That's Michelle Loftus & Jan Murphy (with tea hats!) at Sunday's Wolf Hollow fundraiser at Coho Restaurant, drinking tea....photo by Update society news reporter & photographer Tamara Weaver

Islanders are gearing up for the summer & the nice weather ahead – get outside & play! Here’s more:

• It’s fun to see a maestro at work, and that’s what you’ll see when you drop by this estate auction this weekend – auctioneer Mike Adams is one of the best (I’ve seen him in action!)! Here’s more:

Big Estate Auction this Saturday
San Juan County Fairgrounds

Garden, furniture, tools, hardware, rugs…lots of great items!
Click here to see more photos. Preview Friday night 5 to 7 and Saturday morning 8 to 11 am
Live auction starts at 11 am!
Put on by Islands Auction Company • 378 2638 in Friday Harbor

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• Just heard from Teri at Be Chic Boutique:

We just received a new shipment of TOM’S shoes!!  They are absolutely gorgeous and will go quickly.  Hurry in before your size is gone!

The TOMS motto: With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for One.

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Last night, the “Let Us Eat Cake” fund raiser - an old- fashioned bake-off and bonfire - was held at County Park on Wednesday evening to help raise funds for the historic Brann Cabin restoration project.

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Abi Spring has an artist's talk at Waterworks Gallery this Saturday....

• Ruth at Waterworks Gallery is kicking off her “On The Surface” show this weekend with an artist talk by Abi Spring – here’s more:

May 19 – June 9, 2012
ON THE SURFACE

Kathryn Trigg, Monotypes, Joan Stuart Ross, Encaustic and Abi Spring,
Kiln Formed Glass
Each of these artists explores the surface of paper, canvas or glass in a different manner.
Working with printing inks and paper, Kathryn Trigg infuses the paper surface with up to 30 layers of color creating an amazingly complex colored surface. Joan Stuart Ross continues her process with encaustic painting and ongoing affair with nature in the wild, culminating in this new series of paintings.  Abi Spring, a former painter and a current kiln glass worker, explores glass from a painter perspective without
embedding volumes of color.

Artist Talk and Reception: May 19 Abi Spring

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Prize winners at the tea at Coho! Photo by Tamara Weaver

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• Stretching the week – getting closer to the season! Here’s more from Anna Lisa at Duck Soup Inn:

Just a quick note to let you know that this week we are expanding our days of operation from Thursday through Sunday. We are still offering Happy Hour on Fridays from 4-6! Thank you so much!

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• Can you lend a hand for an islander in need? Here’s more:

Tim Lance and Tami Derby moved from California to Friday Harbor in early 2009.  He worked at Marketplace for 3 years becoming the Dairy Manager and then for Carlson Enterprises.

Shortly after being laid off and having no medical insurance, Tim began to experience severe abdominal pain.  He went to see Dr. Gossom and was referred to a doctor on the mainland.  After several months of doctor visits off island, screenings, losing 40 lbs., and dealing with severe pain, Tim was scheduled for surgery.

On January 3, 2012 Tim had surgery and spent 9 days in the hospital. Tami took time off work to be with him during surgery and to help in his recovery.  A few days after being released from the hospital they noticed his incision was infected.  He had acquired MRSA while in the hospital.

There were more visits to the surgeon, and daily visits to doctors here. Tami arranged her work schedule so she could go home and care for Tim. Their medical bills have been accumulating and are well over $100,000 at this point.  He is recovering still and now looking for a job.  We, his friends, would like to help him.

Can you help?

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• There’s a movie this Sunday at the Library in German – here’s more from Mary Doerflein (and you’re invited!):

The cherry blossoms are blooming as Rudi befriends a dancer living precariously in a tent in a park near Tokyo and continue to bloom as the dancer, in turn, befriends Rudi as time swallows up his life’s tenure:  Sunday, May 20th, 6:30pm at the San Juan Library Meeting Room.  Sponsored by the German Interest Group (GIG). In German with English sub-titles.

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Skagit Valley College/San Juan Center folks: Emily Reed (left), Angie Atwell, Barbara Fry, and Randy Martin.

The San Juan Center was well represented at the annual Skagit Valley College Spring Celebration held on May 15th in McIntyre Hall at the Mount Vernon Campus.  San Juan Center was pleased to have several prominent staff members recognized for milestone years of service to the College and our local community: Angie Atwell (Road Scholar, 5 years); Emily Reed (Road Scholar, 15 years), and Dr. Barbara Fry (History, 20 years).

Angie Atwell was also given special recognition by receiving the Classified Staff Excellence Award, given in recognition of Angie’s outstanding service to the College and community in her role as Program Administrator for the San Juan Center’s nationally recognized Road Scholar program. Angie was singled out from hundreds of classified staff College-wide in recognition of her integrity, innovative thinking, stewardship ethics, and dedication to hundreds Road Scholar participants, staff, business partners, and the College community as a whole.

Along with the honor came a $500 check from award sponsor Puget Sound Energy. According to Carmela Cavanaugh, Senior Program Manager in Road Scholar’s Boston headquarters, “Angie has “touched” each of the individuals enrolled in a Skagit Valley College Road Scholar program.

From submitting programs to sending out advance materials confirming quality educators and managing a myriad of other details, Angie ensures that Road Scholar programs run flawlessly.” San Juan Center Director Randy Martin, in his nomination of Angie, added, “Angie is devoted to the Road Scholar program that provides essential support to the San Juan Center. Faced with challenging duties and juggling multiple layers of planning, various deadlines internally and externally via our partnership with Road Scholar, Angie never hesitates to consider a new idea, a different way to view something, or nurture a new relationship with a Road Scholar participant.”

Rolling around the island....

It’s cool to try to do something new every day – here’s more from Debbi (Dave’s wife):

Mary Frances McElfresh fulfilled an activity on her Bucket List. Dave Staehlin, State Certified Motorcycle Safety Foundation Instructor, gave her a ride around the island on his Harley. It is the first time that Mary Frances has been on a motorcycle. She said it was the most fun she has had in a long time!

Dave & Mary Frances get ready for the ride....

San Juan County

Community Wildfire Protection Plan & Wildfire Risk Assessment

Public Meetings!

Shaw Island – May 21^st 5:30 pm at the Community Center

Friday Harbor – May 22^nd 5:30 pm at 1011 Mullis street

Waldron Island – May 23^rd 11:00am at the Post Office

Orcas Island – May 23^rd 5:30 pm at 45 Lavender Lane, Eastsound (Meet & Greet 4 pm – 5 pm)

Lopez Island – May 24^th 5:30 pm at 2228 Fisherman Bay Road

Getting ready....

These public meetings will address the Community Wildfire Protection Plan and Wildfire Risk Assessment being developed for San Juan County. Public input is being sought to better understand the vulnerability of County residents, businesses, and resources to wildfire.  The purpose of this plan is to promote awareness of the countywide wildland fire hazard and propose workable solutions to reduce the wildfire risk.

The planning committee is working on:

• Mapping the Wildland Urban Interface in San Juan County.
• Improving public awareness and educating the public about wildfire risk.
• Evaluating strategies for landowners to lessen wildfire potential.
• Addressing areas of inadequate fire protection.
• Recommending risk mitigation projects.

These meetings are open to the public and will include slideshow presentations by wildfire specialists and local personnel working to develop these plans.

Learn about the assessments of wildfire risk and the wildland urban interface of San Juan County.  Discuss YOUR priorities for how our community can best mitigate these risks.

The planning committee would like to provide the opportunity for meaningful discussions among community members and local, state, and federal government representatives regarding their priorities for local fire protection and land management.

You’re going to want to sing along – here’s more from St. David’s:

Angel

Angel Michaels is delighted to invite you to Islands’ A Cappella Spring Concert – Songbirds in Season:  Larks, Laughter and Nightingales. The San Juan Island performance will be at Saint David’s Episcopal Church at 4 pm on Saturday, May 19.

Works will include The Nightingale and The Lark, as imagined by Mendelssohn as well as choral suites penned by Orcas composer, James Hardman, composer John Rutter, and San Juan Island composer/arranger, Bert Dayton.

The concert selections cover jazz, 20th century Romanticism, 21st century lyricism and spirituals that will share good news beyond “the Troubles of This World.”

Saint David’s Church is located on the corner of Park & Marguerite. Admission is $10, and tickets will be available at the door. For more information, call 378-5360.

John de Graaf's book

Every so often, friends of mine who live off-island ask, What do you have to do on that island anyway? One of the things that I love about living here is the incredible people who pass through here & share their stories, and that we have places for us to collect & them to visit with us. Griffin Bay Books & the Library continue to take care of things, as you can see with this presentation:

What’s the Economy For, Anyway?
Why It’s Time to Stop Chasing Growth and Start Pursuing Happiness
By John de Graaf & David K. Batker

Griffin Bay Bookstore and the San Juan Island Library are proud to co-sponsor a special evening at Griffin Bay Bookstore with John de Graaf, author, documentary filmmaker, and director of Seattle’s Happiness Initiative on Saturday, May 19, 7:00 pm.

If you’re wondering if there are better ways to measure American economic well-being than by today’s primary indicator, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), then make sure to hear John de Graaf talk about a more stimulating approach to the economy, one that puts people and their needs ahead of money-based indicators of growth and performance.

In their thought-provoking book, What’s the Economy For, Anyway? John de Graaf and co-author David K. Batker tackle thirteen economic issues, asking the reader to consider the ultimate purpose of our economy. Emphasizing powerful American ideals, including teamwork, pragmatism, and equality, de Graaf and Batker set forth a simple goal for any economic system: the greatest good for the greatest number, over the longest run. Drawing from history and current enterprises, the reader can see how the good life is achieved when people and markets work together with an active government to create an economy that works for everyone.

In his review of What’s the Economy For, Anyway? David E. Spiro, Adjunct Associate Professor of International Political Economy, Columbia University, noted that the book “recalibrated” his impatience with “nonsense” when it comes to reading proposals by economists or environmentalists writing about a sustainable economy. This book, he says, is “well-argued and clearly written,” and will appeal to a wide variety of readers.

Spiro refers to a speech that Robert Kennedy made in 1968 when he said: “The Gross National Product (GNP is similar to GDP but it takes imports and exports into account) does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials . . . It measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.”  Spiro summarizes proposals, arguments, and indicators set forth by de Graaf and Batker that can be used to do just what Kennedy talked about in 1968.  Their book ought to be “required reading,” he concludes.

Don’t miss the opportunity to meet John de Graaf and learn how we might change—and improve—the way we measure our economic well being, how, instead, we could weigh the quality, not just quantity, of our growth, our common good, and the overall well being of Americans.

This book is full of humor, solid evidence, and common sense; never dull, but eminently readable and clear.

About the author

John de Graaf is the co-author of the national bestseller Affluenza: The All-consuming Epidemic. He is also Executive Director of Take Back Your Time, an organization challenging time poverty and overwork in the U.S. and Canada. He is the co-founder and senior partner of the Happiness Initiative. An independent producer of television documentaries, more than 15 of de Graaf’s programs have been broadcast primetime nationally on Public Television.

For information on the Happiness Initiative: Pursuing more of what matters, not merely more, see http://www.happycounts.org/