Mill Creek Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

Here at the Beacon family of newspapers, we’re grateful for the community’s support. In 1992, when we founded Beacon Publishing in Mukilteo, city officials and others were incredulous that we thought a small town of 8,000 could support a weekly...

What a difference the right city manager can make. Last February, the City’s response to the extreme snow event was anemic at best. It wasn’t all the City’s fault. According to WSDOT, half of its plowing equipment was out of service. Even our...

It’s a little cold, which is as cold as it gets where we live. To be fair, I mean. This region hasn’t seen single-digit temperatures in decades, and it’s not likely to in the future. We live in a relatively mild climate, and the earth appears...

It was all around me, but it was subtle in our household. My mother was an Oklahoman southerner who was raised by a father who “had to be a KKK member if he wanted to stay in business.” My mom’s views were, “individually ‘those people...

Did you know that one out of four students in the Snohomish School District attends school in a portable? Are you aware that portables have no bathrooms? The district currently uses 52 portables for student instruction and 43 of those are for...

Mayor Pete Buttigieg has earned my vote for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States when ballots arrive on Feb. 21. I vote Buttigieg because his vision for a greater future for our youth is interwoven in each of his policy propos...

I’m all for free speech. Everyone has a right to express their opinions in our great country. Including President Donald J. Trump. Your little article [Editor’s note: “Mill Creek woman joins hundreds for impeachment rally” in Dec. 20, 2019...

I am writing about the Snohomish School Bond. I am not typically a guy in favor of raising taxes. In fact, in most cases, I vote against the increase of government spending because I often question the stewardship of the money provided. Eighteen mont...

Three years ago, I thought I was so smart. It was a bad year, that one. Not only did a presidential election roil us in 2016, unleashing spasms of disbelief and nastiness, but we lost a bunch of people along the way. Beginning with the deaths of...

Just in time for a belated Christmas, our new Mill Creek City Manager, Michael Ciaravino, has proposed that our elected officials on city council give him a few late Christmas gifts. Of course, I am just guessing that it’s Ciaravino’s belief...

I’m certain that every little boy envisions themselves becoming the next Russ Wilson or Tom Brady. I can recall as a young man playing touch football on an empty lot in Brooklyn. It was a very small leap from playing this local game to imagining...

Happy New Year! It is hard to believe we are halfway through the school year. I cannot wait to see what possibilities and opportunities 2020 has in store for our students! We have many things to be proud of in our schools. In light of the New Year...

As a proud graduate of Snohomish High School (class of ’94), I feel very blessed to have been a part of the Snohomish School district from my very first day of kindergarten. Because of great teachers and access to programs like band and Advanced...

On a 48-degree, normal rainy, grayish-white sky day, and being a real Washingtonian, I walked into the Town Center’s Starbucks wearing my summer shorts. When I entered I immediately walked to a table and sat down in a chair so that my back would...

Holiday tree lighting Thank you to everyone who came to our annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. I hope everyone had an opportunity to enjoy all festivities throughout Mill Creek Town Center. Thank you, Heidi Butz, for orchestrating so many of the...

Dear Editor I am writing you regarding the Snohomish School District's request for a bond in February 2020. As a family that had an initial choice on where we wanted to start our family, we said YES to Snohomish. When we decided to build our dream...

There are at least two axioms that I rely on in this life. There might be a few more. It’s possible there’s a box in the garage marked “axioms” that I’ve forgotten about. There’s a lot of stuff in the garage. But these are two truths...

Having lived on both the East and West coasts, I’ve had an opportunity to observe some holiday season differences. In fact, there is a considerable difference during the holidays on the East Coast between the Northeast and the Southeast...

It was our hopeful time of night and everyone was leaving their half-moon shaped, corrugated, galvanized steel, 20 x 48 feet Quonset huts which we called “our hooches” that were a warm 70 degrees Fahrenheit. After making our way to our...

School Celebrations in the Everett School District What a wonderful time of year to express our thankfulness and celebrate the great happenings around us. We have some amazing things going on in our schools in the Mill Creek area. Performance Jackson...

Dear Editor, Passing the $470 million school bond is integral to the future success of our town. The Snohomish School District school buildings are over 40 years old and, while our teachers do the best they can to provide an excellent education to...

I was rummaging through the universal hall closet the other day, which in my case was an actual closet. In your case, it could be something else. You’ve got one, though. It could be an envelope or a storage locker. It might be an attic or a basemen...

A recent story about the Kroger supermarket group (Fred Meyer, QFC, Ralphs, and many others) is quite interesting. About 94% of Kroger revenue comes from food stores, so this announcement is a really big deal. Now when you read through what...

Honoring our Veterans Thank you to everyone who took the time to honor our veterans on Veterans Day. It is important to thank all those who have enlisted in the military, both in times of war and in peace. There may not have been a United States of A...