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

By Governor Inslee’s Office On Dec. 23, Gov. Jay Inslee announced he will extend the eviction moratorium to March 31, 2021. The current eviction moratorium was set to expire on Dec. 31. “COVID-19 has had a significant financial impact on Washingtonians over the last nine months,” Inslee said. “I know this moratorium has been critical  Continue Reading

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

By Skagit Regional Health and United General District 304 Board members of Skagit County Public Hospital District No. 1 (Skagit Regional Health) and Public Hospital District No. 304 (United General District 304) each voted on Friday, Dec. 18 to discontinue further consideration of a potential purchase agreement for Hospice of the Northwest. The two public  Continue Reading

By San Juan County The deadline for proposed amendments to the San Juan County Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Code is 4:30 p.m. March 1, 2021.   The “Annual Docket of Comprehensive Plan Amendments” or “Docket” process allows interested persons, citizens, hearing examiners, and staff of other agencies to request amendments to the San Juan  Continue Reading

By Port of Friday Harbor A special Port of Friday Harbor meeting will be held at noon, Wednesday, Dec. 16 via Zoom. Visit https://www.portfridayharbor.org/december-16-2020-special-meeting-documents/ for instructions on how to log into the meeting. The Port of Friday Harbor has completed a conceptual design for a 15,000 sq. ft. Marine Technical Center and Island Oil Spill  Continue Reading

By San Juan County A recount of votes cast for governor in San Juan County’s Orcas East precinct matched exactly the original vote count in the race. The recount, which had been requested by a representative of a political party, was conducted Thursday by two teams of election workers.  The teams included Republican and Democratic  Continue Reading

By San Juan County Since the last update on Friday, Dec. 4, the total cases in San Juan County have increased from 66 to 71. One of these new cases is on Orcas Island, and four are on San Juan Island. Current positive case numbers are available online at the San Juan County Case count  Continue Reading

By San Juan County San Juan County Elections will be conducting a recount of the votes cast in Precinct 25, Orcas East, for the Office of Governor. The recount was requested by a representative of a political party.   The San Juan County Canvassing Board has scheduled the recount to begin at 9 a.m., Thursday,  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

By 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 an Advisory Committee Application or contact the  Continue Reading

Island Near Deer Harbor Now Permanently Conserved By San Juan Preservation Trust Earlier this fall, the San Juan Preservation Trust received a $4 million donation that enabled the Preservation Trust to purchase Reef Island, which lies just outside of Deer Harbor near Orcas Island’s Spring Point. The donor who made the acquisition possible is Malcolm  Continue Reading