Here’s a thought…
“I am so convinced of the advantages of looking at mankind instead of reading about them, and of the bitter effects of staying at home with all the narrow prejudices of an islander, that I think there should be a law amongst us to set our young men abroad for a term among the few allies our wars have left us.”
LORD BYRON
Land Bank July 2025 meeting & agenda
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY LAND BANK ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold a regular monthly meeting on July 18 , 2025 from 8:45am – 11:10am via Zoom. The meeting will also be available for in person public attendance at the San Juan Island Grange, located at 152 First Street,
County Council discusses ferry service with Gov. Ferguson at Orcas community meeting
The strong relationship between state and local officials was on display as San Juan County’s Council, along with other community leaders, joined in an honest discussion of islanders’ transportation needs. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| This week, the San Juan County Council attended a community meeting on Orcas
Upcoming blood drives
||| FROM HANNAH MCNUTT for BLOODWORKS ||| What amazing weather we are having! I hope you all can get on a boat (or at least watch the boats) and enjoy what our lovely community has to offer especially this time of year. I am reaching out today to inform you
San Juan County responds to recent ICE actions in the islands
During the July 15 Council meeting, Council addressed recent ICE raids in the Islands and reaffirmed that local government does not participate in immigration enforcement. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Council and Sheriff are jointly responding to recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions
Find treats and treasures on July 26 at Market Day
||| FROM HOLLY KING for EMMANUEL EPISCOPAL CHURCH ||| Jewelry galore! Great pies! Treasures you never knew you needed and tools you absolutely have to have. Come for the fun, take home great finds at Emmanuel Church’s annual Market Day, Saturday, July 26, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The line
It’s time for Good Trouble tomorrow in the San Juans
||| FROM INDIVISIBLE SAN JUANS TEAM ||| Let's pay tribute to John Lewis together, and to all who stand for civil and human rights. Yes, Good Trouble is happening throughout our islands tomorrow. Please try to make it to one of these, and if we missed your event details, please
Letter to Editor | Let’s Brunch raises nearly $30,000 for Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Let’s Brunch! was a huge success, raising almost $30,000 to support Orcas Senior Center. Guests enjoyed a festive afternoon of delicious food, lively music, exciting auction items, and great company—all for a great cause. This event wouldn’t have been possible without
Join Leadership San Juans to learn about their upcoming Cohort
||| FROM GRETCHEN KRAMPF for LEADERSHIP SAN JUANS ||| Monday, July 21 5:00 – 6:00 PM Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/p0HOT9ksQoG4BrFtO5yCFQ Thursday, August 21 Noon – 1:00 PM Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/JxOuwQ6aSKOiS066KZJ_mA
The Exchange update | July 2025
||| FROM THE EXCHANGE ||| Art Scholarship Winner: Sintia Cruz Hernandez Congratulations to Sintia Cruz Hernandez - the winner of this year’s Exchange Art Scholarship. Sintia’s art allows her to be a story teller and practice perspective, proportions,
Letter to Editor | When public service meets public fury
A call for compassion at the ferry terminal ||| FROM ELISABETH BRITT, FIRE COMMISSIONER & ORCAS FERRY LANDING TERMINAL STAFF ||| On the morning of July 14th, I was assigned to manage vehicle boarding at our local ferry terminal—a task I had never performed before, and for which I received
An important update to OIGC Member’s Book Club
Please note: article released on Tuesday, July 15 about the OIGC Member's Book Club should have included reference to partnership with the Orcas Island Public Library for the Light Eaters event. ||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| Calling all garden lovers and book enthusiasts! We're so excited to share
Jurors for July 21-25 duty are excused
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| JURY DUTY: JULY 21-25, 2025 All jurors summonsed for jury duty beginning Monday July 21st through Friday July 25th, are excused. Thank you.
San Juan County officially rejoins NWCAA
||| FROM NORTHWEST CLEAN AIR AGENCY ||| San Juan County is again part of the Northwest Clean Air Agency after action taken July 10 by the agency’s Board of Directors. Island, San Juan, Skagit, and Whatcom counties formed the Northwest Air Pollution Authority (now NWCAA) in 1967 under authority granted
Flotsam & Jetsam | Purses
||| FLOTSAM & JETSAM by MAURICE AUSTIN ||| Some three weeks ago, I watched my mother transfer the contents of her “small” purse into the depths of her “large” purse, a process which left me impressed with the capacity of this woman’s ability to plan for every biologic, socio-economic, and
A new era of hunger has begun
||| FROM NEW YORK TIMES ||| Parts of Easthampton, an old mill town in western Massachusetts, look like relics of industrial New England — the old workers’ rowhouses, for instance. In other parts, it seems like a place in renaissance, with converted factory buildings spruced up and reinhabited by art
Could giving this pod of dolphins the same legal rights as humans help keep them safe?
With a bottlenose population threatened by fishing gear, boats and pollution, campaigners on South Korea’s Jeju island are lobbying to extend legal status to the vulnerable cetaceans ||| FROM THE GUARDIAN ||| It is a beautiful sunny day on the island of Jeju in South Korea and as the boat
