Island News

October 5: Public hearings on county budget, property tax rate

San Juan County Council will hold five public hearings October 5, 2026. The agenda and instructions on how to participate in the meeting is posted below. The meeting can be streamed. https://sanjuancowa.portal.civicclerk.com/ Monday, October 5, 2026 Legislative Hearing Room, 55 Second Street, Friday Harbor, WA To call in for Public Comment Sign Up by 9am […]

October 10: Surina Block Party – Friday Harbor

October 11: An Act of Faith: Fanciful Yarns and Old Timey Tales – Friday Harbor

October 5: Lack of crew leads to disruption of ferry service system-wide

WSF BULLETIN: ALL ROUTES  Service disruptions on all routes are likely Sunday, October 4, 2026 due to the lack of qualified crew. Customers are requested to only make essential travel. More information is posted at https://wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/bulletin.aspx as it becomes available. As of  5:38 pm #1 Chelan is in service. #2 Yakima goes out of service after […]

Larsen reintroduces bill to fight discriminatory voter ID laws

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Representatives Rick Larsen (WA-02) and Mark Veasey (TX-33) reintroduced the America Votes Act to protect U.S. citizens who face disenfranchisement because of restrictive voter identification (ID) laws.  “As Trump and Republicans in Congress continue their unlawful attempts to suppress the right to vote, it is more urgent than ever to break down barriers to the ballot box,” said Rep. Larsen, a co-founder of the C

Letter to Editor | Protecting your vote

Many people have shared their concerns about election security with me and how election officials can address those concerns. I believe the biggest issues are cybersecurity, ballot security, chain of custody, staffing, and misinformation. My approach would be to be proactive-review our security procedures, make sure ballots are properly tracked and secured, maintain strong cybersecurity, and make sure staff are trained and prepared for unexpected situa

Forester’s Notes | Times are tough

The excellent adventure of the Extension Forestry Program has become a bit of a bogus journey of late. We have been hit with significant budget cuts. A few months ago, we lost 40% of our state funding. On the county side of things, San Juan County has now joined Skagit County in withdrawing all support for Extension Forestry education programs, so education resources are dwindling in the North Sound […]

News Brief | Kelvin wave may bring sustained high sea levels on WA coast

Expected to hit California in days, lifting sea levels by a half-foot or more and lingering for months a giant pulse of warm water, known as a Kelvin wave, is surging toward the West Coast. It doesn’t present a severe threat to Washington yet, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be monitoring it with caution in October. It’s nothing like a tsunami or a regular wave crashing on the beach. Instead, it […]

I’m Not the Church Lady | Marketing as a spiritual practice

Marketing as a Spiritual Practice I think maybe God has a Bingo cage. You know the kind—the big wire ball somebody cranks around at Bingo Night while everyone sits staring at their cards, waiting to see what number comes tumbling out. “B-12!” People look down. Nope. “G-46!” Someone puts a little marker on his card. “I-7!” And so it goes. Except I’m beginning to suspect that somewhere along the way […]

October 16, 17 and 23, 24 and 30, 31: Haunted Roche Harbor Cemetery Tours

October 16, 17 and 23, 24 and 30, 31  | sunset to 10 pm |  Roche Harbor Cemetery Tours |  193 Afterglow Dr |  Friday Harbor,

Heather Lee: Protecting your Vote

Many people have shared their concerns about election security with me and how election officials can address those concerns. I believe the biggest issues are cybersecurity, ballot security, chain of custody, staffing, and misinformation. My approach would be to be proactive – review our security procedures, make sure ballots are properly tracked and secured, maintain […]

Schuman: Supports Swanson for county council

Dear Editor, We’ve known Jennifer Swanson for over 20 years and worked with her on numerous community events on Shaw. She’s empathetic, smart, and seemingly tireless. On issues that impact our islands’ way of life, she’s purposely well-informed and open to hearing all views. Jennifer’s a proven leader, having served on the Ferry Advisory Committee, […]

OCS students learn from Orcas Island musician Jim Bredouw

Students at Orcas Christian School had an opportunity to learn from one of Orcas Island’s longtime musicians and sound engineers when Jim Bredouw visited the school to share stories from his career, projects and music. Bredouw spoke with OCS middle and high school students about his experiences in music and sound engineering, taking students through several stages of his life, including his years as a guitarist, his career in sound engineering, his time in […]

Library to feature art of Shawna Marie Franklin

Shawna Marie Franklin will be October’s featured artist at the Orcas Island Library. Her monoprints and paintings will be displayed in a show entitled Being with Kelp: Ongoing. The subject began as an artistic endeavor when Shawna’s kayaking career ended in 2019, and continues today. Shawna has found in Bull Kelp a subject of great beauty and design options, a metaphor for her love of the ocean and a means to […]

Emmanuel’s summer Market Day helps Orcas islanders all year

Warm homes. Good food. Help in need. Services for seniors. And, for students, a chance to learn to fly. These are the gifts to Orcas islanders from shoppers at July’s Market Day, the annual rummage sale of Emmanuel Episcopal Church. From the proceeds, Emmanuel has donated $1,150 each to OPALCO’s Project Pal, the Orcas Island Food Bank, the Orcas Community Resource Center, Orcas Senior Center, and to the Air Hawks Flying […]

Artworks featured artist for October is Maria Papademetriou

Orcas artist Maria Papademetriou  describes her work is a kind of visual storytelling used to create a narrative, mood,, or message. “My creative process is multilayered and intuitive, using found objects, ceramics, and old photographs. “From a very early age,  4 to be exact, I have been fascinated by the discarded and the forgotten. I strive to give these objects, a new life and a new story. “Through my art, I seek […]

Midnight Mutterings | Hand II

I’m calling this ‘Hand II because I think I wrote a column years earlier called ‘Hand’ about my brother’s serious injury to his right hand when he was eight years old that put him into an six+ hour surgery followed by months in hospital in a ward filled with adult male soldiers with war injuries. My brother’s hand and life were saved by penicillin newly added to wound treatment. Shots every three hours […]

Plain talk on the budget

  During the course of my campaign for County Council, I have had countless conversations with people across the islands and have learned a great deal about their concerns. These conversations have given form to how I will, as councilmember, approach the budget. In April, 60.67% of San Juan County voters rejected the county’s levy lid lift. The message was clear: residents are not looking to pay more in property […]

Town of Friday Harbor Proclamation | Hope to live free of abuse

PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, October is recognized nationally as Domestic Violence Awareness Month; and WHEREAS, domestic violence is a complex and pervasive public health crisis that affects individuals without regard to age, race, gender, education, religious, economic, or societal lines; and WHEREAS, domestic violence is not just physical violence; it often presents as sexual, psychological, emotional, financial, or technological abuse; and WHEREAS, domestic violen

San Juan County sheriff’s log

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office responded to the following calls.

Supporting our strong community

Strong communities are built by people who choose to engage, learn, and lead, and this fall we have several ways to support that work on Orcas. In August, Eric Liu visited Orcas Island for our National Nonprofit Day program, Beyond the Echo Chamber: Strengthening Civic Culture on Orcas Island. His message about listening across differences and taking part in civic life resonated with everyone in the room. If you missed […]

Getting to Know Katherine | People-first leadership & proven results

Excellent council members bring neighbors together, build on community strengths, identify solutions by focusing on shared goals, and lead through change and crisis with empathy and compassion. I have a proven, professional track record of effective community facilitation, mediation, and equitable outcomes — even in circumstances where diverse viewpoints seemed irreconcilable. With the Lopez Island Prevention Coalition, I helped bu

Joint statement of Governor Bob Ferguson and Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller on west coast oil pipeline

OLYMPIA — Governor Bob Ferguson and Washington Department of Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller offer the folllowing joint statement regarding the Oct. 1 decision by the Canadian Major Projects Office to list the West Coast Oil Pipeline as a “Project of National Interest”: “We are disappointed in the decision today by the Government of Canada to list the proposed oil pipeline as a project of national interest. The classification puts the project on a [

November 3, 2026, General Election Ballots | Vote! Sign! Ballot Box it!

All registered San Juan County voters will receive a ballot for the 2026 General Election. Ballots will be mailed on October 9 Mark your calendars for the upcoming General Election on November 3! Races for important Federal, State, and County positions will appear on the ballot, as well as vital ballot measures for the State, the San Juan County Fire Protection District No. 4, the Port of Lopez, the Orcas Island Park & […]