Members of the Key Club, the Kiwanis Noon Club, and the Kiwanis Sunrisers Club will pick up Christmas trees for recycling on January 9, starting at 9am.

Updated Dec. 28. - 'Twas the week before Christmas and police cases included: 2 men tossed 2 Christmas trees into a truck and drove off without paying...and a car and several chainsaws stolen in Friday Harbor, but which appeared here.

Two new films in town this Christmas weekend: Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Alvin and the Chipmunks" The Squeakquel. Continuing is the blockbuster Avatar. 

Assessed property values in Anacortes have dropped, on average, 7.6 percent from one year ago, according to the county Assessor's Office, the first drop since the early 1990s.

Police investigated several thefts at Anacortes marinas this week. Stolen were part of a navigational radar unit aboard one boat, a flat-screen TV on another boat. And, a Boston Whaler disappeared from a dock.

The weekend's top movie here is clearly Avatar. And, it comes with nearly universal rave reviews. Also opening this weekend is Planet 51. And, two good films continue this weekend: The Blind Side and The Princess and the Frog. But, it's Avatar that is the must see.