Evening Primrose – John Dustrude photo

By Louise Dustrude

A number of people have been asking one another what those bright yellow flowers are that have appeared recently at Island Rec’s LaFarge Open Space, aka the gravel pit. So we checked with Eliza Habegger, the land steward at the Land Bank, whose responsibilities also include ecological assessment, monitoring, and restoration on Land Bank Preserves, and managing the Salish Seeds Project native plant nursery.

She responded: “Your photo looks to me like it could be Oenothera biennis, common evening primrose, an introduced species. Here’s a description http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Oenothera%20biennis and you can search for photos online.

“It’s a little hard to make out the pink flowers but I suspect they are Trifolium arvense, rabbit foot clover. I’ve noticed it spreading widely in the islands the past few years, particularly along roadsides and other sunny, disturbed areas. Also non-native.

Rabbit Foot Clover – Louise Dustrude photo

“It’s possible one or both of these were intentionally seeded at the gravel pit, or along island roadsides. The gravel pit is definitely a unique habitat – almost no soil, really warm – so it is always interesting what turns up there!”

Eliza added that she had asked her husband, author Thor Hanson, if he’d seen evening primrose at the gravel pit in the past, and he said yes, he first noticed it there over 10 years ago.

“So it sounds like it’s been there for a while and is maybe just having a good year,” she said.

The Burke Herbarium report says that evening primrose blooms from June through August.

Time for all Island Writers to get ready to launch your entries for the “2020: A Fair Odyssey” Virtual San Juan County Fair!

But, you say, the Fair is over a month away—August 12-15. True, but the deadline for the Written Word entries is July 17^th— just weeks away!

So, prepare those writings for takeoff—Prose, Poetry, Writing for Children—from the last two years, and postmark them to Island Writers, SJC Fair, POB 1094, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 or email them to [email protected] by July 17^th, or enter them online at www.sjcfair.org/onlineentry beginning July 1^st  through July 17^th.   

Check out the premium book online: Island Writers (Z—as in whiZZing by) Questions? Call 360-378-4310 or email [email protected].

I’m Sharon Kivisto and I’m campaigning to be the council member representing Residency District 1 on the San Juan County Council. My 20+ years of experience as a journalist in the islands has provided me with insight about the needs of islanders and the workings of county government. I’d like to use the knowledge I’ve gained to help preserve and increase the social and environmental integrity of the county.

During my 29 years on San Juan Island, I’ve worked in the tourism industry, owned and operated my own media business SanJuanIslander.com, served on the school board and the Homes for Islanders board, raised two daughters, purchased my own home as a single mom through one of the affordable housing programs, and volunteered in a variety of ways.

Like most of the candidates, I am concerned about the availability of affordable housing, the lack of diversity in our economy, the health of the Salish Sea and the Southern Resident Killer Whales, the proliferation of vacation rentals to the detriment of neighborhoods, the preservation of the environment and farming, and the cost of living in the San Juan Islands. Continue Reading

Hi Prevention Advocates! Have you seen this yet? We just launched it on our @sjipreventioncoalition Instagram page! Please share with your circle of influence. We always need a “first” person to post! (Rock Solid is on the flyer in their face masks and can’t enter the contest) Will it be you or someone you can invite to post 😉 Thank you!

Please enter if you are ages 5-21 (or a parent or guardian may submit a photo on a youth’s behalf to still win 1 of 4 ~ $50 local gift cards!) Our Board of Health Officer, Dr. James, asked during last week’s BOH meeting, if “those kids that do anti-tobacco and alcohol prevention” would help promote the use of masks with their peers.

So, Rock Solid is helping to do just that with this contest:) Please help support these efforts by sharing and entering if you have a 5-21 year old in your life, ask them to enter and perhaps they will win a $50 gift card to a local business!

To Enter:

1. Follow @sjipreventioncoalition

2. Like this post

3. Post a photo of yourself wearing a face mask or face covering on your Instagram page and tag @sjipreventioncoalition (Must be a San Juan County, WA. resident ages 5-21 years. Parents/Guardians may post a photo of their child wearing a mask for the child to be in the running for a prize, too:) OR DM us your photo and we can add it to our account!

4. Tag 2 friends in our comments for an additional entry in random drawings.

Two winners will be selected by random from all entries, plus Two winners in a Judge’s Choice from homemade creations or designs submitted.

Let’s Face It! Wear a Mask!

Thank you,
Debbi, Luke, Zachariah, Ramona and Clarence

Skagit Valley College Continuing and Community Education to offer virtual Hoop Camp for youth

This summer, area youth can improve their basketball fundamentals and skills with virtual Hoop Camps taught via Zoom by Skagit Valley College Men’s Basketball Head Coach, Carl Howell.

The camp will be offered via Zoom on July 21 and 22 from noon to 1:15pm. Cost is $70 for the two-day camp. For registration and information, visit https://www.campusce.net/skagit/course/course.aspx?catId=35

The virtual Hoop Camps are made possible by SVC’s Continuing and Community Education program.

Free Home Kits Now Available for Those Who Qualify

Dr. Gulla and Living Medical Arts PLLC wants the community to know that Labcorp is now offering testing that you can do in the comfort of your own home, without needing a doctors orders.

All you have to do is go online to this link and answer the questions to qualify for the test.

Labcorp will then send you a test kit. Just follow the instructions that are included with the kit to swab the inside of your nose. (It is no longer a deep nasal swab, but rather just inside the nostril.)

Thanks to the CARES Act, the testing is accessible at no charge, whether or not you have insurance.

Learn more about the CARES Act bill at this link.

Living Medical Arts is continuing to facilitate community testing and support. Our clinic is a multi-disciplinary clinic delivering naturopathic medicine, physical medicine and integrative care. Dr. Gulla has been serving the San Juans and other communities for ten years. Feel free to contact us at for information and care at: 360-472-0447, or [email protected].

Update to District Residents

Your local hospital district is committed to making sure that island residents have resources available to them to ensure care for their health. In an era where rural healthcare is under pressure nationwide, our innovative public-private partnership with PeaceHealth provides high-quality care to the public that is financially sustainable. Our Emergency Medical Services provide top quality prehospital care and does not charge coinsurance to residents.

In order to ensure access to affordable reproductive care for all, we also subsidize Mount Baker Planned Parenthood (MBPP) by giving them $40,000 per year, covering about 1/3 of their budgeted expenses. On June 24, MBPP during their semiannual report to the Board of Commissioners reported that more than half of those given care were at 150% of the federal poverty level or less. Patients are charged on a sliding scale based on what they can afford, and receive services ranging from birth control to vaccines and screening to family planning.

Chair Anna Lisa Lindstrum said, “Choosing when and how to have families is an essential part of ensuring wellness for women and families and helps ensure that children are born into a stable setting. We are very proud of our work with Mount Baker Planned Parenthood, and as we go through our fourth year working with them, we hope for many more years of collaboration.” Continue Reading

July 2, 2020: Today Governor Inslee announced that a minimum of a two week hold will be placed on all current applications to advance through the Governor’s four phase plan. This decision applies to San Juan County’s application to Phase 3 submitted to the State on June 25th, in addition to current applications from a number of other counties.

Once posted, details on the Governor’s announcement are available at this link.

While this decision prolongs ongoing economic challenges for employers and employees of many local businesses, it is based on increasing case volumes across WA and the country, and the need to ensure that reopening is safe, thoughtful, and based on current data on disease transmission.

San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James shares his thoughts on the Governor’s decision, “When we submitted our application to move to Phase 3 last week, we genuinely felt that San Juan County was prepared to respond effectively to cases in the islands. We also understand that this is a fast moving situation and that the Governor prioritizing a safe reopening for the entire state is a logical choice at this time. Like so much in this crisis, these decisions are difficult and finding the right path is an enormous challenge.” Continue Reading

Honey bee collecting pollen – Photo by Vesi Boycheva

OLYMPIA—As summer gets into full swing and people spend more time outside, state and federal officials and local beekeepers hope the public will keep their eyes open and report any sightings of Asian giant hornet.

“When it comes to preventing and stopping a new invasive species, we all have a role to play and this is a great example,” said Justin Bush, executive coordinator of the Washington Invasive Species Council. “The first detection of Asian giant hornet in the entire United States was made by an aware member of the public. Every other detection since has been made by everyday citizens. Being aware of new plants and animals or changes in your community and then letting experts know if something seems like a problem can save thousands, if not millions of dollars, in damages.”

Click to enlarge

This bee-killer already has been spotted in two different cities in Washington this year even though Asian giant hornets aren’t expected out in larger numbers until July or August. That’s when worker hornets become active and the queens stop leaving the nests.

The hornets tend to be most active in the summer and fall when workers search for food away from their nests. Officials ask the public to report sightings as quickly as possible and give details of what they saw and where. Photographs are strongly encouraged if they can be taken safely. If the hornet is dead, please save it for testing. Reports may be made using the Washington Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) Hornet Watch Report Form, the WA Invasives reporting app or on the Washington Invasive Species Council’s Web site. Continue Reading

This FHL Tide Bite was written by Jen Burnaford…

My first trip to UW Friday Harbor Labs was in 1995. After completing my undergraduate thesis on freshwater zooplankton and spending a post-bac year chasing primates through the jungles of Borneo, I had been accepted into the PhD program at Oregon State University in the Menge/Lubchenco rocky intertidal ecology lab.

My new advisors were aware that I had never actually been to the rocky intertidal zone before I got to OSU, and they encouraged me to head up to FHL for summer courses at the end of my first year. A coin toss led to my application for the Marine Phycology course during A term (tails would have equalled Invertebrate Zoology), and to promote intellectual breadth I applied for the Marine Fishes course for B term.

As has happened to thousands of students before and since, I learned more in those 10 weeks than I had in any other 10-week period of my life.

Continue reading here…

Photo by Andrea Wagner

A friendly reminder that all personal fireworks are prohibited in San Juan County. This includes firecrackers, mortars, sparklers, and bottle rockets. Personal firework discharge is a crime punishable by fines from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. Furthermore any fires linked to the use of personal fireworks are subject to billing from all agencies that respond to the fire including local fire districts as well as Washington DNR. 

Novelties such as pop-its and snap confetti are in a class of their own and are sold at grocery and party supply stores and their safe use is permitted.

Fireworks shows are permitted in Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor. The Lopez fireworks show is cancelled for this year as is the Eastsound show. There is a permitted private firework show in the West Beach area of Orcas Island as well.

The Orcas Film Festival and Mt. Baker Farm are hosting a lazer light show on July 4th in Eastsound. 

Please be safe out there and have a lovely fourth.
San Juan County Fire Marshal’s Office

The County Council is searching for San Juan County citizens to fill current and upcoming vacancies on various boards and commissions.

Additional information about each committee is available on the County’s website at: http://sanjuanco.com/641/Board-Committee-Vacancies.

Persons interested in serving on a board or advisory committee should fill out an Advisory Committee Application or Contact the Council Office at: (360) 378-2898 [email protected]

Missing Mountain Road with Jackson’s Beach in the background – John Dustrude photo

By Louise Dustrude

Friday Harbor Mayor Farhad Ghatan cuts the ribbon for the newly opened Missing Mountain Road – Louise Dustrude photo

A small crowd of supporters wearing masks and socially distancing from one another celebrated the opening of the new Missing Mountain Road on Wednesday at 1 pm. Several of those who spoke pointed out that it had taken some 25 years since the road was first proposed, by the town planning commission, and Mayor Farhad Ghatan spoke to the primary reason for the road, saying that Warbass Way is “not a proper roadway for heavy trucks.”

The road has been built to connect with trucks coming in by barge at the shipyard, its northern terminus, and then direct them to their destinations on the island without their having to go through town. How long it may take to get a barge landing constructed there was not addressed.

There was immediate traffic on the road as soon as the ceremony ended. Road striping will be done later this summer. The road was opened now, rather than later, because traffic helps to compact the chipseal, according to county engineer Colin Huntemer, who led the celebration.

Bill Watson was the first person to use the road – Louise Dustrude photo

Others who spoke included county council member Bill Watson, town administrator Duncan Wilson, county manager Mike Thomas, port commissioner Barbara Marrett, and San Juan Home Trust supporters Larry Soll and Sarah Crosby. Huntemer also thanked Island Rec director Maddie Ovenell and property owners Mike and Jeri Ahrenius, who were not present.

Huntemer’s daughter Sailor, who turned 9 years old on Wednesday, loaned her small motorized bike for the ceremony, and Bill Watson rode through immediately after the ribbon cutting, saying he would be the last non-street-legal vehicle on the road.

M/V Yakima at dock – SJ Update file photo

Thank you to everyone who participated in WSF’s Virtual Community Meeting yesterday! For those who were unable to attend, a recording of the meeting is now available online on our Community Meetings page. To watch the meeting, you’ll need to provide a name and email to sign into the GotoWebinar page. For more information go to: https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/commuterupdates/pub_meetings.htm

You can view all travel alerts at the WSF Travel Bulletins page. This alert was sent on 07/1/2020 at 11:22AM. Please do not reply to this message. Replies are sent to an email inbox that is unmonitored.

Visit the WSF Website or Contact Us page for more information about Washington State Ferries. You may also change your Account Preferences anytime. Please visit the COVID-19 Travel Updates page for all up-to-date travel information regarding COVID-19.

Merri Ann Simonson has a new entry in her San Juan Island Lifestyle Video series. This one is about San Juan Island Real Estate and COVID