Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
County awards $1.9M in lodging tax grant funds to local organizations
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| To kick off the new year, San Juan County is pleased to announce funding from the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) to local organizations, non-profits, County departments, and exciting new events. This year, core funding was awarded to 11 entities and additional funds
Needlework Circle at Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Join our weekly gathering for knitters, crocheters, embroiderers, and all needleworkers at Orcas Senior Center, every Friday at 2 p.m. Come hang out—no project required! Whether you haven’t knitted in years, want to learn to crochet, or just want to relax
Guest Opinion | A modest proposal
||| BY ROBERT AUSTIN ||| I have a modest proposal for 2025: let’s ban all political parties. Wait a moment, hear me out… candidates will discuss only their proposed policies and will detail which group of Americans they are intended to help or hinder, how much it will cost and
Researchers believe mother orca known for grieving 2018 newborn’s death has lost another calf
||| FROM PEOPLE.COM ||| Tahlequah, the killer whale who carried her dead calf and swam with him for 17 days in 2018, has likely suffered another loss. Per The Seattle Times, researchers believe the mother orca's newborn calf, who the Center for Whale Research discovered the calf on Friday, Dec. 20, and given
Joy of Middle Eastern Dance
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Join Middle Eastern dance classes with Robyn W. Gordon on Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. at Orcas Senior Center beginning January 8. Open to all ages and skill levels, these lessons are designed to suit individual paces, with foundational moves practiced continuously
Millions sing it each year on New Year’s. What are the lyrics and meaning to ‘Auld Lang Syne’?
||| FROM USA TODAY ||| Each year when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's, people around the world sing one song in unison. "Auld Lang Syne" has long been a hit at New Year's parties in the U.S. as people join together to ring in the new year, but
Take the plunge on New Years Day
||| FROM TOBY COOPER |||
Proposed ferry speed limits to protect whales ‘devastating’ to Nantucket economy
||| FROM MASS LIVE ||| Strict vessel speed restrictions proposed to protect right whales in Nantucket Sound would be devastating to the island’s economy and way of life if implemented, Steamship Authority board member Rob Ranney told The Inquirer and Mirror this week. “It would be crippling to Nantucket economically
Two newly elected county officials sworn in today
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is pleased to announce the swearing-in of two newly elected officials today. The County welcomes incoming County Council members Kari McVeigh and Justin Paulsen who will be part of shaping the future of our community. Councilmember Jane Fuller remains on
Guest Opinion | A wish for my community in 2025
||| BY ELISABETH ROBSON ||| Growth and Overshoot Growth, the basis of our local and the global economy, will not continue much longer. There are many intersecting reasons for this, but all can be described with one word: overshoot. What is overshoot? It is a word that describes how we humans
Art with Carla at Orcas Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Unleash your creativity at "Art with Carla" every Friday, 1-3 pm at Orcas Senior Center. Led by experienced artist Carla Stanley, this lighthearted class focuses on the creative process with a strong belief in your artistic potential, regardless of skill level.
New 2025 WA laws include minimum wage increase, expanded paid sick leave
||| FROM FOX 13 NEWS ||| WASHINGTON - Several new laws in Washington state will go into effect in 2025, impacting general workers and health care. Key changes include stronger protection for health care workers, such as a ban on mandatory overtime in certain settings, expanded rights for app-based workers and a new paid sick leave
Midnight Mutterings | Wet Christmas
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES ||| Not sure there’s a song about that. I know there is a White Christmas, a Blue Christmas, but I don’t recall a Wet Christmas song. Wet and Windy, but not too cold. That’s what we have this year though. And I’m not really
Sheriff’s Report | December 18 – 23, 2024
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18 24-008039 Fraud 12:38:39 12/18/24 A Lopez Island Deputy was dispatched to a Fraud call. The incident was documented. 24-008043 Unconscious ALS 15:27:34 12/18/24 Deputies on San Juan Island responded to a report of a vehicle accident where the driver
LWVSJ Observer Corps | County Council December 23, 2024
||| FROM NECIA QUAST for LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS ||| The Council approved the revised Lodging Tax Advisory Committee recommendation for 2025 destination marketing services agreement for one year with the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau with a flat fee of $535k which represented an 8% nominal cut in funding vs. the
These undersea tunnels connect remote islands halfway between Iceland and Scotland
||| FROM CNN.COM ||| In the Faroe Islands, wild, unpredictable weather — fierce winds and rain, and thick fog that settles like a curtain — can sometimes make travel by car or ferry problematic. No wonder the Faroese love their tunnels. They’ve built 17 of them on land and four
