The City Public Works Department has announced the upcoming closure to the Guemes Channel Trail at the Edwards Way Cul-de-Sac.

Skagit County Commissioners have established a new, 23-member health advisory panel whose purpose is to provide “a permanent ongoing forum and structure to assess, plan and provide strategies and direction on how to improve the population health in Skagit County.”

It looks like Anacortes water users are in for a rate hike and if the City Council has its way, it will be sooner than later. It all stems from a review of anticipated water system maintenance costs, including rehabbing the city’s primary water tank.

High school students here helped celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday with a special assembly. Anacortes resident Anthony Young alerted us that a video of the celebration was available online. He wrote, “I was Impressed!!! The students were amazing, brilliant, and gave me hope for the future.”

The City Council has created a list of legislation they will support at the state level, including funding for the Guemes Channel Trail, reconciliation between recreational and medical marijuana, and continued ferry operations without cuts in international service.

Mayor Gere Tuesday night addressed concerns that the city’s plan to add solar panels to City Hall just isn’t worth it, saying that the panels will reduce the City's electric bills by $2,000 a year.