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Friday starts the 18 day voting period for the March 3 Washington presidential primary. The sharpest divide and the most critical decision to make in casting your ballot is your choosing between the 20th and 21st century. Whichever party’s ballot you cast and whichever candidate you pick, make your top priority determining if the candidate has the vision and capacity to lead this nation, and yes, still the world, into the 21st century. Now, as we enter the second fifth of this not so new century – 20 years of it is over – will y...
Ambrose Bierce fought for the United States with honor and distinction in the Civil War, but the carnage and horror of the killing scarred him deeply. He became a writer of fiction of some renown, but the darkness and cynicism in his words was unique for his time. His 1906’s “Devil’s Dictionary” is an A to Z sardonic look at society. His definition of politics, as an example: “A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” Decency has been part of the civic lexicon since the...
There is a different and special one percent in our midst: the very few among us who have sought out training and are ready to save themselves and reach out to help the rest of us in the aftermath of an earthquake, volcano or tsunami, a catastrophic event that will turn life as we know it upside down. This could happen any day in the next 200 years. The last Magnitude 9.0 earthquake in the region was around 1700. Researchers say one occurs every 300 to 500 years, so maybe tomorrow or maybe not in our lifetimes the earth will shake. If it is in...
When I was young, there was a common joke told by comedians: “Everybody keeps talking about the weather, but nobody is doing anything about it.” This was also a sad reference to the politics of our democracy. That is, we spend a lot time talking about our problems, but much less time addressing them. The truth of this sentiment that is most alarming is the “climate change” debate. It is very much in keeping with the intent of the old joke. What is even more disconcerting is that the debate blinds us to a greater understanding of what we are...
R-Oak Harbor I am very familiar with the 10th Legislative District. I’m a fourth-generation family farmer on Whidbey Island who has been deeply involved in our community for years, serving as a firefighter and fire commissioner, and on community and business-related boards. However, I cannot read minds – so when I became state senator, my first priority was to travel around our district to get a sense of what you believe the legislature should be doing. We covered a lot of topics, from climate policy to transportation and the state’s res...
The Chamber of Commerce’s Director Heather Carter again delivered a successful La Conner Birding Showcase in Maple Hall in January. Vendors had brisk sales and environmental organizations shared information and concerns about matters great and small. A talk on raptors in the region keynoted the day. The past three years Carter has delivered on bringing people to town in the dead of winter for a day of inside birding bonding and then eating and shopping in town. Carter is succeeding admirably at bringing shoppers into town and deserves praise f...
Serving in the armed forces is one of the highest forms of service to our country. So, when veterans return home the last thing they should have to deal with is technical or bureaucratic hurdles. Our district is home to a large number of veterans. This past interim, after meeting with a number of constituents and hearing their concerns, I identified several areas where our state could do better for veterans and their families. I’m working with my colleagues across the aisle in the House and Senate to pass legislation to make sure that W...
Choose. Every day we make choices. I choose to get my news from NPR, National Public Radio. I read the local newspapers and, on Sunday, the Seattle Times. If there is a Chinese saying, “May you live in interesting times,” I have heard it called a curse and not a blessing. To us, us frogs in a pot of water slowly warming on the stove, life might seem normal. Trust me, it is not. The impeachment of President Trump is historic, but it might take 10 years for the facts to all come out and sink in. More critical to our future is climate change, whi...
Dear Friends and Neighbors – I am pleased to be able to share a few thoughts about the current activities of the Swinomish Tribe. Swinomish has grown in the past 20 years from approximately 500 to 1,000 tribal citizens. Our governing body, the Swinomish Senate, continues to be committed to improving the lives and well-being of our tribal members by providing the very best governmental services we can, including health and social programs, affordable housing, financial services, cultural programs, education (from early childhood through...
It is hard to have an Eagle Festival without eagles. If the eagles don’t flock upriver, to the headwaters of the Skagit River at the dawn of the new year, people – birders, families, retirees and folks with free time on their weekends – will not follow. This January they have not. Neither eagles not tourists have been kind to the Skagit’s upriver communities. Hardly two handfuls of people were seated Saturday afternoon for Andy Koch’s, as Badd Dog, rhythm and blues set in Marblemount’s Community Hall for that community’s annual Sk...
In reading the Jan. 2 Weekly News, I couldn’t help but be filled with emotion. Every article kind of cut to the quick, from Tim Johnson’s state of the Salish Sea, to the stories of the sailing adventure of friend Linda Rumbolt, to Ken’s concern about our loss of community, to John’s discussion about our ever-changing personal landscape, to the town attempting to create affordable housing, to the great work of community activists, the pieces instilled a touch of both sadness and ecstasy to my soul. As a lifelong resident of the region, I know...
Looking at the calendar, long ago this early January editorial on 2020 vision was scheduled. The metaphor is too good to pass up. Getting past the cliches and rhetoric is worth the challenge. But no view is clear, whether on our home turf in and around La Conner, in Skagit County, Washington state or nationally. The vision is even more cloudy now, for assassinations escalate conflict, they do not end it. Rockets from drones blow up more than people. Bombs make huge craters withing as well as between nations, chasms that will not soon be...
While the top, if not currently hot, story of 2019 is the still real turmoil in La Conner Schools, the quiet story this past year, indeed the past two years, and more, is the steady march from quest to accomplishment of funding the building of a new La Conner Regional Library. Our library, like all libraries, is as much a foundation of the community as our school district. Libraries are as much a fundamental building block of our local democracy as is the weekly newspaper. The world might be at your fingertips with your phone in your other...
Last week I went into the Big K store in Burlington. My ten minutes there were quite an eye opener. I went looking for razor blades, still an in-person purchase item for most of us. That’s the type of thing for which I shop. And I don’t shop much period, being fortunate to be comfortable with few wants. I am more of a Luddite then an internet surfer. Still, I get the power of Amazon. My friends all have empty – or full – Amazon prime boxes in their homes. And, I can’t remember the last time I went shopping with anyone. Maybe walki...
As I grow older, loss has become a more frequent and personal experience. While I never expected to grow old in the first place (a common youthful trait), it did not occur to me that growing older would include a fairly constant grieving process. Growing up, loss would come in cycles. Each cycle would have some space between for time to adjust. Most of the time, the loss was felt externally. Something is missing. However, when I lost people close to me, there was a part of my identity that seemed to go missing. Those people were part of my...
Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus yesterday. Their savior is not a warrior king but was revealed as a babe in swaddling clothes. Next week we are led into a new year by whom? A baby in a diaper. Warning: she is carrying a scythe. This week’s editorial are remarks made by Greta Thunberg in Madrid. The Time Magazine’s person of the year is a 16 year old crusader, the Joan of Arc of our time. Have your children or grandchildren read her words to you and hang in there for the discussion. Let the children lead it. — Ken Stern A yea...
During the Christmas season we hear and sing one of the most famous of all Christmas carols: “Joy to the World.” This year, not just churches, but our secular community choirs have celebrated the 300th birthday of this famous carol and made it the headliner of their Christmas programs. Originally it was published in a book of poems by Isaac Watts in Great Britain in 1719. Watts used a “Christian lens” of interpretation to celebrate Jesus’ role as the “King” of the Christian church and the whole world, rather than translating words of Psal...
Saturday will be the shortest day of the year. All month darkness has come earlier and daily the sun has risen later. Slowly, oh so slowly, come mid-January, the darkness will lift. We are in the middle, not the end of the season of darkness. People, however, are the species of hope, as we are the only species with art in its culture. “Hope is the thing with feathers” wrote Emily Dickinson. For Christians, next week celebrates the birth of Jesus. Church founders placed that birth at the darkest moment of the year. All around them, people wer...
Count to ten: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. We start with one and end with zero, as we would counting to twenty or thirty or any ten count. So, coming to January first what decade is it? Is it the last year of the decade of the teens, the 2011 decade ending? Or is it the first year of the 2020s, starting the third decade in this century? There is not universal agreement on when decades start and therefore when decades end. It is not like gravity or the speed of light: “186,000 miles per second per second is not just a good idea, it’s the law...
Lin McJunkin shared her thoughts in a letter to the community a couple of weeks ago, promoting giving the gift of time to kids as priceless. She is right. That effort, bonding with another, is a gift to the self, as well. That is what teachers, coaches and volunteers say. We cannot make more time, literally. I have a friend who rues time as “the enemy.” Another friend finds time to be an equalizer: the same amount is available to all of us, rich or poor. Walking through the stacks at the library Saturday, slow became my mantra. We can all slow...
In my previous article (Nov. 6), “The History of the Flaw-Part I,” I outlined a view of our nature as a species; our tendency to choose self-interest over community-interest; and our lack of common perspective. This discussion was brought to my attention early in my studies as a student of ecology by an article from a biology professor, Garrett Hardin. His article in Scientific American in December 1968, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” planted the seeds for this point of view. One of the principles of our democratic republic is that the collect...
Here we sit, giving thanks for what we have, hoping that our lives are lived in relative peace and harmony. I pray for this myself, daily. Unfortunately, prayer alone is not always going to do the trick; sometimes we have to educate ourselves about practical risks, and how we might prepare for them. Thus, this letter: It’s about the risk of our little beautiful town being torn asunder by the impending disaster that can’t be denied. I do not want to be a dooms-sayer, but a huge earthquake is headed our way and we are ill prepared for it and the...
Another month, another rain report. Regular readers know – and hopefully come to expect – a first issue of the month summary of the previous month’s rain and temperatures. For the thousands in the La Conner School district who don’t regularly receive a paper, this is a regular feature, as much as school news and sports. Just what is going on with the weather? Inquiring minds want to know. They find that answer in the Weekly News, the place for news about your community. A strong editorial voice is included every week, also. Edi...
The weekly newspaper was delivered today, Wednesday, and through the end of this week around La Conner, as has been the case every week for 141 years, since 1878. Hopefully it is your local and weekly newspaper. To the subscribers in the greater La Conner region, the 98257 and 98273 zip codes, thank you. To expatriates in Seattle, Portland, California and beyond, thank you. To grown children and parents who have bought gift subscriptions for family members so those far away are kept up to date and reminded weekly of the goings on in the...
Last week’s rains and the weekend’s winds knocked the last of this year’s leaves off area trees. Broadleaf or conifer needle, all fell like the rain that battered them to the ground. Just like that, autumn’s leaves are gone. The variety of colored puddles, reflecting their tree crowns above, were already pretty much raked, blown, ground and sucked up by humans bringing order to their yards. The leaf shadows are now only a memory, a journal entry, poem fragment or watercolor sketch, if captured in some physical form. Many a leaf will be capture...
