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Kudos to the editor for being willing to post a letter in last week’s issue that, I suspect, did not align with his perspective. This gives credence to his professed belief that a free press, uncensored, is best and open communication can, hopefully, create new channels of understanding. I can relate to the letter writer’s sense of loss (“America has changed,” Dec. 13). Yes, those golden years that we both grew up in were awesome. And yes, we miss them. But times change, conditions change and then is gone forever. Kiss it goodbye. And don’t b...
Well, once again we dodged a bullet, the atmospheric river hit mostly just south of us this time. Two years ago the atmospheric river hit the Skagit watershed pretty hard, but Whatcom County got hammered and towns along the Canadian border were devastated. This past week the Stillaguamish River at Arlington had the highest flows in history. Had either of these systems fully hit the Skagit watershed, it could have been a catastrophe for our vulnerable small town. No, this missing section of dike (ring, northeast of the schools – ed.) is an e...
Each year when I look for my unused Christmas cards and find the poem titled “The Work of Christmas” by Howard Thurman, a 20th century theologian, educator and civil rights leader, I am reminded of what is important about the season. While we celebrate with parties and gift giving with families and friends at Christmas and New Years let’s be thankful we live where we do. The poem speaks for itself and what each of us does with it determines how our lives will affect the community we so enjoy. Maybe then by extension our good will can reach...
The idea of making First Street in La Conner one way has been attempted before, over 25 years ago now. It didn’t work. The Town’s public works department used to change the traffic flow to one way during tulip festival, for a month during that time. One way traffic flow actually works very well for directing people to the parking lot at the south end of town. It impacts Second Street negatively, by increasing the number of vehicles making the loop around and around with (mostly locals) trying to get to the post office. Any time I travel I fin...
The article from Nov. 15 about the Skagit County water outlook (“Skagit County water outlook complicated”) pointed out that the challenges related to low water flows on the Skagit River are becoming more complex. This is a big deal for both irrigation and energy production. With droughts and extreme weather events becoming more common, the Skagit River is under increasing pressure to meet the demands for irrigation, electricity, and instream-flows. One solution to ease this pressure is to support local solar power. It’s a quick and easy alterna...
Growing up in Seattle from the early ‘50’s until 1989 when I finally had a bellyful of the insanity and moved here, it seemed like the world had gone just nuts! Compared to today’s world, America in particular, it was the best of times! Between the massive rise in illegal immigration on our southern border and a completely feckless president who refuses to do anything about it except to blame everything on the previous administration, which btw had record low numbers of illegal immigration. Just last week we witnessed 19,000 encounters in Arizo...
The Skagit Valley Clean Energy Co-op (skagitvce.coop) is ramping up our Solarize Skagit Campaign which will start in early March 2024. SVCEC’s Solarize Campaign connects Skagit homeowners and small businesses with solarizing their homes and buildings with the benefit of volume purchasing. We are a non-profit run by volunteers writing grants and mobilizing the money available from various government entities that can cut solarizing costs with free analysis of your roof site, tax credits, group purchasing discounts and financial discount on l...
It is not unusual for tourist towns to reserve a free parking lot for its visitors. For example, Sedona, AZ and Cedar Key, FL. Not to mention Anacortes and Mount Vernon locally. I think our town council should think of free parking as a form of hospitality. Free parking will welcome guests to our town. La Conner has a huge lot (on South Third Street, below Town Hall – ed.). Make this lot free so residents, employees and guests will use it. Free parking there will relieve parking on First Street, Second Street and beyond. What motivated me to w...
I would like to offer a huge thank you to the La Conner Swinomish Indian Community as well as the La Conner community at large for supporting the efforts of La Conner Young Life. Last week we had our annual fundraising dessert event and nearly 100 individuals attended. We had a fun evening of fun, games and sharing stories about the ways Young Life in La Conner has positively impacted both students and adults through the years. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community has been a loyal partner in this work for over 20 years and continues to...
The La Conner Community Scholarship Foundation (LCCSF) began a fund drive in June that will end on Nov. 30. A service minded La Conner High School alumnus has committed to matching all contributions up to $50,000. To date, nearly 40 donors have contributed $13,385. Founded in 1989, our Foundation’s purpose is to provide scholarship monies for graduating La Conner High School students pursuing post-secondary education. Scholarship funds may pay for two or four year colleges, technical/trade schools well as other forms of continuing education. S...
In the article “Paid downtown parking an option” last week (Nov. 1), I want to make a slight correction and offer my two cents on the subject. Correction: The company making a presentation to a joint council-planning commission meeting on Nov. 28 will not be marketing “metered” parking. The solution that will be presenting requires no infrastructure (meters) aside from approximately 25 signs which his company would furnish as part of their start-up. Their parking solution is digital, cellphone based, which allows for expansion and providi...
The Problem: Vehicles parking on First Street for extended periods of time during high tourist traffic periods. Who are the primary offenders? Business owners and employees. First Street residents. Hotel guests. (All of whom should be parking off First Street during business hours.) Simplest solution: Two hour parking limit, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily and April thru September only. Why not paid parking? 1) Parking is a minimal problem October thru March 2) Pay kiosks would be detrimental to First Street’s historic character. 3) It would discourage l...
On Oct. 28, P.E.O. Chapter JG, La Conner, held a brunch and auction at Maple Hall to support women’s educational opportunities. We rely on donations from members, friends, families and merchants to help us provide the financial needs to help women enhance their lives through education. Our silent auction was a success thanks to donations from chapter members and La Conner merchants. We acknowledge and thank the following merchants for their donations to our auction: Vintage La Conner, The Stall, Country Lady, Ladder’s Clothing, Waterfront Caf...
I read your recent editorial (No military aid to Israel, Oct. 25) with a mix of agreement and sorrow. The horror and inhumanity around the Israel/Palestine conflict seems to defy solution. The many players repeat the same moves over and over, expecting a different result, but just continuing the nightmare. Fifty years ago I met a young man on the train going from Libya to Egypt. He had been born and spent his whole life in the camps in Gaza. I was relatively unversed on what had been going on in the Middle East and he was a fountain of...
Gale Fiege was correct in asking about the failure to submit a profile for the Skagit voter pamphlet. I apologize for my failure to do so; I missed the deadline and I take responsibility for that. I did provide one when I first ran for a school board director position four years ago and should have this year. On a related note, my opponent (Janie Beasley) and I both attended the candidate forum put on by the Skagit League of Women Voters. Their website: skagitlvw.org. Once you find the correct forum, Janie and I are after the Sedro Woolley and...
I was disappointed when I opened the Skagit County voters’ pamphlet only to find that none of the candidates for La Conner School Board had submitted statements. To Alana Quintasket, John Agen, Janie Beasley and Kim Pedroza: What is your excuse? Voters need to read about why you are seeking election. I don’t care if you are the most popular person in the district, you still need to make a statement. And if the voters pamphlet deadline was too much for you, how can we be assured that you will do your job on the board? Gale Fiege Pleasant Rid...
On Aug. 15 our motor home was parked in La Conner while my husband and I took a walk. A few minutes later we heard fire engines and walked back to see, as it was near our motor home. It was our motor home and we were so fortunate the firefighters did a terrific job, as it was near the ice cream stand. We just want to thank Kevin and Carla Little for their phone numbers in case we needed to stay overnight. We also want to thank the nurse that came by and gave us her phone number. The support we had was phenomenal. People came by with food,...
So the slough slowly flows, back and forth it goes, out to the Salish Sea and Pacific Ocean, before it returns as rain and tidal slosh. So effortless and timeless, it stimulates the phosphorous’ sparkly glow. It’s quite simple really, we just have to have a spinning orb, that tilts this way and that. Yeah, one with a moon and numerous planets, affecting how our waters cycle and flow. Wind whipped waves lap and lash at our shores, sometimes smashing, sometimes as smooth as glass, giving us glimpses of our past, before we crashed ashore. Wha...
To the Editor, Your article this past week related to Habitat for Humanity’s purchase of property in La Conner (“Skagit Habitat for Humanity buys La Conner property,” Oct. 4) is factually incorrect. While representatives of Habitat for Humanity have met with town staff regarding their purchase of this property, the town has made no indication regarding the zoning of this property to enable the development described in your article. Moreover, no application has been made to the town requesting any such amendment to our Comprehensive Plan. As yo...
A friend and I had the good fortune to attend The Wayfinder Market’s “First supper club of the fall season” on Friday night Sept. 29. I say fortunate because if you missed out you are truly unlucky. We had a fabulous time. Twenty guests sat at a big L-shaped table and spent 2-1/2 hours getting to know each other over a delicious five-course meal. Food was fantastic. The company was fabulous. The staff members were wonderful. If you get the chance to make reservations for one of these supper club meals I say go for it. It was 2-1/2 hours well...
When I first started reading Mel Damski’s column today, I thought he was going to say that the Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) estate had sued the La Conner Weekly News for plagiarizing the beloved author’s book title. Yikes! That didn’t happen, but why doesn’t Damski take this as a perfect opportunity to come up with a new name for his column? He is a writer, after all. I’m sure he could come up with something original. Annabelle Massey Malloy Shelter Bay...
Thank you for covering the Sept. 24 Fire District 13 Open House event and for consistently providing your readers with information from and about this outstanding group of firefighter/EMTs who serve the community. Your article centers on the dedication of a new residence facility that will house FD 13 volunteer first responders when they commit to a 24 hour, or perhaps 48 hour, shift and become part of a team that answers emergency fire and medical 911calls every hour, every day of the year. That residence will see to the personal care and...
I did not appreciate your musings on Tom Robbins Day. Tom has been our friend for 49 years and is the funniest man we know. He’s still in better shape than many of his friends 20 years younger then he is. To say he was propped up is ageist. He recently went through another bought of COVID-19 and fared well. Tom has always been there for our community, greater area and issues that matter to our world. All we ever had to do is call him when we needed him to entertain us. I asked him many times to help and he did, to stop the nuclear plants h...
Dear town council, planning commission - and citizens: It has been mentioned on the council and planning commission recently that it would be a great idea (said they) to have all the traffic thru town exit on First Street along the water next to the blue building that would be removed for this to occur. They also keep toying with a one way First Street. This idea ignores some important realities: primarily, the Shoreline Master Plan. That land next to old blue (derelict blue building) and which is along the water does indeed partially belong...
Pope Francis will release a follow-up document on the environment on Oct. 4, providing an update to his 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si’,” “On Care for Our Common Home” – a landmark papal letter that offered a rallying cry for global action in the fight against climate change. Francis said the new document is an effort to help “put an end to the senseless war against our common home” and comes after a summer of record-breaking rising temperatures, wildfires and storms. The pope’s remarks came during his general audience at the Vatican on Aug. 3...
