Author: Will Tygart

  • Hood Canal in May 2026: How a Spot Shrimp Opener and a Belfair Boardwalk Tell the Same Story

    Hood Canal in May 2026: How a Spot Shrimp Opener and a Belfair Boardwalk Tell the Same Story



    Hood Canal’s shoreline is doing two things at once this May. On Saturday, May 10, Marine Area 12 will open for spot shrimp at 9 a.m. — the only piece of Puget Sound with an opener two weeks before the rest of the region. A few miles up the highway in Belfair, the Mary E. Theler Wetlands Nature Preserve is heading into the most visible phase of a multi-year salmon restoration: a 1,200-foot elevated boardwalk through a salt marsh that, until recently, sat behind a failing levee.

    The two stories are not separate. The shrimp fishery exists because the canal still has functioning estuaries. The estuary at Theler is being rebuilt because Hood Canal’s summer chum — federally listed as threatened — need it to survive. For Mason County families, this May is a window into both halves of the same coastline.

    Marine Area 12 Opens May 10 — Two Weeks Ahead of the Rest of Puget Sound

    The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has set Hood Canal’s 2026 spot shrimp schedule with five confirmed openings in Marine Area 12: May 10, May 24, May 26, June 7, and June 21. Each window runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. only. WDFW has flagged that additional dates may be added later in the season depending on stock assessments — the agency’s Medium account and the Marine Area 12 regulations page are the definitive sources for any mid-season changes.

    The daily limit across Puget Sound is 80 spot shrimp per licensed fisher, and the combined daily weight limit for all shrimp species is 10 pounds (whole shrimp). If a shrimper retains only spot shrimp, they may remove and discard the heads on the water; if they retain any other shrimp species, heads must stay attached until they are back on shore so officers can verify the weight limit on the dock.

    The May 10 opener carries unusual weight on Hood Canal because it is the only early opportunity in the region. Most of Puget Sound waits until May 24. That two-week head start is why launch ramps from Hoodsport up through Union toward Belfair are likely to be at capacity before the 9 a.m. window opens. Experienced shrimpers tend to be on the water before sunrise, traps rigged, ready to drop the moment the season starts.

    Theler Wetlands: The Levee Is Gone, the Boardwalk Is Coming

    While shrimpers fish the deeper waters of the canal, the south end of Hood Canal is in the middle of a quieter transformation. The Mary E. Theler Wetlands Nature Preserve sits at the mouth of the Union River in Belfair — 22871 NE SR-3, just before the town center on Highway 3. For decades, a levee separated roughly seven acres of wetland from the tidal processes that built the marsh in the first place. As of fall 2025, that levee is gone.

    The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group (HCSEG) and WDFW completed the major earthwork phase last year: a failing 12-inch metal culvert was replaced with a 15-foot-wide concrete box culvert; a sinuous tidal channel was excavated through the new estuary; and a section of Northeast Roessel Road was raised to function as a set-back levee. Summer 2026 brings the most visible piece of the project — construction of a 1,200-foot elevated, piling-supported boardwalk through the restored marsh, built on the footprint where the old levee used to be.

    For Mason County visitors, the practical effect is that the Theler trail loop, currently fragmented by construction, will reconnect. The preserve already draws birders, school groups, and weekend walkers; the new boardwalk turns the wetlands into a fully accessible loop through restored salt marsh — the kind of walk that, in much of Puget Sound, no longer exists.

    Why the Two Stories Belong Together

    Hood Canal summer chum salmon are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. The Union River, which empties into the canal at Theler, is one of the last spawning runs left for the species. Juvenile summer chum need shallow, low-salinity, food-rich estuarine water to grow before they head out into the canal. That is exactly what the Theler restoration is rebuilding.

    And juvenile salmon are not the only species that depend on a healthy canal. Spot shrimp, the prize of every May opener, live in deeper waters but rely on the broader ecological function of Hood Canal — water quality, dissolved oxygen, nutrient flow — that estuaries help maintain. When residents pull a trap full of spot shrimp on May 10 and walk a restored boardwalk in August, they are seeing two different parts of the same system.

    What Mason County Residents Should Do This May

    For shrimpers: confirm your Washington recreational fishing license before May 10, check the WDFW Marine Area 12 regulations page for any last-minute rule changes, and arrive early. The 9 a.m. start is hard — traps cannot be set in the water before then.

    For everyone else: the Theler preserve is open during daylight hours, and HCSEG posts trail-access status at pnwsalmoncenter.org. The current spring window is a chance to see the wetlands mid-restoration, before the boardwalk goes in. By late summer 2026, the loop should be walkable end to end for the first time in years.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When does Hood Canal spot shrimp season open in 2026?

    Marine Area 12 opens for spot shrimp on May 10, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with additional confirmed openings on May 24, May 26, June 7, and June 21. WDFW may announce more dates later in the season. Hood Canal is the only Puget Sound area with an opening before May 24.

    What are the daily limits for spot shrimp in Hood Canal?

    Each licensed shrimp fisher may keep up to 80 spot shrimp per day, with a combined daily weight limit of 10 pounds (whole shrimp) for all shrimp species. Spot-shrimp-only retainers may remove the heads on the water; mixed-species retainers must keep heads attached until back on shore.

    Where is the Mary E. Theler Wetlands Nature Preserve?

    The preserve is located at 22871 NE SR-3 in Belfair, just off Highway 3 before the town center. It is open during daylight hours. Trail access is partially affected by ongoing restoration work; current status is posted at pnwsalmoncenter.org.

    When will the Theler Wetlands boardwalk be finished?

    WDFW and the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group plan to construct the 1,200-foot elevated boardwalk in summer 2026. The structure runs through the newly restored estuary on the footprint of the removed levee and will reconnect the preserve’s currently fragmented trail loop.

    Why does the Theler restoration matter for Hood Canal salmon?

    Hood Canal summer chum are federally listed as threatened. Juvenile chum from the Union River need shallow, low-salinity estuarine habitat to grow before entering the canal. The Theler project removed a levee, replaced an undersized culvert, and dug a new tidal channel to restore that nursery habitat across roughly seven acres.

    Do I need a license to harvest spot shrimp in Washington?

    Yes. A valid Washington recreational fishing license is required for spot shrimp harvest. Licenses can be purchased online from WDFW or at license vendors statewide. Children 15 and under do not need a license but are still subject to daily limits.

    Is the Theler Wetlands trail accessible during construction?

    Sections of the trail loop are currently fragmented because of restoration work. Walking access is available during daylight hours, but the full loop is not yet reconnected. The 2026 boardwalk construction is the final phase that will restore continuous loop access.

    Related Mason County coverage on tygartmedia.com: Hood Canal Property Owner’s Guide to Shellfish Access at Potlatch, First Time Shellfish Harvesting at Potlatch? A Beginner’s Guide, Tahuya River Preserve Reaches 190 Acres.

  • Everett Council Will Take Up an Ordinance Wednesday Changing How the City Pays Its Appointed Officials — Here’s What Chapter 2.74 Actually Covers

    Everett Council Will Take Up an Ordinance Wednesday Changing How the City Pays Its Appointed Officials — Here’s What Chapter 2.74 Actually Covers

    Everett Council Will Take Up an Ordinance Wednesday Changing How the City Pays Its Appointed Officials — Here’s What Chapter 2.74 Actually Covers

    Featured snippet:

    Q: What is Council Bill 2604-24, and when does the Everett City Council vote on it?
    A: CB 2604-24 amends Chapter 2.74 of the Everett Municipal Code, which governs compensation and fringe benefits for the city’s appointive officers, classified nonrepresented employees, and councilmembers themselves. First reading is at the May 6, 2026 council meeting. Third and final reading is scheduled for May 20, 2026.

    Wednesday night at City Hall, the Everett City Council will take up the first reading of an ordinance most residents will never read but every resident pays for.

    Council Bill 2604-24 is on the May 6 agenda as a Proposed Action Item — a 1st reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 2.74 of the Everett Municipal Code, which is the section of city code that governs how Everett pays its appointed department heads, its classified nonrepresented employees, and its own city councilmembers. The third and final reading is scheduled for May 20, 2026, at the next regular council meeting after Wednesday’s vote.

    The ordinance itself is short on the agenda — one line on a single page of consent and action items. But the chapter it amends is the section of code that decides how much the city pays the people running its departments and what benefits they get for that work. For a city facing a projected $14 million 2027 general fund gap (covered earlier in this desk’s run log on April 21), how the appointed leadership is compensated is not a side question.

    This article breaks down what Chapter 2.74 actually does, what’s likely to be inside CB 2604-24, the calendar between Wednesday and May 20, and how residents who want to weigh in can do so before the third reading.

    What Changes for Residents

    Three things to know up front:

    The vote is not final on Wednesday. Wednesday is the 1st reading. The final vote is May 20. That gives residents two weeks to read the ordinance bill, watch the May 6 deliberation, and submit public comment before the council acts.

    This is not a salary-setting vote for elected councilmembers in isolation. Chapter 2.74 covers three categories: appointive officers (the people the mayor appoints to run departments), classified nonrepresented employees (city staff who are not covered by a union contract), and the city council itself. Any change to one article of the chapter typically gets discussed alongside the others.

    You can read the actual bill before the meeting. The full PDF of CB 2604-24 is posted to the city’s Agenda Center under the May 6, 2026 agenda packet. The link to the document — including any staff memo explaining what the changes do — is published on everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter at least 72 hours before the meeting under state public-meeting rules.

    What Chapter 2.74 Actually Covers

    The Everett Municipal Code organizes Chapter 2.74 into three articles, each covering a different category of city personnel:

    Article I — Appointive Officers. These are the department heads and senior staff appointed by the mayor — the people who actually run departments like Public Works, Parks, the Police Department’s civilian leadership, the Fire Department’s civilian leadership, and similar roles. Under existing code, the mayor sets the workweek for appointive officers as needed for “efficient functioning of city government.” Appointive officers who are exempt from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act do not get premium pay for overtime, callbacks, or holidays, and no appointive officer gets longevity premium pay.

    The chapter also defines insurance benefits for these officers: basic and major medical, vision, and dental coverage for the officer and eligible dependents, with the full-time officer required to contribute ten percent of the cost of medical coverage.

    Article II — Classified Nonrepresented Employees. These are city employees who are not in a union bargaining unit. Their compensation and benefits are set through this chapter rather than through collective bargaining.

    Article III — City Council. This article covers how Everett pays its own councilmembers and council president, including any expense reimbursements and benefits.

    Chapter 2.74 is distinct from Chapter 2.72, which handles general employee compensation, and Chapter 2.70, which sets the broader Performance Management and Compensation Plan. The salary ordinance for represented employees lives elsewhere in the code.

    What’s Likely Inside CB 2604-24

    The agenda title for CB 2604-24 reads: “Adopt an Ordinance amending Chapter 2.74 of the Everett Municipal Code, which pertains to appointive employee compensation and fringe benefits.”

    The agenda doesn’t say specifically which sections of the chapter are being amended. That’s standard format for first-reading agenda titles — the substance is in the bill PDF in the agenda packet, not in the headline. Residents who want to know exactly what changes the ordinance proposes need to download the bill itself from the May 6 agenda packet at everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter.

    What is typical for ordinances of this type — based on how Chapter 2.74 has been amended in prior years — is one or more of the following: an adjustment to the cost-of-living formula, a change to the fringe-benefit contribution percentages, an update to the language defining which positions are “appointive” versus “classified,” a clarification of FLSA-exempt status for specific roles, or a reorganization of how the three articles interact.

    Residents reading the bill should look for: which sections are added, which are deleted, which are modified, and whether the changes are prospective (forward-looking only) or retroactive to a prior pay period.

    The Calendar Between Wednesday and May 20

    Everett ordinances generally get three readings before adoption:

    • 1st Reading: Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. — Council Chambers, 3002 Wetmore Avenue. The bill is introduced, staff may offer a brief explanation, and councilmembers can ask questions. There is typically no full debate at first reading; the bill is “read” and held over.
    • 2nd Reading: would normally be May 13, 2026 — at the regular Wednesday meeting that week. The bill receives further consideration. Amendments are most commonly offered at second reading.
    • 3rd & Final Reading: Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. — the agenda title for CB 2604-24 specifically lists “(3rd & Final Reading 5/20/26)” — meaning the final vote, in current city practice, is consolidated into a single agenda item on the third meeting in the cycle.

    If amendments are added between first and final reading, those amendments themselves can extend the process. Residents who want to follow the bill should set a reminder for May 20.

    How to Weigh In Before May 20

    Everett’s council meetings include a Public Comment period at the start of every regular meeting. Residents who want to comment on CB 2604-24 have several paths:

    In person at the meeting. Public Comment runs near the start of every regular Wednesday meeting. Residents arrive at Council Chambers, 3002 Wetmore Avenue, before 6:30 p.m. and sign up at the door. The standard time limit is three minutes per speaker.

    By Zoom. Register at everettwa.gov/speakerform no later than 30 minutes before the meeting starts. The city’s notice requires that you identify the topic you wish to address.

    By email. Send written comments to Council@everettwa.gov. The city notes that emailed comments submitted at least 24 hours before the meeting are distributed to all councilmembers and appropriate staff. Comments sent later may not reach councilmembers before the vote.

    By mail. 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9A, Everett, WA 98201. Allow time for delivery if you go this route.

    Comments on non-agenda items may be asked to be submitted in writing if the comment does not address an issue of “broad public interest,” per the city’s published guidance. CB 2604-24 is on the agenda for Wednesday and again on May 20, so it qualifies as an agenda item for both meetings.

    Watching the Meeting

    Wednesday’s meeting will be broadcast live and recorded. Two ways to follow along:

    Live and archived video: YouTube.com/EverettCity. The full archive of past meetings is searchable from there.

    Agenda and bill PDFs: everettwa.gov/citycouncil and the AgendaCenter for the May 6, 2026 packet.

    If you cannot watch Wednesday but want to be informed before May 20, the meeting recording typically posts within 24 hours and the official minutes — including the roll-call vote on first reading and any amendments offered — are added to the May 6 agenda page on the city website within a week.

    Why This Matters Inside Everett’s Bigger Budget Picture

    Earlier in this desk’s run log (April 21, 2026) we covered Everett’s projected $14 million 2027 general fund gap and the four levers the city is weighing to close it: the regional fire RFA, Sno-Isle library regionalization, another levy lid lift, and possible annexation. Three of those four require voter approval.

    How the city pays its appointive officers and classified nonrepresented employees is not the largest line in the general fund, but it is one of the lines the city has direct discretion over without going to voters. Any ordinance amending Chapter 2.74 in 2026 is happening inside that budget context whether the bill mentions the gap or not. Residents reading CB 2604-24 should look for whether the ordinance is structured to add cost, hold cost flat, or save cost — and whether the staff memo that accompanies the bill addresses the 2027 budget connection.

    That answer is in the agenda packet, not in the headline.

    What to Do Next

    Before Wednesday:

    • Download CB 2604-24 from the May 6, 2026 agenda packet at everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter.
    • Read the staff memo (if attached) for the city’s explanation of what changes and why.
    • If you want to speak at Wednesday’s meeting in person, plan to arrive at 3002 Wetmore Avenue before 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. To speak via Zoom, register at everettwa.gov/speakerform by 6 p.m.

    Between May 6 and May 20:

    • Watch the May 6 first-reading deliberation on YouTube.com/EverettCity to see which councilmembers engage and what they ask.
    • Submit written comment to Council@everettwa.gov at least 24 hours before May 20 to ensure councilmembers receive it before the final vote.
    • Track whether any amendments are filed between readings — those typically appear on the agenda for the second reading the week before final.

    On May 20:

    • The 3rd and final reading is scheduled for the Wednesday, May 20 meeting at 6:30 p.m.
    • Public comment is again accepted before the vote.
    • The roll call shows where each councilmember landed.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What does Chapter 2.74 of the Everett Municipal Code govern?

    Chapter 2.74 covers compensation and fringe benefits for the City of Everett’s appointive officers (department heads appointed by the mayor), classified nonrepresented employees (city staff not covered by union contracts), and the city council itself.

    When is the first reading of CB 2604-24?

    Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, 3002 Wetmore Avenue.

    When is the final vote?

    Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. The agenda item for May 6 specifically lists “(3rd & Final Reading 5/20/26).”

    Where can I read the actual ordinance bill?

    The PDF of CB 2604-24 is in the May 6, 2026 agenda packet at everettwa.gov/AgendaCenter, along with any staff memo explaining the changes.

    How do I submit public comment?

    By email to Council@everettwa.gov (at least 24 hours before the meeting to ensure councilmembers receive it), in person at Council Chambers, by Zoom (register at everettwa.gov/speakerform no later than 30 minutes before the meeting), or by mail to 2930 Wetmore Avenue, Suite 9A, Everett, WA 98201.

    Does this ordinance set salaries for elected city councilmembers?

    Chapter 2.74 includes Article III on City Council compensation, but the agenda title for CB 2604-24 specifically references “appointive employee compensation and fringe benefits” — the appointed-officer side of the chapter. Residents who want to know which articles the bill modifies need to read the bill PDF.

    Is this connected to Everett’s 2027 budget gap?

    Everett is projecting a roughly $14 million 2027 general fund gap. How the city pays its appointive officers and classified nonrepresented employees is one of the discretionary lines in the general fund. The ordinance does not have to mention the gap to be relevant to it; residents should look at the staff memo for whether the city addresses the connection.

    Where do I watch the meeting?

    Live and archived at YouTube.com/EverettCity. The May 6 meeting starts at 6:30 p.m.

  • Snohomish County Candidate Filing Opens Monday — If You’re Thinking About Running for Office, You Have Five Days

    Snohomish County Candidate Filing Opens Monday — If You’re Thinking About Running for Office, You Have Five Days

    Snohomish County Candidate Filing Opens Monday — If You’re Thinking About Running for Office, You Have Five Days

    Featured snippet:

    Q: When does Snohomish County 2026 candidate filing open and close?
    A: Filing opens at 8 a.m. Monday, May 4, 2026, and closes at 5 p.m. Friday, May 8, 2026. Candidates can file online through the Washington Secretary of State at sos.wa.gov/elections, or in person at Snohomish County Elections, 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Admin West Building, 1st Floor, Everett.

    If you have ever told a friend “somebody should run against this person,” Monday is the morning when “somebody” turns into “you, by Friday at five o’clock.”

    Snohomish County’s 2026 candidate filing window opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, May 4, and closes at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 8. That’s the entire window. Five business days. After Friday at 5 p.m., the November 2026 ballot is locked, and any office without a candidate filed against the incumbent simply re-elects the incumbent by default.

    For Everett residents, that means this week is when the actual list of choices for November gets written — not by a campaign, not by a party, but by whoever walks in or logs on between Monday morning and Friday evening.

    What Changes for Residents This Week

    The most important thing for residents to know: the November 2026 ballot is decided this week, not in November. Any race with only one filed candidate is over before the primary even runs. Any race with two or more candidates from the same party in a top-two primary state like Washington heads to the August 4 primary, where the top two finishers — regardless of party — advance to November.

    That’s it. That’s the structure. Filing week is the gate. Everything downstream — the August primary, the October mailing of voters’ pamphlets, the November general — is downstream of who walked in this week.

    The Everett City Council itself is not on the 2026 ballot. The next Everett Council seats up are the at-large positions 6 and 7, scheduled for the end of 2027. So if you were thinking about a run at City Hall, this is not your year. But several other offices that touch life in Everett are open this cycle, including Snohomish County Council seats, county-wide constitutional offices, and judicial positions covering the courts that handle most everyday legal matters in the city.

    The full official list of offices on the 2026 ballot is maintained by Snohomish County Elections at the 2026 Candidate Guide linked from snohomishcountywa.gov/5729/Run-for-Office. Some offices file with Snohomish County Elections, others file with the Washington Secretary of State directly — the Candidate Guide tells you which is which for every position.

    How Filing Works

    Snohomish County Elections has set up four ways to file:

    Online (recommended). File through the Washington Secretary of State’s Candidate Filing portal at sos.wa.gov/elections. This is the path the county pushes hardest because it timestamps automatically, accepts payment, and produces a confirmation email. Most candidates file this way.

    In person. Walk in to Snohomish County Elections at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Admin West Building, 1st Floor, Everett, WA 98201. The office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday during the filing window. Bring identification. Bring payment for the filing fee.

    By email. Send a Declaration of Candidacy to elections@snoco.gov.

    By fax. Send to (425) 355-3444.

    The phone number for questions is (425) 388-3444. If you have any doubt about which office you’re filing for, which jurisdiction the office sits in, or whether your address falls inside the right district, call before you file. A misfiled candidacy is harder to fix than a delayed one.

    The Filing Fee

    Most positions with a salary require a filing fee equal to 1% of the annual salary for the office. So a position that pays $100,000 a year requires a $1,000 filing fee, due at the time of filing or no later than 5 p.m. Friday, May 8.

    Two important practical notes on the fee:

    First, the 1% rule is real money for some offices. If you are running for a position that pays well, plan for the fee in advance — it must be paid during the filing window itself.

    Second, candidates who cannot afford the filing fee can submit a petition with signatures of registered voters in the jurisdiction in lieu of the fee. The signature requirements vary by office. Snohomish County Elections has the petition forms and the signature-count requirements for each position, available through the Run for Office page on the county website or by calling the elections office directly.

    What Sits Above and Around This Week

    Filing week sits inside a longer civic calendar that residents will see roll out across 2026:

    August 4 is the primary election. For races with three or more candidates, the top two advance regardless of party. For races with one or two candidates total, there is effectively no primary — both candidates simply move on to November.

    November 3 is the general election. Mail-in ballots get mailed roughly two weeks before election day. Washington is a vote-by-mail state with same-day registration through election day at the elections office.

    Ballot certification typically runs two to three weeks after election day. As the desk’s protocol reminds us: until the Snohomish County Auditor’s office certifies a result, every count is preliminary. November 3 results are not the final results. They are the early count.

    The sequence matters because what happens this week — who files for what office — determines what voters in Everett will see when their ballots arrive in October. If nobody files for an open seat, the seat stays open by default rules and gets appointed. If only the incumbent files, the incumbent is re-elected without a contest. If two or more file, voters get a choice.

    What to Do Next

    If you are thinking about running:

    1. Pull up the 2026 Candidate Guide from snohomishcountywa.gov/5729/Run-for-Office before Monday morning. Identify the office, the salary, and the filing-fee amount.
    2. Decide whether to file online (sos.wa.gov/elections) or in person at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Everett.
    3. Have payment ready — credit card if filing online, check or card if filing in person.
    4. File during business hours. If you wait until late Friday afternoon, you are competing with everyone else who waited.

    If you are thinking about supporting someone else who should run:

    1. Send them this article today. They have until Friday.
    2. Help them identify the office, find the filing fee, and walk through the Candidate Guide.
    3. If you live in the same district, ask them whether they would sign their name if you filed.

    If you are not running but want to follow what fills out this week:

    • Snohomish County Elections will post the candidate list shortly after filing closes Friday at 5 p.m. The list lives at the Candidates and Measures on the Ballot page (snohomishcountywa.gov/5722/See-Whats-on-the-Ballot).
    • Washington’s statewide candidate list is at voter.votewa.gov.
    • The Daily Herald, My Everett News, and the Snohomish County Tribune all cover filing-week results once the list is final.

    What This Costs the Public

    Filing week itself costs the public almost nothing — Snohomish County Elections runs as a baseline function of the Auditor’s office regardless of how many candidates file. The downstream cost is the August primary, which the county runs whether two candidates file or two hundred. The election infrastructure is paid for; the unknown variable is whether residents get a real choice on the ballot.

    That is the actual stake of filing week. Not money. Not partisan advantage. Just whether November 2026 is a real election or a paperwork formality for offices Everett residents pay for and live under.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When does candidate filing open and close in Snohomish County?

    Filing opens at 8 a.m. Monday, May 4, 2026, and closes at 5 p.m. Friday, May 8, 2026. There are no extensions for any reason.

    Where can I file as a candidate?

    Online at sos.wa.gov/elections (recommended), in person at Snohomish County Elections, 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Admin West Building, 1st Floor, Everett, WA 98201, by email to elections@snoco.gov, or by fax to (425) 355-3444.

    Is the Everett City Council on the 2026 ballot?

    No. The next Everett City Council seats up for election are at-large positions 6 and 7, which are on the November 2027 ballot. The 2026 ballot includes other positions that affect Everett, including Snohomish County Council seats, county-wide offices, and judicial positions.

    How much does it cost to file?

    For most paid offices, the filing fee is 1% of the office’s annual salary. The fee must be paid at filing or no later than 5 p.m. Friday, May 8. Candidates who cannot afford the fee can file a petition with signatures of registered voters in the jurisdiction in lieu of payment.

    What happens if nobody files against an incumbent?

    The incumbent is re-elected by default. There is no general-election ballot contest for an unopposed seat under the same party.

    When is the 2026 primary?

    August 4, 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. Washington is a top-two primary state — the top two finishers in any primary advance to November regardless of party.

    Where can I find the official list of every office on the 2026 ballot?

    The 2026 Candidate Guide on the Snohomish County Elections “Run for Office” page (snohomishcountywa.gov/5729/Run-for-Office) lists every office, the filing fee, and whether the office files with the county or with the state. The statewide list lives at voter.votewa.gov.

    Who do I call if I have questions about filing?

    Snohomish County Elections at (425) 388-3444. Call before you file rather than after.

  • Westmont-Holly: The South Everett Neighborhood the City Counts as One — and Why That Quietly Makes Sense

    Westmont-Holly: The South Everett Neighborhood the City Counts as One — and Why That Quietly Makes Sense

    Quick answer: Westmont and Holly are two adjacent south Everett neighborhoods that share one neighborhood association, the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association (WHNA). The City of Everett’s official neighborhood association directory lists them jointly because that’s how residents organized themselves — meeting together since the early 2000s on the first Monday of each month at Horizon Elementary at 222 W Casino Road. Westmont skews younger, denser, and more apartment-heavy. Holly skews older, more single-family, and slightly higher-income. Together they form one of the most diverse, most multilingual, and most under-the-radar parts of Everett.

    There are 21 neighborhoods on this desk’s rotation list, but if you ask the City of Everett, there are really 19 — because Westmont and Holly meet together, organize together, and run a single neighborhood association. The city’s official directory at everettwa.gov/334 lists “Westmont-Holly” as one entry, not two. Both everettwa.gov/571/Westmont and everettwa.gov/429/Holly redirect to the same Westmont-Holly page. That’s not a bureaucratic accident — that’s how the people who actually live there decided to do it.

    If you’ve driven Casino Road, Evergreen Way, or 100th Street SW lately, you’ve been in Westmont-Holly. The two neighborhoods together form the densest, most diverse part of south Everett — the corridor where the city’s apartment complexes, immigrant-owned restaurants, and oldest 1960s ramblers all sit side by side. This is where a real chunk of Everett actually lives, and it almost never gets profiled.

    Here’s what’s worth knowing about the joint neighborhood the city counts as one.

    The neighborhood association is the core of the story

    The Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association meets the first Monday of every month at 6 p.m. at Horizon Elementary School (222 W. Casino Road), with occasional schedule shifts noted on the city’s calendar at everettwa.gov/Calendar.aspx. The association maintains its own site at westmont-holly.com, where bylaws, meeting minutes, emergency preparedness resources, and a links/resources page are published.

    This is one of the longer-running joint neighborhood associations in Everett. The city’s Council of Neighborhoods at everettwa.gov/338 — the body that coordinates between the 19 official neighborhood associations and city government — has carried Westmont-Holly as a single representative for years. The association is volunteer-led and currently looking for residents to help with newsletter posting, fliers, and event coordination, per their site.

    What that means in practice: if you live in Westmont, Holly, or anywhere in between, the place to plug in is the WHNA. Not two separate associations. One.

    Where exactly are these neighborhoods?

    Westmont sits in south Everett, roughly south of Madison and west of Evergreen Way, with the south-end portion bordering 100th Street SW and Airport Road. Holly sits adjacent — generally just east of Westmont, with much of the neighborhood north of 100th Street SW. The City of Everett maintains a neighborhood map at everettwa.gov/2255/Neighborhood-Maps that shows all 19 official neighborhood boundaries, including the joint Westmont-Holly footprint.

    For driving orientation: if you’re on Casino Road heading west from I-5, you cross into Westmont-Holly territory before you reach Highway 99 / Evergreen Way. Kasch Park (which we covered yesterday) sits right at the south edge of the neighborhood. The Mukilteo School District boundary cuts through here — the western and southern parts of the joint neighborhood are Mukilteo SD, the eastern parts are Everett Public Schools, and Horizon Elementary, where the association meets, is a Mukilteo SD school.

    Westmont: dense, young, multilingual, and renter-majority

    Westmont’s character is shaped by housing stock. The neighborhood is heavy on garden-style apartment complexes, four-plexes, and 1970s and 1980s multifamily buildings, with single-family homes and condos scattered through it. According to Homes.com and NeighborhoodScout data, roughly 80% of the resident population in the broader Westmont area rents.

    Median age is about 33 — younger than the city overall. Westmont is also one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse parts of Everett, with nearly half of households speaking a language other than English at home. The most commonly identified ancestry in the neighborhood is Mexican, at roughly 21% of residents, with significant Vietnamese, Filipino, and Russian/Ukrainian communities as well.

    Recent housing data from Homes.com puts the median sale price for Westmont homes at roughly $366,450 over the past 12 months — substantially below Everett’s overall median, reflecting the apartment-heavy housing mix. That price point makes Westmont one of the more accessible entry points into Everett homeownership for first-time buyers willing to consider condos and small single-family homes in a denser setting.

    The proximity to Paine Field and Boeing matters here. Westmont is roughly five miles south of downtown Everett and within easy commute distance of both Paine Field (the airport and Boeing’s commercial campus) and the Mukilteo ferry. For workers in aerospace and the trades — and there are a lot of them in this corridor — Westmont’s housing math has historically penciled out.

    Holly: older single-family stock and quietly stable

    Holly tells a different story than Westmont, even though they share the same association. Per Homes.com and Point2Homes data, Holly’s median sale price over the past 12 months is closer to $630,997 — up about 6% year-over-year — and the housing mix tilts more toward 1960s and 1970s single-family ramblers, condos, and townhouses. Detached homes are scattered throughout, and condos and townhouses cluster north of 100th Street SW.

    The income picture in Holly is closer to the regional average than Westmont’s, with average household income around $90,350 according to neighborhood-level estimates. White-collar workers make up roughly 70% of the working population. The renter share is lower than Westmont’s, but still substantial — most of the residential real estate skews renter-occupied, especially in the multifamily portion of the neighborhood north of 100th Street SW.

    Holly is more linguistically diverse than the Everett average but less so than Westmont. English is spoken by about 57% of households, with Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Tagalog all represented. The most commonly identified ancestry in Holly is Mexican at roughly 15% of residents.

    What it’s like to actually live here

    The everyday experience of Westmont-Holly is shaped by Casino Road and Evergreen Way. The corridor has the highest concentration of immigrant-owned restaurants in Everett — Vietnamese, Mexican, Salvadoran, Filipino, Cambodian, Russian, Ukrainian — and the food scene here is one of the genuine cultural assets of the city. We’ve covered Casino Road corridor work, Tabassum (the Uzbek food truck on Beverly Lane just west of the neighborhood), and the broader Casino Road corridor in earlier desk pieces.

    Kasch Park anchors the south end of the joint neighborhood with synthetic turf fields, a playground, and a popular community-event venue. Lions Park and Forest Park sit just to the north and east. The Interurban Trail runs along the eastern boundary, providing the same paved pedestrian/bike spine that connects Pinehurst-Beverly Park down toward Lynnwood.

    For families, the school question is real and worth understanding. Most of Westmont and parts of Holly are in Mukilteo School District (Horizon, Discovery, Mukilteo Elementary; Olympic View Middle; Mariner High). The eastern portions of Holly are in Everett Public Schools (Cascade High zone). Mukilteo’s 2026 bond — is directly relevant here because it funds capital projects at schools serving south Everett families.

    The transit picture is improving. Community Transit’s recent acquisition of the former Goodwill bins site at 11815 Highway 99 — sits just outside the joint neighborhood’s eastern edge. Casino Road is one of the most-used Community Transit corridors in the system. Sound Transit’s Everett Link extension, scheduled for 2041 service, will eventually bring light rail to the SW Everett station near Airport Road, with a station at I-5 and 112th SW just east of Westmont-Holly.

    Where the joint association fits in Everett’s bigger neighborhood story

    Westmont-Holly is part of a quietly shifting story about how south Everett organizes itself. For decades, the corridor was treated as a single undifferentiated chunk of “Casino Road” — usually framed in shorthand and not always favorably. The reality is that this part of Everett has 21 neighborhoods just like the historic core does, and the joint Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association is one of the more durable examples of residents organizing themselves around the city’s official Council of Neighborhoods structure.

    The other south-Everett neighborhoods we’ve spotlighted — Twin Creeks, Cascade View, Boulevard Bluffs, Pinehurst-Beverly Park, Glacier View — each have their own associations and their own meeting cadences. Westmont-Holly’s choice to consolidate is itself a model: when two adjacent neighborhoods share schools, parks, transit corridors, and housing markets, doing the work together is more sustainable than splitting volunteer energy in half.

    If you live in either neighborhood and want to plug in, first Monday of the month, 6 p.m., Horizon Elementary, 222 W. Casino Road is the door. Bring a neighbor.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Why does the City of Everett list Westmont and Holly together as one neighborhood association?
    Westmont and Holly are two distinct neighborhoods, but they share a single neighborhood association — the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association (WHNA) — because residents organized themselves jointly. The City of Everett’s Council of Neighborhoods at everettwa.gov/338 recognizes WHNA as one of 19 official neighborhood associations, and both everettwa.gov/571/Westmont and everettwa.gov/429/Holly redirect to the same Westmont-Holly page.

    When does the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association meet?
    The Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association meets on the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m. at Horizon Elementary School, 222 W. Casino Road, Everett, WA 98204. Schedule changes are posted on the city’s calendar at everettwa.gov/Calendar.aspx and on the WHNA site at westmont-holly.com.

    Where exactly are the boundaries between Westmont and Holly?
    The City of Everett’s official neighborhood map at everettwa.gov/2255/Neighborhood-Maps shows the precise boundaries. In rough terms, Westmont covers the western and southern portion of the joint neighborhood — south of Madison, west of Evergreen Way, and bordering 100th Street SW and Airport Road. Holly sits adjacent, generally to the east, with much of the neighborhood north of 100th Street SW.

    What school district serves Westmont-Holly?
    Both districts. The western and southern portions are served by Mukilteo School District (Horizon Elementary, Discovery Elementary, Olympic View Middle, Mariner High). The eastern portions of Holly are served by Everett Public Schools (Cascade High zone). Families considering a move should verify the specific school assignment for their address through the district lookup tools at mukilteoschools.org and everettsd.org.

    How does Westmont compare to Holly on housing prices?
    Westmont’s housing stock is heavily multifamily — apartments, condos, and four-plexes — and the median sale price over the past 12 months is roughly $366,450 per Homes.com. Holly has more single-family ramblers from the 1960s–1970s and a higher median sale price closer to $630,997, up about 6% year-over-year. The neighborhoods share a single association but have meaningfully different housing markets.

    What’s the cultural and linguistic profile of Westmont-Holly?
    Both neighborhoods are among the most ethnically and linguistically diverse parts of Everett. In Westmont, nearly half of households speak a language other than English at home; the most commonly identified ancestry is Mexican (about 21%), with significant Vietnamese, Filipino, and Russian/Ukrainian communities. In Holly, English is spoken by about 57% of households, with Spanish, Arabic, Vietnamese, and Tagalog all represented; the most commonly identified ancestry is Mexican (about 15%).

    What parks and community spaces serve the neighborhood?
    Kasch Park, Everett’s largest athletic complex, sits at the south edge of the joint neighborhood at 8811 Airport Road. Lions Park and Forest Park sit just to the north and east. The Interurban Trail runs along the eastern boundary. We’ve covered Kasch Park in detail at the Kasch Park local’s guide.

    How do I get involved in the Westmont-Holly Neighborhood Association?
    The easiest way is to attend a monthly meeting (first Monday, 6 p.m., Horizon Elementary). The association’s website at westmont-holly.com has the bylaws, meeting minutes, and a contact page. WHNA is currently looking for volunteers to help with newsletter posting and event coordination.

  • Everett Public Schools Will Drop Naviance for SchooLinks This September — Here’s What Families Need to Know

    Everett Public Schools Will Drop Naviance for SchooLinks This September — Here’s What Families Need to Know

    Quick answer: Beginning September 2026, Everett Public Schools is replacing Naviance with SchooLinks as the platform every student uses for their state-required High School and Beyond Plan. The switch isn’t optional for the district — Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction selected SchooLinks as the universal statewide platform, and EPS is one of more than 200 districts moving to it. Naviance keeps running through the 2025–26 school year. The biggest practical change for families: SchooLinks is built for parents and guardians to log in too, so for the first time in a long time, you’ll actually be able to see your kid’s plan.

    If you’ve been a parent in Everett Public Schools for more than a couple of years, you’ve probably heard the words “High School and Beyond Plan” enough times to tune them out. The plan is a state graduation requirement, every student in grades 7–12 has one, and most parents have only the dimmest sense of what’s actually in it. That’s about to change.

    Starting in September 2026, EPS is switching from Naviance — the platform students have been using for years — to SchooLinks, the new statewide platform Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) picked for every district in the state. The transition isn’t a local district decision. It’s a state-level move, and Everett is just doing its part of it on schedule.

    Here’s what’s actually changing, why, and what it means for families across Cascade, Everett, Henry M. Jackson, and Sequoia.

    The state made the call, not the district

    Washington has required a High School and Beyond Plan for graduation for years. The plan starts in 7th grade and is supposed to follow the student all the way through high school — connecting their interests to their classes, their post-graduation training plans, and what they actually want to do for work.

    The problem was that every district was using its own platform. Some used Naviance. Some used Xello. Some used home-grown spreadsheets and Google Docs. When students moved between districts — and Snohomish County families move a lot — their plan didn’t move with them.

    In May 2024, OSPI announced that SchooLinks would be the new universal statewide platform. The 2025 OSPI Report to the Legislature laid out the transition timeline. Per state law, every district serving grades 7–12 has to be on SchooLinks by the 2026–27 school year.

    For Everett Public Schools, that means September 2026. Naviance keeps working through this current 2025–26 school year. Then the lights go out and SchooLinks comes on.

    What’s actually different about SchooLinks

    If you’ve ever helped a kid log into Naviance, you know the experience: the student logs in, parents don’t have an account, and the only way you find out what’s in the plan is if your kid shows you their screen.

    SchooLinks is built differently. The platform includes family access — meaning parents and guardians can log in directly, see their student’s plan, see what classes are mapped to what career interests, and engage with the planning process without having to lean over their teenager’s shoulder. EPS has flagged this as one of the biggest practical changes for families.

    The platform itself is the kind of career-and-college planning toolkit you’d expect in 2026. Students use it to set goals, plan coursework four years out, explore career fields, look at financial aid, and build out a résumé. The big difference from Naviance is that SchooLinks is designed to be the system of record for the state’s High School and Beyond Plan, which means the plan you build follows the student between districts and across the state.

    Why this matters for Everett specifically

    Everett Public Schools enrolls roughly 19,000 students across 26 schools, and the district has been running one of the higher-performing High School and Beyond Plan implementations in the state — the 2024–25 graduating class hit a record graduation rate well above the state average, and the district credits in part the work students do in their HSBP.

    The risk in any platform transition is that the plans students have already built in Naviance get stranded. EPS has said Naviance will continue through the 2025–26 school year, which gives counselors a runway to migrate plans, train staff, and roll the new platform out without dumping a half-finished plan on a junior six months before graduation. Families with a senior graduating in spring 2026 will finish their HSBP entirely in Naviance. Families with a 7th–11th grader will see the change next fall.

    The district has set up an email — hsbp@everettsd.org — for families with questions about the transition. School counselors are the front-line resource, and counselors at each high school will have specific guidance on what to do with existing Naviance plans during the transition window.

    How this connects to Career Connected Learning

    EPS has been pushing Career Connected Learning (CCL) for years now, and the SchooLinks transition fits into that bigger picture. CCL is the framework that ties classroom learning to extended learning (camps, after-school programs, clubs) and work-based learning (internships, apprenticeships, job shadows). The High School and Beyond Plan is the through-line that connects all of it for the student.

    In practice, that means a Cascade High student interested in aerospace can map a four-year course plan in SchooLinks, link it to Boeing-area internships through CCL, and track it all in one place — with their parents able to see the same view. That’s the use case the state is optimizing for, and it’s the use case Everett’s been building toward at the district level.

    What Everett families should do right now

    If your student has an active Naviance plan, you don’t need to do anything urgent. Naviance is still the official platform through June 2026.

    What’s worth doing in the next few months:

    Ask your student to show you their current plan. Even before SchooLinks rolls out, the High School and Beyond Plan is a real document and a real graduation requirement. Most parents don’t know what’s in it. Now is a good time.

    Check the EPS High School and Beyond Plan page at everettsd.org/college-career-readiness/high-school-and-beyond-plan for transition updates as fall 2026 gets closer.

    Watch for SchooLinks family-account information in late summer or early fall 2026. The whole point of the platform change is that you’ll be able to log in. Take the opportunity when it shows up.

    Reach out to your student’s school counselor if you have a junior or senior in spring 2026 and you’re worried about plan continuity. Counselors will have the most accurate, school-specific guidance.

    The bigger picture is that Washington’s High School and Beyond Plan is finally getting a single platform every district uses, every student carries with them between districts, and every family can see. Everett’s part of that’s happening this September.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When does Everett Public Schools switch from Naviance to SchooLinks?
    SchooLinks officially launches for EPS students and families in September 2026. Naviance continues to be used through the 2025–26 school year, so seniors graduating in spring 2026 will complete their High School and Beyond Plan entirely in Naviance.

    Why is EPS making this switch?
    The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) selected SchooLinks as the universal statewide High School and Beyond Plan platform for all districts. Every Washington district serving grades 7–12 is required to be on SchooLinks by the 2026–27 school year per state law.

    Will parents and guardians have access to SchooLinks?
    Yes — that’s one of the biggest changes. SchooLinks includes family access, allowing parents and guardians to log in and view their student’s High School and Beyond Plan and progress directly. Naviance did not support family logins for most districts.

    What is the High School and Beyond Plan?
    The High School and Beyond Plan is a state graduation requirement in Washington. Every public school student starts the plan in 7th grade and updates it through high school, mapping career interests to coursework, post-graduation training, and college planning.

    Will my student lose their Naviance plan when the switch happens?
    EPS has not published specific migration details yet, but the district has committed to a smooth transition with Naviance running through the full 2025–26 school year. Families with specific concerns about plan continuity should contact their student’s school counselor or email hsbp@everettsd.org.

    How many other Washington districts are on SchooLinks?
    OSPI announced in 2024 that 156 districts plus tribal compact schools, technical colleges, and charter schools committed to SchooLinks for the 2025–26 school year, joining 45 districts that launched the platform in 2024–25. By 2026–27, every district serving grades 7–12 will be on it.

    Does this affect Cascade, Everett, Jackson, and Sequoia high schools differently?
    No — the transition applies district-wide. Counselors at each high school will provide school-specific guidance on existing plans, but the platform itself is the same across all four EPS comprehensive high schools.

    Where can families ask questions about the transition?
    Email hsbp@everettsd.org or contact your student’s school counselor directly. The EPS website at everettsd.org/college-career-readiness/high-school-and-beyond-plan is the canonical source for transition updates.

  • Everett Art Walk Returns Thursday May 21 — A Free Three-Hour Tour of a Downtown That Quietly Built a Real Gallery Scene

    Everett Art Walk Returns Thursday May 21 — A Free Three-Hour Tour of a Downtown That Quietly Built a Real Gallery Scene

    Q: When and where is the May 2026 Everett Art Walk?
    A: Thursday, May 21, 2026, 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, across more than a dozen galleries, lofts, coffee shops, bars, and ceramic studios in downtown Everett. It’s free, no ticket, no RSVP — start anywhere on the map and walk.

    Verdict: GO. Three reasons stacked: (1) downtown Everett’s art ecosystem is denser than people outside the 98201 ZIP code realize, and the Art Walk is the one night each month it all opens its doors at the same time; (2) the price is zero; (3) the third Thursday format means you can show up after work, eat hors d’oeuvres on someone else’s tab, and still be home by ten.

    The Everett Art Walk runs the third Thursday of every month, year-round, 5 to 8 PM officially — and several of the participating venues stay open past 8 because the walk has built that kind of scene. May 21 is the next one. If you have lived in Snohomish County for any amount of time and never walked it, this is the month to fix that.

    What the Art Walk actually is

    It is not a festival. It is not a one-off pop-up. It is the Everett gallery district behaving like a gallery district — coordinated hours, coordinated openings, coordinated artist receptions, every third Thursday of the month, organized through everettartwalk.org and a downtown community of working artists who decided years ago that downtown Everett was worth showing up for.

    More than a dozen venues participate. The roster shifts month to month, but the anchors stay constant. A typical Art Walk night you can hit Schack Art Center on Hoyt Avenue, walk one block to ArtSpace Everett Lofts (the live-work building right next door), cross over to Hewitt Avenue for Heath Heathen’s studio at 1806 B Hewitt upstairs, drop into Lucky Dime for Collage Night, swing by Obsidian Art Gallery, end at Port Gardner Bay Winery on Rucker Avenue with a glass of red and a stack of new artist statements in your hand. Every venue is within a five-block walk of every other venue. You do not move your car.

    The April 16 walk is the most recent one we have a verifiable line-up for, and the April line-up is the structural template. Schack hosted Water Ways: Healing the Circle of Water and Life — the spring exhibition that runs through May 16 — and the gallery stayed open past 8 PM for the walk. ArtSpace Everett Lofts opened from 5 to 8 PM with resident artists in their live-work studios. Heath Heathen took text-only studio appointments at 5 to 9 PM. Lucky Dime hosted Collage Night with Penny — a recurring third-Thursday hang where you cut, paste, layer, and build something unexpected with strangers. Salish Sea Ceramics ran a free community seed-planting workshop. Obsidian Art Gallery featured graffiti-and-stencil work by Dakota Dean. Artisans PNW (Books & Coffee) hosted Author TJ Poortinga and a live Noise Jam set with Esoteric Everett. Zamarama Gallery opened a tribute exhibition for Pacific Northwest artist R. Allen Jensen.

    The May 21 walk will do the same shape with a fresh roster. Watch everettartwalk.org the week of the walk for the venue-by-venue line-up — most of the participating spaces post their May features in the seven days before the third Thursday.

    Why this Art Walk matters more than you think

    Everett has been quietly building a real arts ecosystem. Schack Art Center anchors the visual arts side at 2921 Hoyt Avenue — the premier visual arts destination between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., per schack.org/about. The Historic Everett Theatre, built in 1901 as the Everett Opera House, books touring acts that should be playing rooms three times its size. APEX Everett opened on Everett Avenue with Kings Hall as its anchor concert room. Tony V’s Garage on Hewitt Avenue is the loudest small-venue rock-and-roll club north of Seattle.

    The Art Walk is the seam where the visual arts side meets all of it. Many of the artists showing on May 21 also design posters for HET shows, paint album art for bands playing Tony V’s the next weekend, and sell ceramic mugs to coffee shops three blocks away. You walk the Art Walk and you start to see the network. You stop seeing downtown Everett as a thing to drive past on the way to Seattle and start seeing it as a thing to drive to.

    The venues to hit on May 21

    Below is the standing roster pulled from everettartwalk.org and the city’s calendar. Specific featured artists for May will post within seven days of the walk; what is below is the list of participating spaces you can plan a route around.

    Schack Art Center — 2921 Hoyt Avenue. The big one. Open until 8 PM. The Water Ways exhibition closes May 16, so the May 21 walk falls between shows — Contemporary Northwest Artists opens May 28. You may catch artists hanging work or staffing previews. Free admission as always.

    ArtSpace Everett Lofts — 2917 Hoyt Avenue, right next door to Schack. A 41-unit live-work building for working artists. On Art Walk nights the loft gallery on the ground floor is open 5 to 8 PM and several resident artists open their individual studios upstairs. This is the closest you will get in Everett to the open-studio model used in bigger arts cities.

    Lucky Dime — Hewitt Avenue. A bar that doubles as an Art Walk venue. Collage Night with Penny is the recurring third-Thursday format: tables full of magazines, scissors, glue sticks, and strangers building something between sips. No skill required. Free to walk in, drinks at bar prices.

    Obsidian Art Gallery — Hewitt Avenue. Contemporary work, edgier than most of the roster. Spray paint, stencil work, graffiti-adjacent pieces.

    Port Gardner Bay Winery — 3006 Rucker Avenue. Wine tasting with rotating artist features on the walls. The end-of-walk move for a lot of regulars.

    Tabby’s Coffee — 2702 Hoyt Avenue. Coffee, tea, and a modest gallery wall that turns over for each walk.

    Salish Sea Ceramics — A working ceramics studio that opens for the walk and frequently runs free hands-on workshops on Art Walk nights (April was a seed-planting workshop; May’s activity will post on everettartwalk.org).

    Zamarama Gallery — Contemporary fine art, often with Pacific Northwest themes.

    Artisans PNW (Books & Coffee) — Independent bookstore plus coffee shop. Hosts author readings and live music sets on Art Walk nights. April was an author event with TJ Poortinga and a Noise Jam set with Esoteric Everett.

    Heath Heathen Studio — 1806 B Hewitt Avenue, Suite 1, upstairs. Working artist studio, open 5 to 9 PM by text appointment (206-353-4971). The studio model — text the artist, walk up the stairs, see the work in the place where it is made — is rare in this part of Snohomish County and worth the climb.

    Gold E Lofts — 1705 1/2 Hewitt Avenue. Loft studios with rotating artist features.

    A note: this list is not exhaustive and the participating-venue roster changes month to month. Check everettartwalk.org for the May 21 confirmed list seven days out.

    How to walk it well

    Three pieces of practical advice from people who walk it every month.

    Park once, walk everything. Free street parking is generally available on Hoyt, Hewitt, Wetmore, and Colby in the late-afternoon-into-evening window. The Everpark Garage on Wall Street is the backup if street parking is tight. Every Art Walk venue is inside a five-block radius. You do not need to move the car.

    Eat before, drink during. Most venues serve hors d’oeuvres or light snacks. Wine and beer are available at Port Gardner Bay Winery, Lucky Dime, and several of the bar-adjacent venues. For a real dinner before, downtown Everett has restaurants on Hewitt and Colby.

    Talk to the artists. Most first-time walkers underuse this part. The artists are in their studios. They want to talk about the work. Ask what the piece is, ask what it took to make, ask what they are working on next. The cost of entry is one good question.

    Cross-Desk Handoff

    If you are pairing the Art Walk with dinner, downtown Everett has dinner options within two blocks of every Art Walk venue. Tygart Media’s food desk is the place to go for current restaurant-by-restaurant recommendations within walking distance of the walk.

    What the Art Walk does for the city

    Free public arts programming that runs every month, year-round, with a coordinated roster and an active organizing committee, is the kind of cultural infrastructure most Snohomish County cities do not have. Everett does. Every third Thursday is a small, repeated argument that downtown Everett is worth being in after dark — and the argument has been getting more convincing since the walk first formed. May 21 is the next chance to add yourself to the argument.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Q: Is the Everett Art Walk free? A: Yes. There is no admission fee, no ticket, no RSVP. Walk in to any participating venue between 5 PM and 8 PM (some stay open later) on the third Thursday of every month.

    Q: What time does the May 2026 Everett Art Walk start and end? A: The official window is 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Thursday, May 21, 2026. Several venues stay open past 8 PM — Heath Heathen Studio runs studio appointments until 9 PM, and the bar-adjacent venues (Lucky Dime, Port Gardner Bay Winery) typically remain open well into the evening.

    Q: Do I need to RSVP or buy tickets? A: No. The Art Walk is a free, walk-in event. Show up at any participating venue between 5 and 8 PM and start your route from there.

    Q: Where do I park for the Art Walk? A: Free street parking is generally available on Hoyt, Hewitt, Wetmore, and Colby in the late-afternoon-into-evening window. The Everpark Garage on Wall Street is the paid backup. All Art Walk venues are within a five-block radius — park once, walk the whole route.

    Q: How many venues participate in the Everett Art Walk? A: More than a dozen galleries, lofts, coffee shops, bars, and studios participate, with the exact roster shifting month to month. Anchors include Schack Art Center, ArtSpace Everett Lofts, Lucky Dime, Obsidian Art Gallery, Port Gardner Bay Winery, Tabby’s Coffee, Salish Sea Ceramics, Zamarama Gallery, Artisans PNW, Heath Heathen Studio, and Gold E Lofts.

    Q: Is the Everett Art Walk family-friendly? A: Most venues are family-friendly during the 5-to-8 PM window. Bar venues (Lucky Dime, Port Gardner Bay Winery) follow standard 21+ rules at the bar but typically welcome families in the gallery space. Schack Art Center, Tabby’s Coffee, Artisans PNW, and the loft galleries are family-friendly throughout.

    Q: How do I find out which artists are featured for a given Art Walk month? A: Check everettartwalk.org in the seven days before the third Thursday — most participating venues post their featured artist for that month’s walk a week out. The Everett Art Walk Facebook page (@everettsartwalk) and the city’s calendar at everettwa.gov also list featured highlights.

  • Wolfpack Host Beaumont Renegades Saturday May 23 at AOTW: Your Indoor Football Saturday Setup

    Wolfpack Host Beaumont Renegades Saturday May 23 at AOTW: Your Indoor Football Saturday Setup

    Q: When do the Washington Wolfpack play Beaumont at Angel of the Winds Arena?
    The Washington Wolfpack host the Beaumont Renegades on Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 3:00 PM PT at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett. It’s Game 3 of the Wolfpack’s 2026 AF1 home schedule and the only Wolfpack home game in the back half of May. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster.

    The Wolfpack’s Memorial Day Weekend Setup: Beaumont Comes to Everett May 23

    If you’ve been to a Wolfpack home game at Angel of the Winds Arena yet — even one — you already know the pitch. Arena football, indoor, fast, loud, fifty-yard field, walls in play, the kind of game where every snap is either a touchdown or an “ohhh no” from the section behind you. It’s professional football in the building most Everett residents have only ever been to for hockey or a concert. And it’s a thing the Wolfpack are very seriously trying to make a Saturday tradition for Snohomish County.

    The next opportunity to be in the building: Saturday, May 23 at 3:00 PM PT, when the Wolfpack host the Beaumont Renegades in Game 3 of the 2026 AF1 home schedule.

    What We Know About the Matchup

    This is a 2026 regular-season AF1 (Arena Football 1) game. Beaumont, Texas — the Renegades are the visitors, and they’re going to find out very quickly what a sold-out home crowd in Everett sounds like indoors. The Wolfpack have leaned hard into the “Pack mentality” branding all spring, and the home Saturdays are the centerpiece of the marketing.

    The 3:00 PM PT kickoff is a true Saturday-afternoon time slot. That’s not by accident. AF1 has been pushing weekend afternoon broadcasts to grow the league’s TV audience, and the Wolfpack home schedule has slotted into that pattern most weeks. (For Saturday, May 2’s home game vs. defending Arena Crown champion Albany Firebirds, also a 3:00 PM kickoff, the league announced the broadcast would land on VICE TV with a Pacific Northwest carry on Fox 13+.)

    Why You Should Care, Even If You’re Not An Arena Football Person

    Three honest reasons:

    1. The football is genuinely fun to watch in person. The 50-yard field plus rebound nets means the offense almost never punts and the scores almost always end up looking like 47-44. If you’ve ever found NFL games slow-paced, this is the antidote. There’s a reason the AOTW concourse stays full at halftime — nobody wants to miss the second-half kickoff bouncing off the back wall.

    2. The Wolfpack are still building their identity in front of you. Year two of the franchise. The roster turns over more than a typical pro team, the staff is figuring out what Everett wants, and you can feel the team trying to earn the room every week. That’s a fun stage of any pro franchise to be around — before everyone takes it for granted.

    3. Saturday at 3 is a perfect city day. Drive in, park downtown, hit a coffee shop on Hewitt before the game, walk to AOTW, watch indoor football for two and a half hours, and you’re back out into Everett’s downtown dinner scene by 6. There aren’t many sports tickets in the entire Puget Sound that pencil out as a complete day this cleanly.

    How the Wolfpack’s Year Is Shaping Up

    This is the Wolfpack’s second AF1 season. Year one ended with a Western Conference Final loss to Nashville. The 2026 home schedule on the AOTW calendar currently includes:

    • Saturday, May 2 — vs Albany Firebirds, 3:00 PM (Teacher’s Night, defending Arena Crown champion in town, drawstring bag giveaway)
    • Saturday, May 23 — vs Beaumont Renegades, 3:00 PM (Game 3 — the one this article is about)
    • Saturday, June 20 — additional home date on the schedule
    • Saturday, June 27 — additional home date on the schedule

    (Game-by-game promo details, opponents, and broadcast partners for the June dates will firm up as those games approach. The Wolfpack typically announce theme nights and giveaways about two weeks out.)

    Tickets and Logistics

    Tickets: On sale now via Ticketmaster. The AOTW ticket page links directly to the May 23 listing. Single-game tickets typically open in the $20-60 range for Wolfpack home games, with premium and group options available.

    Venue: Angel of the Winds Arena, 2000 Hewitt Avenue, Suite 200, Everett, WA 98201.

    Parking: AOTW’s own structured lot plus city street parking around downtown. The arena’s directions and parking page is the cleanest source: Plan Your Visit.

    Concessions: Full arena menu open. The Arena Grill is the on-site sit-down option if you’d rather eat a real plate before kickoff.

    The Bigger Everett Sports Story

    The Wolfpack’s May 23 game also lands inside one of the most stacked sports stretches Angel of the Winds Arena has ever had. Just look at the AOTW calendar from now to early June:

    • May 8 & 9: Everett Silvertips WHL Championship Final, Games 1 & 2 (the franchise’s first WHL Final since 2018-19)
    • May 16: Life Surge (faith and finance event)
    • May 23: Wolfpack vs Beaumont
    • May 30-31: Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow-N-Fire (three shows, indoor pyro spectacle)

    That’s playoff hockey, pro football, and family-event programming inside a four-week window — which is the kind of run that quietly explains why the new downtown stadium project (an outdoor 5,000-seat ballpark with a covered roof, going to council April 29 for design funding) matters so much. Everett’s appetite for live events at Angel of the Winds Arena has clearly outgrown the old assumption that the building only fills for hockey nights and concerts. The Wolfpack are part of why.

    Bottom Line

    Mark Saturday, May 23 at 3:00 PM. If you went to the Wolfpack’s home opener May 2 and had a good time, this is your follow-up. If you missed the home opener, this is your make-up date. Beaumont is in town, the building will be loud, and you’ll be home in time for dinner.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When and where is the Wolfpack vs Beaumont Renegades game?

    Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 3:00 PM PT at Angel of the Winds Arena, 2000 Hewitt Ave, Everett, WA.

    Is the Wolfpack vs Beaumont game on TV?

    AF1 broadcast assignments for individual home games are confirmed closer to game day. The Wolfpack’s May 2 home opener vs Albany was carried on VICE TV with regional pickup on Fox 13+ — May 23’s broadcast info will be posted by AF1 in the days before.

    How much do Wolfpack home tickets cost?

    Single-game ticket pricing typically ranges from about $20 in the upper deck to $60+ for lower bowl, with premium and group options available. Buy at Ticketmaster.

    What is AF1?

    AF1 (Arena Football 1) is the professional indoor arena football league launched in 2024 as a successor to the original Arena Football League. The Wolfpack are the league’s Pacific Northwest team and play their home games at Angel of the Winds Arena.

    Are there other Wolfpack home games this season?

    Yes. The currently announced AOTW home schedule includes Saturday, May 2 (vs Albany Firebirds), Saturday, May 23 (vs Beaumont Renegades), Saturday, June 20, and Saturday, June 27. Check the AOTW events page for the most current schedule.

    What’s the difference between this game and a Silvertips game?

    Same building, totally different sport and field configuration. Silvertips games convert AOTW into a WHL hockey rink. Wolfpack games convert it into a 50-yard indoor football field with rebound nets. Both are professional teams, both are part of why AOTW’s 2026 calendar is the busiest it’s ever been.

  • AquaSox Wrap Tri-City Road Trip This Weekend, Then Bryce Miller Comes to Funko Field Wednesday

    AquaSox Wrap Tri-City Road Trip This Weekend, Then Bryce Miller Comes to Funko Field Wednesday

    Q: Where are the Everett AquaSox playing this weekend, May 2-3, 2026?
    The AquaSox are wrapping up a six-game road series at the Tri-City Dust Devils at Gesa Stadium in Pasco, WA. Games 5 and 6 are Saturday, May 2 (7:05 PM) and Sunday, May 3 (typically a 1:05 or 1:35 PM start). The Frogs went into Friday’s game leading the series 2-1 after winning the opener 8-3 (Tuesday) and the Wednesday game 10-7, then dropping Thursday 6-4. Friday’s result was in progress when this story published; check MiLB.com/everett for the final.

    Frogs Close Out the Pasco Road Trip — and What’s Coming Home Next Week

    The AquaSox have already given Pasco their money’s worth this week. Three games in, the Frogs had won two — and both of those wins told you something about what this 2026 roster can actually be when the bats and the bullpen show up the same night.

    Tuesday’s series opener at Gesa Stadium was the Luis Suisbel show: the AquaSox infielder cracked a three-run homer (his first of the year) and added a two-run single for a career-high-tying five RBIs in the 8-3 win. Logan Dollard went four innings and gave up just one earned run. The bullpen got it home. Easy night.

    Wednesday, it didn’t look easy at all. Tri-City clawed back to a 7-7 tie heading into the eighth, and the Frogs had to find another gear. Felnin Celesten — the Mariners’ top middle-infield prospect and recent NWL Player of the Week (.471 over the Spokane series) — delivered the go-ahead RBI in the eighth. Brock Ellis ended any doubt with a two-run homer in the ninth, and the Frogs walked off Pasco 10-7. Two-game lead in the series.

    Thursday belonged to Tri-City. Brandon Eike got a hold of one — his fifth homer of 2026, a fourth-inning two-run shot that pushed his RBI total to 12 — but the Dust Devils’ Capri Ortiz answered with a bases-clearing triple and another RBI single, and the Frogs lost 6-4. Series lead trimmed to 2-1.

    Friday Night: Game in Progress at Run Time

    Friday’s Game 4 was first-pitched at 7:05 PT at Gesa Stadium. As of this story going to publish, the game was still being played — so we’re not going to fabricate a final score, an inning-by-inning, or a winning pitcher. (You’ll get the recap in tomorrow night’s run when we have a verified box score from MiLB.com.)

    What we do know: the Frogs entered the night in good shape — winning two of the first three on the road, with their two best prospect bats (Celesten and Eike) heating up at the right time, and a starting rotation that has handled the Dust Devils’ lineup pretty well so far.

    What to Watch the Rest of the Series

    Saturday, May 2 at 7:05 PT: Game 5 of the series at Gesa Stadium. The Frogs need either a Saturday or Sunday win to clinch the series; two more wins gets them home with their first road sweep of 2026.

    Sunday, May 3: Series finale, with a daytime first pitch (Tri-City’s standard Sunday Funday window is the 1:05 PT range — confirm at MiLB.com/everett).

    For Mariners-prospect watchers, the names to track over the weekend are familiar by now:

    • Felnin Celesten — coming off NWL Player of the Week. Top middle-infield prospect in the system. Riding a hot stretch.
    • Brandon Eike — five home runs already, 12 RBIs, looks comfortable in the box.
    • Luis Suisbel — went off in the opener. Power upside is real.
    • Brock Ellis — the ninth-inning two-run homer Wednesday is the kind of swing that tells you about a player’s swing decisions in big spots.
    • Logan Dollard — Tuesday’s start was the kind of outing you build a rotation slot around.

    Then Comes Home — and the Big One

    Once the Tri-City series ends Sunday, the Frogs come back to Funko Field for a six-game homestand against the Hillsboro Hops (D-backs affiliate). And the headliner of that homestand — the night that’s going to draw the curiosity crowd as much as the baseball crowd — is Wednesday, May 6 at 7:05 PM, when Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller makes his second AquaSox rehab start of the spring.

    Miller’s first AquaSox outing on April 24 was the kind of rehab start that ends rehab assignments: 3 IP, 47 pitches, 6 strikeouts, no runs, fastball touching 98+ mph. Mariners GM Jerry Hollander confirmed Wednesday is likely Miller’s last stop before he heads back up to T-Mobile Park. If you want to see a big-league arm at Funko this year, this is the night.

    (That game also closes a multi-step rehab — 1.2 IP at Tacoma April 18 → 3 IP at Everett April 24 → another Tacoma stop earlier this week → Wednesday at Funko. The Mariners are stretching him to give him a real start’s worth of pitches before activation.)

    The Bigger Picture

    The AquaSox went into this Tri-City series at 8-8 and have already made it a winning trip with three games to play. That matters for an obvious reason — early wins build momentum, and prospects build confidence on the road — but also for a less obvious one: the High-A Northwest League season runs through mid-September, and a 17-or-18-game start with a winning record means none of these prospects are pressing yet. That’s the version of an AquaSox team you want feeding into Bryce Miller’s rehab night next Wednesday — loose, confident, and pretty fun to watch.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What time do the AquaSox play Saturday, May 2 against Tri-City?

    7:05 PM PT first pitch at Gesa Stadium in Pasco, WA. The Frogs lead the six-game series 2-1 entering Friday.

    Is Bryce Miller pitching at Funko Field this week?

    Yes. Miller’s second AquaSox rehab start of the spring is Wednesday, May 6 at 7:05 PM at Funko Field vs. the Hillsboro Hops. It’s expected to be his final rehab stop before returning to the Mariners.

    Who’s the AquaSox’ hottest hitter right now?

    Felnin Celesten, the Mariners’ top middle-infield prospect, was named NWL Player of the Week on April 28 after going 11-for-17 (.471) with five runs over the Spokane series. He delivered the go-ahead RBI in Wednesday’s 10-7 win at Tri-City.

    Who has the AquaSox’ team home run lead?

    As of Thursday’s game, Brandon Eike with five home runs and 12 RBIs.

    When does the next AquaSox homestand start?

    The Frogs return to Funko Field on Tuesday, May 5 to begin a six-game homestand against the Hillsboro Hops.

    Where can I check the live AquaSox box score?

    MiLB.com/everett has the live Gameday feed, schedule, and confirmed final box scores.

  • Owen Corkish Hat Trick Lifts Prince Albert Past Medicine Hat 6-3: Raiders Lead WHL East Final 3-2

    Owen Corkish Hat Trick Lifts Prince Albert Past Medicine Hat 6-3: Raiders Lead WHL East Final 3-2

    Q: Who won WHL Eastern Conference Final Game 5 on May 1, 2026?
    The Prince Albert Raiders beat the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-3 at Art Hauser Centre on Friday, May 1, 2026. Owen Corkish scored a hat trick (including an empty-netter), and Prince Albert now leads the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final 3-2. Game 6 is Sunday, May 3 at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat at 6:00 p.m. PT. The Everett Silvertips, already through to the WHL Championship Final, are still waiting on an opponent for Games 1-2 at Angel of the Winds Arena on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9.

    Owen Corkish Goes Off, Raiders Take a 3-2 Series Lead

    The wait keeps going for Everett — and the show keeps getting better.

    Friday night in Prince Albert, the Raiders did exactly what they had to do on home ice, beating the Medicine Hat Tigers 6-3 in Game 5 of the WHL Eastern Conference Final. Owen Corkish dropped a hat trick on Medicine Hat — including the dagger empty-netter — and Prince Albert now leads the best-of-seven 3-2.

    If you’re an Everett Silvertips fan, this is starting to feel like the longest week-and-a-half of the spring. The Tips have been waiting on a championship opponent since they swept Penticton in four to win the Western Conference Final back on April 28. They watched Game 4 swing to Prince Albert (6-3) on Wednesday. They watched the Raiders stretch the series Friday. And now they wait again — for Sunday night.

    How Game 5 Played Out

    Prince Albert came out punching. Alisher Sarkenov got the Raiders on the board in the first five minutes after a Medicine Hat turnover, and from there it was the kind of game that gets won in the second period. The Raiders scored three in the middle frame — the second straight game they’ve put up a three-goal second period on the Tigers.

    Medicine Hat fought back. Cam Parr got one back in the third to make it interesting, but Corkish ended the suspense with an empty-net goal to seal his hat trick and the 6-3 final.

    The face-off circle was a disaster for the Tigers — the Raiders won the dot 49-21. When you’re down a goal in your own zone trying to climb back, that number is the one that quietly buries you.

    Goaltending: Michal Orsulak stood tall for Prince Albert. Carter Casey got the start for Medicine Hat in front of a building that needs to find its bounce-back.

    What Happens Sunday Night in Medicine Hat

    Game 6 is Sunday, May 3 at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. Puck drop is 6:00 p.m. PT (7:00 p.m. local). The Tigers are playing for their season — lose this one and Prince Albert is on its way to Everett. Win it, and Game 7 goes Tuesday in Prince Albert.

    Either way, the WHL Championship Final opens at Angel of the Winds Arena on Friday, May 8 (Game 1) and Saturday, May 9 (Game 2). Tickets for both are on sale now through Ticketmaster — and if you’ve been waiting to grab seats, the AOTW listing currently has Game 1 start time as TBA, which usually means it’ll lock in once the opponent is decided.

    Why Everett Should Want Either Opponent

    Look — this Silvertips team is 12-1 in the playoffs, swept Kelowna, swept Penticton, and is averaging better than four goals a game while giving up fewer than one. Anders Miller is sitting on a .948 playoff save percentage, which is the best in WHL playoff history for any goalie with nine or more games played. Landon DuPont and Carter Bear have been driving offense from both ends of the ice. This team is built for a long series and built for short ones.

    But there’s something fun about the matchup math here. Prince Albert is a two-way team that wins on speed and possession (those face-off numbers tell you everything). Medicine Hat plays a heavier, more physical game — they were 50-15-3-2 in the regular season, second-best in the East. Either one would test a different part of Everett’s identity.

    And honestly? After watching Penticton tie a game with 56 seconds left in regulation in the WCF and almost steal one in double-OT, this Silvertips team has already proved it can absorb a punch. Bring whoever.

    What Everett Fans Need to Know This Weekend

    • Sunday May 3, 6:00 p.m. PT: Game 6, Prince Albert at Medicine Hat (Co-op Place). Watch on WHL Live or follow CHL.ca for updates.
    • If Game 7 is needed: Tuesday, May 5 at Art Hauser Centre, Prince Albert.
    • Game 1 of the WHL Championship Final: Friday, May 8 at Angel of the Winds Arena. Time TBA. Buy tickets.
    • Game 2: Saturday, May 9 at Angel of the Winds Arena. Buy tickets.

    If the series goes back East, Games 3-4 (and 5 if needed) are at the road opponent’s barn. If Everett wins both at home, this thing is over fast. If it goes long, the deciding game would land back at AOTW around mid-month.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What was the final score of WHL Eastern Conference Final Game 5?

    Prince Albert Raiders 6, Medicine Hat Tigers 3, on Friday, May 1, 2026, at Art Hauser Centre in Prince Albert.

    When is Game 6 of the WHL Eastern Conference Final?

    Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. PT (7:00 p.m. local) at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat. The Raiders can clinch with a win.

    When does the WHL Championship Final start in Everett?

    Game 1 is Friday, May 8 at Angel of the Winds Arena (start time TBA). Game 2 is Saturday, May 9. Both are on sale now through Ticketmaster.

    Who scored the hat trick for Prince Albert?

    Owen Corkish, including the empty-net goal that sealed the 6-3 final.

    What’s the Silvertips’ playoff record so far?

    12-1, with sweeps of Kelowna in Round 2 and Penticton in the Western Conference Final. Anders Miller’s .948 save percentage is the best in WHL playoff history for goalies with nine or more games played.

    Where can I watch Game 6 if I can’t make it to Medicine Hat?

    WHL Live is the official streaming home of the league. Updates and box scores are available at CHL.ca.

  • Edmonds American Legion Post 66 and VFW Post 8870 Host May 9 Food and Hygiene Drive for Snohomish County’s 50,000+ Veterans

    Edmonds American Legion Post 66 and VFW Post 8870 Host May 9 Food and Hygiene Drive for Snohomish County’s 50,000+ Veterans

    Q: When and where is the Edmonds American Legion Post 66 and VFW Post 8870 veterans dropoff event?

    A: Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Wilcox Construction Red Barn at 5th Avenue and Maple Street in downtown Edmonds. Members of Edmonds American Legion Post 66 and VFW Post 8870 will accept donations of food, personal hygiene items, lightly used or new spring and summer clothing, socks and underwear, cash or checks made out to “American Legion Food Drive,” and used American flags in need of proper disposal. Food collected goes to the Edmonds Food Bank for distribution to local veterans, with help from representatives of the Lynnwood Heroes’ Café. For information call 833-924-4636.

    The Quietest Way to Help a Snohomish County Veteran This Month Is a Saturday Morning in Edmonds

    There are over 50,000 veterans in Snohomish County, according to the event announcement from Edmonds American Legion Post 66 and VFW Post 8870 — a number that includes everyone from World War II survivors in their late 90s to NAVSTA Everett sailors who hung up the uniform last year and are still figuring out the gap between active-duty pay and the civilian job market. Many of them, the announcement says plainly, “continue to need help due to difficult circumstances.”

    That is the context for what happens in downtown Edmonds on Saturday, May 9, 2026.

    From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., members of Edmonds American Legion Post 66 and VFW Post 8870 will be at the Wilcox Construction Red Barn — at the corner of 5th Avenue and Maple Street — collecting the kind of donations that veterans assistance programs need every month and rarely get all at once: food for the Edmonds Food Bank’s veteran clients, personal hygiene supplies, clothing, and money. Lynnwood Heroes’ Café representatives will help with distribution.

    It is the kind of community event that does not make the front page even when it should. So here is what is being collected, who runs it, why the food bank route matters, and how it fits into the broader picture of veteran services for Navy families and retirees living within reach of Naval Station Everett.

    What the May 9 Dropoff Event Is Collecting

    The event organizers have published a specific list of what is needed. None of it is a guess about what veterans want — it is what the partner agencies, the Edmonds Food Bank and the Lynnwood Heroes’ Café, have asked for based on what they actually distribute.

    Food

    All food donations are routed to the Edmonds Food Bank, which then distributes them to local veterans. Non-perishable items — canned proteins, pasta, rice, soups, peanut butter, shelf-stable meals — are the standard ask.

    Personal hygiene items

    The published list calls out, by name: deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, lotion, body wash, and sanitary napkins. These are the categories that food banks consistently report as the hardest to keep stocked, because federal nutrition programs cover food but not hygiene products. Every dollar a veteran spends on toothpaste at a regular grocery store is a dollar not spent on rent or utilities.

    Disposable diapers

    Diapers are also specifically requested. Veteran households with young children — including grandchildren in the care of grandparent veterans — face the same diaper-cost squeeze as any other low-income family, and diapers cannot be purchased with SNAP benefits.

    Clothing, socks, and underwear

    Lightly used or new spring and summer clothing is welcome. Socks and underwear are specifically mentioned, which is also the standard ask at most veteran-serving distributions — those items are almost never donated used because most people wear them out.

    Cash and credit/debit donations

    Cash and card donations are accepted on-site. Checks should be made out to “American Legion Food Drive.” Cash donations let the post commanders fill specific gaps after the event closes — usually the high-cost items the in-person drive did not collect enough of.

    Used American flags

    The posts will also accept worn or damaged American flags for proper retirement and disposal. This is a service American Legion posts perform under flag-code protocol, and it removes a real practical question — most people do not know what to do with a flag that has worn out and cannot legally just put it in the trash.

    Who Is Running the Event

    Two posts are co-hosting:

    Edmonds American Legion Post 66 is the Edmonds-area chapter of the American Legion, the congressionally chartered veterans service organization founded in 1919. Post Commander Dan Mullene said in the event announcement that “our Edmonds-area community always supports our vets, and we are pleased to provide this opportunity of them to do it once again.” That language — “once again” — is the operative tense. This is not a one-off. The posts have been running similar drives for years, and they have a track record.

    VFW Post 8870 is the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post serving the Edmonds area. Post Commander Duane Bowman said in the same announcement that “we greatly appreciate the continued community responses to our drives. Last year we brought in significant donations of food, hygiene products, clothing and money at similar events.” The VFW is a separate organization from the American Legion — membership is restricted to veterans who served in a designated overseas combat zone — but the two posts coordinate on community-facing events like this one.

    Wilcox Construction donates the venue. Matt Lessard, president of Wilcox Construction, makes the Red Barn available for the event. The Red Barn — at 5th Avenue and Maple Street in downtown Edmonds — is one of those community-asset properties that exists because someone with the means decided it should. Both post commanders specifically thank Lessard and his team in the event announcement.

    Edmonds Food Bank handles distribution of the food collected. The food bank has been the through-line for veteran food assistance in the Edmonds area for years and operates the actual logistics of getting groceries to veterans who have signed up for assistance.

    Lynnwood Heroes’ Café sends representatives to help with distribution. The Heroes’ Café is a community gathering space serving veterans, first responders, and their families in the Lynnwood area, and its presence at the May 9 event extends the reach of the donations beyond just Edmonds.

    Why a Food Drive Matters Inside a $340 Million Military Economy

    Snohomish County is home to one of the largest concentrations of military households in Washington state. Naval Station Everett is the third-largest employer in the county, and the total annual economic impact of the military presence in Snohomish County is estimated at roughly $340 million.

    That number represents wages, contracts, base spending, and the supplier ecosystem. It does not represent the gap between what active-duty pay covers and what civilian living costs in the Puget Sound region in 2026 actually are. It does not represent the gap between full benefits and the months immediately after separation, when a sailor who decided not to re-enlist is waiting for VA paperwork, looking for civilian work, and facing rent on the local market for the first time without a housing allowance.

    And it does not represent the older veteran population — the Vietnam-era and Korean War veterans, many of them on fixed Social Security and partial VA benefits — who make up a significant share of the 50,000-plus county total. For those households, a food drive is not a feel-good event. It is grocery money for the month.

    That is the gap the May 9 dropoff event is designed to close, even just for one weekend. The Edmonds Food Bank’s veteran-targeted distribution runs year-round; the May 9 event is a restocking surge.

    How This Connects to Other Veteran Services in Snohomish County

    If you are a Navy family member, a veteran, or a civilian neighbor who wants to do more than drop off a bag of canned goods on May 9, here is the broader landscape of resources that the dropoff event sits inside.

    Veteran benefits and claims help in Snohomish County is provided through several channels: the Snohomish County Veterans Assistance Program at the Robert J. Drewel Building in Everett, the VA Puget Sound Health Care System’s Everett clinic which began seeing patients in February 2025, and monthly visits by VBA service officers. The schedule of in-person VA claims help in Everett changed in February 2026 when VFW service officer hours at the Everett Vet Center were reduced — coverage of the current options is available here and the complete 2026 guide is here.

    Memorial Day 2026 services in Snohomish County are scheduled for Monday, May 25, with American Legion Post 181 in Lake Stevens hosting one of the most well-attended ceremonies in the county. A practical guide to Memorial Day events for military families and veterans new to Everett — including Tahoma National Cemetery, the County Eternal Flame at the Drewel Building, and the Lake Stevens, Floral Hills, and Evergreen ceremonies — is available here. The May 9 dropoff event is timed to land before Memorial Day, when public attention to veteran issues briefly peaks.

    NAVSTA Everett family resources — including the Fleet & Family Support Center at 425-304-3735 and the SAPR 24/7 line at 425-754-5977 — exist for active-duty families currently homeported at the base. The Fleet & Family Support Center coverage is here. These are different services than what the May 9 dropoff event supports, which is primarily aimed at veterans who have left active duty and the older veteran population, but they are part of the same ecosystem.

    What to Bring, What Not to Bring

    Based on the event announcement and the standard practice of veteran-serving food drives:

    Bring: non-perishable food in original sealed packaging, unopened hygiene products, sealed packs of disposable diapers, clean lightly used spring/summer clothing, new socks and underwear in package, cash, checks made out to “American Legion Food Drive,” and worn American flags for proper retirement.

    Do not bring: opened or expired food, used hygiene products, used socks or underwear, heavy winter coats (the request is specifically spring and summer clothing), perishables that need refrigeration without coordinating in advance, or items the announcement did not list.

    If in doubt, the post information line is 833-924-4636.

    The Bigger Pattern: How Veteran Service Organizations Bridge a Gap Federal Programs Cannot

    The federal veteran benefits system — VA health care, disability compensation, GI Bill education benefits, VA home loans, VA pension — is the largest and most comprehensive veteran support apparatus in the world. Snohomish County veterans access it through the VA Puget Sound system, the VBA regional office in Seattle, and a network of accredited service officers.

    What that system does not do well is provide groceries on a Tuesday afternoon when the rent is due Friday. That is the niche American Legion posts, VFW posts, food banks, and community partners like the Heroes’ Café have always filled. The May 9 dropoff event is a representative example of how that informal network operates: a venue donated by a local business, two veteran service organizations organizing the drive, a food bank running the distribution, and a community gathering space helping with reach.

    The Edmonds-area community — and the broader Snohomish County community within driving distance of downtown Edmonds — has a low-effort, high-impact way to participate this Saturday. The barrier to entry is a bag of canned goods and a parking spot at the Red Barn between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When and where is the Edmonds veterans dropoff event on May 9, 2026?

    The event is Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Wilcox Construction Red Barn, located at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Maple Street in downtown Edmonds, Washington. Edmonds American Legion Post 66 and VFW Post 8870 are co-hosting.

    What items are being collected at the May 9 Edmonds veteran food and hygiene drive?

    The event is collecting non-perishable food (routed to the Edmonds Food Bank for distribution to veterans), personal hygiene items including deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, lotion, body wash, and sanitary napkins, disposable diapers, lightly used or new spring and summer clothing, new socks and underwear, cash and credit/debit donations, checks made out to “American Legion Food Drive,” and used American flags in need of proper retirement.

    Who runs the May 9 dropoff event?

    The event is co-hosted by Edmonds American Legion Post 66, with Post Commander Dan Mullene, and VFW Post 8870, with Post Commander Duane Bowman. The venue is donated by Wilcox Construction, whose president is Matt Lessard. The Edmonds Food Bank handles food distribution, and Lynnwood Heroes’ Café representatives assist with distribution.

    How can I make a financial donation if I cannot attend the May 9 event in person?

    Cash and credit/debit card donations are accepted on-site at the event. Checks should be made out to “American Legion Food Drive.” For donation arrangements outside event hours, contact the post information line at 833-924-4636.

    Can I drop off a worn American flag at the Edmonds dropoff event?

    Yes. American Legion Post 66 will accept used American flags in need of proper retirement and disposal. American Legion posts are authorized under flag code protocol to perform formal flag retirement ceremonies, which is the legally and traditionally correct way to dispose of a U.S. flag that is no longer fit for display.

    How does the May 9 dropoff event fit with other Snohomish County veteran services?

    The dropoff event provides immediate-need supplies — food, hygiene, clothing — through the Edmonds Food Bank’s veteran distribution channel. It is complementary to the formal VA benefits system accessed through VA Puget Sound’s Everett clinic, the Snohomish County Veterans Assistance Program at the Drewel Building, and accredited VSO claims help. The dropoff event addresses the day-to-day gap that federal benefits do not always cover, especially for older veterans on fixed incomes and for veterans in transition from active duty to civilian life.

    Are veterans the only people who can donate at the May 9 event?

    No. The event is a community drive open to all donors. Civilian neighbors, businesses, and community members are encouraged to participate. The 50,000-plus Snohomish County veteran population is the beneficiary; the donor base is intentionally the broader community.

    Why does the food go through the Edmonds Food Bank instead of directly to veterans?

    The Edmonds Food Bank already operates a year-round veteran-targeted distribution program with intake, eligibility verification, and ongoing client relationships. Routing the May 9 donations through the food bank ensures the items reach veterans who are already enrolled in assistance, that the distribution is equitable, and that the volume is matched to actual demand. It also extends the impact beyond a single Saturday — the supplies feed into the food bank’s stockroom and are distributed over the following weeks as veterans request assistance.