Here’s a thought…
“Deep breath. Deep breath. The air is free. You can take as many as you want.”
BUDDHIST MONK
8th Annual Children’s Holiday Market returns with original, handmade gifts by island kids
||| FROM RACHEL BISHOP ||| Children all over the island have been spending their evenings and weekends busily crafting to get ready for the 8th Annual Children's Holiday Market. With a new date and time, this is being held at the Orcas Public Library on Sunday December 5 from 3
Governor Inslee states Omicron COVID variant does not change our approach to pandemic
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| Gov. Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan released a statement on the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. "The discovery of the Omicron variant does not change our approach to fighting the pandemic. We are
Water build-up has now closed LaPorte Road
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| A blocked culvert has created a dangerous situation on Laporte Road on Orcas Island. A large amount of water has built up on the uphill side of the road, and the roadway is in danger of failure, in particular with
Rep. Larsen: The debt ceiling needs to be eliminated
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. RICK LARSEN ||| Politicians have been weaponizing the debt ceiling as long as it has existed, and it is wrong. This has been especially true in the time after Donald Trump's presidency, where we saw tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that piled up
We shall light the tree on Saturday — donate cookies, treats
Saturday, December 4, 3:45 p.m. Village Green ||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ||| The Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual tree lighting festivities on Saturday, December 4, starting at 3:45 p.m. Islanders and visitors can join the fun on the Village Green with hot cider
This Saturday, let’s plant daffodils at Children’s House in memory of Abby Rueb
||| FROM ADY WALKER for CHILDREN'S HOUSE ||| In the past weeks many of us have shared fond remembrances of Abby Rueb, and we have marveled at the contributions she made to the community of Orcas Island over her long life here. A favorite story is the Easter party the
SJC voters have passed one of the strongest anti-discrimination policies in the country
||| FROM JANE FULLER for CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE'S JUSTICE & EQUITY COMMITTEE ||| With the certification of the election last week, San Juan County voters have passed some of the strongest anti-discrimination policies of any government in the Nation. Known simply as County Charter Amendment Proposition No. 5, this amendment
How to save a ski town (or perhaps a small, green island)
All over the West, a housing crisis is causing workforce shortages, crippling local businesses, and threatening the culture and existence of mountain towns as we know them. But amid the doom and gloom, some people are fighting for solutions. ||| FROM OUTSIDEONLINE.COM ||| REPRINT AT REQUEST OF A READER Once
A poem for Chanukka: The Olive and the Oil
||| BY CHAYA ROSEN ||| The Olive and the Oil From the midst of constellations and the distance of the ages A Maccabean miracle unfolds How does this story get told? It’s all about the olive and the oil. She was crushed and beaten humbled and pressed a distinct purity
Letter to Editor | When contact info blows away in a storm
||| FROM MARGOT SHAW ||| Can anyone help me find the wonderful family of three whom I met atop Mt. Constitution last Wednesday with the cold, cloudy wind whipping around us? They are staying in a VRBO in the Rosario area for an extended period of time. The husband took
Upcoming Solstice Mercantile is a two-day holiday shopping experience
December 3 - 4, Noon - 5 p.m., 2371 Crow Valley Road ||| FROM TARA LANDMAN for SOLSTICE MERCANTILE ||| Imagine, if you will, a little European holiday market aglow with beauty and bundled up families all about positioned at a winery, nestled at the base of a mountain on
This year, you may join the Choral Society in song at these free events
||| FROM LYNN BAKER for ORCAS CHORAL SOCIETY ||| Come for the singing and holiday cheer! The Orcas Choral Society will carol Eastsound this holiday season in several free events. We invite everyone to enjoy the music and sing along! Carols are such a joyous part of the holiday,” said
Port of Friday Harbor to reopen Jensen’s Boatyard in January
||| FROM AMBER GARCIA for PORT OF FRIDAY HARBOR ||| The Port of Friday Harbor will be reopening Jensen’s Boatyard on January 3, 2022. The new operations model will see Port staff scheduling and operating the boat lift and boat yard. Port crews will perform all boat lifting and launching,
Sun Days on Orcas | Options
||| SUN DAYS ON ORCAS by EDEE KULPER ||| Happy Thanksgiving weekend and Merry Christmas season! The rain has provided ample time to gather ‘round the glowing screen and ponder life as it used to be and where it’s headed. Always in search of fascinating documentaries, we watched the new
Vigil calls for more urgency to save endangered salmon, orca
||| FROM SALISH CURRENT ||| Bundled up in the cold, about 60 people gathered at Maritime Heritage Park on Saturday night (Nov. 20) in Bellingham for a vigil in support of endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Speakers included environmental advocates and members of the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Indian
Poetry | Murmuration by Barbara Crooker
||| REPRINT AT REQUEST OF JOELLEN MOLDOFF ||| Murmuration by Barbara Crooker Cold morning. November, taking a walk, when up ahead, suddenly, the trees unleave, and thousands of starlings lift off, an immense river of noise; they braid and unbraid themselves over my head, the gray silk sky embroidered with
