Here’s a thought…
“It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.”
JIM ROHN
New winter sailing schedule for San Juans
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| Vehicle reservations for the winter 2025 schedule (Dec. 29 through Mar. 22) will be available one week from today at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29. To ensure a smooth and fair experience during this high-demand period, we will continue using a virtual waiting room. Anacortes/San Juan
Island Ways | Crew shortages cause several slow boat cancellations on Nantucket
Orcas and Nantucket Islands are each roughly the same size and the same distance off their respective coasts. We share the same concerns about the high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, tourist management, ferry problems and environmental degradation. We are living on opposite ends of the country but
Letter to Editor | Right person at the right time
||| FROM LEITH TEMPLIN ||| When I vote in an election, I look at the candidates, the position and who is best qualified. I generally know the people running so this is not about personalities or friendships; it's about who is the best person for the job right now. Rick
Letters to Editor | Why I support Rick Hughes’ candidacy
||| FROM JAN EHRLICHMAN ||| I’ve lived through many campaigns, and I know the commitment and hard work that is required when someone runs for office. I have a lot of respect for Rick Hughes and Justin Paulsen who have spent the last many months campaigning so that they can
Pea Patch community campus update
REPORT BACK TO COMMUNITY ON SITE DESIGN – OCT 29, 2024 SOLAR MICROGRID FEASIBILITY STUDY SEEKS COMMUNITY FEEDBACK ||| FROM SUZANNE OLSON, PEA PATCH PROJECT LEAD ||| More than ten months after purchasing eleven acres on Pea Patch Lane for a community services campus, the collaboration of OPAL Community Land
Letter to Editor | Does Land Bank affect other property taxes?
||| FROM RON WHALEN ||| Is the connection between property values and property taxes too much to grasp? The Land Bank fealty expound on the other causes of rising property taxes but neglect to address the sentence below taken from the Land Bank web site. Being near conservation land boosts
In Memoriam | Valerie Binford
||| FROM SUSAN BINFORD ||| Valerie Binford Valerie Binford, 83, a long-time resident of Orcas Island, passed away Tuesday, October 15, at her home in Deer Harbor, WA. A beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother (Nana), friend, colleague and innkeeper, Valerie has a forever place in the hearts
Invest in Unbiased Local Political Discourse | Support League of Women Voters & SanJuans.Today
||| FROM ED ANDREWS for PAULSEN 4 COUNCIL ||| Friends, Neighbors, and Supporters of all candidates, We have reached the point in the campaign where things are winding down. The last of eight forums wrapped up this past weekend. Final meetings are scheduled. Ads are running. Last minute expenses are
Letter to Editor | Response to O’Day supporters
||| FROM AMANDA AZOUS ||| Dear Stephanie O’Day Supporters, Many of us are aware of misinformation circulating recently about Stephanie O’Day, her team’s postings and their effect on our community. 1. The Land Bank and Affordable Housing tax is paid by buyers of property in our county. If we vote
Health Care District Board Meeting
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT BOARD ||| The Orcas Island Health Care District Board will hold the regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday, October 23rd from 5:00 - 7:00 PM in the Community Room at the Orcas Island Library, 500 Rose Street, Eastsound. The agenda and board packet are posted below. Agenda 02.
Land Bank seeks input on Draft Stewardship Management Plan
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank is seeking public input on its recently completed Draft Stewardship and Management Plan (SMP) for North Shore Preserve on Orcas Island. The purpose of this SMP is to identify overarching goals and management objectives for the
Community Development leadership provides Fall update
Permit reviews, long-term projects, and ongoing recruitments ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| During today’s workshop Council meeting, staff from the Department of Community Development (DCD) provided a progress update since the Council approved a series of steps to improve services in July. “There’s still a lot of frustration out there
Letter to Editor | Hughes brings experience, enthusiasm, empathy
||| FROM MANDI JOHNSON ||| Knowing Rick for nine years, I can't think of anyone better to represent Orcas on the San Juan County Council than Rick Hughes. In 2020, I wholeheartedly endorsed Rick in an editorial, this time in a letter. Rick brings experience, enthusiasm and empathy. While serving
Letter to Editor | I fully endorse Rick Hughes for County Council
||| FROM DONNA & MATTHEW LASLO ||| Now is not the time for inexperience or popularity contests. With two out of three County Council members leaving after only one term and a new county manager stepping in, we are at a critical juncture. What we need now more than ever
Community Conversation
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY CONSERVATION LAND BANK ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank will host our Fall 2024 Community Conversation Thursday - October 24, 2024 from 6:00pm – 7:30pm via Zoom. The meeting will also be available for in person public attendance at the San Juan Islands Conservation District conference
Annual Indian Island report card now available
||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT ||| Kwiaht’s 2024 annual update on ecosystem health and change at Indian Island and the surrounding eelgrass meadows and beaches is now available for free download from Kwiaht’s website. Most of the trends that Kwiaht reported in 2023 have continued, such as declines in
