From Skagit Valley College Skagit Valley College Basic Education for Adults program is offering spring quarter classes for high school completion, GED Prep and English language acquisition Skagit Valley College’s Basic Education for Adults office, www.skagit.edu/beda, is continuing to offer services via remote delivery, as well as some in-person support offered by SVC BEdA faculty.  Continue Reading

From Washington State Ferries All routes, including the Anacortes/San Juan Island route, will remain on their severe weather schedules through the end of the sailing day on Monday, Feb. 15. The Anacortes/San Juan Islands route will be running on its weekday severe weather schedule Monday. Travelers should continue to plan ahead and check the adjusted  Continue Reading

From San Juan County The Lopez Island vaccine clinic on Monday, Feb. 15 is currently scheduled to be open. However, plans are being made so that those who cannot make it to the village on Monday will be able to receive their vaccination later in the week, likely on Thursday. Bottom line: no one should  Continue Reading

From the Center for Whale Research We asked Center for Whale Research members and supporters to share a short story about a special whale, encounter or friendship that developed from a shared passion for whales. We are very grateful to those who shared their stories. This is what they wrote (listing in the order that  Continue Reading

 From OPALCO Join OPALCO at noon, Feb. 24 on Zoom for a video tour of the energy co-op’s first community solar array on Decatur Island with a panel discussion and Q&A session. OPALCO installed a one-megawatt battery storage project to couple with their first community solar array on Decatur Island. This microgrid is the  Continue Reading

From San Juan Island Library The San Juan Island Library District helped the Washington Anytime Library surpass 1.7 million digital book checkouts in 2020 — an all-time record. This milestone affirms that more people are choosing eBooks, eAudiobooks and the convenience of online lending, particularly at a time when numerous libraries had to close due  Continue Reading

From the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce It’s a three-day weekend and Valentine’s Day on Sunday. Usually, it is the winter big weekend for restaurants, inns and stores.   This year, that is not the case, but you can still help make the holiday the best possible under the circumstances.   Support businesses if  Continue Reading

From Fish For Teeth We at Fish for Teeth are excited to announce our March dental clinic: March 3-6, at the Mullis Center on San Juan Island. Yes, four days! Fish For Teeth has received additional funding to sponsor a mobile dental van for four-day clinics on San Juan Island, four times a year. Due  Continue Reading

From the Stewardship Network of the San Juans Why are recycle bins optimistic? Because they’re full of cans! This award season, let’s honor the ‘cans’ of the San Juans! The Oscars have nothing on the Finnies. Know someone who deserves to walk the stewardship red carpet? Nominate them for a Good Steward Award! The categories  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 San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James recently released expanded guidance to local school district leaders regarding the opening of schools, in particular, grades 7-12. The only modifications to the existing guidance are: -Dr. James supports school district leadership in their effort to develop plans that expand their reopening strategies  Continue Reading

From OPALCO Three OPALCO employees have tested positive for COVID-19 on Lopez and others are under quarantine, following the San Juan County protocol. At this time, the employees who tested positive appear to have mild to no symptoms and are resting at home. As their quarantine periods are up over the next week or so,  Continue Reading

Friday Harbor Mayor Farhad Ghatan signed the following proclamation on Feb. 4. WHEREAS, the mission of the SJI Chamber of Commerce is to promote the economic vitality of our community and support its membership through educational programs, networking opportunities, visitor information services and community events which reflect our unique island culture; and WHEREAS, our island  Continue Reading

From San Juan County When COVID vaccine registration opened at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10, many hundreds of islanders logged on and searched by their zip code for available clinics, just as they were advised to do in our instructional video. Unfortunately, the zip code search feature was not working. While most applicants were  Continue Reading

From San Juan County Arts Council Enter a spring-themed art contest to win cash prizes. Accepted mediums include painting, illustration, sculpture, pottery, quilt, mix-media, jewelry and photo. First prize for those 18 and older will receive $500, second place wins $250 and this place wins $100. First prize for those 17 and younger will receive  Continue Reading

From the Center For Whale Research The team at the Center For Whale Research wants to hear your whale love stories. Is there a whale that holds a special place in your heart? Or a whale encounter that still makes your heart go pitter-patter? Or perhaps you developed a special friendship with someone because of  Continue Reading

Patos Lighthouse – Contributed Photo From Arcadia Publishing Since 1893, a light has been shining from Patos Island, the northernmost island in Puget Sound. Built to guide ships through treacherous waters, the lighthouse was also a happy home for many, including Edward Durgan and his family in the early 1900s. Boundary waters smugglers and rumrunners  Continue Reading

From the Friday Harbor Film Festival Join the Friday Harbor Film Festival’s free livestream Q&A event about the films from the series “In Search of the Great Song,”at 10 a.m., Friday, Feb. 12. A recording of the livestream will be available free at www.fhff.org for those unable to watch at the scheduled time. The Friday  Continue Reading

Store To Close Feb. 14-March 2 For Vacation By Nancy Larsen, Griffin Bay Bookstore We at Griffin Bay Bookstore have you in our hearts as we turn our uplifted spirits to thoughts of deep appreciation for our customers, to the gratitude we hold for your encouragement and support, and to the joy we feel knowing  Continue Reading

From Friday Harbor Labs The University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories has an opening as a visitor coordinator. This is a fulltime, salaried position, that earns $4,116 per month plus benefits. Staff is seeking an energetic multitasker, detail-oriented and good with numbers, to coordinate the use of facilities at Friday Harbor Labs. The employee will  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