Here’s a thought…
“The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions.”
ROBERT LYND
Join Leadership San Juans to learn about their upcoming Cohort
||| FROM GRETCHEN KRAMPF for LEADERSHIP SAN JUANS ||| Monday, July 21 5:00 – 6:00 PM Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/p0HOT9ksQoG4BrFtO5yCFQ Thursday, August 21 Noon – 1:00 PM Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/JxOuwQ6aSKOiS066KZJ_mA
The Exchange update | July 2025
||| FROM THE EXCHANGE ||| Art Scholarship Winner: Sintia Cruz Hernandez Congratulations to Sintia Cruz Hernandez - the winner of this year’s Exchange Art Scholarship. Sintia’s art allows her to be a story teller and practice perspective, proportions,
Letter to Editor | When public service meets public fury
A call for compassion at the ferry terminal ||| FROM ELISABETH BRITT, FIRE COMMISSIONER & ORCAS FERRY LANDING TERMINAL STAFF ||| On the morning of July 14th, I was assigned to manage vehicle boarding at our local ferry terminal—a task I had never performed before, and for which I received
An important update to OIGC Member’s Book Club
Please note: article released on Tuesday, July 15 about the OIGC Member's Book Club should have included reference to partnership with the Orcas Island Public Library for the Light Eaters event. ||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Calling all garden lovers and book enthusiasts! We're so excited to share
Jurors for July 21-25 duty are excused
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| JURY DUTY: JULY 21-25, 2025 All jurors summonsed for jury duty beginning Monday July 21st through Friday July 25th, are excused. Thank you.
San Juan County officially rejoins NWCAA
||| FROM NORTHWEST CLEAN AIR AGENCY ||| San Juan County is again part of the Northwest Clean Air Agency after action taken July 10 by the agency’s Board of Directors. Island, San Juan, Skagit, and Whatcom counties formed the Northwest Air Pollution Authority (now NWCAA) in 1967 under authority granted
Flotsam & Jetsam | Purses
||| FLOTSAM & JETSAM by MAURICE AUSTIN ||| Some three weeks ago, I watched my mother transfer the contents of her “small” purse into the depths of her “large” purse, a process which left me impressed with the capacity of this woman’s ability to plan for every biologic, socio-economic, and
A new era of hunger has begun
||| FROM NEW YORK TIMES ||| Parts of Easthampton, an old mill town in western Massachusetts, look like relics of industrial New England — the old workers’ rowhouses, for instance. In other parts, it seems like a place in renaissance, with converted factory buildings spruced up and reinhabited by art
Could giving this pod of dolphins the same legal rights as humans help keep them safe?
With a bottlenose population threatened by fishing gear, boats and pollution, campaigners on South Korea’s Jeju island are lobbying to extend legal status to the vulnerable cetaceans ||| FROM THE GUARDIAN ||| It is a beautiful sunny day on the island of Jeju in South Korea and as the boat
Port of Orcas to hold public meeting
||| FROM CHIP LONG for PORT OF ORCAS ||| PORT OF ORCAS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING The Port of Orcas Board of Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on Monday, July 28, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. at the airport terminal conference room, 147 Schoen Lane, Eastsound, WA 98245, to amend
West Sound fire now extinguished
||| FROM BEN LUNA for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| At 12:50 pm on July 14, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources formally closed the call for the West Sound Fire, which began on July 8. The fire has been fully extinguished, and all equipment, personnel and resources
Scientists use cutting-edge satellite technology to reveal dangers whales face on daily basis | ‘A growing concern’
||| FROM MSN.COM ||| A comprehensive, high-tech satellite map exposed the daily dangers whales face — and they're caused by humans. What's happening? With satellites, photo identification, and indigenous knowledge, over 50 research institutions around the world banded together to create whale migration maps. Founded in part by the World
As state heats up, Weather Service warns wildfire smoke headed to Whatcom County
||| FROM BELLINGHAM HERALD ||| Bellingham and Whatcom County residents could be seeing the first wildfire smoke of summer Monday night as most of Washington bakes in an extended heat wave. A heat advisory in in effect through Wednesday night for Western Washington, according to the National Weather Service in
It’s a stunning Scottish Isle. Good luck getting on or off
With aging ferries delayed sometimes for days, life goes haywire on an island in the Outer Hebrides ||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| The text message arrived with an ominous ping as I drove north through a rugged Scottish valley to catch the next day’s boat to the spectacular,
Orcas Center presents Bobby Bare Jr. and Mars FM in free summer concert
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center is excited to announce a special performance featuring Bobby Bare Jr. and Mars FM on Sunday, July 20, at 5:00 PM on the Village Green. This free event is part of the Summer Concert Series event presented by Orcas Center,
Olga Daze returns
Saturday, July 19 10:00am to 2:00pm ||| FROM SUSAN GORDON for OLGA DAZE ||| Festivities begin in front of the Community Center at 10:00am. Come for breakfast at the bake sale, featuring the world famous maple bars made on the spot. Stay for lunch then come back to the bake sale for dessert.
