs of everything, there is work but too few workers and then there is the persistent war in Ukraine, which appears as if it will never end. Here at home, until May, glorious May, 2023 has the general and overall feel of being cold and damp. And it has been, cold and at least gray, all the way back to the snows and flo...
Dear Editor: Your May 24 editorial (“The decisions we make,” Weekly News) suggests that concerns about sex-change interventions on minors arise from “madness and meanness” and “fear and hate,” spread by the “false prophets” of “a religion of limited vision, of control, fear and intolerance.” On February 23, the prestigious British Medical Journal published a review by its investigative team of the medical evidence. It found that medical experts and public health authorities in Sweden, Finland, France, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain a...
The Mount Vernon High School debate team debated about the positive and negative effects of social media May 15. Also on stage were Jason Miller, publisher of the Concrete Herald, Ron Judd, executive editor of Cascadia Daily News, Brier Dudley of the Seattle Times and my editor, Ken Stern. The evening, “The Future of Local Journalism: Is It Important to Our Democracy?” was organized by the League of Women Voters of Skagit County. This is a particularly interesting subject matter because the stu...
Dear Editor, Thank you for your May 24 editorial “The decisions we make.” You describe well bigotry’s basis in fear and its manifestation in cowardice. You also point your readers to pay attention and speak up. I encourage the same. An American variety of “brown shirts” that helped bring Donald Trump to power in 2016 remains active across the country, and in our own state and county. I believe that ugly political strain will continue to assault our democratic institutions unless and until enough people stand up and call it out for what it i...
The march of madness and meanness continues. Last week Montana, Nebraska and Florida’s legislators joined the stampede in outlawing gender-affirming care to teens and youths in their states. These laws will punish doctors and healthcare practitioners for assisting youth in developing into their genuine selves. Gender-affirming care is “age-appropriate care that is medically necessary for the wellbeing of many transgender and non-binary people who experience symptoms of gender dysphoria, or distress that results from having one’s gender ident...
It’s with great interest that I hear about the parcel of property being quasi-gifted to the town. I’ve looked at that property for a very long time. During the slough burp of Dec 27, it was pretty much covered in water. I’ve lived at Channel Cove, contemplating this property has been a natural for me. As a lifelong farmer in the area, I’ve thought long and hard about turning it into a garden, but then I’ve thought about the strikes against it. Deer can climb and jump over significant fencing, raccoons can climb over any fencing and they’ll h...
Part II following May 17 So where are we at the moment? The Shelter Bay board once again surprises no one with their majority vote to declare the recall petitions for the five executive officers are invalid. Rather than listening and adhering to the community's wishes and intent, they narrowly interpreted their poorly written rules to establish a technicality. The board majority (5) – with strong opposition by the board minority (4) – moved forward with: • A rent adjustment index that virtually doubled the rent. • Removing legal counsel...
It is a tough choice for the residents of our little town – the citizens of La Conner – to make. The community was given a gift, nearly, when Sybil and Tom Jenson sold the Town of La Conner a half-plus acre of property under Pioneer Park and west of Maple Avenue. Residents now have to discern, discuss and debate the best way to use that sliver of land. The top choices are keeping it as a green space – organized into a community garden, as some are advocating – or building starter homes for first time buyers. This could sprout into a tiny ho...
Shelter Bay, as an organization and entity, is both an anomaly and a conundrum. It attempts to operate functionally as both a corporation and a homeowner’s association, and the lines of authority and responsibility between them have become irreconcilably blurred. The management of both entities has become the assumed responsibility of nine board of director members elected at large from the membership (residents) of the community. (In the case of an elected board member’s unfilled term – for example, as a consequence of a resignation -- indiv...
It’s election time in Shelter Bay – Online voting closes 4 p.m. May 19. In person must be done the early morning of May 20. If you intend to mail or drop off your vote, you must travel to the office to pick up a ballot. Mailed ballots must be received by May 19, 2023. Why is this information here in the paper? Because it is not clearly communicated to the residents of Shelter Bay. Shelter Bay residents: The selection of your board representation is more important this year than ever. Shelter Bay faces several issues requiring competent, unb...
For World Migratory Bird Day, May 13th, Skagit Audubon Society especially appreciated the leadership of U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, who is sponsoring a bill reauthorizing and bolstering the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. As members of the Skagit Valley community, we understand the vital role that migratory birds play in our ecosystem and our economy. Our valley is home to myriad migratory bird species that rely on the region's wetlands, forests, and farmland as critical stopover sites during their long journeys. Without these...
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote a column in this paper bringing attention to a different public health problem sweeping the nation. While maybe not as physically deadly, the long-term impacts on the health of our communities were and are still as dire. I was discussing the very real pandemic of hate. The data is clear. While COVID-19 was a killer, the government's heavy-handed response was just as deadly. Deaths of despair via suicide and other destructive behavior have...
During the hectic, fluid and complex process of the 2023 legislative session, I wanted to keep our priorities front and center. I’ve been fighting to help our low-income and working families, support our veterans and military families, protect and preserve our environment, provide our students more opportunities and ensure our rural counties and cities have the resources they need to keep our communities strong. We’ve made significant progress and I wanted to share some successes we’ve had t...
I’m happy to report the Legislature finished the 2023 session with a balanced budget – and excellent transportation and construction budgets that will create jobs in the 10th district and throughout our state. Affordability The price of everything has gone up – especially housing. I know how hard this is on family budgets. It’s also tough on our economy, making the workforce shortage worse when jobs go unfilled because people can’t find housing within commuting distance. This session, the Legis...
As publisher of the Weekly News, I will be on a panel discussing “The Future of Local Journalism: Is It Important to Our Democracy?” Monday May 15 at the Mount Vernon high school. In the United States, where our Declaration of Independence holds as self-evident truth “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” self-evident also is the press’ central, fundamental role in the functioning of our democracy. Newspapers are baked into society's governance, hammered into the Constitution in the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respect...
I hope I am not alone in my wry reaction to the half-page ad in the May 3 La Conner Weekly News titled, “Opportunity For Positive Change in Shelter Bay.” Among the several issues mentioned was the need to practice transparency. The ad was submitted by a group that, although located geographically, remained otherwise anonymous. Huh … excuse me? Curtis Kemp Shelter Bay...
