Around the island….

At Wells Fargo Bank, general manager Jessica Johnson welcomes new customer service manager Melissa Posenjack to the bank...Melissa returns to the bank she began with on the island after stints at Whidbey Island Bank and with Tammy Cotten Insurance....

Hope you get out in this sunny morning! Looking around:

• The San Juan Communities Housing Solutions group has a Town Hall meeting planned for May 24th to discuss affordability and other issues. Here’s more.

Grisha played with Enso at Pazzo Vivo last spring...

• If you haven’t heard Grisha play, you’ve missed out on a truly wonderful experience.. The Spring Street International School music teacher has put on several shows on-island in the past few years – with his sister, with his band Enso, playing his own work solo – and he’s simply amazing…I love hearing him play. Don’t miss him this weekend – here’s the press release:

On Saturday, May 7th at 7pm, Grisha Krivchenia will be playing favorite works  by Chopin, Liszt and Schubert on the Presbyterian Church’s Young Chang Concert Grand Piano.

Grisha is a composer and pianist who completed his training at Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied piano with Sedmara Rutstein and composition with Lewis Nielson and Jeffrey Mumford.  Several professional ensembles have performed his works, including Arraymusic (Toronto), The Blue Rose Trio (Los Angeles), and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony.  This year, he is finishing a concerto for piano and string orchestra. Grisha teaches music and philosophy at Spring Street International School, as well as teaching private lessons to adults and teens in Friday Harbor.

The recital is free, and open to all who would like to come, thanks to the  generosity of an anonymous sponsor.
We will be accepting donations for good causes, both local and global. Brickworks will  share the proceeds with the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for Japan. For more information please call  378-4544.

It was fun to see Betsy driving 'round yesterday in her Smart car...she tells me there's just enough room in the front for Les & the dog, and they usually get about 38 mpg, which makes this a smart move with rising gas prices.

• As the events for Historic Friday Harbor continue this month, this Friday you can find out more about the Courthouse:

SAN JUAN COUNTY HISTORIC COURTHOUSE
Enter through the 2nd Street entrance at 2pm. An insiders’ look at the 1906 San Juan County Courthouse, a National Historic Register building with secrets and stories, old and new. Free to the public. For information: 360.378.4017 or co.san-juan.wa.us.

Someone told me I should get my coffee at Friday Harbor Espresso where "those gorgeous sisters" work, so I dropped by to say hey to Mica (left) and Leslie yesterday afternoon as the clouds parted. Not sure which was brighter - the sun or their smiles....

• Here’s more about this weekend’s Children’s Festival (sponsored by Island Rec), from Keri:

Come one, come all!  to the 21st annual Children’s Festival this Saturday at the Fairgrounds.

This years’ theme is Cirque Du San Juan from 10am to 2pm.  Festivities include headliner Rhys Thomas of Juggle Mania!  Combining the quick wit of stand-up comedy with the dextrous feats of the circus, Rhys creates amazing performances. The entire Festival is free, and welcome to all, including all ages!  Many local businesses and organizations participate in this annual event with activities and booths.  Be prepared to be amazed by colors, sounds and experiences with our local creative talent!

Celebrate the holiday!

• It was great to hear from Vince Dauciunas and get this picture he shot:

Driving along Tucker Avenue, I noticed our fine OPALCO crews were busy adding  “Power to the People.”  We’ve known that OPALCO has been offering “Green Power” for some time now, but it looks like we’ll soon be able to purchase Red, Yellow and Blue power too!

A tip of the hat to our forward thinking Power Collective!

Power to the people... photo by Vince Dauciunas (thanks, Vince!)

• My friend Nancy on Lopez has her tractor for sale – here’s the scoop, with her notes:

This could be yours....

Priced to sell! 1989 John Deere #2355 w/loads of implements- $14,440 (Lopez Island, WA). 2625 hours, diesel
w/ loader 6′ bucket. Additional implements included:  grapple and fork plate (fork plate not shown), #2103 Bush Hog post hole digger w/ 12″ auger (shown), #FD2572 Land Pride grooming mower, 6′ disk pull behind.

Contact Nancy Crowell <redtail (at) rockisland.com> for more info!

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