From San Juan County The San Juan County Council adopted the Shoreline Master Program periodic review with Ordinance 08-2020 on Oct. 27, 2020. Ordinance 08-2020 is effective 14 days after the Washington State Department of Ecology approves the proposed amendments. They approved the proposed amendments on Jan. 19, 2021, so the ordinance will be effective  Continue Reading

From San Juan County On Monday, Jan. 18, Governor Inslee and the Washington State Department of Health have opened vaccine eligibility to Phase 1b Tier 1. San Juan County will begin delivering Phase 1b Tier 1 immunization on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Q: Who is Eligible for 1b – Tier 1? Anyone over the age of  Continue Reading

By Hayley Day, San Juan Update The San Juan County Council approved a six-month moratorium on vacation rental permits from Jan. 13 through July 13. The resolution states that “while this moratorium is in effect, no new applications for a vacation rental permit shall be accepted as complete by any county department, and no currently  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Economic Development Council On Thursday, Jan. 14, the San Juan County Economic Development Council will host a Zoom webinar on the upcoming Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, loan application process. The event will be presented by Janie Sacco and Steve Burke from the Washington Small Business Development Center from 2-3:30 p.m.  Continue Reading

By Hayley Day, San Juan Update At the Tuesday, Jan. 12 San Juan County Council meeting, councilmembers will discuss a moratorium on vacation rental permit applications. The agenda for the meeting also states that the council may take action. Councilmembers will also review the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine; approve a resolution for their state  Continue Reading

Who Is Eligible Now, Who Is Next In Line and Where Can You Get Vaccinated? From San Juan County This week, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee released details on a new two-phase plan for the limited reopening of some businesses and a return of some activities. The details are found here.  All counties begin in  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Community Development is now accepting Accessory Dwelling Unit eligibility applications. Applications are due Feb. 8. The drawing will be held on March 1. ADUs, commonly called guest houses, are defined in the San Juan County Code as:    “Accessory dwelling unit (ADU) means a living area that is accessory to the  Continue Reading

From Town Of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor will be flushing fire hydrants from Thursday, Jan. 7 through Friday, Jan. 8. Homes and businesses nearby may be affected with brief water discoloration, cloudiness or slight pressure fluctuations. The town crew will do everything in their power to keep these conditions to a minimum.  Continue Reading

By Diane Martindale, ArtsWA Commissioner From San Juan County  The CARES Act funding brings much-needed assistance to the state’s cultural sector and San Juan County organizations. Nearly 390 nonprofit arts and culture organizations serving 32 Washington counties received funding in recent rounds of CARES Act funding in Washington state. The state’s creative economy supports more  Continue Reading

Openings with Ag Resources, Libraries, Fair and More From San Juan County The San 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 at http://sanjuanco.com/641/Board-Committee-Vacancies. Persons interested in serving on a board or advisory committee should fill out  Continue Reading

By Hayley Day, San Juan Update The San Juan County Council will hold their virtual retreat at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 5. View the agenda and watch the live stream here. According to the agenda, “the January retreat is intended to accomplish several tasks necessary to establish structure and function and to complete a high-level  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Since the last update on Friday, Dec. 25, the total cases in San Juan County have increased from 78 to 79. The new case is on Orcas Island. Current positive case numbers are available online at the San Juan County Case Count page. As indicated on that page, these numbers are  Continue Reading

By San Juan County The San Juan County Planning Commission will have an online meeting at 8:30 a.m., Friday, Jan. 15. Learn how to join the meeting here. You can join on your computer or mobile app by clicking here. Use the phone number 360-726-3293 and conference ID 613 618 865#. The meeting will also  Continue Reading

By Rick Larsen’s Office On Dec. 28, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted to override President Trump’s veto of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Larsen, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, voted by proxy after testing positive for the COVID-19 virus last week. “I voted to override the president’s veto to support  Continue Reading

Two new San Juan County Councilwomen will be sworn in at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 29. Christine Minney and Cindy Wolf will both take the oath in person with San Juan County Superior Court Judge Katheryn Loring. However, guests must view the ceremony virtually thanks to COVID-19 restrictions. Wolf shared instructions to join, below. Join  Continue Reading

By Governor Inslee’s Office On Dec. 27, Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state will provide funding for almost 100,000 Washingtonians who will lose federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits following President Trump’s refusal to act on the federal coronavirus relief package. The president had until midnight on Dec. 26 to sign the sweeping relief bill to  Continue Reading

By San Juan County Since the last update on Friday, Dec. 18, the total cases in San Juan County have increased from 75 to 78. All of the three new cases are on San Juan Island. Current positive case numbers are available online at the county case count page. As indicated on that page, these  Continue Reading

By Town of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor will collect Christmas trees for residents inside town limits on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.  Trees must be placed at the curb no later than 9 a.m. and must be separate from other unbundled trash and woody waste.  To ensure the success of the tree recycling  Continue Reading

By San Juan County Recent San Juan County COVID-19 case investigations have revealed a trend of lax COVID safety protocols on various construction and building sites across the islands. As in any workplace, consistent masking is a critical tool for preventing disease transmission. Work done alone or outside with greater than six feet of separation  Continue Reading

In his post on Facebook on Wednesday, December 23rd, Washington State Congressman Rick Larsen has said that he received a positive test result for COVID-19. Here’s what he said: Yesterday, I received a positive test result for the COVID-19 virus. I am quarantining in accordance with CDC guidelines and am not experiencing any symptoms. I  Continue Reading

High-risk Health Workers, First Responders First In Line By San Juan County San Juan County Department of Health and Community Services has just received a shipment of 600 doses of the recently approved Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from the Washington State Department of Health. Department staff is actively completing the recently released vaccine-specific training, and these  Continue Reading

By San Juan Island Library The San Juan Island Library District has completed the purchase of 660 Spring St. in Friday Harbor for the future library building site. The site is the location of the former Life Care Center. The district considered alternative locations for a library for several years given the limitations of the  Continue Reading