Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
Rep. Larsen announces 2025 Congressional App Challenge
Challenge open to all Middle and High School students who live or attend school in Washington State’s 2nd District ||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| EVERETT, WA – Today, Rep. Rick Larsen announced the launch of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge (CAC). The annual competition, which
Washington Gov. Ferguson signs packaging EPR law
Washington is now the seventh U.S. state with a packaging EPR law. ||| FROM WASTE DIVE ||| Gov. Bob Ferguson signed SB 5284 into law on Saturday, the culmination of years of advocacy to get a bill across the finish line. He called it the “biggest overhaul of our recycling
Kindergarten Transition | A special start for new students
||| FROM THE RESOURCE CENTER COMMUNICATIONS TEAM ||| The Orcas Community Resource Center recently hosted their annual Kindergarten Transition event, welcoming over 30 families as their children prepare to begin school this fall. Children from across the island engaged in hands-on learning stations focused on reading, math, art, and motor
Cargo ship crashed into man’s yard after crewman fell asleep, police say
A retiree living along a Norwegian fjord woke up on Thursday morning because his neighbor was pounding on his door, telling him to look outside. The ship just missed his house. ||| FROM NEW YORK TIMES ||| Johan Helberg woke up on Thursday morning to find his backyard view of
Online open house for feedback to WSF ticket price increase
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| The Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) sets our ticket prices every two years. Now through Monday, June 9, WSTC is hosting an online open house for the public to learn more about its 2025-2027 ferry fare setting process and give feedback before the commission
Hawaiʻi makes history as first state to charge tourists to save environment
A Hawaiʻi vacation will cost you more in the near future thanks to a new “green fee” that the governor signed into law today. ||| FROM HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT ||| Hawaiʻi has officially become the first U.S. state to enact a so-called “green fee” — a charge added onto hotel
Health Care District regular & special board meetings tomorrow
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island Health Care District Board will hold a regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday, May 28th from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room at the Orcas Island Library, 500 Rose Street, Eastsound. A Special Board Meeting will follow from 7:15
San Juan Islands Sculpture Park summer art series returns
Saturdays from 2-4pm June 22 - September 14 (excepting August 17) ||| FROM KRISTEN ARNIM for SAN JUAN ISLANDS SCULPTURE PARK ||| Save your Sunday afternoons for some fun, free art at the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park! We are returning for a fourth year of hands-on, collaborative sculpture creation.
YMCA Camp Orkila celebrates ribbon cutting for Robinson Education Center and Orca whale sculpture
A Day of Dedication, Community, and Environmental Stewardship ||| FROM YMCA OF GREATER SEATTLE ||| The YMCA of Greater Seattle is excited to unveil two transformational additions to its campus: the new Robinson Education Center and a breathtaking hand-carved Orca Whale sculpture at the Marine Salmon Center. A ribbon-cutting celebration
Graduation, badge pinning and promotion ceremony at OIFR
||| FROM BEN LUNA for ORCAS FIRE & RESCUE ||| Please join Orcas Fire & Rescue on Saturday, May 31 st from 11 am – 1 pm for a graduation, badge pinning and promotion ceremony to celebrate our new EMS and Fire recruits, officers and staff. Friends, family and all
There’s something for you at Orcas Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Thursday Evening Yoga Class Join us for a gentle, restorative yoga class on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. at Orcas Senior Center. This slow-paced class focuses on foundational yoga poses, conscious breathing, and supported postures to ease stress and enhance flexibility,
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
||| FROM JULIA TURNEY and JAY LUCAS for ORCAS MASTER GARDENERS ||| Do you have a question about your soil, have a problem with your fruit tree, or are thinking about starting a garden? Is something bugging your plants, or you are curious about identifying a plant or insect? Master
Why was Memorial Day originally called “Decoration Day”?
For nearly a century, Memorial Day was largely known by a different name. Here’s a brief look at the day’s history, and why its name changed in the mid-20th century. ||| FROM WORD SMARTS ||| In 1868, Decoration Day was established as a new holiday on May 30. It was
How we pushed the Columbia, the great river of the West, to its limit
||| FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES ||| Shaped by fire and ice, the Columbia River and its landscape have been forever changing. Cataclysmic shifts of nature — massive eruptions, moving oceans and grinding tectonic plates — have formed this basin over millions of years. But in just a blink of time,
Partners in Care weekly sessions at Senior Center
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Now in its fourth month, Partners in Care—an Orcas Island Lions Club program in collaboration with Orcas Senior Center—offers weekly respite sessions for family caregivers. Held Mondays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Orcas Senior Center, trained volunteers and a
Experience the joy of drumming
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Discover the joy of drumming with the Spirit of Drumming Group at Orcas Senior Center Tuesdays at 11 a.m This beginner-friendly group focuses on exploring the elements of drumming. There’s no cost to participate—just bring a drum and join the fun.
