Following a delay due to Covid-19, the Washington Plastic Bag Ban (RCW 70A.530) will go into effect statewide on October 1, 2021. This means that retailers and restaurants throughout the state will be prohibited from providing single-use plastic carryout bags. As Washington prepares for the statewide plastic bag ban to take effect, San Juan County  Continue Reading

Compass Health Celebrates Building Communities of Hope Gala Featuring Keynote Speaker Dr. Delaney Ruston Non-profit behavioral health provider invites community members to join the virtual Gala on October 16, 2021, to support child, youth and family services EVERETT, Wash., – Compass Health is proud to present keynote speaker, Delaney Ruston, MD, at its fifth-annual Building Communities of Hope Gala fundraiser on October 16, 2021, at 6 p.m. Ruston will speak about the importance of families finding their voices in sharing challenges and experiences with  Continue Reading

This letter has just come in from Fish For Teeth founders Matt and Maureen Marinkovich… Friday’s Fish for Teeth fish taco fundraiser —CANCELLED— We started Fish for Teeth as an impulsive action in 2007 after a nine-year old girl showed me her mouth full of cavities. Now, after well over a decade of Fish Tacos  Continue Reading

San Juan County will be hosting another round of COVID-19 vaccine clinics October 5th through 7th. Both first and second doses of Pfizer will be available as well as the one-shot Johnson & Johnson series.  Registration is required.  More information can be found on the county’s website at this link.

“Local Access on Harrison Street from Geneste Street to Turn Point Road will be impacted while Contractors replace sewer mains and repave,” said Administrator Wilson. “We ask the neighborhood for patience as we work through this necessary disruption.” Traffic on Harrison Street will be disrupted in October while the Contractor replaces the sewer main and  Continue Reading

In the SJ Update mailbag today we have this letter from Susan Grout… Editor: A number of us are very concerned about a serious problem on our island. There is a critical shortage of trained home health caregivers. In order to remedy this situation, which could affect all of us at some point, we urge  Continue Reading

Friday Harbor announces pilot program for residential curbside plastic film recycling FRIDAY HARBOR – The Town of Friday Harbor, in partnership with SC Johnson, a manufacturer of household consumer brands, is kicking off a pilot program to offer curbside collection and recycling of plastic film to its residents, the second program to launch in Washington.  Continue Reading

Attention San Juan County Women! Are you eligible for this Soroptimist $4,000 educational/training award? Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor is now accepting applications for the Live Your Dream Award. You may be eligible to apply if: You are a woman with primary financial responsibility for yourself and your dependents You are attending an undergraduate degree  Continue Reading

The League of Women Voters is hosting a Voter Forum to highlight the six proposed amendments to the Home Rule Charter. The county charter is like our constitution and specifies how our county conducts its business. Every 10 years our county reviews our charter and suggests amendments. These amendments are put to a public vote.  Continue Reading

Hello everyone… My grandson Sean recently suffered 2 gran mal seizures, urgently needs brain neurosurgery, and their insurance is not contracted with the hospital, nor the surgeon with the most experience to perform it. An account has been set up to assist with what will no doubt be a very expensive and delicate operation. Details  Continue Reading

Dateline: Friday Harbor, WA Friday Harbor Film Festival’s online FILM GUIDE, detailing the 30+ feature films and 30+ short films to be shown at the Livestream/Online Festival on October 14-24, is now available at FHFF.org.  Students have submitted 10+ films that will also be screened. In the FILM GUIDE, click on a poster to access  Continue Reading

Rock Solid is the youth prevention team with the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition, helping promote health and wellness in our community. Three years ago, Rock Solid reached out to then school principal, Fred Woods, and asked if they could get valuable free resources for Suicide Prevention and Escape the Vape printed on the back  Continue Reading

Friday, October 1, 11-1:30 is your opportunity to enjoy a legendary Fish Taco from Fish for Teeth. They’re actually burritos, and they’re delicious—made with flakey white rockfish sustainably harvested off the Washington coast, Pablito’s salsa, Tillamook cheese, fresh greens, and a squeeze of lime, all assembled with love from a Fish for Teeth volunteer (which  Continue Reading

COVID-19 updates from San Juan County around subjects on the minds of islanders FAQ on Booster Doses  The CDC and FDA recently granted approval for the delivery of booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine to certain fully vaccinated individuals. This Hot Topic will attempt to answer some of the most common questions about this new  Continue Reading

  The EDC invites island business owners, workers and residents to participate in a survey regarding Washington State Ferries service disruptions this past summer.  Islanders are invited to participate in the survey here:  https://forms.gle/uzXU6vy3tujUyuSR9 Anecdotal information and data derived from the survey will be used to better understand economic and other impacts from ferry service  Continue Reading

Coverage without cost-sharing available for eligible people with Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and Most Commercial Health Insurance Coverage Following the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent action that authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for certain high-risk populations and a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for  Continue Reading

Since the last update on Friday September 17th, there have been eight new confirmed or probable cases in San Juan County. Current total case count is now 300. Of these eight new cases, initial investigations indicate that three appear to have occurred in fully vaccinated individuals. There are approximately nine unvaccinated close contacts of positive  Continue Reading

Follow OPALCO’s EV Road Trip in October: Starting October 6th, an exclusive team from OPALCO (Communication Specialist Krista Bouchey and the “Switch it up pup” Pepper) will be driving the Co-op’s Kia Niro 100% electric vehicle (EV) to Eastern Washington and back, making stops to visit wind and hydro projects, innovative public power projects and  Continue Reading

One physician described the “beautiful formation” of the human body as inspiration for art.  Go Figure!  celebrating the human form, has just opened at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) in Friday Harbor. Visitors and residents are invited to experience art of the human body as it tells stories, expresses emotion and celebrates  Continue Reading

A big THANK YOU to the San Juan Island Community Foundation for the support they have shown to local non profits including the San Juan Community Home Trust, at the 2021 County Fair.  We build San Juan Island’s only permanently affordable housing. By offering all local non profit organizations the opportunity to participate in their  Continue Reading

OLYMPIA–The Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board today announced the award of $21 million in grants across the state to aid in salmon recovery. The grants, given annually, went to 105 projects in 29 of the state’s 39 counties. The grants will pay for work to restore salmon habitat, including repairing degraded habitat in rivers,  Continue Reading

The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce and the Friends of the Library are sponsoring the 2nd annual Scarecrow Contest for the month of October. The scarecrows are to be registered with the Chamber and in place between October 8th and 15th. Please click here for the registration form. The scarecrows will be displayed around  Continue Reading