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A Woodinville contractor made fast work mid-month of demolishing a La Conner home gutted in a June fire. Greater Seattle Construction needed just two days, Aug.14-15, to knock down a North Fifth Street house destroyed in a June 19 blaze that sent plumes of black smoke wafting over town and produced noxious fumes that lingered in the neighborhood for weeks. Nearby residents, some of whom said their houses sustained smoke damage and others impacted by the foul-smelling air, lobbied town officials...
The 2023 lawsuit pitting Tulip Town against Andrew Miller's then-new across-the-road Tulip Valley Farms was dismissed Aug. 8 in Skagit County Superior Court. Tulip Town's motion was granted to have its claims dismissed without prejudice. The farm business had alleged Miller, its former partner and CEO of its parent Spinach Bus Venture Group, engaged in unlawful "duplicitous conduct" and breach of contract in starting Tulip Valley Farms. Miller countered that the partners operating agreement allo...
BREAK IT DOWN, LOAD IT UP, HAUL IT AWAY – Last Wednesday Fifth Street neighbors were greeted by the sound of an excavator and crew demolishing the Mitchell house, which was destroyed by fire June 19. Some folks watched from nearby porch steps. By Thursday afternoon the house was boxed up in two roll-off containers. Look for the full story next week....
Skagit County’s Farmland Legacy Program finalized a conservation easement on an 80-acre farmland property to permanently protect the land for agricultural use in July. The property sits along the state’s only designated Agricultural Scenic Corridor at the Chuckanut Drive and I-5 interchange. Landowner Mark Houser, part of the Houser family co-ownership of siblings and their children, expressed his family’s commitment to safeguarding agriculture in Skagit County. Houser notes he received calls weekly about developing the 80-acre property. “I wan...
Some things never change – like the excitement when a Roberts-built boat is launched in La Conner. And for a few fleeting moments last Friday at La Conner Marina and on Swinomish Channel it was 1960 again as a classic 27-foot Roberts Express Cruiser was the center of attention while being lowered into the water. Its launching captured the imagination of onlookers gathered at La Conner Maritime Service. And for good reason. Salvaged 15 years ago from a dry storage marina on the Snohomish River a...
In recent years, districts are spending a lot more money to keep Washington’s schools running – but state funding isn’t keeping up. That’s according to a new report from the League of Education Voters, which found school districts have increased spending on staff by 19.7% between the 2019-20 and 2022-23 school years. “We’re using an outdated prototypical school funding model to try to take care of kids in 2024,” said one rural school district superintendent quoted in the report. “It’s like trying to use a geometry equation to solve a calculus...
The Aug. 6 primary election results were certified by the Washington Secretary of State after the Weekly News went to press Tuesday, but the winners were all known from the first vote count. Only some 60 ballots remained to be counted by the Skagit County elections office staff. In the three-county state legislative district 10, an estimated 30 ballots were outstanding in Island and Snohomish counties. The most competitive race in November will be between State Senator Ron Muzzall’s (R-Oak Harbor), the primary winner with about 48.2% of the v...
At 5 p.m. today, livestreamed on YouTube, is a forum on “Housing for Our Whole Community to Live, Work & Stay,” organized by the League of Women Voters of Skagit County and hosted by Skagit Housing Consortium, EDASC, and Community Action of Skagit County. Attend in person at the Sedro-Woolley City Council chamber, 325 Metcalf Street, Sedro-Woolley. The discussion will emphasize the lack of housing affordable to workers, families and seniors in Skagit County. The League press release notes that housing is a regional issue, and that there are thi...
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Tribal Council approved a two-year contract renewal for Court of Appeals Judges Patricia Davis, Robert Miller and Patricia Paul at its July meeting. For over a decade Paul has been the food editor for the Weekly News....
Music to one's ears can be mere noise to another's. To find harmony between the two, the La Conner Town Council discussed potential noise control at its Aug. 13 Maple Hall meeting, especially those related to the La Conner Live Sunday concerts amplified music in Gilkey Square. Administrator Scott Thomas raised the topic in his written report in the council packet. "As has been the case for several years, Gilkey Square has been frequently used for musical performances," Thomas began. "I am aware...
The La Conner Town Council passed a budget amendment adding $163,500 to the general fund “as a commitment to the fire boat” at a July 31 special meeting called for that purpose, the meeting minutes state. The council also approved an agreement with Beckwith Consulting for the Moore Clark sub area development plan, funded by the state’s Community Development Block Grant awarded in 2022. Both votes were 4-0. Councilmember MaryLee Chamberlain was absent....
The La Conner Rotary Club, noted for its steadfast support of literacy and education, will honor at its annual dinner and auction this Saturday someone whose family is often lauded in print for its remarkable success growing tulips in the Skagit Valley. Leo Roozen, whose father, the late Bill Roozen, was a La Conner Rotarian, will be the local club's honored guest at its major Aug. 24 fundraiser here. Billed as "The Magic of Rotary," it is 5:30-9 p.m. at Maple Hall. The Roozen family began...
NOT TO BE MISSED Annual Summer Concert. Hear the Skagit Community Band at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, for its annual summer concert at Gilkey Square in La Conner. As always, the concert is free. Bring lawn chairs and sun screen. Animal, landscape and rural travel photography by travel photographer Terry Divyak is on display at Caravan Gallery, 619 S. First Street, La Conner. Open daily. LIBRARIES La Conner Swinomish Library. 520 Morris St., La Conner. 360-466-3352. www.lclib.lib.wa.us. Open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday....
Volunteering has paid off handsomely and repeatedly for Gary Ladd, the rewards proving every bit as valuable as a paycheck. "It's been fun," Ladd stresses, citing the sense of self-fulfillment realized from public service. Over the past decade, Ladd has lent his time and expertise to Skagit County Fire District 13, Skagit Bay Search & Rescue and the Shelter Bay residential community, filling a variety of roles for each. "I always had the spirit for volunteerism, but never had the time," said...
Fees at Skagit County’s transfer station will increase Sept. 1, a decision approved by the Skagit County Commissioners in June on recommendation of the county’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee and the Solid Waste System Governance Board. The new solid waste rates: • General solid waste at the Ovenell Road and Sauk transfer stations will be $137 per ton. • The minimum charge for general solid waste will be $27 for the first 360 pounds. • Appliances will be $13 per item, $33 for those with freon. Recycling and hazardous waste disposal are free...
The 2 p.m. Skagit Community Band summer concert set for this afternoon, Saturday, is canceled. " Due to predicted wet weather conditions, the Skagit Community Band has been forced to cancel today's concert. We look forward to seeing you for our 2024-2025 concert season," band director Vince Fejeran wrote in an email to the Weekly News....
The book had closed on this year’s Canoe Journey, but new chapters were written on Swinomish Channel last weekend. Tribal racing canoes were on the water as a main main highlight of the three-day Swinomish Days festival the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community hosts to celebrats traditional Coast Salish history and culture. The Aug. 9-11 gathering drew participants, spectators and guests to Swinomish and La Conner from throughout the Salish Sea region with areas in and around John K. Bob Ball Park...
An off-the-charts record: The $73,968 Town of La Conner sales tax revenue is the highest single month collection ever, for any month of any year. It is $18,789, 34.1%, higher than the July 2023 collection, which set a record last year. Records were similarly set for the special use fire tax, at $7,302. It is also its highest ever monthly total and $1,908, 35.4%, more than July 2023. The $24,180 hotel-motel tax collection is 47.1% above last year and sets a July record. These are May collections. The state’s Department of Resources reports on a...
With an unknown but relatively small number of votes left to count in state legislative district 10 (LD 10), the November races are set. State Senator Ron Muzzall’s (R-Oak Harbor), with 48.3% of the vote, leads by 1,488 votes districtwide in the Aug. 6 primary race for his legislative seat against Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair who has 46.6% of the vote, and Camano Island resident Denny Sandberg, who has 5.9% after the Monday, Aug. 12 ballot tallies in the three county district. Muzzall has 24,359 votes; 2,390 are from Skagit C...
As the state enters what is historically its toughest month of the year for wildfires, large blazes continue to burn in central and eastern Washington and smoke could be on the horizon on the west side of the state. But state officials aren't too worried – yet. Washington's wildfires have burned more acres than the last two fire seasons, but the number of overall ignitions remains low, resources aren't severely stretched and large fires are being contained. "We've made it through July, we've mad...
The Town of La Conner Public Works Department is continuing their annual fire hydrant flushing and valve checking in August, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. If your water is discolored, run cold-water until it clears. If the water does not clear, call Chris Smith at 360-929-1004 or Chip Sherman at 360-840-3684 for assistance....
La Conner residents are asked by the City of Anacortes and Skagit Public Utility District to voluntarily reduce their water use by 10% due to seasonal low water flow in the Skagit River. Anacortes supplies La Conner’s water. The Washington State Department of Ecology has established minimum instream flows designed to protect fish habitat of 6.54 billion gallons per day for the Skagit River. In August, when the river’s flow levels fall below that number, Anacortes and the PUD are required to notify customers to conserve water voluntarily. The...
Skagit Valley arts and cultural nonprofit organizations can request funding from the Town of La Conner Hotel/Motel tax fund for 2025. In 2023 5The La Conner Town Council granted $34,650 to nine community organizations and another $90,000 to the La Conner Chamber of Commerce. Over $217,450 was allocated for internal, Town projects, primarily Maple Hall improvements, the Morris and First street restrooms and landscaping. Last year hotel/motel tax revenues were $195,784. The 2024 budget projects $1...
Four Northern California tribes are working together on a microgrid project to improve power reliability in their remote region. The project will help the Yurok, Hoopa and Karuk Tribes avoid frequent power outages by generating their own renewable energy. Heidi Moore-Guynup, from the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe, said these tribes live along one of Pacific Gas & Electric's most unreliable power lines. "They are without power often," she said. "This could be because of a tree limb. This could be...
The Washington State Department of Health has closed recreational harvest for all shellfish species in most areas from Skagit Bay north to Padilla Bay, starting July 26 when they closed Similk Bay and Skagit Bay. On Aug. 8 Samish Bay, Guemes, Cypress, Sinclair. Vendovi, Hat and Saddlebag islands, Padilla Bay and West Fidalgo Island were added The Skagit County Health Department posted press releases announcing the closures, stating “due to recent samples of shellfish containing elevated levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins, t...