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Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
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I wanted to say that I will really miss the paper. I have enjoyed it immensely. If I knew how long my money would last me I would have contributed gladly. Thank you! Vanessa Jett Shelter Bay...
As you cruise into retirement to wallow in hedonism, I want to thank you for embodying Civic Virtue in our hometown La Conner Weekly News. You dared to share with your readers what 70 of the top one hundred newspapers in circulation did not, endorse a presidential candidate. And you were in good company as those papers who did not kowtow to their billionaire or hedge fund owners, 28 endorsed Harris while two endorsed Trump. Those who didn’t do their civic duty their reasons were “growing polarization and fears of political ret...
Dear Ken. Seven years ago you chose to purchase the La Conner Weekly News after the opportunity to lead the paper in Hardwick, Vermont, vanished and fortunate for our community that was. For you too, spared black flies and deep winter’s frost for maritime climes, tulips and snow geese. You dove in, a cold plunge in many ways. Your exhaustive presence at seemingly every municipal event and otherwise, was impressive. Your walk with the printed paper to the stand on Wednesdays, even with injured leg, a folksy message of commitment. No doubt you t...
No news is bad news if we lose the La Conner Weekly News. If Publisher Ken Stern has to sell to the Adams chain of papers, we can pretty much say goodbye to local reporting. Unfortunately, the La Conner Community News group has not been able to approach the $200,000 sale price. We need to connect with one or more of those deep-pocketed philanthropists who are out there who would donate to make this a better, more informed world. If any of you have a lead, make a call, send an email. Now. We are running out of time. Jai Boreen La...
The Town of La Conner had a survey for the residents and business\people about the south end (aka transition zone, aka the subarea plan, aka the property in the vicinity of “big blue” and the old Moore Clark building, aka the freezer building. The survey asked for ratings on ideas about various categories. One of the survey categories is “access improvements” (roads, parking and paths). The highest rating possible is 5. “Extend waterfront path to Pioneer Park” received a seriously spectacular rating of 4.36 out of 5. Nothing else even reache...
The recent AP article entitled, “Biden’s broken promise on pardoning his son …” ends with the comment, “Neither Biden nor his White House staff explained the shift in the president’s thinking.” Yet seemingly overlooked was the fact that the pardon was issued directly following president-elect Trump’s choice of Kash Patel as his appointee to direct the FBI. Patel, long a loyalist to Mr. Trump, has promised that, “if Trump won the White House … he would go after Hunter and Joe Biden with a new criminal investigation.” (CNN) Patel has dismissed t...
Ken, we really enjoyed your La Conner paper that you managed for years with sincerity, openmindedness, equality and last but not least with intelligence and a commitment for truth. You spoke your mind about political, environmental and local situations after evaluating the true facts and we completely agreed with your opinion. We will miss your continuous effort to bring information and education our way. Best wishes for your next chapter in your life! Rosi and Wes Jansen Fine Feathered Friends La Conner...
The clock is running out on “Saving the La Conner News” . . . 3 weeks, 2 weeks, 1 week, GONE . . . say it isn’t so! . . . say it isn’t happening!! How shall we learn about town government meetings? School sport events and scores? Maple Hall events? New businesses and our wonderful current ones? Activities of fraternal organizations? Arts events? Emergency management efforts? La Conner redevelopment initiatives? The latest miracles from the Clean Energy Alliance? The vox populi in the Letters to the Editor . . . What’s on at the library a...
A good number of people have asked about the status of our recently formed La Conner Community News non-profit organization’s efforts to “Save the Newspaper.” We have been encouraged by the community interest and support demonstrated by financial pledges and donations, but have raised only a fraction of the funds needed to purchase the La Conner Weekly News and transition to a new managing editor. Even though our 11th-hour efforts have not raised sufficient funds for a purchase, we plan to continue our efforts to ensure the presence of a sourc...
I saw the announcement of a “Public forum” on Dec. 11 that is called to address “the town’s south end plan.” I see that title as an obfuscation, by the town, to hide the important process of dealing with the blight and danger present in the Moore Clark property. Reality is that the Skagit County Assessor’s Office current fair market value appraisal of the property, parcel P74496, is actually $442,300, not the $2,300,000 that the town administrator keeps quoting. So far there has been no attempt for the current owner to purchase insurance a...
If I remember correctly, in one month you will be officially retired from the La Conner Weekly News. If that is so, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your editorials and will miss them once the newspaper is in someone else’s hands. Although I’ve only been a subscriber for a short time, I found the entire newspaper informative and well worth the read. I have my fellow League of Women Voters members, Wende Sanderson and Barbara Carson, to thank for encouraging me to subscribe. I know they, too, will miss you. Wishing you a wel...
Re Mr. John Cline’s very uncivil letter to the editor in the Nov. 20 edition (“The incredible shrinking newspaper editor”). It sounded like a school boy’s triumphant “neener, neener, neener.” Of course, what else can we expect from Trump supporters? They can’t just win, they have to rub it in with sarcasm and name-calling. It is to be hoped that one day, in the near future, Mr. Cline and his ilk are as adversely affected by Trump’s insane lies and truly heinous cabinet nominees as the rest of us will be. Maybe they will then realize the error o...
John Cline’s letter to the editor calling Ken Stern’s editorial (“The incredible shrinking newspaper editor,” Nov. 20) “shrill ideologue” and cheering his retirement was appalling. The La Conner Weekly news is our only local source and Ken had done an admirable job. He has kept us informed and gives a voice to all who are lucky enough to live here. Ken’s editorials are insightful, informative and as editor, he has a right to express his own opinions, whether you agree with them or not. We will become another of the thousands of local newspapers...
From our wonderful La Conner Swinomish Library I checked out “An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Not a happy read, but edifying. Chapter four, “Bloody Footprints,” begins with a quote from historian John Grenier’s “The First Way of War.” “For the first 200 years of our military heritage, then, Americans depended on arts of war that contemporary professional soldiers supposedly abhorred: razing and destroying enemy villages and fields; killing enemy women and children; raiding settlements for captives;...
Ken, regarding your last two editorials commenting on the presidential election results, your apparent inability to comprehend that for some people there are just as many logical, valid, righteous and positive reasons to vote for Donald Trump as you have for voting for Kamala Harris reflects an immense shallowness in your journalistic curiosity (see CNN’s Scott Jennings’ article latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-11-01/election-donald-trump-kamala-harris for a different perspective). Your further reflexive impulse to ascribe only the most hat...
The Moore Clark building and property is a blight and a danger with breaches to the chain link fence that does not secure it but prevents public access to right of way along the waterfront (photo sent to Weekly News). The derelict owner should pay a daily fine for this mess and be required to carry appropriate insurance for the hazard of collapse and injury to victims. I am a near neighbor to the property. Sincerely, Breta Malcolm La Conner...
My fellow mammal mates, the Earth has been struck with the equivalent of the comet that took out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Yet life did not give up. The Earth has suffered many extinctions (five major ones). We are now living in the sixth extinction referred to as the Anthropocene. In geological history, 99 percent of everything that has lived has been wiped out. The tree of life is not a towering, lofty oak tree or redwood. The tree of life is a crust that has been beaten and burned and stumped on. Yet life goes on. Some think...
Yeah, I’m still alive and well, or so it seems, given my operation of this sophisticated piece of machinery, two moving parts. The small ball swirling at the end of the plastic tube full of ink moves nearly constantly in the hand of a decent writer, one who usually has a few words out, already thought, at the beginning of a sentence. The ball stops when the mind stops, to either consider the next best word, or maybe a whole new twist to the plot. Each consideration deserves its own mental slot. Who knows, in the future a thought may find a s...
Flabbergasted, astounded, staggered and dumbfounded, I find it hard to wrap my head around it. The privatization of war, once called the condottieri, now referred to as mercenaries, these private military companies, really hired killers is what they are. Moving on to another topic we learn of a philanthropic billionaire behaving quite neurotic, attempting to buy our vote. At a million a day he’s hoping to sway the election his way, to the candidate he promotes. AI powered by nukes seems like one for the books thought up by a bunch of kooks o...
Calling all patriots, the polls have opened, the mail in ballots are already delivered and it’s down to the wire, crunch time! My last letter established the basic criteria for selecting your representatives and now I’ll mention some tools for research: 1) Google each candidate and their statements. 2) go to Ballotpedia.org, for in depth coverage of each candidate and their responses. 3) go to Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, www.pdc.wa.gov, to which every candidate must be accountable and disclose their actual financial rec...
The choice is ours. Life or death. Freedom of religion or suppression of religion. Borders or no borders. Liberty or socialism/ Marxism/communism. The American Dream or rampant inflation. Constitutional republic or tyranny. Respected by the world powers or laughed at and used. Rule of law or lawlessness. Protection of our innocent children or brain washing our children in America’s schools and colleges. Respect for the Supreme Court or challenging the authority of the Supreme Court. Peace in our country or criminal chaos in our cities and st...
PEO Chapter JG of La Conner held “Gifts Galore,” an auction and brunch in Maple Hall on Oct. 19 to raise money to support women’s education. We offer financial help in the form of educational grants and scholarships to qualified women. We can only do this with the support of family, friends and donations from merchants. We thank the following merchants of La Conner for the donations to our auction: Red Door, Hellams, Waterfront Café, Apothecary, Skagit Cellers, Tim Winstrom, Stompin’ Grounds, Country Lady, Nell Thorn, The Stall, Ginger G...
The Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific and Guemes Island Ferry Workers, a bargaining unit of the IBU, urge voters to vote no on Initiative 2117. If approved, I-2117 would remove 25% of the funding for new ferries to replace Washington State Ferries’ aging fleet; and would eliminate 100% of the shore power project funding for the new Mark II ferries. I-2117 would also eliminate funding for the Guemes Island Ferry replacement project. As stated in materials IBU members have been distributing, chronic underfunding of the state ferry system for...
I am writing as a Skagit County farmer who is eager to see new energy and fresh ideas in our local government. The upcoming election has given us an exciting opportunity, particularly with Rylee Fleury running for county commissioner. It’s not just about electing a younger candidate – it’s about bringing a much-needed change to the way our county addresses key issues like farming and housing. For 16 years, we’ve seen the same face making the same decisions and frankly, the status quo isn’t working for many of us. Our farms, which are the backb...
Thank you, Ken for last week’s editorial concerning the massacre of Israeli innocents on Oct. 7, 2023 and the horrifying war on Hamas and the people of Gaza that is being waged by the present government of Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces (“After a Year of Slaughters,” Oct. 9). Though I appreciate parts of your editorial, it’s very important especially at this time to portray Israel as a country with many different voices. Yes, the present government is waging this war, but the present government doesn’t speak for the majority of Israel...
