The veteran excursion and whale-watch vessel Odyssey ran aground on Leo Reef Rocks off Lopez Island Wednesday, necessitating evacuation of nearly 80 passengers by other whale-watch charter boats and the United States Coast Guard.
Delayed mail, evening overloads and empty (low revenue) ferries shuttling crews between Anacortes and Friday Harbor in the wee hours could be the norm if a United States Coast Guard requirement that prohibits rews from working more than 12 hours in any 24-hour period is enforced this September.
When nine-year-old Kelly Payne heard that the arts program at Friday Harbor Elementary School was going to be cut, she didn’t waste any time. Within two days, she had written a letter explaining why the program should be saved, and got it signed by her classmates and Principal Gary Pflueger. She next organized a booth selling lemonade, cupcakes and cookies at the school carnival on May 31, and rallied her classmates to the tune of $123 and more than 40 signatures on a petition to save the arts.
There are activities we’ve seen on the American Camp prairie that distress us: Visitors to the park stop their cars and lure fox kits with food so they can snap a photograph. Visitors let their dogs run off leash. A jogger runs through the park, letting her dog run free and bark at wildlife. These activities are distressing because they upset the self-sustaining balance of prairie life. They are also against the law.
