A friendly reminder that all personal fireworks are prohibited in San Juan County. This includes firecrackers, mortars, sparklers, and bottle rockets. Personal firework discharge is a crime punishable by fines from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. Furthermore any fires linked to the use of personal fireworks are subject to billing from all agencies that  Continue Reading

The County Council is searching for San Juan County citizens to fill current and upcoming vacancies on various boards and commissions. Additional information about each committee is available on the County’s website at: http://sanjuanco.com/641/Board-Committee-Vacancies. Persons interested in serving on a board or advisory committee should fill out an Advisory Committee Application or Contact the Council  Continue Reading

2020 Primary Vote counting equipment testing July 20 at 11:00 a.m. A “Logic and Accuracy” test of ballot tabulating equipment used in San Juan County for the August 4, 2020 Primary election is scheduled for July 20 at 11:00 a.m. The test works by tallying the results of a prepared set of ballots to see  Continue Reading

While there isn’t a vaccine against COVID-19 yet, the good news is that vaccines can protect children from 14 other serious diseases. Delaying or missing vaccines could put your child, your family and your community at risk for these diseases. Vaccinating children on time is the best way to protect them. Talk with your child’s  Continue Reading

The last day to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is June 30th, 2020. As of today, June 26th, there is plenty of money in the program, and restrictions which may have deterred some businesses have been loosened. To apply for this program, contact your banker. If your bank is no longer offering these  Continue Reading

The League of Women Voters of the San Juans will hold candidate forums on the video conference platform Zoom at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 7, and Wednesday, July 8. To attend the forums, please send a message to candidateforums2020@gmail.com to register. The League will provide a link to the Zoom meeting shortly before the scheduled  Continue Reading

June 24, 2020: Following a recommendation from San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James, both the County Board of Health and the San Juan County Council approved submitting an application to the WA State Secretary of Health to enter a modified version of Phase 3 of the Governor’s four-phased Safe Start Washington plan. The timing  Continue Reading

June 24, 2020: Over the past week, San Juan County reported three new COVID-19 cases. Two were on San Juan Island and one on Lopez Island. The County Health & Community Service Department’s surveillance team has performed initial investigation, contact tracing, and testing for each of these cases. It is important to know that monitoring  Continue Reading

June 21, 2020: San Juan County Health and Community Services staff have been notified of a new positive COVID-19 test result in San Juan County, from a resident of Lopez Island. This brings the total number of cases in San Juan County to 18. This is the first confirmed case on Lopez Island since April  Continue Reading

June 20, 2020: San Juan County Health and Community Services staff have been notified of a new positive COVID-19 test result in San Juan County, on San Juan Island. This brings the total number of cases in San Juan County to 17. This is the second positive case of COVID-19 on San Juan Island in  Continue Reading

Drivers and pedestrians are urged to exercise patience and safety. San Juan County Public Works (SJCPW) will chip seal Second Street in the Town of Friday Harbor starting the week of June 22nd. The exact date for resurfacing depends on the County’s ability to complete other sections of roadway on San Juan Island that week.  Continue Reading

San Juan County Health & Community Services wishes to announce to eligible organizations the County’s intention to release a Notice of Funds Available (NOFA) for a 2020 funding round for the Home Fund program. The County intends to release this NOFA on July 1, 2020 with responses being accepted through August 5, 2020. Applications will  Continue Reading

Significant increases seen in Eastern Washington, some milder spikes noted in Western Washington. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released its latest statewide COVID-19 situation report. The report shows a significant increase in viral activity in Eastern Washington with concentrated spikes in Yakima, Spokane, Benton and Franklin counties. A rising positive test rate means  Continue Reading

June 15, 2020: San Juan County Health and Community Services staff have been notified of a new positive COVID-19 test result in San Juan County, on San Juan Island. This brings the total number of cases in San Juan County to 16. This is the first positive case of COVID-19 in nearly six weeks and  Continue Reading

The courts of San Juan County are updating and improving their community service program. In many cases, criminal defendants have the opportunity to volunteer at non-profit organizations to work off court fees or in lieu of imposed jail time. To allow this, the courts must be able to confirm an organization’s non-profit status and verify  Continue Reading

San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1, has previously given public notice of a special meeting, to be held on Wednesday June 10, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. to be held remotely under COVID-19 emergency rules. Attached is an agenda, and additional information. Call-In Number for the Public (509) 824-1884 Conference ID: enter 731 543  Continue Reading

On May 29th, Governor Inslee released further details on his “Safe Start” plan, a phased approach to re-opening Washington’s economy. Safe Start lays out a measured approach to moving forward through the COVID-19 pandemic by modifying physical distancing measures and allowing businesses and other activities to slowly resume. This article will answer some common questions  Continue Reading

Businesses should take a second look at the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in light of substantial revisions signed into law on Friday June 5th. The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act makes several major changes to the PPP. These changes may make the program more attractive to businesses that had decided against using it and more  Continue Reading

Fact Check of Whalen Petition Dear Editor and Community, We recently received in the mail Mr. Ron Whalen’s request to have us sign a petition to eliminate the Land Bank by December 2020. The request was loaded with falsehoods and outrageously attempted to dupe our community into thinking that a yes or no answer meant  Continue Reading

San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1 will be having a Special Meeting on June 10, 2020, at 4:30 pm. We will release an Agenda on Monday, along with the remote dial-in directions. We are still operating under emergency COVID-19 rules, so there will be no physical attendance option. Some members of the audience  Continue Reading

In order to help support the business community, San Juan County has acquired a stockpile of more than 7,000 simple face coverings to distribute to local businesses. The intent is for small quantities to be on hand in the event customers or clients forget their face covering or otherwise arrive without one. County staff and  Continue Reading

This year began like any other – a little too cold, a little too wet; but quiet, mostly devoid of tourists, and still the sleepy little island community we are used to. Then news spread of a virus on the other side of the world. In late January, the disease hit the US, in Washington  Continue Reading