Adding various numbers up

At the start of the new year, one way to assess the year just passed is by looking at the numbers contained in budgets and reports and reflecting back and projecting forward. From front to back in this issue of the Weekly News, there are all kinds of numbers – and information to be used in decision making.

The coronavirus pandemic has not ended, but is no longer a crisis. In Skagit County and statewide, the rate of new infections has slowed and the number of people being hospitalized and dying are increasing at a much slower rate. While almost three-quarters of the people in Skagit County have...