Beginning in March, anyone going to the administration building of the Island County campus in Coupeville won’t be able to get in the door of four offices before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m.
The property tax rate in Oak Harbor will increase by nearly 3 percent this year, due in large part to the Washington State Legislature’s decision to exempt private companies that own military housing on government land from paying the tax, according to the Island County Assessor’s Office.
A former employee of Island County Juvenile Court Services was sentenced to jail Tuesday for stabbing her husband in the leg last October, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Oak Harbor resident Rachel Irvin pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court to assault in the third degree, according to Chief Criminal Prosecutor Colleen Kenimond.
One of the three young men accused of faking an armed robbery at Oak Harbor Plaza Cinema 3 last fall in order to steal money has made a plea bargain, according to court documents.
Daniel Nichols, a 19-year-old Oak Harbor resident, pleaded guilty in Island County Superior Court to theft in the first degree.
Island County Assessor Dave Mattens said his goal this year is to send out change of property value notices by June 1, which would be the earliest they’ve been distributed in many years — possibly ever.
But property owners who don’t agree with the assessed values need to be aware of a rule change.
Island County commissioners didn’t have to look far to find someone willing and able to fill in as interim planning director.
Keith Higman, the director of the Island County Health Department, volunteered to take on the dual role of leading the two departments. It was an offer the county commissioners couldn’t refuse.
A 22-year-old Oak Harbor man admitted that he violated a no-contact order by calling his ex-girlfriend ten times in a day and watching her apartment from a nearby location, court documents state.
Prosecutors charged Jermaine Flores in Island County Superior Court Jan. 16 with stalking in violation of a protection order and a violation of a protection order.
A North Whidbey resident wants Island County to revisit a controversial measure that limited land use around Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
Becky Spraitzar asked county commissioners at their regular meeting Monday morning to rescind the accident potential zones, or APZs, and restart the process with new rounds of public hearings.
The Navy has decided to extend the comment period on a complex document that the will guide the way the Navy trains in the Pacific Northwest.
But the military’s decision to give the public an extra week, until Feb. 18, to digest and comment on the lengthy plan falls short of the Island County Commissioners’ request.
Island County is facing an additional $1 million budget shortfall, even after cutting 31 jobs to plug a $2 million hole during budget sessions late last year.
More layoffs are nearly inevitable, county Budget Director Elaine Marlow said.
Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen sponsored a bill she hopes will make public transportation more user-friendly for people who live in rural areas.
The Democratic state senator, who represents the district that includes Whidbey, wants to clarify state law so that buses can stop at unmarked places in rural areas. In other words, it allows people to flag down a bus in the boondocks or ask to be let out of a bus near their home, even if there’s not a bus stop in the vicinity.
A man accused of raping a child violated court orders by calling the alleged victim’s mother from the Island County jail, court documents indicate.
Prosecutors charged 36-year-old David Smith of Oak Harbor Jan. 22 with second-degree rape of a child, two counts of child molestation in the second degree and the violation of a no-contact order.
A 21-year-old Oak Harbor man struck another man with brass knuckles and kicked him when he was down during a fight outside an Oak Harbor bar Nov. 1, 2008, court documents indicate.
Prosecutor charged Deante Lawson in Island County Superior Court Jan. 12 with second-degree assault with aggravating factors. He could face from three to nine months in jail under the standard sentencing range if convicted.
