Here’s a thought…
“The competition between Nature and the economy is deep and broad.
In the short term, the economy usually wins. In the long term …?”
BILL APPEL
Sign up now for Whale Museum’s upcoming Marine Naturalist Program
||| FROM TRACIE MERRELL for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| Registration is now open for a spring virtual session of TWM’s Marine Naturalist Program. This dynamic and high quality program will be 6-sessions and run on
Inslee letter to FEMA requests swift consideration for flood aid
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| In case you missed it: Gov. Jay Inslee sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Friday requesting the federal agency's swift action on providing aid to Washington's
LaPorte Road opens tonight, closes again during day on Tuesday, Wednesday
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| LaPorte Rd. will be open to traffic after crews wrap up their work at the end of the day today. However, the road will be
Hawaii housing crisis has Maui pushing to phase out 3,000 short-term rentals
||| FROM SFGATE.COM ||| REPRINT AT REQUEST OF CLAYTON PARSONS As Hawaii’s high housing costs and rising property taxes continue to price out struggling residents seeking to find and keep their homes, Maui is examining
Guest Opinion | Climate resilience actions overdue
||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT ||| Road washouts last month gave a clear signal to islanders: an increasingly stormy climate threatens critical infrastructure such as roads, power and communications lines, and supplies of potable
San Juan County readies its new Department of Environmental Stewardship
||| FROM SHARON ABREU, SPECIAL TO theORCASONIAN ||| The San Juan County Council has moved the Environmental Resources group from a division of the Department of Public Works to the new, independent Department of Environmental
Letter to Editor | Taking a closer look at solar power in the San Juans
||| FROM WILLIAM APPEL ||| “Solar is green.” True. Moreover, nearly 85% of our solar displaces the hydro component of BPA’s power and so is salmon-friendly. “Solar is resilient.” Generally false. The reality is that
Snow possible? All indications point to ‘yes’
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| There is the potential for a small amount of snow in the forecast over the weekend and into next week. Below is the UW model
Swinomish receives funding to build the first modern-day clam garden in U.S.
Federal grants will enable the Tribal Community to revitalize the ancient Indigenous mariculture practice ||| FROM WASHINGTON SEA GRANT ||| LA CONNER, WA – In the 1990s, members of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community began
Land Bank seeks public input on Coffelt Farm study, proposed ag policy
||| FROM TANJA WILLIAMSON for SAN JUAN COUNTY LAND BANK ||| After more than two years of research and community outreach, the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank has entered the final phase in planning
Upcoming Garden Club meet features Emmy Gran and her seasonal wreaths
||| FROM HELEN HUBER for ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Orcas Island's Emmy Gran On Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 10:30 am, the Orcas Island and Lopez Island Garden Clubs’ virtual (Zoom) meeting
Water build-up has now closed LaPorte Road
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| A blocked culvert has created a dangerous situation on Laporte Road on Orcas Island. A large amount of water has built up on the uphill
SJC voters have passed one of the strongest anti-discrimination policies in the country
||| FROM JANE FULLER for CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE'S JUSTICE & EQUITY COMMITTEE ||| With the certification of the election last week, San Juan County voters have passed some of the strongest anti-discrimination policies of any
How to save a ski town (or perhaps a small, green island)
All over the West, a housing crisis is causing workforce shortages, crippling local businesses, and threatening the culture and existence of mountain towns as we know them. But amid the doom and gloom, some people
Vigil calls for more urgency to save endangered salmon, orca
||| FROM SALISH CURRENT ||| Bundled up in the cold, about 60 people gathered at Maritime Heritage Park on Saturday night (Nov. 20) in Bellingham for a vigil in support of endangered salmon in the
