Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper
Sorted by date Results 801 - 825 of 3028
A trained classical pianist, La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes has great appreciation for a variety of musical genres. He naturally keeps tabs on those playing keyboards. And one of his favorites is La Conner's own Terry Nelson. "Terry is the epitome, the soul, of La Conner," Hayes told the Weekly News recently. "He's so forward thinking." A longtime proponent of green energy, having for more than four decades advocated solar heating options, Nelson is also one of a handful of home-grown La Conner...
The status of short-term rentals will get a long look as the La Conner Town Planning Commission seek public input while updating what has become a hot button topic in La Conner. During their discussion of the issue last week, commissioners endorsed holding a community roundtable in September and collecting comments on the Town’s website. Assistant Planner Ajah Eills suggested the public dialogue after short-term rentals were addressed at the Aug. 1 hybrid meeting at Maple Hall. Short-term rentals are permitted in La Conner’s commercial zon...
At first glance, comparing La Conner and Kirkland is akin to apples and oranges. But when it comes to affordable housing incentives, it is a comparison that might bear fruit. Planning department staff shared with the La Conner Planning Commission during their July meeting at Maple Hall research into how Kirkland, a Seattle suburb of nearly 100,000 people, has sought to increase its stock of affordable housing. Assistant Planner Ajah Eills provided a seven-page report on how La Conner might implement some of the measures adopted in Kirkland....
Key steps were taken last week – both literally and figuratively – to mitigate saltwater flooding on La Conner’s north end. Public Works Director Brian Lease led members of La Conner’s emergency management commission on a one-hour July 25 walking tour of low-lying spots along the north waterfront from the Washington Street-end past Channel Lodge on North First Street. The six-member advisory panel. chaired by Bill Stokes and established in response to severe saltwater flooding here last December, will soon be making a recommendation to the tow...
Less is more yet again. In this case, addition by subtraction involves the long-awaited removal of a 65-foot abandoned and partially submerged sailboat from nearby Similk Bay on Swinomish Reservation. The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Washington State Department of Natural Resources and Northwest Straits Commission partnered July 20 to remove the Windjammer and another smaller derelict vessel from within tribal boundaries. The Windjammer was pulled from intertidal waters north of Kukutali...
Anyone can be a part of the La Conner Rotary Club 2023 Harvesting Hope annual auction and dinner at Maple Hall Aug. 26, 5:30 p.m. The theme this year is “Hope Springs Eternal.” Community participation is invited to support literacy and education programs. This is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year. La Conner Mayor Ramon Hayes will be honored as recipient of the Paul Harris Award to acknowledge his commitment to the community and the strong working relationship with town leaders the club has enjoyed during his tenure. Hayes stood out a...
Skagit County Public Works road crews expect to begin work on Monday to chip-seal Best Road between Calhoun Road and the Skagit River Bridge. The work will be done in phases. Travelers can expect some traffic delays when the base layer and gravel are placed. Weather permitting, the road crew will place a second layer of chip seal within two weeks. The speed limit will be reduced from 35 or 50 mph to 25 mph through the construction zone....
Today’s the party: The Skagit Valley Food Co-op’s Golden Jubilee at Skagit Riverwalk. Bring friends and family, lawn chairs and umbrellas. The Co-op provides local food, drinks, live music, amazing prizes and family-friendly fun: tie-dying with Tri-Dee Arts and face painting by Contours FX. They promise jolly good times. Music starts with the Nematones at 4 p.m. and ends with Yogoman Burning Band at 7 p.m. An open mic for Co-op Memories is at 6 p.m. There will be prizes to win. Be there. Source: Food Co-op...
To keep history alive, it must be tended like a garden. On Saturday, July 29, community members gathered at Northern State Hospital in Sedro-Woolley to nurture memories of family members of patients and staff. About 300 people came to Public History Day at the grounds to share artifacts and stories and learn from experts about the hospital, which closed 50 years ago. "Personal stories are the most powerful," said Sharon Howe, the research librarian at the Sedro-Woolley Museum, one of the...
La Conner Chamber of Commerce's 23rd annual Classic Boat and Car Show on Aug. 5 at the Port of Skagit Marina attracted about 125 automobiles of all makes, models and eras, along with nine boats on the water or on trailers. Chamber of Commerce Director Mark Hulst said show participants started lining up to secure their display spots as early as 5:45 a.m. and came from as far away as Anchorage, Alaska. Spectators marveled over the variety of automobiles and boats. "We saw folks from all over the...
Over the years, many ideas have been floated to solve La Conner's parking problem. An Anacortes man may have the best solution yet. At least it works for him. Michael Rudd rarely if ever has trouble parking his vehicle when in town. That's because his wheels are somewhat non-traditional – a small bright orange European-built velomobile in which he has cruised Skagit Valley roadways since 2017. Rudd was here in July to make a quick pit stop at One Moore Outhouse before returning to the La C...
The guest docks are full most nights this week. We have seen visitors from all over the area and up and down the west coast. We had three larger vessels that came up from Portland and they reported the ocean journey was really nice, with mild weather and relatively calm seas. This, while one of our other regular visitors is held up in southern California due to storms through Oregon and northern California! Hard to believe sometimes how varied the ocean can be. We have had four nights this summe...
Skagit County is officially in a drought emergency – but so far, some area farmers are having a pretty good year. Swanson Family Farm's berry crop was bountiful. "We went from a 10 percent crop and lots of freeze damage last year to a 110% crop this year," said Dean Swanson. He is already picking corn and thinks his cucumber and bean crops will be good. Potatoes "look good," said John Thulen of Pioneer Potatoes, "not lackluster, but not a crasher either, although some plants look stressed." P...
La Conner School Board Directors bit the bullet Monday in approving a barebones, $12.9 million annual budget whose target is to realize a positive fund balance by next summer. This budget is about $1 million leaner than that adopted a year ago and reflects painful staffing and program cutbacks tied to declining student enrollment and loss of federal COVID-19 emergency funds. The 2023-2024 budget was developed by Director of Finance and Operations David Cram, who was given the mission of restoring the school system’s fiscal health when he return...
What's old is new again tomorrow: the 119th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic, a longtime La Conner summer tradition. Starting at 11 a.m. Thursday at Pioneer Park, everyone is invited to attend. State Hall of Fame La Conner High volleyball coach Suzanne Marble and members of the Benson/Berentson Family will be special honorees. Marble will receive the Pioneer Spirit Award for her tireless efforts on behalf of students and athletes here over the past 30 years. Descendants of Atlag...
Focused on the future, Town officials have taken the long view to address La Conner’s most pressing needs. Town leaders highlighted a handful of top-tier issues in a 5-year strategic plan crafted during an all-day retreat July 24 in Mount Vernon. Priorities include a mandated upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant, robust investments in fire protection and safety, providing public access on South First Street to Caledonia, securing a permanent home for the public works department, developing long-term flood mitigation measures, replacing agi...
Pickleball started nearby on Bainbridge Island as a sport for kids in 1965. It has evolved into an extremely popular sport that bridges the generation gap, with many older participants. Last year the state legislature made it the official sport of Washington. Shelter Bay has tennis courts across from its administration building on Shoshone Drive that can be tightened up with a lower net and lines moved so there is less ground to cover. The tennis court further south on Shelter Bay Drive is being...
It was a current event on a Swinomish Channel steeped in history. Tribal canoe families from throughout the region arrived here just before noon a week ago Tuesday as part of the Paddle to Muckleshoot, the continuation of a cultural tradition dating to when the Salish Sea was a Native American superhighway. The 2023 Canoe Journey was the first such celebration in four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Swinomish and Samish nations were on its route. The display of handsomely painted canoes on...
Dennis Strong and his family began spending summers in La Conner in the mid-1950s, as did Clayton and Barbara James. They met through Ruth Pennington's Fidalgo Allied Arts summer art school, where James found his calling in ceramics and Vera Strong was teaching weaving. Their relationship and those made with others were nurtured over many summers spent in La Conner. As Peter Strong, Dennis' son, recalls, "I remember walking down the middle of First Street in that quiet town, taking art classes f...
Even in the dog days of summer, there is no shortage of events to satisfy diverse entertainment cravings over the next couple of weeks. The Anacortes Arts Festival runs Aug. 4-6. The annual show attracts up to 90,000 guests. It fills several blocks of Commercial Avenue in downtown Anacortes with some 200 arts and crafts vendor booths, plus jazz and main performance stages, art demonstrations, a kids’ discovery area, beer and wine gardens, food vendors and more. Info: anacortesartsfestival.com. The Chamber of Commerce hosts the 23rd annual La C...
Marilynn Olson (at the head of the table) was feted for her 80th birthday last Wednesday by fellow crafters – they proudly call themselves the Stitch & Bitch Club – with lunch, a party and cake on The Slider Café patio. "We started out stitching and bitching," the guest of honor quipped, "but now we eat and laugh." Joining in the fun were, clockwise: Marilynn Olson, Gwyn Beckwith, Joan Scarboro, Bobbie Arthur, Jan Paul, Cathy Brosnan, Barb Hammer (back to camera), Patty Snider, Ruth Braun, Jean...
You may not have noticed, yet our information kiosks are back up and working to keep you and visitors informed about what happens here in our town. Over the winter, the Swinomish Park kiosk blew down during a windstorm, due to the base being rusted and, with that, we decided the remaining kiosks were looking sad and due for repairs and repainting. Public Works took them into their shop disassembled them and sent them out to be painted and labeled. Then they put them back together and installed...
With a stack of fresh newspapers in hand, Ken Stern is making one of his first stops of the day at La Conner’s local office supply and business center. He greets the owners, Christina and Robyn Burdick-Good-Rubenstein – and their dog Clover. Stern knows exactly what they want, as the chanting begins: “Crossword day! Crossword day!” Stern is publisher and editor of the La Conner Weekly News. He doesn’t always deliver papers himself, but today he’s playing tour guide while he restocks local shops and newspaper boxes scattered across the two mai...
First to last, for 50 years the Skagit Valley Food Co-op has been about its member-owners. That, and the international principles embraced when the cooperative was founded as a buying club in a Presbyterian church basement in Mount Vernon in August 1973. "We would not exist without our members," said Nicole Vander Meulen, the Co-op's marketing and outreach director, Friday. "Let's start at the beginning ... YOU," the 2022 annual report proclaims next to the winding path of milestones depicting...
We are getting the parking lots ready for the Car and Boat Show Saturday, Aug 5. This is a bigger endeavor than you might imagine. Boaters in our marina are sometimes gone for months at a time, and we have to make sure their cars are parked somewhere safe. It can be difficult to manage, but we are blessed with a community of boaters who enjoy supporting town events and most people are happy to help. Remember to come out for this event if you can, it should be good again this year. Safety and...