Here’s a thought…
“Deep breath. Deep breath. The air is free. You can take as many as you want.”
BUDDHIST MONK
Seven seniors from OIHS Class of 2025 lettered for school music excellence
||| FROM SHARON HO for MUSIC ADVOCACY GROUP ||| Orcas Island has demonstrated that a small, rural, public high school can indeed provide many opportunities for young minds to pursue a variety of passions and excel. A foundational music education is one of them. Among this year’s cohort of graduates,
Orcas Animal Shelter readies annual fundraiser
||| FROM SUSAN GORDON BENTLEY for ORCAS ANIMAL PROTECTION SOCIETY ||| Welcome to the Love Tails Gala where compassion meets celebration! Join us for a paws-itively unforgettable evening dedicated to supporting the Orcas Animal Protection Society and the incredible community efforts that make low cost spaying and neutering, pet adoptions, and accessible
Audio brunch workshops at Orcas Center
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center’s Jake Perrine will present ELEVEN Live Sound Basics workshops on Sunday mornings at Orcas Center from 11am-12pm from June 15 to August 24. The workshop is open to the public, and designed for audio hobbyists who want to improve their
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
New Location! ||| 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
Take to the skies this International Young Eagles Day
EAA Young Eagles at Orcas Airport on June 14 - FREE Flights ||| FROM RICK FANT for YOUNG EAGLES ||| Join us for an exciting day of aviation as we celebrate the EAA Young Eagles program at Orcas Island Airport. Young people ages 8-17 are invited to experience the wonder
Orcas Christian class takes flight in hands-on aeronautics lesson
||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| Recently, Ms. Angie Millen’s class at Orcas Christian School (OCS) embarked on an extraordinary learning adventure as part of their aeronautics unit. The students were given a unique opportunity to take a flight around the islands, transforming their classroom lessons into a real-world experience. “Each student
Music at Emanuel lunchtime concerts coming up for the summer
||| FROM JEFFRY STEELE for EMMANUEL EPISCOPAL CHURCH ||| Lunchtime concerts featuring seasoned island performers in the historic church sanctuary. Wednesdays at noon from 7/2 through 8/20. Donations collected for the music scholarship fund sending promising high school students to music camp. 7/2 Marianne Lewis, organ 7/9 Turtleback Brass, brass
Island Ways | Nantucket Land Court decision could upend short-term rentals in residential zones
Orcas and Nantucket Islands are each roughly the same size and the same distance off their respective coasts. We share the same concerns about the high cost of living, lack of affordable housing, tourist management, ferry problems and environmental degradation. We are living on opposite ends of the country but
Larsen introduces bipartisan bill to combat drug trafficking in tribal communities
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Representative Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced the bipartisan Protection for Reservation Occupants Against Trafficking and Evasive Communications Today (PROTECT) Act to combat drug
As the Paradigm Shifts | The Benny Baxter effect: Becoming nobody special
||| AS THE PARADIGM SHIFTS by ROSIE KUHN ||| My kitchen sink drain finally clogged to the point that nothing was getting through. It was like an artery to the heart, so blocked with gunk that nothing could pump. Disaster. I went to YouTube, found what I needed, and gathered
Sheriff’s Report | May 29 – June 3, 2025
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| THURSDAY, MAY 29 25-003171 Assault - Body Force 08:44:08 05/29/25 A Deputy on Orcas took a report of an assault. A report was taken. 25-003201 DUI 18:46:21 05/29/25 San Juan Deputies responded to a report of a drunk driver. Witnesses were attempting
Orcas Island Garden Club annual picnic, potluck
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| GARDEN CLUB MEMBERS' ANNUAL PICNIC & POTLUCK Wednesday, June 11th 11:30 am - 1:00 pm West Sound Yacht Club 525 Deer Harbor Road Click here to RSVP Please bring a Potluck Dish to share! We have great new details to share
Join The Whale Museum for Orca Sing 2025 at Lime Kiln
||| FROM CONOR AGNEW for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| Join your friends and neighbors at Lime Kiln Point State Park on Saturday, June 21 at 7:00 PM for Orca Sing 2025! Bring your friends, family, and a picnic to enjoy the beauty of the park and surrounding marine environment while
Retired NOAA scientist speaks out on future of orca recovery
||| FROM KING-TV 5 ||| SEATTLE — A longtime federal scientist is raising concerns about the future of Southern Resident Killer Whale recovery efforts. This comes after she stepped away from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) after a 25-year long career. Lynne Barre spent more than two decades
Over 50 federal, state, local first responders prepare for oil spill response
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| This week, the Islands Oil Spill Association (IOSA) hosted a two-day training that pulled together volunteers and representatives from numerous federal, state, tribal, and local agencies and a handful of spill industry partners to practice oil spill response strategies. Staff from the County’s
Letter to Editor | It’s time to push back, end data center incentives in Washington State
||| FROM ELISABETH ROBSON ||| It's time the citizens of this county, and of Washington State more broadly, start pushing back hard against Washington State's tax incentives to data centers and other electricity-intensive industries. These incentives include sales and use tax exemptions for eligible data centers on purchases of server equipment and
