Look who’s interviewing Sheryl Crow – It’s Friday Harbor’s own Emree (Rhiana) Franklin! How cool is that? Proud parents Suzanne and Ken Franklin share this announcement… Dear Friends and Family, Exciting news is fun to share and I have some really exciting news about Rhiana (Emree) who was recently selected by Sheryl Crow for inclusion  Continue Reading

Ron Lehman shares these photos he shot of some mammatus clouds he saw over Mt. Vernon on Tuesday morning. Very interesting cloud formations and good thing he got the photos when he did – he says they were completely gone within about 15 minutes. Here’s more info on this kind of cloud on Wikipedia. Thanks  Continue Reading

Laura Norris and Griffin Bay Bookstore are lucky winners of one of James Patterson’s $500 Holiday Bonus awards. All across the country, 500 booksellers from Maine to California, Florida to the Dakotas, were each awarded the special bonus, 100 of them going bookstores specializing in children’s literature or with an outstanding children’s collection. This award  Continue Reading

OPALCO Rate Increase Held at 3% Board to Share Vision for Our Energy Future When OPALCO members open their bills in January, they will be, on average, $3.92 higher. Although rates were projected to increase 5-6% each year over the next five years, the Board decided to hold the increase to 3% in 2020 in  Continue Reading

While flood impacts in the islands are much less than for our mainland neighbors, every few years the islands get enough rain to cause localized flooding- especially in our more “urban” areas. With a chance of heavy rain in the forecast for later this week, now is a good opportunity for home and business owners  Continue Reading

Channel Preserve, Lopez Lopez Preserve Steward, Amanda Wedow, hosted a public scoping meeting in early October. The event was widely attended with break-out discussions covering a variety of topics, including signage, and dogs. Incorporating comments heard at the meeting, as well those submitted over the public comment period that followed, Land Bank staff are now  Continue Reading

Co-op Members Get Paid – Capital Credit Checks Going Out When you become a co-op member, you become an owner in OPALCO. OPALCO is a not-for-profit cooperative which means any margin at the end of the year goes back into members’ hands. Each year the co-op tracks how much you pay for power and that  Continue Reading

San Juan County is seeking volunteers to create opposing statements to place in the online Voter’s Guide for the upcoming February 2020 Special Election. San Juan County Council approved sending Resolution No. 49-2019 to voters. If approved, the measure would authorize a countywide sales and use tax of 0.20% for a period of 60 months,  Continue Reading

Story by Louise Dustrude… After 23 years heading County Parks, and nearly half that long running the County Fair as well, Dona Wuthnow has decided she’s ready to start a new chapter. She’ll definitely stay on the island, she said, and she hopes to work in something natural resource conservation-related. She is passionate about parks  Continue Reading

The San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) is dedicated to supporting the local San Juan Islands art community each year in the museum’s Artists’ Registry Exhibit.   With over 70 artists showcased, both established and emerging, the artists come from San Juan Island, Orcas, Shaw & Lopez Islands. The exhibit opens December 20 and runs until February  Continue Reading