A look back at the year in Snohomish County news
A chronological look at the biggest stories published in The Daily Herald provides a retrospective on 2023.
· HeraldNetThe front pages of The Daily Herald provided readers a broad array of stories in 2023.
A sampling from the past 12 months.
January
Providence announces it will permanently close its 16-bed inpatient hospice unit in Everett.
Patients and families will have to go to Bellingham or Kirkland for similar care nearby.
***
With egg prices soaring, the Totem Family Diner in Everett is scrambling to meet demand.
The restaurant goes through nearly 2,000 fresh eggs in a week.
The dozen Grade AA eggs that cost about $1.78 a year ago are now averaging about $4.25, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
***
After 60 years in business, Behar’s Furniture on Broadway in Everett is closing.
“It was just time for us as a family to move on and explore different things,” said Jay Behar, the company’s second generation owner. “Retail has changed.”
Months later, Conlin’s Furniture, a chain based in Sioux City, South Dakota, purchases the business.
***
An ongoing Herald investigation, examining the dangers of chemical exposure to Boeing workers in the Puget Sound region, finds that some at the aerospace company’s Everett plant are still exposed to some carcinogens at levels above regulatory limits.
***
An elderly Everett landlord will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after a judge sentences him to more than 15 years in prison for killing a tenant.
Lloyd Richmond, then 85, was convicted of murder in the fatal shooting of Jonathan Allan, 49.
“Obviously, those near the end of their lives cannot simply be excused for killing people,” Judge Cindy Larsen said. “There has to be justice.”
***
Boeing announces it will begin building some 737 MAX aircraft at the company’s Paine Field assembly plant starting next year. The new line will open at the Everett plant in the second half of 2024, according to the CEO of Boeing’s commercial planes business.
February
Thousands of Boeing employees and dignitaries, including actor John Travolta, gather inside the Everett assembly plant to honor the legacy of the historic 747 aircraft and deliver the last one to a final customer, cargo carrier Atlas Air.
Since 1969, more than 1,500 of the six-story tall, four-engine jets, built only in Everett, have been produced.
***
The Department of Natural Resources removes about 300 pilings from Steamboat and Ebey sloughs, two arms of the Snohomish River that drain into Puget Sound just west of Marysville.
Removing the creosote-soaked pilings from the waterways subtracts a key source of toxic pollution from crucial salmon habitat.
***
The average assessed home value in Snohomish County is up 32.5% from last year, the county assessor’s office announces.
It’s part of an ongoing upward trend in the Puget Sound region, as home ownership becomes more out of reach for much of the population.
In the past two years alone, assessed values have jumped 43.8% in Snohomish County. The median home in Snohomish County is valued at $715,700.
***
A Proud Boy who previously lived in Arlington pleads guilty to storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Daniel Lyons Scott, who went by the nickname “Milkshake,” admits to participating in the breach as hundreds tried to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election victory.
Scott, 29, acknowledges he committed two crimes: obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers. He also agrees to pay $2,000 as restitution to the Architect of the Capitol. He is later sentenced to five years.
***
About 60 nurses, elected officials and supporters take part in a candlelight vigil at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park to advocate for safe staffing standards in light of increasing patient loads and rapidly rising burnout.
The park is just two blocks from Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, where most of the nurses work.
March
The Hand Up Project, a local nonprofit with the aim of helping people struggling with substance abuse and homelessness, ousts its founder amid a fraud investigation.
The board of directors had “recently became aware of information which led to the organization’s termination of its relationship with Robert and Theresa Smiley.” Robert Smiley founded the organization. His wife, Theresa Smiley, was the treasurer, according to tax filings.
***
Daily direct train service between Oregon and Canada is fully restored on the popular Amtrak Cascades route after being derailed by the pandemic in 2020. Passengers now have multiple vacation options for short or long jaunts to 12 station stops from Portland to Vancouver, British Columbia.
***
A tuition-free early learning center funded by Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos opens in Everett Station.
Mayor Cassie Franklin touts the center as key in getting caregivers back in the workforce post-pandemic.
***
Everett toymaker Funko announces plans to dump more than $30 million worth of its vinyl Pops toys into landfills.
The company’s warehouse in Buckeye, Arizona, is apparently stuffed to the gills, and the toymaker is shelling out big bucks to store them, the gaming review website Kotaku reports. The toymaker relocated its distribution center from Everett to the Phoenix area last year.
April
After a two-week trial and four hours of deliberation, a jury of eight women and four men finds Richard Rotter guilty of aggravated first-degree murder for killing Everett police officer Dan Rocha last year in a Starbucks parking lot.
A judge will later sentence Rotter, 51, of Kennewick, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
***
A drawn-out legal tussle on the city’s dress code for bikini baristas ends after the Everett City Council agrees to pay $500,000 to the stand owner and employees who filed suit six years ago.
***
Months after a controversial opioid treatment center opened next to the Alderwood Boys and Girls Club, the Lynnwood City Council passes an emergency moratorium halting any similar centers for six months.
The decision comes four months after the controversial Acadia opioid treatment center stirred public outcry.
***
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland stops in Tulalip during “The Road to Healing” tour around the country, meant to give survivors of Native American boarding schools a chance to talk about their experiences and access to mental health resources.
A year prior, the Department of the Interior released its first report revealing the scale of the boarding school system, in which Indigenous children were separated their families in an effort to stamp out their culture.
May
A County Council decision clears the way for the Tulalip Tribes to build a $35 million, 32-bed behavioral health center on farmland near Stanwood that will be operated by the state of Washington. The proposed center received pushback from locals and drew dozens for hours of public hearings. People raised common concerns, emphasizing the necessity of psychiatric help but condemning the proposed location.
***
Snohomish County’s unhoused population increased by an estimated 8.5% to 1,285 in the past year, its largest number since 2012, according to the annual point-in-time count. The increase comes after the county increased investments meant to address the crisis.
***
After three weeks of discussion, the Everett City Council votes 4-3 to approve a new ordinance making public drug use a crime. Their decision comes after lengthy debate among city leaders and public comment from business owners, addiction and homeless recovery advocates and residents.
***
The Everett City Council expands its “no sit, no lie” law, giving the mayor new authority to set buffers around social service providers and areas “highly impacted by street-level issues.”
The ordinance makes lying down and sitting on nearby public property — mainly sidewalks and streets — a misdemeanor with a fine up to $500 and 90 days in jail.
***
Paine Field becomes the third Snohomish County site that state investigators report being potentially contaminated with so-called forever chemicals, joining Naval Station Everett and the Jim Creek radio station in Arlington. Also known as PFAS, the chemicals spread into the soil at levels an analysis last year found was dozens of times above state recommendations.
***
After a four-month investigation, 23-year-old Lynnwood City Council member Josh Binda admits to violating ethics rules against using public resources for personal gain.
In January, the Lynnwood City Council voted to open an ethics investigation into how he’d made at least $14,500 for motivational speeches at schools, a speaking tour he advertised with a video filmed from the City Council dais. He also used his public email to negotiate contracts for the deals.
***
An investigation into a personal relationship between Everett’s mayor and deputy mayor found no misuse of public money and no violations of city policies. In February, the Everett City Council voted unanimously to investigate the “personal relationship” between Mayor Cassie Franklin and Deputy Mayor Nick Harper.
June
The Port of Everett bans the popular pastime of kite flying at Boxcar Park, citing several incidences of kites becoming entangled in nearby power lines, resulting in power outages.
***
A Seattle-based nautical archaeologist, a pair of professors and seven Texas A&M University students are racing to document what they can about the Equator, a wooden schooner built in 1888 that has called Everett home since the 1950s.
The Port of Everett plans to have the 78-foot ship dismantled. Some of its timber could be used in public art.
***
An advanced submersible vessel belonging to an Everett-based company and its five-person crew goes missing while exploring the Titanic shipwreck in the North Atlantic Ocean. Everett-based OceanGate Expeditions owned the deep-sea craft, called the Titan, and charged $250,000 for trips down 2½ miles to the Titanic.
***
Activists, including some from a local online Moms For Liberty group, use an Arlington City Council meeting to rail against drag performers and contest the town’s Pride event. The right wing organization’s emergence from a locked Facebook group to commenting at public meetings comes as tensions surrounding LGBTQ+ issues in Arlington continue to simmer.
July
The city of Everett’s $75,000 Thunder on the Bay fireworks show, one of the biggest in the region, lasts only seconds before ending due to an “irreparable technical issue.” The show’s producer, Western Display Fireworks in Canby, Oregon, takes the blame, apologizes and says it is refunding the city’s money.
***
OceanGate announces it is suspending operations after the deep-sea submersible it owned and operated imploded last month, killing all five people on board, including Stockton Rush, the company’s chief executive.
***
About 50 people gather to christen The Muse Whiskey Bar & Coffee Shop, which opens in the restored 1920s Weyerhaeuser Building on the Everett waterfront.
***
Funko’s chief executive, Brian Mariotti steps down to take a leave of absence.
Funko board member Michael Lunsford will serve as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for a chief executive.
***
Snohomish County officials change the Everett airport’s name from Snohomish County Airport Paine Field to Seattle Paine Field International Airport. Officials hope the new name will boost its visibility and promote Paine Field as an alternative to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
***
Mayor Cassie Franklin establishes two new “no sit, no lie” zones, the first since the City Council granted the mayor the power to do so in May.
One zone, with a perimeter of nearly 1½ miles, spans about 68 acres in a large swath of northern downtown. It bans sitting, lying down or giving out food within a two-block radius of the Everett United Church of Christ at 2624 Rockefeller Ave. The church houses a homeless shelter.
The new zone encompasses Clark Park, Everett High School and streets bordering the Everett Public Library and Angel of the Winds Arena.
August
Marysville officials hope a new indoor sports facility and family entertainment center, with an estimated $73 million price tag, will become a top destination for basketball and volleyball tournaments. Preliminary plans include eight basketball courts, which could turn into 16 volleyball courts.
The city believes a few years after opening, the complex could attract 30 to 45 weekend tournaments per year.
***
After 44 years, and a final happy hour, Arnies, a landmark restaurant in Mukilteo, closes.
***
The case against the former Anchor Pub owner charged with over 20 counts of sex crimes will remain in Snohomish County, a judge rules.
Christian Sayre’s defense attorney asked for the trial to be moved, arguing extensive pre-trial publicity has made finding an impartial jury impossible.
***
The state Court of Appeals last rejects efforts to block Edmonds from building a proper walkway on the waterfront near the ferry terminal, clearing the way for the city to pursue the project.
Residents of a 20-unit condominium complex located between the Edmonds Waterfront Center and Olympic Beach Park had long complained of trespassers on their patio, instead of walking on the adjacent beach.
September
Drivers are divided about a maze of four new roundabouts that opened in recent months along Highway 9 in Lake Stevens.
The $69.5 million project took over a decade to complete, with new asphalt, sidewalks and landscaping spanning about 5 acres along the city’s biggest shopping corridor and two of its busiest intersections. Drivers are slowly learning the ins and outs.
***
Amazon cuts the ribbon on a $355 million fulfillment center in Arlington. The 2.8-million-square-foot building is comparable in size to 48 football fields and employs more than 1,000.
***
After five decades, Bob Martin, the rogue Snohomish barber who became a symbol of conservative resistance in the pandemic, has put down his clippers.
Martin, 82, was fined $90,000 for defying the governor’s stay home order. He ignored cease-and-desist orders and continued cutting hair long after the state revoked his license.
“I’m retired,” Martin said. “I’m working around the house.”
***
Over the past six years, overtime pay at the Snohomish County Public Utility District skyrockets to the point one last year made $695,972.67.
That’s more than the agency’s CEO, who received $600,000 in pay in 2022. The agency, the second-biggest publicly owned utility in the state, provides electricity to over 373,000 homes and businesses, as well as water service to over 23,000.
October
The Marysville City Council unanimously adopts an ordinance setting mandatory minimum jail sentences for repeat offenders of certain crimes, such as theft and public drug use. Under the new law, someone found guilty of their third public disorder crime in five years would be sentenced to at least 30 days in jail. The third conviction must come after the law took effect.
***
The Everett City Council votes to rename a portion of Trojan Way to Officer Dan Rocha Way in honor of the officer killed nearby last year.
***
An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot is arrested for investigation of 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut down the engines on a Horizon Air flight from Everett to San Francisco.
***
The Snohomish County Council unanimously approves requiring businesses in unincorporated parts of the county to accept cash beginning in 2025, a move aimed at protecting people who are more likely to use cash — children, senior citizens, homeless people and residents who don’t trust banking institutions.
November
At a public meeting in Darrington, a packed house of locals almost unanimously opposes the proposed reintroduction of grizzly bears to the region, airing fears over safety and salmon.
***
Susanna Johnson wins the race for Snohomish County sheriff, ending a heated and expensive campaign against incumbent Sheriff Adam Fortney.
***
A Boeing 737-9 Max is fully booked when Alaska Airlines makes its first flight from Everett to Honolulu. At more than 2,500 miles and an estimated 6 hours and 15 minutes, the new daily non-stop service from Paine Field to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on the island of Oahu is the longest flight offered from Paine Field.
***
Nurses at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett walk out. It’s the first strike at the hospital since 1999.
The work stoppage comes after more than six months of talks. About 1,300 nurses and their supporters plan to picket both Everett campuses, 1700 13th St. and 900 Pacific Ave.
December
After days of showers and heavy rain, the Stillaguamish River eclipses its “major” flood stage, shutting down Highway 530 and topping an all-time high water mark in Arlington.
***
Complaints continue about Washington State Ferries all-too-frequent delays and cancellations. Aging boats break down for weeks or months at a time, sometimes leaving Snohomish County’s ferry routes — some of the busiest in the state — at half-capacity with only one boat.
Crew shortages also contribute to a domino effect of backups on both sides of Puget Sound.
Roughly 6 million passengers per year count on the Mukilteo-Clinton and Edmonds-Kingston ferries to get them where they need to go.
***
Nurses reject a potential union contract with Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.
Nearly 900 nurses vote on a tentative agreement following eight months of bargaining with the hospital. The vote fails, with 51.8% of nurses voting against. The contract needed a majority to pass.
***
The Everett City Council unanimously approves creating a new committee to conduct in-depth research and advise city leaders on upgrading or a new Everett AquaSox stadium to meet new Major League Baseball standards.
The other goal of the new fiscal advisory committee — made up of nine unpaid appointees — is to communicate with taxpayers about the process.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
Gallery
Lead cook Wes Bazin, who has worked at Totem Family Diner on-and-off for more than a decade, puts a #13 up in the window during lunch service on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, in Everett, Washington. Totem is one of countless restaurants nationwide feeling the pressure from increased prices and a lower supply of eggs. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Lloyd Richmond, 85, is escorted into court to receive his sentence for the 2021 murder of 49-year-old Justin Allan on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
A team works to remove old toxic pilings from the water as part of larger salmon restoration plan near Ebey Waterfront Park in Marysville, Washington on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Nurses and community members gather at Drew Nielsen Neighborhood Park while Valerie Whorton, RN, BSN, speaks about the need for safer staffing standards in light of increasing patient loads at Providence on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
A car drives by Everett Station where Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin’s proposal for its ARPA funds includes funding a child care center at station. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald) 20211118
Richard Rotter is walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs after being found guilty of aggravated first-degree murder at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
A welcome song is played and sang by Tulalip performers during a Road to Healing event at the Tulalip Gathering Hall in Marysville, Washington on Sunday, April 23, 2023. The tour is lead by United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Ruben Trujillo, left and Sarah Bates, right, work on signs in protest of the ���no sit, no lie��� expansion on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
City council member Josh Binda listens during a city council meeting at Lynnwood City Hall in Lynnwood, Washington on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Texas A&M masters students Meagan Clyburn, left, and Sam Werthan take measurements of the roughly 13-foot high stem of the Equator on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, during a two-week survey of the vessel at its resting place in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Jack and Jin Ng welcome people to the grand opening of the Muse Whiskey & Coffee Bar in the 100-year-old Weyerhaeuser building on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
People gather in the shade during a community gathering to distribute food and resources in protest of Everett’s expanded “no sit, no lie” ordinance Sunday, May 14, 2023, at Clark Park in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Christian Sayre at his bail hearing at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
A man pauses to read a sign alerting beach users to the private section of the beach along the Edmonds waterfront on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Traffic moves around one of Lake Stevens new roundabouts at the intersection of Highway 204 and Highway 9 on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Bob Martin, 82, poses for a photo at The Stag Barbershop in Snohomish, Washington on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
A truck crosses Trojan Way on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Strike signs are displayed during a press confrence for the Providence nurses who gave a 10-day strike notice two days ago at the Everett Labor Temple in Everett, Washington on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
Two drivers watch as a person in a lifted Ford fords a flooded Highway 530 near Twin Rivers Park during heavy flooding on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Arlington, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Purchase Photo
People look out the window from inside the M/V Kitsap on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023 in Mukilteo, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Purchase Photo