Cynthia’s Bistro is offering free take-away meals to anyone who needs a meal or wishes to have a home cooked meal. No questions asked, just free food. Stop by Cynthia’s this Thursday – January 17 – from 4:30 to 6:00 to pick up your meal.

You may pick up 2 meals per person. When we run out of food, we will close the doors until next time. We will be stationed on the front porch and handing out the meals at Cynthia’s Bistro – 65 Nichols Street in Friday Harbor.

Basic Home Cooking made with everything but the Kitchen Sink.

Come by and say hello. If you care to join us and donate time or money to the cause, feel free to contact Cynthia at Cynthia’s Bistro (65 Nichols Street) or email at [email protected].

BooBoo is adding a new class to her repertoire – starting Thursday, Jan 17, she’ll be offering a co-ed class once a week.

Attached is a flyer with her winter schedule.

As always, no previous boxing experience necessary.

“She puts on a great, what I call, boxing-circuit training/boot camp kind of class!” ~ T.W.

Announcement from the local Soroptimists…

To broaden our actions in the Soroptimist mission of improving the lives of women and girls, Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor has expanded its Women’s Emergency Fund from San Juan Island to San Juan County.

The Women’s Emergency Fund provides emergency assistance to any woman whose other options for assistance have been exhausted. The assistance can solve a one-time problem or provide a one-time solution to a chronic problem. The program often provides for slightly unusual situations that can’t easily be covered by other programs. It was recently reported that over 40% of U.S. households could not come up $400 in cash in case of an emergency or unexpected expense. Too often such events can tip a household into crisis. The Women’s Emergency seeks to prevent that from happening when there is nowhere else to turn. Continue Reading

Jess Newley, Friends of the San Juans’ Marine Program Assistant, surveys for Pacific sand lance on Shaw Island – Contributed photo

Did you know that our local sand and gravel beaches nurture incubating fish eggs? These eggs are virtually undetectable to the naked eye and come from two species of marine fish – surf smelt and Pacific sand lance. These species are among those referred to as “forage fish” for the vital role they play in marine food webs. Forage fish are included throughout task force recommendations for the recovery of the Southern Resident Orca, including completing surveys to map habitat and expanded restoration and protection of spawning beaches.

Surf smelt spawn year-round in San Juan County while Pacific sand lance, a favorite food item for juvenile as well as adult chinook salmon, only spawn in the winter months. Until recently, just eight sand lance spawning sites were documented across the county’s 400 miles of marine shoreline as field survey efforts have been limited by winter weather conditions and nighttime low tides. Friends of the San Juans, with funding from the Wheeler Family Foundation and the Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board, recently began a three-year research program to identify sand lance spawning habitat.

“I am excited to report that in just the first month of our 2018 sampling effort we have identified four additional spawning beaches in the county – two sand lance and two surf smelt,” states Tina Whitman, Friends Science Director, “this information will help improve the efficiency and success of salmon habitat protection and restoration efforts.” Continue Reading

Join us in the FHHS Commons for the first Community Dinner of 2019 on Wednesday, January 16th from 5:00-7:30! *earlier start time*

Also, you are invited to watch the students’ Community Project Presentations in the classrooms.

Dinner is $15 for adults, $7 for kids under 12 years old.

Proceeds support the Food for Thought Program and the Chef.0 Internship.

The Popular GREEK Menu is Back!

• Chicken Gyros – chicken thigh in soft pita bread with tzatziki & romaine lettuce.
• Pork Souvlaki – grilled skewers of marinated pork shoulder.
• Roasted Carrots – traditional side dish spiced with turmeric & cumin.
• Rice Piláfi – seasoned rice with fresh herbs, onions and peas.
• Greek Salad – cucumber, tomato, Kalamata olives, red onion, banana peppers and feta cheese in a light dressing.
• Tzatziki– a cool and creamy cucumber-yogurt sauce.
• Hummus– traditional dip of chickpeas, garlic, tahini & lemon.
• Baklava – rich layers of phyllo, chopped nuts, butter & honey.

*limited vegetarian options available

List of Student’s Community Projects:

An invitation from SJ County…

Please join us as the newly-elected San Juan County Officials take their Oath of Office on Friday, January 11th at 4 pm in the Lobby of the County Courthouse at 350 Court Street, Friday Harbor WA, 98250.  To be followed by a reception with light refreshments.

Judge Stewart Andrew will be officiating the following Oaths of Office:

• Randall Gaylord – Prosecutor
• Lisa Henderson – Clerk
• Milene Henley – Auditor
• Carolyn Jewett – District Court Judge
• Ron Krebs – Sheriff
• John Kulseth – Assessor
• Kathryn Loring – Superior Court Judge
• Rhonda Pederson – Treasurer
• Jamie Stephens – Council Member

Oath of Office Event Flyer

Merri Ann Simonson – Contributed photo

San Juan Island Real Estate Market Summary

In reviewing the year-end results for 2018, the sales dollar volume for the real estate market in San Juan County per the Northwest Multiple Listing Service was $305,674,278 which reflects a tiny increase in volume of 1.5% over 2017 when the volume was $300,622,909.

The percentage of growth this year was pretty flat which was evidenced in all preceding quarter end numbers. The County closed an average of 45 transactions per month which is 9% below last year.

Total volume on San Juan Island in 2018 was $126,419,356 as compared to $147,981,053 in 2017. The decrease was 14.5%. Of all the islands, Orcas performed the best with a volume increase of 13% but with a transaction decrease of 7%. The top 3 production agents in 2018 in the County, all work on Orcas and rocked their year.  

Continue Reading… (PDF)

It’s time to march again! The #WomensWave is coming and we’re sweeping the world forward with it! Come to the 3rd Annual Women’s March. Gather on the Courthouse Lawn at the corner of Second and Court Street in Friday Harbor.

Saturday, January 19, from 12:00 to 2:00 PM
San Juan County Courthouse,
350 Court Street, Friday harbor

See: https://www.womensmarch.com/2019/ for more info!

Happy New Year. The Studio wanted to share 3 new workshops that we are offering this January and February!

Sharalyn Lehman will instruct a Pilates for Runners workshop that will run for 2 Sundays. This workshop will focus on how to utilize Pilates to improve running, work on technique to run smarter and safer, and prepare tissues for loading. This is a great workshop for runner of all levels.

The Studio is also offering a 5-week Skiing and Snowboarding Conditioning workshop. This will focus on getting your body conditioned for the slopes so you are stronger, more effective and balanced. Angela Bonacorsi and Jennifer Horn will be working together to teach this workshop. Classes will include a combination of BOSU, TRX, Cardio, Core, Agility Training, Balance, Stretching & Pilates.

In February, Liz Nelson will teach a week long yoga Chakathron. This seven day yoga challenge is devoted to each chakra! Each class will focus on balancing a different chakra – starting with the Muladhara (root chakra) and going all the way up, ending with the Sahasrara (crown chakra). Each class will have designated asanas, essential oils and breath devoted to it’s own chakra.

The Studio is super excited to offer these workshops to our community, and will have many more workshops to come this year. We expect these to fill fast so folks should register at www.thestudiosji.com or call The Studio at 360-378-1050 to reserve their space.

Family Art Days are a fun time for families of all ages. Everyone is inspired by imaginative topics such as: Flora, Fauna and Fungi: Drawing from Nature, inspired by Maria Sibylla Merian’s work or Creating Natural Images on Sunprint paper. The first class is From Birds to Flying Machines, inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci designs.

Classes start this Saturday at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) from 1-5 at the 540 Spring Street workshop. All workshops are free for families and children ages 12 and under.

The workshops continue each Saturday until March 2 and are generously sponsored by Suzy Wakefield and the Community Foundation of San Juan Island. King’s Market, Nana’s Holiday House, Mystical Mermaid and Jeanne Earnhart also make the free classes possible.

Visitors may choose to make a reservation at the front desk during regular hours or call 360-370-5050. Trained instructor Lana Hickman creates these workshops especially for our residents and visitors. During her imaginative classes, everyone learns more than art techniques.

The full schedule is as follows:

January

• 12th – From Birds to Flying Machines in mixed media and origami
  Inspiration: Leonardo Da Vinci designs
• 19th – Exploring Shapes, Textures and Colors in Painting and Colors
  Inspiration: John James Audubon depictions of birds
• 26th – Flora, Fauna and Fungi: Drawing from Nature
  Inspiration: Maria Sibylla Merian’s groundbreaking work

February

• 2nd – Creating Natural Images on Sunprint paper
  Inspiration: Anna Atkins botanical cyanotypes
• 9th – Discover and make fossils
  Inspiration: Mary Anning’s important finds in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis
• 16th – From Beetles to Butterflies: Multimedia Exploration of Patterns
  Inspiration: Illustrators of bugs
• 23rd – Paleoart from Cave Paintings to Sticks and Stones
  Inspiration: Andrew Goldsworthy’s works

March

• 2nd – Making Your Own Camera Obscura in a box
  Inspiration: Johannes Vermeer  

Enjoy the Celebration for the Community at SJIMA until January 21, which honors the art of Mary Ann Rock and Sam Connery as well as exhibiting creations from the Spring Street International School.

Hours for the exhibitions are Friday-Monday 11-5 and admission is free.

State Investing in Youth Outdoor Education, Recreation

OLYMPIA–Washington State is accepting applications for the No Child Left Inside grant program, which aims to give at-risk children opportunities to experience the outdoors.

No Child Left Inside grants fund programs that provide youth in Washington with outdoor recreation and education programs, including summer camps, natural resource-based education programs and science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) programs. The program is funded by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and administered by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

Public agencies (cities, counties, special purpose districts), tribal governments, nonprofits, schools, informal after school programs, veteran organizations, community-based programs and private entities (individuals, businesses, religious groups planning non-religious activities) are eligible to apply. The programs must be delivered outdoors in Washington State.

“The No Child Left Inside program ties into the legacy part of the State Parks’ mission, as we work to ensure a strong connection with natural, cultural and historical resources for future generations,” said Don Hoch, State Parks director. “It’s exciting to be providing grants that allow kids from communities all over the state to get outdoors and enjoy meaningful experiences, physical activities and learning opportunities that they otherwise might not have. The grant programs that are funded typically focus on the environment, social involvement, collaboration and community–in beautiful and inspiring outdoor settings that are fun and inspiring for young people.” Continue Reading

The San Juan County Democrats invite you to their first meeting of the new year. Here’s chair David Turnoy with more…

Fresh off a successful 2018 campaign season, the San Juan County Democrats are ready to begin their activities for 2019. Our first meeting will be this Saturday, January 12, in the community meeting room at Skagit Valley College in Friday Harbor from 11:45 until 2:30.

This is our reorganization meeting when we will elect people to fill all our officer positions. FYI – only elected Precinct Committee Officers are eligible to vote for these positions, but anyone who is a Democrat is eligible to run for an officer position.

At the meeting we will also start to plan our activities for this year, especially looking at themes that might guide those activities. We are a friendly group and welcome new people who would like to get involved in bringing about progressive change.  

San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1 will be having a Special Board Meeting on Thursday, January 10th. It will begin at 1:00 p.m. rather than the usual time, but will be at the usual place – the Frank Wilson Memorial EMS Building.

The purpose of this meeting is to potentially appoint an Interim EMS Chief and hold interviews, discuss the notice of complaints from DOH, and review the commissioner job duties document.

Agenda and meeting notice [at this link]. Agenda is subject to change up to 24 hours before the meeting start time. Latest versions are posted to the website.

The SJC Department of Community Development Office will be closed the week of January 14 – 18.

Staff will be trained on new permitting software during this period. Note that building inspections will be conducted. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Merri Ann Simonson shares another video from her SJI Lifestyle series. Here she is with more…

This San Juan Island Lifestyle video shares the holiday month on San Juan Island; from Chardonnay Shopping to New Year’s Eve, we had a blast.

Auditions for San Juan Community Theatre’s Spring Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, will take place January 8th and 9th, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, in the Gubelman Theatre.

Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Book and Best Original Score, The Drowsy Chaperone is a loving send-up of the Jazz Age musical, featuring one show-stopping song and dance number after another. SJCT’s production of the musical will be directed by Cathi Nett.

With the houselights down, a man in a chair appears on stage and puts on his favorite record: the cast recording of a fictitious 1928 musical. The recording comes to life and The Drowsy Chaperone begins as the man in the chair looks on.

Mix in two lovers on the eve of their wedding, a bumbling best man, a desperate theatre producer, a not-so-bright hostess, two gangsters posing as pastry chefs, a misguided Don Juan and an intoxicated chaperone, and you have the ingredients for an evening of madcap delight.

Hailed by New York Magazine as “The Perfect Broadway Musical,” The Drowsy Chaperone is a masterful meta-musical, poking fun at all the tropes that characterize the musical theatre genre. Continue Reading