Here’s a thought…
“If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.”
WILLIAM L. MCKNIGHT
Letter to Editor | Please vote in uncontested elections
||| FROM BILL APPEL ||| Some complain that they should be asked to vote without a named opponent (of course you can always write in your own). But there are two good reasons for voting in uncontested elections: No opposition may indicate that the job is burdensome and thankless. If
Orcas Island Clothing Bank returns for 31st year this Fall
||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| The Clothing Bank is returning to Orcas Island this fall for its 31st year and will be open Nov. 1–2. In its early days in 1994, the Clothing Bank was held at the Odd Fellows Hall in town before later moving to the Orcas
County Council to travel to Orcas Island for upcoming November 4 meeting
||| FrOM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County Council will hold its regularly scheduled November 4 meeting on Orcas Island. The public is invited to join the three councilmembers and County staff at the meeting at the Orcas Island Fire Station Meeting Room beginning at 10:30 am. What:
Library series | Doo wop, shoo bop, ding dong, and $30 Billion later
||| FROM SAM GAILEY for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Rock & Roll didn’t just change music — it changed everything. Join Bruce Langford at the Orcas Island Public Library for a four-part crash course in the sound that shaped America. Free lecture series, Wednesdays October 29, November 5, 12,19 at
2025 vacation rental (VR) certification cycle Is now open
||| FROMM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| If you operate a vacation rental, it’s time to certify your compliance with County code to maintain your permit through the end of 2026. The 2025 vacation rental certification of compliance process is open until December 31, 2025. Vacation rental permit holders or
Guest Opinion | Fire Commissioner breaks down reasons to support levy
||| FROM ELISABETH BRITT ||| A bond ensures accountability, long-term funding for critical equipment, and respects the community’s history of rejecting permanent levies. As commissioners for Orcas Island Fire & Rescue, we are responsible for ensuring that the district has the reliable equipment and facilities needed to protect lives and property.
Ferry Alert | Vehicle reservations for the winter season open Oct 28 at 10am
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| Reminder: Vehicle reservations for the winter 2025 schedule (Dec. 28, 2025, through March 21, 2026) will be available tomorrow at 10 a.m. To ensure a smooth and fair experience during this high-demand period, we will also continue using a virtual waiting room during the
Island Stewards | As the veil thins, before the snow flies
||| If our previous dispatch was about noticing what’s straining, this one’s about celebrating what’s sustaining! The tides keep shifting, the plans keep unfolding, yet the spirit of these islands endures—resilient, adapting, and alive. Fall rains bring a quieter kind of work: the kind that happens around tables, in kitchens,
Commercial burn permits open Oct. 27 in San Juan County
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Effective today, October 27, 2025, Commercial Burn Permits are open in San Juan County. Commercial burns include yard debris and vegetation in piles greater than 10 feet in diameter. Commercial burns are typically conducted by contractors to reduce the amount of waste created
There’s No Place Like Loam | Less sugar, more soul: Making maple syrup at home in the Pacific Northwest
How to tap a bigleaf maple, boil down rain into sugar, and taste what the Northwest keeps to itself. ||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYA-WOLF ||| My daughter was getting bored with our usual forest walks--too much Latin, not enough adventure and wonder. So I asked, “Do you
Cold Weather? | 10 banned books you want to read
||| FROM REAL SIMPLE ||| Books are essential. Storytelling allows us to fill in the gaps of history, gain new perspectives, and orient ourselves and our place in the universe. Ironically, the power of books is affirmed by the recent efforts to suppress them. In 2023, the number of book
Letter to Editor | Arctic Pie Surprise
||| FROM DAN GOTTLIEB ||| Arctic Pie Surprise Prep time: 4.7 billion yearsCook time: 260 yearsTotal time: 4,700,000,260 years Ingredients: Oil companies (see our cartel recipe) Mining companies (yup, here too) Adulterated media outlets (ditto) One heaping cup of various corporate support entities with lobbyists–available under most slimy rocks Graft Two
News Brief | Critically endangered North Atlantic right whale making a comeback
||| FROM SCIENCE ALERT ||| It's not yet time to take our foot off the gas, conservation-wise. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY SCIENCE ALERT Researchers at the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium have shared that in 2024, the population increased by just over 2 percent compared to 2023. Read full article
Watercolor, drumming, needlework at Orcas Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Experience the Joy of Drumming! Discover the joy of drumming with the Spirit of Drumming Group at Orcas Senior Center Thursdays at 1:30 p.m.! This beginner-friendly group focuses on exploring the elements of drumming. There’s no cost to participate—just bring a
News Brief | New underwater technology could give scientists a direct line to orcas
||| FROM KING-TV ||| "There are fiber optic cables everywhere, that's why we get internet. But we can basically use the same fiber for monitoring marine mammals." ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY KING-TV If successful, it could transform the thousands of miles of fiber-optic infrastructure already crisscrossing Puget Sound and oceans worldwide
Orcas Center fall fundraiser | Beatles, Burgers and Brew
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Before the last two Saturday performances of Magical Mystery Tour — Nov. 15 and 22 — join Orcas Center for a “Beatles, Burgers, and Brew” dinner fundraiser. For $49, you will enjoy a meal by the Lower Tavern, beverage and a
