San Juan County Adopts Real Estate Excise Tax for Affordable Housing In the November election, San Juan County voters approved a new 0.5% real estate excise tax (REET) to support the development of affordable housing options within the county. The tax will be assessed on the purchase and sale of real property within the county,  Continue Reading

Out of respect for former president George H. W. Bush, the nation’s 41st Commander in Chief, and to honor his vast contributions to the United States during his lifetime, and consistent with the presidential proclamation, the U.S. Postal Service will observe a national day of mourning. USPS will suspend regular mail delivery and retail service  Continue Reading

The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting to be held Sunday, Dec. 9th, 2018 Oak Brook, IL – The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting, which unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor the memories of the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren who left too soon, is scheduled  Continue Reading

Salish Sea Youth Ballet is proud to present the 2018 Friday Harbor Nutcracker!  San Juan Island dancers will perform excerpts from the classic Nutcracker ballet in an intimate tea party setting at Brickworks. This interactive, family friendly event immerses audiences into the magical story and is sure to become a family tradition. Our 2018 production  Continue Reading

This story was shared with the SJ Update by Jim Carroll… The old NOEL sign had its days… in wind, rain, heat, being blown over several times during rooftop storage and it was ready to be replaced, with a fancy new LED NOEL sign being considered, when a very wise suggestion was made by Town  Continue Reading

I see you when you’re eating…. I know when you’ve got treats… I know how to jump in your lap…. so, you’d better share snacks for goodness sake! I’m Buddy and I wrote that little ditty. And that’s just one of the many talents I have to offer. I’m also an excellent bed warmer and  Continue Reading

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  Continue Reading

The season is upon us. A good crowd showed up for the Island Lights Festival and mother nature smiled upon all. No rain, lots of familiar Christmas songs and good holiday cheer.

On Monday, Theresa Simendinger will share her journey to Shishmaref, Alaska, a small Threatened Island of Artists and Hunters. Shishmaref is a town of about 600 people on a small barrier island 5 miles off the coast of Alaska and just south of the Arctic Circle. The island is about 2 miles long and about  Continue Reading

We are announcing our new store! It located on our Animal Inn property at 25 Boyce Road. The Shepherd’s Work is an Art Consignment and Christian book store. We are representing 8 artists’ paintings and quilts. Soon we will provide on site videos of local collections as well. New Christian books and consigned Christian books  Continue Reading

Island Haven Animal Sanctuary Benefit Join award winning Celtic harpist Kathie Hardy & local violinist Hannake Klein Robbenhauer for an evening that will warm your hearts this holiday season! Kathie will perform an elegant mix of ancient and traditional Scottish & Irish tunes. She has won several Pacific Northwest Scottish harp competitions, including first place  Continue Reading

This uniquely crafted reworking of Moby Dick is more a poetic fantasia than literal adaptation of the familiar characters and themes from the classic work. With an array of songs, contemporary humor, and the weaving of various myths, a group of whalers set off on an epic hunt. But once on the water, the obsessed  Continue Reading

Nana’s Holiday House is opening its doors for the 6th year at 175 First Street (formerly Mr. Believable’s & The Rumor Mill). Now a Friday Harbor tradition, Nana’s House provides a place for Kids, 18 and under, to do their Christmas shopping at the affordable price of $1.00 to $10.00. All of the items are  Continue Reading

In the SJ Update Mailbag we find this letter from Allison Lance… I attended a meeting at the library last night on deer population here on San Juan Island and what I walked away with is: KILL DEER! My take is different than pretty much everyone else’s point of view at what felt like a  Continue Reading

The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor plans to have all current dog and cat residents moved into the new animal shelter at 938 Cattle Point Road by the end of this week. In order to allow the animals to acclimate to their new living quarters, the shelter will be open by appointment only beginning  Continue Reading

Here’s a quick note from The Studio… We are so excited as we head into our 5th year of business. We wanted to make sure everyone knows that our annual Holiday party is right around the corner on Friday December 7th, from 7:00 pm to midnight. We welcome islanders to join us in celebrating our  Continue Reading

Anna Dowling, M.D., has joined the staff at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center. She will provide women’s health (gynecology) and surgical services as a visiting specialist in Friday Harbor, one day per month. Dowling completed her medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles in 2005. Her  Continue Reading

The following is a message from the Town of Friday Harbor… Thank you for your ongoing support of the Harbor Life Ring utilities assistance program. A special line item appears on your monthly utility bill for this purpose. Since the program launched five years ago, your generous donations have afforded relief to dozens of individuals  Continue Reading

Skagit Valley College (SVC) is pleased to announce that it has received national recognition as one of the best community colleges in the nation. Washington Monthly magazine published its ranking of the Top 100 Best Two-Year Colleges for Adult Learners and SVC was named #38. This year’s recognition is the fourth national honor for SVC  Continue Reading

Rebecca Cook will be doing a book signing for her new children’s book “Calvin Splinter & His Splendid Splinter Ideas” on Saturday, December 1st at Island Studios from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Here’s more information on Rebecca and her new book in a previous post on the San Juan Update from last month.

Found this in the SJ Update mailbag… Dear neighbors, I was just duped by a very sophisticated scam that wrecked my bank account, so I wanted to get the word out there in hopes that this won’t happen to you. Here’s what happened: I was called on my cell phone by someone claiming to be  Continue Reading

Cynthia Burke shares this announcement about her daughter’s upcoming show… Are you heading to New York for the holiday season? Catch one of our local graduates – off Broadway! We are hoping someday to bring this show to the SJ Community Theater. Hanna Burke, 2007 Friday Harbor High School Graduate, will be performing her hit  Continue Reading