Here’s a thought…
“No one, I mean no one, has the right to sit in judgment of who’s American enough.”
MICHELLE OBAMA
Reconnect as Turtleback reaches 20 years
Join us on June 24 for a presentation about this remarkable story ||| FROM BARBARA ROSENKOTTER for SAN JUAN PRESERVATION TRUST ||| Did you know the largest fundraising campaign in the San Juans was on Orcas? More than 2,000 individuals and families and several organizations raised more than $18.5 million.
Larsen cheers Trump administration backing off plan to end key ocean monitoring initiative
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement: “Monitoring our oceans is crucial to protect Northwest Washington’s coastlines, marine ecosystems and maritime economy. “The Trump administration’s attempt to remove hundreds of underwater instruments that help scientists
Letter to Editor | Easy to be ‘hard’
||| FROM ROBERT AUSTIN ||| I’ve noticed that over the past couple months, water at our Timber Lane house seems to have grown harder than normal: rinsing my car off left behind hundreds of little white edged circles, evaporated mineral deposits. As you probably know, this is due to dissolved
Celebrating Juneteenth
||| FROM MINOR LILE ||| Last year I happened to be in Washington DC, for an affordable housing conference that began in late May, just after the Memorial Day weekend. On the Friday after the conference, I got together with a college friend who is a docent and exhibit designer at Arlington
WSF Weekly Report | Sunflower lanyards; onboard dance parties; Suquamish Colman Dock celebration
||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| A message from Steve I’m pleased to share that we have joined the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program to better support people with non-apparent disabilities as they travel through our system. Through this program, we will offer complementary Sunflower lanyards. People who
Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
Welcome to our weekly feature, Occam's Razor, from local artist S.C. Watson.
I simply could NOT share this
Oh, those were the days, eh? Doesn't mean we can't do it again. ||| From LIN MCNULTY, Editor ||| Also, almost as good.
News Brief | Why mailing a paper check has become so risky
||| FROM THE WASHINGTON POST ||| According to a joint warning from the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service, check fraud is skyrocketing. Federal data shows that reports of check fraud nearly doubled from 350,000 in 2021 to 680,000 in 2022. This isn’t limited to personal checkbooks. Fraudsters are going
A new calf joins L Pod
||| FROM CENTER FOR ORCA RESEARCH ||| Our scientists observed the calf, designated L130 on June 14th and 15th as members of J and L pods traveled through the Salish Sea. Based on the calf's size, behavior, and physical characteristics, we estimate it to be between 1 and 3 months
LEADing into Summer
||| FROM LINDSAY JENNINGS for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| Orcas Island is abuzz with activity as the summer season picks up, and it’s a jam-packed month at the Foundation as well, reflected in the news we share today. Last week, I had the honor of helping the Orcas Island
First detections of highly invasive European green crab discovered on Orcas Island
Students from Orcas Island Middle School discover green crab molt while on a field trip ||| FROM WASHINGTON SEA GRANT CRAB TEAM ||| Evidence of invasive European green crab was detected for the first time on Orcas Island in May, when a Washington Sea Grant (WSG) Crab Team volunteer monitor
Get Ready | First outdoor summer concert is June 28
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center’s annual Summer Concert Series is back in the Village Green. All performances are free to the community. Kicking off the season is James Charles Howard, Jr., with local group Minnow Creek opening on Sunday, June 28, starting at 5
Join Orcas Hotel for live music every Sunday
||| FROM MICHAEL ANTONIA for ORCAS HOTEL ||| Every Sunday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., Orcas Hotel is hosting live music with Ira Echo & Friends. This is something we started with our friends Caleb & Reeb who put on the Orcas Fest music festival. The idea is a
No jurors required for June 22-26
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| JURY DUTY: JUNE 22-26, 2026 All jurors summonsed for the Jury Period beginning Monday June 22nd through Friday June 26, 2026 are excused. Thank you.
The Exchange update
|||FROM THE EXCHANGE ||| Styrofoam Recycling Matures on Orcas The Exchange is taking the next step in Styrofoam recycling on Orcas Island. After three months of collecting Styrofoam at the Z-Wall, staff toured a commercial recycling operation in Kent and are exploring the purchase of a “densifier” to transform waste
Guest Opinion | About that dirt on Shaw
||| FROM ALEX MACLEOD ||| One way to view voters’ overwhelming rejection of the recent property-tax levy lid lift sought by the County Council is a lack of confidence in the council’s ability to wisely manage our tax dollars. The council, as we know, is trying to find ways to
