By Rep. Rick Larsen’s Office On Dec. 21, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted to deliver much-needed relief to families and small businesses in Northwest Washington who continue to struggle from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. “With a third wave of COVID-19 spreading across the country, this long-overdue pandemic relief package addresses the continued public  Continue Reading

Jeff and Dana Altman are the owners of the new island restaurant The Top of the Town Lounge. The Altmans shared their holiday takeout menu, below, with the Update. The restaurant, located at 669 Mullis St., Suite 101 in Friday Harbor, has “a speakeasy feel,” according to its website. Their goal, states www.topofthetownlounge.com, is to  Continue Reading

By Cynthia Burke Starting at 9 a.m., this Tuesday, Dec. 22, winter coats will be hung on a fence in Friday Harbor for those who need them. Anyone can take the coats; no questions asked and nothing in return. Cynthia Burke has offered the fence on her property, left of Cynthia’s Bistro, located on Nicholas  Continue Reading

By San Juan County Economic Development Council The following was announced at Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s Dec. 8 press conference: The COVID-19 restrictions announced on Nov. 15 will remain in effect for three more weeks, until Jan. 7, 2021. An additional $50 million has been allocated to Working Washington round 3 grants, bringing the  Continue Reading

By Meat Machine Cycles Meat Machine Cycles — Friday Harbor’s only full-service bike repair and rental shop — is offering a new bicycle tour for photography enthusiasts. Meat Machine’s professional photographer will guide guests on a mild bike ride to the most scenic and also lesser-known San Juan Island locations to learn the basic tenets  Continue Reading

By EDC San Juan County software and web professionals, including retired or aspiring, are invited to a virtual meetup hosted by the Economic Development Council on Thursday, Dec. 17. Our archipelago is home to many people in information-focused professions who work remotely or in local businesses. The goal of this event is to help people  Continue Reading

Jayne Siroshton, Owner, Rookscroft and Company I am happy to announce that I will be reopening my little shop Rookscroft and Company in town next spring. I know this has been a hard year for many of us and the opportunity to be back in the community and offer a little extra magic and whimsy  Continue Reading

By Gregg Ford, Owner, Mi Casita From the little yellow house on Nichols Street to our Spring Street location, I always thought that I would go 25 years and then be out of Mi Casita, either selling it to someone who recognized its worth or passing it on to my sons if they were so  Continue Reading

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