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 San Juan County San Juan County has been directed by the Washington Office of the Secretary of State to recount Orcas East Precinct votes in the race for Governor of Washington State. This direction comes following a request for a recount from a political party representative. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to RCW 42.30,  Continue Reading

By Town of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor thanks the community for supporting the local food bank with their generous contributions to the Harbor Life Ring program this November. Town utility customer donations of $3,010 were matched with a $2,000 grant from the town for a total donation of $5,010 to the Friday  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

By San Juan County Since the last update on Friday, Nov. 25, total cases in San Juan County have increased from 63 to 66. Two of these new cases are on San Juan Island, the other is on Lopez Island. Current positive case numbers are available online at the San Juan County Case count page.  Continue Reading

By San Juan County Starting Jan. 1, a new Washington state vital records law and rules go into effect. This will change the ordering requirements for birth and death certificates. The changes include: For increased security of personal information, only individuals with specific relationships to the person on the record being requested can receive a  Continue Reading

Vehicle drivers may not be aware of a recent law that allows bicyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield sign in some instances – and may be cynically assuming that the cyclists they see are breaking the law. The so-called “Idaho stop” (also known as the “safety stop”) became law in Washington State  Continue Reading

By Brendan Cowan, Director, Department of Emergency Management As part of an ongoing effort to increase community preparedness and self-sufficiency in the islands, the Department of Emergency Management has created a new online guide at www.islandsready.org. This tool is designed to be simple, easy to navigate and smartphone friendly. With specific sections for seniors and  Continue Reading

‘Little Bit’ Receives First Dog Tag Of The New Year By San Juan County The dog licensing season has begun! It was difficult to name just one celebrity dog this year, with so many of our canine companions providing much-needed support for their owners and friends. The honor went to Little Bit, an 8-year-old mixed  Continue Reading

By Town of Friday Harbor Traffic will be disrupted from 7 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 1 while the Town of Friday Harbor crew and contractor install water and sewer mains across Mullis Street near Bakery San Juan and the Friday Harbor Food Co-op. “Local access on Mullis Street from Market Street to 775 Mullis Street  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

By the San Juan County Agricultural Resources Committee The San Juan County Agricultural Resources Committee was able to respond to the challenges of 2020 with creativity, resilience and collaboration. The coordinator and volunteers on this committee worked hard to address the ongoing policy and outreach work of the ARC, the emergent challenge of COVID-19, and  Continue Reading

Store-Provided Bags Will Cost 8 Cents By Mark Ingman, San Juan County Solid Waste Program Coordinator On March 25, Governor Inslee signed Bill ESSB 5323, also known as the Washington Plastic Bag Ban into law. This means that starting Jan. 1, 2021, retailers and restaurants throughout the state will be prohibited from providing single-use plastic  Continue Reading

By San Juan County Courts On Friday, Nov. 20, San Juan County Superior and District Courts entered emergency orders postponing all jury trials until after Jan. 15, 2021, due to the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. San Juan County has experienced a resurgence of COVID-19 cases since late October when COVID transmission rates began dramatically increasing across  Continue Reading

By San Juan County Since the last update on Friday, Nov. 20, total cases in San Juan County have increased from 59 to 63. Two of these new cases are on San Juan Island, the other two are on Orcas Island. Current positive case numbers are available online at the San Juan County Case Count  Continue Reading