Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
Public Health Hot Topic | Happy and healthy holidays
Public health tips about respiratory illness prevention, food safety, and mental health resources. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| As the holidays approach, we want to take a moment to remember some healthy habits to ensure you enjoy the most out of this season! Gather Safely: Tips to Prevent
OPALCO Board passes 2026 budget and rates
||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| The 2026 OPALCO annual budget was approved at the November 20 board meeting including changes to the rate structure and a ~6% rate increase for residential members. This works out to an increase of approximately $12/month for the average
End of year town hall event with Councilmember Jane Fuller
There will be an opportunity for questions, answers, and a discussion following a presentation. All are welcome! ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| As the year winds down, Councilmember Fuller will be holding a Town Hall meeting at the Lopez Community Center on December 4th to share an update
Official notice of San Juan County canvassing board meeting for recount
The San Juan County Canvassing Board will convene at 8:30 am on December 1, 2025 to set the date and time of a manual recount of the votes cast during the 2025 General Election for the office of Lopez Park and Recreation District Commissioner No. 5. ||| FROM SAN JUAN
Celebrate Taylor Swift’s birthday with tribute band at Orcas Center
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| On Taylor Swift's birthday, Orcas Center is hosting 13 Til Midnight, a Taylor Swift Tribute Band, on the main stage. Fans can see the show at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13. A children’s choir led by Laura Jean Miller will
Jurors for December 1-5 are excused
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| JURY DUTY: December 1-5, 2025 All jurors summonsed for the week beginning Monday, December 1st through Friday, December 5th, 2025, are excused. Thank you.
News Brief | ’Tis the season for shopping, scams, and stolen savings
||| FROM MALWARE BYTES ||| Holiday scams don’t just steal money or data—they steal peace of mind. During the holidays, the financial and emotional fallout of being scammed lands harder—spoiling plans, straining trust, and adding anxiety to what should be the happiest time of the year. Read our Holiday Threat
No Place Like Loam | Winter Garden: What my Grandfather’s war garden still teaches me – Part 2
||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYO-WOLF ||| Mom asks why I’m always up so early, out there in the wind, picking greens for a smoothie as if I’m feeding some phantom army. My answer isn’t dramatic. It’s embarrassingly simple: I want to stay alive long enough to matter. I
Auditions coming up for all-kid production at Orcas Center
||| FROM COLLEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center is producing an all-kids musical theater show that will run in early spring. Auditions for “How to Eat like a Child” are on Dec. 2 at 3:30 p.m. in the Madrona Room. Callbacks are Friday, Dec. 5 at 3:30
Fill Food Bank donation barrels at Island Market and Co-op
||| FROM CALI BAGBY for ORCAS. ISLAND FOOD BANK ||| Orcas Island Food Bank donation barrels are at Island Market and the Orcas Food Co-op. “We’re so grateful for the Market’s community spirit, dedication to keeping every table full, and vision for a stronger, thriving island,” says Amanda Sparks, food
Get Scrooged for the holidays with Actors Theater
||| FROM TOM FISCUS for ACTORS THEATER OF ORCAS ISLAND The Actor’s Theater of Orcas Island is proud to continue its holiday tradition of a radio version of a classic Christmas show. This year we are presenting our radio version of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. There are only
Larsen fights to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) released the following statement after signing a discharge petition that will force a vote in the House of Representatives to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits if the petition reaches 218
News Brief | How billionaires took over American politics
||| FROM THE WASHINGTON POST ||| The concentration of wealth among the richest Americans is unlike anything in history — and so is billionaires’ influence in politics. In an era defined by major political divisions and massive wealth accumulation for the richest Americans, billionaires are spending unprecedented amounts on U.S.
News Brief | Indoor firing ranges exacerbate blast waves
||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| The brain is a delicate network of about 100 trillion connections with a consistency close to Jell-O, and how blasts affect that network is still poorly understood. Experts don’t yet know what level of blast can damage the tissue, or whether blasts that
News Brief | A tribally owned network of chargers will soon be complete in the Dakotas
||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| Over the past three years, Standing Rock has installed chargers across the reservation as part of the Electric Nation project, a regional effort to create an intertribal charging network. By the time the project wraps at the end of November, Standing Rock Nation
News Brief | Home prices on a warming planet
||| FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES ||| “Homeowners don’t appreciate or don’t understand that we are living in a much riskier world than we were 25 years ago. And that risk? They have to pay for it.” Researchers found that a rapid repricing of disaster risk had been responsible for
