Here’s a thought…
“If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.”
WILLIAM L. MCKNIGHT
Orcas Island Food Bank creates fruit tree map for gleaning program
||| FROM RICHARD RHOADS for ORCAS ISLAND FOOD BANK ||| A property owner on Orcas Island said, “We are getting older, and it’s just the two of us now. We have so much fruit, we don’t know what to do with it. We could use a little help.” A
County announces annual stormwater infrastructure maintenance
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County announces the beginning of annual stormwater infrastructure maintenance on Orcas and Lopez Islands. The regular maintenance is conducted before the first flush of the season – the initial surface runoff of a rainstorm -- to reduce accumulated contaminants and debris
‘Occam’s Razor’ | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
Welcome to our weekly feature, Occam's Razor, from local artist S.C. Watson.
Your questions answered about sinking of FV Aleutian Isle; what we know so far
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for SJC DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT |||| What is the current situation with the wreck? The sunken vessel remains in place on the West side of San Juan Island in over 200 feet of water. The boat is resting on its side, perched bow facing uphill
Reminder: Planned overnight power outage scheduled for Thursday night
||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT CO-OPERATIVE ||| All of San Juan County will be affected by a planned power outage necessary for Bonneville Power Association (BPA) to make scheduled repairs to the transmission lines that deliver power to the islands. This maintenance outage will happen during
Guest Opinion | A word about property rights and freedom
||| FROM WILLIAM APPEL ||| In old English common law, private ownership of land included the right to kill intruders. The rebelling American colonies adopted the English law of 1776, and with additional states, modified their property laws (including the right to kill intruders). The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to
State Health Dept.: Blood donations urgently needed
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – As summer ends and the school year begins, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and Northwest Blood Coalition urge eligible blood donors to schedule donations. According to the Northwest Blood Coalition, high school and college students make up almost 25 percent
Hot Topic 59: All about the fall bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The core message is simple: Get the COVID-19 bivalent booster this fall. What is this bivalent booster? What makes this booster different from the vaccines that came before? New bivalent booster vaccines will soon be available from Moderna and Pfizer. Bivalent Novavax boosters
Orcas Garden Club presenter to speak of climate change
||| FROM ORCAS GARDEN CLUB ||| Thor Hanson On Wednesday, September 21, at 10:30 a.m., the Orcas Island Garden Club will present a virtual (Zoom) meeting featuring Thor Hanson. Thor’s presentation, Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid, addresses the fraught and fascinating biology of climate change, how plants and
Reminder: Planned overnight power outage scheduled for Thursday night
||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT CO-OPERATIVE ||| All of San Juan County will be affected by a planned power outage necessary for Bonneville Power Association (BPA) to make scheduled repairs to the transmission lines that deliver power to the islands. This maintenance outage will happen during
MacKaye Harbor shoreline restoration project completed
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is proud to announce the completion of the MacKaye Harbor Shoreline Restoration Project on Lopez Island. After several weeks of removing old armor from the beach and spreading fresh sand and gravel, crews have officially cleared the site. The
Lopez Village road stormwater improvement coming soon
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| This fall, San Juan County’s Department of Environmental Stewardship will upgrade the eroding ditch along the east side of Village Road between Washburn and Eads Lane, to improve storm water quality and manage flooding. The project is funded by a grant from
San Juan County enters final stage of review for Comprehensive Plan update
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Yesterday marked the first of many County Council meetings devoted to reviewing the 2036 Comprehensive Plan Update. County Council will review different elements of the Plan every Monday through October 17 with additional, semi-regular meetings to follow, leading up to the public hearing
San Juan County seeks planning commissioners
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is looking for interested volunteers to fill two vacancies on the Planning Commission. Position #5 will serve a partial term that ends in December of 2024. Position #8 will also serve a partial term that will end in December of
Deadline extended for Orcas artists wishing to exhibit at Library in 2023
||| FROM DAVE KOSIUR for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| November 1st is the new deadline for Orcas Island artists wishing to exhibit at the Orcas Island Library in 2023. A pamphlet describing the process is available at the library. Submissions should include your name, address, email, and phone number, 6 digital
Will GOP splits foil the Trump strategy?
||| FROM HEDRICK SMITH ||| Hedrick Smith Olga, Washington – The media keeps telling us that 70 percent of Republicans still back the bogus claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. But for this November, keep your eye on the 20 to 30 percent of
