Here’s a thought…
“Before we work on artificial intelligence, why don’t we do something about natural stupidity?”
READER BOARD
Sheriff’s Report | February 5 – 11, 2025
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5 25-000680 Found Property 12:00:48 02/05/25 An Orcas Island Deputy located found property in Eastsound. It was later reunited with the controlling party. 25-000692 Traffic Violation 22:04:03 02/05/25 A San Juan Deputy observed a vehicle driving erratically passed the Sheriff's
Sweeping US energy department layoffs hit offices of loans, nuclear security, sources say
Summary Layoffs hit nuclear offices in security and Cold War cleanup Some NNSA firings were rescinded, essentials can stay -source Loan Programs Office loses 45 workers, grid office 18 DOE has about 14,000 employees, 95,000 contractors ||| FROM REUTERS ||| WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The administration of U.S. President Donald
Prioritizing accessibility & connectivity, County launches newsletters & website update
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is pleased to announce new ways to stay connected to news and events as well as easier access to online information. Based on feedback from the 2024 Communications Survey, County staff are launching a series of new e-newsletters and a website
Last surviving female orca at Loro Parque is pregnant; Cycle of captivity continues
||| FROM WORLD ANIMAL NEWS ||| The announcement of Morgan’s pregnancy, the last surviving orca at Loro Parque in Spain, serves as a poignant and tragic reminder of the harsh realities faced by orcas in captivity. Throughout her life, Morgan has endured confinement and exploitation, and now, with the expectation
WSF Weekly Report | Electrification; public meetings; gender-neutral USCG titles; Issaquah now resides aboard Issaquah
||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| A message from Steve I often get asked a variation of this question: Why are we spending so much money on electrification instead of fixing existing problems? This is a fair question. The reality is, we must build 16 new ferries
Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
Welcome to our weekly feature, Occam's Razor, from local artist S.C. Watson.
Washington lawmaker proposes regulations for grocery self-checkout machines
House Bill 1739 would put requirements on when and how self-checkout stands could be used in grocery stores, including a limit of 15 items. Grocery clerks support the regulations, citing safety and workload concerns, while grocery stores believe they have a handle on things. ||| FROM ALBERT JAMES for OLYMPIA
Washington State Ferries answers concerns about staffing issues, sailing cancellations to KOMO-TV
||| FROM KOMO-TV NEWS ||| Wednesday morning, Washington State Ferries (WSF) started with a crew shortage issue that initially canceled all sailings after 7:15 a.m. on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route - just hours before the first of two community engagement meetings being held by WSF. The system, however, did find
Letter to Editor | When will lights go out?
||| FROM TOM OWENS ||| San Juan County is literally at the end of the road for our electric energy supplies. Our connection to mainland energy resources is aging and our peak loads are approaching the point where the failure of one cable could put us in the dark. We
Letter to Editor | Public Works moves forward with $1.2 million (and growing) storage yard on Shaw despite community resistance
||| FROM LYNN BAHRYCH, J.D., PhD. ||| San Juan County Public Works moves forward with $1.2 million (and growing) storage yard on Shaw Island despite community resistance. Once every seven years, the twelve miles of county road on Shaw Island is chip-sealed. In the past, it has been successfully accomplished
Guest Opinion | OPALCO has rung the bell
||| FROM BILL APPEL ||| Foster Hildreth, CEO of OPALCO, Vince Dauciunas, chair of its board, and Jay Kimball, consultant, appeared before our County Council in a work session on February 10, 2025, and alerted the Council of the need to act now to avert economic loss and injury to
Newly released PBS documentary features local scientist
||| FROM CONOR AGNEW for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| A newly released PBS documentary follows the work of a team of Antarctic researchers, including The Whale Museum’s Research Director Jessica Farrer. “Expedition Killer Whale” documents the study of the most sophisticated hunting strategy in the animal kingdom – killer whales
Jury Duty February 18-21? You’re excused
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| JURY DUTY: FEBRUARY 18-21, 2025 For the jury period beginning Tuesday, February 18th through Friday February 21st, all jurors are now excused.
Land Bank Updates | Agricultural leases approved on SJI & two future public hearings set
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| During [yesterday's ] meeting, Council spent time with Conservation Land Bank staff reviewing agricultural leases and setting public hearings to consider the conveyance of a conservation easement and the sale of a portion of the Frazer Homestead to the National Park Service. Approval
Orcas Center seeks a new Executive Director
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| After six successful years, Dimitri Stankevich is moving on to be the Director of Administration and Finance at Orcas Island Fire and Rescue. We are deeply grateful to Dimitri for his time leading Orcas Center through COVID and beyond, and we now
Cold weather advisory still in effect
||| NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ||| URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Seattle WA 557 AM PST Wed Feb 12 2025 San Juan County-Western Whatcom County- Including the cities of Friday Harbor and Bellingham 557 AM PST Wed Feb 12 2025 ...COLD WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PST
