Members of the Anacortes band BellaMaine are celebrating the release of their new album "An Anxious Mind." They will be performing their new album at a release show on Sunday, Jan. 20 at The Crocodile in Seattle. 

The City Council and the Mayor received a letter of apology on Thursday for, "creating the confusion surrounding the Conservation Easement Program discussion at Monday's Council meeting."

The Anacortes Library has announced it will hike the annual library use fee for non-residents of Anacortes by 25-percent, starting on Feb. 1. In a news release, the library said the action is being taken due to reduced funding in 2013.

The city has been collecting donations to add 160 acres to what one Council member terms "a wildly successful" Forest Conservation Easement program at what amounts to a 50-percent discount on the $1,000 per acre that was established when the program was started in 1998.

A man who said he wanted to join the State Patrol was stopped on for speeding on O Ave. by Police, who quickly discovered the man was legally drunk and had a suspended driver's license.

Much colder temperatures and a chance of spotty lowland snow at times Wednesday night through the weekend. Low temperatures Thursday morning will generally be in the low 30s but highs will struggle to reach 40 during the afternoon hours.