On the outside of the Mullis Center building there is a Plaque that reads, This land is a gift to the seniors of San Juan Island to honor the memory of our grandparents, George and Emma Mullis and our parents Frank and Belle Mullis. From Ina Mullis Gustin, James and Florence Mullis Lang, Wallace and  Continue Reading

The Mobile Dental Access Van will be coming back to Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Island in late September/ early October 2021. Lopez Island September 20-21 Orcas Island September 22-25 San Juan Island October 6-9 The van offers full dental care with X-rays, oral health exams, fillings, extractions, and teeth cleaning/ hygiene services. If you  Continue Reading

The skilled nursing facility owned by Life Care Centers of America closed at the end of 2017. It had more than seventy beds and held the majority of the Medicaid patients in San Juan County. It left one assisted living facility on San Juan Island: the Village at the Harbor, a private pay institution with  Continue Reading

From NW Innovation Resource Center NW Innovation Resource Center is partnering with WA Maritime Blue and CleanTech Alliance to support a cohort of marine and environmentally friendly startups. Building upon the mindset of innovation in the area, the cohort members will have access to assistance from experts to explore the viability of their ideas and  Continue Reading

From San Juan Island Library Learn English as a Second Language 7 p.m. Tuesday through July on Zoom.  San Juan Island Library offers this intermediate-level class for free. Contact Beth Helstien to get the zoom meeting invitation at bhelstien@sjlib.org or 360-378-2798 ext 1003.  

From the Town of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee is accepting applications through Sept. 27 for grants to fund tourism promotion of events and activities taking place within the town in 2022. Preference will be given to those operations and activities that encourage tourists to visit during the shoulder  Continue Reading

From Washington State Ferries The Dockside food kiosk, located near the vehicle holding lanes in the Anacortes terminal, re-opened May 28 after being closed due to COVID-19. The kiosk will be open from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. daily and offer a variety of prepackaged foods, coffee and other beverages. The café inside the terminal building will  Continue Reading

From Island Rec In honor of National Trails Day, which is June 5, check out the newly refreshed look of www.sanjuanislandtrails.org. Thank you to Treehouse Creative Digital Solutions for taking on this project, and the trails volunteers and community members who sent in photos of their favorite trails for the new site.   Island Rec  Continue Reading

From Spring Street International School Island residents may be noticing decorated file cabinets scattered around the town and islands. These cabinets were designed by English composition students at Spring Street International School to help relieve food insecurity for islanders. The cabinets were repurposed to become food donation cabinets, where people can freely take or give  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1 No findings were reported in a final financial audit from Jan. 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2019 for San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1. The district was given a clean bill of health. The audit, which concluded on April 22, 2021, is routine and  Continue Reading

Plans Include Pocket Park Near Grange, Sidewalks on Lampard   By Duncan Wilson, Town of Friday Harbor Administrator Year after year, the services and responsibilities undertaken by the Town of Friday Harbor grow as population and business activity increase. Beyond daily town operations that include administration, finance and community development, our most expensive and complex  Continue Reading

From Washington Healthplanfinder Due to recent federal action bringing new savings opportunities to current and new individual health insurance market customers, Washington Healthplanfinder is extending the current special enrollment period from May 15 through Aug. 15. This aligns with the recent federal announcement extending the special enrollment period for those using the federal marketplace. This  Continue Reading

From Artist’s Studio Tour The Artists’ Studio Tour on San Juan Island will return June 5-6. We are excited to be including both returning and new island artists with this year’s tour. We want to celebrate with our island residents, and thank them for their support during the last year with this opportunity to safely  Continue Reading

From San Juan Land Bank Over the last two weeks, the local civilian conservation corps has helped stewardship staff plant close to 5,000 bare-root plants and forbs on Orcas and San Juan Island Preserves. The picture above was taken at False Bay Creek Preserve on a bluebird day. The San Juan County Land Bank Commission  Continue Reading

In the SJ Update mailbag today we have this letter from Louise Dustrude… Are the miniature villages on rocks along West Side Road proliferating, or have there always been half a dozen or more? I’ve been enjoying one of them for several months, and perhaps it’s been there for years. It’s not on my daily  Continue Reading

From Griffin Bay Bookstore Griffin Bay Bookstore’s doors are open! We welcome you back to the bookstore after a two-week break with lighter hearts, our spirits buoyed by the many letters, notes, e-mails, and postings demonstrating your appreciation and thanks for what we do. Your kind words, your well-wishes were enlivening and encouraging as we  Continue Reading

From Washington State Department of Commerce The Washington State Department of Commerce Thursday, Feb. 26 announced $3.7 million in grants for nine solar energy projects across the state. The projects will result in a total $6.1 million reduction in the energy burden of low-income households and nonprofits serving low-income communities over 25 years. The Low-Income  Continue Reading

By Minnie Knych, Northwest Workforce Council Career Center Despite the increase in unemployment in San Juan County, there is some good news. There are jobs available in several sectors of the economy.  As we all know, many San Juan County businesses are seasonal and thrive during the summer but start to lay off employees in  Continue Reading

From the Center For Whale Research On Feb. 17, the Center For Whale Research had its eighth encounter with orcas in 2021. Members saw the J, K, L pods in Haro Strait. They report: “We were seeing young calves but it was hard to tell who the mothers were as saddles disappeared behind swells. We  Continue Reading

From Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor’s volunteer for the month of February is Pam Monin. Pam has been volunteering at the APS-FH Treasure Hounds store since July 2017. She has worked as a retail sales clerk for the store as well as being our visual merchandising and display  Continue Reading

From Friends of the San Juan Island Library The Friends of the San Juan Island Library are hosting a Valentine’s Day online auction. The Treasure Cove online sale includes books by the bag and specialty books. We are open through Feb. 15. You are cordially invited to shop for your valentine and support our library.  Continue Reading

By William F. House, MD, Eventide Health We have received our shipment of the Moderna vaccine and will begin vaccinating established patients of Eventide Health. The vaccinations will be done at the county fairgrounds on Wednesdays as we join with the health department with their vaccination efforts. If you begin vaccinations with our clinic you  Continue Reading