Here’s a thought…
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
MARK TWAIN
Forester’s Notes | Times are tough
||| FROM KEVIN W. ZOBRIST, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY FORESTRY PROFESSOR ||| The excellent adventure of the Extension Forestry Program has become a bit of a bogus journey of late. We have been hit with significant budget cuts. A few months ago, we lost 40% of our state funding. On the
News Brief | Kelvin wave may bring sustained high sea levels on WA coast
||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| Expected to hit California in days, lifting sea levels by a half-foot or more and lingering for months a giant pulse of warm water, known as a Kelvin wave, is surging toward the West Coast. It doesn’t present a severe threat to Washington yet,
I’m Not the Church Lady | Marketing as a spiritual practice
Marketing as a Spiritual Practice ||| I'M NOT THE CHURCH LADY by ROSIE KUHN ||| I think maybe God has a Bingo cage. You know the kind—the big wire ball somebody cranks around at Bingo Night while everyone sits staring at their cards, waiting to see what number comes tumbling
OCS students learn from Orcas Island musician Jim Bredouw
||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| Students at Orcas Christian School had an opportunity to learn from one of Orcas Island’s longtime musicians and sound engineers when Jim Bredouw visited the school to share stories from his career, projects and music. Bredouw spoke with OCS middle and high school students
Library to feature art of Shawna Marie Franklin
||| FROM ANDREA COHEN for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Shawna Marie Franklin will be October’s featured artist at the Orcas Island Library. Her monoprints and paintings will be displayed in a show entitled Being with Kelp: Ongoing. The subject began as an artistic endeavor when Shawna’s kayaking career ended in
Emmanuel’s summer Market Day helps Orcas islanders all year
||| FROM LYNN BAKER for EMMANUEL EPISCOPAL CHURCH ||| Warm homes. Good food. Help in need. Services for seniors. And, for students, a chance to learn to fly. These are the gifts to Orcas islanders from shoppers at July’s Market Day, the annual rummage sale of Emmanuel Episcopal Church. From
Artworks featured artist for October is Maria Papademetriou
||| FROM B.J. ARNOLD for ORCAS ARTWORKS ||| Orcas artist Maria Papademetriou describes her work is a kind of visual storytelling used to create a narrative, mood,, or message. "My creative process is multilayered and intuitive, using found objects, ceramics, and old photographs. "From a very early age, 4 to
Midnight Mutterings | Hand II
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES ||| I’m calling this ‘Hand II because I think I wrote a column years earlier called ‘Hand’ about my brother’s serious injury to his right hand when he was eight years old that put him into an six+ hour surgery followed by months in
Plain talk on the budget
||| FROM JENNIFER SWANSON, CANDIDATE FOR COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 ||| During the course of my campaign for County Council, I have had countless conversations with people across the islands and have learned a great deal about their concerns. These conversations have given form to how I will, as councilmember,
Town of Friday Harbor Proclamation | Hope to live free of abuse
||| FROM TOWN OF FRIDAY HARBOR ||| PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, October is recognized nationally as Domestic Violence Awareness Month; and WHEREAS, domestic violence is a complex and pervasive public health crisis that affects individuals without regard to age, race, gender, education, religious, economic, or societal lines; and WHEREAS, domestic violence is
Supporting our strong community
||| FROM LINDSAY JENNINGS for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| Strong communities are built by people who choose to engage, learn, and lead, and this fall we have several ways to support that work on Orcas. In August, Eric Liu visited Orcas Island for our National Nonprofit Day program, Beyond
Getting to Know Katherine | People-first leadership & proven results
||| FROM KATHERINE BRYANT INGMAN FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY COUNCIL ||| Excellent council members bring neighbors together, build on community strengths, identify solutions by focusing on shared goals, and lead through change and crisis with empathy and compassion. I have a proven, professional track record of effective community facilitation, mediation,
Joint statement of Governor Bob Ferguson and Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller on west coast oil pipeline
||| FROM WASHINGTON GOVERNOR BOB FERGUSON ||| OLYMPIA — Governor Bob Ferguson and Washington Department of Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller offer the folllowing joint statement regarding the Oct. 1 decision by the Canadian Major Projects Office to list the West Coast Oil Pipeline as a “Project of National Interest”: "We
November 3, 2026, General Election Ballots | Vote! Sign! Ballot Box it!
All registered San Juan County voters will receive a ballot for the 2026 General Election. Ballots will be mailed on October 9 ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Mark your calendars for the upcoming General Election on November 3! Races for important Federal, State, and County positions will appear
In Memoriam | Doug Marshall
||| FROM MICHELL (MITCH) MARSHALL ||| It is difficult to find the words to say goodbye to someone who has been an important part of my life. My beloved husband, Doug Marshall, passed away on September 15 with me by his side. Doug Marshall Doug loved this island,
WSF Weekly Report | Reducing fleet age; week without driving challenge; Nevey’s 5-year anniversary
||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| A message from Steve Today marks my five-year anniversary at Washington State Ferries. I joined WSF in 2021 as operations director and stepped into my current role in the spring of 2024. When I arrived, we were facing unprecedented crew shortages
