Earth Day is Monday, April 22. This is not an Earth Day editorial and not because the almost holiday atmosphere and platitudes reverently uttered by politicians and corporate heads have hijacked the original intent. It is the same with Mother’s D...

Do you know fact from propaganda when see or hear it? Learn more at the April 29 forum “News & Media Literacy: Informed or Influenced?” The League of Women Voters of Skagit County offers its second program in their series of voter education, par...

My name is Wood Weiss and I am the Chief of Skagit Fire District 13. Recently people have been asking me about the upcoming ballot measure for the countywide Emergency Medical Services (EMS) levy renewal. I thought it might help to clarify who we...

About that cute little 0.53-acre plot known as the “Jensen Parcel?” As a resident of Channel Cove for a couple of years, I spent a lot of time thinking about it, from my permaculturalist perspective. How many wants and wishes could be achieved if...

If there is one thing that is certain in the dominant culture of the United States, it is that we are number one. The best. The greatest. Back in the halcyon days of certainty portrayed by Republican President Ronald Reagan, the metaphor was that we...

Journalists, self-reflective navel gazers, are quoting studies that 2.5 newspapers a week – 10 a month and 130 annually – closed in 2023. Is there a future for small newspapers? Yes there is. Here is one way to succeed. In the March issue of the nat...

Just beyond the deer fencing, lying between this old rotting house with fruit trees just as old, between these and a dense development, lies what used to be called a “vacant lot.” It might have been called a “swamp,” also, rather than a vestige...

We live at the bottom of Snapdragon hill, one of those beautiful, quiet islands of wildlife in town, that made La Conner’s charm. It was covered in summer with wildflowers, people would come pick blackberries, deer liked to climb up the hill, t...

On Dec. 27, 2022, a predicted 11-foot tide in La Conner Channel was met with low atmospheric pressure, high river flow and a western wind. As a result the channel rose to over 14 feet and spilled over along lower places on the eastern bank, flooding...

In the 1951 movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” the landing of a spaceship on the Washington Mall and the emergence of Klaatu in a spacesuit and helmet immediately changed everything worldwide. By the film’s end, humanity learned valuable lessons...

To the editor: Thank you so much for the effort to get the newspaper out earlier to those of us in the 98273 ZIP code area of the school district. Much appreciated! Gale Fiege Pleasant Ridge...

La Conner School District Director of Finance David Cram offered a realistic assessment last summer when presenting student enrollment numbers and the year’s budget to the school board and Superintendent Will Nelson. The head count in the e...

Dear Editor: I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the recently announced closure of Little Braves preschool due to lack of funding. As a member of our community and a parent who understands the importance of early childhood education, I...

To the editor: Thanks for running the article about zero-emission school buses (Weekly News, March 13, 2024). The bill would not have been possible except for the work of a broad coalition of Seattle climate and education activists, including...

To the editor: In all the parking discussions I have read and heard, enforcement seems to be ignored. I walk my dog daily through the South Third Street lot, which is theoretically pay parking, and have yet to see anyone checking for compliance. For...

To the editor: I would like to thank the Skagit Board of County Commissioners for placing an EMS levy renewal on the April 23, 2024, special election ballot to continue critical funding for emergency medical services in our community. Every second...

To the editor: I have lived in Shelter Bay for 24 years this month. We have had good times and troubled times as spring mends from the winter. Our community is also on the mend. First, I want to thank all the volunteers and staff for their rugged,...

On Feb. 13, the United State Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill containing military aid of $61 billion for Ukraine and $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is in no hurry to take it up in the...

I can’t believe anyone assessing the results of Washington’s presidential primary today and throughout this week will be surprised. Actually, there is one vote tally that is not certain: the total for uncommitted delegates in the Democratic pri...

When the Supreme Court took up the issue of presidential immunity, it became even more doubtful that the former president’s criminal trials could be completed before election day. So what is a voter to do without a trial? I say, look to i...

Dear Neighbors: First of all, it is not too late for you or for me to keep the ideas about parking flowing in. That is what they say at their meetings every week but it doesn’t always get out to the public. So opine on. I want the town to start w...