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Tag: Everett

  • Howarth Park: The Everett Beach You Drive Past Without Knowing It’s There

    Howarth Park: The Everett Beach You Drive Past Without Knowing It’s There

    What is Howarth Park in Everett?
    Howarth Park is a City of Everett park on the Puget Sound bluff at 1127 Olympic Boulevard, with an easy 0.6-mile loop trail, a pedestrian bridge over the BNSF railroad tracks to a long beach, sport courts, a playground, and an off-leash dog beach on the north end. It’s open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, free to enter, and one of the most underused public beaches in Snohomish County.

    Howarth Park: The Everett Beach You Drive Past Without Knowing It’s There

    Olympic Boulevard in south Everett is mostly tidy residential streets, a few stop signs, and not much else to look at — which is exactly how most drivers end up cruising right past Howarth Park without noticing the turnoff. That is the central fact of this park. It’s one of the most scenic stretches of public beach in south Everett, it’s a short drive from downtown, and a huge number of Everett residents have never set foot on it.

    Let’s fix that.

    Where Howarth Park Actually Is

    Howarth Park is tucked along the western bluff of south Everett at 1127 Olympic Boulevard. Coming from downtown, the easiest route is south on Rucker Avenue, right on Mukilteo Boulevard, and then left into the park about a mile and a half after you pass Forest Park. If you hit the Mukilteo ferry, you’ve gone too far.

    The park sits on a long, narrow strip of bluff and beach that the City of Everett has owned and managed for generations. The bluff side holds the parking, playground, and sport courts. The beach is a separate world down below — reached only by the park’s signature pedestrian bridge.

    The Three Parking Lots and What Each One Gives You

    One of the things that confuses first-time visitors is that Howarth Park has three parking lots, and they’re not interchangeable. Pick the wrong one and you’ll either end up with a long walk or a missed view.

    The north parking lot is what most beach-goers want. This is the closest pedestrian access to the beach itself. A short trail leads from the lot to the park’s pedestrian bridge, which spans the BNSF railroad tracks below and drops you directly onto the sand. If your goal is to get to the water with kids, a dog, or a beach chair, this is the lot.

    The central parking lot sits at a small viewpoint on the bluff and offers a trail that drops down the hillside to the beach. This route is longer and steeper than the north access, but the view from the top is easily the best non-beach view in the park — on a clear day you’re looking straight across at the Olympic Mountains and Hat Island.

    The south parking lot is the one most Everett residents don’t realize exists. This is the family-friendly end: two sport courts (tennis and basketball), a playground, a restroom, and a short, level walking path that leads to another great water view — again with Hat Island front and center. If you have young kids and want a picnic without the pedestrian-bridge hike, come here.

    The Pedestrian Bridge and the Beach

    The pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks is the quintessential Howarth experience. It’s not fancy — a metal walkway with railings — but it feels a little bit like crossing into a hidden world. You come off the bridge onto a long, driftwood-strewn beach with Possession Sound in front of you, Whidbey Island in the distance, and the Mukilteo ferry crossing behind you.

    The beach itself runs north to south along the park’s full length. It’s sand and cobble, with plenty of driftwood washed up at the high-tide line and tide pools exposed at low tide. You’ll see people walking dogs, kids skipping rocks, the occasional fisherman, and on nice spring weekends, a handful of photographers chasing the light.

    The freight trains that run on the tracks behind you are loud and constant — that’s the tradeoff for beach access in this part of Puget Sound. After your first trip you stop noticing them.

    The 0.6-Mile Loop Trail

    On the bluff above, Howarth has a short but scenic 0.6-mile loop trail that’s generally rated as easy. It takes most people about 15 to 20 minutes and connects the three parking lots through a mix of forested switchbacks and bluff-edge sections. Strollers can handle some of it but not all. Dogs on leash are fine.

    The trail is at its best between March and September, when the alders have leafed out and the ground is dry. In winter the steeper descents can get muddy and slick — bring shoes with tread.

    The Off-Leash Dog Beach

    Here’s a Howarth detail most Everett dog owners don’t know until their neighbor tells them: the north end of the beach is off-leash. Everett has very few legal off-leash beach options, and this is one of them. The south half of the beach stays leashed, but if you walk north from the pedestrian bridge, your dog can run.

    Standard rules apply: owners are responsible for cleanup, voice control, and pulling your dog back if another leashed dog or visitor is coming through. The regulars who use this stretch have an informal etiquette that works well — show up, be considerate, and you’ll be welcomed.

    The Views and When to Come

    Howarth faces roughly west-southwest across Possession Sound. That geometry means:

    • Morning: Calm water, often glassy, great for reflective photos and cool-weather walks.
    • Golden hour to sunset: The main event. The sun drops behind Hat Island and the Olympics light up pink and orange. This is the time to come.
    • Overcast days: Still beautiful. The moody gray sky and driftwood beach are some of the most Pacific Northwest scenery Everett has.

    Weekends in July and August get busy, especially the north lot. Weekday evenings are the sweet spot — you’ll often have long stretches of beach to yourself.

    Hours, Amenities, and Rules

    • Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
    • Cost: Free.
    • Parking: Three lots, no fee.
    • Restrooms: Available at the south lot.
    • Playground: South lot.
    • Sport courts: South lot (tennis and basketball).
    • Dogs: On leash in all park areas except the north end of the beach, which is off-leash.
    • Fires: Not permitted on the beach.
    • Alcohol: Not permitted in park facilities.

    Why Howarth Is Worth the Trip

    Everett has Jetty Island for ferry-ride summer beach days, Forest Park for forest walks and the animal farm, and Legion Memorial for views and golf. Howarth is the one that fills a different slot: a real, walkable Puget Sound beach you can drive to in ten minutes, stay on for two hours, and leave without feeling like you fought a crowd.

    It’s not flashy. It’s not a destination. It’s just quietly one of the best small parks in the city, and the Everett residents who use it regularly tend to keep it that way.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where is Howarth Park in Everett?

    Howarth Park is at 1127 Olympic Boulevard in south Everett, on the Puget Sound bluff between downtown Everett and Mukilteo. The easiest route from downtown is south on Rucker, right on Mukilteo Boulevard, and left into the park.

    What are the hours at Howarth Park?

    Howarth Park is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, year-round.

    How do you get to the beach at Howarth Park?

    The quickest access is from the north parking lot. A short trail leads to a pedestrian bridge that spans the BNSF railroad tracks and drops you directly onto the beach. There’s also a longer switchback trail from the central parking lot that descends the bluff to the beach.

    Is Howarth Park dog-friendly?

    Yes. Dogs are allowed throughout the park on leash, and the north end of the beach is an off-leash area. Owners are responsible for cleanup and voice control.

    How long is the Howarth Park trail?

    The main loop trail is about 0.6 miles and generally takes 15 to 20 minutes. It connects the three parking lots through a mix of forested switchbacks and bluff-edge segments.

    Is there parking at Howarth Park?

    Yes. There are three free parking lots — north, central, and south. The north lot is closest to the beach via the pedestrian bridge. The south lot has the playground, restroom, and sport courts.

    Can you swim at Howarth Park Beach?

    Wading is common on warm days, but Puget Sound water is cold year-round and the beach is not a lifeguarded swim beach. Conditions are best-suited for beachcombing, dog walking, and tide-pooling at low tide.

    When is the best time to visit Howarth Park?

    Weekday evenings between March and September are ideal. The golden-hour to sunset window is the park’s best view. Weekend afternoons in mid-summer can fill the north parking lot — come early or arrive after 4 p.m. for easier parking.

    Is Howarth Park free?

    Yes. There is no entrance fee and parking is free at all three lots.


  • Living in Delta: Everett’s Quietly Great Middle Neighborhood

    Living in Delta: Everett’s Quietly Great Middle Neighborhood

    What is the Delta neighborhood in Everett?
    Delta is a quiet, mostly residential neighborhood at the northern end of Everett, Washington, between the Snohomish River and Broadway. Roughly 13,000 residents live there. It’s known for older single-family homes, long-running local staples like Ray’s Drive-In and Tampico Mexican Restaurant, a big off-leash dog park, and some of the most affordable housing in north Everett.

    Living in Delta: Everett’s Quietly Great Middle Neighborhood

    Drive up Broadway from downtown Everett and somewhere past Providence Regional Medical Center, you cross into Delta without anyone telling you. There’s no gateway sign, no big intersection marking the change. The blocks just start feeling a little older, a little quieter, a little more lived-in. That’s Delta: one of Everett’s most populous neighborhoods and almost certainly its most underrated.

    If you’ve only driven through, you’ve probably missed it. Delta is not a destination neighborhood — it’s a living neighborhood, and that’s exactly what makes it good.

    Where Delta Is and What It Looks Like

    Delta sits at the northern end of Everett, bounded roughly by the Snohomish River to the north and east, Broadway running through its spine, and the Bayside and Northwest Everett neighborhoods to the west. It’s one of the largest of Everett’s 21 officially recognized neighborhoods by population, with around 13,000 residents according to recent census data.

    What you see when you walk it: 1920s craftsman bungalows next to 1940s workers’ cottages next to tidy early-2000s townhomes in the north end. Tree-lined streets. Basketball hoops in driveways. The occasional well-loved ’90s Tacoma in the front yard. It’s the kind of neighborhood where the housing stock has been continuously lived in for a hundred years because no one ever had a reason to leave.

    The Local Staples That Define Delta

    Every neighborhood has the places that anchor it. In Delta, two of them have been anchoring since before most current residents were born.

    Ray’s Drive-In has been flipping burgers and scooping ice cream on Broadway since 1962. That’s 64 years of the same drive-up counter, the same red-and-white signage, the same deep-fried fries that come out almost too hot to eat. Generations of Everett teenagers have had their first after-practice cheeseburger here. Generations of Delta residents have walked over for a shake on a summer evening. If you want to understand how Delta feels about itself, watch the parking lot at Ray’s on a Friday night.

    Tampico Mexican Restaurant opened in 1987 and has been serving tostadas and margaritas to Delta regulars ever since. It’s not flashy. The salsa is good. The prices are what Everett prices used to be everywhere, and the booth you sat in last year is probably still open when you come back.

    The Broadway corridor through Delta also includes a rotating cast of smaller shops, family-owned services, and the quiet kind of storefronts — dry cleaners, barbers, a tire place, a dentist — that keep a neighborhood running without ever becoming “scenes.”

    Who Lives in Delta and What It Costs

    Delta has historically been one of the most affordable neighborhoods in north Everett, and that’s still largely true — with an asterisk the rest of the Puget Sound region has stamped on everything.

    Two-bedroom 1940s bungalows trade in the $380,000 to $430,000 range. A three-bedroom 1920s craftsman lands closer to $470,000. Newer three-bedroom townhomes in the north end of the neighborhood go between $580,000 and $630,000. None of those numbers are cheap in absolute terms, but compared to similar homes in Northwest Everett or Bayside, Delta consistently comes in lower.

    The result is that Delta has stayed one of the most economically mixed neighborhoods in the city. You get long-time Everett families who bought their homes in the ’80s and never left, young couples stretching to buy their first place, and renters in the older duplexes and fourplexes that dot the side streets. That economic mix is probably Delta’s single most underappreciated quality.

    Schools and the Providence Connection

    Many Delta kids attend Hawthorne Elementary School, part of the Everett School District, which has a long-standing presence in the neighborhood. Middle and high school assignments in Delta run through the district’s standard boundary system, with most students funneling into North Middle School and then either Everett High School or Cascade High School depending on block.

    The neighborhood also benefits enormously from proximity to the Providence Regional Medical Center Everett campus on Pacific Avenue — a roughly five-minute drive for most of Delta. Between the hospital, Everett Community College just to the south, and the Washington State University Everett campus, Delta residents have three of the biggest employers and institutions in north Everett within easy reach.

    Parks, Dogs, and Green Space

    If Delta has a spiritual center, it’s Delta Park — and specifically, the big off-leash dog park in the middle of it. Residents have been bringing their dogs there for years. Poop bags are provided at the entrances. On any sunny evening, you’ll find a small democracy of retrievers, doodles, and senior mutts running circles while their owners compare notes on weather, work, and where the best new coffee shop opened. It’s the kind of low-key community space that a neighborhood has to earn.

    Delta also has easy access to the Snohomish River trail system and is a short drive from Legion Memorial Park, Kasch Park, and the waterfront at Jetty Landing.

    What’s Changing in Delta Right Now

    Delta is not being torn down and rebuilt — that’s part of its charm — but a few things are shifting. New construction in the north end of the neighborhood has brought in a steady trickle of townhomes over the past decade, gradually pushing up the neighborhood’s median home value and adding some density near the river. Broadway itself has seen small restaurant and service-business turnover, with newer independent places opening alongside the old staples.

    The bigger story for Delta residents is Sound Transit’s Everett Link Extension, which will eventually bring light rail service to Everett, with station planning that touches the broader Broadway corridor. That’s still years out, but it’s the kind of long-horizon change that is already showing up in real estate conversations in the neighborhood.

    Why Delta Works

    Delta isn’t trying to be the next trendy neighborhood. Nobody is writing breathless Instagram posts about its aesthetic. There’s no coffee cart behind a speakeasy-style door. And that’s the whole point.

    Delta works because the same people have lived there for a long time, the businesses that were there when those people moved in are still there, and the neighborhood has absorbed change slowly enough that it still feels like itself. In a city that is transforming fast — new stadium downtown, Boeing’s 737 line expanding, the waterfront filling in with new restaurants and housing — Delta is the neighborhood that reminds you Everett isn’t just what’s next. It’s also what’s already here, still working, still worth knowing.

    How to Spend an Afternoon in Delta

    If you’re new to Everett and want to get a feel for Delta the way locals do, here’s a simple afternoon:

    1. Grab a burger and a shake at Ray’s Drive-In on Broadway.
    2. Walk it off at Delta Park — say hi to the dogs at the off-leash area.
    3. Drive the residential side streets between Broadway and the river to get a sense of the housing stock and the neighborhood’s rhythm.
    4. Finish with tostadas and a margarita at Tampico Mexican Restaurant.

    Two hours. Maybe three if you linger. That’s Delta — and that’s the whole neighborhood, really.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where is the Delta neighborhood in Everett?

    Delta sits at the northern end of Everett, Washington, bounded roughly by the Snohomish River to the north and east and by Broadway running through its spine. It’s immediately east of Northwest Everett and north of the central business district.

    How many people live in Delta?

    Around 13,000 residents, making Delta one of the more populous of Everett’s 21 officially recognized neighborhoods.

    Is Delta a good neighborhood to live in?

    For buyers looking for single-family homes in north Everett at below-northwest-Everett prices, Delta is one of the strongest value options in the city. The neighborhood is quiet, well-established, close to Providence Regional Medical Center and I-5, and has long-running local staples like Ray’s Drive-In and Tampico.

    What are the best restaurants in Delta?

    Ray’s Drive-In (burgers, shakes, and ice cream on Broadway since 1962) and Tampico Mexican Restaurant (tostadas and margaritas since 1987) are the two longest-running locals’ favorites. The Broadway corridor has additional smaller spots worth exploring.

    What elementary school serves the Delta neighborhood?

    Hawthorne Elementary School, part of the Everett School District, serves many Delta families. Middle and high school assignments depend on specific block boundaries within the district.

    Is there a dog park in Delta?

    Yes. Delta Park has a large off-leash dog area with poop bag stations at the entrances. It’s one of the most actively used dog parks in north Everett.

    How much does a house in Delta cost?

    Recent sales have ranged from around $380,000 for smaller 1940s bungalows up to roughly $630,000 for three-bedroom townhomes in the north end of the neighborhood. Prices skew lower than Northwest Everett and Bayside for comparable homes.

    What’s the best way to explore Delta as a visitor?

    Drive Broadway through the neighborhood, stop at Ray’s Drive-In and Tampico, walk Delta Park, and take a loop through the residential side streets between Broadway and the Snohomish River to see the mix of craftsman, bungalow, and townhome housing stock.


  • Antwane Tyler, Fretland, and Racyne Parker Land at APEX May 2 — And This Snohomish-Grown Lineup Is Worth Clearing Your Saturday For

    Antwane Tyler, Fretland, and Racyne Parker Land at APEX May 2 — And This Snohomish-Grown Lineup Is Worth Clearing Your Saturday For

    The short version: Antwane Tyler — the trailblazing Black country artist Snohomish has been quietly claiming for a few years now — headlines Kings Hall at APEX Everett on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. Openers are Racyne Parker and, in a rare Pacific Northwest appearance, Snohomish’s own Fretland. It’s 21+. It’s arguably the most “from-right-here” country bill APEX has programmed to date. Go.

    Every once in a while a single lineup reminds you that the Snohomish County music scene isn’t riding on anyone else’s coattails. Saturday, May 2, at Kings Hall inside APEX Everett, three artists who have shaped what “Pacific Northwest country-Americana” sounds like in 2026 are stepping onto the same stage — and two of them came up inside a 15-minute drive of the venue.

    Here’s why the show matters, who these artists are, and why you should be the one in the room instead of the friend who sees it on Instagram the next morning.

    The headliner: Antwane Tyler

    If you’ve been paying attention to Washington country at all, you’ve run into Antwane Tyler. Born in Tacoma, adopted into the Monroe area as a kid, and now operating out of Snohomish, Tyler has spent the last few years quietly (and then not so quietly) carving out a voice that nobody else in the genre has. He grew up on the Johnny Cash–Waylon Jennings side of the family record collection, then picked up hip-hop in his teens, and the music he makes today isn’t a compromise between those two worlds — it’s a fusion that actually works.

    His single “Homesick” is the calling card. It went viral on TikTok and streaming, picked up Locals Only love from 107.7 The End, and earned him a King 5 spotlight that (refreshingly) didn’t spend the whole segment treating him like a novelty. The song was inspired by the grandfather who handed him his first guitar at eight years old, and Tyler tells that story without flattening it into a marketing bio.

    He’s also, to date, one of the only Black country artists consistently touring Washington’s small-to-mid-size rooms. That’s not a press angle — it’s a thing that matters, especially when a room like Kings Hall at APEX hands him a 7:30 p.m. headline slot.

    The rare-return opener: Fretland

    The part of this bill the country nerds are already texting each other about: Fretland. Led by Hillary Grace Fretland (yes, that’s actually her name), the Snohomish-based four-piece has been one of the most critically adored Americana acts to come out of Washington in the last five years. Billboard, American Songwriter, The Boot, No Depression — they’ve all gone to bat for Fretland’s fragile, leaf-strewn alt-country sound.

    They released their self-titled debut in May 2020 (timing that tested anyone’s career plans) and followed it with a second full-length a couple years later. Since then, live Fretland shows in the Pacific Northwest have become increasingly rare. The APEX announcement specifically flags this as a “one-night-only special appearance” and a “rare opportunity to see her live in the PNW again.” If you’ve been waiting for Fretland to play a hometown-adjacent room again — this is literally that.

    For anyone who hasn’t heard them: imagine the emotional weight of Phoebe Bridgers with the country bones of Kacey Musgraves and a little of Lord Huron’s atmosphere on top. They are the kind of band that makes a 300-person room go completely silent. In Kings Hall’s 800-ish capacity with good sightlines? It’s going to hit.

    The rising third: Racyne Parker

    Slotting in between Antwane Tyler and Fretland is Racyne Parker, a Klamath Falls, Oregon native who spent time in Denver before relocating to Seattle in 2024. Her debut full-length, Will You Go With Me?, came out in 2025 and was produced by Nashville’s Randall Kent. Parker writes from the side of country music that sits comfortably between Miranda Lambert’s storytelling and the more literary Noah Kahan / Lord Huron end of the folk spectrum — which is to say, she slots onto this bill like she was mailed to order.

    If you aren’t already familiar with her, an APEX show is exactly the right way to introduce yourself. Parker plays rooms this size well — enough stage presence to hold attention, and enough songcraft to earn the quiet between songs.

    The venue: Kings Hall at APEX

    A quick word about where this is happening, because Kings Hall deserves the context. APEX Everett opened inside a historic building at 1611 Everett Avenue, and the main performance room — Kings Hall — sits on the third floor with a capacity around 800. It’s one of the more architecturally interesting live music rooms to open in Snohomish County in a decade, and programmers there have been unusually deliberate about booking regionally-rooted acts alongside bigger touring names.

    A country-Americana triple-header like this — headlined by a Washington artist, with two more Washington-based (or Washington-adjacent) acts underneath — is exactly the kind of programming that justifies the Kings Hall project.

    The details you actually need

    • Show: Antwane Tyler with Special Guests Fretland + Racyne Parker
    • Date: Saturday, May 2, 2026
    • Showtime: 7:30 p.m.
    • Venue: Kings Hall at APEX Everett, 1611 Everett Avenue, Everett, WA 98201
    • Age: 21+
    • Tickets: Via Ticketmaster or through the APEX Everett events page — lock them in before week-of, because the Fretland-return angle is quietly going to move tickets
    • Heads up: Kings Hall is on the third floor of a historic building. Dress like a human who is going to be standing for a few hours in a venue with character.

    Why this one stands out

    Everett’s calendar is thick in May. First Friday at Schack Art Center is happening the night before. Tony V’s Garage has its usual packed weekend. The Historic Everett Theatre will have something booked on Colby. But this is the show where you are not going to be able to replay the exact lineup later — the Fretland appearance is the kind of thing that, five years from now, somebody is going to mention they caught and you’re going to wish you’d been there too.

    Antwane Tyler is building something. Fretland doesn’t play the PNW much anymore. Racyne Parker is at the point in her arc where people will still be able to say they saw her in an 800-person room. APEX programmed the bill that put those three pieces together on a Saturday night — three miles from Snohomish, five miles from Monroe, and fifteen steps from where Hewitt Avenue starts getting fun.

    Clear your Saturday. It’s worth it.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Who is playing at Kings Hall at APEX Everett on May 2, 2026?
    Antwane Tyler headlines, with Fretland and Racyne Parker as special guests. Showtime is 7:30 p.m., and the event is 21+.

    Where is Kings Hall at APEX Everett?
    Kings Hall is located on the third floor of APEX Everett at 1611 Everett Avenue, Everett, WA 98201.

    Is the APEX Everett May 2 show all ages?
    No. The Antwane Tyler show on May 2, 2026 is a 21+ event.

    Who is Antwane Tyler?
    Antwane Tyler is a Washington-based country artist born in Tacoma, raised in the Monroe area after being adopted, and currently operating out of Snohomish. His single “Homesick” went viral across streaming and TikTok. He is one of the most visible Black country artists consistently touring Washington venues.

    Is Fretland from Snohomish?
    Yes. Fretland is a four-piece Americana band based in Snohomish, Washington, led by Hillary Grace Fretland. They have been profiled by Billboard, American Songwriter, The Boot, and No Depression. Their May 2 APEX appearance is being promoted as a rare PNW live date.

    Where can I buy tickets?
    Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and via the APEX Everett official events page. Because of Fretland’s rare PNW appearance, tickets are moving faster than a typical APEX night — buy early rather than at the door if the show is a priority.

    What is the capacity of Kings Hall at APEX?
    Kings Hall seats / accommodates roughly 800 people, making it one of the larger mid-size live music rooms in Snohomish County.

  • How NAVSTA Everett’s Fleet & Family Support Center Helps Navy Spouses Find Jobs

    How NAVSTA Everett’s Fleet & Family Support Center Helps Navy Spouses Find Jobs

    Q: How does NAVSTA Everett’s Fleet & Family Support Center help Navy spouses find jobs?
    A: The Fleet & Family Support Center (FFSC) at Naval Station Everett runs the Family Employment Readiness Program (FERP), which offers free career counseling, résumé reviews, interview coaching, workshops, and local job leads to Navy spouses and family members. Appointments are available by calling 425-304-3735 or emailing ffsp.cnrnw@navy.mil, and services are open to active duty, spouses, family members, retirees, and DoD civilians across the Pacific Northwest.

    Moving to Everett as a Navy spouse can feel like landing in a city that runs on shift work you don’t have yet. The pier is busy, the base has its own gravity, and the question that keeps coming up at every coffee shop on Colby Avenue is some version of the same thing: where do I find work here, and fast, before the next deployment, the next PCS, or the next tuition bill lands?

    The answer a lot of Navy families eventually stumble into is a building most of Everett drives past without a second look — the Fleet & Family Support Center on Naval Station Everett, and its satellite office up at Smokey Point. FFSC isn’t a single program. It’s a cluster of free services aimed squarely at the problems military life creates, and the employment side of it has become one of the most valuable resources a new arrival in Snohomish County can use.

    What the Fleet & Family Support Center actually is

    The Fleet & Family Support Center is the Navy’s installation-level readiness office for sailors and their families. At NAVSTA Everett it sits inside the installation’s Fleet and Family Readiness footprint and serves the full Pacific Northwest region, including Naval Station Everett and its Smokey Point satellite location up in Arlington. According to the Navy’s own program description, FFSC offers individual, marriage, and family counseling; class reservations; individual résumé assistance; financial counseling; relocation assistance; and deployment and mobilization support.

    Eligibility is broader than a lot of new arrivals assume. Services are open to active duty members, their spouses, other family members, retirees, and DoD civilians. That means a Navy spouse who just drove in from Norfolk, a retired chief who settled in Mill Creek a decade ago, and a contractor working on base all walk through the same door for help.

    Two numbers are worth putting in a phone right away. The main appointment line is 425-304-3735. The regional email for the Pacific Northwest Fleet & Family Support Program is ffsp.cnrnw@navy.mil. Those are the same contacts whether you’re calling about a résumé review, a budgeting class, or a deployment support group.

    FERP: the spouse employment engine

    The piece of FFSC most relevant to job hunting is the Family Employment Readiness Program, usually written as FERP. FERP is the Navy’s in-house career services shop for military families, and at Everett it’s built around a Career Resource Center that functions a bit like a combined university career office and workforce board — with the important difference that every counselor inside understands the rhythm of Navy life.

    FERP services include one-on-one career counseling, résumé and cover letter reviews, interview coaching, workshops on job search strategy, access to local employment information, and guidance on education, scholarships, and career exploration. The program’s reach covers the classic questions a newly arrived Navy spouse tends to bring in: how do I translate my last duty station’s experience to a Pacific Northwest employer? How do I explain a résumé gap created by three moves in four years? What industries in Snohomish County actually hire around deployment schedules?

    What FERP isn’t is a staffing agency. Counselors don’t place anyone into a specific job. What they do is shrink the distance between a qualified spouse and the employers most likely to hire one — which, in a county with Boeing, Naval Station Everett itself, Providence Regional Medical Center, the Port of Everett, and a growing small-business ecosystem, is a meaningful shortcut.

    MySTeP: planning for the life after uniform

    Running in parallel to FERP is the Military Spouse Transition Program, branded as MySTeP. MySTeP is designed to help spouses plan, prepare, and be ready for the life the family actually wants after the service member transitions out of the military. It’s structured around the idea that a Navy family’s biggest career decisions don’t happen at discharge — they happen years earlier, when a spouse is choosing whether to pursue a credential, take a remote role, or stay portable for the next set of orders.

    Practically, MySTeP connects spouses to resources at the right stage of military life: early-career, mid-career, approaching transition, and post-transition. For an Everett-based family thinking about whether to put down roots in Snohomish County after the sailor’s next EAOS, MySTeP is the structured conversation the Navy offers to help walk through that decision.

    SECO: the DoD-wide spouse career safety net

    The third leg of the spouse employment stool is the Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program, known as SECO. SECO is a Department of Defense program rather than a Navy-specific one, and it extends career guidance and education support to military spouses worldwide. For NAVSTA Everett families, SECO layers on top of FERP and MySTeP by providing free career coaching by phone and online, education and licensing guidance, and resources for every stage of a spouse’s career.

    A typical intake at FFSC Everett can end up braided across all three programs. A local appointment with a FERP counselor handles the Snohomish County-specific job search. MySTeP frames the long-term plan. SECO supplies the remote coaching calls and the national-scale resource library. The spouse doesn’t have to figure out which program owns which question — FFSC routes that internally.

    Smokey Point: the FFSC satellite most people miss

    A quiet detail worth knowing: NAVSTA Everett’s Fleet & Family Support Program also operates a Smokey Point location, up near Arlington, which makes the service materially easier to reach for families who live north of the base. For a Navy spouse with a toddler in a car seat, a 20-minute drive to Smokey Point is a very different logistics problem than a drive all the way down to the pier. Both offices run under the same FFSC umbrella and offer overlapping programs.

    What to bring to the first appointment

    FFSC doesn’t publish a hard intake checklist, but Navy spouses who’ve worked with FERP counselors tend to bring the same basic materials: a military ID, a current résumé (even a rough one), any professional licenses or certifications, a short list of industries of interest, and — maybe most importantly — honest visibility into how much time is available around a deployment cycle or a spouse’s current shift schedule. The sharper that picture is on arrival, the faster a counselor can aim the next conversation.

    Why this matters for Everett

    Naval Station Everett remains one of the largest single concentrations of federal employment in Snohomish County, and the civilian workforce around it — spouses, veterans, retirees, DoD civilians, and contractors — is a quiet but significant part of the local economy. Every Navy family that finds stable employment in Everett instead of leaving the region adds to the tax base, to school rosters, and to the pool of skilled workers local employers are already competing for.

    That’s the under-reported story of FFSC. It isn’t just a welfare office for the base. It’s one of the mechanisms that keeps Navy families rooted in the community rather than cycling through it. For a spouse trying to figure out what a new life in Everett is going to look like, the Fleet & Family Support Center is often the first door that makes it feel possible.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Is Fleet & Family Support Center Everett only for active duty?

    No. FFSC services at Naval Station Everett are open to active duty, spouses, family members, retirees, and DoD civilians. A Navy spouse can access FERP, counseling, and relocation support whether or not the sailor is currently deployed.

    How do I make an appointment at FFSC Everett?

    Call 425-304-3735 or email ffsp.cnrnw@navy.mil. That same contact handles appointments across the Pacific Northwest region, including both the NAVSTA Everett location and the Smokey Point satellite.

    What does FERP cost?

    FERP services, along with the rest of FFSC’s programs, are free to eligible users. There’s no fee for résumé help, workshops, or career counseling.

    What’s the difference between FERP, MySTeP, and SECO?

    FERP is Navy-run and locally delivered at Everett, focused on current job search and career counseling. MySTeP is a Navy program focused on longer-term transition planning. SECO is a DoD-wide program providing coaching, education, and licensing resources to military spouses worldwide. Most Navy spouses end up touching more than one of them, and FFSC helps sequence them.

    Can retired sailors and their families still use FFSC Everett?

    Yes. The Navy lists retirees among the eligible populations for FFSC programs, which is particularly relevant in Snohomish County given the size of the retired Navy community in the Everett and Marysville areas.

    Is Smokey Point worth using instead of the main NAVSTA Everett office?

    For families living north of Everett, the Smokey Point Fleet & Family Support location can be a much shorter drive and offers overlapping programming. The main appointment line at 425-304-3735 can steer you to whichever location fits your schedule and program.

    Does FFSC Everett help with jobs off-base?

    Yes. FERP is explicitly geared toward the civilian labor market. Counselors help spouses connect to employers across Snohomish County, including healthcare, aerospace, the public sector, and small-business employers — not just on-base positions.

  • SPEEA Contract Countdown: What Everett’s Boeing Engineers and Technical Workers Need to Know Before October 6

    SPEEA Contract Countdown: What Everett’s Boeing Engineers and Technical Workers Need to Know Before October 6

    The quick version: SPEEA’s two Boeing bargaining units — the Professional unit (engineers, scientists) and the Technical unit (designers, planners, technicians) — have contracts that expire October 6, 2026. Negotiations for about 16,000 Puget Sound workers are actively underway, and the SPEEA Wichita deal ratified in January 2026 (a 20% wage-pool increase over 58 months plus a $6,000 ratification bonus) has become the de facto opening benchmark. Everett is one of the two largest concentrations of SPEEA members in the country, so the contract will land directly on Paine Field paychecks, mortgages, and school budgets.

    SPEEA Contract Countdown: What Everett’s Boeing Engineers and Technical Workers Need to Know Before October 6

    Walk into any coffee shop on Mukilteo Boulevard on a Thursday morning and you’ll hear it — the quiet, steady conversation of Boeing engineers and technical workers working out what their next five years are going to look like. SPEEA’s Puget Sound contract with Boeing expires on October 6, 2026. That’s less than six months from tonight. And unlike the IAM 751 machinists’ contract fight in the fall of 2024, this one isn’t on anyone’s national radar yet — which is exactly why it matters here first.

    Roughly 16,000 SPEEA-represented workers sit inside Boeing’s Washington, Oregon, California, and Utah footprint, with the overwhelming majority clustered in the Puget Sound region. In Everett, that means the engineers designing the 777X, the planners choreographing the 737 North Line opening this summer, the test technicians running the KC-46 tanker through its paces at Paine Field, and the scientists working the composite wings that ship north from Frederickson to the Everett factory. When SPEEA bargains, Everett bargains.

    Here’s the full picture of where things stand on April 16, 2026 — and what the next six months could look like.

    The contract that’s expiring

    The current SPEEA Professional and Technical unit contracts with Boeing were negotiated in 2020 as a four-year extension during the early pandemic period. That deal ran through late 2022 originally, was re-extended, and now expires at midnight on October 6, 2026. It covers two separate bargaining units:

    • Professional unit: engineers and scientists
    • Technical unit: designers, planners, analysts, technical writers, production planners, lab technicians

    Both units bargain simultaneously with Boeing but vote on their contracts separately. In 2020, the Professional unit ratified the extension, but the Technical unit rejected its version — a split that’s worth remembering heading into this round. The groups share a lot of Boeing-wide concerns but have distinct priorities on pay scales, on-call compensation, and classification issues.

    Where negotiations stand right now

    SPEEA has been ramping its negotiation preparation since 2024. A dedicated “2026 Negotiations” section on speea.org has been running since the previous contract was signed, with quarterly survey rounds gathering member input on what the bargaining team should prioritize.

    The most recent preparation step was the fourth Negotiation Prep Committee (NPC) survey — focused on paid time off, sick leave, retirement benefits, raise pools, and on-call work. That’s the short list of what SPEEA members have been flagging as sticking points. Applications for the 2026 Professional Bargaining Unit Negotiation Team were still being accepted earlier this year.

    Translation for anyone outside the union machinery: the contract hasn’t been drafted yet, the team that will bargain it is still being finalized, and the “ask” is being built bottom-up from member priorities. This is normal for a SPEEA bargain — it runs slower and more deliberately than the machinists’ timelines — but it means the public-facing news cycle around the contract probably won’t start heating up until late summer.

    The Wichita benchmark

    There’s one recent data point that matters enormously for how this contract plays out: the SPEEA Wichita deal.

    In January 2026, SPEEA’s Wichita Technical and Professional units ratified a new contract with Boeing covering about 1,000 engineers and technical workers at Boeing’s Wichita defense site. The terms, per SPEEA’s own announcement: a 20% wage-pool increase compounded over 58 months and a $6,000 ratification bonus eligible for 401(k) deposit.

    Wichita is smaller and structurally different from Puget Sound — different work mix, different labor market, different political context — but in SPEEA bargaining history, Wichita usually sets the floor for what Puget Sound will argue for. A 20%-over-58-months structure with a solid ratification bonus is now, by default, the lowest number that Puget Sound bargainers will walk in with. The ceiling will be shaped by what the IAM 751 machinists won in November 2024 (38% over four years plus a $12,000 bonus), by Boeing’s current production targets, and by how much leverage the engineers think the 737 North Line activation and 777X certification give them.

    Why Everett has unusual leverage right now

    Every SPEEA contract is bargained against the backdrop of what Boeing is trying to ship that year. This one lands at an unusually busy moment for Paine Field:

    • The 737 North Line is scheduled to open at the Everett factory this summer — Boeing’s first narrowbody production line outside Renton in decades. Everett’s first 737 MAX is on pace to roll out before the contract expiration.
    • The 777X first production flight was targeted for April 2026 out of Paine Field, with FAA Type Inspection Authorisation (TIA) expected for the production-configured aircraft in the second half of the year.
    • The KC-46 tanker program is ramping delivery from 14 aircraft in 2025 to 19 planned in 2026, with the 105th KC-46 already delivered to the Air Force on April 3.

    Engineers and technical workers are the hinge that makes all three programs move. Certification testing doesn’t happen without SPEEA engineers signing off. Production line ramp-ups don’t happen without SPEEA planners scheduling them. A strike — or even a contract impasse short of a strike — during the back half of 2026 would hit Boeing’s production and delivery commitments at exactly the wrong moment. Bargainers know that, and management knows that they know.

    What’s likely on the table

    Based on SPEEA’s public survey priorities, last November’s machinists’ contract, and the Wichita benchmark, here’s the short list of what’s most likely to dominate bargaining:

    Wage pool structure. The headline number every contract hinges on. Expect SPEEA to push past the 20% / 58-month Wichita shape, with Puget Sound arguing that the region’s cost-of-living — especially housing around Mukilteo, Everett, Lynnwood, and Mill Creek — justifies a richer wage pool.

    Retirement. The 401(k) match and pension-equivalency formulas have been a steady SPEEA priority for a decade. Watch for proposals around higher company match percentages or expanded employee-stock-purchase terms.

    Paid time off and sick leave. A consistent survey priority across Puget Sound. Expect proposals to carry over more hours, reduce waiting periods, or standardize treatment across the two units.

    On-call work. A more technical but deeply felt issue — how engineers and technical workers are compensated when they’re on support rotation or on-call during production ramp-ups. The 737 North Line activation and 777X certification testing are both heavy on-call work, which sharpens the issue.

    Healthcare cost-sharing. SPEEA members watched premiums rise through the 2020-2026 extension. Expect hard bargaining on plan design and cost shares.

    Remote work language. Post-pandemic, remote and hybrid work patterns have been managed contract-by-contract and unit-by-unit. SPEEA bargainers are likely to push for more formal protections.

    The local stakes

    Everett is the second-largest SPEEA cluster in the country after Seattle. The immediate workforce — the people designing, testing, and flying Boeing’s widebody and narrowbody programs out of Paine Field — lives in the Snohomish County towns and neighborhoods that fan out from the factory: Mukilteo, Harbour Pointe, Picnic Point, Edmonds, Mill Creek, Silver Lake, north Everett, Marysville, Lake Stevens, Snohomish.

    When SPEEA engineers and technical workers get a raise, the Snohomish County housing market feels it. When the contract stumbles, the region feels that too. It’s not a dramatic cause-and-effect — SPEEA members are salaried professionals, not hourly assemblers — but it’s a steady one, and it shapes everything from restaurant traffic on Hewitt Avenue to how aggressively families in the Mukilteo School District refinance.

    Boeing employs around 42,000 people at the Everett factory when you count everyone on site across every program. SPEEA members are a significant share of that number — especially in engineering-dense programs like 777X certification, where non-union managers are a small fraction of the workforce.

    What to watch between now and October

    Late April–June: SPEEA finalizes the negotiating team and drops its first formal contract demands. This is when the first concrete numbers leak or get announced.

    Summer: Opening bargaining sessions begin. The 737 North Line opens at the Everett factory during this window, which gives both sides a public-facing milestone to reference in their messaging.

    August–September: Core bargaining. Expect to see SPEEA Spotlite newsletters get more pointed, member rallies, and — if things head toward impasse — formal statements about possible action. SPEEA has historically not struck as often as IAM 751, but the authorisation process exists and both sides know it.

    Early October: Contract expires October 6, 2026. A tentative agreement could land before, during, or after that date. Ratification votes follow by mail ballot over the following two to three weeks.

    One caveat

    None of this is guaranteed. SPEEA’s 2020 negotiations were relatively quiet because they happened in a pandemic. 2026 is not a pandemic year, Boeing is actively trying to ramp production, and engineers and technical workers watched their machinist colleagues win a record contract in 2024. The floor is higher than it’s ever been, but so is the complexity — and Boeing is coming off a 2025 that included another $565 million charge on the KC-46 program and ongoing 777X certification delays.

    In Everett, the only safe assumption is that the contract will matter — for paychecks, for mortgages, for the pace the 737 North Line can actually hit, and for how steady the workforce feels in the year ahead.

    We’ll keep tracking it.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When does the current SPEEA contract with Boeing expire? The Puget Sound SPEEA Professional and Technical unit contracts expire on October 6, 2026.

    How many workers does the SPEEA Boeing contract cover? Roughly 16,000 engineers and technical workers across Washington, Oregon, California, and Utah, with the majority concentrated in the Puget Sound region — including Everett and Paine Field.

    What did SPEEA win in the Wichita contract in January 2026? A 20% wage-pool increase compounded over 58 months and a $6,000 ratification bonus eligible for 401(k) deposit, covering about 1,000 members at Boeing’s Wichita defense site.

    How does SPEEA differ from IAM 751? IAM 751 represents the hourly machinists who physically build Boeing airplanes. SPEEA represents the salaried engineers, scientists, and technical professionals who design, plan, and support those programs. They are separate unions that bargain separately with Boeing.

    Will SPEEA strike in 2026? Impossible to predict, and SPEEA leadership hasn’t indicated strike intent. Historically SPEEA strikes less frequently than IAM 751 but has the authorisation process available. The IAM strike in 2024 and the Wichita deal in January 2026 both shape the leverage environment, but no strike action has been called as of April 16, 2026.

    How does the contract affect non-union Boeing workers in Everett? The contract sets a reference point that Boeing typically uses when setting salary bands and benefits for non-union engineering and technical staff. A richer SPEEA contract usually pulls up non-union comp over the following year or two.

    Where can workers follow the negotiations? SPEEA publishes updates on speea.org and through the monthly SPEEA Spotlite newsletter. The union’s “Current Negotiations” page is the primary official source.

    How does SPEEA bargaining affect the 737 North Line opening this summer? Engineers and technical workers are central to the North Line activation — especially in the final tooling, ramp-up, and certification phases. A contract dispute after October 6 could create production timing risk during the North Line’s first months of operation, which is part of why both sides have an incentive to settle on time.

  • Boeing’s 105th KC-46 Tanker Rolled Out of Everett on April 3 — And 18 More Are Scheduled This Year

    Boeing’s 105th KC-46 Tanker Rolled Out of Everett on April 3 — And 18 More Are Scheduled This Year

    The quick version: On April 3, 2026, airmen from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing flew Boeing’s 105th KC-46A Pegasus tanker out of Everett’s Paine Field on its way to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas. The delivery passed the halfway point of the Air Force’s current 179-aircraft program of record. Boeing plans to deliver 19 KC-46s in 2026 — up from 14 in 2025 — and the Everett-built tanker line is one of the only Boeing defense programs still running in steady production at the factory.

    Boeing’s 105th KC-46 Tanker Rolled Out of Everett on April 3 — And 18 More Are Scheduled This Year

    While most of Everett’s Boeing news this spring has focused on the 737 North Line standup and the 777X’s production flight, a quieter, steadier story has been unfolding on the opposite end of the factory ramp: the KC-46A Pegasus tanker line, Boeing’s Air Force refueling aircraft, just crossed a significant milestone with its 105th delivery — and Everett has 18 more on the 2026 manifest.

    The tanker line is not glamorous. It doesn’t make headlines the way a widebody reveal does. But for the workforce that builds it and the suppliers that feed it, the KC-46 is one of the most consistent defense programs in the Pacific Northwest. It’s also one of the clearest signs of what Boeing’s Everett factory looks like when it’s running steady.

    Here’s what the 105th delivery tells us about the program, the year, and Everett.

    What actually happened on April 3

    On April 3, 2026, a crew from McConnell Air Force Base’s 22nd Air Refueling Wing flew up to Paine Field, walked the aircraft acceptance process, and ferried a brand-new KC-46A out of Everett. The crew included members of the 22nd Operations Group, 22nd Maintenance Group, and 22nd Medical Group. The first leg of the delivery flight — Paine Field to Travis Air Force Base in California — had USTRANSCOM Director of Operations Brig. Gen. Corey Simmons in the commander’s seat.

    The final leg from Travis to McConnell was flown by Maj. Kyle Haydel, a 22nd Operations Group KC-46 pilot, and wasn’t just a routine delivery. It was Haydel’s “fini flight” — the traditional final flight of an Air Force pilot’s career or assignment, ceremonially celebrated with a water-cannon salute on arrival.

    That kind of moment is worth noting because it’s the human end of what otherwise reads like a procurement milestone. The 105th tanker is a data point; the crew that picked it up in Everett is a career.

    Where the program stands

    The Air Force’s current KC-46 program of record is 179 aircraft. The 105th delivery means the fleet is well past the halfway point, with enough tankers in service that the KC-46 is now doing real operational work — not just test and training missions. McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas remains the operational center of gravity for the program, with tankers stationed at several other Air Force bases nationwide and additional deliveries planned for allied nations.

    The program has also been significantly extended beyond the original 179. Under the Tanker Production Extension (TPE) plan, the Air Force is targeting 263 total KC-46 aircraft by 2030, with 88 planes from the original order still in production and 75 more under the extension. Boeing was awarded a $2.4 billion contract for 15 additional tankers in late 2024, and further awards have followed.

    For Everett, this is the kind of defense work that’s actually durable. The 767-based airframe that underpins the KC-46 is the reason Boeing extended 767 production past its original planned 2027 sunset: starting in 2027, Everett will build the 767-2C aircraft solely to support the KC-46A line, preserving the Everett tanker production capability for the remainder of the decade.

    The 19-aircraft 2026 plan

    The headline operational number for this year is simple: Boeing delivered 14 KC-46s in 2025 and plans to deliver 19 in 2026. That’s a 35% year-over-year increase in delivery rate, and it tracks with what program observers have been expecting — Boeing is working through backlog while the TPE contracts move into production.

    Nineteen tankers in a year sounds modest compared to commercial widebody rates, but defense production has its own rhythm. Each KC-46 delivery requires customer acceptance by the Air Force, weapons-system testing certification on the refueling boom and Remote Vision System, and coordination with the receiving unit’s flight crews. McConnell, Travis, Pease, Seymour Johnson, and the other bases in the KC-46 network don’t just take delivery — they integrate each aircraft into existing rotations.

    For the Everett workforce, the ramp from 14 to 19 means steady hiring needs on the KC-46 line specifically, in addition to the much larger 737 North Line and 777X workforces ramping in parallel. The IAM 751 machinists who physically assemble the tanker line, the SPEEA engineers and technical workers who sign off on certifications, and the supplier network from Renton to Auburn to Frederickson all see the tick-up.

    The $565 million question

    No honest piece about the KC-46 leaves out the program’s financial pattern. Boeing took another $565 million charge on the KC-46 program in its Q4 2025 earnings — the latest in a long series of program losses that have become an almost routine feature of Boeing’s defense earnings calls.

    The KC-46 is a fixed-price contract. When modifications, rework, or schedule slips happen, Boeing absorbs the cost rather than passing it on to the Air Force. The program has been a durable source of losses since its early production years. Whether the 2025 charge is a one-off or part of a continuing pattern is something Boeing leadership will have to address at the next earnings call.

    For Everett, the takeaway is that the tanker program keeps producing airplanes and paychecks even while it produces accounting losses. Fixed-price-driven losses are Boeing corporate’s problem. Production runs are the factory’s reality.

    Why Everett’s tanker line matters beyond Boeing

    Four angles, each worth a sentence or two:

    Allied customers. The tanker isn’t just an Air Force platform. Boeing holds KC-46 orders for four aircraft for Israel and two for Japan, in addition to the 54-plus Air Force tails still in production. International deliveries move through the same Everett line and extend the program’s runway.

    The 767 cover. The KC-46 is the single biggest reason the 767-2C is still being built at Paine Field. Without the tanker program, Boeing’s commercial 767 Freighter is scheduled to end production in 2027, which would have idled the 767 line entirely. The tanker keeps the tooling, supply chain, and workforce warm for the rest of the decade.

    Supplier pull-through. Snohomish County’s 600-plus aerospace suppliers work across many Boeing programs, but the KC-46 has a distinct parts profile — boom systems, communications, defensive countermeasures — that pulls in a specific tier of suppliers. A 35% delivery ramp this year is a meaningful order book for those shops.

    Defense workforce continuity. When Boeing engineers and technical workers bargain SPEEA’s contract later this year, one of the quiet variables in the room is the health of the defense programs. A steady-delivery KC-46 line is an argument for stable defense staffing at Everett through the end of the decade.

    The view from Paine Field

    If you’re walking the perimeter road on the east side of Paine Field in the late afternoon this spring, the KC-46 line is the easiest Boeing program to spot. The airframes are the distinctive 767 shape in Air Force gray, with the refueling boom folded into its housing on the belly and the Remote Vision System fairing on the tail. Tankers sit on the flight line ahead of acceptance testing, and the occasional delivery crew from McConnell or Travis cycles through.

    From the public viewing lot at the Future of Flight, you can usually see one or two KC-46s at various stages of completion from any given week. The program doesn’t draw tour-bus crowds the way the 777X or 737 lines do — but it’s the most consistent visual evidence, year-round, that Everett still builds airplanes for the U.S. Air Force.

    What’s next

    Eighteen more KC-46 deliveries are scheduled between now and year-end. The next near-term milestone is the 106th delivery — expected in coming weeks — and continued ramp toward the 19-aircraft 2026 total.

    Beyond that: ongoing TPE-contract production, the ramp into 767-2C-only production in 2027, and, further out, the program’s continued march toward the 263-tanker target by 2030. None of those are breaking-news moments. They’re just the steady backbone of what Boeing Everett does when it’s running well.

    Sometimes that’s the story.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    When was the 105th KC-46 delivered from Boeing’s Everett factory? April 3, 2026. The aircraft was flown to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas via Travis Air Force Base.

    How many KC-46 tankers will Boeing deliver in 2026? Boeing plans to deliver 19 KC-46 tankers in 2026, up from 14 delivered in 2025.

    Where is the KC-46 Pegasus tanker built? The KC-46A Pegasus is built at Boeing’s Everett factory at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. It is derived from the Boeing 767 airframe.

    How many KC-46s has the Air Force ordered from Boeing? The current program of record is 179 aircraft, with plans to grow to 263 aircraft by 2030 under the Tanker Production Extension plan. The Air Force has received 105 tankers as of April 2026.

    Does the KC-46 program also serve foreign customers? Yes. Boeing has confirmed orders for four KC-46s for Israel and two for Japan, in addition to the U.S. Air Force production.

    Why is the KC-46 important for Everett even after the 767 commercial line ends? Starting in 2027, Boeing plans to produce 767-2C aircraft solely to support the KC-46A tanker program, keeping the 767 line running at Paine Field through the rest of the decade.

    Has the KC-46 program been profitable for Boeing? No. The KC-46 is a fixed-price contract and has generated repeated program losses for Boeing, including a $565 million charge recorded in Q4 2025. However, the production line continues to deliver aircraft on schedule and Boeing Everett continues to employ the tanker workforce.

    Who built and flew the 105th KC-46 delivery? The aircraft was built at Boeing’s Everett factory. The delivery flight was crewed by airmen from the 22nd Operations Group, 22nd Maintenance Group, and 22nd Medical Group at McConnell Air Force Base, with the final leg flown by Maj. Kyle Haydel as his “fini flight.”

  • Makario Coffee Roasters Is the Downtown Everett Coffee Shop You Should Already Know About

    Makario Coffee Roasters Is the Downtown Everett Coffee Shop You Should Already Know About

    Is Makario Coffee Roasters worth going out of your way for? Yes. Makario at 2613 Colby Ave roasts its own beans, builds some of the most genuinely inventive lattes in Everett (the Mt. Rainier, the sesame latte, the Dirty Chai), and runs a plant-filled Colby Avenue space that works for a pourover as well as a breakfast panini. It’s the best downtown Everett coffee shop you’re probably still sleeping on.

    Everett’s Quiet Coffee Story Is at Makario

    Everett gets one coffee shop right in most local roundup lists, and that shop is Narrative Coffee. Narrative earned the national recognition — Sprudge named their flagship one of the best new cafés in the world — and we’re not here to litigate that. But if you only go to Narrative, you’re missing what’s actually happening in downtown Everett coffee in 2026. What’s happening is four blocks away at 2613 Colby Avenue, inside a cramped, plant-covered storefront called Makario Coffee Roasters.

    Makario is a local roaster, not a café that pours someone else’s beans. That distinction matters. The team roasts in-house, which means the espresso you get at Makario is dialed specifically for Makario’s machine, the pourover is cut for their water, and the flavor choices — which are the most interesting part — come from the same kitchen that sourced the green coffee. That’s not a small thing in a county full of drive-through espresso stands serving commodity roasters.

    What to Order on Your First Visit

    The signature is the Mt. Rainier, a salted caramel latte topped with salted caramel whipped cream. It’s sweet, yes, but the espresso underneath is strong enough to stand up to the whip, and the salt cuts the caramel the way it’s supposed to. If you want a specialty drink that reminds you this is an actual coffee program and not a dessert disguised as coffee, order the Mt. Rainier and then get a straight espresso after. You’ll see the whole range.

    The sesame latte is the curious pick. Toasted sesame syrup, espresso, steamed milk. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, and the first sip takes about three seconds to land. Then it clicks. The nutty bitterness of toasted sesame plays against the roast notes in the espresso in a way that feels less like a flavored latte and more like a deliberately composed drink. It’s the one we keep coming back for.

    The Dirty Chai is the sleeper order. A lot of cafés make a bad Dirty Chai — too much chai syrup, underextracted espresso, milk that’s been sitting. Makario’s is balanced. The chai spice has bite, the espresso shows up, and the milk is pulled to the right texture. If you drink Dirty Chais often, this is the one in Everett you should be ordering.

    For the purist: specialty-grade pourover. Ask the barista what’s on bar that week. Makario rotates the pourover menu based on what’s fresh off the roaster. You’ll get a conversation about the origin, the process, the notes — if you want one. You can also just say “whatever you’d drink this morning” and trust the answer.

    The Food Side

    Makario isn’t a pastry case operation. They run a small but real kitchen doing brunch items, paninis, breakfast sandwiches, burritos, bagels, and waffles. The breakfast sandwich on a fresh bagel is the pairing we recommend with a pourover. The waffles are the weekend move. Portions are not generous; this is café food, not diner food.

    What matters: the food quality matches the coffee quality. Too many local cafés pour good coffee and then serve frozen quiches. Makario’s kitchen is dialed enough that you can make it a proper breakfast stop rather than a caffeine grab on the way to a real breakfast.

    The Space

    Makario is small. That’s the honest review. It’s a tight Colby Avenue storefront with tall windows, exposed brick, and enough hanging plants to qualify as a jungle exhibit. There’s seating for maybe fifteen people at a stretch. On weekend mornings you will wait — for a table, for your drink, for a chance to look at the pastry shelf without bumping into someone.

    On a weekday afternoon, though, Makario is one of the most pleasant third-place environments in Everett. The plants, the natural light, and the hum of the espresso machine combine into something that feels more Ballard than Broadway. We’ve written entire drafts of articles from the two-top in the back corner.

    Hours, Parking, and How to Plan Around Them

    Makario is open Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. That’s a coffee shop schedule that will disappoint you once — when you show up on a Monday morning expecting to work there and can’t. Write it on your mental schedule.

    Parking downtown Everett is street-metered and usually easy to find within two or three blocks of the shop, especially in the morning. Colby Avenue has been getting better at pedestrian life, and Makario is a central stop on any downtown walking loop that includes the Historic Everett Theatre, Artisans Books & Coffee, or the restaurants along Hewitt.

    How Makario Fits Into the Everett Coffee Scene

    Narrative is the internationally-recognized flagship. Artisans is the books-and-coffee combo. Nadine’s is the hidden-alley dog-friendly pick. Bargreen is the historic roaster with 127 years of Everett on its resume. Each of these shops does a different thing, and Everett coffee drinkers should know all of them.

    Makario is the one where the coffee program is the most creative. The flavors are thought through. The menu changes. The roaster operates intentionally rather than by rote. If you drink coffee as a daily ritual rather than a utility, Makario is the shop that rewards repeat visits.

    The Verdict

    If you’ve only been to Narrative, your downtown Everett coffee life is incomplete. Walk four blocks to Makario. Order the sesame latte, sit by the window, let the sun through the plants, and pay attention to what you’re drinking. Then come back on a different day and order the Mt. Rainier. Then come back on a weekend and get the breakfast sandwich. This is how downtown Everett mornings are supposed to feel.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where is Makario Coffee Roasters located?

    2613 Colby Avenue, Everett, WA 98201, between downtown and the Hewitt corridor.

    What are Makario Coffee Roasters’ hours?

    Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday.

    Does Makario roast its own coffee?

    Yes. Makario is a local roaster, not a café pouring someone else’s beans. Fresh-roasted beans are available for purchase to take home.

    What’s the signature drink at Makario?

    The Mt. Rainier — a salted caramel latte topped with salted caramel whipped cream — is the most recognized order. The sesame latte is the cult favorite.

    Does Makario serve food?

    Yes. Breakfast sandwiches, paninis, burritos, bagels, waffles, and a rotating brunch menu. The food matches the coffee quality rather than being an afterthought.

    Is there seating at Makario?

    Yes, but limited. The space seats about fifteen people. Weekday afternoons are the easiest time to find a table.

    How does Makario compare to Narrative Coffee?

    Narrative is the internationally recognized flagship with a spectacular flagship space. Makario is the more creative coffee program with the in-house roasting story and a broader flavor menu. Everett coffee drinkers should know both.

    Is there parking near Makario Coffee Roasters?

    Yes. Colby Avenue has street-metered parking, and it’s generally easy to find a spot within a few blocks during weekday mornings.

  • Pho To Liem on Casino Road Is the Everett Pho Spot Locals Try to Keep Quiet

    Pho To Liem on Casino Road Is the Everett Pho Spot Locals Try to Keep Quiet

    Is Pho To Liem the best pho on Casino Road? Yes. Pho To Liem at 209 E Casino Rd opens at 9 a.m., pours a beef broth that delivers real depth, and prices a bowl of Pho Tai Chin at $16.50 — the kind of Vietnamese restaurant locals quietly tell each other about and then regret sharing. It is the pho spot on Casino Road.

    Casino Road’s Best-Kept Pho Secret (That Isn’t Really a Secret)

    Casino Road is the most interesting mile of food in Everett, and everyone who eats regularly on it has a favorite stop they defend like it’s their family. Ours is Pho To Liem. It sits at 209 E Casino Rd in the strip center near Evergreen Way, the kind of unassuming Vietnamese restaurant you’d drive past a hundred times if nobody pointed it out.

    Everett has a lot of pho. Downtown has pho. North Broadway has pho. You can get pho at Asia Noodle House, Pho Hung, Le’s Pho, and half a dozen other spots that are genuinely fine. What makes Pho To Liem the Casino Road answer is the combination of three things most pho shops get one-right-and-two-wrong: the broth, the bread, and the hours.

    The Broth

    The broth is what a pho shop lives or dies on, and Pho To Liem’s is legitimately deep. Not muddy, not flat, not the under-salted version a lot of American pho shops settle for. You can taste the hours — the cardamom, the star anise, the bones. The beef broth runs clean enough that you can drink the last inch of the bowl straight without a garnish. That’s the test. Pho To Liem passes it.

    The Pho Tai Chin (eye round steak and brisket, $16.50) is the order. You get a generous portion of meat and noodles, the rare eye round cooks to perfection when you drop it into the broth, and the brisket carries real beef flavor rather than the stringy pot-roast character you sometimes get. If you’re feeling bolder, the Bun Bo Hue (spicy lemongrass soup, $19.95) is worth the extra four dollars for the lemongrass heat and the pork knuckle it comes with.

    The Mi Bo Kho ($17.75) — egg noodle soup with beef stew — is the underrated pick. It’s not pho. It’s a Vietnamese beef stew with egg noodles, cinnamon-forward, rich, a little thick. When you’ve been eating pho for two weeks straight, Mi Bo Kho is how you reset without leaving Vietnamese food.

    Banh Mi, Rolls, and the Supporting Cast

    The Banh Mi Xa Xiu (BBQ pork sandwich) is $10.50 and absurdly good for the price — crusty roll, properly charred pork, pickled daikon and carrot, cilantro, jalapeño, a smear of pate-mayo. It’s the lunchtime grab if you’re in a hurry and don’t want a bowl of soup in your lap at your desk.

    The Cha Gio (fried spring rolls, $8.50) and Goi Cuon (fresh spring rolls, $8.95) are what you share while you wait for the soup. The peanut sauce for the Goi Cuon is thinner than some people like — if that matters to you, ask for extra hoisin. Nobody will be offended.

    The Hours Matter

    Pho To Liem opens at 9 a.m. This is underrated. A lot of pho shops don’t open until 11, which means if you’ve been out fishing, worked a graveyard shift at Boeing, or simply want a bowl of noodle soup at 9:30 on a Saturday morning, you’re driving somewhere else. Pho To Liem is the Everett answer to breakfast pho. It’s also the one to hit if you’re stopping between Seattle-to-Vancouver drives — the Casino Road exit off I-5 puts you there in two minutes.

    Service is quick, which matters when a bowl of pho wants to be eaten at about 190 degrees. The staff is genuinely friendly rather than performatively friendly, and the Vietnamese regulars at the counter are a good sign every time you walk in.

    The Casino Road Context

    Everett’s Casino Road is one of the most diverse stretches of food in Washington — pho next to Salvadoran pupusas next to Mexican tortas next to Cambodian noodles next to Ethiopian injera. Casino Road gets written about as if it’s an undiscovered wonder, which is insulting to the families who’ve run these restaurants for decades. It’s not undiscovered. It’s just not in downtown Everett.

    Pho To Liem is part of what makes Casino Road work. You walk in, you sit at a laminate table, you order in about sixty seconds, and you eat something that would cost you $8 more per bowl in a Seattle neighborhood. That’s the deal. Honor it. Tip well.

    What to Know Before You Go

    Address: 209 E Casino Rd, Everett, WA 98201. Phone: (425) 355-0245. Parking: ample, right out front in the strip center lot. Cash and card both work. The dining room is small but turns quickly. If you’re going at peak lunch on a weekday, call ahead or plan on a ten-minute wait.

    Price range: $10-$20 per person. No alcohol program. No dessert ambition. This is not a date-night restaurant. It’s a noodle-soup restaurant, which is the whole point.

    The Verdict

    If you live in Everett and you haven’t been to Pho To Liem, you’re doing the Casino Road diet wrong. Order the Pho Tai Chin, add Sriracha and hoisin the way you like it, squeeze the lime, rip the basil, and eat. This is what Casino Road is supposed to be: a family-run kitchen doing one thing at a level that would get it written up in any bigger city. The only reason it’s not more famous is that everyone who knows is trying to keep it quiet.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Where is Pho To Liem located?

    209 E Casino Rd, Everett, WA 98201 — in the strip center just off Evergreen Way.

    What are Pho To Liem’s hours?

    Pho To Liem opens at 9 a.m. — an early hour for a Vietnamese noodle shop. Call (425) 355-0245 to confirm closing time on the day you plan to go.

    What should I order on my first visit?

    Pho Tai Chin ($16.50) is the core order. Add a Banh Mi Xa Xiu ($10.50) if you’re hungry or want to split a second dish.

    Is Pho To Liem a good spot for breakfast?

    Yes. The 9 a.m. opening makes it one of the few places in Everett where you can get legitimate beef-bone pho for breakfast.

    How does Pho To Liem compare to other Everett pho spots?

    Pho To Liem has the deepest broth of the Casino Road pho shops. Downtown Everett has other solid pho options, but on Casino Road specifically, Pho To Liem is the pick.

    Is there parking at Pho To Liem?

    Yes. The strip center has a large lot directly in front of the restaurant with plenty of space.

    What’s the price range at Pho To Liem?

    $10-$20 per person. Most pho bowls are $15-$17, banh mi sandwiches are around $10.50, and appetizers run $8-$10.

  • Sound to Summit’s Everett Marina Taproom Is the Waterfront Brewery the South Side of the Port Needed

    Sound to Summit’s Everett Marina Taproom Is the Waterfront Brewery the South Side of the Port Needed

    Is Sound to Summit’s Everett taproom worth visiting? Yes. Sound2Summit’s Everett Marina taproom at 1710 W Marine View Dr is open daily at noon, pours 13 beers from their Snohomish brewery, and won Best Brewery and Best Lunch in the 2025 Everett Herald readers’ awards. The pizza is legitimately good, the waterfront views are unmatched, and it’s become the anchor taproom for the south side of Port of Everett.

    Why Sound2Summit’s Everett Location Matters

    We’ll say it plainly: Sound to Summit didn’t need to open an Everett taproom. Their Snohomish flagship has been winning awards since 2014, their distribution footprint is solid, and they already had a loyal following driving out to First Street to fill growlers. Opening a second location at Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place in June 2023 was a swing — and almost three years later, it’s become the brewery scene anchor we didn’t know the waterfront was missing.

    Sound2Summit Taproom & Pizzeria sits at 1710 W Marine View Dr, right on the marina with a deck that faces the water and the Olympics. The Everett location doesn’t brew on-site — that happens at the Snohomish mothership — but all 13 taps pour fresh from Snohomish, and the Everett kitchen runs a dedicated pizza program through their partner, Best of Both Worlds.

    What to Order at the Everett Taproom

    Start with the beer. Sound2Summit’s lineup is broad — lagers, IPAs, stouts, sours, the works — and because the Snohomish brewery rotates seasonal releases, the 13 taps in Everett never look the same two months in a row. Their flagship IPAs remain reliable. Ask the staff what’s fresh; they know.

    Now, the pizza. We’ll admit we rolled our eyes when we heard “taproom pizza.” We’ve been burned before. But Sound2Summit’s Everett pizza program is not taproom pizza — it’s actual pizza. The Getting Figgy (fig, prosciutto, arugula) is the one everyone talks about, and the gluten-free crust here is genuinely good rather than apologetically edible. The supreme nails the topping-to-cheese ratio. The mac and cheese is a pizza-adjacent side, and we’ve watched more than one table order it twice in one sitting.

    If you’re not in a pizza mood, the steak dip is massive and the salads punch above taproom expectations. Keto and gluten-free options exist across the menu without feeling like afterthoughts.

    Hours, Parking, and the Waterfront Situation

    The Everett taproom is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 9 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. No weekday breakfast, no late-night — this is a lunch-through-dinner operation that understands its audience is families, marina folks, and happy-hour-seekers walking over from Waterfront Place offices.

    Parking at Waterfront Place is free and plentiful; on summer weekends it gets tight when the marina is busy, but you’ll never circle the block the way you might downtown. The taproom is family-friendly and dog-friendly on the deck.

    The deck is the move. When the weather cooperates, grab a spot outside with a pint and a pizza and you’ve got views of the marina, the boatyard, the Millwright District construction across the water, and — on clear days — the Olympics. There are days this is objectively the best outdoor seat in Everett.

    Where It Fits in Everett’s Brewery Scene

    Everett has eight stops on the brewery trail now, and Sound2Summit has distinguished itself in a specific way: it’s the one where the food matches the beer. At Large is better for pure taproom vibes. U-Neek (formerly Crucible) is better for experimental brews. Scuttlebutt owns the legacy nostalgia play. Sound2Summit is where you go when the group is split between drinkers and people who just want to eat well.

    The 2025 Everett Herald readers’ awards backed that up when they handed Sound2Summit both Best Brewery and Best Lunch — a combination that, as far as we can tell, has never been pulled off by the same business in the same year. Best Lunch alone is a crowded category in Everett. Winning both means the pizza is doing real work.

    The Verdict

    Sound2Summit’s Everett Marina taproom isn’t just a second location — it’s arguably the best version of what Sound2Summit does. The Snohomish original has history and brewery vibes. The Everett location has a waterfront deck, actual pizza, and the kind of easy parking you never get at a great brewery. If you haven’t been yet, go this weekend. Sit outside. Order the Getting Figgy.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What are Sound to Summit Everett’s hours?

    Monday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

    Where is Sound to Summit’s Everett taproom located?

    1710 W Marine View Dr, Everett, WA 98201, at Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place on the south side of the marina.

    Is Sound to Summit Everett family-friendly?

    Yes. The taproom welcomes families, and the deck is dog-friendly.

    Does Sound to Summit brew beer at the Everett location?

    No. All brewing happens at the Snohomish flagship on First Street. The Everett taproom pours 13 beers drawn from the Snohomish production.

    Is the gluten-free pizza crust actually good?

    Yes. It’s noticeably better than the typical gluten-free taproom crust — firm toasted edges, soft center. The Getting Figgy on GF crust is a legitimately recommendable order.

    Is there parking at Sound to Summit Everett?

    Yes. Waterfront Place has free parking. Summer weekends can get tight but it’s nothing like downtown parking.

    How does Sound2Summit compare to other Everett breweries?

    Sound2Summit wins when you want beer plus a real meal. At Large wins on taproom atmosphere, U-Neek wins on experimental beers, and Scuttlebutt wins on Everett legacy credibility. Each has a lane.

  • Port of Everett’s $70M 2026 Budget: What Everett’s Waterfront Is Actually Getting This Year

    Port of Everett’s $70M 2026 Budget: What Everett’s Waterfront Is Actually Getting This Year

    What’s happening? The Port of Everett Commission adopted a $70 million operating and capital budget for 2026 on November 12, 2025. The budget includes $8.1 million for Seaport modernization, $2.6 million for new public infrastructure and Waterfront Place retail and restaurant buildings, and $7.1 million for maintenance and preservation of Port facilities including pier strengthening, marina bulkhead work, boat launch updates, and dredging. The 2026 spending represents the next phase of the Port’s $1 billion Waterfront Place redevelopment.

    If you’ve been watching cranes and construction fences pop up along Everett’s waterfront and wondering what’s actually funded versus what’s still hypothetical, the Port of Everett’s 2026 budget is the most useful document you can read. The commission adopted it in November, and the real-world execution is what’s driving the activity you’re seeing right now.

    We pulled out the line items that matter for anyone who lives in Everett, works near the marina, or just watches the waterfront change.

    The Headline Number

    The Port of Everett commission adopted a $70 million operating and capital budget for 2026. The commission described the budget as continuing to deliver on the Port’s Strategic Plan for “a vibrant and balanced waterfront despite challenges amid changing tariff guidance and market uncertainty.”

    That tariff language is worth pausing on. The Port of Everett operates the largest public marina on the West Coast and a working seaport that handles oversized cargo for Boeing, aerospace components, and other industrial freight. Shifts in trade policy directly affect seaport revenue. A balanced budget that funds both the marina recreation side and the seaport industrial side is how the Port keeps itself resilient when one side wobbles.

    Where the Capital Dollars Go in 2026

    The 2026 capital program breaks out into three big buckets:

    $8.1 million — Seaport Modernization

    This covers two headline initiatives:

    • Electrifying the pier — a shift toward shore power capability for vessels docked at the Port’s marine terminals, reducing diesel generator use and emissions while docked. This aligns with broader Pacific Northwest port decarbonization goals.
    • Security upgrades — infrastructure improvements for the seaport’s security perimeter, cargo handling, and access control.

    $2.6 million — Public Infrastructure and Waterfront Place Buildouts

    This is the bucket most Everett residents will actually see. It includes:

    • Public infrastructure improvements (streets, sidewalks, utilities inside Waterfront Place)
    • New retail and restaurant buildings
    • Public access improvements

    This is the money that funds the visible changes along Craftsman Way — the buildings going vertical, the promenade extensions, and the connections between the marina and downtown.

    $7.1 million — Maintenance and Preservation

    Probably the least glamorous number on the list, but arguably the most important. This bucket covers:

    • Pier strengthening — keeping industrial seaport infrastructure safe and operational
    • Marina bulkhead improvements — shoreline engineering that holds the marina in place
    • Boat launch updates — including work at Jetty Landing, which is getting a major renovation with construction anticipated to start in 2027
    • Dredging — keeping the marina’s 2,300 permanent slips and 5,000 lineal feet of guest moorage navigable

    Combined, maintenance and seaport modernization represent more capital than the flashier Waterfront Place retail buildout — a reminder that the Port’s core business is still moving cargo and keeping vessels in water.

    The Waterfront Place Big Picture

    For context on where the $2.6 million in public infrastructure fits, here’s the full scope of what the Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place is building out, per Port documentation:

    • Size: 1.5 million square feet of mixed-use development
    • Footprint: 65 acres at the waterfront near downtown Everett
    • Retail/restaurant space: 63,000 square feet
    • Marine retail space: 20,000 square feet
    • Office space: 447,500 square feet
    • Hotels: Two waterfront hotels planned
    • Housing: Up to 660 waterfront housing units
    • Total expected investment: $1 billion in public/private capital
    • Jobs projected: ~2,100 family-wage jobs at full build-out
    • Annual tax revenue projected: $8.6 million in state and local sales taxes
    • Invested to date: More than $350 million already deployed

    The 2026 budget’s $2.6 million is one year’s layer on top of an already substantial stack. It’s the piece that gets Phase 2 — the Millwright District — closer to opening.

    What This Means for Jetty Landing

    One line item that often gets lost but matters a lot for Everett boaters: the Port secured a $1 million grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) to help fund renovation work at the Jetty Landing Boat Launch, which is the state’s largest public boat launch.

    In-water construction is anticipated to start in 2027. For now, the 2026 budget includes planning, design, and preliminary work that sets up that 2027 start.

    If you launch a boat from Jetty Landing, expect the planning phase activity this year and real disruption next year.

    How This Fits the Bigger Everett Story

    Zoom out, and the Port’s $70 million 2026 budget is just one leg of a three-legged Everett transformation stool:

    1. Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place — $70 million in 2026, $1 billion lifetime, 1.5 million square feet of mixed-use waterfront 2. Downtown Outdoor Event Center (stadium) — $120 million projected, targeting late-2027 opening 3. Sound Transit Everett Link extension — the light rail project connecting Everett to the regional network, now facing a $500 million funding gap

    Each project has its own funding mechanism, its own timeline, and its own political dynamics. But together they represent roughly $2 billion in capital flowing into Everett infrastructure over the next decade. The Port of Everett is the one entity with the most predictable budget — it has independent taxing authority, grant access, and revenue from existing marina and seaport operations — which is why its work tends to actually happen on the schedule it sets.

    That matters for anyone watching the waterfront. When the Port says construction crews will be at a given site in 2026, construction crews show up.

    The New Fuel Dock Context

    One detail worth calling out for 2025 → 2026 continuity: the Port’s new fuel dock opened in 2025. The 2026 budget is the first full operational year with the new dock, which means higher fuel service capacity for the marina’s 2,300 slips and guest moorage capability. For recreational boaters, it’s a tangible quality-of-life improvement that’s already in service.

    Combined with the 18-plus marine service providers operating at the marina, the new fuel dock reinforces the Port’s goal of positioning the largest public marina on the West Coast as a full-service destination rather than just a place to store boats.

    What to Watch From Here

    Three things to keep an eye on across the rest of 2026:

    • Millwright District openings — new buildings and roads in Phase 2 are scheduled to open beginning in 2026
    • Pier electrification progress — look for construction activity at the seaport terminals
    • RCO grant execution at Jetty Landing — design work this year sets up 2027 in-water construction

    The citizen budget guide is available at portofeverett.com/2026Budget if you want the full line items. For the lived experience on the waterfront, the cranes and concrete trucks are a pretty good tell.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How much is the Port of Everett’s 2026 budget? $70 million total for operating and capital expenses. The commission adopted the budget on November 12, 2025.

    What does the Port of Everett’s 2026 capital budget include? $8.1 million for Seaport modernization (pier electrification, security upgrades), $2.6 million for public infrastructure, new retail/restaurant buildings, and public access at Waterfront Place, and $7.1 million for maintenance including pier strengthening, marina bulkhead improvements, boat launch updates, and dredging.

    What is Waterfront Place? A 1.5 million square foot mixed-use development on 65 acres at the Port of Everett waterfront. At full build-out it will include 63,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space, 20,000 square feet of marine retail, 447,500 square feet of office, two hotels, and up to 660 housing units. Total expected investment is $1 billion.

    How much has the Port of Everett already invested in Waterfront Place? More than $350 million in public and private capital has been deployed to date, according to Port documentation.

    When does the Jetty Landing Boat Launch renovation start? In-water construction is anticipated to start in 2027. The Port received a $1 million grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office to help fund the work.

    How many jobs will Waterfront Place create? The project is estimated to support nearly 2,100 family-wage jobs at full build-out, and generate $8.6 million annually in state and local sales taxes.

    Where can I read the full Port of Everett 2026 budget? The Port published a Citizen Budget Guide at portofeverett.com/2026Budget.