Mill Creek Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

I'll be honest, it's been a rough past few weeks for me. The dreary weather certainly doesn't help my mood, and I can almost physically feel the weight of this season adding some... — Updated 10/22/2021

It's school season again, and also the return of in-person classes. Though classmates will be looking a bit different this year, standing at an arm's length away behind masks, it's... — Updated 8/27/2021

It's finally festival season again. Missing out on the Mill Creek Festival last year was a huge bummer for us all. With things starting to shift back to normalcy, I'm glad to be... — Updated 8/13/2021

COVID cases are seeing a sudden surge in the Snohomish County, with dozens of outbreaks and hospitalizations so far in July. My biggest concern this time around is whether or not... — Updated 8/13/2021

It's a weird time to be a writer. I automatically assume that you are not even listening. The reason I assume you are not "listening" is that we were already in the era of too much... — Updated 7/6/2021 Full story

Sunshine laws are regulations requiring openness from government agencies, and when one reads the state’s Public Records Act, it is clear what the focus is: opening the doors and... — Updated 6/11/2021

Editor's Note: Where do you go for fun, from Mill Creek to area events? Do you have an event announcement? Send it our way to [email protected]. Ah, laser shows ... — Updated 5/29/2021

I'm one of those bleeding-heart sorts. The kind who previously – no longer, but previously – would hand a $20 bill to someone standing on the side of the road with a cardboard s... — Updated 5/21/2021

So here we are in the spring, looking ahead to the summer; many of us wistfully aware that the re-openings and improvements we are seeing are uplifting but still somewhat tenuous.... — Updated 5/13/2021

The soapboxing so common to the pre-pandemic era created a predictable pattern: All things in the past decade or more have been shoe-horned into camps on the left and right.... — Updated 5/7/2021

She stood eye-to-eye with me, her two behind her nibbling leaves and stomping through twigs that cracked under their feet. She held the gaze, and I stared back. Then came the stomp.... — Updated 4/30/2021 Full story

Radioactive spiders are my main point here. But first a talk of the hyper-vigilant era we are in; a time where being paranoid and germphobic has actually become a skill-set. Not... — Updated 4/24/2021 Full story

Revenge is for the weak. I cannot offer a claim that revenge has never crossed my mind. I understand the math of justice. When a wrong has occurred, we crave the right. We want... — Updated 4/16/2021 Full story

Debates around homelessness waiver between the pulling of bootstraps or heartstrings – one side pushing for a reflection on what went wrong, another shining a light on what could... — Updated 4/5/2021

We are coming into the baseball season and the pandemic is being robustly addressed, so let’s go with a sports metaphor: we’re entering the home stretch. We can see the... — Updated 4/2/2021

While visiting Archbishop Murphy High School the week of March 11, I had a moment to reflect on a three-pronged concept that shapes the culture, per my observation: a commitment to... — Updated 3/19/2021 Full story

I am about to partially tip my hand to hypocrisy while making a suggestion, in the interest of community connection being a thing. The end game is this: I want you to go to a... — Updated 3/4/2021

This Tuesday was a night to remember. Well, kind of. It was a meeting night for the Mill Creek City Council and also the Everett School Board. I “attended” both and that’s the... — Updated 2/25/2021

As a Mama, I know which jobs are the most essential: the ones that keep kids safe, happy and fed. Those rate at the absolute top. Everett Public Schools is hiring paraeducators. The... — Updated 2/12/2021

The old adage is that no one ever said on their deathbeds that they wished they’d spent more time at the office. Harold Kushner is the source. He was a rabbi and accomplished... — Updated 1/29/2021

The past six months have been a blur as I reach out remotely, most days, and on others get to know Mill Creek at street-level, walking Town Center as well as the other pedestrian... — Updated 1/22/2021 Full story

It’s hard for me to avoid a metaphorical view of 2020 because I was a poet. To me, 2020 is a year that circles around oxygen and the fluid motion of waves, and 2021 is in the... — Updated 1/15/2021

‘Tis. On a Google search, the meaning of ‘tis sort of says it all. It is a common quip in Irish conversation, and it says nothing. It is simply a way to keep the conversation... — Updated 10/19/2020

No, he couldn't win. Not with that comment about John McCain – decorated veteran and POW. Duty-bound American hero. Not with those other comments too icky to print – after he... — Updated 10/19/2020

Now that the skyline looks like a white sheet and breathing is difficult when walking to the mailbox, my outlet is abruptly removed. I run. If my mindset has moved between stressed... — Updated 10/2/2020