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The first memory from the La Conner United Methodist Church memorial garden project isn’t what anyone had in mind. Town of La Conner staff last week requested that work by volunteers in the garden cease while an arborist reviews potential damage by a backhoe to the root system of a large Norwegian spruce tree. Neighbors voiced their fears that the tree’s health was compromised and now poses a threat to nearby properties and the historic church building at Second and Benton during the public comment segment of the Aug. 6 planning commission mee...
New hire, familiar face. John Tanaka, who was its assistant chief a decade ago, is returning to Skagit County Fire District 13 near La Conner as a paid consultant to help develop long-range plans for expanded services. Tanaka's resume is filled with fire service experience. Along with his stint with District 13, Tanaka has been a fire captain in Everett, a fire response lecturer and instructor, a consultant to several other departments and consulted on a project to rebuild statewide...
Perhaps the largest gathering yet met for the 10th March Against Addiction last Wednesday, a stirring and emotional four-mile trek through Swinomish Village neighborhoods to raise awareness and offer support to combat the opioid crisis. Federal lawmakers weren’t there but were clearly in step. Seven members of the U.S. House of Representatives last week co-sponsored bipartisan legislation introduced by Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, to give tribal courts and law enforcement agencies more tools and resources to battle the nation’s devastating opi...
A state-managed program to help prevent vessels from becoming derelict or abandoned in Puget Sound waterways and along sensitive shoreline areas was unveiled in La Conner last Thursday. By all accounts it was a smashing success. Partners engaged in the free vessel turn-in and recycle day event gathered at the Port of Skagit's La Conner Marina for a 90-minute program including a demonstration dismantling a boats no longer in service and which otherwise could pose threats to the state's marine...
Not all roads lead to La Conner, but enough do to support the full fleet of vintage cars, trucks and trailered boats that rolled into town last Saturday. There were over 125 entries in the 24th annual La Conner Classic Boat and Car Show in the La Conner Marina's south basin parking lot, drawing throngs of admirers on a picture postcard bright sunny summer day. Conditions were ideal for folks to merge onto Memory Lane and listen to golden oldies over the event's outdoor sound system while time...
For years various entities have tried tackling La Conner's housing crunch. Now topping the list is Skagit Habitat for Humanity. The nonprofit has purchased property off Caledonia Street as a site for three single-family "sweat equity" homes. A groundbreaking is tentatively set for October. To start the process, Skagit Habitat Homebuyer Program Manager Eshel Clayton and realtor April Patterson visited La Conner on Saturday to share key details related to affordable housing options available...
People go to great lengths to attend the annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner. Attendees traveled from near and far – one person arriving from Beijing, China, 5,350 miles distant – to enjoy the 120th gathering of Skagit County pioneers and guests. A 2024 Pioneer Picnic crowd estimated at over 200 people also included La Conner Mayor Marna Hanneman, whose home isn't much farther than the proverbial 1,000 steps from the Pioneer Park site. The continuing summer tradition features a barbecued sal...
Almost an inch of rain fell July 29-30, almost the entire month's precipitation. It was the most July rain by far in the last 10 years and only the second time since 2015 more than 0.8 inches fell Four years during that period the monthly total was 0.3 inches or less of precipitation. No rain was recorded in 2021. Since 2000, there have been 17 years with less than one inch of rain, four years of around 1.3 inches and the record, 1.4 inches of rain in 2011. The 18.9 inches of rain this year is...
UPDATE, Thursday, Aug. 8 This afternoon the Skagit County Health Department posted a press release with these additional closures: "Due to recent samples of shellfish containing elevated levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins, the Washington State Department of Health (WA DOH) has closed recreational harvest for all shellfish species in the following areas: " Samish Bay, Guemes, Cypress, Sinclair. Vendovi, Hat and Saddlebag islands [and] Padilla Bay." Read the complete press release: https://www.skagitcounty.ne...
Wednesday afternoon contested Washington state primary election results will be summarized on the La Conner Weekly News website. Throughout the week results will be updated after the Skagit County elections office posts them. The Aug. 14 Weekly News will report on the latest available vote counts. Don’t hesitate to share your analysis and views with the community on the opinion page. Go to: www.laconnerweeklynews.com....
Artificial intelligence tools are helping Oregon wildlife researchers study hard-to-reach threatened species like the marbled murrelet. Researchers with Oregon State University and the U.S. Forest Service collected millions of hours of audio from federal forests in Washington and Oregon between 2018 and 2022. “We cannot physically review all the audio data that we collect,” said OSU College of Forestry doctoral student Matthew Weldy. “So we are reliant on computational tools to filter this data set and find sounds of interest.” To comb through...
CORRECTION - The LD 10 state representative Position 1 and Position 2 seats are correctly identified with the candidates in this update at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The position numbers were incorrect in the story posted Friday. The editor regrets the mistake. - ken stern Aug. 8, 2024 -- After vote count from election night, Aug. 6, and Thursday, Aug. 8 in the contested legislative district 10 (LD 10) elections Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair was ahead in Skagit County with 1,633 votes to State Senator Ron Muzzall's (R-Oak Harbor) 1,398 vo...
Aug. 9, 2024 -- State Senator Ron Muzzall's (R-Oak Harbor), with 48.5% of the vote, leads by 1,488 votes districtwide in the Aug. 6 primary race for his legislative district 10 (LD 10) seat against Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair who has 45.4% of the vote, and Camano Island resident Denny Sandberg, who has 5.9% after the Friday, Aug. 9 ballot tallies in the three county district. Muzzall has 23,687 votes; 1,845 are from Skagit County. There St. Clair leads with 2,068. She has 22,199 districtwide. In the LD 10 Pos. 1 contest, State Re...
Yachts shared Swinomish Channel on Friday with ornately crafted tribal canoes resembling the region's earliest form of water transportation. It was young people who made what's old new again. Over 20 canoes pulled by crews from throughout the Salish Sea landed at Swinomish as part of the 2024 Power Paddle to Puyallup Youth Canoe Journey. Upon their arrival, the canoe families requested and were granted permission by Miss Swinomish Kialah Seymour and Junior Miss Swinomish Ruby Billy to come...
Town officials didn't have to look far to find a consultant to develop a revitalization plan for La Conner's once-bustling south-end industrial area. The Beckwith Consulting Group, based in La Conner, has been offered a contract to craft a plan for the 3-acre site of the former San Juan Islands Pea Cannery and Moore-Clark fish feed plant. Town Administrator Scott Thomas and Assistant Planner Ajah Eills told the Weekly News that they expected to receive a signed contract from the consultant this...
A revered La Conner summer tradition continues tomorrow with the 120th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic and General Meeting. The Aug. 1 event, which supports the Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner, is set for 11 a.m. at Pioneer Park. The public is cordially invited. A barbecue salmon luncheon prepared by the "Good Girls" and served by members of the La Conner Civic Garden Club will be available. The $20 meal includes a commemorative ribbon and free admission to the...
Let the battle over the future of natural gas in Washington begin. State election officials certified an initiative for the November ballot that seeks to reverse Washington’s controversial tactics to phase out natural gas use in homes and other buildings on July 24. Supporters of Initiative 2066 began gathering signatures in mid-May and turned in 533,005 signatures earlier this month. State law required at least 324,516 be from registered voters. “We knew the people of Washington opposed the idea of banning natural gas, but the support for thi...
Heroes, by definition, are those admired for outstanding achievements and noble qualities. Seven Upper Skagit Valley community leaders, termed "Concrete Heroes" by the Skagit County Pioneer Association, will be honored in La Conner Aug. 1 during the 120th Pioneer Picnic. They are recipients of the Pioneer Spirit Award, recognized for putting life in Concrete on a solid foundation. The awardees are: Jason Miller, publisher and editor of the monthly Concrete Herald, is a Tacoma native with an...
Last week to vote: Aug. 6 is Election Day! Help get all ballots counted quickly: • Vote and return your ballot now • Sign your ballot envelope • Use a county drop box • Mail your ballot in time to get an Aug. 6 postmark Election drop boxes nearby: 614 Morris St. Swinomish Indian Tribal Community: Social Services Building, 17337 Reservation Road. Voting information and register to vote at VoteWa.gov. Skagit County Elections: 360-416-1702....
La Conner Fire Chief Aaron Reinstra has for years sounded the alarm about his department’s inability to fight downtown blazes from Swinomish Channel or make timely water rescues. The simple answer, he and Assistant Fire Chief Adam Avery have said, is to purchase a fire boat. What has not been so simple is finding a way to pay for it, even though the original estimated price of $600,000 has fallen to about $425,000. With necessity being the mother of invention, La Conner Hook and Ladder and town officials agreed in principle last week on a p...
Prospective homebuyers who’ve been priced out of the local housing market might want to set aside two hours on Saturday, Aug. 3, to learn about Skagit Habitat for Humanity’s Homebuyer Program. The organization will hold an orientation event from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Pioneer Park Amphitheater to explain how their Homebuyer Program works. The organization will start accepting applications for three Skagit County families interested in affordable homes in La Conner. Skagit Habitat for Humanity will explain the application and...
Due to seasonal low water flow conditions in the Skagit River, the City of Anacortes and Skagit Public Utility District water customers are asked to voluntarily reduce their water use by 10%. That includes water users in La Conner, since the town gets its water from the City of Anacortes. 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 a...
The Town of La Conner Public Works Department will perform their annual fire hydrant flushing and valve exercising during the month of August 2024 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you notice any discolored water, run your cold-water supply until it clears up. If it doesn’t, call Chris Smith at 360-929-1004 or Chip Sherman at 360-840-3684 for assistance....
The 24th La Conner Classic Boat & Car Show, sponsored by the La Conner Chamber of Commerce, is 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. There will be over 60 cars and perhaps six boats on trailers in the La Conner Marina's south parking lot. Another dozen or so boats will be moored in the marina's south basin. Come early and join car and boat owners who will be feasting at the La Conner Retirement Inn's annual pancake breakfast in their North First Street facility. The Inn is an event sponsor. Proceeds from...
What a difference a year makes. Last summer, La Conner School District officials required a budget extension that forecasted a negative general fund balance, the result of declining student enrollment and loss of pandemic-related federal dollars. That dire scenario landed La Conner in binding conditions, essentially giving the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction oversight of La Conner’s finances. On Monday, the school board approved what it called a “lean” $13 million budget for 2024-25 that projects revenues exceeding expen...