What’s the Thanksgiving dinner COVID risk across the country?
||| FROM WASHINGTON POST ||| With the coronavirus spreading uncontrolled across nearly the entire country, many public health experts are urging Americans to cancel their Thanksgiving gathering plans. But not everyone is taking this advice to heart: Roughly 40 percent plan to attend a Thanksgiving gathering with 10 or more people, according
Port of Orcas to meet in regular session Monday
||| FROM PORT OF ORCAS ||| REGULAR MEETING AGENDA Nov 23rd, 2020 5:00 p.m. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84572624414?pwd=ckV6RmZMd1UwZ0ppL0gvY2FxM1pVQT09 Meeting ID: 845 7262 4414 Passcode: 893293 One tap mobile +12532158782,,84572624414#,,,,,,0#,,893293# US (Tacoma) +13462487799,,84572624414#,,,,,,0#,,893293# US (Houston) CALL TO ORDER – 5:00 p.m. AGENDA AMENDMENTS PUBLIC ACCESS MONTHLY BUSINESS Approval of Previous Minutes
Recapping recent COVID-19 news, statewide response updates
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported a total of 134,121 confirmed cases as of 11:59 pm on November 16. There have been 2,571 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. For the most recent tally of cases by county, demographics, and more, visit the Department of Health's dashboard and
Fishermen rescue woman who jumped off state ferry near Bremerton
||| FROM KOMO NEWS ||| BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — The Coast Guard says a woman who jumped off the state ferry Chimacum during a Monday crossing was recovered and brought to St. Michael Medical Center in Bremerton. The Kitsap Sun reports the woman was found in the water by two
Know someone who would like to be on the Food Bank team?
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND FOOD BANK BOARD ||| We're looking for a Dry-Storage Supervisor! This position reports to our Food Bank Manager. Duties include receiving, storing, handling, and distributing shelf-stable food; training and supervising volunteers; reporting on food ordering needs; and working with the Food Bank Manager and Cold-Storage supervisor. Must
Community Foundation: With a little help from our friends
||| FROM HILARY CANTY for ORCAS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| As we enter into a new month of restrictions due to Covid, it is a good time to review what services are available on Orcas and how we as a community can help support each other through this crisis. With schools
Letter to Editor | People don’t suck — some do, but ignore or help them
||| FROM BRUCE HANNA ||| Saw daughter, Lauren’s, Facebook post from awhile ago... (just found it)... And my response, edited “People DON'T suck . . .well, some of them do, but just ignore them .. or help them. Primarily people are AWESOME - I"m on a SW flight and the
An overall COVID update in SJC, and some new cases
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| ORCAS ISLAND Since the last update, seven new cases have been identified on Orcas Island. This brings the total number of cases in San Juan County to 56. All of these new cases are tied to a nine-case cluster on
Oh! Look what’s about to blow in
||| FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ||| * WHAT...Southeast winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 65 mph possible. * WHERE...San Juan County, Western Whatcom County, Western Skagit County and Admiralty Inlet Area. * WHEN...From Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening. * IMPACTS...Damaging winds could blow down tree limbs and
Letter to Editor | Rough ride ahead
||| FROM LEITH TEMPLIN ||| As I sat and listened to our County Council meeting this week and watched how professionally and respectfully Rick Hughes chaired the meeting I was so appreciative of all that he has brought to the council and has accomplished for San Juan County and most
New SJIMA exhibit is entitled the Genius of Fog
||| FROM DIANE MARTINDALE for SAN JUAN ISLANDS MUSEUM OF ART ||| Remember a time on a summer night when you laid on your back and stared at the night sky and felt insignificant in that vastness of space? In SPACE, MUSES, ETC. at the San Juan Islands Museum of
HKP Architects wins award for Orcas Library expansion design
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| MOUNT VERNON, WASHINGTON — HKP Architects is thrilled to announce that their firm received three of the six Merit Awards given out in this year’s American Institute of Architects Northwest Section Design Awards. Jurors included renowned accessibility expert Karen Braitmayer, construction representative Susan McCants,
200 queens found in single ‘murder hornet’ nest destroyed by US authorities
||| FROM SCIENCE ALERT ||| After months of searching, in October scientists located and destroyed the first nest of giant 'murder hornets' ever discovered in the US, eradicating a hidden enclave of the invasive insects concealed in a tree in Washington State, close to the Canadian border. While the discovery and elimination of
Orcas Island Film Festival has some new releases for us
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL ||| It's been a challenging fall with all that's going on in our world. We don't know about you, but we can sure use a little fun and inspiring relief. Good News! We've got five new films in our virtual cinema for you to enjoy and
Letter to Editor | Will SJC take steps to reduce influx of visitors?
||| FROM JOE SYMONS ||| Given the Governor’s new announcement, will SJC take any steps to reduce non-essential travel? We are still in phase 2 where non-essential travel is prohibited. That said, there are basically no restrictions imposed by SJC re hospitality facilities and no enforcement of the definition of
Inslee announces statewide restrictions for four weeks
||| FROM GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE'S OFFICE ||| Gov. Jay Inslee today announced a four-week statewide set of restrictions in response to the recent rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus in Washington and across the country. The new restrictions come as Washington sees consistent increasing daily case counts, with over 2,000 cases a
