The following is an open letter to the San Juan County Council from dozens of San Juan Island businesses, including Mike’s Café and Wine Bar, San Juan Hostel, Crystal Seas Kayaking, Island Pets, On Point Barber Shop and more. Dear San Juan County Council, We are strongly opposed to the moratorium that you have recently  Continue Reading

From San Juan County As vaccine distribution efforts continue, it is worth looking at what vaccine has been received to date in San Juan County. These numbers are just a snapshot. Please recognize that this is a constantly evolving situation. To date, seven vaccine providers in San Juan County have been approved to distribute vaccine  Continue Reading

EDC Offers Free Application Help From the San Juan County Economic Development Council The Economic Development Council reminds business owners and managers that the deadline for the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program is approaching. Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees can apply during an exclusive application period for microbusinesses, until March 9, 2021. All businesses  Continue Reading

By Randall Gaylord, San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney On Thursday, Feb. 25, a narrow majority of the Washington Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a state statute making it unlawful to possess controlled substances upending a 50-year-old statute and tens of thousands of criminal convictions in Washington state. “I don’t expect to see meth and heroin users  Continue Reading

From the Town of Friday Harbor   The Town of Friday Harbor Council adopted Resolution No. 2618 declaring town support for approval of Proposition 1 by the San Juan Island Parks and Recreation District, also known as Island Rec, in the April 27 special election.   Learn more about the levy at www.islandrec.org/levy.   Read  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1 On Jan. 5, the San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1 received a request from Eric Hood stating that “I learned that your organization was recently audited by the state auditor,” and “May I have all records it got from the auditor and all records  Continue Reading

From the Town of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor has finalized engineering plans for the replacement of sewer and stormwater lines located in Spring Street between First and Second Streets in the downtown core. The work is planned to begin mid-March with completion in late May. The high volume of traffic and number  Continue Reading

By Hayley Day, San Juan Update At 5 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 24, the San Juan Island School District Board of Directors will hold a meeting on Zoom. The board will vote on whether to approve the start dates for athletic seasons.  View the entire agenda here. To access the meeting, visit https://sjisd.zoom.us/s/87220019428. Or call to  Continue Reading

By Hayley Day, San Juan Update At 9:15 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 23, the San Juan County Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on its vacation rental permit application moratorium. The council approved a six-month moratorium on vacation rental permit applications from Jan. 13 through July 13. The resolution states that “while this moratorium  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Though the number of vaccine doses available is slowly increasing, it is still important that our community members do all they can to follow vaccine eligibility guidance. While the system isn’t perfect, it is a necessary tool that helps ensure those who are highest at risk receive the vaccine first. While  Continue Reading

From San Juan Islands Community Network At 7 p.m., Feb. 23, San Juan Islands Community Network will host its second virtual forum exploring how our islands’ schools are responding to the health and educational challenges posed by COVID-19. Islanders can register for free at SJICN’s website: www.sjicn.org. Featured forum panelists will include: Amber Paulson, Director  Continue Reading

From San Juan Land Bank The San Juan County Land Bank Commission will hold its monthly meeting from 8:30-11:30 a.m., Friday, Feb. 19 via Zoom. The public is invited to attend. Click here to download the agenda, including the ZOOM link and meeting materials. To learn more about your Conservation Land Bank, visit sjclandbank.org. If  Continue Reading

From Islands’ Oil Spill Association Tony Parkin has been hired as the new executive director of the Islands’ Oil Spill Association. Hailing from the UK, Tony used his degree in Geology and Oceanography to launch an international career in marine science, remote-sensing, and over the past 30 years, oil spill response and planning. Tony and  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Since the last update on Friday, Feb. 8, the total cases in San Juan County have increased from 123 to 126. Two of these new cases are on Lopez Island and the third is on Orcas Island.     Approximately 43 close contacts of positive cases are currently in active quarantine. Orcas  Continue Reading

Restaurants, Gyms Open at 25% Capacity On Feb. 14 From Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee’s Office Gov. Jay Inslee announced Feb. 11 five new regions have met the metric requirements to progress to Phase 2 of the Healthy Washington reopening plan, starting this weekend. The West and Puget Sound regions have maintained their metric requirements  Continue Reading

From San Juan County In the good news department, a joint effort between San Juan County, the Washington National Guard, and the Washington Department of Health is planning to deliver 1,900 first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Feb. 15–19. The team will return 28 days later to deliver the second dose. Registration for these  Continue Reading