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Once again the Earth has made a full circle around the sun. Tomorrow, April 22, is Earth Day, the 51st anniversary of people celebrating, first, the amazing wonder of what is truly Spaceship Earth, a frail vehicle carrying over seven billion people into the future. Second, folks gather to honor their collective power and commitment, historically, to clean up and reduce the pollution fouling our beloved Mother Earth. In the last 25 years the emphasis has increasingly shifted to reversing climate change, a task that, to date, the people of every...
It is a familiar ritual at this time of year, inspired by nature’s obvious cues: The need for Spring Cleaning. The budding flowers and greening trees of the outdoors evoke a desire to revitalize what is inside. We clean out garages and closets, defrost refrigerators, replant gardens and even delve into some cyber-hygiene of our hard and software. But with such wholesale rehabilitation of our physical spaces, our internal inventories of attitudes and behavior and the effort toward personal refinement they should inspire, often get short s...
Dear Parents of La Conner Elementary School: A letter was sent from the elementary school principal stating that La Conner School buses are at greater risk and your child could become infected with COVID-19 on the bus. Your bus drivers would like to correct this statement. We have not had a single case of COVID-19 attributed to riding our buses. We are following the OSPI (Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction) protocol. The State of Washington requires buses to separate students as much as possible, assign seating, have windows down an...
The 2021 legislative session is quickly coming to a close. The intensity has ramped up as lawmakers in both the Senate and House debate and vote on the state’s three main spending plans: the 2021-23 operating, capital and transportation budgets. Both chambers have their own versions of these plans. Each budget proposal is a separate bill that must obtain approval by the full Legislature before being delivered to the governor for signature. Now that the various proposals have made it through their respective chambers, budget negotiators and l...
La Conner schools has a new superintendent come July 1: Will Nelson, now director of equity and student success at Arlington’s public schools. For Nelson, and all educators, providing an equitable education is a commitment to fairness, so that every student has the opportunity to obtain a quality education. Since some children navigate a variety of obstacles just to arrive at school while others are fortunate to enter classrooms holding silver spoons, there is a wide gap educators must bridge to get all students to a high level of learning. T...
Soroptimist International of La Conner would like to thank the La Conner Weekly News for the front page photo and caption highlighting the reopening of Vintage La Conner, our thrift store. We are also thankful for the article on page two asking the community to refrain from dumping donations on our porches. Unfortunately, the dumping continues. And it is a big problem for us. Our club is operating the store with fewer than normal volunteers and a challenged budget due to the pandemic. We are open three days a week, rather than six, as before...
As we near the end of the 2021 legislative session, there are a few critical policy areas that the Legislature has failed to address. While we have had bipartisan agreement on a great number of bills, these missed opportunities are worth discussing. I think that they are policies that transcend party and get to the heart of ensuring an accountable and efficient government. I wrote in my last column about the path toward an income tax and touched briefly on the state’s budget. Since then, the Senate approved its version of the two-year spending...
There is no alternative. — Margaret Thatcher Dan Armland’s family had been around so long it was sometimes difficult for newcomers to Ma Donner to know where his farm property ended and the town’s boundary began. The ballfield on which generations of kids had grown up learning baseball and teamwork as well as playing frisbee fetch with their dogs was his family’s. So Mayor Herman Rays was not surprised when Armland called and asked to meet him for coffee at the Ma Donner Coffee Company. He was surprised when Dan told him, putting his s...
I really want to say that the public relations and outreach Fire District 13 continues to provide to our Swinomish Indian Tribal Community has not only been creative but it has nurtured our Spirits too, throughout 2020 and continues in 2021. For example, FD 13 has a staff member call me every single morning through a “Good Morning” program I signed up for when I first fell ill a few years ago. I also qualified for it because I am a Swinomish Elder. I look forward to their phone call every morning, especially during this pandemic. If I don...
My greatest priorities for the 2021 legislative session are to support economic development and recovery in rural communities, promote sustainable environmental and economic health and support families and those hit hardest by the pandemic and recession. The House recently released its operating, capital and transportation budgets. I am proud to have fought for local projects and programs that will go a long way to support these priorities. Economic Recovery Washington’s recovery begins with community, which is why House Democrats built a plan...
The La Conner community – actually a subset of parents, staff and residents of the school district – spent most of Saturday listening to and questioning candidates for the district’s superintendent position. Some folks returned Monday and Tuesday to provide input to the La Conner School District Board of Directors before a new superintendent was chosen today. Last Wednesday evening another portion of the community, again parents and residents, met with Town elected officials and staff over Zoom to discuss the purpose and shape of th...
There has been a rise in crime in town: car prowls, burglaries and a robbery have occurred since the start of the pandemic. For heaven’s sake, the Town’s Department of Public Works has been robbed twice. It is worth noting the problems at the Port with the theft of expensive equipment from boat owners. The Town contracts with the Skagit County Sheriff’s department to the tune of $330,000 a year. Gone are the days of community policing, with Sheriffs walking through town, meeting merchants, residents and visiting the schools. Last year thing...
Thank you thank you Ken Stern for printing the whole tribal obituary of Mike Cladoosby, and thank you to the writer. It was like a history of the bridge between the Swinomish Tribe and La Conner. I didn’t know Mike Cladoosby personally but I feel I got to know him through the stories told in this obituary. What a pillar of the Tribe, the school and the La Conner community. Joan Cross La Conner...
I was saddened and frustrated to hear about the town council and mayor’s decision to sell the Hedlin Ballpark, most of which will be developed into housing. I think this is a tremendous mistake by town leaders that will erase a cherished place for La Conner’s youth citizens. For kids growing up in La Conner the Hedlin Ballpark was the place many of us first learned to play baseball, soccer or failed at attempts to fly a kite. Its pastoral backdrop is seared into our memories along with wads of bubble gum, sunflower seeds and the unforgettable f...
Republicans in the state legislature oppose new taxes. Always have, always will. In his column in last week’s Weekly News, Senator Ron Muzzall follows the party line. He opposes SB5096, recently passed by the state senate by a 25-24 margin, calling it an underhanded attempt to institute a state income tax. He is wrong. This bill is about tax fairness. It would impose a 7% tax on capital gains over $250,000 a year. It will affect only about eight thousand of the state’s almost eight million residents, and it would raise, according to est...
Some have written about the slowing down of our court system during the pandemic. The history of Rome shows us how bad our current situation really is. In its early days, Rome suffered from a terrible epidemic. Rome’s public affairs depended on everyone being involved. The epidemic sickened not only public officials and militia members but also brought the justice system and elections apparatus to its knees, says historian Livy. The problem in America today is that our people are not engaged in processes of government like Romans were. Rome r...
COVID-19 has been demanding social isolation, which is a real challenge for someone like me. But isolation does not mean stagnation and I have been blessed with a wonderful companion, my dog Rosie, who turns 1-year-old on April Fool’s Day. Rosie and I spend a lot of time driving around Skagit County admiring what a beautiful place we get to live in. When I see something particularly stunning, I stop my car and take my iPhone out of my pocket and snap a picture, like the one you are looking at r...
In a stunning 5-4 decision, the Washington State Supreme Court recently ruled the state’s felony drug possession law unconstitutional. Essentially, the mere act of finding an illicit substance on someone’s person or on their property is no longer considered an arrestable offense. The ruling in State v. Blake decriminalizes the possession of all drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine. The court’s decision reverses decades of convictions, related fines and imprisonment – leaving cities, counties, prosecutors and law enfor...
La Conner is growing. In 2021 its housing stock will increase with developments on and above Maple Avenue. Ten homes will be built on the current ballfield. Mayor Ramon Hayes’ Maple View complex five blocks south adds four more. On Snapdragon Hill, C.J. Ebert is developing lots for another seven residences. These will all be market rate homes, selling for whatever price the developer and buyer agree to. These high priced homes will be good news for the town government, increasing the property tax base and adding stable dollars to its budget for...
Statement of resignation read March 9, 2021 I am resigning from the Planning Commission, effective immediately. I choose not to serve with a group that inappropriately and actively has sought to repress free ex- pression of ideas, by me, other Commissioners, and the public. As you know, the Planning Commission censured me for disagreeing with them in public, outside of deliberations. I am not asking the Planning Commission or the Board to remove the censure. I have protested and done my best, and I failed to convince the Commission to change...
In last year’s World Happiness Report – published before COVID-19 changed our lives in profound ways – the United States ranked 18th out of the 153 countries studied. And in a Harris poll from a few years ago, 33% of Americans surveyed indicated they were happy. This suggests that roughly 67% of us are not very happy with our lives. No doubt the numbers are probably more dim these days. These statistics are baffling considering that to many of the greatest minds ever, achieving happiness is of the utmost importance, and we are f...
Ron Muzzall Senator You may be familiar with the logical fallacy of the slippery slope. Simply put, it’s the idea that a certain action or effort will eventually lead to a much larger negative outcome. As a rhetorical device, most contend it is an ineffective and disingenuous basis for an argument. However, the slippery slope is not a fallacy when there is evidence. In fact, the pattern of government is one of incrementalism. Large, sweeping changes in public policy are few and far between and the system forces compromise or minor tweaks to a...
One year. It is a sad anniversary, a year since the coronavirus pandemic turned the world on its head. It has been a year of forced changes, uncertainty, sickness and death. It has been a year of working from home, reduced hours and lost jobs. It has been a year of closed schools, students trying to learn from home and parents, usually moms, adjusting their schedules, with many moms giving up their jobs to supervise and support their children. 2020 was the year of no: No eating out; no festivals, concerts or parades; no fireworks; no sports; no...
March provides the first of several heavy anniversaries for Skagit County. On March 10, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Skagit County. On March 13, Gov. Jay Inslee closed schools in order to protect students, staff and the community at large from COVID-19 spread. On March 17, Skagit County first became aware of the Skagit Valley Chorale outbreak, which would lead to the loss of two Skagitonians – some of the first known casualties from COVID-19 in Washington state. On March 23, the first “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” ord...
We are more than halfway done with the 2021 legislative session and there is a lot of good news for families and businesses here in the 10th District. Here is a quick look at major bills that have passed the House and will make a meaningful difference if they get signed into law. Broadband and technology access The covid pandemic has shown the weaknesses in our state’s broadband infrastructure, especially in rural areas like our communities. Fast and reliable internet is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity, just like electricity and r...
