Mae West is this week’s Pet of the Week – Contributed photo

Pardon me. Do you have a minute? My name is Mae West. I’m a resident of the animal shelter here. It’s lovely here in Kamp Kitty and I don’t mind waiting to meet my forever person, but what I do mind is not being connected to the internet.

Things get kind of quiet here in the afternoons and I’d love to snap-chat with my friends and check out my Instagram feed occasionally. I think I might be inclined to Tweet from time to time as well. I’ve been banned from Facebook for my political posts, but that’s a story for another time.

If you know of anyone with an iPad or laptop I could borrow, please send them my way! Or better yet – take me home with you and we can share yours!

Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor
111 Shelter Road
(360) 378-2158

Photo of J35 and others, chasing salmon in Haro Strait – Photo Copyright © 2018 Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research, All rights reserved.

This latest news is from the Center for Whale Research…

“The ordeal of J35 carrying her dead calf for at least seventeen days and 1,000 miles is now over, thank goodness.”
– Ken Balcomb, Center for Whale Research

This afternoon at 1407 Pacific Daylight Time, J35 vigorously chased a school of salmon with her pod-mates in mid-Haro Strait in front of the Center for Whale Research for a half mile – no longer carrying the deceased baby that she had carried for at least seventeen days and 1,000 miles.

Her tour of grief is now over, and her behavior is remarkably frisky. Telephoto digital images taken from shore show that this mother whale appears to be in good physical condition (no evidence of “peanut-head”) following her record-setting ordeal.

There had been reports from brief sightings by whale-watchers two days ago that J35 (Tahlequah) was not pushing the calf carcass in Georgia Strait near Vancouver, BC; and, now we can confirm that she definitely has abandoned it. The carcass has probably sunk to the bottom of these inland marine waters of the Salish Sea, and researchers may not get a chance to examine it for necropsy.

A scene from ISL’s The Tempest – Tim Dustrude photo

Don’t miss this. It’s a splendid production and it’s only this weekend and then it’s over.

Island Stage Left invites you to its twentieth anniversary production, The Tempest.

No tickets or reservations required. Chairs provided. Bring a warm blanket. Donations appreciated. Sit under the stars and take in the beauty of what is often referred to as the best of all Shakespeare’s plays. Young, old and in-between will enjoy this magical story of forgiveness.

Tonight, tomorrow and Sunday at 8:00 at 1062 Wold Road, Friday Harbor.

Click below for more photos… Continue Reading

It’s not too late to register for Fall Quarter at Skagit Valley College. Classes start September 25th. Complete your first two years of a bachelor’s degree and save money on tuition compared to a four-year school. Or, start preparing for your new career with training in one of our workforce programs. Learn more at www.skagit.edu/programs . Trending programs include:           

• Academic Pathways
• Basic Education for Adults
• Manufacturing, Composites, and Engineering
• Pharmacy Technician
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Also, you can earn a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management or Environmental Conservation degree at SVC.

To get started, visit www.skagit.edu/getstarted or call:

• San Juan Center, (360) 378-3220
• Mount Vernon Campus, (360) 416-7700
• Whidbey Island Campus, (360) 675-6656
• South Whidbey Center, (360) 341-2324
• Marine Technology Center, (360) 766-6282

Continue Reading

The San Juan Community Home Trust will be at the Fair. We develop permanently affordable houses for islanders. Ours is the “ultimate recycling project”!

We will have pictures of our homes and neighborhoods. Board members will be on hand to answer questions and to tell you about our future plans.

AND we have a picnic basket full of local goodies – since summer is not over yet. Raffle tickets for the basket are $5.00 each. Value of the basket is $100.00 plus.

Our booth is at the north end of the main exhibit hall – #148. Come see us and learn what islanders are doing to keep islanders in our community.

See you at the Fair!

Molly and Jake – Contributed photo

Mr. Believables is a community-minded BBQ restaurant serving pulled pork, smoked brisket and fried chicken among other things including vegetarian and vegan foods. There is a focus on local sourcing from the Island’s farms.

Every day has a different special – from Ron’s Island Meats sausages, to Matt Marinkovitch’s Salmon, to Aurora Farms pork. Along with the full bar and beer & wine selection, we offer 8 – 10 home made sodas on tap – they’re low sugar and made with all natural, real food ingredients.

Jake and Molly, chef-owners, got married in May 2017, and immediately dove in to a catering business.  After a year of private parties, farmer’s markets, and large events, they decided to open a full-service restaurant.  While they love to cook all kinds of foods, they knew the restaurant needed to have a clear focus.

They surveyed the Island restaurant scene, and felt the niche that was missing was handmade, locally sourced comfort foods.  They opened their doors on June 1, 2018, offering barbecue and other classic comfort dishes.

The location, in the heart of Friday Harbor, has a long history as a music venue.  As a musician himself, Mr. B was determined to keep the stage and continue to have shows.  There’s music a couple times a week, including open mic on Mondays.

Jake and Molly, owners
175 1^st St. South
360-370-7090

Good Morning!

Just a quick “Hello” from the Yes for Homes campaign.  Now that we are past the primary, we are gearing up for the November election.

We cannot do what we do without your support!  Thank you for being one of our champions.

Did you know we have a Facebook page?  Over the next few months we will be more active on Facebook and want to make sure you are one of our “Friends.”  So, if you are on Facebook, we would sure be thrilled to have you “Like” us.  Just click HERE to get to the page.  Once there, click the “Like” button at the top of the page.  And tell you friends.  We are hoping to increase our social media reach – and this will help.

Thanks for all that you do!

The YES FOR HOMES coalition

Alana Huntemer and Danielle Niichel – Contributed photo

Saint David’s Day School is pleased to announce the addition of two teachers to our staff for the 2018-2019 school year. Danielle Niichel is a Child Psychology graduate of Western Washington University; she will be our lead classroom teacher for the coming school year.

Alana Huntemer comes to us from the Early Childhood Education program at MiraCosta College in Oceanside, CA. She will serve as an Assistant Teacher. Danielle and Alana join a highly experienced teaching staff that includes Head of School Margaret Barker and Assistant Teacher Kim Erickson.

Saint David’s Day School is a 4-hour preschool for children ages 3 and 4. It offers many activities both indoors and outdoors, providing opportunities for children to play, create, discover, explore, and develop important social skills  In addition to our regular daily specials of yoga, cooking and music we will be coordinating with the Family Resource Center this year in a new program to promote the development of empathy in children.

Saint David’s Episcopal Church
780 Park Street / PO Box 2714
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
360-378-5360
www.saintdavidsepiscopal.org
www.facebook.com/SaintDavidsFridayHarbor

Katerina Wen – Contributed photo

For those of you who have taken Self Care Parts I & II with Katerina; continue your education! Explore how improving the inner health of your organs will greatly improve your outward appearance. Beauty is always generated from the inside out. Learn how to read the signs to diagnose problems, deficiencies or imbalances from your skin, hair and nails.

Katerina has graduated from six world renowned yoga teacher training programs and earned her certification as a yoga therapist for children with special needs in 1999. Katerina has also trained in Hospice direct care and has been serving the San Juan Hospice since 2011. Teaching from a place of love and compassion has been the principle of Katerina’s work for over 2 decades as she has an innate ability and passion in working with people of all ages.

Join Katerina and other San Juan Island community members as they work together to highlight the beauty and satisfaction of self-improvement!

Ages 18+: Sep. 17-26 (6pm-7:30pm), on Mondays and Wednesdays of every week. Cost: Early Fee (By Sep. 6)- $76; $81 thereafter. Located at Friday Harbor Holistic Health.

For more information or registration visit our website at www.islandrec.org, stop by the Island Rec office M-F, 11am-5pm, or call us at 360-378-4953.

This is the Summer Chamber Chat, written by Gail Schnee, (San Juan Island Chamber Board President & Co-Owner of Cotton Cotton Cotton) and Becki Day (Executive Director of SJI Chamber of Commerce)

We are right in the middle of summer and it has been a fabulous one so far! Lots of events and concerts and the weather has been beautiful!

The 4^th of July Parade this year was so much fun – The theme was Music of America and all the entrants really embraced the theme and a great time was had by all. The parade was followed by the Kiwanis Pig War BBQ, Music at the Port and finishing with another spectacular fireworks display. (It was the best ever.) A big thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors that made this year’s festivities a huge success that will be talked about for the rest of the year!

Did you know you can still donate to the 4^th of July fireworks? You can make tax-deductible charitable contributions for the Fireworks Fund via the San Juan Island Community Foundation by mailing a check to SJICF, PO Box 1352, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 and place a note in the memo line: 4th of July Fireworks Fund. Continue Reading

Summer Arts Festival Continues this Friday

The third annual 2018 San Juan Summer Arts Festival takes place on Fridays in August at Brickworks Plaza.

Come join us from 4:00 to 10:00 pm, August 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st for an incredible inter-generational event showcasing a variety of local creative talents.

At this “Makers Market” you can expect to find over 25 vendors featuring local artists, food vendors, beer from San Juan Island Brewing Co, wine from the Doe Bay Wine Co, spirits from San Juan Island Distillery, cider from Madrona Cider Co, live music from local and visiting acts, a hands-on creation station, and many more fun surprises.

This event is Free and all ages are welcome. Come enjoy the true spirit of the San Juan Island Community every Friday night in the month of August.

Big thanks to all of our sponsors for making this event possible: Town of Friday Harbor, San Juan Island Brewing Co, San Juan Island Distillery, Earthbox Inn and Spa, Birdrock Hotel, Waterworks Gallery, Greenman Landscaping, Cosecha Textiles, Crystal Seas Kayaking, San Juan Property Management, Paella’s San Juan, Islanders Bank, Island Inn, Meat Machine Cycles, Full Scope, Lot 4 Studios.

There’s a new Sea Scouts program starting up here. The first meeting is this Thursday August 9th at the San Juan Yacht Club 18:30 (6:30pm)

Sea Scouts, BSA is a program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women. For over 100 years Sea Scouting has promoted better citizenship and improved members’ boating skills through instruction and practice in water safety, boating skills, outdoor, social, service experiences, and knowledge of our maritime heritage.

Learn maritime skills and obtain a free youth membership to the Yacht Club as well.

More information will be posted as it becomes available.

The following is from the Dam Sense news Room…

This piece is in response to Governor Inslee’s Interview with Simone Del Rosario of Q13 Fox on July 26th.  It is meant to serve as a correction of mis-information due to lack of appropriate information.

“We can’t wait for that study, we need to reduce the mortality of Chinook smolts as they move down the river” Jay Inslee, July 26^th.

By “that study” Governor Inslee is referring the Columbia River System Operations review (CRSO/EIS) Biological Opinion ordered by Judge Michael Simon.  The CRSO/EIS would cost taxpayers roughly $100M. This price tag is equivalent to the amount it would take to breach both Lower Granite and Little Goose Dams.  There is big money for Washington state in the fields of Scientific study, and rightfully so! Without the work and funding of scientific studies, accurate fish counts and thus mortality rates could not be calculated.  

Unfortunately, as Chinook numbers crash, more funding for scientific studies has become available thus inflicting a loop cycle that puts the “tough decisions” off until the next study becomes available.  We are in that loop, and for the Orca it has become a death spiral.

Governor Inslee didn’t lay out an immediate action plan. But we have one – start breaching the dams. We agree that we can’t wait for a study. The fact is this topic has been studied to death. There is nothing stopping Governor Inslee from acting right now to demand that the US Corp start breaching the dams. Continue Reading

Note: This story has been updated to include Cast and Crew. See below…

San Juan Community Theatre and San Juan Interiors are proud to present the Theatre Arts for Kids’ Summer Musical Theatre Camp production of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach JR!

Featuring music and lyrics by the Tony-nominated songwriters Justin Paul and Benj Pasek and book by Timothy Allen McDonald, James and the Giant Peach JR. is based on the beloved book by Roald Dahl and tells the story of a young orphaned child who finds a loving family in a most peculiar way. 

Sent by his mean, conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, James discovers a magic potion which results in a tremendous peach occupied by some not-so-normal characters.  From the center of the gigantic fruit, James and the unlikely crew launch a journey of enormous proportions.  Together they discover that while we are all born into a family, we then go on to create a family of our own. 

Thursday*, Friday, and Saturday August 9-11, 7:00 pm
Sunday, August 12, 2:00 pm

Tickets:
Adults $9 Students $6
*Thursday is “Pay What You Can” at door Continue Reading

Apology for Kings and FH Marketplace Grocery Supply Challenge

The major supplier of NW independent grocery stores is undergoing a major warehouse and systems change, further complicating grocery delivery to the islands.

The management of Kings Market and Friday Harbor Marketplace want to sincerely apologize for the supply shortages in the stores in recent weeks. The major supplier of independent grocery stores in the Northwest, SuperValu, has been undergoing significant changes, including moving warehouses and migrating IT systems. This has resulted in some unforeseen outages of product. The grocery stores are working with SuperValu to find remedies to the issue as well as finding alternative sources of goods where possible.

Owner Verne Howard had this to say about the shortage “we have always prided ourselves in providing quality products and high levels of customer service to San Juan Islanders – no matter what it takes. We are very sorry that we haven’t been able to deliver to our high standards in recent weeks. We will make every effort to bring the stores back to full strength as soon as possible.”

Most of the major independent stores in the Northwest have been impacted by the supply problems this summer as there is only one primary supplier for the region. However, the impact is felt more acutely in the islands given the difficult problem of rescheduling delayed freight trucks on crowded summer ferries. It has taken a lot of extra hands on deck and creative thinking of employees to manage the supply fluctuations. Continue Reading