Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
Port of Orcas to hold public meeting
||| FROM CHIP LONG for PORT OF ORCAS ||| PORT OF ORCAS NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING The Port of Orcas Board of Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on Monday, July 28, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. at the airport terminal conference room, 147 Schoen Lane, Eastsound, WA 98245, to amend
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
Now at the Market Garden Nursery ||| FROM CAITIE BLETHEN for WSU EXTENSION SAN JUAN COUNTY ||| Do you have a question about your soil, have a problem with your fruit tree, or are thinking about starting a garden? Is something bugging your plants, or you are curious about identifying
Nantucket’s workers are living on the margins
Teachers, police officers, firefighters and other workers live in overcrowded and substandard housing, or even in their cars on the beach ||| FROM THE NY TIMES ||| As private jets and superyachts arrive on Nantucket for the summer season, full-time residents and government officials are warning that the Massachusetts island
Orcas Health Care District Board to meet
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT BOARD ||| The Orcas Island Health Care District Board will hold a regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday, July 23rd 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:
San Juan County celebrates plastic free July
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| “Even just committing to one action helps,” urged Katie Johnson, Marine Project Coordinator for San Juan County. She’s referring to Plastic Free July, a challenge that encourages millions of people around the world to find ways to cut back on their plastic consumption
Isabeau Waia’u Walker and Lilo Sanchez in free summer concert
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center is delighted to announce a special performance featuring Isabeau Waia’u Walker and Lilo Sanchez on Sunday, July 27, 2025, at 5:00 PM on the Village Green. This free event is part of Summer Concert Series event presented by Orcas Center,
In Memoriam | Carole Ann (Weinel) Sygitowicz 1954-2025
||| FROM MARCIA SPEES ||| It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Carole Ann Sygitowicz (nee Cannon). Carole was born on December 24, 1954 in Bellingham, Washington to June and Jim Cannon. She grew her wings to be with the angels on July 10, 2025. Carole
Effective immediately, San Juan County’s fire danger is upgraded to VERY HIGH
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| At this level recreational, residential, or commercial fires are not allowed, including charcoal. This means that campfires, even in a fire ring or bowl that is no more than three feet in diameter, are no longer permitted. Residential fires of yard debris are
OIFR responds to two wildland fires on Sunday
||| FROM BEN LUNA for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| In the afternoon of Sunday, July 20 Orcas Fire and Rescue responded to an initial wildland fire happening off Point Lawrence Road in Doe Bay. This fire, which has been fully extinguished, was likely caused from an unattended campfire.
LWVSJ Observer Corps | County Council July 15, 2025
||| FROM NECIA QUAST for LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS ||| During public comment Friends of the San Juans and one Decatur resident raised concerns about the proposed property acquisition at the Decatur marine facility. The Roche Harbor general manager spoke in favor of their masterplan amendment. After a public hearing
6 subjects that are no longer taught in schools
||| FROM INTERESTING FACTS ||| Think back to your school days: Are you nostalgic for flipping through a dusty library card catalog or clacking away on a typewriter? Some subjects you remember from those days are probably things of the past, although the finer points of how schools have changed
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
Now at the Market Garden Nursery ||| FROM JULIA TURNEY for ORCAS MASTER GARDENERS ||| Do you have a question about your soil, have a problem with your fruit tree, or are thinking about starting a garden? Is something bugging your plants, or you are curious about identifying a plant
LWVSJ Observer Corps | Board of Health July 16, 2025
||| FROM NECIA QUAST for LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS ||| The North Sound Behavioral Health Organization has paused their CEO search. The organization got an access-to-care grant in the latest public health funding round. They are exploring creating a Medicaid billing function to help improve access for providers in areas
Always something happening at Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Discover your artistic side Unleash your creativity at Art with Carla Fridays, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Orcas Senior Center. Led by experienced artist Carla Stanley, this lighthearted class focuses on the creative process with a strong belief in your
Conservation groups sue over aquaculture pollution of Columbia River
||| FROM EMMA HELVERSON for WILD FISH CONSERVANCY ||| Portland, OR – [Earlier this month], Center for Food Safety (CFS) and Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) filed a lawsuit against Pacific Seafood Aquaculture, LLC, for multiple violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) at three commercial net pen aquacaulture facilities on the Columbia River raising
Letter to Editor | You can’t make this stuff up
||| FROM BOB DISTLER ||| Early this morning, thanking us for our patience while the newer, faster and larger Sealth served our interisland route: Ana/SJs - Update: The Tillikum Returns as Interisland Vessel After successful maintenance, repairs, and inspections, the Tillikum has returned to the Anacortes/San Juan Islands route . The Tillikum has replaced the Sealth as the
