Sports
V’ball team nets back-toback wins; football falls in Lions den
Island Scene
Harvest time: from ‘budbreak’ to bottle PAGE 9
Guest Column
Ferry reservations may work for some, but don’t count ‘working families’ among the winners PAGE 7
PAGE 16
Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, September 17, 2014 Vol. 107 Issue 38
Short on supply, pot shop chills
Retail owners contend with lack of product By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
Center for Whale Research / Dave Ellifrit
The chin of the newest addition to the Southern Resident killer whales, L-120, rises out of the water off the west side of San Juan Island. The newborn brings the number of animals in population to 79, its lowest mark in 30 years.
Born under a bad sign? Whales welcome first calf in two years, but orcas at 30-year low By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
And, baby makes 79. A two-year drought came to a welcomed end Saturday, Sept. 6, as researchers with the Center for Whale Research spotted a killer whale calf off the west side of San Juan Island. Designated L-120 by the Center, keeper of the official yearly census of the Southern resident orcas, the calf is the first newborn to join the endangered population of killer whales since 2012. While its appearance offers some relief from a prolonged,
unusual absence of newborns, it comes at a time when the population, 79 orcas in all, has tumbled to its lowest mark in 30 years. Center Director Ken Balcomb points to the lack of salmon, Chinook in particular, and to dwindling returns to the Fraser River of the orcas preferred prey as the primary reason for the population’s downward spiral. Two orcas went missing over the past year and are presumed dead, L-53, a 53-year-old female, and L-100, a male born in 2001, according to the Center. “Poor Chinook years equal poor survival of whales, that’s the bottom line,” Balcomb said. “We’re not going to have these whales around if we’re not going to give them some fish.” Listed endangered in the U.S. in 2005, the southern residents consist of three tightly knit clans, known
as J, K and L pods. The population was declared endangered in the wake of a 20 percent decline in the mid 1990s. As of 2010, the population totaled 87 animals. The southern Residents also are designated endangered by Washington state and in Canada as well. Tragedy in family ties The newest member of L-pod, L-120, is the offspring of L-86, the third calf born to the 23-year-old female. She is mother of L-106, a 10-year-old male, and L-112, also known as Sootke, which died of injuries from an “unknown blunt trauma” in early 2012. The death of the otherwise healthy 3-year-old led to a highprofile necropsy and speculation among many that its injuries may have been caused by naval ammunition training off the See SIGN?, Page 4
If you’re looking to score some weed in the San Juan Islands, legally, that is, don’t hold your breath. It could take awhile. “Not a day goes by that I don’t run into someone asking when I’m going to be ready, wanting to know when I’m going to open up,” said Theron Soderlund, owner of Orcas Island’s sole state-sanctioned marijuana retail establishment, Token Herb. “But to open up badly is worse than not opening up at all.” While Token Herb holds the distinction of being the first-ever state-licensed pot shop in San Juan County–its business application was recently approved by the state Liquor Control Board--Soderlund said that maintaining consistent hours and keeping shelves stocked with a diversified, quality line of product would be difficult because access to legally grown marijuana remains problematic and in short supply in the islands and elsewhere. At this point, he said that the marijuana business in Washington state is somewhat of a “cart before the horse” kind of thing. On San Juan Island, retail potshop lottery winner Lawrence Industries is even further behind its Orcas Island counterpart. The company has yet to have its business license approved and is contemplating a change of address. The potential of relocation from 779 Mullis Street, the address on file in the company application with the state liquor board, creates a long list of business decisions, bureaucratic hurdles and possible
2011 Special Award; Second Place: General Excellence from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
zoning issues with which to contend, Jim Lawrence said. “We’re looking over all our options and working on getting all our ducks in a row,” said Lawrence, who declined to speculate on an opening date. “It will happen but at this point it’s moving very slowly.” In 2012, voters in San Juan County, 68 percent, joined their counterparts across the state in approving Initiative 502, which legalized the recreational use and sale of marijuana (to adults), and tasked the state liquor control board with creating a system by which to license retailers, growers and processors. The county has so far been allocated a total of three retail establishments, one each See CHILLS, Page 4
Real Esta te
in the
San Juan
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September
Contributed
photo
PO Box 171
Eastsound, WA 360.376.2145 98245 www.orcasislan drealty.com
FREE MAP INSI DE! See pages 10-11
2014
Published the Journal of the San Juanthird Wednesday of each month Islands, Islands’ by the Sounder and Island s’ Weekly
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7
Deborah Hansen Kathryn Sherman
photo
Harvey Olsan
Lisa Botiller
Locally OwnMary Clure ed and Oper Victoria Shaner ated
Kristen Slabaugh Marty Zier
Real Estate in the San Juan Islands
See inside for August’s real estate sales, listings and statistics.