Here’s a thought…
“Deep breath. Deep breath. The air is free. You can take as many as you want.”
BUDDHIST MONK
Fairgrounds ready to welcome summer picnickers, fairgoers, campers, and more
These upgrades – including new roads, restrooms, roofs, and paint – will benefit the community for years to come. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| If you haven’t been to the County Fairgrounds lately, you might be surprised by the improved accessibility, refreshed look, and wide range of facility
SJC Monthly News Digest | June 2025
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| County’s Pilot Project for Marine Transport Services Concludes June marked the final month of the County’s transportation project, providing emergency barge and foot-passenger transportation during disruptions to Washington State Ferry (WSF) service as well as travel to and from the mainland (Anacortes) on
San Juan Islands Sculpture Park bird walk
||| FROM MARITA HOLDAWAY for SJI SCULPTURE PARK ||| Join us at the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park on Wednesday, July 2 from 8-10am for our monthly bird walk with avid birder, Tyler Davis, leading the walk. Tyler tells us, “A lot of nestlings have fledged in the last month,
Litch Brothers and more to play at Village Green on July 6
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| Join us on the Village Green on Sunday, July 6 starting at 5pm for another great FREE Summer Concert Series event presented by Orcas Center, Doe Bay Resort, GiveOrcas/OICF, and San Juan County The Litch Brothers With Tashi Litch on mandolin, Kaj
County investment in affordable housing on Orcas Island is coming to fruition
Kidder Way project will create ten new affordable homes on Orcas Island in a prime location in Eastsound ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| This summer, construction is in full swing at the Kidder Way affordable housing project on Orcas Island. Foundations have been poured, walls have been framed,
Sheriff’s Office statement on incident involving a joint patrol with Coast Guard, Customs & Border Patrol
||| FROM SHERIFF ERIC PETER ||| On the afternoon of 6/26/25, Sheriff’s Boat #2 being operated by Sergeant Peterson and Deputy Fowler was on a Stone Garden patrol with two U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement officers and one (CBP) Customs & Border Patrol Officer. They conducted a vessel stop/inspection on
Orcas ask humans to lunch, share massages
||| FROM DIVERNET.COM ||| More than 30 cases of wild killer whales attempting to share their prey with human beings are the subject of a study published today (30 June). The incidents, spread over four oceans, have been documented over two decades and involved the orcas offering people a range
The first rule in Trump’s Washington: Don’t write anything down
||| FROM THE WASHINGTON POST ||| At the Department of Veterans Affairs, some employees had to sign nondisclosure agreements before reviewing plans for firings and organizational shake-ups. At the Administration for Children and Families, career staff were told not to respond in writing to panicky grant recipients whose funding had
Deaths, fines, and legal drama | End of Florida theme parks with captive animals may be nigh
|||FROM DISNEY DINING ||| In a state known for its theme parks, a very different kind of attraction is now making headlines—and not for the right reasons. The glitz of roller coasters and character parades has long overshadowed the quieter controversy brewing at a series of marine parks scattered across
What we’ll lose if bird banding ends
Scientists have tagged birds for more than 100 years. That preservation program might be defunded. ||| FROM THE WASHINGTON POST ||| I did not know much about bird banding until I signed up to take part in an owl study in my neighborhood outside Portland, Oregon. A federally licensed bird
Upcoming, continuing classes at Orcas Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Fall Prevention Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance® Join Karol Wilson, DPT, for a three month fall prevention Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance® class at Orcas Senior Center. Karol, a Doctor of Physical Therapy with 30 years of
Airport to close Monday night for house move
||| FROM CHIP LONG for PORT OF ORCAS ||| Monday evening, June 30 from 2100L - 2400L RW 16/34 will be closed (helipad remains open) to accommodate Nickel Brothers House Moving as they deliver a home from BC to Orcas. They’ll arrive at North Beach at 2130, high tide, enter Port
Cascade Job Corps Center will remain open
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| If you follow the political headlines out of Washington D.C., a lot of what you read isn't very good news. But today, I have some great news for our region. Cascade Job Corps Center will remain open. Watch my full
Friends welcomes new legal director, Magali Cota
||| FROM ELISE COPE for FRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS ||| Friends of the San Juans is excited to welcome and introduce Magali Cota as our new Legal Director and Staff Attorney. Magali is an environmental law attorney who has worked closely with communities to protect their natural spaces, educated
Letter to Editor | New terminal agent to receive $725,000 annual fee
||| FROM MICHAEL RIORDAN ||| The next Orcas Island terminal agent, Madrona Pacific Landing Company, LLC, will be receiving an annual fee of $725,000 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, according to the contract just signed last week with Washington State Ferries. That's $148,431 — or over 25 percent
Midnight Mutterings | Near misses
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES ||| But first: Old news Pop Quiz: What do Mick Jagger and Rupert Murdoch have in common? Answer is at the end of this column if you get that far.** Ah, the near misses of our lives. Of course some of them are tragic,
