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Holiday Closures Martin Luther King Day January 15 Bank: Closed Buses: Regular service Library: Closed Schools: Closed Town Hall: Closed County government: Closed Post Office: Closed Trash Pick Up: Yes Seeking justice is part of healing....
In the event of a disaster, the single most important factor for an effective response will be availability of information, La Conner Emergency Management Commission member Jerry George said last week. “And that information,” he stressed, “has to be accurate.” George and the advisory panel are attentive to communications and information systems well ahead of the next flood, earthquake, windstorm, cold snap or heat wave. At its Jan. 2 meeting at Maple Hall commissioners heard from Skagit County Emergency Management Coordinator Joan Cromley...
You might have woken to rain today, Wednesday. Cold temperatures and snow will follow, the National Weather Service predicts. Snow is likely Thursday, with up to half an inch accumulating at the Burlington airport after a possible low of 31 degrees Wednesday night. Thursday may reach 38 degrees but it may drop to 15 degrees overnight. If it snows, the forecast is for less than one-half inch. Friday the high may reach 26 degrees. It may be partly sunny and snow. It may snow early Saturday morning and turn to rain. The high will be around 32....
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wa) tested positive for COVID-19 Jan. 8. She posted “Today I tested positive for COVID. I am up to date with vaccinations and have mild symptoms. I will be following CDC isolation guidelines and working from home in the Pacific Northwest” on the X media platform....
CONWAY — SR 534 opened to two-way traffic Monday morning, making it easier for parents to take their children to Conway Elementary School. Traffic had been restricted since the Olympic Pipeline vault gasoline leak Dec. 10. Cleanup crews have been at work at nearby Bulson Creek (Hill Ditch) and in the vicinity. Temporary closures may occur as flaggers facilitate truck movement in and out of the response area. Conway Hill Road has returned to one-way westerly traffic the unified command coordinating the spill response reported Jan. 7. A...
Addition The La Conner Firefighters Association also thanks Caravan Gallery for being a sponsor of its 2023 Annual Golf Tournament....
Food security remains a concern locally, so organizations and volunteers are expanding their efforts to meet the need. Helping Hands at Swinomish is one such enterprise. It received 850 visits in 2023 after starting in late 2022. On Thursday afternoons, a white Helping Hands Food Bank truck from the Sedro-Woolley distribution center backs up to the Inspire Church across from Fire District 13 and unloads pallets of food and household items, including bread, meat, pasta and fresh vegetables, fruits, laundry soap and diapers. Most is salvaged...
For more than two-thirds of his life, Doug Jones has been a Rotarian. The 95-year-old Channel Drive resident joined Rotary when he was 31. He has been a Rotarian longer than the 52 years he was married to his late wife Ruth and almost, but not quite, longer than he has been a father. "Rotary has been a way of life," Jones told an appreciative crowd at the Dec. 18 La Conner Rotary Christmas party, as his 64 years with the service club were celebrated. The club has been a constant throughout his...
Finally, rain, lots of it. December's rains were near record high, 4.6 inches, and 2023's first month of precipitation exceeding the century's average. Rain fell 10 of the first 11 days, totaling 3.1 inches; another 0.9 inches was in the last week. It rained 23 times, with only a two days break at most. Half an inch came down Dec. 1 and another 0.8 inch Dec 9, the month's highest one-day total. The 12 days of over 0.2 inches totaled 4.2 inches of precipitation. Total rainfall in 2023 was 22.4...
The calendar has flipped from December to January; 2023 to 2024. That means it’s a general election year. And the first local polling are two Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Senate primary races later this month. Six candidates, including the incumbents, are vying for a pair of five-year terms on the 11-member tribal governing body. Sen. Eric Day, first elected in 2019, faces challenges from Rodney John and James Bobb for Senate Seat No. 10. Three-term senator Brian Wilbur is seeking re-election to Seat No. 10, opposed by Bruce James and M...
For much of the last century, fish hatcheries have been built in the Northwest, across the U.S. and around the world to boost fish populations where wild numbers have gone down. But an analysis of more than 200 studies on hatcheries programs meant to boost salmonid numbers across the globe – including salmon, trout and whitefish – shows that nearly all have had negative impacts on the wild populations of those fish. Most commonly, hatchery fish reduced the genetic diversity of wild fish, leading to poor health and reproductive outcomes. The...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee outlined a plan to boost state spending by nearly $2.5 billion in the next 18 months with the largest sums devoted to increasing behavioral health services, reducing homelessness, and combating climate change in mid-December. His proposal relies on higher-than-expected tax collections and robust proceeds from the sale of pollution allowances. It would supplement spending in the operating, capital and transportation budgets adopted by the Legislature in 2023. Washington runs on two-year budget cycles with the current...
CONWAY — Crews cleaning up the Olympic Pipeline gas leak southwest of SR 534 in Conway cut down 289 trees Dec. 27-28 in order to remove underlying contaminated soil, the cleanup project’s unified command reported in a Dec.29 update. The area borders the west edge of a farm field and east shoreline of Hill Ditch. The trees were to be handled by a materials recycler BP spokesperson Pam Brady told the press last week. Approximately 8,324 gallons of gasoline have been recovered through the 29th. Approximately 25,326 gallons were discharged fro...
December was frosty and frozen 4-Jan La Conner Community combats wave of saltwater flooding 4-Jan Flood damage cost estimate $1.8 million 11-Jan Council creates emergency management commission 1-Feb Center Street condos a go 15-Feb Marna Hanneman will be next La Conner Mayor 24-May Festival celebrates author Tom Robbins 6-Sep Earthquake rattles La Conner Sunday 11-Oct 29 newspaper contest awards for Weekly News 11-Oct Blessing the La Conner Swinomish Library 18-Oct Town's short-term rentals...
By Courtney Flatt NWNews, NWPB It’s cold right now, but even fans of warm summers don’t want to endure the extreme temperatures of 2021. That’s when a deadly heat dome plagued the Northwest and overstayed its welcome. New climate research shows stronger heat domes could happen more often as the climate changes. “What surprised me is that the strongest response is occurring in the Pacific Northwest,” said Ziming Chen, a post-doctoral researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the lead author of the research study. With this rese...
The 88 homes sold in Skagit County in November was a drop of 22.8% from 2022. The La Conner school district market had seven home sales close, the same as last year, bucking the statewide trend. The two homes sold in the town of La Conner, as reported last month, on Maple Avenue and Benton Street, went for $725,000 and $1.25 million, respectively. Three of the Shelter Bay home sold for under $461,000 so our market’s $565,000 median monthly sold home price was just below the county’s median price of $575,000. The 88 homes sold are the third mon...
In La Conner, there's always one thing you can bank on. Tami Mason can be counted upon to pitch in and help when a community need arises. Mason, customer service supervisor at WaFd Bank's La Conner branch, volunteers for several organizations – from the Skagit County Historical Museum and La Conner Sunrise Food Bank boards of directors to the Chamber of Commerce and La Conner Volunteer Firefighters Association. "I love giving back to others," Mason told the Weekly News on Friday, as she w...
A smattering of Channel Cove residents took new Home Trust of Skagit Director Felicia Minot up on her offer to meet and greet them at the complex's community room Dec. 16. Each of the four residents that came out between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. could have taken a box of donuts home and boxes would have remained. Minot was hired to replace Jodi Dean in November, who retired after overseeing the completion of five owner-occupied homes on the property's north edge last summer. Many of Channel...
New Year’s Day January 1, Monday Bank: Closed Buses: Regular service Library: Closed Post Office: Closed Schools: Till Jan 3 Town Hall: Closed County government: Closed Weekly News: Half day New year, new opportunities...
By Tom Banse Washington State Standard The next time you go shopping for replacement tires, the state of Washington could have greater sway over what’s on the rack. That’s provided the Legislature agrees to a request from the state Department of Commerce for the authority to regulate tire efficiency. Auto owners may want to pay attention because the low rolling resistance tires that regulators want to promote typically cost more than budget tires. But over the lifetime of those tires, the average driver could save hundreds of dollars on gas...
The new year is bringing a new opportunity for local public service. Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, Skagit County Cemetery District No. 1, needs a commissioner. Candidates must reside within the cemetery district, according to cemetery district secretary Lori Buher. “Interested persons can check their property tax statements to determine if they do reside in our district,” Buher told the Weekly News. “This position would become effective in January 2024.” The vacancy was created when Curt Miller moved to Anacortes. Duties include meeting with pa...
Skagit Transit is increasing bus service on both Route 513 and 615. Route 513 starting Jan. 2, 2024 Route 615 will run between Mount Vernon, La Conner and the March’s Point park and ride lot every two hours. Route 513 will run between Burlington and the March’s Point park and ride lot every hour. Skagit Transit is committed to providing reliable and superior service to the communities it serves. Questions: 360-757-4433....
OLYMPIA —Begin the new year with Washington State Parks on a First Day Hike Jan. 1. Over 20 of the more than 40 state parks participating are in northwest Washington with both staff-led and self-guided hikes, snowshoe excursions, dog walks, bike and trail rides, paddle adventures and more. The northwest parks range from Larrabee, Rockport and Deception Pass to Fort Casey, Fort Ebey and South Whidbey on Whidbey Island to Camano Island State Park First Day Hikes is led nationally by America’s State Parks, encouraging people to get outside. Las...
There’s uncertainty about whether a happy, healthy 2024 is in the cards. But the numbers seem to indicate it is a strong possibility. Those who dish up black-eyed peas and cabbage or some other good luck fare on New Year’s Eve might do just as well to focus on the distinct numerical sequence of this Dec. 31 as a clue to what 2024 portends. This New Year’s Eve is 12/31/23. Or, more significantly, 123123. The experts in such matters see this as a good sign, noting that 123 and 123123 are sequences referred to as “angel numbers,” reflective of spe...