Are these signs of (campaign) the season?

Are these signs of (campaign) the season?

Yard signs aren’t quite a dime a dozen, but during a political season in Edmonds, they seem to be pretty much everywhere.

Except last weekend, for mayoral candidate Don Fiene, they weren’t.

“All of my signs were stolen,” said Fiene, who had put up 100 signs in yards and right-of-ways around town. “Well, except maybe ten. I guess somebody thinks I’m a threat. Maybe it’s a compliment.”

A sideways one, perhaps.

As if to prove that the anti-Fiene campaign was an organized effort, 26 of the signs were stacked neatly in front of two homes on Pine Street in downtown Edmonds. A resident on her morning walk noticed the piles and e-mailed Fiene’s campaign.

Fiene called the police, and then picked the signs back up. He spent Friday and the rest of the weekend placing his recovered 26 signs, and others from a new shipment of 100, all around town.

According to Gerry Gannon, assistant chief of police, campaign signs get stolen all the time. Stealing signs is a crime punishable by arrest, as it is a theft, he said.

It’s a little unusual that a single candidate is targeted like Fiene seemingly was, or that the signs would all be stacked neatly, but “that definitely happens, too,” Gannon said.

In other campaign sign news, this week Strom Peterson, a candidate for City Council, announced he’d remove all of his signs from public rights-of-way.

“Citizens understand that signs are about name recognition,” Peterson said in a press release. “But it is more important to protect the beauty of our town than to put a sign every ten feet along city streets.”

Hearing on mixed-use building set Aug. 15

Edmonds’ Architecture Design Board is having a public hearing at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 15 for a major project at 310 and 312 5th Avenue South.

The project is being built by Nordic Ventures, and is a 14,742-square foot mixed-use building that will include below grade parking, ground floor retail, and multiple residences on the top floor.

The area is considered the city’s downtown mixed commercial zone.

The Aug. 15 meeting is considered “Phase 1” of the public hearing.

It takes 900 people a day to stop bleeding

According to the Puget Sound Blood Center, it takes 900 people registering every weekday to keep the local blood supply at stable levels.

With that in mind, the Blood Center is hosting a blood drive at Faith Community Church from 1-7 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 28. The church is located at 10220 238th St SW, Edmonds.

“With some of our regular donors unable to donate because of summer plans, we count on seeing fresh new faces registering,” the center’s Tom Butterworth said in a press release.

Eligible donors must be at least 18 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good general health. (With parental permission, 16- and 17-year-olds can also donate).

Each donation can save as many as three lives, the Blood Center said. Donations help not only those who have suffered trauma, but also those with cancer, surgery patients, permature babies, and others who cannot live without the support of volunteer blood donors.

To schedule a donation appointment, contact the Faith Community Church ofice at (206) 542-8883.

If it’s August,

it’s time to vote

Absentee ballots were mailed Friday, Aug. 3 by counties across the state.

Snohomish County, which conducts all elections through the mail, said their ballots require only one first class postage stamp to be returned.

Ballots must be postmarked by Aug. 21 to be counted, officials said.

Edmonds Lions Food Bank raffle is back

Starting next Saturday, Aug. 18, the Edmonds Lions Club annual Food Bank raffle is back.

Tickets for the raffle are sold at the Edmonds Summer Market, and proceeds go to benefit the Edmonds Food Bank. Last year, over $2,795 was raised.

Raffle tickets cost $1, and prizes and gift certificates will be available from all sorts of Edmonds companies including QFC, Arista Wine Cellars, Arnie’s, Corner Coffee at Perrinville, Dr. Jacky at Perrinville, Mieko’s Fitnes, Pancake Haus, Romeo’s, Top Foods and the Walnut Coffee Shop.

In addition to the Summer Market sales, the Lions Club will also be selling tickets at grocery stores throughout Edmonds during the winter.

The raffle is set for Dec. 10, and winners will be contacted the following day.

Have an item for AroundTown? Send it by e-mail to edmonds@heraldnet.com, by mail to Edmonds editor, 4303 198th St. SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036 or call Chris Fyall at 425-673-6525.