Here’s a thought…
“I am so convinced of the advantages of looking at mankind instead of reading about them, and of the bitter effects of staying at home with all the narrow prejudices of an islander, that I think there should be a law amongst us to set our young men abroad for a term among the few allies our wars have left us.”
LORD BYRON
COVID case count continues its communal climb
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| Since the last update on Friday February 11, there have been 63 new confirmed or probable cases in San Juan County. Current case count is now 1175. This is about equal to last week’s case volume, with cases remaining stubbornly
WSF Weekly Report | Federal funding discussions underway, our spring has been postponed
||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| OT Secretary Roger Millar joins Sen. Murray to discuss federal funding for ferries WSDOT Secretary Roger Millar talks to Sen. Patty Murray about our pandemic response, how we’re using American Rescue Plan funding and our ferry electrification initiatives. Washington State
In Memoriam | Lili Catherine Hein
||| FROM ARTHUR DE HAAN ||| Lili Catherine Hein of Orcas Island, due to cancer. She was 50. Lili Catherine Hein was born in Taipei, Taiwan on Mother's Day, May 11 in 1971. From age one, she grew up in Poulsbo, Washington, also living some of her adolescent
It’s a fine time to make your Finnie award nominations
May the forest be with you ||| FROM AMY NESLER for STEWARDSHIP NETWORK FOR SAN JUANS ||| Islanders are known for creative resilience and care for the environment. It’s that time of year again…when we recognize those Jedi Master individuals, educators, and businesses who have created or maintained a commitment
Firehouse Foolishness | Leaks and such
||| BY MIA KARTIGANER, SPECIAL TO theORCASONIAN ||| While our fire department continues to search for leaks among the career responders, they don’t seem as concerned with their own. Within two days of the OIFR board, chief, assistant chief and board secretary receiving Commissioner Marlow’s letter of resignation, Leith Templin
Story map shows the importance of revitalizing Indigenous mariculture practices
New story map unites sea gardens around the Pacific and shows the importance of revitalizing Indigenous mariculture practices for food sovereignty and resilience ||| FROM WASHINGTON SEA GRANT ||| Indigenous People have been stewarding the ocean for thousands of years. This stewardship has appeared in many different forms around the
With Marlow resignation, Fire Commission seeks candidates for vacant seat
||| FROM KIM KIMPLE for BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS ||| With a mid-term resignation from Commissioner Janet Marlow, the Board of Fire Commissioners is seeking candidates to fill the unexpired term. The Board will conduct a public process including advertising, interviewing, and selecting a candidate to fill the seat by
The millions of people stuck in pandemic limbo
What does society owe immunocompromised people? ||| FROM THE ATLANTIC via ORCASONIAN READER ||| when the coronavirus pandemic began, Emily Landon thought about her own risk only in rare quiet moments. An infectious-disease doctor at the University of Chicago Medicine, she was cramming months of work into days, preparing her
Hundreds of methane bubbles have been discovered rising from Puget Sound seafloor
||| FROM UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON NEWS ||| The release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas responsible for almost a quarter of global warming, is being studied around the world, from Arctic wetlands to livestock feedlots. A University of Washington team has discovered a source much closer to home: 349 plumes
Letter to Editor | Looking back at local reaction to Sandy Hook’s school shooting
||| FROM FRED KLEIN ||| News that the parents of some of the 20 schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut who, along with six adults, were killed in a mass shooting event in 2012, have reached a $73M settlement with the insurance companies for the now bankrupt Remington
Guest Opinion | County residents will bear the burden
||| FROM VALERIE A. JUSELA ||| San Juan County’s residents face possibly crippling liabilities from county failures thus far to effectively regulate short-term or “vacation rental” permittees in our community. As a career business analyst in the areas of taxation, contracts, and insurance, I have found mounting evidence that dire
Reminder: You’re invited to talk tourism with the SJI Visitors Bureau
||| FROM AMY NESLER for SJI VISITORS BUREAU ||| Don’t miss this opportunity to make your voice heard! If you’ve been curious about how the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau approaches destination marketing and management, here’s your chance to ask. Coming later this February and March, the Visitors Bureau will
Newest numbers from State Health Dept.
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 1,410,658 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 13.* There have been 11,373 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. Data notes *Effective Jan. 24, 2022, DOH updates the COVID-19 data dashboard on
Community Foundation is looking to hire a clerk
||| FROM ED ANDREWS for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| The Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF) is hiring a clerk to support our financial manager. The Financial Administrator position is a part time administration level position responsible for financial tracking and reporting of OICF. This position provides support to the OICF Financial Manager and other
Editorial | When the alarm bells get too loud to ignore, it’s time for action
||| BY LIN MCNULTY, theORCASONIAN EDITOR ||| Can you hear that fire alarm clanging? Is it becoming increasingly, frighteningly loud? By some counts, within just the last six months at Orcas Island Fire & Rescue, over 100 years of department experience has disappeared, either through terminations or (sometimes forced) resignations.
SJC Land Bank Commission is meeting soon and you’re invited
||| FROM TANJA WILLIAMSON for SJC LAND BANK ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold its monthly meeting on February 18, 2022, from 8:30am – 11:10am. The public is invited to attend. Click HERE to download the agenda (includes ZOOM link) and meeting materials. To learn
