With just a few days until 2025, it’s time to reflect on a busy 12 months of news in Everett and Snohomish County.
And The Daily Herald’s readers kept returning for the newspaper’s journalism this year. In 2023, the top 10 most-read articles ranged from about 44,000 to 124,000 online page views, according to Google Analytics. This year, that range was 76,000 to a whopping 409,000 on HeraldNet.com.
This year’s top 10 includes a mix of true crime fare, accountability stories and features that piqued reader interest.
But enough with the preamble, let’s begin the 2024 countdown.
Leri Harper at her home on Feb. 29 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
No. 10: Everett woman paid sewer bill for 23 years, unaware she had septic tank (March 9)
For years after buying their south Everett home in 2001, Leri Harper and her husband had paid their sewer bill. Earlier this year, that monthly bill was $83 per month. Little did she realize the home’s peculiar plumbing consisted of a septic tank connected to the city sewer, a system she attributed to “negligence and dishonesty” by a city worker half a century ago. After a cold snap in January, she had to pay $20,000 to fix damage to the plumbing and reconnect her house to the sewer.
Heavy traffic northbound on 1-5 in Everett, Washington in 2022. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
No. 9: On I-5 in Everett, traffic nightmare is reminder we’re ‘very vulnerable’ (May 17)
A deadly police shooting shut down I-5 near Everett, leading to hours of gridlock on roads across Snohomish County. The episode was a reminder of how fragile the region’s road infrastructure is, especially if next time it’s a natural disaster or other widespread emergency that results in mass evacuations.
Royalwood Estates Mobile Home Park residents Patsy Gilbert, left, and Elna Olson, right, give a brief tour of the mobile home park on March 11, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
No. 8: ‘Nowhere else to cut’: Seniors face 14% rent increases, in homes they own (April 5)
In 2023, GSC Investments bought manufactured home communities for seniors in Bothell and Lynnwood. The company proceeded to raise rents on the residents who moved to these communities in search of lower housing costs. Susan Lockyer, for example, saw her rent immediately increased by $100, with another $100 to come. In recent years, corporate investors have learned how lucrative these manufactured home communities, despite the residents owning their homes. Residents across the country have pushed back, with new laws aiming to help them buy their neighborhoods.
Cabins ready to greet the sunset Friday afternoon at Cama Beach Historical State Park on Camano Island in 2019. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
No. 7: Cama Beach cabins to remain closed permanently (Oct. 10)
In a unanimous vote, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission voted to permanently shutter the popular cabins on Camano Island. The 33 cabins had been closed since February due to a septic system failure, among other issues. State staff recommended the move because of the park’s native history, sea level rise and the rising cost of fixing septic issues.
I-5, Highway 529 and BNSF railroad bridges cross over Union Slough, as the main routes for traffic between Everett and Marysville. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
No. 6: Highway 529 to close for months between Everett, Marysville (Jan. 21)
The news of the I-5 alternate between Snohomish County’s two biggest cities getting squeezed was not welcomed kindly by local commuters. The northbound Snohomish River Bridge was closed from early June until mid-November. The closure included several delays, including one because more steel than expected needed to be replaced on the 97-year-old bridge. The work included seismic retrofitting, repairs, painting and new concrete on the bridge deck.
A passenger pays their fare before getting in line for the ferry on Sept. 28, 2023 in Mukilteo, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
No. 5: $55? That’s what a couple will pay on the Edmonds-Kingston ferry (April 26)
Ferry riders experienced some sticker shock this year, when the roundtrip fare for a couple jumped May 1 to $55. This was just for the peak season that ran through Sept. 30. On Oct. 1, the state raised fares by 4.25%.
Amadea, a superyacht, docked at the Port of Everett on April 29, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
No. 4: Say ‘bon voyage’ to seized Russian superyacht departing Everett (July 3)
It’s not every day — or every year — that a superyacht worth more than $300 million sails into Everett. The 4,400-ton Amadea spent two months in Port Gardner Bay to undergo routine maintenance. The federal government had seized the vessel from Suleyman Kerimov, a Russian oligarch under U.S. sanctions. From Everett, the spectacle went to California.
Janet Garcia becomes emotional during her arraignment at the Snohomish County Courthouse on April 22, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
No. 3: Everett mother pleads not guilty in stabbing death of Ariel Garcia, 4 (April 22)
The death of Ariel Garcia, 4, sparked a regional search until he was found stabbed to death along I-5 in Pierce County. Prosecutors charged his mother, Janet Garcia, with first-degree murder. Days before his death, Ariel Garcia’s grandmother had filed for emergency guardianship, citing his mother’s alcohol and drug abuse. She is set to go to trial in May. This week, she remained in the Snohomish County Jail with bail set at $3 million.
A figure known as the Lake Stevens Bigfoot sits among trees and along a stream on Lundeen Parkway in Lake Stevens, Washington, on Jan. 14, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
No. 2: Sasquatch of Lake Stevens is legendary as hometown hero Chris Pratt (Jan. 23)
Believe it or not, people reported near daily Sasquatch sightings on a stretch of Lundeen Parkway. For a long time, it wasn’t clear how the mysterious marsh monster made his way into the woods. But a follow-up story in June revealed Bigfoot’s secrets. A local wood carver named Steve finally took credit for the mossy figures haunting Lake Stevens. Steve told reporter Andrea Brown he “did it for the kids.” He wanted them to look up from their phones as the school bus passed by.
Carlo Ponte
No. 1: Missing for over 3 years, Marysville boy found in Seattle (Oct. 23)
Carlo Ponte’s father, Jorge, had taken the boy, now 6, from a scheduled visit in 2021 and never returned him to his mother, according to court documents. For more than three years, a $100,000 warrant was out for the father’s arrest. And in October, authorities found the boy safe in Seattle. Jorge Ponte faces charges of first-degree kidnapping and custodial interference, both felonies, in Snohomish County Superior Court. The case remained pending this week. He was held in jail this week with bail set at $100,000.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; X: @GoldsteinStreet.
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