Island Rec shares news about its upcoming event for kids. School’s out early on Friday, Oct. 21, so grab your pals and come explore rigs of all shapes and sizes at Island Rec’s annual Touch-a-Truck event. We will be at the Friday Harbor Elementary School playground again this year, from 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Kiwanis Club  Continue Reading

In these stressful, contentious times, our library, more than any other place, provides a center for everyone in our community. It offers so many services beyond books and the future of these many services are jeopardized if the library remains in its present location. The opponents of the library bond argue that now is not  Continue Reading

APS-FH shares some kind words about their volunteer of the month. The Animal Protection Society—Friday Harbor is pleased to announce Luci Francis as the APS-FH Volunteer of the Month for October. Luci has been volunteering with APS-FH since April. Luci is a joy to the dogs and shelter staff alike. She always has a positive  Continue Reading

With the upcoming elections in November, I wanted to take some time to talk about our Sheriff, Ron Krebs. I’ve known Ron since I moved to the island in 2012 and have always been impressed with his commitment to our community. Whenever we’ve discussed what he feels is most important, the people in our county  Continue Reading

Freezer Burned is an ongoing series for the San Juan Update, written by Steve Ulvi. Read the previous story in this series. The Alapah Cabin at Last After eight drudgerous days of working his way up the Kuuk River, Sonny found the last two nights of siwash camping about as pleasant as could be hoped  Continue Reading

Experience matters is a campaign slogan in the current Sheriff’s race, but it matters a lot what field or occupation you’re experienced in. If I wanted to fly to somewhere in the world, I’d prefer an experienced pilot. If I’m going to have root canal surgery, I’d prefer an experienced dentist. Likewise, in the Sheriff’s  Continue Reading

Ranked-choice voting changes the traditional democratic principle that the candidate with the most votes wins. Under RCV, the ballot lets the voter choose multiple names in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority, the bottom contender is eliminated and that person’s votes are reassigned to their second choices – or third or fourth,  Continue Reading

The BLM shares news about its search for three members of the public to serve in advisory positions. The Bureau of Land Management Spokane District is seeking public nominations for positions on the Monument Advisory Committee for the San Juan Islands National Monument. This citizen-based committee assists in the development of recommendations that address public  Continue Reading

I love libraries. I think they’re extremely important. We have a great library in Friday Harbor. It’s important to note for populations up to 10,000, the average size of a library is 0.6 square feet per person, or in our case 6,000 square feet. Our current library is over 8,000 square feet on 0.66 acres.  Continue Reading

San Juan Island’s community art center shares news about their upcoming fundraising event. Alchemy Art Center is celebrating their fifth year as a registered nonprofit with a Fall Fundraiser Gala, and you are invited. On Friday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. at Brickworks, Alchemy will host a gourmet dinner provided by a team of local  Continue Reading