Here’s a thought…
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and the government when it deserves it.”
MARK TWAIN
Department of Health releases updated COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools & child care
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has released its updated COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools and child care. The guidance takes lessons learned from the first two and a half years of the pandemic, and outlines both required and recommended
Lawsuit would empower San Juan County voters
San Juan County faces a lawsuit after blocking four Charter Amendments from going to the voters ||| FROM BEN CHAPMAN for FAIR VOTE WASHINGTON ||| On August 2nd, the San Juan County Council unilaterally blocked four Charter Amendments from going to the voters. This decision was made behind closed doors
Free childhood vaccines available at these back-to-school clinics
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County Health and Community Services (HCS) is providing free childhood vaccines for K-12 students at back-to-school clinics on San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez Islands beginning the end of August and into September. These clinics are free and no appointment is needed.
Next up at The Green: Live music from Jacob Miller with special guest Harlan Silverman
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| Experience folk music live this Sunday, August 21 at 6 p.m. as Jacob Miller takes the stage with special guest Harlan Silverman as part of the Summer Concert Series sponsored by Orcas Center, OrcaSong Farm, Country Corner and San Juan County. Jacob
Another crazy Shaw race, but a lovely day on the water
||| FROM PEG GERLOCK for SAN JUAN ISLAND YACHT CLUB ||| Blue skies, sunshine and predictions of uniform, northerly winds blowing eight to ten knots in San Juan Channel had racers smiling in anticipation of a perfect day for the long-awaited 50th annual Shaw Island Classic yacht race. Hosted by
Larsen, DelBene secure $25 Million for Lummi Island Ferry
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded a $25 million grant to replace the 60-year-old Lummi Island ferry with an electric-battery hybrid ferry and build related infrastructure. DOT awarded the funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with
San Juan County Council and Conservation Land Bank on north shore (Glenwood Inn) property
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY LAND BANK ||| The San Juan County Council and the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank are pleased to announce the purchase of the Glenwood Inn/North Shore property on Orcas Island and the forward progress on the conservation easement (CE) with our partners at San
Get your San Juan Islands license plate at the County Fair
||| FROM MADRONA INSTITUTE ||| Don’t miss the opportunity to show off your island pride with a San Juan Islands license plate. You can sign up, elephant ear in hand, at the San Juan County Fair from August 17 - 20, 2022, where Madrona Institute will host a booth of
There are undercurrents at play in the Columbia River dams debate
Without passageways to cross dams along the Columbia, salmon are dying. Tribes say the U.S. government isn't cooperating as they try to help the fish recover. ||| FROM CROSSCUT ||| Posted at request of Orcasonian reader Crystal Conant was camped for the night on a bluff overlooking the upper Columbia
You are invited to help shape a composting program for the islands
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is exploring how to best implement commercial composting for residents and businesses in the Islands, and we need your help! The County’s Solid Waste Program has created a survey to gauge community interest in such a program. The survey is
World-class talent to meet local flair at this year’s county fair
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| After two years of virtual trials and tribulations, the San Juan County Fair is back! It’s back with live entertainment featuring artists from as far as Austin, Texas to as near as Seattle, and closer yet, the San Juan Islands. This year's bookings
Notice of upcoming 5-week road work project on Deer Harbor Rd
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Construction on Deer Harbor Rd begins August 15 to relocate a portion of the road near West Sound due to a high bank road slump threatening the roadway. (see map below) Roadwork will reduce Deer Harbor Rd to a single lane of traffic
Brokers say all parties in housing transactions need to recalibrate during shifting market
||| FROM NW MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE ||| KIRKLAND, Washington – New statistics from Northwest Multiple Listing Service confirm reports of a shifting housing market, prompting one industry leader to suggest “all parties involved in a transaction today have to recalibrate.” “Today’s buyers have their cups finally overflowing with options as
Inslee statement on U.S. Senate passage of Inflation Reduction Act
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| Gov. Jay Inslee released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which makes historic progress in the fight against climate change and paves the way for the job-creating clean energy economy of the future: “Washingtonians will
Help KWIAHT track bird flu in the islands
||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT ||| At least one confirmed and six suspected cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), the aggressive new variant of “bird flu,” have recently been identified in wild birds in San Juan County. We are asking all islanders to be on the lookout for
OIHCD Board begins strategic planning sessions
||| FROM KIM KIMPLE for ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| The Board of Commissioners of the Orcas Island Health Care District met August 4 to begin development of its strategic plan for work through 2025. Consultant Jody Carona presented an overview and led a discussion of the 2022 OI
