The top 10 most-read Herald stories of 2023
Published 1:30 pm Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Another year, another look back at The Daily Herald’s most read articles from the past 12 months. The 10 stories on this list range from about 44,000 to 124,000 page views from readers online, according to web traffic data from Google Analytics.
Some of these stories were hard-hitting investigative pieces or breaking news stories, while a few were on the lighter side. Business closures, both large and small, were some of the most popular articles last year on HeraldNet.com.
But without further ado, lets begin the 2023 countdown:
No. 10: 2 dead, 2 wounded in Marysville, Lynnwood shootings; suspect arrested (Aug. 11)
A suspect in a Marysville homicide fled to a home near Lynnwood, where he shot and killed another person and two of her relatives on Aug. 10, according to authorities. A later article reported Gilbert “Alex” Escamilla, 31, was arrested after he was accused of breaking into a seemingly random house and shooting three people, killing one. Police believe he had just fled the scene of another deadly shooting 25 miles north in Marysville, where he “executed” a man hours before outside an apartment complex.
No. 9: As Fred Meyer cites ‘concerns,’ Everett neighbors can’t imagine losing it (Nov. 3)
In a late July email exchange with city and police officials, Everett police’s then-chief Dan Templeman wrote Fred Meyer management had expressed “grave concerns about the area” at the center of one of the city’s new “no sit, no lie” zones, according to records obtained by The Daily Herald. While Fred Meyer corporate representatives did not explicitly say they were considering closure, Templeman noted, city spokesperson Simone Tarver worried in an emailed response what the loss of the store would do to the community.
No. 8: After patient dies waiting for care in Everett, family sues Providence (Oct. 14)
For over four hours, Cheyenna Costello, of Arlington, waited in the lobby of the emergency department at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett without treatment, according to an account from her husband, Sean Costello. Medical staff had recorded her condition as critical “with significant risk to decompensate and even death.” Ultimately, she became unresponsive, then died. Sean Costello sued Providence, claiming the hospital acted wrongfully in Cheyenna Costello’s death due to professional negligence.
No. 7: Marysville planning $73M sports hub, with downtown apartments, hotel (Aug. 11)
In a few years, you could walk near the Ebey Waterfront in Marysville and see a new, all-in-one tourism hub with a colossal indoor sports facility, as well as hundreds of apartments and hotel rooms. Marysville officials hope the 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.
No. 6: A $695K salary? Overtime pay at the Snohomish County PUD has soared (Sept. 16)
Over the past six years, overtime pay at the Snohomish County Public Utility District skyrocketed to the point one lineworker last year made $695,972.67. PUD officials attributed the sudden rise in overtime to surging customer demand, a climate crisis causing more system-damaging storms, an understaffed workforce and changes to contracting policy that saved the utility millions of dollars by keeping more work in-house.
No. 5: Walmart announces Everett store on Highway 99 will close on April 21 (March 21)
The retail giant said in a statement that the location did not meet “financial expectations.” Located along the west side of the highway, between 112th Street SW and Center Road, the 147,000-square-foot store opened in 2006. The store employed 198 people. All were eligible to transfer to other Walmart locations, the company said.
No. 4: Arnies in Mukilteo, sold to Lombardi’s, closing after 44 years (Aug. 12)
So many people have an Arnies story. Since 1979, the seafood restaurant with white tablecloths and sweeping water views was the place for first dates and first jobs, birthday celebrations and brunches with the grandparents. Later in August, the doors would close as the four partners who own the Mukilteo mainstay wind down their careers. The leased building at 714 Second St. reopened in November as Hook & Cleaver, operated by Lombardi’s Restaurant Group, owner of Lombardi’s restaurants in Everett, Mill Creek and Bellingham.
No. 3: Even more films and TV shows filmed in Snohomish County (Sept. 25)
In this fourth installment of an ongoing series, The Herald explored films and TV shows, both large and small, filmed in Snohomish County. This article incorporated projects overlooked in previous entries, including Richard Pryor’s 1981 comedy “Bustin’ Loose” and celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s visit to Everett in 2013 to film an episode of “Kitchen Nightmares.”
No. 2: Many mourn Everett’s ‘Youngest Old Cat Lady,’ Ashley Morrison (April 13)
She was known worldwide as the “Youngest Old Cat Lady.” Her life centered around cat rescue, fostering, adoption and “spreading happiness through mini lions.” Her Instagram had playful kittens and her special brand of humor. Along with cute kitties, there was another side Ashley Morrison shared with her nearly 250,000 Instagram followers @youngestoldcatlady: Her struggle with mental illness. Ashley, who grew up in Everett, died by suicide on April 6. She was 31.
No. 1: ‘Hell no to grizzlies’: Darrington locals give federal agencies an earful (Nov. 4)
The last confirmed sighting of a grizzly bear in the North Cascades was in 1996, a testament to their extermination in even the most remote reaches of that area. A public meeting in Darrington drew a packed house of locals almost unanimously opposed to the proposed reintroduction of the animal in the region.
