Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
In major shift, Northwest Tribes — not U.S. officials — will control salmon recovery funds
||| FROM PROPUBLICA.COM ||| When the Biden administration said it had reached a “historic” legal deal with Northwest Indigenous tribes last week to save endangered salmon, no one could agree on what it meant for the tribes’ costliest and most controversial demand: the removal of four hydroelectric dams that hinder
Newborn orca spotted near Seattle off Bainbridge Island
||| FROM KUOW.ORG ||| Beachgoers and whale researchers were excited to spot a newborn calf swimming with the Northwest’s endangered orcas on Tuesday near Seattle. “Oh my gosh,” schoolteacher Neil Davis said, standing on the beach at Fay Bainbridge Park on Bainbridge Island as a group of southern resident killer
Analysis of Northwest, other salmon hatcheries finds nearly all hurt wild salmon populations
More than 200 studies across 40 years revealed large-scale salmon hatchery programs weaken wild salmon diversity and lead to wild population declines ||| FROM OREGON CAPITAL CHRONICLE ||| For much of the last century, fish hatcheries have been built in the Northwest, across the U.S. and around the world to
Don’t forget to take the Land Bank’s strategic plan survey by January 6
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Land Bank staff and commissioners are seeking broad community input by hosting a month-long, anonymous survey. Click here to begin the survey or visit the Engage platform: engage.sanjuancountywa.gov/land-bank-strategic-plan. The survey takes 10 minutes to complete and includes questions about potential future acquisitions and stewardship priorities, including
Nominations open for OPALCO board positions
||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| It’s that time of year when OPALCO members step up to run for the Board of Directors. Nominations are now open for the 2024 election with two positions open: one in District 2 (Orcas, Armitage, Blakely, Obstruction, Big Double,
Investigation of mid-November hunting accident on Lopez Island concludes
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office is sharing an update regarding the completed investigation of the November 18 hunting accident on Lopez Island. The evidence gathered lead to the determination that there was no probable cause that a crime was committed, there was
Socrates Cafe to continue into 2024
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Socrates Café @ Orcas Senior Center – Wednesday, January 3, 1 pm Join us every first Wednesday of the month at 1 pm, following Senior Lunch, for Socrates Café—an inclusive gathering where individuals with diverse perspectives come together to discuss intriguing
Orcas Island Garden Club opens grant process
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| The purpose of the Orcas Island Garden Club is to stimulate knowledge and love of gardening, to cooperate in the protection and conservation of nature, and to assist in the beautification of the community. Giving grants to organizations within our community is one
Dec 30: Jazzin’ with the Classics for Christmas on Orcas at Emmanuel
||| FROM CANDLELIGHT CONCERTS NORTHWEST ||| In our first post-pandemic Jazzin' with the Classics for Christmas, artists and friends from classical and jazz realms meld their musical perspectives and personalities for the fourteenth (!) year at Emmanuel Parish in Eastsound in this unusual collaboration and festive celebration of the Yuletide
Full Moon Tarot | We seek help and learn our natures but it’s not yet time to leap
||| FULL MOON TAROT by NIK SCHULZ ||| December 26, 2023–January 25, 2024 Here’s my interpretation for what Spirit offers for the coming lunar cycle starting on December 26th. Seeking help and really looking into what we want and how to get our needs met is great. Taking a leap
Upcoming movement classes at Orcas Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Feldenkrais/Eurythmy Class @ Orcas Senior Center: Tuesdays in January at 11 am Join Andrea Preiss, a seasoned Feldenkrais Practitioner and therapeutic eurythmist, for a relaxing movement class at Orcas Senior Center this January. Sessions take place on Tuesdays at 11 am, excluding
Community Church invites you to worship in upcoming services
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY CHURCH ||| The Orcas Island Community Church will be will be having their scheduled worship service at 10 am on Christmas Eve, December 24. In the evening, join us for our traditional Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 6 pm to celebrate the amazing birth of Jesus
Sheriff’s Report | December 14 – 20, 2023
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14 23-009500 Domestic Dispute or Assault 13:52:54 12/14/23 San Juan Deputies responded to a report of a domestic. An individual was arrested and booked for felony harassment - DV. 23-009508 Assault - Body Force 23:53:09 12/14/23 A Deputy on Orcas
As the Paradigm Shifts | The re-enchantment of our inner-Santa
||| AS THE PARADIGM SHIFTS by ROSIE KUHN ||| At this time of year, we are celebrating the presence of miracles. We are celebrating the coming of the light. We are celebrating the potentiality for peace, an engaged presence, love, joy, harmony. We imagine the possibility. We hope for the
Letter to Editor | Should we take the ferry situation into our own hands?
||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| POSTED AT REQUEST OF THE COMMUNITY WATER TAXI ||| The sorry shape of the Washington State Ferries fleet increasingly leaves riders stranded. The crisis belongs to those state officials who responded, for more than a decade, with little more than feckless shrugs — all while
