Island News
County Council to travel to Lopez Island for upcoming May 12 meeting
The meeting will be held at the Lopez Community Center ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County Council will hold its regularly scheduled May 12 meeting on Lopez Island. The public is invited to join the three councilmembers and County staff at the meeting at the Lopez Community Center beginning at 10:30am. What: San Juan County Council meeting Where: Lopez Community Center, 204 Village Road, Lopez Island, WA When: Beginning at 10:30am The agenda and related materials […]
San Juan County announces resurfacing of 18 miles of roads this summer
Chip seal maintenance programs help preserve county roads ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County’s Public Works Department is announcing its annual summer road resurfacing schedule to chip seal approximately 18 miles of roads on Lopez and San Juan Islands. Chip sealing is a pavement treatment that extends the life of the road surface. Learn more by visiting the County Roads Program webpage at https://www.sanjuancountywa.gov/309/County-Roads and see the schedule and map below
WSF Weekly Report | Good Morning America visit; media visits; online community meetings
||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| A message from Steve I spent Monday with my deputy, John Vezina, and Electrification Program Administrator David Sowers at Eastern Shipbuilding Group. We visited the Florida site where our new 160-car ferries will be built. It was an opportunity to learn more about the family-owned business (watch a video about the company’s history). We also wanted to convey to them the importance of this program to the people of Washington state. They […]
Are you entering something in the Fair?
Check out these important dates for 2026 fair exhibitors ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Parks & Fair Department is excited to continue offering convenient online pre-registration and multi-island pick-up and drop-off for non‑perishable Fair entries. Online registration opens Wednesday, July 1, and our staff will be traveling to Orcas, Lopez, and Shaw on August 8 to collect entries headed to the Fair. Register early, prepare your entries, and meet us on your islan
Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
Two Orcas residents killed in car accident | GoFundMe accounts for Ella Weaver and David Klein
The Orcas community has been experiencing profound grief after the death of two young island residents.
Seattle Kraken honor SeaDoc Society
Seattle’s NHL team, the Kraken, honored the Orcas-based SeaDoc Society with their “Hero of the Deep” award for SeaDoc’s decades of work using science to restore and protect our local waters.
Letter to Editor | A compelling reason to learn CPR
||| FROM GERI BAKER for ORCAS ONLINE ||| On April 20, 2026 my husband Stu collapsed in his chair (Widow-Maker heart attack. 70% mortality rate) at our office in Eastsound and was without pulse for 25+ minutes. 6 paddles (clear!), 3 EPI jabs & so many compressions, plus 3 stents added by the Cath Lab at Peace Health in Bellingham–he is alive and well! Because God Almighty blessed us! Because our colleague Ron Claus knew/started CPR immediately on the instruction […]
GoFundMe campaigns set up for traffic accident victims
||| FROM JEFF PLATT for GOFUND ME ||| The friends and families of the young couple from Orcas Island who died in the crash on US-97 near Beebe Bridge in Lake Chelan have started GoFundMe pages asking for help to honor their loved ones. The links to both fundraisers are below. For your convenience, photos shared on GoFundMe are public and available for use with attribution to the GoFundMe fundraiser. Here is the fundraiser in memory of David Klein Jr: https://www.gofundme.com/f/honoring-david-r-
Coming Soon | Master Gardeners spring plant sales on San Juan, Orcas
Healthy herbs, tomato and pepper starts, and locally grown perennial landscaping plants need new homes! ||| FROM CAITIE BLETHEN for SJC MASTER GARDENERS ||| One of the most anticipated signs of spring, the San Juan County Master Gardener Foundation Spring Plant Sales will take place on San Juan and Orcas Islands on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday May 17th, respectively. San Juan Island When: Saturday, May 16th, 9 a.m. to noon Where: Mullis Center, 589 Nash St. Orcas Island When: […]
Salmonberry Community School is turning 25
…and we’re having a party! ||| FROM LAURA BLACK for SALMONBERRY SCHOOL ||| Anyone who has ever been in relationship with the little school with a big heart is invited to attend our birthday party on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 from 1:00 – 4:00 in the school yard. We will have food and refreshments to share, cake and conversation, and much more. Over these 25 years, hundreds of children and their families have crossed the threshold through the spinning metal […]
Larsen defends reproductive health care
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) joined more than 250 House and Senate Democrats in filing an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn a Fifth Circuit decision that would restrict access to mifepristone by reinstating a requirement that the drug be dispensed in person. Last week, the Fifth Circuit blocked access to mifepristone nationwide at retail pharmacies and in the mail, prompting the Supreme Cour
‘Our Voices Together,’ a story-sharing event for LGBTQ+ islanders
Submitted by the Orcas Island Historical Museums.
Dept. of Health confirms all SJC shellfish growing areas meet public health water quality standards
Submitted by San Juan County.
Donald R. Kowalski May 27, 1929 – May 5, 2026
Donald R. Kowalski, beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, passed away on May 5, 2026, at the age of 96. Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Vincent and Marie Kowalski, Don lived a life full of purpose, faith, laughter, and love. Don attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where he found not only his education but […]
Protect Your Flock: Tips to Prevent Avian Influenza Exposure
Your local public health team wants to remind you of a few tips to help make your spring season as fun and healthy as possible. Avian influenza infections in people are rare. Still, it is important to take steps to keep you and your loved ones safe, whether they be human, feathered, or furred. Please […]
Have a garden question? Ask an Orcas Master Gardener
Saturday May 9th at the Market Garden Nursery ||| FROM 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 Gardeners will be staffing Ask A Master Gardener events on Orcas to help answer your questions and collect plant problem samples. Orcas Master Gardeners will be at the Market […]
SJC’s Agricultural Resources Committee to host farmer listening session on meat processing
The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will be held virtually on Zoom ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County’s Agricultural Resources Committee (ARC) is hosting a listening session and information sharing opportunity for farmers to discuss access to meat processing. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 13, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will be held virtually on Zoom. Register here: Meeting Registration – Zoom. This […]
Join Garden Club for permaculture presentation
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| LEARN FROM PERMACULTURIST, STEWARD, AND PASSIONATE GARDENER, TAJA WICKS Wednesday, May 20th, 10 am (at the Orcas Center or by Zoom) JOIN US AT 9:30 AM (just before the program) for social time, and feel free to bring something for the Sharing Table! Please join the Orcas Island Garden Club on Wednesday, May 20th when we welcome Taja Wicks for her presentation, What is Permaculture? A glimpse into her “Intro […]
News Brief | The world is about to get a preview of life in 2035
||| FROM NEW YORK TIMES ||| A climate monster is growing right now in the Pacific Ocean, perhaps the most fearsome El Niño since before scientists even began modeling them. The El Niño building right now, and expected to crest around the end of next year, arrives on top of all our global warming. But for sheer intensity, most scientists agree, the climatological event which began in Pacific waters in 1877 — which the coming El Niño may equal or […]
Leadership San Juan Islands schedules annual meeting
||| FROM GRETCHEN KRAMPF for LEADERSHIP SAN JUAN ISLANDS |||
No jurors needed for May 11-15
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| JURY DUTY: MAY 11-15, 2026 All jurors summonsed for the Jury Period beginning Monday May 11th through Friday May 15th, 2026 are excused. Thank you.
Re-elect Natasha Warmenhoven as San Juan County Auditor
||| FROM NATASHA WARMENHOVEN, CANDIDATE FOR SAN JUAN COUNTY AUDITOR ||| Natasha Warmenhoven is proud and excited to announce her candidacy for re-election as San Juan County Auditor. Over the last four years, Natasha has served the residents of San Juan County with a commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility, and delivering dependable county services. As Auditor, Natasha has been a steady and reliable leader during a transformative period for our local government. Her tenure has been def
San Juan Island Yacht Club’s Opening Day Parade in photos
San Juan Island Yacht Club’s Opening Day Parade took place Sunday, May 3, 2026. Participants gathered near Shipyard Cove and paraded their vessels in front of Spring Street Landing and past the Dignitary Boat and the Judges’ Review Boat to compete for prizes in Boat Handling and five other categories described below. Photos by Matt […]