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With all the disturbing news in the world, I wanted to thank the La Conner Weekly News for the beautiful picture of Maggie Wilder smiling, with a paint brush in her hand. It made my day. Tia Kurtz Anacortes...
By Jean Walker-Wharton The celebration and dedication of new public art on Sept. 3 demonstrated the behind-the-scenes work of the La Conner Arts Commission. Sheila Johnson, chair, invited my attendance. I asked John Leaver to go for me and to express my gratitude for the commission’s dedication; and for people responsible in the inception on my property in 2005, of Tracey Powell’s and Stan O’Neil’s artisan fence structure as well as those who dismantled its 18 feet and have beautifully brought its components back to life in the last two yea...
It is mid-September. The decision train – trains, actually – are boarding. It is time to get on if you do not want to be left behind as Town of La Conner governmental entities prepare trips into 2023 – and beyond. First on the schedule is a Sept. 19 town conversation for residents to come together and talk. It is organized by La Conner Town Council’s communication committee. They want to hear from citizens and listen for celebrations, concerns, trends, hopes and ideas. It starts at 6:30 p.m. in Maple Hall. Come early the next night for the pub...
Something felt odd being outdoors Friday. The hazy heat was tempered mid-afternoon by a sky turned gray with smoke from distant wildfires. That tilted the day away from a typical end of summer northern Puget sound experience. And consider, we would have faced a hotter day if the smoke had not blocked the sun's rays. How quickly human induced climate change changes the weather. Thursday the forecast was for highs in the 80s and maybe reaching 90 degrees. At 11:15 a.m. Saturday I was switching to jeans and a long sleeve shirt as smoke created ove...
The Sept. 13 town council meeting will be over before you read this. I hope that the council will determine “who’s on first” so you know what to expect at the Sept. 20 planning commission public hearing. (This situation is described in the letter I posted on the town website. The issue is that we really don’t know what recommendations will be made for updating the town’s municipal code on the 20th and what year it will be accepted.) If you attended the council meeting or read the Sept. 21 Weekly News you will know that the town is behind on...
Padilla Bay Foundation recently held Brunch at the Bay 2022 at the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve on a beautiful PNW summer day in August. The over 100 attendees enjoyed fresh grilled oysters and other locally sourced foods, while overlooking the Bay, connecting with friends old and new, listening to great jazz and touring the aquarium and gift shop in the Breazeale Interpretive Center. The event raised funds toward a backup/emergency power supply system to protect the aquarium creatures. We celebrated the completion of the...
An opinion piece in the New York Times last week was titled “America is Being Consumed by a Moral Panic over Trans People.” If the ramifications of this weren’t so cruel, I would be tempted to laugh. What is so scary about people who identify as transgender? All that means is that their sex chosen for them at birth does not match their gender now that they are old enough to be able to say/demonstrate what their gender is. Sexual anatomy and gender may not agree. One comes from fetal development of body parts, and the other comes from the forma...
I am glad to see law enforcement action taken in the recent case of 115 puppies being held on Cape Horn Road (“Puppies Seized outside Concrete,” Skagit Valley Herald, Sept 7, 2022). It is shameful that we treat vulnerable animals as commodities without regard to their welfare. I am grateful we have a law in Washington state that regulates such puppy mills and enables law enforcement to act. However, I am dismayed that the law was passed with only one vote from our Legislative District 10 representatives. Dave Paul voted in favor and Greg Gil...
By Sara Young It’s an exciting time at the La Conner Marina. The Port of Skagit, which built and owns the Marina, has been considering the needs of this important property and future opportunities for more than 15 years. We’ve had a lot of great conversations with members of the community since our visioning presentation in May 2022 during the joint meeting with La Conner’s town council and planning commission. As the Port develops a vision and plan for the site, there will be more opportunities for public input. We also want to take some...
All mayors love their towns and champion them. Surely that is the case in La Conner. The same with Langley, that “village by the sea,” a 90 minute drive from our town on the Swinomish Channel. Comparisons abound. There will be a side-by-side table in a future issue. Did you know their 1,200 residents fit in one mile footprint while La Conner’s 974 residents squeeze into 0.4 square miles? Those numbers come from censusreporter.org. While Mayor Ramon Hayes was first elected in 2007, Langley Mayor Scott Chaplin was appointed in 2021 when the t...
An open letter to the town planner: Dear Planner: No more administrative permits. No more administrative conditional uses and no more administrative variances. These give too much power to the planner and too little oversight from the community. The code should be: 15.10.043 Conditional use Conditional use” means a use addressing a limited or specific need but, due to a potential adverse effect upon permitted uses or public services and facilities, is only allowed subject to the review AND APPROVAL OF the planning COMMISSION AND the criteria i...
By Frank Liddell La Conner is rich with generational wealth. I have neighbors that have spent their entire lives in this community and are descendants of families that practically built this town. I have been a La Conner resident for almost 20 years. I’m lucky to have lived here this long. I pull it off because the people I have rented from actually believe in fair, affordable rent. All of my kids have attended La Conner schools. My youngest is starting middle school this year and by the time he graduates I will have been involved with the s...
Recent news publicity has announced that a state-legislature appointed ad hoc committee, the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission that was tasked with identifying potential regional airport sites to accommodate anticipated future regional growth, recommended two potential sites in Skagit County. The primary impetus for seeking future airport sites for development is that the primary airport, Seattle-Tacoma International, is already at capacity and other, alternative airport sites will be needed. The Greater Seattle region is currently...
Monday is Labor Day, a holiday unique to the United States It is a day set aside to honor America’s laboring masses, a term – like class – that is out of favor. The rest of the world unites in solidarity May 1st, May Day, International Workers Day. That day masses of people in countries around the world gather and march. International Workers Day recognizes and remembers that in union there is strength That day affirms, yes it is true, we are all brothers and sisters working together to bring a better world into being for all our fellow broth...
Being a caffeine addict, I was excited to welcome La Conner's new Beaver Tales Coffee & Tea and indigenous gift shop and what I found was so much more than another excellent local outlet to satisfy my addiction. The owners, Michelle Calvin and her mate Tony Cladoosby, roast coffee in small batches daily to ensure freshness. They are committed to bringing so much more to La Conner than a great cup of coffee. They are a diverse couple and they want to celebrate diversity in our town. Tony is a...
The Port of Skagit and Town of La Conner propose happily to move ahead on the Port's elaborate proposal based on a few, token, public meetings and little-to-no community understanding of the near and long term implications of the project. There is no time nor process in place for serious discussion of what we want our town and our Town to be. It is completely reactive to the Port’s vision, supported by the town administration, which is hard pressed to describe a comprehensive vision for the community. The Port knows exactly what it wants to d...
Dear town residents. The La Conner Municipal Code is in need of major revision. Current practice here is to have the planner suggest piecemeal items for the planning commission and town council. He has spent interminable mind- numbing time on sign language, for example. Not exactly the big picture. A planner-proposed code line to define tiny houses is another example. What is the big, big picture for tiny houses? Where is the vision? Well, it is in our comprehensive plan – which has general language supporting affordability and neighborhood p...
In the second paragraph of his 2015 encyclical letter, “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” Pope Francis reflects on the ways in which the human species has mistreated and abused the Earth, which he calls our “Sister, Mother Earth” in the tradition of his namesake St. Francis of Assisi. The pope then states: “We have forgotten that we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.” This single sentence says a lot. It ack...
Dear residents, farmers and businesses, Mark your calendars. Sept. 20 for Planning Commission and Sept. 27 for Town Council. Both involve potential code changes. The town didn’t tell you. You would have had to wait until three days before and then they will you give three minutes only for pages of changes. It’s just not right. You should get three minutes for each item. This is important. Some changes being proposed by town: 1. The planner’s proposal is to allow 15 or 10 feet of that 25 feet currently required for agriculture set back so as to...
The La Conner United Street Fair on Saturday, Aug. 20 was a great day for selling planter boxes. It was a success largely because of the great people that helped. Rich Cushing and Rick Linton raised their hands when I asked for help. Susan Macek gave her approval to proceed. Tiger Construction of course made the whole project possible by donating the cut offs from the cedar siding left over. I appreciate the promotion that the Weekly provided. Joy Neal and the other members of Rotary and Kiwanis helped me set up at the site. Margaret Hillard...
A new commercial airport? Not in our backyard! The state Commercial Aviation Coordination Commission (CACC) is looking at ten sites for a commercial airport to accommodate 27 million passengers by 2050. Two of these sites are in Skagit County, one between La Conner and Mount Vernon and the other northwest of Burlington. Racquel Muncy reported in the Skagit Valley Herald the opinions of various local experts as to why these two locations would be a poor choice for an airport. Some of them were – 86% and more of the areas in question are in the o...
August opened with the news that a federal judge ruled for Whidbey Island resident Paula Spina and the group Citizens of the Ebey’s Reserve for a Healthy, Safe and Peaceful Environment in their lawsuit against the U.S. Navy. The Navy's 2019 plans to expand the number of Growler jets at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island needs to be redone. Why did the Navy lose to these people and the state of Washington, also a plaintiff? The Navy failed to follow the law in its development of an environmental impact statement. The judge did not say the Navy c...
We are all better off when everyone who lives and works in Skagit County has a safe, affordable place to call home. Healthy neighborhoods need healthy schools. Healthy schools need kids and families. Kids and families need housing they can afford. Seniors should be able to downsize in the same community where they owned a home and still afford to buy medicine and groceries. Employers and communities thrive when workers on our waterfronts, art galleries and restaurants can afford to live near where they are employed. From first responders, to...
What was going to be a standard and straightforward story extolling the integrity of the vote counting process by staff at the Skagit County Office of Elections and open government with the attendant citizen volunteer Democrat and Republican observers has turned into this lament and surprise in decisions made by staff at the county auditor's office. The back story starts with the Weekly News staff story development meeting listing assignments. With the Aug. 2 primary election looming – and the paper's ever present concern for integrity...
I seldom struggle to find subjects about which to write, but right now most of the subjects give us a fright! They sometimes cause us to kick, scratch and bite, we all seem to be a bit quick to turn our differences into a fight! Roe vs Wade, Trump and his tantrum on trial, immigrants trying to find a better place to live, China chiding us for Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, crazy war in Ukraine, climate change, affordable housing, yeah, the subjects go on and on, which do I choose? About all of these matters I could write what would make most of us s...
