The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) will offer free training in plumbing basics this March, in partnership with the San Juan Island Community Foundation, the Raynier Foundation, the Town of Friday Harbor, San Juan County, Islanders Bank, and Friday Harbor High School. The course will be taught at the Friday Harbor High School  Continue Reading

The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor is happy to announce that Julie Duke is February’s Volunteer of the Month. Julie is a graduate of NW School of Animal Massage, and a licensed LAMP and SAMP. She brings her talents of massage to help relieve the stress of shelter life, helping our dogs feel relaxed,  Continue Reading

Join this new class from The Studio! With a focus on our core values, this class will build strength, flexibility, balance & cardiovascular endurance. We will fuse a unique combination of Pilates, Barre, TRX, Yoga and Dance. Have fun with friends while moving mindfully! This class is scheduled for Fridays, 9:45-10:45am, February 28 – April  Continue Reading

This just in, Island Rec and SJI Fitness have decided to offer a second session of Barbell Pulse this season. This motivating class is a full body workout that uses 2.5, 5, and 10-pound plates on a bar and is set to music. The movements are proven to burn calories and tone your bone building  Continue Reading

San Juan County Public Works continues to monitor and respond to the ongoing rain and flooding events appearing along County Roads. The following two locations may continue to have restrictions posted or may be closed to vehicle traffic entirely. Bailer Hill Rd (west of False Bay Dr) San Juan Valley Rd (west of Douglas Rd)  Continue Reading

On January 25, 2020, SJI Emergency Medical Services (“SJIEMS”) gathered to celebrate the achievements and service of staff and its approximately sixty volunteer EMTs. Interim Chief Karl Kuetzing said “Our volunteers work really hard and enable us to perform far beyond what our budget would otherwise allow. Each volunteer deserves recognition. We try to highlight  Continue Reading

Interested in using native plants in your landscape? There are many wonderful reasons to use PNW natives: they are often long lived and need little maintenance, they provide year-round color and garden interest, they can be used to stabilize hillsides and prevent erosion, and some are drought and heat tolerant, helpful in a warming climate.  Continue Reading

Don’t forget — it’s award season here in the San Juans! The Oscars have nothing on the Finnies. Know someone who deserves to walk the stewardship red carpet? Nominate them for a Good Steward Award! Since 2008, the Good Steward Awards, affectionately known as “Finnies,” have been sponsored by the Stewardship Network of the San  Continue Reading

  Here’s this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum… Since February is a month known for Valentine’s Day decorations in store windows and rows of sweetheart cards for sale, we thought we would see what has been preserved in the San Juan Historical Museum’s archives from festive holidays of yesteryear. The classic  Continue Reading

This is what the view looked like at the top of Hillview Terrace outside Dot Vandaveer’s window on Tuesday morning. Thanks for sharing the photo Dot!

Recent intense rains caused widespread impacts across the islands due to erosion, runoff, and blocked culverts and drains. Those who experienced damage should be aware that there’s more heavy rain in the forecast starting later Tuesday through Friday. It is almost impossible to forecast the sort of high intensity rainfall that we saw a few  Continue Reading

John Geyman, M.D. announces publication of: Long-Term Care in America: The Crisis All of Us Will Face in Our Lifetimes. A long-time writer about U.S. health care, Dr. Geyman examines the problems which face persons needing long-term care, offers suggestions and resources for making decisions, describes available government and community programs, discusses the under-valuation of  Continue Reading

Alisha Merrick moved to San Juan Island in the fall of 2012 with only a carload of her favorite most important things. Having no real studio, she painted watercolors, drew pictures and took photographs of all things that inspired her. Eventually she rented a space in a glass studio on her road in the woods  Continue Reading

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to swim with sharks, create a sculpture out of thin air, or fly through space?  Find out what all the VR buzz is about and head to the Marie Boe Building on Saturday, February 8th from 11am-6pm.  Spend the day with Bellingham’s Heady Virtual Reality and choose from  Continue Reading

The U.S. Census Bureau is continuing it’s peak hiring efforts through February for the 2020 Census. A representative from the Census Bureau will be available at Skagit Valley College – San Juan Center 221 Weber Way Friday Harbor, WA on Tuesday February 11th from 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM.  Get information on how to become a  Continue Reading

In the mailbag this morning we find this letter from Martha Alvarado… Dear editor- On February 11th our community will be voting on a replacement capitol & technology levy for our schools. Vote YES for our schools! This is NOT a new tax, but a renewal of the one that has existed for many years.  Continue Reading

Now is your chance to pass along some of your lightly used treasures, and maybe find some new ones, as well! Drop off is Friday, 2/7 from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. in the High School Commons. We welcome your quality donations; nothing the local thrift store would reject, please! Sale is Saturday, 2/8 –  Continue Reading

The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor is happy to announce that Rachel Carney is January’s Volunteer of the Month. Rachel has been a loyal volunteer and spends much of her time pampering the shelter cats and helping with the cleaning. Thanks so much, Rachel, for making a difference in the lives of shelter animals.  Continue Reading

Mission Statement: Creating conditions for community resilience and regeneration in a rapidly changing world We have set the next meeting of Transition San Juan Island for Sunday, March 1, 2020 from 3-6 PM at the Mullis Center. The purpose is for each action group to complete their Vision Statement. So when you arrive at 3,  Continue Reading

The World Health Organization declared a global emergency on Thursday and Friday the White House declared a U.S. public health emergency as the coronavirus outbreak has spread worldwide. Human-to-human transmission of the virus was also confirmed in the U.S. this week. The outbreak originated in December 2019, in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. Since then,  Continue Reading

Fire District #3 will hold an open house this Sunday, February 2, at noon to give voters the opportunity to learn more about Prop 1, the proposed sales tax to help fund an upgrade of San Juan County’s  Emergency Communication System.  This will be at the Fire Station at 1011 Mullis Street. Citizens will have  Continue Reading

Island Senior is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Peggy Sue McRae… A Scotsman was eating his oats when an Englishman scoffed, “In England we feed oats to our horses.” “Aye,” said the Scot, “That is why England raises the best horses… and Scotland the best men.” So said my dad, Jim  Continue Reading