Island News
Teagan August earns his CDL with help from a Kiwanis scholarship
FRIDAY HARBOR, WA — Teagan August has successfully completed a one-month Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training program in Bellingham, opening new doors in his career and highlighting a growing shift in how community organizations support workforce development. With the assistance of the Kiwanis Club and funding support from the Dave and Nancy Honeywell Foundation, […]
Fraud expert: AI is ‘supercharging’ scams in WA
Public News Service: April is Fraud Prevention Month and new data show fraud continues to be a big concern for people of all ages, with nearly four in 10 people saying they have already experienced it. The data from AARP found growing confusion and overconfidence around artificial intelligence‑driven scams. Kay Tomlinson, volunteer fraud watch specialist for […]
Be careful when spring cleaning; tips on avoiding HPS
San Juan County Health and Community Services reminds you of a few tips to help make your spring season as fun and healthy as possible. Before you start cleaning your shed, garage, or cabin this season, there are some safety precautions you should take to protect yourself against hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). HPS is a […]
Earth Day Orcas hands-on learning for all ages
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Your local public health team wants to remind you of a few tips to help make your spring season as fun and healthy as possible. Before you start cleaning your shed, garage, or cabin this season, there are some safety precautions you should take to protect yourself against hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). HPS is a severe, and sometimes fatal, respiratory disease contracted from rodents. Any activity that puts you in contact […]
Orcas Christian students bring spring garden to life through hands-on learning
||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| Red radishes, crunchy with early spring promise. Spinach leaves curl and stretch, green in the gentle breeze. Carrot tops push through newly softened soil. After winter’s stillness, life is returning — and at Orcas Christian School, students are sparking that renewal through collaboration and hands-on projects that engage both mind and body. Kindergarten through fifth-grade students have worked together this year on several cross-curricular projects, including
Conservation Land Bank Commission to travel to Orcas for upcoming meeting
The meeting will be held at the Orcas Island Fire Station ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold its regularly scheduled April 17 meeting on Orcas Island. The meeting is scheduled from 8:30am – 11:10am via Zoom. The meeting will also be available for in person public attendance at the Orcas Island Fire Station, 45 Lavender Lane, Eastsound, WA. The public is invited to attend. What: San Juan County Conservation Land Bank […]
The president is having an actual mental breakdown. Will the vice president take action?
||| FROM MILES TAYLOR for DEFIANCE.ORG ||| Sunday night into Monday morning, the president of the United States conducted an all-night social media binge that would alarm any reasonable observer, whether or not he was the president, and which cemented a growing sense of dread about Trump’s mental stability. It began at 9:03 p.m. with a savage, 334-word screed against Pope Leo XIV, attacking the first American-born pontiff as “WEAK” and “terrible for Foreign Policy.” It continued at 9:49 p.m. […]
April 28, 2026, Special Election | Vote Early! Sign! Send!
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| All registered voters in San Juan County will receive a ballot for the Special Election on April 28, 2026. This election will include measures for San Juan County and the Lopez Island Park and Recreation District. San Juan County is proposing a regular property tax lid lift of $0.85 per $1,000 of assessed value to sustain public health, safety, and essential community services. The Lopez Island Park and Recreation District, established during the […]
Kenmore Air returns with seasonal Friday Harbor–Victoria seaplane flights
Daily 30-minute flights now through October 31, with fares starting at $124 one-way ||| FROM SCOTT MEIS for KENMORE AIR ||| Kenmore Air has resumed its seasonal seaplane service between Friday Harbor Marina on San Juan Island and Victoria, B.C.’s Inner Harbour, offering a quick and seamless way for islanders to cross the border from dock to downtown in 30 minutes. Operating daily through October 31, the route offers a relaxed alternative to traditional travel: no TSA lines, no airport […]
Letter to Editor | The cost of a ‘No’ vote on county levy
||| FROM NATHAN KESSLER-JEFFREY ||| As we all consider the County’s proposed levy lid lift, I hope we take a moment to consider the true impact of a “no” vote. I’m a property owner, and yeah, voting ‘yes’ will increase taxes about $22 per month to maintain services. But a no vote will cost us so much more. A ‘no’ vote comes with significant and lasting costs to our community. The working plan if the levy doesn’t pass is for […]
EDC and Washington Lawyers for The Arts to Host Free Workshop on Protecting Artists in the Modern World – registration required
The EDC will host a free online workshop led by Taylor Fairchild from Washington Lawyers for the Arts, to help artists of all mediums better understand and protect intellectual property (IP), including how to protect against AI use of IP. The session, Protecting Artists in the Modern World, will be at the Orcas Library Wednesday, April 22 from 10:00am – 11:30am. Virtual participation will also be available. With current technology it’s easy for almost anyone to steal art available online. Images
Sing Along with the Art at the San Juan Island Library
The latest art at the San Juan Island Library is inspired by songs, both popular and obscure! The new art exhibit, titled Songs, Delightful Songs, will be showing for visitors, staff, and volunteers until June 20, 2026. Featured are abstract or representational pieces created by professional, emerging, and beginning artists, by adults, teens, parents, and […]
ROAM: Art and literary pop-ups
Submitted by HALO.
Edge of the Salish Sea | Art, poetry, science walk and workshop
Submitted by event organizers.
Solvitur ambulando: Orcas Island resident launches immersive walking tour
There is a Latin phrase that Rusty Diggs carries with her on every walk: solvitur ambulando — it is solved by walking. For Diggs, a 25-year resident of Orcas Island, those words are more than a motto. They are the philosophy behind a new venture she hopes will change the way visitors experience one of the Pacific Northwest’s most beloved destinations.
Mark Sawyer | Passages
Mark Andrew Sawyer, age 60, passed unexpectedly on April 2, 2026, due to a tragic boating accident.
Orcas resident dies in single-car collision in Eastsound
An Orcas resident has died after a single-car collision on Enchanted Forest Road on April 13, around 4 p.m. According to Sheriff Eric Peter, the other occupant of the car was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Merri Ann Simonson Real Estate Updates: 1st quarter of 2026 almost the same as 2025 1st quarter
Here is the Real Estate Market Snap Shot by the Simonson & Zambrovitz Team at Coldwell Banker SJI. They report that the first quarter of 2026 is very similar to 2025 regarding the number of transactions and sales price category.
Give Lopez – Lopez’s Annual Spring Fundraiser Runs April 13th – 27th
Lopez Island’s annual spring fundraiser, Give Lopez, is set to run April 13th – 27th. This year, 16 nonprofits serving Lopez Island residents with a variety of community programs are participating. Now in its ninth year, the two-week fundraiser is a critical component of each organization’s yearly fundraising and outreach efforts. In 2025, Give Lopez netted […]
Katie Fleming: Levy lid lift roughly $22 a month for average propery
Dear Editor, Please understand that I am writing this letter as a private citizen, not in my capacity as a county employee or in any way affiliated with my employer. I’ve lived on San Juan Island for 15 years, and I feel lucky every day that this is home – the place where I’m raising […]
News Brief | Did you feel one of the 18 earthquakes this morning?
||| FROM KOMO NEWS ||| An active swarm of earthquakes has been detected far offshore of Washington state, but experts say it is not a threat to people on land in the Pacific Northwest. The network reported that 18 quakes were detected as of noon on April 12, with a magnitude ranging up to 4.2. PNSN stressed that the swarm does not pose a hazard to the PNW onshore region, READ FULL ARTICLE
Letter to Editor | Proposed blubber detoxification technique for female killer whales
||| FROM RIKKI SWIN ||| One of the biggest threats to endangered Southern Resident killer whale calves (and others worldwide) is exposure to man-made toxins such as PCBs, PFAS (“forever chemicals”), and other persistent pollutants. These toxins accumulate in the mother’s thick layer of blubber over her lifetime and are passed to the calf in high concentrations through her milk during nursing—often with devastating effects on the calf’s developing immune system. Salmon, which accumulate these tox
Letter to Editor | In support of San Juan County Levy Lift
||| FROM KATIE FLEMING ||| Please understand that I am writing this letter as a private citizen, not in my capacity as a county employee or in any way affiliated with my employer. I’ve lived on San Juan Island for 15 years, and I feel lucky every day that this is home – the place where I’m raising a family. The natural environment here isn’t a backdrop to our lives, it’s the heart of them. Hiking through forests, spending sunny […]
A legacy in every note: Orcas Island honors retiring strings director Pamela Wright
What began as the 2026 Music Advocacy Group Community Concert, benefiting the Orcas Island School District music program, held in the gymnasium at Orcas Island High School, became something far more personal on this Sunday afternoon — a heartfelt, tearful send-off for strings director Pamela Wright, who will retire at the end of this school year after 24 extraordinary years at Orcas Island Schools.