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People in the Anacortes-La Conner area experienced unhealthy air quality during Oct. 18-20, when air quality worsened steadily over two days, with 24-hour average readings of 42.1 ug/m3, 101.7 ug/m3 and 40.8 ug/m3. The Wednesday, Oct. 19 air quality was rated "unhealthy for everyone" by exceeding 101 ug/m3. The other two days the air quality was "unhealthy for at-risk groups," at over 35.5 ug/m3. The 24 hour average Oct. 16 was 34.5 ug/m3, just under the unhealthy for at-risk groups threshold....
This is the time each year when Medicare beneficiaries are allowed to make changes in their Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plan or Part C Medicare Advantage plan. It is strongly advised than anyone on Medicare who takes prescription medications review their drug coverage each year during this period to ensure that you are getting the best coverage for your medications at the lowest cost. The plans change every year. You can’t assume that the plan that worked well for you this year will still be your best option for 2023. Volunteer a...
Four members of a Shelter Bay Community board of directors that has been intensely criticized for more than two years may be headed to court. During a board committee meeting Oct. 13, resident Roberta Fontenot, an attorney, had a process server present Elaine Dixon, Monte Hicks, Louise Kari and Wendy Poulton with a claim for damages against them as individual board members. These complaints had not been filed in Skagit County Superior Court as of Monday morning, Oct. 24. General Manger Rick Tanner and legal counsel Philip Buri and two former...
She was the definition of a quick study while a senior at La Conner High School, simultaneously earning an associate-in-arts degree from nearby Skagit Valley College before enrolling in fall 2000 at Western Washington University as an 18-year-old junior. But over the past two decades Louisa Firethorne has also shown great patience and perseverance by nurturing her college senior project to fruition from its start as a mere sketch on a napkin. Firethorne, a professional webpage designer, is first...
This is the last week of National Co-op Month, the annual opportunity to consider the importance and potential of cooperative businesses. The theme this year, “Co-ops Build Economic Power,” is, sadly, more hope than reality for co-ops, their member owners and our communities. It is definitely true that specific co-ops here in the Skagit Valley are economic powerhouses. The Puget Sound Food Hub, Skagit Valley Food Co-op, Skagit Farm Supply and credit unions such as BECU and North Coast are thriving, growing opportunities for their member own...
By Jessica Brady Every year, we have a public Halloween festival – where kids parade through town in their outfits and go from shopfront to shopfront to get their candy loot. Sure, some families keep sweets at home in case anyone shows up in the evening, but trick-or-treating isn't really a custom here. Newcomers are baffled by this. A lot of old-time residents just accept it as one of La Conner's many quirks. Why do we have a public party instead of trick-or-treating? Only a few know the t...
Voting rights, civil rights, freedom of choice. Indigenous rights, gender rights, equal rights. Free and fair elections, political accountability, rule of law. Jobs, infrastructure, middle-class economic strength. Climate action, natural disaster funds, science. Affordable health care, caps on insulin, tackle Big Pharma. Sensible gun laws, broad law enforcement training, justice. Separation of church and state, bolster public education, fight censorship. NATO, balanced immigration, geopolitical awareness. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid....
Out here in the farm community, every landowner knows if you expect to raise a good crop of anything, you have to use fertilizer. In this area, the most abundant supply comes from cows and is spread liberally with care taken not to get any on the neighbors’ house or yard, but with little concern as to what he detects through his nostrils....
Talk about mixed emotions: My close friend, Father William Treacy, died last week at the amazing age of 103, and I will miss him so much, but I will also join in the joyous celebrations of his incredible life. Several years ago, I was looking for a place to teach my film and acting classes and heard about a 200-acre property in Skagit County that had buildings that were vacant much of the year. When I got there, I found out that it was now the Treacy-Levine Center, a place where Palestinian...
Your electric and gas utilities will pay you to reduce your energy use. They will pay you to pay them less. Electric and gas utilities will often pay part of the cost of buying and installing new appliances, lighting and temperature control equipment in residential, commercial, government and industrial buildings. These programs are usually structured to encourage faster adoption of new technologies, but sometimes they provide incentives to replace particularly old technologies. Puget Sound...
Father William Treacy died Sunday, Oct. 16 at the age of 103. He spent his final days at his home on the grounds of Camp Korey in Mount Vernon. A leader of ecumenical and interfaith relations in the Pacific Northwest, Father Treacy touched the hearts and minds of people of diverse faith traditions throughout the world. He came to Seattle in his early 20s and ended up creating a television series with Rabbi Raphael Levine of Temple De Hirsch Sinai in 1960 called "Challenge." The program aired... Full story
Town planning commissioners are getting plenty of chances to hone their listening skills. They have scheduled a Nov. 1 special session ahead of its regular monthly third week meeting to hear priorities from residents for potential changes to the La Conner Municipal Code. This will be the commission’s second special meeting in as many months. Longtime La Conner resident Linda Talman prevailed upon her former colleagues to meet, Commissioner John Leaver confirmed to the Weekly News on Friday. The commission used to meet twice monthly, Talman n...
Sold home prices in Skagit County remained strong in September, with 180 homes and condominiums closing, the same as in August, and the median sold price rising to $552,250, Northwest Multiple Listing Service data show. Anacortes again led the county’s markets, with 32 sales at a median price of $737,500, a 4% increase. The La Conner market slipped to third, at $555,000 median price for the nine homes sold last month. Burlington rose to second. Their 24 homes sold had a median price of $602,500, a 32% rise from August. September sales data m...
Ellie Marble is well known in regional volleyball circles and at Central Washington University, where the La Conner High School standout is a prized recruit for veteran head coach Mario Andaya's program. The 6'-0" senior outside hitter and reigning Washington State 2B Player of the Year is also getting plenty of national recognition. Marble was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Player of the Week for Oct. 3-9 after having led the Lady Braves to key conference net triumphs and...
La Conner High School senior Thomas Kitchen and his Braves teammates unleashed heat that Providence Classical Christian defenders couldn't handle during conference boys' home soccer action Friday night. Kitchen delivered a laser shot into the net at the 6:33 mark of the first half to break a scoreless tie and give La Conner a lead it wouldn't surrender enroute to a 2-1 Senior Night triumph in cold and wet conditions at Whittaker Field. "We've been playing a lot better," Kitchen said afterward. "...
Congratulations to Soroptimist Honored Student for October, Samantha (Sammy) Davidson. Sammy is a senior at La Conner High School. She plans to study biology in college and go on to medical school, specializing in OB/GYN. She has earned college credits through running start at Skagit Valley College and is currently taking calculus online Sammy has had a long history of involvement in scouting. She received her first scout handbook as a birthday present when she was 11 years old and went on to...
The Skagit County Historical Museum hosts their fall party, "Seeds For The Future" on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. in Maple Hall. There will be live music by the C.C. Adams Band, catering by Santo Coyote, stories about the seeds of our past and a raffle. Event tickets are $20 and raffle tickets are $10. Call the museum at 360-466-3365 or go online at skagitcounty.net/museum. Source: Skagit County Historical Museum...
There is over the top and then there is an incredible, all in, completely and enthusiastically well executed over the top production of "Rocky Horror Show" playing at the Lincoln Theatre in Mount Vernon the next two weeks. All liberated adults, go if you can get a ticket. A completely over-the-top performance of "The Rocky Horror Show" was exactly what the near sold-out Lincoln Theatre audience was ready for Sunday afternoon. From squirt guns mimicking rain to shout-outs throughout the...
You are reading about last weekend's 10th annual Friday Harbor Film Festival in part to get nudged to click on and watch on demand over 30 films through Oct. 30. They are worth your time. For $75 you can gorge on them all or start with one for $12. In Friday Harbor the Film Festival lit up four theaters Oct. 21-23, gloriously in person after two years of films online only, imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Starting Friday morning at 10 a.m., 27 feature and 13 shorts were shown over three...
TV ratings in Shelter Bay were down a lot Sunday night. A significant number of residents turned off their remotes during prime time, opting instead to attend a one-hour town hall meeting called by the Shelter Bay Community’s board of directors to address issues affecting the residential community. A standing room only crowd of perhaps 75 gathered in their clubhouse for a briskly paced question-and-answer session on topics ranging from aging infrastructure and increased homeowners’ association fees to the status of ongoing master lease neg...
Slamming scamming was a popular pastime in Skagit County on Wednesday, Oct. 19. The American Association of Retired Persons teamed up with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, TechConnect, Boeing Employees’ Credit Union and Nomorobo on a free 90-minute Tip-Offs to Rip-Offs online event designed to help Skagit County area consumers stay a step ahead of scammers. That heavyweight lineup landed quite a haymaker against con artists. “We had a solid showing for the event, with 114 signing in from the Skagit County area,” Jason Erskine...
A Small project is a big addition to downtown La Conner. Skagit Valley artist Roger Small, whose work is on display at Earthenworks Gallery, is making an impact on the town's outdoor landscape. Small, a retired union ironworker who grew up in Burlington, is creator of a stunning sculpture donated by resident Marilyn Thostenson and installed recently by the Town public works staff at the foot of the Benton Street stairway. It was relocated from the Skagit County Historical Museum. Entitled "The...
Toasting oats is a great way to warm your house on a chilly fall day. It fills your home with a nutty fragrance. It has just a bit of a crunch. It's a perfect topper for your yogurt snack. Toasted oats are also good in many home-prepared goods: Your no-bake cookies, granola bars and granola are just a few suggestions. Ingredients Old fashioned oats, 1 1/2 cups Parchment paper (optional) Preparation Cut and or fold parchment paper to cover the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet. Pour in the oats....
Sunday, October 16 12:29 p.m.: Found phone – A black Samsung phone was left on a bench. The phone has not yet been returned to the owner. Morris St., La Conner. Monday, October 17 8:52 a.m.: Lost dog returned – A lost dog was returned within minutes after it was reported missing. Maple Ave., La Conner. Friday, October 21 6:46 p.m.: Guardrail collision – One vehicle rollover collision near an intersection. A red SUV pulling a utility trailer collided with a guardrail and went down an emban...
We listened, heard and acted. The La Conner Weekly News unveils its new, user-friendly, feature rich website Friday, Oct. 28. What is changing? Content and subscriptions All stories will now appear online, making the website a true digital archive. Without an online subscription, site visitors will only be able to access three articles per week. Click the Free Trial link located in the black banner at the top right of the site to gain immediate online access. If you are a current print subscribe...
