From San Juan County Economic Development Council

The U.S. Small Business Administration and Small Business Development Centers have scheduled upcoming webinars on the new Paycheck Protection Program and Emergency Injury Disaster Loan programs.

The PPP provides loans to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus crisis.

The EIDL program is designed to provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue due to COVID-19. 

• Jan. 29: https://bit.ly/3iOAs78
• Feb. 12: https://bit.ly/39nF15m

The organizations also have upcoming webinars on PPP forgiveness.

• Jan. 22: https://bit.ly/39jd8ey
• Feb. 5:  https://bit.ly/3csZgk3
• Feb. 19: https://bit.ly/2NHHxef

From San Juan Island School District

On Wednesday, Jan. 27, the San Juan Island School District Board of Directors will hold a regular open school board meeting at 5 p.m. as a Zoom meeting.

View the agenda here. The agenda includes voting on possibly opening bids on the district’s surplus busses. 

The board will also hold an executive session, which is closed to the public, between 4:15-4:45 p.m. in accordance with RCW 42.30.110(g) to evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee.

To access the regular meeting, click on the Zoom link https://sjisd.zoom.us/s/81533092975.

Or join the webinar by calling: US : +1 253 215 8782 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 and using the webinar ID: 815 3309 2975.

If you need additional information, call 360-378-4133.

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Contributed Photo/SJIMA

From San Juan Islands Museum of Art

The San Juan Islands Museum of Art is excited to announce the winter 2021 family art program.

As we can’t have live, face-to-face Family Art Days, try a free pandemic survival kit and take advantage of the SJIMA At-Home Family Art Packs. With the packs, the whole family can participate safely in your own home.

Starting on Jan. 30, families will have the opportunity to join in the fun of the creative take-home family art packs. The opening season packs include instructions and supplies designed by the talented Lana Hickman. Pick up is at SJIMA at 540 Spring Street, Friday Harbor. All necessary safety precautions will be in place for pick up and our volunteers. (See “FAD COVID” under “Learn” at www.sjima.org.)

Contributed Photo/SJIMA

On Saturday, Jan. 30, the season’s first art packs for “Labyrinths–drawing and winding your way through mazes” will be available for pick-up at the museum from 1-3 p.m. for those who have registered. For this winter program, families need to pre-register for each week’s at-home pack, so we have enough packs available. The take-home kits will be offered on Saturdays through March 20. The spring program will be announced in March.

Supplies are limited, so register prior to Wednesday evening at www.sjima–online.org/family-art-days.

Winter 2021

• Jan. 30: Labyrinths, drawing and winding your way through mazes.
• Feb. 6: Space-age 3D Collages, an artistic use for recyclables.
• Feb. 13: Mapmaking, traveling in our imaginations with mixed media.
• Feb. 20: Polar Bears and Icebergs, creating sculptures with paper.

Contributed Photo/krakenimages

From Island Rec

Adult online fitness classes are open for registration. Sign up for the whole month of February, or choose one of our drop-in options. To register, visit www.islandrec.org.

Gentle Yoga and Destress Live & On-Demand Combo NEW!

Join yoga teacher, Katerina Wen and learn ways to deal with stress and anxiety. A great class to help you to stretch out your body and maintain your health and mobility during this shutdown period. You will learn holistic ways to balance and harmonize your body and mind. The class will include step-by-step, easy to follow yoga poses, plus breathing exercises that will take you to a meditative, calming space.
Along with having access to Katerina’s Live classes, you will then also get access to a video library of pre-recorded classes for the month, so you can practice whenever you like!
Ages: 18+
Time: 9:30-10:20 a.m., Tuesdays & Thursdays, February
Cost: $48, $6 drop-in, (Drop-in option is a live class only.)

Gentle Yoga and Destress On-Demand Only NEW!

All the greatness of Katerina’s Gentle Yoga class, but take the class whenever you want, and don’t worry about missing live classes! Register for the month and receive a link to a fitness library. Take class when you want and as often as you want throughout the month. This Library will have 2 classes loaded initially, and then as Katerina teaches live each week in the month, more classes will be recorded and added to the library.
Ages: 18+
Time: February
Cost: $34

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From the Town of Friday Harbor

The Town of Friday Harbor is accepting proposals for artwork to be displayed on or against a 235-foot wall along Blair Avenue.

Proposals will be accepted until March 22. All proposals will be considered with preference going to those from local artists. The Friday Harbor Arts Commission will review and select one or more of the proposals to recommend to the Friday Harbor Town Council. The council will make the final selection.

“The FHAC is seeking artwork with color and content that will complement the residential and historic nature of the neighborhood and its recent improvements,” said Arts Commissioner Peter Lane.

He noted the commission is particularly interested in proposals that will reflect or resonate with the people of Friday Harbor, adding that multiple mediums could be incorporated including photography. The FHAC will enlist the help of a review panel composed of representatives of the Arts Commission, local art community, and Blair Avenue neighbors. The public will be invited to view the final selections at a public forum.

Interested parties should review the Request for Proposal for the Blair Avenue Mural Project at www.fridayharbor.org.

The FHAC was formed in 2015 to advise the town council on the cultivation, selection, acquisition, and placement of public art.

From Washington State Department of Health

On Jan. 22, the Washington State Department of Health announced that based on Governor Jay Inslee’s Roadmap to Recovery phased reopening plan, all eight regions in Washington will remain in Phase 1 until at least Monday, Feb. 1, 2021.

DOH, in partnership with Microsoft AI for Health, has launched the new Roadmap to Recovery dashboard that provides a detailed overview of the metrics used for measuring regional progress. The metrics and corresponding thresholds help determine if it is safe for a region to enter into a new phase of reopening. The four metrics presented in the dashboard include:

• Trend in 14-day rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100k population
• Trend in 14-day rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100k population
• Average 7-day percent occupancy of ICU staffed beds
• 7-day percent positive of COVID-19 tests
• DOH will reassess the metrics for all eight regions each week and announce any changes to the current phase status every Friday.

The new Roadmap to Recovery dashboard will replace the original dashboard on coronavirus.wa.gov, but both are still publicly visible.

The launch of this key dashboard underscores the importance of public-private partnership and DOH appreciates the work of the Microsoft team in this endeavor.

From San Juan County

Join San Juan County’s Environmental Resources Division for the event “Community Virtual Gathering: Stormwater Projects in Lopez Village.”

This virtual gathering will update the community on the long-awaited stormwater projects scheduled for 2021. These projects help improve water quality draining from the Village and entering Fisherman Bay. See the project plans here.

The meeting will run from 4-6 p.m. on Jan. 28. Join the Zoom meeting here. 

By Katherine Bryant Ingman, program director, Leadership San Juan Islands

The Leadership San Juan Islands 2021 community seminars will begin on Jan. 29.

Three informational community seminars will be held virtually for our island community throughout the first half of 2021. The public is welcome to these free community seminars. Visit www.lsji.org for more information and to register.

Leadership San Juan Islands seeks to keep the study and spirit of leadership alive in 2021 even as we bend and flex to the many difficult challenges amid the current pandemic. These “lunch and learn” events bring together community leaders, nonprofit managers, county officials and island citizens to seek creative and resourceful ways to serve and lead as we continue to be islanders concerned with service above self and leadership when times are tough.

Whether you are interested in attending LSJI community seminars or have a friend who might be, you are welcome to attend or pass on the information.

Gretchen Krampf will moderate “Leadership and Food Security” from noon-1:15 p.m., Friday, Jan. 29, via Zoom.

The featured speakers are: Continue Reading

Sign-up For Vaccine Updates From PeaceHealth

From PeaceHealth

We’re proud to play a pivotal role in helping end this pandemic. Following federal and state guidance, we’ve provided a COVID-19 vaccine to more than 12,000 health care workers. We are eager to begin offering the vaccine to others in our communities as more vaccine becomes available and states indicate more people are eligible. Here are a few questions you’ve been asking and the answers we have right now.

Q: Should I get vaccinated for COVID-19?

Most people should get vaccinated. The two vaccines that have been approved by the FDA for use in the U.S. have been proven very safe and are 94-95% effective in preventing you from getting COVID-19. The more people that get vaccinated, the safer our communities will be—and the quicker we can get back to “normal.” You can find out more about the vaccines in the FAQs on our COVID-19 Vaccine Resource Center.

Q: Who can get a COVID-19 vaccine at PeaceHealth right now?

You can get vaccinated at PeaceHealth if you are eligible according to the rules in your state and if PeaceHealth has vaccine available. Vaccine doses are allocated each week at the federal level and distributed through states, and we follow state and local public health orders on who is eligible to receive those doses. PeaceHealth is committed to ensuring that patients who receive a first dose also receive the second required dose. You can check who is eligible in your state from our COVID-19 Vaccine Resource Center. Eligibility does not guarantee that the vaccine will be available.

Q: How will I know when I can get vaccinated?

You can click here to sign up for general COVID-19 vaccine email updates on eligibility and availability. My PeaceHealth patients will also be notified when medical or age-related information in your electronic health record indicates you are eligible. If you haven’t done so already, now is a good time to set up your My PeaceHealth account and make sure all your contact information is up to date, so you can make appointments, receive test results and manage prescriptions.

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Contributed Photo/WSF

From Washington State Ferries

As COVID-19 began to impact our region, we took steps to ensure the safety of our passengers and employees. Many of these actions happened swiftly, and, like everyone, we had to adapt to changing information and guidance.

March

• Closed the galleys to limit passenger contact.
• Started offering ticket refunds and suspended no-show fees.
• Announced the first round of service reductions in response to dramatic decreases in ridership.
• Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility operations and construction on Colman Dock and Mukilteo Terminal projects are halted in response to statewide mandate.
• Increasing the frequency of deep cleaning our passenger cabins was one way we worked to ensure a healthy environment for our ferry riders and crew.

April

• Our vessels begin participating in the worldwide movement to “Make a Joyful Noise” by sounding whistles while underway.
• IT team begins installation of self-swipe credit card readers at toll booths and ticket windows to limit contact.
• Announced the extension of Winter Schedule and continued to postpone service on the Sidney, B.C. route.
• Began installing sneeze guards at our toll booths throughout the system.

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Contributed Photo/Mark Gardner

By San Juan Community Theatre

Join us at 6:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 22 for the premiere of Salish Sea Ballet, as part of our 2020-21 Snapshot Season.

Look for the link to be activated on the theater’s website to view the premiere. Don’t miss this wonderful performance!

By William F. House, MD, Eventide

We have approval for the COVID-19 vaccination.

We will be placing our order this week and will notify on eventidehealth.com and via local news both online and in print once we are ready to begin scheduling.

Like all clinics, hospitals and health departments we’re being inundated with calls with numerous questions. We ask that you hold questions until your visit to get vaccinated; we will be happy to answer everything then. In the meantime, please know that we will do our best to get everyone vaccinated that wishes to be and that is within the appropriate phase.

If you don’t know the phases or if you’re in the currently approved group for vaccination please visit www.FindYourPhaseWA.org.

From San Juan County

The San Juan County Council adopted the Shoreline Master Program periodic review with Ordinance 08-2020 on Oct. 27, 2020.

Ordinance 08-2020 is effective 14 days after the Washington State Department of Ecology approves the proposed amendments. They approved the proposed amendments on Jan. 19, 2021, so the ordinance will be effective on Feb. 2, 2021.

The amendments are required to keep the program current with changes in state law, other county plans and regulations, and other local circumstances.

Authority for the periodic review is based on Washington’s Shoreline Management Act (SMA) (Ch. 90.58 RCW) and related rules. The county developed these amendments to comply with WAC 173-26-090, which requires each local government to review its SMP on an eight-year schedule set in state law, revising it if necessary. The changes to the SMP will be codified in Title 18 San Juan County Code.

For more information, visit www.sanjuanco.com.

Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta, MD book cover

“Island Senior” is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Peggy Sue McRae.

Neurosurgeon and well-known CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, MD. was recently featured in the Blue Zones online newsletter regarding his new book, Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age. 

The Blue Zones is a concept based on worldwide longevity studies featured in a previous Island Senior article, Island Senior: Tips From the Blue Zones For Hearty Longevity.

Those of us who have helped care for our own parents or grandparents suffering from dementia have all the more reason to be concerned for our own brain health.

The good news is there are things we can do to maintain a well-functioning brain.

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Contributed Photo/APS-FH

Age: Approx 5-6 years
Sex: Female
Breed: Chihuahua mix
Application: www.apsfh.com/adoption-program/canine-application

Ginny has traveled a long way to find her forever home, and she is now ready for her special family.

Ginny is initially very reserved and will need a patient person willing to work with her to gain confidence. But don’t let that deter you, she has a lot of wonderful attributes!

Ginny loves being held, getting back scratches, and once she’s comfortable, she enjoys car rides and watching television from the comfort of her favorite, warm lap. Plus, she’s good with cats.

Ideally, Ginny would like to have another small, friendly dog in the household that can help her transition and open up to the wonderful world of having a loving family!

About:

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From Skagit Valley College

Skagit Valley College’s South Asian Student Club will sponsor an online basic level Reiki session on Saturday, Jan. 23 from 9 a.m. to noon via Zoom. 

Reiki is a Japanese healing technique.

Leading the session will be Delhi’s well known and highly respected Reiki Grand Master, R.K. Sharma. The cost is $70 per person.

For more information and to sign up for this session, contact Dr. Farhana Loonat, SVC Philosophy/Political Science Instructor, [email protected].