NEWS

(SKAGIT COUNTY)- Skagit County Coroner Hayley Thompson has announced she will resign from her position as County Coroner before the end of her elected term. Coroner Thompson was appointed to the seat initially on May 16, 2016, and was then elected to the position in November 2016. Thompson was reelected in 2018 and 2022, according to a news release from the county. Thompson has additionally served as the President of the Washington Association of Coroners from 2021 to 2026 and is currently the President-Elect of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. She has served as the Legislative Chair for the Washington Association of Coroners     (read more)

(SKAGIT COUNTY)- The next scheduled maintenance period for the Guemes Island Ferry will be May 4 – May 17, 2026. The Skagit Board of County Commissioners signed Resolution R20260059 on March 23, 2026, awarding the bid to Stabbert Marine & Industrial for $175,014. The final car ferry run will depart Anacortes at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 3rd and return from Guemes approximately 8 minutes later. Passenger-only service will begin at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, May 4th and will run on the ferry’s regular non-peak sailing schedule, according to a news release from the county. The U.S. Coast Guard requires the County to replace four small     (read more)

(OLYMPIA)— Candidate Filing Week begins on Monday, May 4 at 8 a.m. and at county elections offices across the state, but mailed declarations are being accepted now. Declarations of Candidacy and full payment must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 8. During the filing period, eligible Washingtonians can declare candidacy for over 16,700 seats ranging from precinct committee officers to seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Candidates can register online, by mail, or in person through the Office of the Secretary of State for any of the 155 federal and state offices, according to a news release from the Office     (read more)

(OLYMPIA)– More clean energy and less coal power: That’s the recipe for a drop in Washington’s greenhouse gas emissions detailed in a new Washington Department of Ecology report. Despite population and economic growth, the state’s total emissions declined 0.5% from 2021 to 2022. This report does not include impacts from the Climate Commitment Act and the Clean Fuel Standard, which took effect in 2023, according to a news release from Ecology. Data from Ecology’s Statewide Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory – the most comprehensive look at all sources of carbon emissions in Washington – shows that emissions dropped from 96.6 million metric tons in 2021     (read more)

(SKAGIT COUNTY)- Skagit County Emergency Management will host two Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in Burlington and Hamilton to help residents affected by the December 2025 flooding event apply for federal, state, and local resources to support recovery efforts. Residents looking to apply for disaster recovery funds should be prepared to share home, mailing, and email addresses, phone number, social security number, and banking and insurance information, according to a news release from the county. DRCs at both the Burlington and Hamilton locations will host representatives from Skagit County Emergency Management, Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), Small Business Administration (SBA), Office     (read more)