Island News
June 27: PARDESSUS DE VIOLE, FLUTE & GUITAR – Salish Sea Early Music Festival – Lopez Island
Saturday, June 27 | 6 PM: | Grace Church | Lopez Island —PARDESSUS DE VIOLE, FLUTE & GUITAR · Annalisa Pappano, pardessus de viol and treble viol · William Simms, baroque guitar and theorbo · Jeffrey Cohan, baroque flute The French royal court musical establishment generated a vast amount of music, to be represented by works of Jean-Baptiste […]
June 10: BACH & JACQUET – Salish Sea Early Music Festival – Eastsound
BACH & JACQUET · Irene Roldán (Basel, Switzerland), harpsichord · Jeffrey Cohan, baroque flute Wednesday, June 10, 2026 at 5 PM at Orcas Adventist Fellowship Church Eastsound Irene Roldán, who was honored with the prestigious Bach Prize and an additional special award at the XXXIII. International Bach Competition held in Leipzig, Germany, interprets Johann Sebastian Bach, Élisabeth Jacquet […]
June 30: French Perspective —Pardessus de Viole, Flute, & Guitar – Orcas Island
June 30 | 5 pm | Orcas Adventist Fellowship Church, Eastsound · Annalisa Pappano, pardessus de viol and treble viol ·William Simms, baroque guitar and theorbo · Jeffrey Cohan, baroque flute —PARDESSUS DE VIOLE, FLUTE & GUITAR The French royal court musical establishment generated a vast amount of music, to be represented by works of […]
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
San Juan County WA Sheriff’s Log May 20-26, 2026: Road rage, belligerent bar customer, unwanted tree trimming
San Juan County Deputies responded to 211 calls from May 20 – 26, 2026 including: In the early morning hours of May 24, a San Juan deputy was dispatched to a report of a citizen assist involving an individual who was unable to remove handcuffs. The deputy removed the handcuffs and advised the individuals involved […]
AG Brown joins coalition opposing KIDS Act, supports stronger online protections for children
Submitted by the Washington State Office of Attorney General Nick Brown.
May 30: May-Fly Kite Gathering at Jacksons Beach
$120,000 grant funding available to promote 2027 tourism in Friday Harbor
The Town of Friday Harbor has a total of $120,000 in grant funding available to promote events and activities taking place within the town in 2027. The Town’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) will select among activities designed to attract or entertain tourists or to operate tourism-related facilities owned or operated by nonprofit organizations. Preference […]
WA reporters call for AI regulations and higher wages
Washington News Service: Reporters at five newspapers in Washington and Idaho went on strike for one day this week after a year of bargaining with McClatchy over artificial intelligence guardrails and higher wages. The union says McClatchy, which owns the papers, has refused to pay reporters enough to live in the communities they cover. Kristine Sherred, a […]
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
San Juan Island Fire and Rescue Commission stymied by the county about the Burn Permit Program
LWVSJ Observer Corps summary of San Juan Island: Fire District #3 Commissioners Meeting May 19, 2026. Chiefs Kuetzing and Hartzell congratulated and swore in five of six new recruits known as the “solid six” starting off the Commissioners Meeting: Emilio Santiago, Dominick Tarantelli, Stewart Bell, Max Mattox, and Madison Miller. John de La Haye was […]
To free up parking, Port of Friday Harbor pausing solar canopy project
LWVSJ Observer Corps: Friday Harbor Port Commission, May 8th, 2026 meeting. A Marina slip holder with a parking permit expressed concern over the delay in constructing the upper parking lot solar canopy and its adverse impact on parking availability. The Port will pause the project over the summer to alleviate parking pressures and it will […]
Town Council approves $62k for utility rate study
LWVSJ Observer Corps*: Friday Harbor Town Council, April 16, 2026 meeting. Council passed Ordinance 1839 , preliminary approval for the Holliwalk Planned Residential Development Application. The Council approved $62,930 for a Utility Rate Study on water, stormwater and sewer. The Community and Planning Director reported that an incident occurred at Ace Hardware on April 15 […]
Donate blood at upcoming drives
Submitted by Bloodworks Northwest.
OrcasFest May 28-30
Submitted by event organizers.