Here’s a thought…
“That confidence — that the law cannot reach you because you are the one wielding it — is the oldest and most dangerous delusion in Washington.”
MILES TAYLOR
PeaceHealth will require all caregivers to be COVID-19 vaccinated by month’s end
Unvaccinated caregivers with qualifying medical exemptions subject to heightened masking, distancing, and regular testing protocols ||| FROM PEACEHEALTH COMMUNICATIONS ||| August 3, 2021– VANCOUVER, Wash. – PeaceHealth announced that starting August 31, 2021, all caregivers will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit a qualifying medical exemption. Unvaccinated
Auditor seeks “con” writers for voters’ pamphlet statements
This post has been updated. ||| FROM MILENE HENLEY, SAN JUAN COUNTY AUDITOR ||| The San Juan County Auditor is seeking volunteers to write opposing arguments to ballot measures in the November 2021 General Election. The arguments will be published in print and online versions of the Voters’ Pamphlet. Lopez
Letter to Editor | Is it time to face reality? Or is it too late?
||| FROM MICHAEL JOHNSON ||| S.C. Watson illustration paid for by MJ and friends. Coming out of the year 2020, a year marked by the pandemic, now allows us to reflect upon where we, as a county are headed, and ask ourselves, "where do we want to end
Letter to Editor | But WSF just told us a smaller boat wouldn’t happen
||| FROM BOB DISTLER ||| For those of us looking forward to the rest of the summer, an alarming situation has come to my attention: The WSF reservation system indicates that the 90-car Sealth will replace the 144-car Yakima in the San Juans beginning on Monday, 16 August and running through the end of
OICMF presents 24th season: Coming to you, wherever you are
Let the music play! ||| FROM ANITA ORNE for ORCAS ISLAND CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL ||| The performers are arriving, rehearsals are starting, and opening night is this Friday, August 6. Wherever you are, you can stream this year’s Festival, free, beginning with our Welcome Back! concert on Saturday, August 7, and concluding on Closing
Letter to Editor | A proposal to tailor tourism to fit our county
||| FROM BILL APPEL ||| I propose that tourism be better tailored to match our culture and ecology with a new generation of participating tourist facilities that are operated in a manner that attracts possibly fewer but thoughtful, ecologically oriented visitors in celebration and support of what our islands offer.
Time to dedicate our new Playground-on-the-Green, with thanks to many
Playground-on-the-Green Dedication, 12 Noon, Sat, Aug 14, Eastsound Village Green ||| FROM ALICE HIBBERD for SJC PARKS & FAIR ||| The Playground-on-the-Green, the product of Orcas Island imagination, energy, and funding, and constructed by Orcas artists Chuck Greening and Zackarya Leck, will be dedicated to resident and visiting children on
Still no fuel currently available at Orcas Airport
FROM JEANNIE SHARPE for PORT OF ORCAS ||| Still no good news on fuel availability at the Orcas airport. I was just told that the replacement cellphone program part was not shipped last week, when I called for the tracking number. They have promised me that the new part will
A promise of fun for everyone at OPALCO’s Electrical Vehicle Jamboree
||| FROM SUZANNE OLSON for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| Test drive an EV, ride an electric bike, check out electric garden tools and an electric UTV! Free hot dogs and popcorn, great Island Way swag – and small kids can take the Island Way electric jeep for spin
SeaDoc Society to hold virtual ‘Bottoms Up’ event Sept. 9. Register now.
||| FROM JUSTIN COX for SEADOC SOCIETY ||| The SeaDoc Society is going virtual again for their annual fundraiser event, which will be held on September 9 at 5:30 p.m. The special live event, Bottoms Up, will take viewers down to the seafloor and guide them through a year of
Mammogram van coming to Orcas Senior Center
Schedule appointment for September 20, 21, 22 ||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Assured Imaging will be at Orcas Senior Center again this year with their Mammogram Van on September 20, 21, and 22. A third day was added due to such a successful turnout of 94
Inslee updates K-12 education proclamation
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| Gov. Jay Inslee issued an update today to the K-12 Schools COVID emergency order, Proclamation 20-09.4, to continue to require that all teachers and students wear face coverings inside, consistent with the CDC’s recommendations for K-12 schools. The governor announced the
Senior Center announces district committee election results
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Thanks to everyone who participated in the recent Orcas District Committee election. We received 77 valid ballots, and the results are in! Tom Eversole, Diane Craig, Elsie Pamuk, Greg Raffelson, Darcey Miller, Allan Rosato, and Jennifer Hairston all received sufficient votes
Here’s the latest Inslee e-news update
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| Inslee addresses Biden, Harris on challenges of worsening wildfires Gov. Jay Inslee joined a bipartisan group of seven Western governors to address President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the challenges states face from increasing wildfires. Wildfires in Washington to date
Got gardening questions? Master Gardeners will be at Driftwood to answer them
||| FROM DIANE MACONDRAY for SJC MASTER GARDENERS ||| On Wednesday, August 4, the San Juan County Master Gardeners will be answering garden questions and accepting plant samples for growing problem analysis at Driftwood Nursery in Eastsound from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can locate the form that needs
Join our amazing Orcas Island Food Bank team
Currently recruiting three Americorps positions ||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND FOOD BANK TEAM ||| A 10.5 month term serving 40 hours a week. Service members are eligible for a monthly stipend of $1945, and upon completion will be eligible for $6345 toward student loans or future education. (if you are 55
