Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
You are invited to share in Makers Hub Forum
||| FROM ORCAS CHAPTER, SAN JUAN MAKERS GUILD ||| The interest in an Orcas Tool Library, Repair Café, community Makerspaces, and access to a commercial kitchen continue to be topics of strong community interest across different discussion boards. To help focus and centralize the conversation – and plan concrete actionable
County to remove A-frame signs in unpermitted areas of Eastsound
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County reminds businesses and event organizers of important ordinances regarding signage – particularly signs placed alongside the road in the County right-of-way. During the week of Monday, August 14, 2023, county staff will be removing A-frame signs located within the public
A red-tailed hawk’s journey to Orcas Island
||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT ||| A young female Red-Tailed Hawk trapped at SeaTac Airport and later released in the Skagit Valley has been spotted near West Sound. It may be the first relocated bird to make its way from the mainland to the San Juan Islands. The SeaTac
Primary election results are in
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY ELECTIONS ||| August 1, 2023 Primary Last updated on 08/02/2023 1:53 PM Number of Precincts 15 Number of Registered Voters 9,669 Total Ballots Counted 3,307 Estimated Ballots Left to Count 150 Next Ballot Count On 08/04/2023 5:00 PM Last Tabulated 08/02/2023 1:53 PM Voter Turnout
Letter to Editor | Fire Commissioner Fuller, please resign
||| FROM GREG AYERS ||| Commissioner Fuller, As a firefighter and paramedic, I respect your substantial efforts to the fire service, and I respect your authority. You were a great chief and I know you have done what you feel to be best for OIFR. You put forth the levy,
53rd Annual Shaw Island Classic race coming up soon
||| FROM PEG GERLOCK for SAN JUAN ISLAND YACHT CLUB ||| The 53rd Annual Shaw Island Classic Sailboat Race, sponsored by the San Juan Island Yacht Club, will be held Saturday, August 12 th , 2023. All eligible boats and crews are invited to participate. The race starts and ends
Participate in WSF Survey for a chance to win a $100 gift card
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| Customers are encouraged to participate in our survey to help WSF better understand the diverse communities we serve. By taking the survey, you'll also be entered for a chance to win a $100 gift card. Share your thoughts now at http://www.wsf23.com or call 877-586-1133.
Crow Valley celebrates 25 years of David Ridgway painting Orcas
||| FROM CHRIS MORRIS for CROW VALLEY GALLERY ||| David Ridgway first came to Orcas in 1959 for YMCA summer camp at Orkila. He and his wife Ginger returned in 1997 for a visit. The island spoke to them and they moved fulltime to Eastsound in 1998. “The topography, architectural
San Juan County announces beginning of road striping
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County’s Public Works Department is announcing its annual summer road striping schedule beginning on Monday, August 21 and lasting approximately several weeks. Pavement markings, including centerlines, shoulder markings, arrows, and more, are critical features of any safe and effective roadway, and it
Health & Community Services launches county-wide survey about community health
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| On Monday, July 31, 2023, San Juan County Health & Community Services (HCS) launched its county-wide survey as a part of the Community Health Assessment process which is underway. This survey is open to all islanders, and everyone is invited to make their voice heard! The survey is anonymous
Planting the seeds with ‘Grow Your Own Food’ and ‘Seed to Sprout’
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| This Spring San Juan County Health & Community Services (HCS) and WSU Extension Master Gardeners hosted a free four-week program for families with preschool-age children to learn about vegetable gardening hands-on! The program centered around vegetable gardening at the Slow Food Land and
Island Health Receives 5-Star Honors from CMS for second consecutive year
||| FROM LAURA MORONEY for ISLAND HEALTH ||| ANACORTES, Washington — For the second consecutive year, Island Health has earned an overall five-star hospital rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)—the highest distinction awarded by the federal agency. Of the 5,446 hospitals nationwide, nine percent (9%) earned
The Food Heroes Award goes to … The Kitchen
||| FROM THE FOOD HEROES PROJECT of SAN JUAN MAKERS GUILD ||| Local food on island plates really is the basis of building the local food economy. One of the restaurants pioneering island grown ingredients on Orcas has been The Kitchen and this summer they are being awarded Food Heroes
Special Report: Are short-term rentals spurring island’s housing collapse?
||| FROM THE NANTUCKET INQUIRER AND MIRROR ||| Orcas and Nantucket Islands are each roughly the same size and the same distance off their respective coasts. We share the same concerns about the high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, tourist management, ferry problems and environmental degradation. We are living on
OIFR Volunteer Association hosts Fly-In Pancake Breakfast
||| FROM KAT BARNARD for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT ||| The Orcas Island Volunteer Firefighter/EMT Association will host the Annual Fly-In Pancake Breakfast the weekend of August 5 and 6. All are welcome to come to the Eastsound Fire Station at 45 Lavender Lane Saturday and Sunday from 7 am
‘It’s cancerous’: How UK seaside towns fight back against second home owners
||| FROM THE INDEPENDENT ||| In May this year, residents of Whitstable gathered to discuss a growing crisis – the slow death of their community at the hands of tourists, with the blame laid firmly on the growth of second homes and holiday lets. Locals listed numerous problems caused by a proliferation of
