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
Happy Holidays from the Lions Club
||| FROM ORCAS LIONS CLUB ||| As members of the Orcas Lions Club, we, like everyone else, in this wonderful community, have been immensely affected by this once in a lifetime pandemic! Like many other organizations, we have had to cancel most of our community projects this year because of
Senior Center welcomes Michel Vekved to the team
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| The Orcas Senior Center non-profit is excited to welcome Michel Vekved to our team part-time. As a 20-year resident of Orcas Island, many of you may already know Michel from her work with Friends of the San Juans or Friends of
Orcasional Musings | Something about bigotry
||| ORCASIONAL MUSINGS by STEVE HENIGSON ||| A couple of weeks ago, my friend Kristen Wilson was dismayed by my reference to "the Chinese Disease." She worried that by openly attributing COVID-19 to the Chinese, it would somehow adversely affect her adopted daughter, Paris, who was born in China and
Sheriff’s Report | November 25 – December 1, 2020
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 20-010019 Burglary,NonRes 10:52:33 11/25/20 A Deputy on Orcas Island was dispatched to a business burglary near Eastsound. A report was filed. 20-010020 Trespassing 11:45:25 11/25/20 A Deputy responded to a report of a trespassing at South Beach on San
County Canvassing Board directed to recount Orcas East Precinct votes in Governor race
||| FROM COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICE ||| OFFICIAL NOTICE OF San Juan County Canvassing Board Meetings San Juan County has been directed by the Office of the Secretary of State to recount Orcas East Precinct votes in the race for Governor of Washington State. This direction comes following a request for
Rep. Larsen outlines priorities for next COVID-19 pandemic relief bill
||| FROM REP. RICK LARSEN'S OFFICE ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) urged Congress to address the continued public health crisis and deliver real relief for Washingtonians, families and small businesses. In a letter to House and Senate leadership, Larsen outlined his top priorities for any upcoming
2021 to bring changes to vital records ordering requirements
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY NEWS ||| Important Note: Starting January 1, 2021, a new vital records law and rules go into effect that changes the ordering requirements for birth and death certificates. For increased security of personal information, only individuals with specific relationships to the person on the record being requested can receive a
Weekly COVID roundup shows no new cases on Orcas
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| Note: Current positive case numbers are available online at the County Case Count Page. As indicated on that page, these numbers are only updated after case confirmation is complete, usually daily. It is possible that other information sources in community
Center for Whale Research: Fundamental problem with southern resident killer whales
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Comment to the Agenda Item concerning Commercial Whale Watching Public Hearing at the December 3-5, 2020 WDFW (Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife) Commission Meeting Dear Commissioners: The southern resident killer whales (SRKWs) are top-level marine predators that have evolved a specialized diet
‘Occam’s Razor’ | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
Welcome to our new weekly feature, Occam's Razor, from local artist S.C. Watson.
Working Washington has $50 million in business grants available
||| FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ||| The GRANT APPLICATION PORTAL for Working Washington 3 has just gone live. Please go to the link below and click the "Apply Now" button. http://startup.choosewashingtonstate.com/working-washington-round3/ Who can apply? These grants are prioritized for: Small businesses with annual revenues of $5 million or less in
Thanksgiving weekend WSF ridership down 50% from 2019
||| FROM NICOLE MCINTOSH for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m thankful to all who followed statewide restrictions to limit travel over Thanksgiving weekend. We had just under 175,000 riders from Wednesday through Sunday. That’s roughly half of the 340,000 people we carried during the same
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
