Here’s a thought…
“If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.”
WILLIAM L. MCKNIGHT
SJC Land Bank purchases Dolphin Bay Rd property on Orcas for salmon recovery, public access
The Land Bank adds a sixth preserve with water access on Orcas Island ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank is excited to announce the acquisition of a 23.8-acre waterfront property located on Orcas Island’s East Sound. The property hosts 1,300 feet of
Lessons from Decatur | Building trust for countywide energy security
A hopeful start, a hard lesson ||| FROM MEMBERS OF THE DECATUR COMMUNITY* ||| In 2018, Decatur Island became the first place in San Juan County to host a cooperative solar array. People here welcomed it. We believed in the promise of clean energy and were proud to play a
Center for Whale Research | Encounter #51 • Bigg’s Killer Whales, August 10, 2025
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 02:41 PM ObservEnd: 03:22 PM Vessel: Mike 1 Staff: Mark Malleson Pods: Bigg's killer whales IDsEncountered: T046B1, T046B1A, T046B1C, T046C2 LocationDescr: Southwest of Race Rocks/offshore Becher Bay EncSummary: Mark and Fin headed out to survey the Juan de Fuca
Opening Soon | Opportunity to apply for lodging tax annual grant program this September
LTAC funds support a variety of projects related to tourism events, infrastructure, and services. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is pleased to announce the 2025 Lodging Tax Grant Application will be live on September 2, 2025. Applications are due by October 3rd, 2025, at 5:00pm.
Health Care District Board meeting on Wednesday
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island Health Care District Board will hold a regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday, August 27th from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room at the Orcas Island Library, 500 Rose Street, Eastsound. The Board Meeting Public Packet is available below. Agenda 02.
San Juan County 4-H celebrates record-breaking community support at 2025 Fair
||| FROM CLINTON GAUTHIER for SAN JUAN COUNTY 4-H PROGRAM ||| San Juan County 4-H would like to express its deepest gratitude to the community for an inspiring and successful 2025 San Juan County Fair. The fair highlighted the hard work of 82 4-H members who exhibited over 800 projects,
News Brief | $714M goes to Florida for our new ferries
||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| "The road to new WA ferries is paved with $714M to Florida builder" Originally reported by Seattle Times Gov. Bob Ferguson’s selection of a Florida shipyard to construct three new ferries has led some local lawmakers to grumble about outsourcing $714 million worth of
Here’s what Senior Center is drumming up
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Experience the Joy of Drumming Discover the joy of drumming with the Spirit of Drumming Group at Orcas Senior Center Thursdays at 1:30 p.m.! This beginner-friendly group focuses on exploring the elements of drumming. There’s no cost to participate—just bring a
Letter to Editor | Will Orcasonians lose our fitness center?
||| FROM SYLVIA ALBRIGHT ||| I write this only as a member of Orcas Island Fitness Center; the views I express are merely my own. According to a Notice of Trustee’s Sale, the property at 188 A Street in Eastsound is set for sale next month, and there appears to be limited
Adrift | I am sickened by these ICE Escapades
||| ADRIFT by LIN MCNULTY ||| It was a big treat as I was growing up when I got to see the Ice Capades in Seattle. Somehow, I owned a pair of ice skates, which never got used. I knew I could never skate like they did in the Ice
News Brief | Outsourcing of island ferry terminal management
||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES by ELISABETH BRITT & MICHAEL RIORDAN ||| “Washington State Ferries should stop outsourcing management of island terminals ” Originally reported by Seattle Times Unlike other terminals in the Washington State Ferries system, those in the San Juan Islands are operated by private, for-profit companies under
Whale Museum participates in humpback whale disentanglement
||| FROM CONOR AGNEW for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| For the second time in just over a month, responders with the Pacific Northwest Large Whale Entanglement Response Network successfully freed an entangled humpback whale in the Salish Sea. The whale, CRC-22662, was disentangled on August 21st and July 16th from
Midnight Mutterings | Carrie Newcomer poem
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES ||| This poem was brought to my attention by Nita Couchman. (You may know Nita from the Orcas Island Library and other sacred spaces on Orcas Island.: Until Now: New Poems, by Carrie Newcomer, Available Light Publishing, 2021. You can hear Carrie read her
Sheriff’s Report | August 13 – 19, 2025
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13 25-005447 Animal Bite 10:10:32 08/13/25 A Deputy on San Juan Island took a report of a dog bite. The reporting party did not wish to pursue the matter criminally. The reporting party wanted the incident documented and for the
News Brief | WSF receives large grant for $40 million
||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| "WA collects the most federal ferry funding with new grants" Originally reported by Seattle Times The U.S. Department of Transportation doled out $175 million last week to the nation’s many ferry providers, and Washington state received the largest slice of the pie with nearly
How was your summer?
||| FROM LINDSAY JENNINGS for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| In these final weeks of summer, a common question we ask each other is “how has your summer been?” Often the answer includes a mix of exhaustion and joy, and a bit of sadness and excitement for the turning of
