Here’s a thought…
“True patriots don’t pander to divisiveness or hate. They work to confirm the “WE” in “We the People of the United States.”
ROBERT REICH
Blood donations needed, especially on Orcas
Appointments available for next week ||| FROM HANNAH MCNUTT for BLOODWORKS NW ||| Our region is facing an emergency blood shortage across the Pacific Northwest. Nearly all blood types are dangerously low, especially Type O blood and platelets that trauma and cancer patients depend on to survive. Right now, there’s
News Brief | Eastern North Pacific malnourished gray whales in ‘serious trouble’
||| FROM INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS ||| From San Francisco Bay to the Oregon coast to Washington’s Puget Sound, the die-off has occurred all along the gray whale’s annual West Coast migration route. It’s a 10,000 to 14,000-mile round trip—the longest migration of any mammal—between the warm waters off Mexico’s Baja
News Brief | The Wilderness Act is the most ambitious land protection law in American history
||| FROM THE WILDLIFE NEWS ||| The Wilderness Law is under attack, and the people attacking it are counting on you not knowing what you stand to lose. The Wilderness Act of 1964 created the National Wilderness Preservation System. It established a category of federal land protection stronger than any other
Opening Soon | Opportunity to apply for lodging tax annual grant program
LTAC funds support a variety of projects related to tourism events, infrastructure, and services ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is pleased to announce the 2026 Lodging Tax Grant Applications will open June 1, 2026. Applications are due by September 11, 2026 at 5:00pm. Applications will
Health Care District board to meet on Wednesday
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island Health Care District Board will hold a regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday, May 27th from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room at the Orcas Island Library, 500 Rose Street, Eastsound. The Board Meeting Public Packet is available below.
Start your Thursdays right with energizing and relaxing Yogalele
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Offered in the Madrona Room of Orcas Center at 8:30am on Thursdays beginning June 4, Yogalele is yoga with ukulele. Yogalele combines peaceful breathing and stretching with calm plucking and energizing strumming. Ukes set the mood and pace for breathing and
Orcas Christian School announces 2026-27 mission trip to Puerto Rico
||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| Orcas Christian School has announced plans for a mission trip to Puerto Rico during the 2026-27 school year, offering students an opportunity to serve communities while growing in their faith and leadership. The trip will be led by Vice Principal Kami Griffin and Pastor
No Place Like Loam | The ghost in the orchard
||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYO WOLF ||| The Cannon The men who came to Salem, Iowa that June night in 1848 brought a cannon. Not a metaphor. A cannon. Small, wheeled, loaded, aimed at the front wall of a stone house on the edge of a Quaker
OrcasFest acoustic music festival returns
||| FROM RACHEL BISHOP for ORCASFEST ||| The second annual OrcasFest acoustic music festival is next weekend! Tashi Litch, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms have put together an exciting lineup with artists playing music from old-time, cajun, Scandinavian, Irish, bluegrass traditions and more. There are multiple ways to see the
News Brief | Southern Resident Killer Whales are running out of time
||| FROM IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS ||| Southern Resident killer whales are a distinct, tightly bonded population of orcas who live and travel through the Salish Sea. With only about 74 individuals remaining, they are on the brink of extinction. These whales are still in crisis. In recent months, calves
Larsen announces winner of 2026 congressional art competition
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| MOUNT VERNON, WA – Today, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) announced Olivia Hamm of Oak Harbor High School as the winner of the 2026 Congressional Art Competition in Washington state’s 2nd congressional district with her piece, “Sleepy.” “It takes courage to put yourself out there as a young artist, and I want to
I’m Not the Church Lady | What do I get by remaining unforgiving?
||| I'M NOT THE CHURCH LADY by ROSIE KUHN ||| Am I willing to relinquish the belief that anyone—including me—is denied forgiveness? I humbly admit that my initial intention in writing this post was to point a finger at religions and spiritual traditions because of their emphasis on sin. Honestly,
Cracks in the lower Snake River dams
||| FROM LINWOOD LAUGHY ||| Cracks in the four lower Snake River dams? Not literally, but metaphorically weakening and widening. Over the past five years, according to Army Corps of Engineers’ data, these dams combined generated an average of just 669 Megawatts (MW) each year, a decline of 29% compared
Seasonal opening of Crow Valley School Museum
Beginning May 22nd, 11am-3pm at 1701 Crow Valley Rd ||| FROM PARKER PAVITT for ORCAS ISLAND HISTORICAL MUSEUMS ||| Welcome to another season at the Crow Valley School Museum! Our knowledgeable docents will be onsite for this fun and informative look at an island education. Located next to the North
Sheriff’s Report | May 13 – 19, 2026
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 26-002730 Controlled Substance Problem 08:06:13 05/13/26 A Lopez Deputy responded to a drug call. A small bag of Methamphetamine was found in the parking lot outside of a Lopez business. It is unknown who dropped the bag. 26-002739 Fraud
EWUA members call for third-party review amid workplace, leadership concerns
||| FROM SAM GAILEY, SPECIAL REPORT TO THE ORCASONIAN ||| The Eastsound Water Users Association held a listening session this week as the organization continues to face internal disputes, leadership concerns, labor-related tensions, and questions from members about transparency and governance. At the start of the meeting, the board stated
