Here’s a thought…
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and the government when it deserves it.”
MARK TWAIN
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.
Friday Night Writes
||| FROM SAM GAILEY for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Not just another Friday, but a Friday Night Writes! Working on a novel, short story, poem, or song? Need a little encouragement and guidance? Please join me and other island writers in a creative and supportive space. A few writing coaches
Where are you going, Orcas Senior Center?
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| You probably know that Orcas Senior Center (OSC) is raising money to purchase San Juan County’s 49% interest of the building. In 1999, OSC undertook construction of the senior center building at 62 Henry Road in Eastsound. At the time, the
Resiliency planning for San Juan Islands included in transformational $73.6MM-Federal Climate Award
||| FROM ELISE COPE for FRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS ||| In a groundbreaking step towards protecting the future of the San Juan Islands, the Samish Indian Nation and Friends of the San Juans are excited to announce that they have been awarded $499,000 as part of a transformative $73.6
Farm Funding Workshop
Farm Funding Workshop September 10th helps San Juan County farmers find grant funding to support their farming enterprises ||| FROM REBECCA MOORE for WSU EXTENSION ||| Join a free farm funding grant workshop hosted by WSU San Juan Extension at Skagit Valley College on San Juan Island, on September 10th,
Letter to Editor | McVeigh checks all the boxes
||| FROM MAUREEN SEE ||| Kari McVeigh brings all the right characteristics to the table: integrity, intelligence, compassion, the art of collaboration, and leadership. She is the right person, at the right time to bring transparency back to our local government. The community shares her values as does our elected
SJC diversity, equity, inclusion, & belonging survey sets baseline for ongoing change
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| During a special Council meeting on August 28, County staff and councilmembers reviewed findings from the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Survey and related focus groups. With approximately 56% of employees participating in the data collection process, the initial data sets the
Letter to Editor | Time for Teri to resign
||| FROM MICHAEL RIORDAN, FRED KLEIN, AND ROBERT AUSTIN ||| We hereby call for the resignation of Teri Nigretto from the Board of Directors of the Eastsound Water Users Association. Her almost-daily drumbeat of letters emailed to the EWUA membership have been impugning the character and motivations of former board
Orcas challenge the Bering Sea’s black cod industry
||| FROM KUCB NEWS ||| Black cod fishermen in the Bering Sea have reported an increase in orcas taking their catch off their fishing lines in recent years. Orca depredation isn't just a costly headache for fishermen — it can be dangerous for orcas, too. Jeb Morrow has been long-lining
Washington state ferry cancellations cripple service before the busy Labor Day weekend
||| FROM KOMO NEWS ||| SEATTLE — Headed into the last summer holiday of 2024 when thousands plan to take a ferry, cancellations and delays alter many routes operated by Washington State Ferries (WSF). WSF announced that the Seattle/Bainbridge route is operating on a one-boat service due to a crew shortage on
U.S. officials plan to kill hundreds of thousands of barred owls to save another species from extinction
||| FROM PBS.ORG ||| To save the imperiled spotted owl from potential extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are embracing a contentious plan to deploy trained shooters into dense West Coast forests to kill almost a half-million barred owls that are crowding out their smaller cousins. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Letter to Editor | O’Day has a working knowledge of the law
||| FROM CARLA J. HIGGINSON ||| I am a fifth generation islander and have been practicing law in San Juan County for the past 44 years. I write this letter in support of Stephanie O’Day as a candidate for County Council. I first met Stephanie 33 years ago when she
Larsen co-sponsors bill for summer meals for kids
Larsen, Peltola and Smith Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Combat Childhood Hunger, Expand Access to Meals Outside of Regular School Hours ||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reps. Rick Larsen (D-WA), Mary Peltola (D-AK) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) introduced the Summer Meals Act of 2024, a bipartisan
Letter to Editor | Rick Hughes’ leadership is exactly what is needed
||| FROM JONATHAN WELCH ||| I'd like to thank my Campaign Manager Julie Remington, Jeff Noedel of CNL2.com and the voters of San Juan County. While my race is over, I am now endorsing Rick Hughes for San Juan County Council district #2. I have known Rick for years. Our
Taliban reject UN concerns over laws banning women’s voices and bare faces in public
||| FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS ||| ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban on Monday rejected concerns and criticism raised by the United Nations over new vice and virtue laws that ban women in Afghanistan from baring their faces and speaking in public places. Roza Otunbayeva, who heads the U.N. mission in the country, UNAMA,
7 steps to what a real renewable energy transition looks like
Historically, an overhaul for humanity's energy system would take hundreds or many thousands of years. The rapid shift to cleaner, more sustainable sources of power generations will easily be the most ambitious enterprise our species has ever undertaken. ||| FROM COMMON DREAMS.ORG Humanity’s transition from relying overwhelmingly on fossil fuels
