Island News
CWR logs two encounters with Bigg’s
||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 01:31 PM ObservEnd: 01:44 PM Vessel: KCB III Staff: Dave Ellifrit, Michael Weiss, Katie Jones Pods: Bigg’s killer whales IDsEncountered: T124A, T124A6, T124A7 LocationDescr: Andrews Bay EncSummary: The team was working in the office while keeping abreast of reports of several groups of Bigg’s in the San Juan Islands. The T90s and some of the T86As were up near the top of President Channel, the T124As were in Spieden […]
No jurors required for June 1 – 5, 2026
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| JURY DUTY: JUNE 1-5, 2026 All jurors summonsed for the Jury Period beginning Monday, June 1st through Friday, June 5, 2026 are excused. Thank you.
Washington State Ferries sails into 75th anniversary
Ferry riders invited to celebrate state’s marine highway ||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| SEATTLE – Washington State Ferries will celebrate its 75th anniversary on Monday, June 1. Events are planned across Puget Sound starting Friday, May 29, and throughout the month of June. June 1 anniversary events To kick off the celebration on anniversary day, WSF will raise a custom anniversary flag on top of the Space Needle. Ferries in service also will fly special 75th anniversary flags throughout
Blood donations needed, especially on Orcas
Appointments available for next week ||| FROM HANNAH MCNUTT for BLOODWORKS NW ||| Our region is facing an emergency blood shortage across the Pacific Northwest. Nearly all blood types are dangerously low, especially Type O blood and platelets that trauma and cancer patients depend on to survive. Right now, there’s less than a one-day supply of Type O blood, and donations haven’t kept pace with patient need. Since early spring, only 85% of the needed Type O supply has been […]
News Brief | Eastern North Pacific malnourished gray whales in ‘serious trouble’
||| FROM INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS ||| From San Francisco Bay to the Oregon coast to Washington’s Puget Sound, the die-off has occurred all along the gray whale’s annual West Coast migration route. It’s a 10,000 to 14,000-mile round trip—the longest migration of any mammal—between the warm waters off Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, where gray whales give birth and nurse calves, and the Arctic, where they normally feast all summer on ocean-bottom crustaceans. It’s in those traditional ocean-floor dining areas
News Brief | The Wilderness Act is the most ambitious land protection law in American history
||| FROM THE WILDLIFE NEWS ||| The Wilderness Law is under attack, and the people attacking it are counting on you not knowing what you stand to lose. The Wilderness Act of 1964 created the National Wilderness Preservation System. It established a category of federal land protection stronger than any other in American law. A wilderness area starts as a proposal. Congress passes a bill. The president signs it. The land becomes wilderness. From that day forward, the rules apply. Wilderness […]
Opening Soon | Opportunity to apply for lodging tax annual grant program
LTAC funds support a variety of projects related to tourism events, infrastructure, and services ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is pleased to announce the 2026 Lodging Tax Grant Applications will open June 1, 2026. Applications are due by September 11, 2026 at 5:00pm. Applications will be reviewed during September and October, with award notification anticipated in November. Entities interested in applying are invited to a workshop on June 16 from 12:00-1:00pm where
Health Care District board to meet on Wednesday
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island Health Care District Board will hold a regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday, May 27th from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Community Room at the Orcas Island Library, 500 Rose Street, Eastsound. The Board Meeting Public Packet is available below. The Zoom link to join the meeting is at the top of the agenda. Download 2026_05_27 Agenda_Regular_Board.pdf Download 02. 2026_05_05 OIHCD Claims Payment Request_signed.pdf Download 03. 2
Start your Thursdays right with energizing and relaxing Yogalele
||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Offered in the Madrona Room of Orcas Center at 8:30am on Thursdays beginning June 4, Yogalele is yoga with ukulele. Yogalele combines peaceful breathing and stretching with calm plucking and energizing strumming. Ukes set the mood and pace for breathing and at times are used as a prop, an arm extender, and for grounding. No experience necessary, suitable for all ages levels (yoga and musical), and you don’t even need a […]
Orcas Christian School announces 2026-27 mission trip to Puerto Rico
||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| Orcas Christian School has announced plans for a mission trip to Puerto Rico during the 2026-27 school year, offering students an opportunity to serve communities while growing in their faith and leadership. The trip will be led by Vice Principal Kami Griffin and Pastor Andre and is open to students in grades six through 12. School officials said the mission trip will focus on service, relationship-building and cultural experiences for participating students.
No Place Like Loam | The ghost in the orchard
||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYO WOLF ||| The Cannon The men who came to Salem, Iowa that June night in 1848 brought a cannon. Not a metaphor. A cannon. Small, wheeled, loaded, aimed at the front wall of a stone house on the edge of a Quaker town twenty-five miles north of the Missouri border. The mob wanted people back. The house belonged to Henderson and Elizabeth Lewelling. They’d built it themselves between 1840 and 1842, limestone […]
OrcasFest acoustic music festival returns
||| FROM RACHEL BISHOP for ORCASFEST ||| The second annual OrcasFest acoustic music festival is next weekend! Tashi Litch, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms have put together an exciting lineup with artists playing music from old-time, cajun, Scandinavian, Irish, bluegrass traditions and more. There are multiple ways to see the music: Buy a festival pass, for Friday, Saturday or full weekend. This gives you access to performances by all the artists playing at the festival at venues around Eastsoun
News Brief | Southern Resident Killer Whales are running out of time
||| FROM IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS ||| Southern Resident killer whales are a distinct, tightly bonded population of orcas who live and travel through the Salish Sea. With only about 74 individuals remaining, they are on the brink of extinction. These whales are still in crisis. In recent months, calves have been born only to die shortly after. Every major threat facing Southern Resident killer whales is driven by human activity. Without decisive action, these whales will continue to die. […]
Larsen announces winner of 2026 congressional art competition
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF U.S. REP. RICK LARSEN ||| MOUNT VERNON, WA – Today, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) announced Olivia Hamm of Oak Harbor High School as the winner of the 2026 Congressional Art Competition in Washington state’s 2nd congressional district with her piece, “Sleepy.” “It takes courage to put yourself out there as a young artist, and I want to thank all the artists who submitted their work to the Congressional Art Competition,” said Larsen. “Congratulations to Olivia Ham
I’m Not the Church Lady | What do I get by remaining unforgiving?
||| I’M NOT THE CHURCH LADY by ROSIE KUHN ||| Am I willing to relinquish the belief that anyone—including me—is denied forgiveness? I humbly admit that my initial intention in writing this post was to point a finger at religions and spiritual traditions because of their emphasis on sin. Honestly, I wanted to remain unforgiving and maintain my position of righteousness. There is something delightful and satisfying about believing that someone—or some institution—has gotten it wrong and deserves t
Cracks in the lower Snake River dams
||| FROM LINWOOD LAUGHY ||| Cracks in the four lower Snake River dams? Not literally, but metaphorically weakening and widening. Over the past five years, according to Army Corps of Engineers’ data, these dams combined generated an average of just 669 Megawatts (MW) each year, a decline of 29% compared to average annual production over the previous twenty-one years. Of the total Pacific Northwest’s 26,145 MW power load, each dam now produces about six-tenths of one percent (.6%). Bonneville Powe
Seasonal opening of Crow Valley School Museum
Beginning May 22nd, 11am-3pm at 1701 Crow Valley Rd ||| FROM PARKER PAVITT for ORCAS ISLAND HISTORICAL MUSEUMS ||| Welcome to another season at the Crow Valley School Museum! Our knowledgeable docents will be onsite for this fun and informative look at an island education. Located next to the North Trailhead of Turtleback Mountain Preserve; come out for a day of picnicking and learn something new. The Crow Valley School was built in 1888 and served as an educational and […]
Sheriff’s Report | May 13 – 19, 2026
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 26-002730 Controlled Substance Problem 08:06:13 05/13/26 A Lopez Deputy responded to a drug call. A small bag of Methamphetamine was found in the parking lot outside of a Lopez business. It is unknown who dropped the bag. 26-002739 Fraud 13:17:16 05/13/26 A Friday Harbor resident reported being a victim of a phone scam involving Banner Bank. She reports losing approximately $3800 via CASHAPP. 26-002741 Accident-HitRun 14:07:02 05/13
EWUA members call for third-party review amid workplace, leadership concerns
||| FROM SAM GAILEY, SPECIAL REPORT TO THE ORCASONIAN ||| The Eastsound Water Users Association held a listening session this week as the organization continues to face internal disputes, leadership concerns, labor-related tensions, and questions from members about transparency and governance. At the start of the meeting, the board stated that the session was intended for listening rather than debate, and that board members would not respond to public comments in real time. During the public com
Kindergarten transition brings joy, confidence, connection to Orcas families
||| FROM RESOURCE CENTER COMMUNICATIONS TEAM ||| The Orcas Community Resource Center welcomed more than 25 families to its annual Kindergarten Transition event — a warm and lively evening designed to help young islanders take their first big step into school with confidence, curiosity, and community behind them. Hosted this year at the Camp Orkila Main Lodge, the event offered hands-on learning stations led by enthusiastic preschool and kindergarten teachers. Children explored early reading, mat
Letter to Editor | Thanks to community partner during 2026 Firewise event
||| FROM CHIEF NOEL MONIN for SAN JUAN ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| San Juan Island Fire & Rescue wants to commend a Firewise Community partner – the Roche Harbor Neighborhood Association – and many volunteers for all their hard work in May to maintain Firewise USA status. Thank you for being such proactive leaders and for looking out for all of us! The recent cleanup was nothing short of impressive! The progress for this year’s event is posted on […]
Taking Action Together | Communitywide climate survey to guide climate action
Your input guided the first steps—now help us build the next phase of the Climate Action Plan. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is developing a Climate Action Plan (CAP) to guide how we respond to climate change while protecting our community and environment. The County is inviting all residents to participate in its second communitywide climate survey to help shape a future that reflects community values and priorities. Given the current budget restraints and resource
Orcas is now blooming with gratitude
||| FROM LINDSAY JENNINGS for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| On Orcas Island, each and every one of us plays a role in providing the seeds, soil, water, and sunlight needed to grow and sustain a high quality of life for all. Thank you for digging deep and nurturing the community together during Spring GiveOrcas! The bounty of our collective efforts over the past 10 days was plentiful, with donations totalling $264,408. With an additional $97,174 from the Community Foundation’s […]
WSF Weekly Report | Pets on board; upcoming holiday travel; online community meetings afoot
||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| A message from Steve Pets become members of our families, providing comfort and unconditional love. Washingtonians rightly enjoy including them in family events and travel. To align with partner transit agencies and public feedback, we rolled out an updated pet policy this week. Pets on leashes are now allowed in all passenger areas, except: Indoor food service areas, including onboard galleys. On seats or tables. About half of the indoor pas