In the News
Construction rate up despite material costs
Building has not slowed in Anacortes despite a triple increase in costs for lumber and building supplies. In fact, the City of Anacortes hired a part-time building inspector recently to assist with inspections. According to Dave Oicles, Permit Services Coordinator & Certified Arborist for the City, “This year as a whole has been very busy […]
Anacortes Arts Festival is back!
After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions, the regionally renowned Anacortes Arts Festival is back! Art, food, music and a colorful crowd brought downtown Anacortes to life for the three-day event, Friday through Sunday, August 8. Visit anacortesartsfestival.com for details.
Summer bees
Bees start early in my neighborhood.
Experience counts in mayoral race
Anacortes voters opted for experience in the 2021 primary election, at least in terms of mayoral candidates. They chose current council members Matt Miller and Ryan Walters over newcomer Tammy Guffey in a runoff that leads to the November general election. With 2,000 votes remaining to be counted as of this morning, it was Walters, […]
Smoke from area wildfires
Strange light, primarily due to smoke from wildfires as far away as British Columbia, Northern California, Oregon and eastern Washington. Monday afternoon scenes from Rosario Beach and Deception Pass State Park.
Airborne change of command
On Friday, July 23, 2021 the Cougars of U.S. Navy Electronic Attack Squadron 139 held an airborne change of command ceremony during which Cdr. Adam Green of Anacortes was relieved by Cdr. Jacob Vrbas. The change of command orders were read and broadcast to an NAS Whidbey hangar audience as Green and Vrbas flew overhead. […]
6th Annual ‘Little Gems’ show
Scott Milo Gallery celebrates its 6th Annual “Little Gems” event featuring small works in an invitational show, Aug. 6-28. This is a juried show with 71 accepted paintings. Kathleen Dunphy, an award winning artist from Northern California, is presenting the awards at 3 p.m. on August 6. The plein artists will be doing a painting […]
A long way from home
I had a brief opportunity Wednesday to photograph two members of a large team of contractors working beneath Deception Pass Bridge. One of them is from Texas, the other from Boston, Massachusetts. This months-long bridge repair and painting project is being completed by Cekra Construction of North Carolina under contract with the state Department of […]
Fort Casey black & white
Fort Casey Historical State Park on Central Whidbey Island is a 999-acre marine camping park with 10,810 feet of saltwater shoreline on Puget Sound (Admiralty Inlet). It includes Keystone Spit, a 2-mile stretch of land separating Admiralty Inlet and Crocket Lake. Constructed in the late 1800s, Fort Casey was equipped for defense and used as […]
Shipwrecked! Music Fest
Ten-plus bands and solo performers are bringing free music to downtown Anacortes Saturday, July 17 from noon to 8 p.m. at Causland Memorial Park. Artists include RTurner, Enduro, Gift Machine, Fieldboats, Reptile Authority, Karl Blau, Lazer Zeppelin III, Ebb, Slack & Flood, Young Hunks, The Enthusiasts and Fanny Alger. Hosted by Anacortes Music Project.
Chamber hosts candidate forum
Candidates have been campaigning for weeks now, as evidenced by this photo from the Anacortes 4th of July parade. But things got very serious for some this week as primary election ballots arrived in the mail. In the Anacortes mayoral race and one school board race, voters will narrow a field of three candidates to […]
City to return train to Thompson Family
Indications from an unofficial vote of Anacortes City Council members Monday night are that the custom-built Tommy Thompson train will be returned from city ownership back to ownership by the Thompson Family. This one-of-a-kind train was designed, built and operated by Tommy G. Thompson, who died in 1999. The family donated the train to the […]