Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
WSF weekly check-in: Virtual, route-specific meetings are coming up
||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| Route-specific virtual community meetings Mark your calendar! We’re hosting our semiannual series of virtual community meetings May 23 through June 7. The public is invited to join our staff during any of the six sessions with each geared toward a particular
Tonight: Law enforcement joint search & rescue training with OIFR and WA State Parks
||| FROM SAN JUAN DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce a training on Orcas Island occurring May 18, 2023. In the interest of information sharing and trying to minimize the potential of alarm of Orcas residents, the Office is alerting the public of
Reminder: Dr. Shinstrom retirement thank you party is this weekend
||| FROM DOUG MARSHALL ||| David Shinstrom at Camp Orkila, 1958. Please join us in honoring Dr. Dave Shinstrom, at a Thank You party celebrating his 30 years of practicing medicine on Orcas Island. This event replaces the earlier retirement party which had to be postponed due to
Larsen: American Rescue Plan is delivering reliable broadband to Northwest Washington
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) applauded the announcement by Washington State Department of Commerce of $121 million in grants for 19 broadband construction projects that will deliver reliable, high-speed internet access to nearly 15,000 households across the state. This includes $26,157,178
Larsen outlines local priorities for Fiscal Year 2024 defense policy bill
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) outlined his local priorities for inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) during the House Armed Services Committee’s Member Day hearing. Larsen’s priorities include: Jet Noise Reduction Research Larsen has long worked
Letter to Editor | What a great night at the theater with Actors Theater
||| FROM MARC COHEN and ELEANOR HOAGUE ||| We've just come from a wonderful theatrical performance and want to let our friends and neighbors know about it. Doug Bechtel and the Actors Theater are putting on an entertaining and thought-provoking play, The Tin Woman, now through May 28, at the
GiveOrcas is now in the final two days
||| FROM HILARY CANTY for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| We are down to the last two days of the GiveOrcas campaign. It has been a wild ride. Over 700 friends and neighbors have donated- a new record for Orcas! So far, $225,000 has been raised, two proposals have been
‘Extremely rare’ white orca spotted in the wild
||| FROM NEWSWEEK ||| A "beautiful" and "extremely rare" light-colored orca has been spotted in waters off the coast of Japan. As seen in images captured by a local sightseeing company, the male orca lacks the distinctive black markings that are characteristic of killer whales. Instead, the orca appears pale,
Review: Local author pens new book
||| FROM JENS KRUSE ||| It is a pleasure to review a book by a fellow islander, Michael Hurwicz’s Leonid Hurwicz: Intelligent Designer: How War and the Great Depression Inspired a Nobel Economist (Cherry Orchard Books: Boston, 2023), published on May 9. At the beginning of his “Epilogue,” Hurwicz says:
Deadline to file for Port Commissioner is Friday
||| FROM KIM KIMPLE for PORT OF ORCAS || The Port of Orcas Board of Commissioner’s has two seats open in the 2023 November General Election. Those interested in filing for candidacy can find more information HERE. The deadline to file for candidacy is Friday, May 15th at 4:00 p.m.
Kindergarten transition turns 15
||| BY MEGAN EHRMANTRAUT for ORCAS COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER ||| Carrying on a 15 year tradition, the Orcas Community Resource Center (OCRC) was excited to host Orcas’ annual Kindergarten Transition event celebrating kids who are making the big leap to kindergarten in the fall. All preschool children, regardless of which
Floating Ukulele Jam time is fast approaching
||| FROM ANITA ORNE for JP AND THE OK RHYTHM BOYS ||| It’s Floating Ukulele Jam time again! Grab your uke, your voice, a song or two to share, and your friends and relations and join us on the interisland ferry on the traditional Third Thursday of the month –
POP UP Tour at Turtleback Mountain Preserve Garry Oak area
||| FROM TANJA WILLIAMSON for SJC LAND BANK ||| The weather and the wildflowers are at PEAK fun! Orcas Preserve Steward, Peter Guillozet, will host a pop up tour THIS WED. Attached is a flyer for for the tour. Event link: https://sjclandbank.org/event/evening-tour-of-garry-oak-restoration-area-turtleback-mountain-preserve/ If you think it’s something you’d like to share with
Gardening questions, plant problems addressed at Driftwood Nursery next week
||| FROM DIANNE MACONDRAY for WSU MASTER GARDENERS ||| Please join us at Lorna’s Driftwood Nursery on Wednesday, May 24th. from 11:00 - 1:00 with your gardening questions, plant problems and plant and insect identification needs. The WSU Master Gardeners of San Juan County will be there to help you.
Crime fiction fan? Don’t miss this library event
||| FROM SAM GAILEY for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Do you like to read crime fiction? Or are you an inspiring crime fiction writer? Please join the Orcas Island Public Library on Saturday, May 20, at 4 p.m. for A Nicer Kind of Murder: The Evolution of Crime Fiction. What does
Would you like to provide customer feedback on possible ferry fare changes?
||| FROM STATE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ||| The Washington State Transportation Commission is looking for customer feedback on possible ferry fare changes that would be implemented starting this fall. As part of the two-year state budget cycle, the state Legislature sets the requirement for how much revenue must be generated from
