Corinne Stevens

You’ve heard her here….now Corinne Stevens is heading for Tennessee to continue her vocal education. Here’s more, from her note:

I’ll be attending the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s graduate apprenticeship program with Knoxville Opera.  I’m very excited to have the opportunity to perform in both UT Knoxville’s Opera Theater productions as well as Knoxville Opera’s young artist program, all while earning my master’s degree!

I’m saddened to leave the Pacific Northwest, which I’ve come to call home over the past few years.  It was the first place where I could truly explore the art of opera on a regional and professional level, and I will miss the colleagues and friends I made there.  But over and above the melancholy of leaving my homebase is an excitement for the new challenges and opportunities that I’m confident Knoxville will offer.  From Skidmore College to Vienna to Arizona to Washington to France and now to Knoxville, I feel that this next step will bring me that much closer to accomplishing my dreams.

Corinne Stevens

You’ve heard her here….now Corinne Stevens is heading for Tennessee to continue her vocal education. Here’s more, from her note:

I’ll be attending the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s graduate apprenticeship program with Knoxville Opera.  I’m very excited to have the opportunity to perform in both UT Knoxville’s Opera Theater productions as well as Knoxville Opera’s young artist program, all while earning my master’s degree!

I’m saddened to leave the Pacific Northwest, which I’ve come to call home over the past few years.  It was the first place where I could truly explore the art of opera on a regional and professional level, and I will miss the colleagues and friends I made there.  But over and above the melancholy of leaving my homebase is an excitement for the new challenges and opportunities that I’m confident Knoxville will offer.  From Skidmore College to Vienna to Arizona to Washington to France and now to Knoxville, I feel that this next step will bring me that much closer to accomplishing my dreams.

Cindy from the Whale Museum says the weekend classes begin on the 25th…here’s more:

Registration for the Spring Marine Naturalist Training Program, presented by The Whale Museum, is available now.  The program’s dates are April 25, May 2, 9, 16, 23, and 24.  The object of this program is to provide a learning experience that assists adult graduates in becoming qualified regionally as professional or volunteer naturalists.

The main focus of the training is the ecology, current status and conservation of Southern Resident killer whales and other local marine species as well as discussions about the environments in which they live.

The course includes presentations on cetaceans, pinnipeds, mustelids, intertidal invertebrates, seabirds, and a variety of other topics such as geology and marine conservation.  Faculty includes Whale Museum staff, professional naturalists, marine scientists, and environmental educators active in the region.  Students will also participate in a variety of field trips relating to the topics of study.  They will have the opportunity to assemble a Gray Whale skeleton at The Whale Museum and to practice their naturalist skills on board a tour boat.  Tuition is $375 (includes an orca
adoption and a Whale Museum membership).  There are no prerequisites other
than high school diploma and a sincere interest to learn.

To take part in this opportunity, please contact Cindy Hansen, Education Curator, by email at [email protected] or by phone at 360-378-4710 ext.23.  Registration material can be downloaded from the Whale Museum website at www.whalemuseum.org

Who needs a computer, anyway?

That April Fool’s virus had almost no effect on the island – we are a hardy breed, and we slogged through & got our workday in, anyway.

There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder.
Ronald Reagan

The bar in Blue Water Bar & Grill opened Monday.

The more things change, the more they stay the same… A couple of new places opened in town, and a couple moved.

The Blue Water Bar & Grill (above) opened its doors on Monday this week. Located in the spot where the Front Street Café was located for a couple of decades, and spreading into the old Gourmet Galley/Boardwalk Bookstore space, the Blue Water offers good appetizers and burgers, as well as dinner choices, along with a full service bar. Drop in & tell ’em hey!

Meanwhile, Mi Piace Coffeehouse (located at the top of the ferry lanes) has turned into the Churchill Coffeehouse, under new ownership.

Madden at Steps has been closed for a couple of months now, and says he’s on track to re-open in his new spot across from Downrigger’s in mid-May. Not as dramatically, Dan Ward says he’s moving San Juan Transit’s main office one door down, as the surf guy next door spreads into his old space.

If you get lost, just give me a call.

The view from the Blue Water Bar & Grill - you can see the ferry come in, the Place Bar & Grill and Discovery Sea Kayaks, and the marina.

The bar in Blue Water Bar & Grill opened Monday.

The more things change, the more they stay the same… A couple of new places opened in town, and a couple moved.

The Blue Water Bar & Grill (above) opened its doors on Monday this week. Located in the spot where the Front Street Café was located for a couple of decades, and spreading into the old Gourmet Galley/Boardwalk Bookstore space, the Blue Water offers good appetizers and burgers, as well as dinner choices, along with a full service bar. Drop in & tell ’em hey!

Meanwhile, Mi Piace Coffeehouse (located at the top of the ferry lanes) has turned into the Churchill Coffeehouse, under new ownership.

Madden at Steps has been closed for a couple of months now, and says he’s on track to re-open in his new spot across from Downrigger’s in mid-May. Not as dramatically, Dan Ward says he’s moving San Juan Transit’s main office one door down, as the surf guy next door spreads into his old space.

If you get lost, just give me a call.

The view from the Blue Water Bar & Grill - you can see the ferry come in, the Place Bar & Grill and Discovery Sea Kayaks, and the marina.

Rebecca Barnard

Here’s a deal my good friend Rebecca has put together that I’ll bet you’ll like:

Rebecca Barnard of Friday Harbor will speak at the San Juan Island Library on April 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. Rebecca is the inventor of LimbaSlim, a new weight release system based on the science of olfactory memory, and is the author of LOSE YOUR THIGHS (and your legs will fall off) – a slightly irreverent look at weight loss and female body image in America today.

The approximately 2-hour workshop will include readings from Rebecca’s book and an optional free hypnotic meditation session in which you will learn to love your body and feed it right.

The premise of LimbaSlim is that by retraining the brain’s cravings, the body will automatically seek its ideal weight. In the workshop, Rebecca will teach you to release the shackles attached by ridiculous Hollywood notions of size and shape.

You will also learn how this island woman invented and marketed a brand new concept in motivational tools based on the science of olfactory memory. LimbaSlim utilizes the power of olfactory memory to retrain the brain. By combining a scent trigger with a gentle hypnotic meditation, a new olfactory memory is achieved that can be forever accessed by a simple smell of the same fragrance. (You can read more about it on LimbaSlim.com.)

LimbaSlim is for real women, with real curves and real appetites.

As Rebecca says, “It’s like willpower, only easier.”

Michael Soltman, superintendent of schools

Earlier this week, the state House & Senate released their budgets for the year. Both of them take incredible whacks into an already crippled education budget.

Among other things, one concern is essentially setting aside reforms made by voters earlier this decade related to class size. Here’s the response to all this from San Juan Island Schools Superintendent Michael Soltman:

Early Analysis of Legislative Education Budget Proposals

OSPI Facts about the K-12 Financial Crisis
Over the past few days the Washington State Senate and House have released their respective budget proposals.  Public schools would fare better under the House budget, however, both budget proposals represent significant program cuts to the San Juan Island School District and all other school districts in the State.  An analysis by the governor’s budget office indicates the House proposal would cut K-12 funding by $625 million, compared with an $877 million reduction in the Senate budget.

The most significant proposed cuts are targeted at funding for reduced class size. I-728 funds, approved by the voters in 2000 for the purposes of reducing class size, are reduced by 93% in the Senate budget proposal and by 63% in the House proposal.  In addition, the Senate proposes eliminating the K-4 class size enhancement.  In the San Juan Island District, the proposals amount to revenue reductions for class size in the range of $145,000 (House) to $455,000 (Senate).  Both proposals do include using some Federal Stimulus Funds to backfill a portion of the proposed cuts in State funding.  “Though the funding picture changes daily, we are still projecting and planning for overall program reductions of approximately $1.1 million over the next two years in our district,” Superintendent Michael Soltman said. “We have been planning since last August to make necessary budget reductions in ways that minimize the impact on our instructional programs to ensure the quality of our schools.” Continue Reading

Carol Ford reports:

I just got off the phone with Jacque and she sounds wonderful!  She is actually on her way home and is thrilled about that.  She’s feeling a bit sore and is looking forward to sleeping in her own bed but, otherwise, she said she’s doing really well.

She’s got another small  surgery ahead but for now she’ll just be resting and recovering here.  It’s great news!  I’ll be gone for the next week but I know that Jacque and Dave have a lot of friends in town who would like to help out –maybe bringing some dinners by would be a good thing to do (my idea, not Jacque’s).  Anyway, things seem to be going well and I figured people would want to know.

Thanks! Carol

Wednesday night, the soccer boys nearly jumped Cascade Christian, losing 4-2 as a second half surge fell just short, with goals by Pablo Lopez and Cameron Byington closing the gap.

The FHHS boys continued their winning ways Tuesday night, thumping Lynden Christian in baseball 13-2 behind senior Richie Ochoa & junior Roy Taylor’s pitching and everybody’s hitting. The undefeated Wolverines are at home with games Friday & Saturday this weekend.

Meanwhile, the softball girls ran into a buzzsaw as LC collected 12 hits in a 6-2 win over the Wolverines. The girls next return to action at the end of spring break with Concrete on the 11th.

Since you have your calendar out for that, go ahead & write down that we have a home track meet this Friday with our runners. See ya there!