Here’s a thought…
“Neither the evil nor the good in our history determines who we are. It is what we do now. If we do not say something ourselves about this horror, we allow ourselves to be changed.”
TIMOTHY SNYDER
Washington state adopting CDC’s new quarantine guidelines
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Health is adopting the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to reduce quarantine for people who have been exposed to COVID-19. Although both the Washington State Department of Health and CDC currently recommend a quarantine period
Human activity, shipping, fishing and polluting linked to killer-whale deaths: B.C. study
||| FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS ||| VICTORIA — A long-running study of more than 50 dead killer whales in the Pacific Ocean concludes human activity poses deadly threats to the orcas. Killer-whale deaths from Alaska to B.C., south to California and west to Hawaii linked to human activity were found
Strawberry Council invites community to annual meeting via ZOOM
||| FROM MADIE MURRAY for OLGA STRAWBERRY COUNCIL ||| The Olga Strawberry Council (the non-profit that owns the historic Olga Strawberry Barreling Plant commonly known as the Artworks Building) is holding its Annual Meeting on Sunday, December 6 at 4 pm via zoom. All of our community is invited! Those
Christmas trees now available at Coffelt Preserve’s Lum Farm
||| FROM MANDY TROXEL ||| Hours: Thursday through Sunday, 11am-4pm. Nobles, Grand and Douglas Firs in a variety of sizes, subject to availability. We’ve managed to acquire another batch of trees, and so have larger sizes again. Profits from the sale will be donated to the Orcas Resource Center and
Inslee updates guidance for religious and faith based organizations
||| FROM GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE'S OFFICE ||| Gov. Jay Inslee today updated restrictions for religious and faith based organizations. The update clarifies that religious and faith-based organizations can hold outdoor services with up to 200 individuals, regardless of location, so long as physical distancing is followed and face coverings are
Center for Whale Research buys a 45-ace ranch to help save the Orca
Whale research non-profit takes a big leap in conservation to preserve salmon habitat ||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Friday Harbor, WA (December 2, 2020) - In October 2020, the Center for Whale Research purchased a 45-acre ranch bordering both sides of Washington State’s Elwha River, in a stretch
You’ll want to check out this wooly winter pop-up shop
||| FROM MANDY TROXEL ||| Bossy’s Feltworks and Lum Farm invite you to their “Wooly Winter Pop-Up Shop” Saturdays, December 5th and 12th. Located at the Lum Farm Stand, the pop-up will run from 10am-4pm. Bossy’s and the Lums have your holiday gifting covered with wooly treasures ranging from darling
Funhouse launches first annual gingerbread house contest
||| FROM NICOLE SPINOGATTI for FUNHOUSE COMMONS ||| Housebound and bored? Sad having to limit visits from loved ones over this holiday season? Well, here’s a great, fun project anyone can do! The Funhouse, w/Island Market and Orcas Center’s help, is sponsoring a Gingerbread House Contest for ALL AGES (covid-friendly,
Recap of recent COVID-19 news and updates
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported a total of 167,216 confirmed cases as of 11:59 pm on November 30. There have been 2,805 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
Flotsam & Jetsam | An irregular feature
FLOTSAM & JETSAM by MAURICE AUSTIN And no, this one is not about advising the poor to eat their babies. And yes, you should know that reference. Alas, this proposal came pre-tainted with the aftermath of a missed Thanksgiving, which by the way I feared mom would countenance somewhat like
Orcas resident Dr. Rosie Kuhn publishes her 13th book
||| FROM ALISHA WHEELER ||| Dr. Rosie Kuhn, author, well-known life coach and longtime resident of Orcas Island is celebrating the release of her 13th book that just hit stores this past week. “I’ve Arrived! Well, Sort Of: 101 Discoveries and Revelations Stumbled Upon While On the Sacred Path to
Jump in and help build the Lopez community swim center
The nonprofit community Swim Center, open to all San Juan County islanders and visitors, gets closer to construction with its end-of-year $125,000 challenge. ||| FROM CLAIRE ANDERSON for FRIENDS OF LOPEZ ISLAND POOL ||| With only 37% of the building budget remaining to complete funding for the Lopez Island Swim
Coming in February: Behind the scenes with The Olga Symphony
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| For over 20 years, many folks on Orcas have enjoyed starting off the holiday season with a night at the Orcas Center with the Olga Symphony. Like so many other events, the annual concert can’t happen as usual this year, but never
A gift for your canine friends: 2021 dog licenses are now on sale
||| FROM NATASHA WARMENHOVEN for COUNTY AUDITOR'S OFFICE ||| The dog licensing season has begun! It was difficult to name just one celebrity dog this year, with so many of our canine companions providing much needed support for their owners and friends. The honor went to Little Bit, an 8-year-old
U.S. Navy gets OK for increased disturbance of orca
||| FROM TIMES COLUMNIST (BRITISH COLUMBIA) ||| Environmental groups are worried that the U.S. Navy’s activity in southern resident killer whale habitat spells trouble for the endangered animals. The navy has had authorization for decades to conduct testing and training in the waters of the Pacific Northwest, including Juan de
There’s a new San Juans emergency preparedness guide online
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| As part of an ongoing effort to increase community preparedness and self-sufficiency in the islands, the Department of Emergency Management has created a new online guide at: www.islandsready.org. This tool is designed to be simple, easy to navigate, and smart
