La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Another holiday season has come to greater La Conner. Santa jump started December, showing up at the La Conner Swinomish Library to read stories to children last Wednesday. He returned twice Saturday, first fortifying himself with pancakes at the... Full story

Perry Sobolik calls himself “an old newspaper junkie.” So he scours the press like a hawk for any scraps about his town, which happens to be the Seattle suburb of Kent. “We still get some attention down here, every once in a while,” he said.... Full story

Holiday lights abound. As Ray Stevens said about Santa Claus, they’re everywhere! They’re everywhere! They’re all over La Conner’s homes, streetlight posts and various public spaces. The big Christmas tree in Gilkey Square dominates the... Full story

Dear Greater La Conner Community, Welcome to the La Conner Weekly News. If you are getting the paper for the first time, I hope you will find your community newspaper an enjoyable and worthwhile read. Valued subscribers, I hope this issue meets your... Full story

I recently went out for dinner with a neighbor, a part-time, mostly-here-in-the-summer kind of neighbor. He teaches at a university, leads research and publishes interesting work on human behavior. As we waited to order he mentioned his frustration a... Full story

Did you know: Jefferson County ranks 38 out of 39 counties in the state for affordability for first-time, as well as all, home buyers. Jefferson County’s vacancy rate hovers between 0-1%. The national vacancy rate is 5%. At any one moment, almost... Full story

The Skagit Valley Clean Energy Co-op (skagitvce.coop) is ramping up our Solarize Skagit Campaign which will start in early March 2024. SVCEC’s Solarize Campaign connects Skagit homeowners and small businesses with solarizing their homes and... Full story

This is the week we sit down with family and friends and give thanks, typically for the abundant bounty that so many Americans are privileged to have. At this time of American thanksgiving, lifting our eyes past the laden table is as necessary for ou... Full story

With a degree of urgency appropriate for the planetary catastrophe we face today, Pope Francis’ latest exhortation, Laudate Deum, “to all people of good will on the climate crisis,” builds on his 2015 encyclical letter, Laudato Si’, “On... Full story

As faith leaders, elected officials, community leaders, educators and individual residents of Washington state, we are heartbroken and horrified by the escalated violence and bloodshed in Israel/Palestine. As people of all faith backgrounds and consc... Full story

What is more American than the post office? The post office is older than the United States, established the year before the Declaration of Independence, in 1775 by perhaps the wisest and most practical of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin. He... Full story

Can you imagine the Pacific Northwest without salmon? Their life cycle feeds many beings in the whole ecosystem. Salmon have been the center of spirit and community here for centuries And yet – they are at the brink of extinction in the Snake River... Full story

“When the big things seem out of control … focus on what you love right under your nose” writes Charlie Mackay in his book, “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.” And it does seem so, that the world is out of control. There are the... Full story

It is not unusual for tourist towns to reserve a free parking lot for its visitors. For example, Sedona, AZ and Cedar Key, FL. Not to mention Anacortes and Mount Vernon locally. I think our town council should think of free parking as a form of... Full story

I would like to offer a huge thank you to the La Conner Swinomish Indian Community as well as the La Conner community at large for supporting the efforts of La Conner Young Life. Last week we had our annual fundraising dessert event and nearly 100... Full story

The Nov. 8 story “Collaboration critical in climate change actions,” did not correctly identify Heather’s Spore’s job title nor accurately cite her point that Spore, a biologist and environmental policy analyst with Swinomish, mentioned that... Full story

At the Skagit County Historical Museum fundraiser Nov. 4, the East Wing 2024 naming right in honor of William and Helen Roozen was purchased by Lisette Roozen Mast, John Roozen, Madeleine Roozen Cook, Debbie Roozen Scott, Michael Roozen and grandson... Full story

It is a week after the school children of La Conner and many of their parents, families and friends swarmed up First Street in the town’s annual Halloween parade. Last weekend kids of all ages were on stage at the Lincoln Theatre, performing as... Full story

The La Conner Community Scholarship Foundation (LCCSF) began a fund drive in June that will end on Nov. 30. A service minded La Conner High School alumnus has committed to matching all contributions up to $50,000. To date, nearly 40 donors have... Full story

In the article “Paid downtown parking an option” last week (Nov. 1), I want to make a slight correction and offer my two cents on the subject. Correction: The company making a presentation to a joint council-planning commission meeting on Nov.... Full story

The Problem: Vehicles parking on First Street for extended periods of time during high tourist traffic periods. Who are the primary offenders? Business owners and employees. First Street residents. Hotel guests. (All of whom should be parking off... Full story

On Oct. 28, P.E.O. Chapter JG, La Conner, held a brunch and auction at Maple Hall to support women’s educational opportunities. We rely on donations from members, friends, families and merchants to help us provide the financial needs to help women... Full story