Here’s a thought…
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
NATIVE AMERICAN PROVERB
Sun Days on Orcas | Communing
||| SUN DAYS ON ORCAS by EDEE KULPER ||| We’ve come to the time of year when I start thinking, ‘What are we doing here?’ The place is a ghost town except for the market, and the lack of sun has become this palpable frustration that Vitamin D capsules just
San Juan County is all in on the Northern Heights Apartments on Orcas
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| On Tuesday January 25 the County Council agreed to award additional funding from the Home Fund to the Northern Heights apartments project bringing the County’s total financial commitment up to $1,112,300; the maximum allowed by the County’s policies. The County prioritizes preserving affordable
Three separate attacks are the first confirmed blue whale deaths by killer whales
Australian researchers report the first documented killing of an adult blue whale by orcas ||| FROM COSMOS MAGAZINE ||| Researchers have discovered the first-ever record of killer whales hunting and killing the largest animal on earth – an adult blue whale. In late March 2019, annual whale and dolphin research
OPALCO answers the question: Why is my OPALCO bill so high this month?
Cold Temps, BPA Demand Charges and 4% Rate Increase ||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| There was a perfect storm of compounding factors that made our power bills very high this month. The power bills in January include power usage during a prolonged cold snap
Advocates for open government sue San Juan County to open public records
||| FROM SALISH CURRENT ||| The public’s right to access government documents and the government’s power to keep certain information private are at loggerheads in San Juan County. The Washington Coalition for Open Government (WashCOG), a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy group, sued San Juan County last week for violating the Public
Help our Lions Clubs aid Whatcom County in flood disaster recovery
||| FROM STEVE SCHAEFER for ORCAS LIONS CLUB ||| Last November, historic flooding occurred in nearby Whatcom County. Particularly hard hit were the communities of Sumas, Nooksack and Everson. Media coverage was relatively short-lived but the impact on those who lived and worked in this area will continue for many months.
The stories they tell | Abstract paintings currently showing at SJIMA
||| FROM DIANE MARTINDALE for SAN JUAN ISLANDS MUSEUM OF ART ||| When one thinks of Abstract Art, one tends to call to mind the unfettered and often chaotic paintings of iconic painters such as Jackson Pollack or Wassily Kandinsky. Since the arrival of abstract art in the early twentieth
Update from OICF indicates that while the cat’s away, the mice will play
||| FROM ED ANDREWS for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| Hi all Ed here, standing in for Hilary while she spends a well-deserved two week vacation basking in a warm place much further south than here. Hilary, you better be out on a walk and not reading this. Eagle
Senior Center to offer a briefing on COVID mask effectiveness
"The Effectiveness of KN95/N95/KF94 Masks” by Rob Wilson by Zoom (Friday, February 4, 11 a.m.) ||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Are you wondering if you are wearing the appropriate mask? Join Rob Wilson, retired mechanical engineer and product designer, as he helps us better understand the
COVID numbers are still on the rise in the San Juans
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| Since the last update on Friday January 21, there have been 130 new confirmed or probable cases in San Juan County. Current case count is now 986. LOPEZ ISLAND: There are twenty-two new cases on Lopez Island since the last
Learn the skills to land a job fishing salmon in Alaska
The new Purse Seine Vessel Crew Member Training Program will hold its first session in April 2022 ||| FROM WASHINGTON SEA GRANT ||| Gig Harbor, WA – The Gig Harbor BoatShop and Washington Sea Grant are launching the Purse Seine Vessel Crew Member Training Program, or “Crew School,” designed to
Tahoe imposes new rules for Airbnbs and other short-term rentals amid housing crisis
||| FROM SFGATE.COM ||| Repint at request of Orcasonian reader Six months into a moratorium that halted short-term rentals permits in North Lake Tahoe, Placer County is considering a new set of rules to rein in the proliferation of vacation rentals and protect what little housing inventory remains for locals.
Sheriff’s Report | January 19 – 25, 2022
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19 22-000437 Animal at Large 08:36:30 01/19/22 A Deputy responded to a report of one dog and two puppies loose in the road in Friday Harbor. The dogs were picked up, an owner was unable to be located, and the
Inslee: “Politicians are not above anyone else”
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| Gov. Jay Inslee testified today in favor of Substitute Senate Bill 5843 at a public hearing in the Senate Committee on State Government & Elections. "The Big Lie, that we can’t trust our democracy to count the votes, has become a weapon. It’s being
Latest from Lekanoff | Salmon recovery, police legislation, and more
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. DEBRA LEKANOFF ||| House Bill 1117 Passed the House A bill I introduced last session, House Bill 1117, passed the House again this week on a vote of 57-40! The bill integrates salmon recovery into the Growth Management Act (GMA), which guides land management and planning in our
Newest numbers from our State Health Department
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 1,257,918 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 25.* There have been 10,580 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. *Data note: Effective Jan. 24, DOH will update the COVID-19 data dashboard on Mondays,
