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
Harmful algae blooms found in Washington lakes and rivers
Blooms can be toxic to humans, pets, and wildlife ||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA -- Washington State Department of Health is advising the public to take precautions while enjoying water recreation this
Midnight Mutterings | Whales!
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS BY JACKIE BATES ||| A couple of weeks ago I was off island when the Orcas came through Obstruction Pass, and my neighbors gave excited reports of a small group that included
K21 – Although gravely-ill, Southern Resident killer whale death is not confirmed …
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Center for Whale Research Statement: Southern Resident killer whale K21 On July 28, the Center for Whale Research (CWR) received a report and video from a Pacific Whale
Inslee statement on suspected death of Southern Resident orca K-21
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| "I am saddened to hear the news that one of the 75 remaining endangered Southern Resident orcas, K-21 - a 35-year-old male - was seen this
Will an insightful outreach and education approach help bring back the Southern Resident orcas?
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Lots of people have lots of great ideas. But only a few turn their perceptive concepts into reality. The visionary-to-reality folks are the ones to follow. The Center
Letter to Editor | A proposal to tailor tourism to fit our county
||| FROM BILL APPEL ||| I propose that tourism be better tailored to match our culture and ecology with a new generation of participating tourist facilities that are operated in a manner that attracts possibly
A promise of fun for everyone at OPALCO’s Electrical Vehicle Jamboree
||| FROM SUZANNE OLSON for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| Test drive an EV, ride an electric bike, check out electric garden tools and an electric UTV! Free hot dogs and popcorn, great Island
SeaDoc Society to hold virtual ‘Bottoms Up’ event Sept. 9. Register now.
||| FROM JUSTIN COX for SEADOC SOCIETY ||| The SeaDoc Society is going virtual again for their annual fundraiser event, which will be held on September 9 at 5:30 p.m. The special live event, Bottoms
Got gardening questions? Master Gardeners will be at Driftwood to answer them
||| FROM DIANE MACONDRAY for SJC MASTER GARDENERS ||| On Wednesday, August 4, the San Juan County Master Gardeners will be answering garden questions and accepting plant samples for growing problem analysis at Driftwood Nursery
OPALCO has this great Electrical Vehicle Jamboree coming up
Thursday, August 5 @ 4:30 p.m., OPALCO Eastsound Parking Lot ||| FROM OPALCO ||| Come on by next Thursday, August 5 from 4:30 - 6 p.m. We will be in our Eastsound parking lot, firing
San Juan County complete burn ban goes into effect tomorrow, 5 p.m.
||| FROM KIM KIMPLE for SJC FIRE DISTRICTS & COUNTY FIRE MARSHAL ||| With continuing dry weather conditions, San Juan County Fire Districts and the County Fire Marshal’s office are enacting a complete burn ban
Whatcom County Council vote changes the future of industry at Cherry Point
||| FROM BELLINGHAM HERALD ||| Whatcom County Council unanimously approved a series of Comprehensive Plan amendments for the Cherry Point industrial zone, adding tougher environmental and development rules for the region that’s home to two
Tourists | Again, we’re not the only island feeling overrun
||| FROM SFGATE.COM ||| [Reprint at request of an Orcasonian reader.} “We are not Disneyland. People live here,” says Kai Duponte, a Native Hawaiian who was born and raised on Maui, responding to the unprecedented
COVID, climate, and calamity
||| FROM PATRICK SHEPLER ||| There are essentially three stories on the National News networks these days: (1) COVID is coming back with a vengeance. primarily among the unvaccinated; (2) The Olympics, minus fans, plus
‘Very saddened’: Toa, the orphaned baby orca that enthralled New Zealand, is buried
Orca cared for by hundreds of volunteers and experts in bitter cold after becoming separated from its pod two weeks ago ||| FROM THE GUARDIAN ||| An orphaned baby orca that captured the hearts of