In the May 11, 2011 issue...

Photo by Amylynn Richards

Guerrilla knitting gang exposed 

Writer Amylynn Richards caught up with a the notorious Tree-Sweater Knitter, one of a rogue band of fabric artists known for leaving fuzzy ornaments in public places around La Conner.

Planning Commission turned down industrial zoning request

The La Conner Planning Commission will recommend that the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe’s property on the waterfront south of Caledonia Street not be zoned for industry.

The tribe has asked the town to change its comprehensive land use plan to allow the 5½ acres  of commercial zoned property it purchased in 2009 to be zoned for industrial use, as it was before 2006.

Although the Planning Commission has recommended that the land stay commercial, the Town Council will have the final say. The issue is scheduled for a public hearing and council decision on June 14.

The property is adjacent to a residential neighborhood, where residents worry that an industrial zoning designation could increase the truck traffic through their streets. 

Photo by Sue Phillips

This week's must read is by writer Sue Phillips, who brings us "The adventures of Tomato Mike" with her story about Mike Hackett, the organic food inspector for the Washington State Department of Agriculture. 

Photo by Don Coyote

Off with their heads!

This is the sight that makes tulip tourists sad while some local residents sigh with relief. When the tulips are topped, what some refer to as the tourist Traffic Festival winds down. The tulips are topped to make the bulbs stronger; the beautiful flowers are actually byproducts of the bulb crop. 

And read about traffic in the new Mel Damski column, "If I ran the zoo." 

 

  From the Police Blotter:

5:13 p.m.: Bicycle vs. car – A 13-year old boy rode bicycle down the hill on 4^th Street south of the Catholic Church and blew the stop sign at 4^th and Caledonia streets. The boy careened into the path of a car traveling through the intersection and was hit. The boy was not badly hurt because he was wearing gloves and a helmet. He was treated at the scene for minor injuries. His bike was mangled and the car was dented, but the boy was taken home by a relative. The driver of the car was shook up but not injured.  Skateboarders go down this hill too! 

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