Island News

Letter to Editor | Why?

||| FROM SUSAN MUSTARD ||| Yesterday I was shocked to learn that Dr. Jennifer Simpson-Manske is no longer at Island Primary Care – Orcas. And yet, I have appointments with her in early fall on my calendar! For a good number ol years, I had suffered with unusual physical issues. My doctor at the time reassured me over time that I was fine. He thought I probably had heart problems. I did not have heart problems. When I learned, more […]

Schools Out party coming to Village Green

||| FROM FUNHOUSE COMMONS |||  

News Brief | Blond Bangladeshi buffalo nicknamed ‘Donald Trump’ saved from Eid sacrifice

||| FROM THE GUARDIAN ||| A rare albino buffalo in Bangladesh nicknamed “Donald Trump” for its distinctive blond tuft has been spared from Eid al-Adha sacrifice after a last-minute government intervention. “At the last moment, the decision was taken to spare the buffalo from sacrifice due to security concerns and the unusual level of public interest,” a ministry official said. Mridha said the animal was unusually gentle and needed careful upkeep, including frequent feeding and regular baths. REA

CWR logs another Bigg’s encounter

||| FROM CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH ||| Full Encounter Report ObservBegin: 11:15 AM ObservEnd: 12:48 PM Vessel: Mike 1 Staff: Mark Malleson Pods: Bigg’s killer whales IDsEncountered: T011A, T046B, T046B2, T046B2B, T046B3, T046B3A, T046B4, T046B6, T046B7, T046B8 LocationDescr: Sansum Narrows EncSummary: Mark left Victoria on Mike 1 at 0930 en route to Galiano Island with hopes to find some Bigg’s along the way. Shortly after departing, he received a report of a group of killer whales southbound ne

The Nature Record comes to Friday Harbor for a public engagement event

||| FROM CONOR AGNEW for THE WHALE MUSEUM ||| The Whale Museum, UW Friday Harbor Laboratories, Friends of the San Juans and San Juan County Department of Environmental Stewardship are excited to announce a public engagement event on June 8 from 6:00-8:00 PM PT at Brickworks Event Center in Friday Harbor, Washington with Director Phillip Levin and other leaders and authors from The Nature Record. The Nature Record is working with hundreds of scientists, subject-matter-experts, graphic artists, an

Letter to Editor | I’ve lost my doctor on Orcas

||| FROM ANJI RINGZIN ||| I want to share my concern about the recent ‘letting go” of Dr. Jennifer Simpson-Manske from Island Primary Care – Orcas — and to invite others in our community who feel the same way to speak up. My granddaughter and I were so happy that we had  found Dr. Simpson-Manske – she listened carefully, cared for patients of all ages, and felt like a genuine part of island life. She was exactly the kind of […]

Early chamber music from Salish Sea Early Music Festival

||| FROM JEFFREY COHAN for SALISH SEA EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL ||| 2026 SALISH SEA EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL ~ early chamber music on period instruments on Orcas Island ~ WHAT: BACH & JACQUET               Johann Sebastian Bach and Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre WHEN:  Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 5:00 PM WHERE:  Orcas Adventist Fellowship Chapel         at 107 Enchanted Forest Road in Eastsound ADMISSION:   suggested donation: $20 to $30 (a free will offering), […]

WSF Weekly Report | Celebration of WSF 75th Anniversary

||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| A message from Steve A lot of people have been asking what we have planned for our 75th anniversary. For months now there’s been a bunch of things in the works. With June 1 just days away, I’m excited to share a rundown of how we’re going to celebrate this milestone. Festivities begin tomorrow, May 29, when KISW-FM 99.9 “The Rock” broadcasts its morning show from a ferry on our Edmonds/Kingston […]

Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson

News Brief | 23 Gray whale deaths on Washington shores since March

||| FROM MY NORTHWEST ||| Changes in the food supply on the whales’ Arctic feeding grounds are leading to a lack of food. Cascadia Research Collective said the public can help by protecting alternate feeding areas the whales rely on, like the ghost shrimp beds in North Puget Sound, and by supporting efforts to reduce entanglements and ship strikes. The latest was on Sunday in Olympic National Park, where researchers have yet to determine the cause of death. READ FULL […]

Port of Friday Harbor invites community to June 4 Open House

Jackson Beach Cannery planning and Friday Harbor Marina office public art ||| FROM MIKE ROLING for PORT OF FRIDAY HARBOR ||| The Port of Friday Harbor invites the community to a public open house on Wednesday, June 4, from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at the Mullis Community Senior Center (589 Nash St, Friday Harbor, WA 98250) to learn more about the future of the historic Jackson Beach Cannery property and share input on the next phase of planning. The event […]

Celebration of life scheduled for Catherine Pederson

||| FROM SUSAN ASPLIN ||| There will be a Celebration of Life for Catherine Pederson on Sunday, June 7, 2026, from 2-4pm, at the Orcas Center. All are invited. SEE ALSO  

Grow Your Own Food program cultivates skills and community in 2026

||| FROM CAITIE BLETHEN for WSU EXTENSION SAN JUAN COUNTY |||  The 2026 Grow Your Own Food program helped local residents turn curiosity into confidence, equipping participants with practical skills to grow their own food while strengthening community food resilience. Originally piloted in 2019 through a collaboration between the Joyce Sobel Family Resource Center, San Juan County WSU Extension Master Gardeners, and San Juan County Health & Community Services, the program has since been refined

Maria Burns, Orcas Christian School class of 2026

||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| Maria Burns, a senior at Orcas Christian School, plans to attend Seattle Central College for two years after graduation to study pre-architecture before transferring to continue her education in architecture. Her favorite memory at OCS was the school’s mission trip to Hilo, which she described this way: “My favorite memory was the mission trip to Hilo, Hawaii. I loved spending two weeks with classmates and teachers while exploring the local beauty and culture

Orcas Senior Center June highlights

||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Orcas Senior Center offers a variety of ongoing classes, social groups, wellness activities, and creative programs throughout the month. All programs are open to everyone, regardless of age, and new participants are always welcome. A full calendar with dates and times is available at www.orcasseniors.org/calendar-of-events. This Month at the Senior Center: Fitness & Wellness: Chair yoga, Feldenkrais Arts & Creativity: Art with Carla, quilting, need

Audio brunch workshops coming up at Orcas Center

||| FROM COLLEEN SMITH SUMMERS for ORCAS CENTER ||| Orcas Center’s Jake Perrine will present TEN Live Sound workshops on most Sunday mornings at Orcas Center from 11am-12pm from June 14 to August 30. The workshop is open to the public, and designed for audio hobbyists who want to improve their understanding of how audio works, how to work with it, and improve their audio chops for live events, recording, etc. Tuition is a WORK TRADE! Anyone present at 11am for the each workshop will […]

Council seeks to fill open positions on Parks and Recreation Commission

Open positions currently on Orcas Island and Lopez Island with additional positions opening in June on Orcas, Shaw ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Are you interested in helping to shape the policies that affect our San Juan County Parks?   The San Juan County Council is actively seeking to fill several vacancies on the Parks and Recreation Commission. The Commission is an advisory body comprised of volunteer representatives that recommends actions and policies to the Council. The Com

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