Here’s a thought…
“Peace is not something we ask for — it’s something we practice, together.”
WALK FOR PEACE
Health District | Field of proposers narrowed to one candidate
-- from Susan McBain, Orcas Issues Reporter -- At their July 14 meeting, the commissioners of the Orcas Island Health Care District made their decisions about the two proposals they received to operate a consolidated medical clinic on island. They decided to thank the Orcas Community Integrative Medicine Clinic (OCIMC)
School District brainstorms options on Fall re-opening
-- from Eric Webb, Orcas Schools Superintendent -- Although it is our desire to have all of our children back on campus in September as we have in the past, the current state of the pandemic calls for student instruction to be creatively restructured. Our goal is to offer authentic learning
County Council delays decision on withdrawing Phase 3 application
-- by Minor Lile, Orcas Issues reporter -- Both the County Council and the Board of Health met yesterday (July 15) to consider a recommendation from County Health officer Dr. Frank James to withdraw the County’s application to move to Phase 3 of the State’s Safe Start Washington plan. Following
Letter to Editor | Vote as if your life depends upon it
-- from Thom Carnevale -- In the last two week period, the number of cases of COVID-19 in the US has risen by 48%, the number of deaths by 43%. (+140,000 deaths, +3.7 million COVID-19 cases). Are we beginning to relive March in July, a period when businesses began to
Recapping today’s COVID-19 news, updates
-- from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray -- Newest numbers. The state of Washington reported 750 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of cases to 43,046, as of July 14 at 11:59 p.m. The total number of deaths are at 1,421. For the most
Letter to Editor | Vote YES for 2020 school levy
-- Kate Long, Arla & Sam Sutton -- Did you recently read that a 2020 Orcas High School grad received a prestigious Amazon scholarship for the second year in a row? Have you heard that Orcas public schools, despite their small size, offer an incredible variety of programs including Farm
Federal judge dismisses challenge to governor’s emergency declaration
-- from the Office of Governor Jay Inslee -- A lawsuit challenging the legality of the governor's emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic was thrown out in the federal Eastern District Court of Washington on Tuesday. In dismissing the complaint, Judge Thomas Rice wrote that the governor's emergency power granted
A recap of COVID-19 news and updates for mid-July
-- from Emergency Operations Center, Camp Murray -- Newest numbers. The state of Washington reported 554 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of cases to 42,304, as of July 13 at 11:59 p.m. The total number of deaths are at 1,404. For the most
Unemployed workers to State: This is a crisis — do your job
-- from Sage Wilson for Working Washington -- Unemployed workers speak out about their experiences and call on government to do its job: pay benefits promptly and extend federal reliefFour months into the coronavirus crisis, hundreds of thousands of people are still out of work — but far too many
New report shows school reopenings are closely tied to societal activity
-- from State Department of Health -- OLYMPIA -- Today, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), Public Health – Seattle & King County and Institute for Disease Modeling (IDM) released a new report that shows reopening schools without taking preventative measures may lead to a significant increase of COVID-19 in the population.
Hot Topic #26 | Digging deeper into contact tracing
COVID-19 updates from San Juan County around subjects on the minds of islanders -- from Brendan Cowan, Department of Emergency Management -- A more detailed look at how public health staff work to limit the spread of COVID in our community. This is by no means our most concise Hot
Food Bank meets challenge of more clients, more food, more staff, more space
-- from The Orcas Island Food Bank Board -- Our community has changed in so many ways in the past three months, and we wanted you to know how your Food Bank has changed to respond. We are now providing food for almost triple the number of clients we served
Council to hold special meeting to consider canceling Phase 3 application to State
-- from San Juan County Council -- The SJC Council will be holding a Special Meeting on Wednesday, July 15 (via videoconference) beginning at 1:30 p.m. The purpose of the special meeting is to Consider Recommendations from the Board of Health & Health Officer Regarding the Status of San Juan County’s
State Health Department publishes detailed COVID-19 preliminary death data report
-- from State Department of Health -- OLYMPIA – In the continuing effort to collect, maintain and publish the most useful data available to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has published a new death data report that includes different categories of COVID-19 deaths. Among those who have
County Health Officer recommends withdrawing Phase 3 application
-- by Minor Lile, Orcas Issues reporter -- At this morning’s County Council meeting, County Health Officer Dr. Frank James advised the Council that he has sent an email to the County Board of Health recommending that the County withdraw its application to move to Phase 3 under the Governor’s
FAQ for employers, businesses re: positive COVID test results
-- from Brendan Cowan, Department of Emergency Management -- As the islands enter the sixth month of the COVID crisis, the likelihood of local families, individuals, and businesses being connected to someone with a confirmed positive test result continues to increase. We created this FAQ to highlight answers to likely
