Clarification to restaurant guidance, new summer camp guidance
-- from Governor Jay Inslee's Office -- Gov. Jay Inslee today announced updates to the July 24 guidance for restaurants, taverns, breweries, wineries and distilleries as part of Washington's Safe Start phased reopening plan. Changes include clarification about which establishments can offer indoor seating, temporary outdoor seating guidance and counter-style seating clarifications. Read the full
Current board vacancies in need of filling
-- from San Juan County Communications -- The County Council is searching for San Juan County citizens to fill current and upcoming vacancies on various boards and commissions. Additional information about each committee is available on the County's website at: http://sanjuanco.com/641/Board-Committee-Vacancies. Persons interested in serving on a board or advisory committee
Poem for today: I saw Emmett Till this week at the grocery store
I saw Emmett Till this week at the grocery store By Eve L. Ewing looking over the plums, one by onelifting each to his eyes andturning it slowly, a little earth,checking the smooth skin for pockmarksand rot, or signs of unkind days or people,then sliding them gently into the plastic.whistling
Island Hospital makes its case to Health District
-- from Susan McBain, Orcas Issues reporter -- Three senior executives from Island Hospital—Charles Hall, CEO; Elise Cutter, COO; and Patty Codd, Director of Clinic Operations—attended the July 30 special meeting of the Orcas Island Health Care District. They were there to present details of their proposal to operate a
Superintendent will recommend Distance Learning to begin school year
-- from Eric Webb, Orcas Schools Superintendent -- As the Superintendent of Orcas Island School District, it has always been my hope that our students would return to campus this fall. There is no substitute for in- person learning. That said, we have been placed in a situation in which
Now Showing… Three powerful documentaries and a French marriage comedy
-- from Orcas Island Film Festival -- CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL FILMS PLAYING THIS WEEK REBUILDING PARADISE USA | 2020 | 93 min | Documentary On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, a devastating firestorm engulfed the picturesque city of Paradise, California. By the time the Camp Fire was extinguished, it had
Village Voices | What have you read or watched recently?
-- by Minor Lile, Orcas Issues reporter -- With the monthly Village Voices series, we aim to take the pulse of the Orcas Island community. Every month we’ll be out and about, asking people to share their point of view on a particular topic. Sometimes the questions will be serious,
25 proclamations relating to COVID-19 extended by State
-- from Governor Inslee's Office -- Gov. Jay Inslee announced the extension of 25 proclamations [Friday] in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The extensions were approved by the state Legislature. A July 30 letter from the Legislature extends the following proclamations until September 1, 2020. 20-15.6: Department of Licensing (20-15.5)20-20.6: Department of Revenue
Guest Opinion | In regard to Prune Alley improvements…
||| from Fred Klein ||| With all due respect to the obviously heartfelt concerns of authors and commenters on this topic, if I may, I would like to take a step back from the issue of street lighting and provide some context to the proposed improvements to Prune Alley. For
COVID-19 still rising in Washington; no turnaround yet
OLYMPIA – [Friday] the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released the latest statewide situation report, which outlines similar trends to our previous report. Transmission continues to increase overall in eastern and western Washington. Report findings include: COVID-19 transmission continued to grow across the state as of early July. Best estimates place the
Orcasional Musings | Are the Olympics coming to Orcas?
||| ORCASIONAL MUSINGS BY STEVE HENIGSON ||| Wednesday afternoon, Jean and I wandered over to scope out Orcas High School's new running track. We were very deeply impressed by what we saw. It looked as if it were ready for the next Olympics. First of all, there's the track itself.
Daily recap of COVID-19 news and updates
-- from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray -- Newest numbers. DOH experienced an outage with its reporting system today which caused interruptions in several functions. The data reported today is preliminary and only include cases through 7 p.m. on 7/30 (not 11:59 p.m. as is usual). DOH anticipates negative tests will
Sheriff’s Report | July 22 – 29, 2020
-- from San Juan County Sheriff's Office -- Wednesday, July 22, 202020-005921 Welfare Check 16:25:16 07/22/20Deputies responded to an Eastsound address for a report of a welfare check on a subject with odd behavior. The male subject was contacted, identified and found to not need any further assistance. An informational
Letter to the Editor | EPRC says unanimous ‘yes’ to original Prune Alley development plans
-- from Chris Bean-Hearne -- The EPRC voted unanimously at their zoom meeting on Thursday to forge ahead with their original plans for the development of Prune Alley despite the numerous complaints and with total disregard of the opinions of so many Orcas Islanders to those plans. One minor sop
State Health Department releases statement on data delays
-- from State Health Department -- We want to make you aware that DOH experienced an outage with our reporting system today (7/31), which means today’s report will be posted late. The outage caused interruptions in several functions, which means the data we report will be preliminary. Today’s data will
Inslee issues contact tracing proclamation, protects personal information
-- from Governor Inslee's Office -- Gov. Jay Inslee issued a proclamation today related to the state's contact tracing efforts and personal information protection. Proclamation 20-64 exempts personally identifiable information collected by COVID-19 case investigators from public disclosure. The proclamation does not provide additional exemptions for employees or volunteers who are
