Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
What’s next for Public Works? Council reviews future projects
This six-year plan guides the Public Works Department as it manages new and ongoing projects. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is once again reviewing the Public Works Department’s Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the Annual Construction Program (ACP). The TIP guides the Public Works Department
County issues proclamation in recognition of National Disability Employment Awareness Month
The proclamation celebrates the valuable contributions of individuals with disabilities who strengthen our workforce and our communities. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| During the October 7 meeting, the Council issued a proclamation recognizing October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. The proclamation celebrates the valuable contributions of individuals
Building the Team | SJC welcomes new DCD Director, Fire Marshal, Public Defender
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is pleased to welcome a new Director for the Department of Community Development, a Fire Marshal, and Public Defender. These new additions will help strengthen the County’s workforce and improve the organizations' ability to serve the public. Director of
Help Rotary end polio
||| FROM BARBARA MERRETT ||| World Polio Day, October 24 is a time for all who want a world free from polio to come together in support of Rotary International’s over 35-year mission to eradicate the crippling disease. To that end, the Rotary Club of the San Juan Islands annually contributes to
Guest Opinion | The time to establish a Lopez Island Park and Recreation District is now
The time to establish a Lopez Island Park and Recreation District is now. ||| FROM JANE FULLER ||| To my fellow Lopez Islanders, As your San Juan County Council member and mother of a recent graduate (2025) of the Lopez Island K-12 School, I am writing to share with you
Orcas islander Jasmine Ikeda released from Israeli prison
||| FROM KING-5 TV ||| Jasmine Ikeda was one of over 400 detained while attempting to break Gaza blockade on humanitarian flotilla. Just days after her release, a ceasefire deal was announced. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY KING-5 TV "It feels great," she said, still visibly exhausted. "Relief. And I think once
Orca survey 2025 census update
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Fifty years ago, Orca Survey set out on a simple but ambitious mission: to track and understand more about the Southern Resident killer whales. In 2025, we are proud to share the 50th Orca Survey Census. As Dr. Michael Weiss, Research Director at
Columbus: In his own words
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One simple thing you can do to avoid Microplastics: They are everywhere
||| FROM THE WASHINGTON POST ||| As scientists zero in on the sources of microplastics — and how they get into human bodies — one factor stands out. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE WASHINGTON POST Microplastics, studies increasingly show, are released from exposure to heat. READ FULL ARTICLE
Before the Door Closes | Autumn dispatch from Island Stewards
||| FROM ISLAND STEWARDS ||| We’ve spent the past months doing what islanders do best — paying attention. To ferry lines that lengthened again this summer. To parking lots that overflowed while long-time residents searched for a place to live — or simply to breathe. To cedars shedding heavily at
Join new DCD Director and Councilmembers at upcoming land-use meetings
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| This fall, County staff and officials, including the County’s new Director of Community Development, will attend land-use committee meetings on Lopez and Orcas Islands to engage with the public, receive feedback, and answer questions. New DCD Director Visits Lopez and Orcas Sev
Student election results announced at Orcas Christian High School
||| FROM LILLI S. for ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| On Oct. 2, 2025, four Orcas Christian High School students ran for positions in the Student Association. The candidates included Maria Burns, a 12th grader, who ran for president; and three students who ran for vice president — Lula Segault, an
No Place Like Loam | Growing wine grapes in Seattle? Part 1
Finding wine-growing promise in a place that doesn’t give it away ||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYO-WOLF ||| Growing wine grapes west of the Cascades isn’t for the faint of heart. The rain comes hard, the summers vanish in a blink, and the soil won’t give you an
Guest Opinion | Celebrating National Coming Out Day
||| FROM JUSTIN PAULSEN ||| First celebrated in the United States in 1988, National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBTQ awareness day observed each October 11th to support anyone "coming out of the closet". The day recognizes the first anniversary of the historic 1987 LGBTQ March on Washington, and
News Brief | Plan to beam ‘Sunlight on Demand’ at night sparks concerns
||| FROM SCIENCE ALERT ||| In the same way you can bounce sunlight off a watch face to produce a spot of light, Reflect Orbital's satellites would use mirrors to beam light onto a patch of Earth. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY SCIENCE ALERT If a single 54 metre satellite is 15,000
Wind advisory in effect tonight, tomorrow morning
||| FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ||| URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Seattle WA 1017 AM PDT Sun Oct 12 2025 San Juan County-Lowlands of Western Whatcom County- Including Bellingham and Friday Harbor 1017 AM PDT Sun Oct 12 2025 ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM THIS
