Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
Letter to Editor | Good news? Chelan remains on SJI route
||| FROM BOB DISTLER ||| As I reported on Tuesday evening the 12th, WSF’s reservations website indicated—as it had for some time—that beginning the next day, the 90-car Sealth would replace the 124-car Chelan on four of six daily round trips between Anacortes and Orcas. Come Wednesday, however, the online information was changed to
“O Come” to lessons and carols at Emmanuel
||| FROM LYNN BAKER for EMMANUEL CHURCH ||| This Sunday, Dec. 17, at 5 p.m., Emmanuel Church will resound with Christmas in a Lessons and Carols service. You are invited to come, sing, and hear the stories. “This is really my favorite service of the year,” said Marianne Lewis, Emmanuel’s
2024 Annual Docket: Public invited to submit requests for amendments to SJC Comp. Plan & Codes
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County Council is beginning the “Annual Docket of Comprehensive Plan Amendments” or “Docket” process where the public is invited to propose changes, updates, or edits to the San Juan County Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Code (UDC). The deadline for submissions
Washington State Ferries delayed by outage to electronic fares
||| FROM MYNORTHWEST.COM ||| Washington State Ferries (WSF) is facing yet another setback in a series of boat shortages and delays. A network outage caused serious delays at terminals Thursday morning. WSF announced that an “unplanned outage to our entire electronic fare system” that started Thursday was forcing employees to
Guest Opinion | Why is San Juan County not talking about Ecological Overshoot? Part 3
||| FROM ELISABETH ROBSON ||| Part 1:theorcasonian.com/guest-opinion-why-is-san-juan-county-not-talking-about-ecological-overshoot/ Part 2: theorcasonian.com/guest-opinion-why-is-san-juan-county-not-talking-about-ecological-overshoot-part-2/ What should we do? That is the question we ask ourselves when we think about wicked problems like ecological overshoot. The three speakers who presented in recent weeks at the Ecological Overshoot Speaker Series talked about what ecological overshoot is, how
Olga Strawberry Council is holding annual meeting in January 2024
||| FROM LINDA ELDER for OLGA STRAWBERRY COUNCIL ||| As we move into the holiday season and the end of this year, it’s time to reflect on what was accomplished in 2023 and what is planned in 2024. In view of this, the Olga Strawberry Council has scheduled its open-to-the-public
You may not see this 2023 Floating Jammie Jam anywhere else
||| FROM ANITA ORNE for FLOATING UKULELES and PAJAMAS ||| It’s that time again! The Floating Ukulele Jam Holiday Jammie Jam is on! Grab your uke, your pajamas, your voice, a song (holiday or otherwise) to share, and your friends, neighbors, and relations and join us on the interisland ferry
San Juan Island plastic film recycling program needs your help
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County encourages the public to be careful and thoughtful when utilizing the plastic film recycling program. The first batch of plastic film since the recycling drop-off location at Marketplace was added in July was delivered to Lautenbach Recycling in Ferndale earlier
Town is thrilled by Harbor Life Ring 2023 November donations
||| FROM MAYOR RAYMENT C. JACKSON for THE TOWN OF FRIDAY HARBOR ||| The Town of Friday Harbor extends our sincerest gratitude to the community for your continued support of the Harbor Life Ring Program, your confidence in the work of the Friday Harbor Food Bank and your generosity during
Orcas Bakery bread subscriptions now good for 10 years
||| FROM ORCAS BAKERY ||| Based on community feedback, all Orcas Bakery founding membership bread subscriptions are now redeemable for 10 years (up from two). Bagel, cookie, and granola subscriptions are also good for a decade. We are launching a sourdough bakery on Orcas Island and need your help. Orcas Bakery
Tokitae’s death surfaced orcas’ complicated history in the PNW
The death of the whale at a Miami amusement park just before her planned release highlighted the species’ fraught relationship with humans. ||| FROM THE COLUMBIAN ||| The orca has become the symbol of the Pacific Northwest, perhaps even more so than the salmon they eat. Several events this year
Quiet Sound says more vessels joining Puget Sound slowdown
||| FROM WORKBOAT.COM ||| Organizers of Washington State’s Quiet Sound project say they have recruited more vessel operators to the second year of a voluntary, seasonal slowdown of shipping to help protected endangered killer whales in Puget Sound. Organized by Washington Maritime Blue, a broad cooperative effort by maritime businesses, environmental groups, tribes
Letter to Editor | Good luck getting to America for the holidays
||| FROM BOB DISTLER ||| For those Orcas islanders trying to get to Anacortes and back using Washington State Ferries, an unannounced vessel change takes effect this Wednesday, the 13th for the rest of December. The m/v Sealth, with a maximum vehicle capacity of 90 cars, is replacing the 124-car Chelan on four daily round
Orcas Fire Commission in special meeting on Tuesday
||| FROM KAT BARNARD for SJC FIRE DISTRICT #2 ||| The SJC Fire Protection District #2 Board of Fire Commissioners invites you to a Special Meeting on Tuesday, December 12th, at 9:00 a.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall or on Zoom (link below and in the attachment). Please review the agenda attached.
Salish Sea Early Music Festival will return for new season
||| FROM SALISH SEA EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL ||| Welcome to the 2024 Salish Sea Early Music Festival! Please join fabulous Northwest favorites baroque guitarist Stephen Stubbs, harpsichordist Elisabeth Wright, viola da gambist Susie Napper, and violinists David Greenberg and Carrie Krause, along with other favorite musicians including guitarist Oleg Timofeyev, violinist Elisabeth
Attention Farmers, Ranchers | Land Bank farmland lease opportunities on San Juan
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Land Bank requests proposals from farmers or agricultural/food systems organizations interested in a long-term agricultural lease of its Frazer Homestead and/or Beaverton Marsh Preserves on San Juan Island. Frazer Homestead Preserve: This property includes up to 50 acres of farmland,
