$12,000 given in scholarships Island Artisans is a local non-profit organization whose goal is to raise funds in support of young artists within our community. We have served San Juan County for approximately 40 years by granting scholarships to graduating students and supporting practicing artists. Island Artisans Holiday Market, our primary fundraiser, has always been  Continue Reading

Town of Friday Harbor 2021 Lodging Tax (LTAC) Grant applications will be accepted up until 4:30 p.m. Monday, September 28th. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for funding tourism promotion of events and activities taking place within the town in 2021. Preference will be given to those operations and activities that encourage tourists  Continue Reading

Small businesses are relying more than ever on your support as they creatively cope with COVID.  Here’s the second of a series of stories about their survival. When COVID-19 became a global pandemic in March, all of us were suddenly navigating uncharted waters. However, San Juan Islands businesses have responded with compassion and ingenuity during these tough times.  Continue Reading

Reminder that the San Juan County Small Business Relief Grant programapplication deadline is this Sunday, 9/20/20. Please start your application early. The application requires documentation that your business and expenses meet requirements. This grant is provided by San Juan County and administered by the EDC (a nonprofit); however, the funds come from the federal government  Continue Reading

Merri Ann Simonson shares another episode in her video series and says, Local San Juan fishing derbies, they are the best!

Flu shots are now available at Eventide Health. It’s important to get yours early this year. We will be hosting a few flu clinics this year and carrying on the tradition of San Juan Healthcare and offering the service as public health to the community. We will also be participating in joint flu clinics with  Continue Reading

Small businesses are relying more than ever on your support as they creatively cope with COVID.  Here’s the first of a series of stories about their survival: San Juan County businesses are being creative and adapting during these very tough times. Right now, our three Chambers of Commerce, the San Juan County Economic Development Council, and the  Continue Reading

September 1, 2020 — San Juan County has created a Small Business Relief Grant program that will launch on September 1, 2020, to assist for-profit businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.  Funding for this program comes from CARES Act money received by the County.  Awards will range up to $5,000 for eligible San Juan County  Continue Reading

August 26, 2020 – The Washington State Department of Commerce is offering a second Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant (WWSBEG) program to assist small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Businesses which qualify for the grant program and are located within San Juan County can go to the San Juan County Economic Development Council  Continue Reading

M & W Auto has been in business renting and selling cars in Friday Harbor for thirty-two years. Wendy Pinnow, the founder and owner of M & W Auto, has lived on San Juan Island most of her life, having moved to the island from the Seattle area with her family at the age of  Continue Reading

A note from Scott Sluis and the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce… I, well we (The SJ Chamber of Commerce), want to say a sincere thank you and also congratulations to Susan Doyle and her husband Michael from Susie’s Mopeds, as of July 1, 2020 the business has been sold and Susie and Michael will start  Continue Reading

The Scent Keeper & House Lessons: Renovating a Life Many of you enjoyed Erica Bauermeister’s first visit to San Juan Island for her debut novel, The School Of Essential Ingredients, that went on to become a New York Times bestseller. July 22, at 7:00 p.m. – via Zoom – she is returning to the San  Continue Reading

By Louise Dustrude Two living spaces intended as vacation rentals have become year-round residences instead because of Covid 19, and two others have become commercial spaces, according to Lynn Danaher, the owner. Ryan Bennett, Lynn’s son and co-owner, has been remodeling and upgrading the four units at the corner of Argyle Avenue and Web Street,  Continue Reading

Micro-loans available for local farmers In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FARM Fund is partnering with the San Juan Island Community Foundation (SJICF) and the Orcas Food Co-op to meet essential food needs of San Juan County residents. The San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild’s FARM Fund will offer $15,000 in zero percent interest loans  Continue Reading

As the islands enter the 6th month of the COVID crisis, the likelihood of local families, individuals, and businesses being connected to someone with a confirmed positive test result continues to increase. We created this FAQ to highlight answers to likely questions in the event of a positive test result in either an employee, or  Continue Reading

As I’m sure you all know we have a few new cases on the island. We had an exceptionally busy day Monday with testing. Our focus this week will be with the following priority: symptomatic patients contacts of known cases asymptomatic essential workers Opening businesses via testing has obviously dropped in priority in light of  Continue Reading

On Monday July 6 ,2020, the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) announced the release of detailed loan-level data regarding the loans made under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).  This program was launched as a way to retain workers by providing funding to businesses impacted by the Covid-19 downturn.  Our local banks, the EDC and other entities worked  Continue Reading

In the mailbag this morning we have a note from Helen Machin-Smith of Island Stage Left… Hello from Island Stage Left, Apparently a rumor has been circulating that Island Stage Left has ceased operations. This is news to us! The rumor is untrue. At this point we have no idea what the future holds (nor  Continue Reading

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) announces that the Back-To-Business Grant Fund has been funded in the amount of $300,000, in order to support San Juan Island businesses. This fund was created to address our business owners’ need to cover essential business expenses as they work to survive the economic downturn caused by  Continue Reading

The San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau resumed its regional advertising campaign when County officials anticipated that we would be moving to Phase 3 within a day or two. Many were surprised when the County Health officer postponed the original application to Phase 3, and then when the Governor paused all requests for phase changes, including  Continue Reading

Merri Ann Simonson checks in with a Second Quarter Real Estate summary… The second quarter results, which complete the first half of the year, in San Juan County were extremely good when considering the virus impact.   Per the NWMLS, the dollar volume in San Juan County was $118,381,567 with a total of 201 transactions. The  Continue Reading

Free Home Kits Now Available for Those Who Qualify Dr. Gulla and Living Medical Arts PLLC wants the community to know that Labcorp is now offering testing that you can do in the comfort of your own home, without needing a doctors orders. All you have to do is go online to this link and  Continue Reading