Here’s a thought…
“When you re-read a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in yourself than there was before.”
CLIFTON FADIMAN
First COVID vaccines arrive in San Juan County to more than 50 welcoming arms
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY NEWS ||| San Juan County Health and Community Services staff provided the first COVID vaccine to islanders on Wednesday, Dec. 30. As per state and federal guidelines, initial distribution is limited to healthcare professionals, emergency responders, and long-term care facility staff and residents. This group
Another recap of COVID-19 news, updates: An ongoing saga
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported a total of 231,724 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on December 28. There have been 3,369 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
OISD strings present a holiday virtual concert
||| FROM SHARON HO for MUSIC ADVOCACY GROUP ||| https://youtu.be/nXi-tAD_OLE The Music Advocacy Group sends holiday greetings to the Orcas Community, and wants to share the virtual Holiday Concert of the OISD strings program with you. We are so proud of our music students for their new skills and
New Mukilteo ferry terminal opens with a virtual ribbon cutting video
State’s first new ferry terminal in 40 years opens to traffic ||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| MUKILTEO – The state’s new Mukilteo Multimodal Ferry Terminal, Washington State Ferries’ first new terminal in 40 years, officially opens with the arrival of the ferry from Clinton at 5:50 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec.
Mobile COVID-19 testing comes to Orcas Island; A thank you from OIHCD
||| FROM ANNE PRESSON for ORCAS HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| Orcas Family Health Center (OFHC) delivered an early Christmas present to the Orcas community, launching a mobile SARS-COVID-19 testing project on Dec. 21. Recognizing the impact COVID-19 testing was having on staff at both the OFHC and UW Orcas Clinics,
Advisory committee seeks community input on Coffelt Farm Preserve recommendations
||| FROM TANJA WILLIAMSON for SJC LAND BANK ||| The Conservation Agriculture Resource Team (CART-Coffelt) is holding an online public meeting, on January 14th 2021 from 5:30-7pm, to gather input on their draft report of recommendations for future agricultural operations at the Land Bank’s Coffelt Farm Preserve. CART will present
2020 In Review | The fate or future of Eastsound
||| BY MATTHEW GILBERT, theORCASONIAN OP/ED REPORTER ||| It's hard to pick just one story, since so many issues are intertwined. But as I look ahead, the nexus of many of our challenges will be found in Eastsound proper: Growth, rural character, vacation rentals, tourism, and housing. Eastsound is governed
County Planning Commission endorses vacation rental moratorium
||| FROM YONATAN ALDORT for VACATION RENTAL GROUP ||| NEWS: Last month, the San Juan County Planning Commission issued a recommendation to the County Council in which they addressed six of the eight regulatory reform items that were contained in our December 18, 2019 letter to then-Councilmembers Hughes, Stevens and
Islander shares what it’s like to live on an island, in gratitude, during world-wide pandemic
||| FROM JAMES CONNELL ||| [This] is my attempt to musically and visually represent what it's like to live in gratitude on our beautiful island amidst 2020's frenzied and frightening events throughout the world. It has five of our wonderful Orcas photographers' work in it -- Steve Alboucq, Rosemarie Altberg,
New County Council members sworn in
||| BY MINOR LILE, REPORTER AT LARGE ||| Christine Minney and Cindy Wolf were sworn in as members of the San Juan County Council at 11:00 am this morning. San Juan County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Loring presided over the ceremony. Due to COVID restrictions, attendance in the courtroom where
Soon! No more overhead power lines in Eastsound
||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT ||| Starting January 15 th , OPALCO will begin the process of replacing the overhead power lines on Prune Alley. Moving the lines underground will increase reliability by reducing the likelihood of power outages due to high winds or falling trees.
2020 in Review | COVID-19 interview with Dr. Frank James
||| BY MINOR LILE, ORCASONIAN REPORTER ||| It could perhaps go without saying that the biggest story I played a part in covering this year has been the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It seems important to emphasize the ‘played a part’ portion of the preceding sentence. Much of the information about
Island Hospital has some upcoming classes of interest
||| FROM RACHEL LAMBERT for ISLAND HOSPITAL ||| FREE MEMORY SCREENING Free memory screenings will be held on Tuesday, January 12, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Island Hospital’s Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy clinic, 1015 25th St., Anacortes. Our experts will help identify the nature of your memory difficulty and determine if
One of America’s richest islands got pummeled by COVID. Then the warring started.
The wealthy decamped there to escape the virus. But it arrived anyway. And now, residents are pointing the fingers at each other over who is to blame. ||| FROM THE DAILY BEAST ||| HYANNIS, Massachusetts—As the freezing water sloshed up against the sides of the boat and the first winter
2020 in Review | Contract finalized with Island Hospital, health-care district
||| BY SUSAN MCBAIN, ORCASONIAN REPORTER ||| My top story of the year was the finalization of the contract with Island Hospital. A lot happened at the Orcas Island Health Care District this year -- the commissioners finalized their preferred model, released a request for proposal for a partner to
How federal funds helped Washington communities and families fight COVID-19 realities
||| FROM GOV. JAY INSLEE'S OFFICE ||| Over the past nine months, Washington state has distributed more than $2.1 billion to orchestrate ongoing, significant relief efforts across multiple sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic — a public health crisis affecting more aspects of life than most people have ever experienced. This funding was
