Here’s a thought…
“No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.”
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE
Human-made stuff doubles in mass every 20 years
It Just Crossed a Disturbing Line ||| FROM SCIENCE ALERT ||| All of the Amazon's splendid greenery. Every fish in the Pacific. Every microbe underfoot. Every elephant on the plains, every flower, fungus, and fruit-fly in the fields, no longer outweighs the sheer amount of stuff humans have made. Estimates
Putting the green in the holiday season
What do fish sing during the holidays? Christmas corals! ||| FROM AMY NESLER for SAN JUAN VISITORS BUREAU ||| Have you resolved to be more eco-conscious this holiday season? Transition San Juan Island and Plastic Free Salish Sea can help! Check out the ideas below to reduce waste and lighten
COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan update from State Department of Health
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) continues to make progress with our COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning efforts. If everything goes as planned, we expect to have the vaccine delivered early next week in multiple locations across the state. The federal government has given
A special online musical event: Home for the Holidays
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE. for ORCAS CENTER ||| Never has the phrase, “Home for the Holidays” been more appropriate than this year. With many of us unable to attend events with friends and family, it’s hard to get into the holiday spirit. But, fret not - With COVID precautions strictly
Sheriff’s Report | December 2 – 7, 2020
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 20-010200 Welfare Check 12:47:41 12/02/20 Deputies responded to a welfare check on San Juan Island regarding a person in a mental health crisis. The person involved was peacefully taken into protective custody per a court ordered mental health pickup
And the Orcas East Precinct ballot recount resulted in — no change in count
||| FROM MILENE HENLEY, COUNTY AUDITOR ||| A recount of votes cast for Governor in San Juan County’s Orcas East precinct matched exactly the original vote count in the race. The recount, which had been requested by a representative of a political party, was conducted Thursday by two teams of
Transition Lopez Island outlines progress toward fossil-free, food secure future
||| BY STEVE BERNHEIM theORCASONIAN REPORTER ||| Last Saturday, December 5, a group called “Transition Lopez Island” convened a tele-panel of residents and representatives to update the community on progress toward a fossil-free future and steps to get there. Local panelists led off the four-hour session listing achievements and goals:
Guest Opinion | People power scores win vs. inequality
||| FROM HEDRICK SMITH ||| Washington – Unless you tuned out Donald Trump on his final frenetic campaign blitz, you remember seeing him barnstorming across Florida, stoking the fears of Latino voters with his nightmare threat that Joe Biden & Company would “turn America into Communist Cuba or Socialist Venezuela.” Fearmongering
Recap of recent statewide COVID-19 news and updates
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported a total of 192,413 confirmed cases as of 11:59 pm on December 9. There have been 2,850 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 the
Latest local COVID-19 news, updates
||| 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
‘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.
Datapalooza 2020: Stark realities and a Summer 2021 of uncertainty
||| BY theORCASONIAN OPD-ED REPORTER MATTHEW GILBERT ||| On December 9, the San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) hosted what has become a year-end round-up of economic data from the prior year for a virtual audience of approximately 35 people. As expected, the numbers were a grim reminder of
COVID-19 trends uncertain following increased activity before Thanksgiving
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – Today the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released the latest statewide situation report on COVID-19 transmission. Because people’s decisions about whether to get tested or seek healthcare tend to change around holidays, case and hospitalization data over the week of Thanksgiving may not
Next Meeting of the Minds to explore our national monument
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| MEETING OF THE MINDS – The Bureau of Land Management and the San Juan Islands National Monument – Past, Present, and Future @ ORCAS SENIOR CENTER BY ZOOM (Wednesday, December 16 at 1:00-2:00pm) Did you know there is a national monument
This year do your holiday shopping at the Orcas Library
||| FROM FRIENDS OF ORCAS LIBRARY ||| As with many of the wonderful activities which take place here on Orcas every year, Friends of the Orcas Island Library (FOIL) very reluctantly canceled last Winter’s Book Sale. That was early in the course of the pandemic. As conditions worsened both within
Doe Bay Wine, Senior Center putting together a virtual, festive vineyard
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Join Orcas Senior Center and Doe Bay Wine Company’s Cole Sisson in the virtual vineyard for a fun, festive and informative hour of wine tasting and food pairing on Sunday, December 20 at 5 p.m. You will learn how to pair
