By Minnie Knych, NW Workforce Career Center In San Juan County, by far most businesses are seasonal and thrive during the summer but start to lay off employees in the fall. With the COVID-19 shutdown, the summer season has been difficult for the tourism industry everywhere, but especially here in San Juan County. Since March,  Continue Reading

Public and Nonpublic Employees Must Wear Masks By San Juan County As cases rise, it is worth taking another look at what employers and employees can do to protect themselves and their businesses from COVID-19 impacts. The basics are nothing new: cover our faces, wash our hands, stay home when sick. That said, it is  Continue Reading

By EDC The San Juan County EDC will host a listening session with State Representative Alex Ramel (WA-4o) from 5-6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 10. The event will be held via Zoom and pre-registration is required. Representative Ramel hopes to hear from you about the challenges you’re facing throughout fall and winter, what successes you had  Continue Reading

By EDC The San Juan County Economic Development Council is resuming regular programming with the return of our Business Recovery Zoom Meetings, now called Business Recovery Workshops. This bi-weekly workshop, in a Zoom environment, will give business owners the opportunity to speak with professionals on a wide variety of topics related to the continuing economic  Continue Reading

Santa’s Mailbox, Holiday Decorating Contest By Becki Day, Executive Director, San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce On behalf of the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and myself, we hope you all had a nice, although different, Thanksgiving weekend. We also hope you got to enjoy a little bit of the holiday  Continue Reading

By Cynthia Burke, Owner, Cynthia’s Bistro I am celebrating my daughter Claire Mira Burke’s upcoming birthday on Dec. 3 by giving back to our community! Receive a free, kitchen sink dinner from 4:30-6 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 3, at Cynthia’s Bistro at 65 Nichols St. in Friday Harbor. We are offering free takeaway meals to anyone  Continue Reading

By the EDC Last week, Gov. Jay Inslee announced an additional $70 million for business grants, and $50 million of that is for a new round of Working Washington business grants. The remainder will go toward funding all qualified businesses that applied in earlier rounds of our resiliency grant program. Businesses who applied for the  Continue Reading

‘Treat Yo Elf’ This Holiday Season By San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau “I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes. Christmas is all around [us], and so the feeling grows…” If that feeling is finding the perfect gift for family near and far, there’s something from the San Juan Islands for  Continue Reading

The San Juan Update appreciates the opportunity to reprint this story about Hospice Northwest, written by Hayley Day for the Salish Current. We also refer you to a recent story about Hospice San Juan at this link in the San Juan Update. These two Hospice groups frequently collaborate in serving the needs of their patients…  Continue Reading

By EDC This year, more than ever, business owners and community leaders and legislators need data and information to make knowledgeable decisions. Join the Economic Development Council for our fifth annual “Datapalooza!” event from 11-12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, via Zoom. Participants can learn more about how the pandemic affected area industries and employment  Continue Reading

By EDC San Juan County, the Washington State Department of Commerce, and the Economic Development Council have awarded over $300,000 in COVID-19 relief grant funds directly to locally-owned and -operated small businesses, community nonprofit organizations and childcare facilities in San Juan County. These funds will help business owners pay expenses such as rent, utilities, safety  Continue Reading

Local Holiday Decorating Contest By Becki Day, Executive Director, San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce The holidays are just around the corner. What better way to brighten things up than to have a “Let’s Light up Friday Harbor” campaign, beginning Friday, Nov. 27 to start off the shop local holiday? This is a Christmas decorating  Continue Reading

By Laura Norris, Owner, Griffin Bay Bookstore To all of our loyal friends and customers, a huge thank you for making it possible for the bookstore to survive these difficult times.  It is our main objective at Griffin Bay Bookstore to bring joy to our friends and customers, to provide a respite and escape from  Continue Reading

By SJI Farmers Market The San Juan Island Farmers Market is hosting three holiday craft markets this year. Support local vendors and stock up for the holidays. The markets will take place from 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturdays, Nov. 21, Dec. 5 and Dec. 19.  Join farmers, crafters, makers and artisans for a safe and socially  Continue Reading

By Cynthia Burke, Owner, Cynthia’s Bistro Cynthia’s Bistro is offering free takeaway meals to anyone who needs a meal or wishes to have a home-cooked meal. No questions asked, just free food. Stop by Cynthia’s this Thursday, Nov. 19, from 4:30-6 p.m. to pick up your meal. When we run out of food, we will  Continue Reading

Most Restrictions Start Nov. 16; For Restaurants, Nov. 18 By Washington’s Governor’s Office On Sunday, Nov. 15, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a four-week statewide set of restrictions in response to the recent rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus in Washington and across the country. The new restrictions come as Washington sees consistent increasing daily case  Continue Reading

By SJI Chamber of Commerce On Nov. 12, the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce and Friday Harbor Mayor Farhad Ghatan hosted a socially distanced ribbon cutting for local artist Alisha Merrick. Merrick, an active chamber member for many years, opened her shop, FERN, in June. The shop features local art, jewelry, pottery, toys, stickers,  Continue Reading

By WaterWorks WaterWorks Gallery hosts its 35th Annual Holiday Showcase: Red and Gold from Nov. 19-Jan. 9 at 315 Argyle Ave. in Friday Harbor. The show is free to the public. The reception for the show will be from 4-7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 19. WaterWorks Gallery, a contemporary light-filled gallery, continues to evolve as it  Continue Reading

By EDC Islanders interested in makerspaces, fablabs and community labs are invited to join the Economic Development Council of San Juan County to hear more about the San Juan Makers Guild’s asset mapping initiative from noon-1 p.m., Friday, Nov. 13 on Zoom. Presenters are Marcy Montgomery and Stephen Shrader, co-founders of the San Juan Makers  Continue Reading

Need a gift card for the holidays? Check out Islands Strong for gift cards from San Juan Islands’ businesses, as well as Orcas Strong for businesses on Orcas Island. The Washington Tourism Alliance also has a website called ShowWAlove.com, where people can support their favorite local businesses by purchasing gift cards for future use. If  Continue Reading

Gail and Randy share this location update with you… We are now at 300 Spring Street! (formerly Christy’s Island Salon)  We are right next to Mystical Mermaid.  We are also closer to the public parking lot so never have to worry about finding a parking space! We are all moved in and can’t wait for  Continue Reading

(Bellingham WA) Salish Current (salish-current.org), a local nonprofit, independent news platform dedicated to reporting news for the civic good in Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties, today announced its participation in the national NewsMatch giving campaign. “Donations made to Salish Current in November and December will be doubled by NewsMatch and applied directly to paying  Continue Reading