Snohomish County Tribune

Content Copyright 2026 Snohomish County Tribune

SNOHOMISH — A North Carolina-based private development company plans to build seven multifamily apartment buildings and three commercial buildings across 17.3 acres near Bickford Avenue and Cady Drive. The city accepted their application March 9, and the project is currently on pause while the developers at Quarterra revise certain documents to reflect changes requested by city planners.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Most of the people who spoke on the county’s current temporary freeze o large data centers called for setting an outright ban at a County Council public hearing last week. Data centers are the physical processing hubs to deliver almost everything on the internet. AI’s heavy processing needs is accelerating the construction of more data centers.

Watch for a HS Football preview section in the Sept. 2 Tribune.

SNOHOMISH — The public gets a glimpse of the SS2 Snohomish Sports and Events Complex this Sunday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Rave mini pitch. From noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, people can enjoy inflatable games such as soccer billiards, soccer darts, tic-tac-toe, and a speed kick challenge. Retired Sounders player Brad Evans will give welcoming remarks. There will be food and vendor booths, and players from Snohomish Sky FC will take on challengers on the fields.

SNOHOMISH — The city is increasing its utility tax on water by 1.5% percent after its supplier, the City of Everett, increased its utility fees on all its water buyers. The passthrough hike takes effect no later than October’s bills. It sets the water utility tax at 6.83%. The change is to the tax charged on bills, not the usage rates. The tax earnings go to the city’s General Fund and meant to offset the operations of the utilities. The utility fund is meant to be self-sufficient from utility rates.

As electric bicycles become more common on local roads and trails, cities are facing a question that can be surprisingly complicated. What exactly counts as an e-bike, and where can each type legally be ridden? The Monroe City Council spent much of its July 28 meeting discussing e-bike rules. Everett recently adopted rules regulating e-bikes and electric scooters a few weeks ago.

The sheriff ’s office is set to begin charging records requests by the general public a per-minute fee for redacted bodycam footage. The rate would be 53 cents per minute. The county says it is to recoup the cost. The rate is equal to time spent by a staff records person. It is obligated to redact or obscure certain video elements for the privacy of people in crime scenes. In general, public records are to be made available to the public without charge.

MACHIAS — A man who shot a father who was warning drivers of deer on S. Machias Road in September 2023 will face years in prison. Last week, a county judge sentenced Dylan Picard, 25 of Lake Stevens, with 21 years and 4 months in prison for murdering Dan Spaeth. Spaeth and his wife were attempting to slow down or block traffic on S. Machias Road near their home to warn drivers that deer were crossing. Judge William Steffener gave Picard a prison term in the upper range of standard sentencing.

EVERETT — Larry O’Donnell, a longtime school administrator who shared his knowledge as one of Everett’s go-to authorities of its history together with his brother Jack, died Aug. 6. He was 88. After growing up in Everett and graduating from Everett High, he had a 47-year career working in the Everett School District, including as counselor, dean and principal before retiring in 1989 as its facilities director, a district history notes.