Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
Jean Cocteau documentary film at Orcas Center
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center is proud to present a special public screening of the acclaimed feature documentary Jean Cocteau, directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland. This captivating film, which explores the life, art, and enduring legacy of the French polymath Jean Cocteau, will be shown on
Free Community Beach Walks | Learn about our unique shorelines
||| FROM KATHERINE DIETZMAN for FRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS ||| Get outside and explore the incredible shorelines of San Juan County! Join Friends of the San Juans, coastal geologists, and local experts for a fun and informative afternoon at the beach on Orcas or Lopez Island. You’ll learn how
Join peace rally Saturday, July 12 at 3 pm in Eastsound
||| FROM SHARON ABREU ||| Come be part of World Beyond War's 24-Hour International Peace Wave! 3:00-3:30 Peace rally with music outdoors at the Emmanuel Church Labyrinth - Please bring your peace/anti-war signs! (The rally will be streaming live on the internet worldwide!) 3:30-4:30 Reception with lemonade and cookies in the
Penalties undetermined for disturbed cultural site at Rosario
Owners installed glamping tent platforms without permits ||| FROM SALISH CURRENT ||| The soil beneath Rosario Resort in Eastsound is like a historical tome, each layer a chapter in the story of human life here. There was a Lummi community here in the time of the grandparents’ grandparents — before
West Sound wildland fire on July 8, 2025
||| FROM BEN LUNA for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| The wildland fire which started midday on July 8 th in West Sound remains active and will be so for the next 48-72 hours. The fire is contained at just over 5 acres with multiple hot spots still smoking
High costs may force WA ferry electrification program off course
With the state’s first converted hybrid-electric ferry “days away” from entering service, lawmakers are questioning whether it’s realistic to transition the fleet to 22 plug-in vessels by 2040 ||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD ||| Washington aspires for its largest-in-the-nation fleet of passenger ferries to operate reliably and emission-free by 2050.
No jury duty, July 14 – 18
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| JURY DUTY: JULY 14-18, 2025 All jurors summonsed for jury duty beginning Monday July 14th through Friday July 18th, are excused. Thank you.
Potential purchase by County of property on Decatur Island to support barge landing access
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County’s Public Works Department is seeking to purchase property on Decatur Island, adjacent to the only developed public marine facility on the island – the barge landing. The County has entered into a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition
Wildland fire still burning, but contained, on Orcas Island
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for SJC DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| Orcas Island Fire and Rescue has been responding the afternoon/evening of Tuesday July 8th to an active wildland fire in the vicinity of Melba Lane and Bobbyann Road on the West side of Orcas Island, just north of West
The Texas floods were made worse by climate denialism
Elected officials must be held accountable, now and in the future, for the lives lost in disasters brought on by increasingly extreme weather ||| FROM MICHAEL BLOOMBERG at BLOOMBERG.COM ||| The tragic news out of central Texas has been heartbreaking, but it’s also been maddening — because so many lives
Heritage Apples and Wild Hybrids | A deep look at resilience through local food
What do forgotten orchards and wild-growing trees reveal about our island’s future? ||| FROM STEPHANIE PRIMA for SAN JUAN GRANGE ||| Botanist Madrona Murphy returns to the Grange to share discoveries from her work with Kwiaht, the San Juan-based conservation research group. This month’s Islands Resilience lecture explores island-grown apples—some
Free concert this Sunday | Rafe Pearlman and Friends
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center is thrilled to announce a special performance featuring Rafe Pearlman & Friends alongside Micaela Kingslight on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at 5:00 PM on the Village Green. This free event is part of Orcas Center’s Summer Concert Series and is
Lori Fast works on display at Orcas Library
||| FROM ANDREA COHEN for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| July’s Library art exhibit is a tribute to Island artist Lori Fast, who passed away in December 2024 after a years-long battle with cancer. For years, Lori was part of a small, close-knit group of islanders who met weekly for afternoons
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
Now at the Market Garden Nursery ||| FROM JULIA TURNEY and JAY LUCAS 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
Fires reported to OIFR for first week of July 2025
||| FROM BEN LUNA for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| Between July 1 and July 4, Orcas Island Fire and Rescue responded to five fire calls, including two structure fires in Olga. The first structure fire began at approximately midnight on the 1st, and the second structure fire began
Ferry Talk | Governor Ferguson to host Orcas Island public meeting
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOV. FERGUSON ||| The governor is visiting Orcas Island on Monday, July 14, and he will be hosting a public meeting at noon at Orcas Center. We invite the public to come and share their experiences and feedback about Washington State Ferries with the governor
