Anyone paging through a stack of 2021’s Weekly News will find the obvious bright spots: the Fourth of July parade, concert and fireworks, an absolutely stupendous Halloween Parade and the lighted boat parade. The most wonderful record, set month after month, was the over-the-top Town of La Conner sales tax revenue collections. Facing year two of the pandemic a year ago, the town guessed it might collect $328,202 in 2021. Way too conservative. Sales tax revenue is likely to exceed $630,000, 62% over the forecast.

That surprise sales tax revenue note played alongside a year of staggering ev...