La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Once upon a time, the late Doug Caldart insisted the only parking problem in La Conner was when there were no cars here to fill spaces in front of closed and boarded up storefronts. Those days are long gone. For decades the issue has instead been...

Friday the Skagit County elections office mails ballots to registered voters. The two statewide contested seats are U.S. Senate and Washington secretary of state. Supreme Court Justices Barbara Madsen, G. Helen Whitener and Mary Yu are running...

Ballots are mailed Friday. Help get all ballots counted quickly: Vote and return your ballot now Sign your ballot envelope Use a county dropbox Mail your ballot by Nov. 4 Election drop boxes nearby: La Conner Regional Library, 614 E. Morris Street...

A long dry season has been a mixed blessing for local farmers. Back in June, when the Skagit Valley was so cold and drenched some fields could not even be planted, Dean Swanson thought we would never hit 80 degrees. “Farmers asked for a warm dry fa...

Ballots get mailed to all Skagit County voters Friday. No need to rush your voting. You have till 8 p.m. Nov. 8 to deposit the ballot in a drop box. If you mail it through the post office, do that by Friday, Nov. 4. It has to be postmarked by Nov. 8...

The Kenyon Disend law firm charged $5,861 to the Town of La Conner for 25.1 hours of work in September assessing the 1986 contract rezone agreement for the 306 Center Street property. Almost all the hours, 24.9, were Sept. 1-8. The firm sent their...

The La Conner Town Council has granted $112,805 to nine area nonprofits to promote bringing tourists into the Skagit Valley. The La Conner Chamber of Commerce received the bulk of the funding, $83,000, 73.6%, to fund its operations. La Conner Live...

What would happen if Shelter Bay didn’t pursue a new lease with the Swinomish Tribe? I think that we should start looking at the possibility that in 2044 the Tribe will take over the community and possibly the management of the community. Why...

Oct 6. 2022 was a landmark day in La Conner. It was truly unprecedented and unlike any other in the Americas in the last 500 years that we know of. It was brought to our attention by Mr. Jay Bowen, who was gracious in his explanation that this March...

My Mondays are a treasure these days thanks to two gentlemen I have met. Both are named Colin and both are from England. While technically neither one lives in La Conner, they meet Monday afternoons from 3-5 p.m. for a “pint or two” at their...

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...

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...

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. More than a familiar adage, it’s now the approach local Fire District 13 could well approach to solve manpower issues going forward. The district has in recent months faced the loss of personnel to what Chief...

Father William Treacy died peacefully Sunday afternoon with Sister Emma at his side, and Fr. Jim and Terry nearby. Just before he took his last breath he looked heavenward as if seeing the angel sent to escort him to his next assignment. Deep peace...

Listening to Javier Zamora sing one of his poems at Maple Hall to a Meringue beat during this month’s Skagit River Poetry Festival, you would be surprised to learn he had traveled more than 3,000 miles on foot, by bus and boat, across rivers,...

It’s your deal. Cards cut, they’re in your hand and now you dole them out. Thirteen cards each, one at a time around the table, let the game begin. Do you bid, or pass and hope that your partner has a good hand? As in the new mystery, “Peg and...

The Theatre Arts Guild (TAG) presents The Rocky Horror Show at the Lincoln Theatre Oct. 21-Nov. 4. Directed and choreographed by Mike Jenkins, the cast features talent from Skagit Valley, Bellingham and Seattle. Audience participation and callbacks...

Join film lovers in Friday Harbor for three days of in-theatre documentaries, filmmaker Q&A’s, an opening night gala and more Oct. 21-23. Watch most of the features, shorts, student films and recorded Q&A’s online Oct. 24-30. Visit fhff.org for...

Come to Seaport Books Thursday, Oct. 20 to buy and have Shelter Bay novelist Ashley Sweeney sign her newly released third novel, “Hardland,” a western set in the Arizona Territory at the dawn of the 20th century. In it you will meet protagonist...

Watch candidate forums for November elections for Congressional District 2 and state representative district 10 through election day. Dan Matthews versus Rick Larsen for Congressional District 2: lwvbellinghamwhatcom.org. Lived-stream on Oct. 20...