The Anacortes-San Juan Island Red Cross chapter has merged with the Whidbey Island chapter and the new name is The Islands Chapter. Brian Geer, who has been in charge of the Anacortes chapter will be head of the combined unit.

Anacortes Police helped a Corrections Officer arrest an escaped felon this week; several cars were hit by a pickup truck in a parking lot and a woman walked away from a grocery store with $75 in groceries without paying.

The Department of Safety, a haven for creativity in art and music, is closing its doors Saturday, Jan. 30 with a farewell celebration. The DoS has been there since 2002, in a building abandoned as a police and fire station in the mid-90's.

An intense, new thriller, Edge of Darkness, starting Mel Gibson, opens this weekend in Anacortes. Back for another week are Up in the Air, The Book of Eli, and Tooth Fairy. I loved Up in the Air. Meanwhile, The Apartment, winner of 5 Oscars, shows Friday night at 7pm at the library.

Shell Refinery Manager Sue Krienen (second from right) presents a check for $10,000 to Trestle committee representatives, including Anacortes Parks Foundation Treasurer David Hall; City Council member Brad Adams; fundraising chair Michele Pope and vice-chair Kris Lytton.

Here's a list of upcoming fund-raising events to help the trestle rebuild. The goal is to raise as much as $300,000.