NEWS
(SKAGIT COUNTY)- In 2025, Skagit County’s Farmland Legacy Program protected four farmland properties, permanently safeguarding another 270 acres of prime agricultural soil. Protected properties were in Bow (40 acres, 83 acres) and Mount Vernon (40 acres, 107 acres). The protection of Skagit County’s USDA-designated prime farmland means these properties can no longer be developed into residential buildings and will instead provide essential soil and land for farming for generations to come, according to a news release from the county. Skagit County’s Farmland Legacy Program now protects 15,400 acres of prime farmland of regional and global significance. An agricultural conservation easement means that the (read more)
(CAMP MURRAY, Wash.)– A Disaster Assistance Center will open Wednesday, April 22, in Whatcom County to help Washington residents affected by the storms and flooding that occurred Dec. 5-19, 2025. Specialists will assist survivors with FEMA applications and other disaster assistance, according to a news release from FEMA. The center location in Whatcom County will be at Sumas Advent Christian Church, 125 Front St., Sumas, WA 98295. The center's hours will be Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and closed Sunday. The center in Sumas can help people with FEMA applications and U.S. Small Business (read more)
(SKAGIT COUNTY)- Skagit County will begin accepting applications Friday, April 17, 2026, for grants to fund the construction of public facilities that retain and/or create family-wage jobs or affordable workforce housing projects, in accordance with RCW 82.14.370. In an update for the 2026 application cycle, Skagit County will be soliciting two separate applications for these grants. One application will be for economic development projects, and the second application will be for projects supporting affordable workforce housing, according to a news release from the county. The deadline to submit applications is May 22, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Application materials are available at www.skagitcounty.net (read more)
(BELLINGHAM)– As part of a project to restore fish passage at Friday, Lake and Chuckanut creeks near Bellingham, the Washington State Department of Transportation will relocate the well-known Bellingham Rock starting as early as Monday, April 20. Bellingham Rock has served as a community billboard along Interstate 5 for more than five decades. The rock is located within the active construction area at Chuckanut Creek, where contractor crews working on behalf of WSDOT will replace culverts that currently block native fish from passing. This work is part of a statewide effort to correct fish passage barriers and comply with a federal court (read more)
(OLYMPIA)– An important safety tool for the Washington State Department of Transportation and Washington State Patrol is showing encouraging results after a year of making the roadways safer for everyone. The Work Zone Speed Camera Program began enforcement on April 16, 2025, on Interstate 5 near Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The program started with one camera and expanded to six, which have been used in more than 675 deployments at 46 job sites, according to a news release from WSDOT. Early data from work zones where the camera conducted frequent enforcement shows an overall reduction in speeding. For example, on I-5 near JBLM, more than 60% of (read more)