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During October, just three weeks from the Nov. 8 election, Republicans have reignited their misinformation campaigning in Skagit County. In Burlington, Mount Vernon and Fidalgo Island, residents are reporting the door knocking of members of the “Election Integrity Committee.” All reports are the same. The person appearing at your door will be an unassuming person warning you to not mail in your election ballot early. They will distribute Republican-only campaign literature. You will be encouraged to take your ballot to your municipal in-...
How about a better way to utilize the property at 306 Center Street? A three-story, sun blocking, non-neighborhood friendly structure with short-term rentals and inadequate parking will mean parking on the street and blocking residential homeowner’s parking. I see a project by and for developers adding expense and problems to the Town and residents of La Conner. How about single-family homes? I have been told there can be three of four homes built on this property, where families can raise children and have a yard with grass and flowers. T...
It's so important to know how our legislators have voted when we are deciding whether to re-elect or re-place them. That is really important in our 10th legislative district this year. Clyde Shavers is running against incumbent Greg Gilday. With that in mind, you need to know that Gilday voted: “No” to prohibit carrying firearms on school property or school transportation, government buildings or government property, voter registration office or ballot counting. “No” to prohibit sale of high capacity firearm magazines. “No” to expand and...
The upcoming midterm elections are the most important of our times. Today’s radical Democratic party has orchestrated more damage to America in two years then our worst foreign adversaries could have ever dreamed of accomplishing. The list is long but includes the most obvious and immediately painful intentional destruction of our energy independence creating hardships on families just to heat their homes and fuel their vehicles. The destruction of our hard earned sovereignty by failure to finish the border wall and which allows an i...
Please don’t be fooled by the recent hit piece mailer on Dave Paul. It is full of lies. Lie 1: Crime is increasing in Washington. False. Crime has decreased significantly here. Certain types of crime increased during the shutdown: domestic violence, and robberies, but overall crime has decreased. Lie 2: Dave Paul is anti-police. False. Dave Paul co-sponsored HB 1785 to ensure state troopers receive a competitive wage. Dave secured state funding to upgrade Skagit’s 911 emergency communications system, improving the safety of law enforcement off...
Dear neighbors of the Snapdragon Flats development. It appears from the town council record that the developer of Snapdragon Flats is up to his old antics of being a rude and disrespectful neighbor. I lived through his rock removal during the COVID-19 pandemic and so I am fully aware of this property owner’s poor behavior. If you find yourself in the position in which legal relief becomes necessary due to this property owner’s behavior, there is a letter which is part of the record for the permits for this project outlining numerous issues tha...
I wish Ms. Fontenot would have sought accurate information before leveling broad accusations and innuendo left and right in her Oct. 5 guest column. Her tone of condescension is offensive. Our volunteers, on the Shelter Bay Community board or directors and its committees give of their time and expertise to us. They deserve our support. Let me add my support for our hardworking staff. I assume Ms. Fontenot studied Shelter Bay lease history before buying a home here and therefore knew to expect rent increases every ten years. All residents have...
We all know in our hearts that America's children are at risk. We all know in our hearts that if God made a girl, she is a girl; and if He made a boy, he is a boy. Please, please, let us pray for this country's children to be protected from those who are changing our children from the God given natural to that which is false and deeply harmful. Let us pray for forgiveness as a nation. We have lost our moral compass on many fronts. What was once celebrated is now condemned! What was once condemned is now celebrated! Those refusing to celebrate...
An open letter to towns- people, town council, town staff and project developers: The town is growing. New construction is coming into neighborhoods. We as a town have long felt that infilling is the best way to grow rather than sprawling out into the farmlands. New projects need consistent guidelines from the town government on what specific regulations would apply to their developments. The guidelines that we would ordinarily depend on for 306 Center St. project have failed. The ensuing chaos has affected our beloved community. Although we,...
La Conner Maritime Service is a second generation La Conner family owned and operated business providing marine services since 1992. We employ about 30 individuals in living wage jobs. Several of those individuals, including myself, call La Conner home. I consider it a great privilege to work and live in such a beautiful area. Over the years our business has grown and attracted new clientele to the area, many with larger boats. With this growth we’ve realized a need for indoor space to accommodate larger boats and maintain year-round work f...
In May of 2022 Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed sweeping gun control measures making it illegal to buy, sell or import handguns anywhere in Canada; a buy-back program for assault-style weapons; higher penalties for gun-smugglers and trafficking; increased red-flag laws for domestic violence offenders; and limiting guns to five rounds. “This is about freedom,” he said.” People should be free to go to the supermarket, their school or place of worship without fear,” (The Guardian). At the Seeds of Change event in Edison on Sept....
I will be writing a series of letters about La Conner residents I have met during my frequent walks around town. Today I am writing about Glen who lives on North Third Street and can be found most mornings walking from his home along Center Street to Sixth Street and back. Glen is in his nineties and when we encounter each other, we always stop and chat. He is bright and cheerful even if he is a little slow in his gait. We talk of many things. If I encounter him while he is walking back to his house, I always walk with him. Last week, he mentio...
Two law firms looked at the situation on 306 Center and the 1986 Contract Rezone and came up with opposite conclusions. How do lay people like the rest of us decide who is right? They were both long opinions and cited case law. I believe that my guy was right but the town, which is vulnerable to a lawsuit from the developer, believes their firm to be correct. The town holds the power card. It is called the Administrative Permit. It is used for certain planning situations (Variance and Conditional Use). It gives the planner kingly powers. And so...
On Monday night, last week, the town council communications committee held its third community outreach event. The 35 or so townspeople who attended sat in small groups at separate tables with six or seven at each. And then they chatted: about what they liked, preferred, and loved about our community and also about their concerns for the future. Each participant was heard by the others. There were lively exchanges, enthusiasm, laughter, mutual respect. And ideas captured on paper for a summary report. The communications committee deserves our...
The PACT Act is a new law that expands Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances. This law helps us provide generations of veterans – and their survivors – with the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve. The VA's will help answer your questions about what the PACT Act means for you or your loved ones. You can also call 800-698-2411 (TTY: 711). And you can file a claim for PACT Act-related disability compensation or apply for VA health care now. As for mysel...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
