By Island Rec Adult online fitness classes are open for registration. Sign up for the whole month of January, or a drop-in option is also available. To register, visit www.islandrec.org. Fit and Over 50 (On-Demand) Try a safe, heart-healthy exercise class to energize your active lifestyle from the comfort of your own home with Jacquelyn  Continue Reading

By Fred Woods, Superintendent, San Juan Island School District As we move into the final week before the schools’ winter break, I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude for your support during this unprecedented and difficult time for our students and families. I also want to wish you the happiest of  Continue Reading

By Hospice of the Northwest Foundation At their November board meeting, the Trustees of the Hospice of the Northwest Foundation voted unanimously to approve program funding requests from Hospice of the Northwest totaling $501,003. The Hospice of the Northwest Foundation is able to fund these grants through the generous donations of individuals and businesses. Since  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 Meat Machine Cycles Meat Machine Cycles — Friday Harbor’s only full-service bike repair and rental shop — is offering a new bicycle tour for photography enthusiasts. Meat Machine’s professional photographer will guide guests on a mild bike ride to the most scenic and also lesser-known San Juan Island locations to learn the basic tenets  Continue Reading

By Peace Island Volunteers In March, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peace Island Volunteers organized a mask-making project that would eventually include over 50 individuals making more than 4,400 masks.  The sewers were dubbed the Masketeers. Like the Musketeers, their efforts were helping to protect their community from the COVID saboteur. For the  Continue Reading

By Island Hospital Do you find Medicare a mystery? Are you unsure which Medicare plan is best for you? Join SHIBA online for a virtual Medicare 101 class where we will cover the “A, B, C, Ds” of Medicare. Our certified SHIBA volunteers will be available to answer all of your questions. The event will  Continue Reading

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 San Juan Island Prevention Coalition We want to extend an invitation to add your voice to prevention! Your input help’s the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition and the state to continue funding wellness promotion in our community, which includes: Youth Leadership Development, the Student Assistance Professional in the San Juan Island School District, LifeSkills  Continue Reading

Maintain Children’s Check-Ups By Mark Fishaut, MD and William F. House, MD, Eventide Health As the number of positive COVID-19 cases in children surpassed 1 million, pediatricians continue to grapple with the pandemic’s impact on their patients, practice, work-life balance and finances. Fortunately, severe illness due to COVID-19 remains rare in children, with 133 pediatric  Continue Reading

By Mark Fishaut, MD and William F. House, MD, Eventide Health A medida que el número de casos positivos de COVID-19 en niños superó 1 MILLÓN, los pediatras continúan lidiando con el impacto de la pandemia en sus pacientes, la práctica, el equilibrio entre la vida laboral y personal y las finanzas. Afortunadamente, la enfermedad  Continue Reading

By San Juan Island EMS San Juan Island EMS Community Paramedic Lainey Volk spent a portion of her day on Thanksgiving delivering dinners to 15 of her patients/clients who are vulnerable and shut-in. Several of these people have no other family on the island. The meals, including turkey with all the trimmings, were procured from  Continue Reading

By Washington State Department of Health The Washington State Department of Health is adopting the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to reduce quarantine for people who have been exposed to COVID-19. Although both the Washington State Department of Health and CDC currently recommend a quarantine period of 14 days, there are circumstances  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

“Island Senior” is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Peggy Sue McRae. Pretty sure Merle Haggard was not thinking about a spiking global pandemic when he penned the lyrics to his classic country song, If We Make It Through December, yet I can’t think of a more fitting song for wrapping  Continue Reading

During these difficult times, the San Juan Islands Sculpture Park, with 20 acres of outdoor trails, is a safe and fun experience for all the family (including the dog). We now have a flock of “Fishnet Sheep”, a new toad changing into a Prince, a wonderful “Whimsy Woods” trail with shoes climbing trees and over  Continue Reading