An old Anacortes church has been transformed into the Croatian Cultural Center by local arts patron Maria Petrish.

Four major books by three great authors are on this week's Northwest Bestsellers list. Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain is second on the list. Also on the list: The Other by David Guterson, Snuff by chuck Palahiak and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

The Anacortes School District is one of five Washington state school districts to be awarded funds by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help young learners.

The Anacortes Jazz Festival this weekend has an eclectic mix of jazz formats and styles with something for every taste. 

BMW-Oracle Racing Team on Monday launched and commissioned their 90-foot trimaran that they’ve been building here in Anacortes for the past nine months. The boat was then towed to Lovric’s Sea-Craft marina on the Guemes Channel.

A small, local group wants the state Transportation Department to include pedestrians and bicyclists in their plans for improvements to Highway 20, including plans for a roundabout at Sharpe’s Corner.

On August 17, A 13-year-old Anacortes boy was arrested and booked into Skagit County Juvenile Detention for malicious mischief.  The boy was responsible for several acts of graffiti at Storvick Park and several area businesses.  The boy, who claimed gang affiliation, spray painted the number 13 and other items on the new playground and restrooms at the park as well as on other area buildings.  The park graffiti was quickly removed by the Anacortes Parks Department.

School leaders say electronic devices have become a problem in Anacortes’ schools and are asking the School Board to impose new limitations.

Cézanne's Quarry by Barbara Pope.

In this richly atmospheric novel, a mysterious young woman named Solange Vernet arrives in Aix-en-Provence with her lover, a Darwinian scholar named Charles Westbury, and a year later is found strangled in a quarry outside the city. 

Two state agencies have appealed a state Supreme Courtt ruling that, in effect, endorsed Anacortes’ shoreline protection measures.