Island News
Is your boat ready for the season?
Boat tabs are required in Washington and expire every year on June 30. Owners with expired tabs could face fines and now be considered derelict under new legislative definition. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| While you are getting your boat ship-shape for the summer season, don’t forget to put Renew Vessel Registration! on your list of to-dos. Each year in Washington state, boat registrations expire on June 30th and must be renewed. Renewing is easily done online at […]
No Place Like Loam | Frank Meyer: The man who walked too far
The strange life and darker end of the USDA plant hunter behind the Meyer lemon ||| NO PLACE LIKE LOAM by ALEX TAMAYO WOLF ||| The First Steps Frans Nicolaas Meijer was born in Amsterdam in 1875, into a city that had been arguing with water for six hundred years and winning only by stubbornness. He grew up among canals, low skies, brick, wind, and the old Dutch lesson that land is never simply given. It has to be held. […]
Library’s exhibiting artist for the month of June is painter Peter Carlson
||| FROM ANDREA COHEN for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Peter describes himself as a painter of images grounded in story. In this group of works which he has entitled ‘Conflict,’ Peter considers the relationship between his visual stories, with universal themes of ‘what we’re doing here and why,” and the viewer’s role in changing the narrative through their own interpretive lens .
June 11: Opening of SJIMA Summer 2026 Exhibitions including photography, etching, glass sculpture and feather sculpture
Three exceptional exhibitions will fill the San Juan Islands Museum of Art’s galleries June 11, 2026 – September 14, 2026 this summer, featuring renowned artists whose work is focused on the natural and cultural environments of Washington State and beyond. Photography, etching, glass sculpture and feather sculpture will be showcased. The Museum is located at 540 […]
Washington State Ferries sails into 75th anniversary
By Brian Vail
June 1: San Juan County Lodging Tax grant applications are open
San Juan County 2026 Lodging Tax Grant Applications will open June 1, 2026. Applications are due by September 11, 2026 at 5 pm. 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 noon to 1 pm […]
Upcoming Salish Sea Early Music Festival concerts
The Salish Sea Early Music Festival has since 2011 provided world class period instrument performances of chamber music, both familiar and rarely or never before heard in modern times, with musicians from Europe and all around the Puget Sound, the United States and Canada who are among the finest in their field around the globe. […]
Blood Drives June 2 in Friday Harbor; June 3 in Eastsound – Blood donors needed; supply of type 0 down to less than 1-day supply
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, […]
Chandelle Anderson oil paintings featured at Artworks
||| FROM B.J. ARNOLD for ORCAS ISLAND ARTWORKS ||| The Orcas Island Artworks features new paintings in oil by Chandelle Anderson through the month of June. Chandelle is a new member of Orcas Island Artworks. Alongside her ceramic work, Chandelle also enjoys painting and drawing. This series began as an experiment in color perception. She says “the process is meditative and methodical. Translucent layers of blue, yellow, and red, are applied separately between semi-opaque layers of white. Each l
Emmanuel Episcopal offers Wednesday musical series to benefit music scholarship fund
||| FROM JEFFRY STEELE for EMMANUEL EPISCOPAL CHURCH ||| I am writing to announce another summer of our Wednesday noon series. Admission is by free-will offering to benefit the Emmanuel music scholarship fund in support of Orcas Island students attending music camps. 7/1 Orcatrazz: Swingin’ & Rockin’ Featuring the great swing band dance music of the early years 7/8 Turtleback Brass: From Medieval to Modern Some new ones and some old favorites 7/15 The Irthlingz Duo: Harmony, Humor & Healing Shar
Health Care District communication regarding clinic provider transition
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| We are appreciative of the outpouring of support for Dr. Simpson-Manske. We are grateful for the compassionate care that Dr. Simpson-Manske has provided while employed with Island Health. We acknowledge that a provider transition is challenging on those that had built a relationship with a provider, we are sorry for the impact that the transition will have on many in our community. As we mention below, both Island Health and the Health […]
I’m Not the Church Lady | Learning to Unlean
Who Could I Be in My Enoughness? ||| I’M NOT THE CHURCH LADY by ROSIE KUHN ||| Something essential about me is not enough yet. Recently, I realized the degree to which I’ve been living in a constant lean. Whether it’s leaning towards relationships with businesspeople, clients or family, I’m not centered in myself. I’m ungrounded. And I’ve been living in this uncentered, ungrounded leaning for so long. I thought this was me. My leaning is towards ensuring people see […]
Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union to open Orcas Island branch, bringing year-round financial services to the San Juan Islands
Submitted by the Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union.
Four volunteer positions open on the county’s Parks and Recreation commission
There are four positions on San Juan County Parks and Recreation Commission that need to be filled. Two from Orcas Island, one from Lopez Island, and one from Shaw Island. he Commission is an advisory body comprised of volunteer representatives that recommends actions and policies to the Council. The Commission meets virtually on the third […]
20 Washington state employees recognized for saving the state more than $1 million
OLYMPIA – The Productivity Board, a state employee incentive program of the Office of the Secretary of State, voted unanimously, Thursday, to approve recognition of three teams of Washington state employees and two individual state workers for their suggestions to reduce costs, saving over $1.09 million in taxpayer money. In total, 20 employees across three teams […]
Letter to Editor | Health Care District responds to concern from community
||| FROM CHRIS CHORD for ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| I’m sharing this information as the Superintendent for the Orcas Island Health Care District. I’ve tried to respond to most of those on this thread by email, as they have reached out to me. I am sharing this information to ensure that those who do not use Facebook, or who have not reached out directly to the district, know how to share their concerns with Island Health and the […]
Sheriff’s Report | May 20 – 27, 2025
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 26-002857 Suspicious Person/Circumstance 09:16:43 05/20/26 A man was arrested for a violation of a protection in Friday Harbor. The order is active and valid out of Whatcom County. He was transported to the Sheriff’s Office and booked into jail. 26-002859 Fraud 09:56:35 05/20/26 An Orcas Island Deputy responded to a fraud incident in the Eastsound area. The Deputy learned that the victim incurred a significantly large financial loss
Midnight Mutterings | Planning
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES ||| Pretty sure not one of us thinks planning for aging is simple. First of all, we have to decide at what age we will be officially old. That is until there’s really no question that time passed a long time ago. Then we have to guess how long that time of being old will last. Sometimes the short length of time is obvious, if remarkably painful. As when we have a diagnosis that […]
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 […]
Orcas Island shines at state with golf title, track qualifiers and baseball postseason run
By Declan O’Malley
Friday Harbor’s 4th of July theme is: “Cheers to 250 Years!”
The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for the 2026 July 4th Parade, and this year’s theme is “Cheers to 250 Years!” If anyone deserves a BIG birthday celebration, it’s America. Parade lovers, float builders, and anyone who owns more craft supplies than they’ll admit, this is your time to shine! Entry […]
June 8: The Nature Record Community Conversation in Friday Harbor
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 […]
Washington Secretary of State Response to USPS Proposed Rule on Ballot Mail
OLYMPIA — On Friday, May 29, the U.S. Postal Service released a proposed rule for handling ballot mail in federal elections in alignment with Executive Order 14399 regarding elections. “This is an unnecessary rule and does nothing to provide security in our elections. We’ll continue to evaluate and provide feedback to the USPS,” Secretary of […]
Schools Out party coming to Village Green
||| FROM FUNHOUSE COMMONS |||