Here’s a thought…
“The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.”
ROBERT M. PIRSIG
Orcas Center Role Out to preview upcoming season
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| After a rolicking summer of free outdoor shows to close out the year, Orcas Center is launching its 2026-27 season, which is also the organization's 40th anniversary season. Anyone interested in their community arts center is invited to a “Role Out”
San Juan Islands residents brave ferry lines, medevacs to get to the doctor
||| FROM KUOW, NPR NETWORK ||| Bonnie Oak Boesky has lived in the San Juan Islands for more than 40 years, since she was in her early 20s. She raised her four children there. “It's like a chance to live in paradise for most of your life,” she said. But
Join us as summer tips into fall for music, food
||| FROM NATALIE MENACHO ||| Delicious wines, saffron-kissed beef and chicken kebabs from Tank's Beastro, and the sounds of Bonita Fishwife drifting across the lawn. Bonita Fishwife is a beloved band out of Seattle blending rich jazz stylings with driving indie rock riffs and lush harmonies. Drawing inspiration from The
Trump | “Most people don’t know that ‘dumb’ has a B”
||| FROM CNN.COM ||| There are far more important issues to discuss. But in these divided times, surely we can all come together for a brief moment and agree that President Donald Trump’s “dumb” story makes no sense. Trump has been saying it over and over for months, straight-faced and
A message from Peggy Bill, SJC Conservation Land Bank Commission Chair
SJC Conservation Land Bank Commission Chair, Peggy Bill, issues letter to the community to address questions regarding the Talking Horse Farm Acquisition and sale project located at 652 Halvorson Rd. on San Juan Island ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| In response to recent concerns about this project, I
OCS students explore ‘Love in Action’ through service
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| Middle and high school students at Orcas Christian School recently heard from guest speakers about serving others and putting their faith into action. Lauren Lombard, who coordinates service mission work abroad with the nonprofit education group EducareNow, spoke with students about serving communities
Local boy makes good
||| FROM DAN GOTTLIEB for CANOPY JAPAN ||| In 1989, I moved to Orcas because it was, and still is, a climate change refuge. I now live on Okinawa, in Japan for the exact opposite reason. I have, of course, maintained my home on island. In 2026, so far, on
I’m Not the Church Lady | The opening Is unimaginable until it isn’t
||| I'M NOT THE CHURCH LADY by ROSIE KUHN ||| The Cultivating Intelligence Chamber isn’t necessarily a place where we cultivate answers. It is a space in which we become willing to rendezvous with what we could not previously imagine. There she is. Houdini in a paper bag. Fighting like
School District strategic planning | Building our future together
||| FROM SUZANNA SMITH for ORCAS ISLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island School District is beginning a new Strategic Planning process to help shape the future of our schools. The goal is to celebrate what’s working, identify opportunities for growth, and establish clear priorities that improve experiences and outcomes for students.
News Brief | Judge once again blocks mail-in ballot rules
The ruling arrived before the Supreme Court could decide whether to intervene but appeared certain to set off yet another round of appeals. ||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| A federal judge in Boston ruled for the third time on Friday that the Trump administration’s plans to restrict mail-in
Fifth annual Family Tides Farm and Northwest Indian College Fall Festival coming soon
||| FROM EMILIE ROBINSON for FAMILY TIDES FARM ||| Family Tides Farm & Northwest Indian College invite you to the fifth annual Fall Festival on Sunday, September 20, from 11am-4:00pm, at 6389 Deer Harbor Road. Come enjoy delicious free food, freshly pressed apple cider, arts & crafts for both kids
Eth-No-Tec brings more storytellers to Orcas
||| FROM ROBERT KIKUCHI-YNGOJO for ETH-NOH-TEC ||| “An Asian OccAsian” is a Family Fun and FREE concert of dramatic Asian American storytellers coming to Orcas! Mark your calendars for Sept 13, 2:00-3:00 pm. Folk tales and myths bring to the stage tales of tricksters, wise fools, and foolish kings,
Midnight Mutterings | Kudzu: The plant that ate the south
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES ||| Not quite sure what made me start thinking about Kudzu lately. Maybe it’s all the new bad news about plastic. Kudzu might be the plastic of the plant world in that it originally seemed to be so useful, so benign, such a cheap,
Celebrating the labor of love on Orcas
||| FROM LINDSAY JENNINGS for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| Labor Day began in the 1880s as a tribute to the American labor movement, honoring the contributions of working people to our shared prosperity. That spirit feels so true here on Orcas, where so much of what makes island life
9-11 memorial ceremony for fallen firefighters at OIFR Station 21
||| FROM BEN LUNA for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| Orcas Island Fire & Rescue (OIFR) will hold a ceremony on September 11, 2026, to honor the victims of the September 11th attacks and the 343 firefighters who died that day. The ceremony will take place at Station 21,
Skip the ferry. Get your mammogram right here on Orcas
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Leaving the island for a mammogram means a ferry, a long day, and a lot of hassle. Now you don't have to. Assured Imaging is bringing mobile mammography directly to Orcas Senior Center — making it easier than ever to take
