Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 676 - 700 of 3028
Electric bikes are getting more popular and are getting strong support as a very healthy means of transportation. Washington Governor Jay Inslee is a strong advocate of electric bikes and the Washington state Legislature recently approved an appropriation up to $7 million in the next two years to support the purchase of e-bikes and create e-bike “lending libraries.” The incentive program provides e-bike buyers a $300 point of sale rebate regardless of their income and people with lower inc...
After 42 years on the job in La Conner, Jeanie Hertz ended her career Thursday the way it started – with style. The buoyant and cheery cosmetologist, who began styling hair when shaggy bobs and wispy bangs were all the rage, has handed over the keys to La Conner Hair Design on Maple Avenue to Katrina Brumley, ending what has literally been a colorful four-decade tenure at the local salon. The transition, as might be expected, has been bittersweet. “I cried for three days when I made the dec...
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Town of La Conner will hold four (4) Public Hearings on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 to consider each of the following: 1. Formation of the Transportation Benefit District. 2. 20 Year TIP Updates. 3. 2024 Preliminary Budget. 4. 2024 Property Tax Levy. The Public Hearings will be held during the 6 p.m. regular city council meeting located at 204 Commercial Street (Upper Maple Center). The Public Hearings shall be for the purpose of receiving public comments, written or oral. Written comments are to be submitted by...
For years, La Conner has been a thriving center of small-business commerce in the Skagit Valley. For Mark Hulst, director of the La Conner Chamber of Commerce, who has also served on the Mount Vernon City Council since 2011, it is his job to attempt to foster growth for not just La Conner, but for the prosperity of the wider community as well. Hulst is contested in his bid for a fourth term on the Mount Vernon City Council by progressive candidate Andrew Vander Stoep. Hulst sees being both a council member and the director of the La Conner...
Having committed to a new K-12 math curricula that has already paid dividends in terms of improved student achievement, La Conner school board members Monday also reaped the benefits of that investment. The five-member panel was saluted as a School Board of Distinction among Washington state’s small enrollment districts for its embrace of the ambitious new math initiative and implementation of Professional Learning Communities, Universal Design for Learning and other innovative programs. The announcement was made via Zoom by Tricia Lubach, dire...
A Skagit County resident was exposed to rabies recently by picking up a bat, which later tested positive for rabies, with bare hands. The person sustained a scratch when handling the bat and called Skagit County Public Health, who directed them to medical care, where they received the first doses of rabies prophylaxis the same day. Bats and animals ill on the ground should be left alone or safely moved with a shovel to where people and pets will not come in contact with them. In Washington, bats are the only mammal known to carry rabies. Any pe...
Autumn has arrived and settled in. The leaves are falling, the snow geese are returning and farm stand stock is thinning. The fresh produce season is transitioning. The farm stand at Hedlin's Family Farm officially closes on Halloween, but it may open on occasion in the days following. La Conner Gardens remains open all year as long as they have produce available. It also will continue at the Anacortes Farmers Market through their season ending Oct. 28. This season has been good for area...
Town officials and La Conner residents have spent a long time discussing short-term rentals. Which has been part of the plan all along – and going forward. The needle inched further toward defining short-term rentals and reaching consensus on whether regulations governing them should be modified during an Oct. 17 forum at the Civic Garden Club attended by more than 30 people. "We were excited about the turnout," Assistant Planner Ajah Eills told the Weekly News afterward. "We hope that the m...
Like La Conner, Langley is a tourist town on the Salish Sea, on the southeast coast of Whidbey Island. La Conner's planning commissioners, staff and Councilmember Marylee Chamberlain, along with a couple of citizens, met with architect and "pocket neighborhood" designer Ross Chapin Oct. 19 to hear his views on "strong towns: resliant small towns(with) great design (and) compact" based on his 40 year career, Planning Director Michael Davolio's goal was "to provide the Planning Commission with...
Voters living in the La Conner School District have one choice on their ballot in the school board race for the District 2 director. John Agen, elected to the District 1 position in 2019, has moved into the district. Janie Beasley, defeated in her 2019 reelection for that seat, is running again. No other local race is contested. Residents have to decide to vote their approval or not mark their ballots in these local elections: La Conner School District Alana Quintasket, District 1 Kim Pedroza, District 4 Town of La Conner Marna Hanneman, mayor...
Like loons calling across the water, like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," the Swinomish Canoe Family hushed the crowd of 150 people as they sang and drummed a blessing prayer, the chorus meandering its way from the majestic totem outside into the La Conner Swinomish Library Saturday afternoon. The building felt just a little more hallowed. And crowded. Whew! There were a lot of people there. The pole, made from a 400-year old western red cedar, carved by Kevin Paul and assisted by his son-in-law...
Candidates responded to these issues: 1. School District's greatest strengths. 2. Curriculum and policies valuing student voices. 3. Schools' unique features to maintain. 4. How to best support Superintendent Will Nelson. 5. High school's future if enrollment remains low. 6. Your experiences and qualities. John Agen 1. Community: La Conner has a long history of great support for our students and schools. Diversity: We have a wonderful blend that includes significant numbers of Native, Hispanic a...
The candidates in La Conner's only contested 2023 election shared their views and personal backgrounds at a Skagit County League of Women Voters forum in Mount Vernon Monday night. John Agen, elected director in District 1 in 2019, is the La Conner school board's legislative liaison. Janie Beasley served a decade on the five-member governing body until 2019. Each shared prepared statements and answered a set of questions. Candidates for seats on the Sedro-Woolley and Mount Vernon school boards p...
Washington State Dept. of Health has lifted the following closures for recreational shellfish harvesting :West Fidalgo Island,South Skagit and Similk Bay Harvesting remains closed to butter and varnish clams at Samish Island. Call 1-800-562-5632 to check for closures. Source: Skagit County Government...
Ted Taylor is fondly dubbed “Captain Catastrophe” because of his persistent calls for local emergency preparedness. But the Skagit County Fire District 13 captain and emergency management coordinator might more accurately be called a realist. That is especially true this week after the magnitude 4.3 earthquake centered south of Port Townsend that struck Sunday night and was felt in La Conner households and other locales throughout Western Washington. Numerous La Conner area residents reported that the quake rattled furniture, some likening it...
Staff at the La Conner Weekly News continue to be recognized for their excellent work. They received 29 WNPA best newspaper awards at the annual Better Newspaper Contest of Washington’s community newspapers in Kennewick Oct. 7. News editor Bill Reynolds led with 10, including first for his “Rehabbed bald eagle released near McGlinn Island” in the animal features story category. Reynolds added five seconds and four thirds across categories ranging from an arts feature story on Maggie Wilder leading the repainting of the mural under the Rainbow B...
Up. The Town of La Conner’s sales tax revenue is $63,276 for September, reported by the state Department of Revenue for July sales. It is the highest report for the month, the highest 2023 monthly total and the third highest monthly total ever, behind two 2022 summer months. It brings the year-to-date revenue to 76% of budget projections. This is the first 2023 month to top a 2022 same month total. As always, the special use fire tax tracks sales tax. The $6,284 matches in most ways: it is the highest 2023 monthly total, and a record for the c...
The eyes of Olympia were on La Conner Schools last week focusing on the district's innovative approach to assessing student learning. And state leaders visiting the local campus liked what they saw. State Sen. Lisa Wellman, chair of its early learning and K-12 education committee and Alissa Muller, director of the state board of education's mastery-based learning collaborative, met with students and staff here Oct. 4 to view and receive feedback on the La Conner district's mastery-based...
This Saturday, October 14, millions of viewers across the United States will be treated to an unusual sight. An annular solar “ring of fire” eclipse will occur across a narrow path from Oregon to Brazil. We may be able to see it in Western Washington, weather permitting. The event will start about 8:00 a.m PDT and will peak about an hour later. The event will last for about four minutes. There won’t be another annular eclipse until 2046, although you may be aware of the total solar eclipse coming on April 8, 2024. The difference between a tot...
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the possibility of buying a second electric car. I’m still giving that some consideration. However, before making a final decision, I’m going to wait till the recently-announced process is finalized for the (up to $7,500) federal tax rebate to be directly deducted from the price at the time of purchase is in place. That’s expected by January. While looking at the state of the art of electric cars, I found out that another electric vehicle type has been getti...
The La Conner Town Council almost doubled its hotel-motel allocation in the 2024 budget, voting to spend $342,111 at its Sept. 26 meeting. Almost 64%, $217,461 are internal expenditures, mostly for Maple Hall improvements, $132,866, up from $6,000 for security cameras for 2023. The Morris and First street restrooms and landscaping will get $63,995, a $10,139 increase. And the Town advertising budget jumped to $20,600 from $600. Grants to community organizations total $124,650. The La Conner...
Emergency management is more than a hot current topic. It will have great significance in the future as well. Which is why Skagit County Fire District 13 Capt. Ted Taylor is proposing that local schools consider teaching their students important community emergency response skills. Taylor floated the idea during the fire district’s 90-minute monthly meeting at the Snee-Oosh Road station Oct. 5. He reported on a well-received presentation he gave in September as the district’s emergency management coordinator on preparedness for natural dis...
OLYMPIA — Following the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools Sept. 30, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced the five members of his office’s Truth & Reconciliation Tribal Advisory Committee on Oct. 4. The committee will study how Washington state can address the harms caused by the government’s historical role in the shameful legacy of Indian boarding schools. The National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools, also known as “orange shirt day,” is observed on Sept. 30 to raise awareness about residenti...
Gov. Jay Inslee visited Anacortes last week to listen to locals discuss housing supply challenges. He left saying, “I got some good ideas here today,” while also noting, “We have more work to do.” The Tenant’s Housing Roundtable, in Anacortes on Sept.26, included about a dozen community members and elected officials from Skagit, Whatcom and Island counties. Inslee heard stories of high rent increases and frustrating regulatory and permitting processes. His questions emphasized efforts the state can take to best address the housing crisis. F...