Anacortes Now

Travel in the Time of Covid: Getting There Is Easy — It’s Getting Home That’s Hard

Art Shotwell Apr. 4 2022 5 minutes read

The part of my London visit that I didn’t plan was testing positive for the coronavirus. I couldn’t get back to the U.S., but the U.K. didn’t care what I did or where I went.

Distracted Driving Rate Falls in Washington

Art Shotwell Apr. 4 2022 3 minutes read

Washington’s distracted driving rate fell in 2021, from 9.4 percent in 2020 to 6.9 percent, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission’s (WTSC) Annual Distracted Driving Observation Survey.

I no longer grade my students’ work – and I wish I had stopped sooner

Art Shotwell Mar. 30 2022 7 minutes read

I’ve been teaching college English for more than 30 years. Four years ago, I stopped putting grades on written work, and it has transformed my teaching and my students’ learning. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.

As Red States Push Strident Abortion Bans, Other Restrictions Suddenly Look Less Extreme

Art Shotwell Mar. 30 2022 5 minutes read

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has yet to make clear its stand on Roe v. Wade. But state lawmakers aren’t waiting to consider a variety of extreme measures: bills that would ban abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancies, allow rapists’ families to object to terminating a victim’s pregnancy, or prohibit the procedure in the case of fetal disability. Do these proposals make the less extreme restrictions seem more mainstream?

Police Blotter, March 18 - 25, 2022

Anacortes Police Mar. 28 2022 8 minutes read

Anacortes Police said that numerous people called to report a man being disorderly and in at least one instance was mooning people.

Soaring crude prices make the cost of pretty much everything else go up too because we almost literally eat oil

Art Shotwell Mar. 28 2022 5 minutes read

The price of oil has been spiking in recent weeks in response to concerns that the war in Ukraine will significantly reduce supply. But what happens in oil markets never stays in oil markets.

Local governments are attractive targets for hackers and are ill-prepared

Art Shotwell Mar. 28 2022 4 minutes read

President Joe Biden on March 21, 2022, warned that Russian cyberattacks on U.S. targets are likely, though the government has not identified a specific threat. Biden urged the private sector: “Harden your cyber defenses immediately.”

Vaccine hesitancy is complicating physicians’ obligation to respect patient autonomy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Art Shotwell Mar. 24 2022 5 minutes read

Sitting barely 6 feet away from me, my patient yelled angrily, his face mask slipping to his upper lip: “No, I will not get vaccinated. And nothing you do or say will change that fact.” He provided no reason for why he was so opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Three Ways to Cope with the New Now

Art Shotwell Mar. 24 2022 3 minutes read

With the many difficult changes and current events that have transpired in the last couple of years, many Americans have found it difficult to cope with stress and sustain healthy mental health habits.

COVID case rate improves in Skagit County

Art Shotwell Mar. 24 2022 2 minutes read

Skagit County’s 7-day case rate has decreased by 32 percent since last week; our 7-day hospitalization rate did not change. Sadly, 6 new COVID-related deaths were reported.

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