Here’s a thought…
“Don’t ask me who’s influenced me. A lion is made up of the lambs he’s digested, and I’ve been reading all my life.”
GIORGOS SEFERIS
Final Leaping Fool
||| FROM NIK SCHULZ for THE LEAPING FOOL ||| “THE LEAPING FOOL” winter writers’ series wraps up its final season February 20th at 6pm at the Orcas Island Winery. Submissions for pieces to be read
FH Film Festival | Free Best of the Fest Documentary series
||| FROM FRIDAY HARBOR FILM FESTIVAL ||| Join us for a powerful evening of documentary film and conversation! Friday Harbor Film Festival’s Best of the Fest Series kicks off the 2025 series with a free
LWVSJ Observer Corps | County Council January 13, 2025
||| FROM NECI QUAST for LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS ||| With two new council members, the first day of a two-day council retreat focused on setting key elements of the coming year and getting a
Reservations recommended on Anacortes/San Juan Islands route
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| With the new winter schedule, we’ve noticed vehicle capacity can be limited on westbound sailings out of Anacortes in the afternoons and evenings, Monday through Friday. To make sure
Washington State Ferries 2024 Year in Review
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| In 2024, Washington State Ferries worked to sail together in our first year under Assistant Secretary Steve Nevey. Join us in a look back at our year in workforce
Reflecting on wildfire risk in the islands in wake of devastating So. California fires
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| Lea este documento en español: https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/31654/250109-Wildland-Fire-Awareness-ESP Fellow Islanders, The news of the catastrophic fires near Los Angeles is heart-wrenching. As we witness from afar the magnitude
County School Districts join together in advocacy efforts
||| FROM BRADY SMITH, LOPEZ SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT, ET AL. ||| Washington State is chronically underfunding education, despite a lawsuit and mandate that the legislature increase education funding. Just as San Juan County is geographically unique,
Orcas HS Chess Team – Champions!
||| FROM RANDY KAECH, TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR ||| The first Island - San Juan - Skagit Regional Chess Championships is in the books! Congrats to all 35 players who were fortunate enough to participate, make history
The ‘new’ OCS teacher you may already have met: Anna Vedder
||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| Although she has been a familiar presence on the campus of Orcas Christian School [OCS) for more than 20 years, this school year marks the first time Anna Vedder
Southern Resident orcas face uncertain future despite groundbreaking research efforts
||| FROM KOMO TV ||| It’s a race against the clock for scientists and researchers to learn more about two Southern Resident whale calves and their mothers. One calf, J61, was only a few days
Barcelona uses its tourist tax to tackle the effects of climate change
||| FROM CBS NEWS ||| After wide scale anti-tourism protests over the summer, Barcelona is trying to turn a negative into a positive by spending some of the money raised from the city's tax on visitors
La Niña has officially arrived. Here’s what that means for western Washington
||| FROM KOMO NEWS ||| After months and months of anticipation, we have officially entered the La Niña climate pattern we've been waiting for. La Niña is the opposing end of the spectrum from El
Port Commissioners special meeting
||| FROM CHIP LONG for PORT OF ORCAS ||| The Port of Orcas Board of Commissioners will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, January 13 at 5:00 p.m. online via Zoom and in-person at the
2025 Marine Naturalist Training Program Opens Registration
||| FROM CONOR AGNEW for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| The Whale Museum has opened registration for the 2025 spring and summer sessions of the Marine Naturalist Training Program! This hybrid program is an intensive multi-day
It’s tick time again
||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT ||| Native Blacklegged Ticks are questing again; in fact, they began their search for fresh hosts in the islands nearly a month earlier this year, presumably due to this
Sheriff’s Report | January 1 – 7, 2025
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1 25-000010 Citizen Dispute 12:01:40 01/01/25 Lopez Deputies responded to a welfare check. An adult child took their parent's vehicle for a ride without asking