Here’s a thought…
Eastsound Planners Face Mix of Transient Lodging, Affordable Housing and Tourism
Next EPRC meeting, Thursday June 4 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall -- by Margie Doyle -- At the last Eastsound Planning and Review Committee (EPRC) meeting on May 7, the
Guest Opinion: Excess Regulations and Permitting Costly to the Public
-- by Walt Corbin -- The recent opinion piece written by David Turnoy (orcasissues.com/guest-opinion-lets-get-money-out-of-politics) speaks to the corruption that money has in the electoral process. We of course all decry what our supposedly rational Supreme
Ranker Asks for Ferry Reservations Input
-- from Sen. Kevin Ranker -- “Over the past several weeks, I’ve heard from many of you regarding your ideas, questions and concerns regarding the Washington State Ferries Reservation system. “I want you to know
Ranker: Samish the First New San Juans Ferry in Decades
-- from the State Democrats -- M.V. Samish christening. Photo: Saltwater People Historical Society Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, released the statement below [on May 20] in recognition of the christening of M/V
Guest Opinion: Revenue Shortfalls in OPALCO’s Rural Cooperative
-- by Alex Conrad -- With regard to [OPALCO's] need to meet certain debt covenants, we hear a lot about ‘revenue shortfall’ [see orcasissues.com/new-opalco-surcharge-to-correct-shortfall ] Let’s pause for a moment and look at publicly available data,
Orcas High School Again Ranks at the Top
Kyle Freeman: "Once again Orcas Island has been recognized as one of the top schools in the state of Washington, #15 and the nation #740. This is an award that the students, staff (k-12), parents
New OPALCO Surcharge to Correct Shortfall
Rate Structure Discussion Ongoing -- by Suzanne Olson for OPALCO -- Sample Bill Comparison. Despite the rate increase in February, many OPALCO member bills have gone down because of warmer temperatures and lower kilowatt
Sheriff’s Report: May 13 – 29, 2015
-- from Robin DeLaZerda, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office -- May 13, 2015 15-002333 Animal at Large 12:33:18 05/13/15: A Lopez Island deputy assisted in the safe return of a dozen cows to the owner's field after they went
Ferry Ridership Increases: Six Percent for San Juans
-- from Washington State Ferries -- Memorial Day weekend ridership increases. Preliminary ridership numbers are in and they show that Memorial Day weekend sure was busy! From May 21-26, we carried over 435,000 total riders and
Governor Orders Legislators Into Special Session
Legislature’s next round: compromise? -- by John Stang for Crosscut.com -- Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered a second-30-day special session to begin Friday in order to resolve sluggish talks on the 2015-2017 budget for Washington.
Become a FROG and Take the Ferry Survey
-- from Anne Haley, Chairman, Washington State Transportation Commission -- In about a week, we will be sending 22,000 members of the Ferry Riders Opinion Group (FROG), a link to a new survey that will ask
How Are We Doing? A Quarterly Review of County Finances
-- by County Auditor F. Milene Henley -- First quarter 2015 On a recent sunny afternoon, I saw a cart of purple and yellow flowers sitting next to the red, white and blue ballot drop
New Call-Before-You-Dig Laws
Increased oversight and penalties -- from OPALCO -- Utilities, excavators and the public are all affected by a new call-before-you-dig law that includes more rigorous enforcement, mandatory damage reporting and higher penalties. The intent of
Board of Health Asked to Agree ‘Growler’ Noise Causes Irreparable Injury
-- from the Citizens of Ebey's Reserve, Whidbey Island -- Proof of noise-inflicted injuries were presented to the Island County Board of Health, Keith Higman, Brad Thomas, M.D., Executive Secretary and members at their meeting
Letter to the Editor: OPALCO Members, Get Engaged
-- by Alex MacLeod -- There is growing unhappiness among many OPALCO member-customers following this year’s huge rate increase. OPALCO’s board raised the “facilities charge” to each customer by about 40% -- this is a
Guest Editorial: Reclaim the American Dream
"Taking our Gray Heads to the Streets" It started with an online correspondence between Sheila Gaquin of Deer Harbor and Sharon Abreu of Vusario: from Sheila Gaquin to Sharon Abreu: You and Mike have your
