Here’s a thought…
“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.”
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Another Fantastic Friday from Rep. Debra Lekanoff
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. DEBRA LEKANOFF ||| Understanding Legislative Cutoffs Although it feels like we just started, we’re over a third of the way through this year’s legislative session! In fact, yesterday we passed the first legislative cutoff of the session. Legislative cutoffs are milestones bills need to reach by
An encouraging sign? We are seeing a drop in new COVID cases this week
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| Since the last update on Friday January 28, there have been 62 new confirmed or probable cases in San Juan County. Current case count is now 1048. Encouragingly, this is less than half the number of new cases reported last
Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
||| OCCAM'S RAZOR by S. C. WATSON ||| [EDITOR'S NOTE: Apologies to Mr. Watson. This formatting is hopefully temporary as we play catch-up to the internet.]
OPALCO Board to consider adjustment to smooth billing process after extreme cold temps caused high bills
“We can do better,” said Foster Hildreth ||| FROM SUZANNE OLSON for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| The extreme cold temperatures in late December caused power bills to go up significantly in January – in some cases, doubling. The basic explanation is that more kilowatt hours were used to
PeaceHealth St. Joseph receives record donation of $50M
||| FROM ANNE WILLIAMS for PEACEHEALTH ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER ||| VANCOUVER, Wash. – PeaceHealth announced that it received a transformational $50 million donation from Peter H. Paulsen to help expand PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington. The gift is the most sizable in PeaceHealth history and one
Some immunocompromised individuals should receive four doses of COVID-19 vaccine
People who are immunocompromised are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 ||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – A fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine can help some people with weakened immune systems be less likely to catch COVID-19 and get severely ill. Certain individuals who are immunocompromised may receive up to
Peace rally this Saturday at the Green: No war with Russia
||| FROM SHARON ABREU ||| I invite you to a short peace rally on the Eastsound Village Green this Saturday, Feb. 5, from 12:00-1:00. We'll be protesting our government threatening war with Russia and the buildup of troops currently taking place in that region. If you can, please response on the Facebook event page
Latest COVID numbers from the State
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 1,339,743 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 30.* There have been 10,776 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. Data notes: *Effective Jan. 24, DOH will update the COVID-19 data dashboard on
San Juan County joins Islands’ Trust in asking Canada for a rescue tug In Sidney
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| On Jan. 26, San Juan County Council and the Islands Trust Council sent a joint letter requesting that the Canadian government "facilitate the repositioning of one of Canada's multi-mission emergency towing vessels [ETVs, also referred to as rescue tugs] to Sidney, B.C., to extend the
Firehouse Fracas | Ongoing situation at OIFR requires townhall meeting to answer questions
||| FROM MIA KARTIGANER, SPECIAL TO theORCASONIAN ||| I want to apologize. I volunteered to take on the arduous task of looking into what has been happening at Orcas Island Fire & Rescue (OIFR) without any formal training as a journalist. I didn’t understand at the outset how multifaceted this
EDC and WSBDC offer Financial Discipline workshop
||| FROM GAIL SCHNEE for SJC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ||| The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) has partnered with the Washington Small Business Development Center (WSBDC) to offer a free workshop on financial discipline on Thursday, February 10, 2022 at 1 p.m. via Zoom. The workshop will introduce
Washington Sea Grant and Puget Sound Partnership contribute nearly $2.5 Million to fund research in coastal Washington
Nine projects have been selected through a competitive request for proposals process ||| FROM WASHINGTON SEA GRANT ||| Seattle - Washington Sea Grant (WSG) announced today over $2 million in funding for nine new marine research projects in 2022 and a new research partnership with the Puget Sound Partnership contributing $432,000.
Draft plan for Maritime Washington NHA open for public comment
||| FROM ALEXANDRA GRADWOHL for WASHINGTON TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION ||| SEATTLE. After 18 months of input and collaboration from across the region, the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to share draft plans for the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. The draft Management Plan charts the course ahead
Application period now open for new County Climate, Sustainability Advisory Committee
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is currently seeking qualified applicants for positions on the new Climate and Sustainability Advisory Committee. The committee will advise on policy, projects, and priorities, to help harness the momentum of County work and support its climate action plan. The goal
Free COVID at-home test kits available now on your island
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| San Juan County Health and Community Services is making more than 5,000 at-home COVID test kits available to islanders at no charge. Thanks to the support of the local non-profits and businesses listed below, kits will be available for pick
10th annual San Juan Islands Agricultural Summit coming up in March
March 4th & 5th, 2022 Virtual and in-person on Lopez Island ||| FROM KRISTEN AMIM for WSU SAN JUAN COUNTY EXTENSION ||| Join us for this year's San Juan Islands Agricultural Summit March 4 and 5, 2022! This is the tenth anniversary of the Summit, and our theme is Building
