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Anastasia Drake is tickled with her a new guinea pig, Sirius, at her Oak Harbor home Monday, May 22, 2017. Drake was distraught over the weekend after her longtime guinea pig Spice died. The Oak Harbor police brought her a new one to cheer her up. Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times.

Life

This little piggy mends a heart in Oak Harbor

Sirius is still adjusting to life in his new home.

Memorial Day parade route trimmed in Coupeville

News

Memorial Day parade route trimmed in Coupeville

Popularity of Coupeville’s Memorial Day parade has created big concerns for the little town.

Volunteer Delaney Geist sorts through donated items at the Garage of Blessings in Oak Harbor, Thursday, May 18, 2017. The nonprofit thrift store will be moving to its sixth location in June. Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times

News

Garage of Blessings lands new location

In less than two weeks, Kristiina Miller will get the keys to the new home of the Garage…

Oak Harbor Farmers Market begins 24th season Thursday

News

Oak Harbor Farmers Market begins 24th season Thursday

Ominous skies in the distance didn’t stop Peg Tennant from visiting the site of the Oak Harbor Farmers…

Taylor Kimball, enforcement officer with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, tries to loop a line around a dead gray whale Wednesday to keep it beached in a remote area in Bellingham Bay until a necropsy can be performed. Kimball and fellow officer Ralph Downes from Central Whidbey towed the whale from the middle of the bay — all part of a day’s work in their career field. Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times

Life

Whale of a tale: No day the same for Fish & Wildlife enforcement

There is no manual that outlines the proper way to tie a knot around a dead gray whale…

Eugene Phelps, owner of Gene’s Art & Frame, in his Oak Harbor store Thursday, May 4, 2017 along with store manager Linnane Armstrong. Phelps has been in business for 50 years. The store is celebrating its 50th anniversary in June. Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times.

Business

Gene’s Art & Frame celebrates 50 years in business

Gene Phelps remembers when Oak Harbor was a quiet little town where the only traffic jam was caused…

Jordan Schisel, left, determines the length of a cut during the Central Whidbey Hearts & Hammers’ annual work day Saturday, May 6, 2017 in Coupeville. The volunteer nonprofit group participated in 18 different projects to help their Central Whidbey neighbors Saturday. Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times

News

Sun shines on Central Whidbey Hearts & Hammers

On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, a small group gathered at a home tucked in the woods just outside…

A judge checks the Oak Harbor culinary arts team for clean and sanitary hands at the ProStart National Invitational, which was held April 28-30 in Charleston, S.C. Oak Harbor placed 16th out of 48 teams. Photo courtesy Mary Arthur

News

Oak Harbor culinary students place 16th at nationals

Mary Arthur is in awe of the generosity and support she sees from the Oak Harbor community year…

Public affairs officer Tony Popp attends an Earth Day event at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Thursday, April 21. 2017. He retired April 26, 2017 after 43 years of federal service. Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times

Life

Tony Popp, familiar face on base, retires

On the first day of the rest of his life, Tony Popp woke up with a stuffy nose…

Port of Coupeville Harbormaster Long Bechard talks on the phone while pushing a container full of oil spill containment booms at the Coupeville Wharf Friday afternoon. Even though only about two or three quarters of hydraulic steering fluid leaked from the burst hose of a vessel that docked at the wharf, the sheen spread out hundreds of feet as can be seen in the background. Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times

News

Small spill creates initial concern in Penn Cove

Business owners on the Coupeville Wharf got a mild scare early Friday afternoon when a boater pulled up…

Clam diggers survey the beaches on the west end of Penn Cove Saturday, April 29. State Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers reminded clammers over the weekend that that beach is closed until June 1. Photo by Patricia Guthrie/Whidbey News-Times

Life

Enforcement officers remind clam diggers that Penn Cove beach is closed

A new rule closing shellfish harvesting at a popular Whidbey Island beach is catching many clammers by surprise.

Jessica Larson, land steward for the Whidbey Camano Land Trust, speaks to residents near Crockett Lake Thursday, April 27, 2017, about a plan to eradicate noxious weeds near the lake over the next three years. The main culprit is hairy willow-herb, which grows on more than 100 acres near Crockett Lake, making it the worst infestation in Washington state. Photo by Ron Newberry/Whidbey News-Times

Life

Land trust faces a hairy situation: removal of 100 acres of noxious weed

Crockett Lake is known for attracting an array of bird species, making it one of Whidbey Island’s most…

Lingcod season starts Monday, May 1 in Puget Sound waters. Nicknamed “bucketheads,” the bottom fish are considered excellent tablefare. Photo courtesy of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

Life

Anglers ready to test waters for lingcod, halibut

Many Puget Sound anglers could be developing a scratchy throat and cough this weekend as they ponder the…