Merri Ann Simonson checks in again with another San Juan Island Lifestyle video. This one offers Tips on Crabbing, Shrimping and Fishing…

Ruth at WaterWorks Gallery shares this announcment with you…

This gallery show brings together painter David Ridgway and ceramicist Pete Kuentzel. While both artists use seemingly simple forms–a rectangle, a triangle or a circle– they create lush, complex compositions on canvas or clay.

David has a unique approach with landscapes: he initially removes any signs of present day, like power lines or cell towers. Then, he simplifies the form and intensifies the color. His skies become heavy white rocks, gliding by a farm barnyard scene without the creatures that inhabit those spaces. Portrayed in rich velvety purples and reds, we now see a bunch of simplified forms that evoke a barnyard.

Pete’s approach to his ships and tankers again use the simplified form of a rectangle, a triangle or a circle to create the form of a ship. A rectangle for the ships stack and a circle for a porthole and perhaps a rectangle for the cargo hold. Pete’s color vocabulary is filled with sun drenched yellows, reds and blues.

Reception for the artists, Friday June 15th 4 -7 PM

Pete will do an informal talk and show walk thru the show on Saturday June 23rd 11 to 1pm.

David will do an informal talk and show walk thru the show on Saturday June 30th 11 to 1pm.

Join us at the Fairgrounds for Creature From the Black Lagoon! A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.

Plan an outing with your family, friends, or your special someone this Friday June 15^th. Admission is $5/person or $20 for family of 5. Gates open at 8:30 pm; first come, first served, and movies start just after dark. Audio is tuned in through the FM dial of your car radio. Larger vehicles (or vehicles with storage containers on top) will be parked in the second row or further. 

Concessions provided by San Juan County 4-H, sales support county youth 4-H programs.

Funders Promote Locally Grown Foods for the WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program

San Juan County Health and Community Services is partnering again with Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor, Orcas Island Community Foundation, and the Honeywell Foundation, to offer Market Bucks at Farmers Markets on Orcas and San Juan Islands.

The Market Bucks Program provides additional dollars for women and children participating in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutritional Program, and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, to spend at the Farmers Market this summer. This benefit doubles the amount of local foods that may be purchased, expands the number of families that are able to participate in the programs, and supports local farmers.

Don’t miss out on this great benefit! To find out if you qualify and to enroll in these programs contact San Juan County Health and Community Services at 378-4474.

San Juan Island Farmers Market:
WIC Farmers Market Checks and Market Bucks for WIC and Senior women, sponsored by Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor and the Honeywell Foundation, will be given out on Saturday, June 23 and Saturday, July 28 from 10AM-1:00PM at the Farmers Market.

Orcas Island Farmers Market:
WIC Farmers Market Checks and Market Bucks, sponsored by Orcas Island Community Foundation, will be distributed at the Orcas Farmers Market on Saturday, July 14th from 10AM-3:00PM.

For more information visit the San Juan County Health & Community Services website WIC link below or call 378-4474. 

WIC: Nutritious Foods, Nutrition Support, Breastfeeding Support, Health Referrals . This institution is an equal opportunity provider. Washington State WIC Nutrition Program doesn’t discriminate.

Herb Mason, Dan Bacon and Tom Eades are the EMT’s of the Month – Contributed photo

San Juan EMS previously recognized one EMT each month as an “EMT of the month.”  The lieutenants who help mentor and manage our volunteers felt it was important to honor an EMT from each team that has been organized to help fill a 24/7 schedule. 

There are three teams of about 11 EMTs that rotate between a week of days, a week of nights and a week off.  These teams are called, Bravo, Delta and Foxtrot.  Lieutenants from these teams meet each month and select a member from each team who has somehow stood out from the others.  It could be anything from having a great uplifting attitude to being able to fill in extra hours of service. 

For the month of June, the EMTs recognized are Senior EMT Herb Mason-Foxtrot, Senior EMT Dan Bacon-Delta and Senior EMT Tom Eades-Bravo.  

The combined years of service with San Juan Island EMS between these EMTs is close to 84 years!  The knowledge and experience they share on each call is a benefit to new volunteers and their community.

Thank you, gentlemen, and well done!

In the mailbag today we find this letter from Nick Power…

Dear Editor:

There has been a lot of ink spilled regarding the sign ordinance and the fact that the County has unquestionably been violating the First Amendment rights of all citizens since the day it was enacted in 1998.

Most distressingly, the County has known that it has been in violation of the First Amendment since at least 2003.

That’s not a typo, 2003 – for 15 years the “powers that be” have been intentionally flouting the Constitution. My opponent, Prosecutor Gaylord, recognized that that this ordinance was unconstitutional in 2003 yet took no action to fix it and has benefitted by it as an incumbent for 15 years.

Yesterday the County finally publicaly acknowledged that the ordinance is unconstitutional and issued a moratorium temporarily freezing the effectiveness of ordinance.

The County has tried to make me the villain in this drama and I am compelled to respond. Continue Reading

Web Street construction now under way – SJ Update photo

Construction has begun on Web Street and will continue for approximately 70 days.

Traffic will be restricted to One Way on Web – Going from Argyle toward “A” Street only. 

Do not enter from “A” Street or you will get turned around.

Web Street is now One-Way only for the construction project – SJ Update photo

Miles Cabrera, Lauren Ford-Johnson and Ana Sanabria – Contributed photos

All of the San Juan Islands are invited to the San Juan Center of Skagit Valley College 2018 Commencement celebrating our island’s graduating students.  The Commencement is being held Wednesday June 13th at 1:00 PM at the Brickworks in Friday Harbor.  Joining in the celebration of our graduates will be the President of Skagit Valley College, Thomas Keegan, along with other college dignitaries and faculty.

This year graduates receiving their AA-DTA degrees are:  Miles Cabrera, from San Juan Island; Lauren Ford-Johnson from Orcas Island; and Ana Sanabria from San Juan Island.

The San Juan Center Commencement is always a joyous event for families, friends and community.  Graduates of the San Juan Center of Skagit Valley College achieved their educational goals through a variety of balancing acts with employment; or families; or co-enrollment in high school; or living on other islands; or attending through online courses… and sometimes all of those things together.  Please join us and our island communities in celebration of these student’s focus and achievement of their educational goals.

There will be a reception immediately following

The San Juan County Amateur Radio Society is pleased to announce that their ham radio operators will be at two locations in the County for the US-wide “Field Day”. The public is invited to stop by and ask questions, and perhaps even talk on an amateur radio, on Saturday, June 23, 2018.

For over 100 years, Amateur Radio — often called ham radio — has allowed people from all walks of life to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a free public service to their communities during a disaster, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet.

Field Day demonstrates ham radio’s ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent communications network. Over 35,000 people from thousands of locations participated in Field Day in 2017. Continue Reading

Fellow Film Buffs,

Can you believe that summer is about to arrive?  One certain sign is opening night of our Tuesday night film series.  This year there will be no admission charged.  Rather we are adopting a “Pay What You Can”  policy and encouraging those with the means to make (tax deductible!) contributions to the San Juan Community Theatre so that these films remain available to as many members of our community as possible.

I have heard from some of you that last year’s selections were a bit too dark.  I am certain that those selected for this year will be less disturbing, but still thought provoking.  We will be dealing with the issues of civil rights, refugees, the effect of PAC money on the political process and the accomplishments of some extraordinary women.   

Also note that $2 bottomless popcorn will be available again this year.  Finally, as an added bonus, we are extending the season by adding two additional Tuesdays.  All shows begin at 7:30 pm.  Attached to this email, please find a complete schedule.  If you think your friends might enjoy getting these reminders, please have them send their email addresses to [email protected].

Here are descriptions of the first two movies: Continue Reading

The 18th annual Jazz at the Labs is coming! Friday Harbor Laboratories will again host this popular event, with dinner and amazing music.

• Date: June 30, 2018
• Time: 6:00 – 9:30 p.m.
• Website: https://bit.ly/2jsSpKx
• Admission: $40 (dinner & music)

This event will include a festive dinner, served from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in FHL’s historic dining hall. Vegetarian dinners are available.

The San Juan Jazz Quintet (SJJQ) will entertain diners as they enjoy the fabulous food. Following dinner, SJJQ and Seattle’s Jazz Coalescence will perform jazz standards, swing, bebop, and Latin jazz, as well as original compositions.

All proceeds from Jazz at the Labs will benefit the Friday Harbor Laboratories K-12 Science Outreach Program in the San Juan Island Elementary, Middle, and High Schools and the Spring Street International School.

Reservations are strongly recommended. For reservations and more information, please call Friday Harbor Laboratories at 360-378-2165 ext. 0.

Leah Black, a 2018 Assistant Sailing Instructor, sailing with a class participant – Contributed photo

Island Rec sailing classes happen every summer in cooperation with the San Juan Sailing Foundation. Basic, Basic Teen & Adult, Intermediate, and Double Handed Sloop happen at Percich Pond on Wold Road, and at Jackson’s Beach.

Participants will learn to rig, tack, jibe, recover from a capsize and other basic skills while sailing solo in El Toros and Lasers. These classes are for ages 9 and up.

Island Rec is trying something new this summer for those adults that want to learn to sail, 2 new class options: Take class all week after work, July 23-27, 5:30-8:30pm or have one weekend of fun August 4 & 5, 9am -5pm.

Don’t miss your chance – register by July 12, $190.

For more information and registration please visit our website. www.islandrec.org or call the office 360-378-4953.

Share the road with cyclists, runners and race officials this weekend

Saturday, June 16th and Sunday, June 17th – One Weekend, Two Great Events: 2018 Three Lakes Triathlon (Olympic, Sprint and Kids) and Kings Marathon, 1/2 Marathon and 10k

Attention Drivers – on Saturday June 16th, the Lakedale Three Lakes Triathlon will kick off its 6th year with cyclist and runners on the roadways and on Sunday June 17th, the Annual King’s San Juan Island Marathon, Half Marathon and 10k runners will be on the roads challenging themselves and each other.

To Drivers we ask:

• Slow down and obey the posted speed limits and caution signs
• Yield to pedestrians and cyclists when turning
• Use caution when passing Athlete Aid Stations
• Allow three feet when passing bicyclists

To Athletes we ask:

• Not to wear headphones; you need to be able to hear if a car is approaching
• Slow down and check for oncoming traffic before entering or crossing any street or intersection
• Do your best to anticipate hazards and adjust your position in traffic accordingly
• Be predictable: ride with the flow of traffic and Run against traffic, and in a straight line

Continue Reading

Applications Available For Friday Harbor’s 4th Of July Parade–

Prize Money Encourages Themed Entries!

The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce has announced that applications are available for the 2018 4th of July Parade in downtown Friday Harbor. Participants are encouraged to sign up early due to limited parade space and time considerations. The Chamber of Commerce is expecting a full field.

Completed applications along with your $50 entry fee are due no later than Monday, June 25th. There will be no day of parade entries allowed. Application forms are available at the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce office, located at 165 1st St. S. or may be downloaded from the Chamber’s web site at: www.sanjuanisland.org – 4th of July Parade Page. You can mail them to San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 98, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 or drop them off at 165 First Street S.

All application fees collected are put toward the following prize awards with an emphasis on these themed entries: Continue Reading

Dear Editor,

Another successful LEO Club Golf Scramble! We couldn’t do it without the SJ Golf Course giving us the course for a day!

The LEO Club, sponsored by the Lions Club, gives the money earned back to the community in the form of community project grants and donations to worthy causes. This year, we provided $600 for a 2nd grade reading program for the elementary school and $350 for the high school arts program.

As well, the LEOs provides toys for children at holiday time. LEOs volunteer hundreds of community service hours every year helping with the Community Thanksgiving dinner, winter events, beach clean-ups, Island Rec events, and the FANS Carnival.

We thank the local businesses that generously gave to our auction: Harbor Rentals, Williams Enterprises, Browne’s Home Center, ACE Hardware, The Cheesecake Café & Bakery, Mike’s Cafe & Wine Bar, China Pearl, Blue Water Bar & Grill, Mi Casita, Friday Harbor Drug, The Pebble, Friday Harbor Espresso, Haley’s Bait Shop, Sweet Retreat & Espresso, & The Bean Cafe. Golf pro Connie made the event so much fun and Micah was indispensable. Much appreciation goes to our hamburger chef, Lion Brian Brown and wife, Laurie, and the many volunteer LEOs and Lions.

Thanks to Lion Stacey Rustad-Smith and Lions Sheila & Bruce Martin for serving up the burgers and hot dogs.

Please encourage your high school children to get involved in the LEO Club in the upcoming school year!

-Lion BJ Brandli & John Bostrom
FHHS LEO Club advisors

In the SJ Update mailbag today we find this letter from Tom Evans in Olga…

The Art Of The Steal

Good government is priceless.

But it’s being stolen from us.

I have 44 years of experience practicing law. Prosecutor. Assistant DA. Assistant AG. Attorney for three different police departments. City Attorney for 27 years. State Court. Federal Court. Court of Appeals. U.S. Supreme Court.

I know good government when I see it.

Randy Gaylord represents good government. His opponent does not.

Randy’s opponent makes his money mostly by suing San Juan County. In other words, by suing you, the taxpayer. Continue Reading