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  Continue Reading

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  Continue Reading

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  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  Continue Reading

  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  Continue Reading

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  Continue Reading

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  Continue Reading

“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  Continue Reading

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  Continue Reading

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  Continue Reading

From WaterWorks Gallery WaterWorks Gallery presents “WITH LOVE: A Valentine’s Show,” from Feb. 5-March 15. The show will feature new work by Georgia Gerber, Dominik Modlinski, Cathy Schoenberg, Elizabeth Bruno, and Nichole DeMint This inspirational show brings together specially selected pieces to warm your heart during these cold winter months. With all that is happening  Continue Reading

From Skagit Valley College College Skagit Valley College’s Continuing and Community Education program allows you to engage, connect, learn and grow from the comfort of your home by offering short-term, noncredit courses. A variety of Personal Enrichment courses are still available during the month of January: • Castles and Ancient Stones, Jan. 31-Feb. 28, Sundays,  Continue Reading

From OPALCO Beginning with the Jan. 21 regular meeting of the OPALCO Board of Directors, co-op members will be able to sit in on virtual board meetings using a Zoom connection. A link for members to access the meetings will be published with board materials each Monday before a board meeting online at www.opalco.com. Go  Continue Reading

Store Could Be Opened Year-Round From the Save the Shaw Store Board of Directors Imagine the Shaw General Store open seven days a week, year-round, managed by the Orcas Food Co-op. Imagine the store property owned by a community nonprofit organization, self-supporting through the store, the marina and other revenue sources on the property. This  Continue Reading

Sea Otter Disturbance By Dr. Tiff Stephens In the summer of 2017, I traveled to Friday Harbor Labs for one of my usual short visits of reconnecting with resident scientists and diving into the waters to see how the seaweed communities have changed at favored sites (Reuben Tarte, Cattle Point, Deadman Bay). I also traveled  Continue Reading

From Skagit Valley College On Thursday, Jan. 21, Farhana Loonat, Ph.D., Skagit Valley College Department chair for political science, philosophy, international studies, anthropology, and social science, will present her paper, The “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” Illusion in White Supremacist Institutions of Higher Education: Delivering Equity and Inclusion for Women Faculty of Color. Dr. Loonat’s presentation will  Continue Reading

From San Juan County On Monday, Jan. 18, Governor Inslee and the Washington State Department of Health have opened vaccine eligibility to Phase 1b Tier 1. San Juan County will begin delivering Phase 1b Tier 1 immunization on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Q: Who is Eligible for 1b – Tier 1? Anyone over the age of  Continue Reading

By Merri Ann Simonson, Managing Broker, Coldwell Banker San Juan Islands Inc Holy cow, what a year! In reviewing the year-end results for 2020, the sales dollar volume for the real estate market in San Juan County per the Northwest Multiple Listing Service was $466,709,745 which reflects a substantial increase in volume of 55% as  Continue Reading

From Transition San Juan Island Waste Guild The Transition San Juan Island Waste Guild wants to give a big kudos to the San Juan Island School District Food for Thought program’s grab-and-go free school breakfast and lunch program. The food service team packages their tasty breakfasts and lunches in a sustainable manner. When schools went  Continue Reading

From Fourfront Contributor On Jan. 14, four of the largest community behavioral health providers in Washington State, including Compass Health, announced a new partnership called Fourfront Contributor, an advocacy and leadership coalition that utilizes their collective size and expertise to improve the health of individuals, communities and the systems that serve them. “This is an  Continue Reading

“Freezer Burned: Tales of Interior Alaska” is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Steve Ulvi. The Consequences of Us and Them The old man emerged slowly from a cocoon of feathered warmth. The radiant heating of the cabin had waned after midnight as the stove fire laid low. In the blackness,  Continue Reading