This week in a Special Board Meeting the hospital district, in a unanimous vote, suspended the integration of San Juan Island EMS and San Juan Island Fire and Rescue. This project was initiated in 2018 with a Citizen’s Advisory Group, making this action a significant change for the district.  All interagency discussion, planning, or steering  Continue Reading

San Juan Island Fire and Rescue’s (SJIF&R) Commission Chairman Jarman and commissioners are disappointed by the actions taken last night by Public Hospital District’s (PHD) to cease the creation of a single all hazard emergency services agency. The timing and actions of the PHD Board’s unilateral decision in the middle of a global health pandemic  Continue Reading

In the SJI Update Mailbag this afternoon there’s a letter from Richard Grout… Dear Editor: Tuesday evening the San Juan Public Hospital District (PHD) Commissioners took an action we should all applaud. They voted unanimously to withdraw the agreement concerning integration of the San Juan Island Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Fire District #3 and  Continue Reading

This May 2020 edition of Tide Bites was written by Alyssa Scott… As the tides of life have ebbed and flowed, I’ve continually found myself on the shores of FHL [Friday Harbor Labs]. My first encounter with the Labs was via a two-week research sailing expedition through the San Juan Islands with Deep Green Wilderness.  Continue Reading

Here is a Special Update from SJCT’s Executive Artistic Director… Dear SJCT Family, We’ve had numerous inquiries as to how COVID-19 has affected San Juan Community Theatre. While we don’t know everything that the future holds, we have an update about the State of the Theatre today. Please take a few minutes to watch the  Continue Reading

Here’s this month’s history column from the San Juan Historical Society and Museum…Remember when we could happily pose this close to each other in a crowd of people, just like the Hemphill family and friends did around 1910 in the photograph above? As everyone knows, we currently live in a time defined by a novel coronavirus,  Continue Reading

May 5, 2020: San Juan County Health and Community Services staff have been notified of one new positive COVID-19 test result in San Juan County, on San Juan Island. This brings the total number of cases in San Juan County to fifteen. The County Health Department’s Surveillance Team is actively contact tracing this new case,  Continue Reading

The San Juan Island Retail Businesses have created another virtual experience for a night of shopping and fun! The second San Juan Island Virtual Sip ‘n Shop will take place on Thursday, May 7, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Retailers will post to Facebook, Instagram or their YouTube channel during that time, using the hashtag  Continue Reading

The San Juan Island Park and Recreation District commissioners have made the difficult decision to cancel all in-person programs and events for summer 2020 based on Governor Jay Inslee’s ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ order and his four phases of reopening, in addition to Washington State Department of Health guidelines. The health and safety of our  Continue Reading

SAN JUAN ISLAND, FRIDAY HARBOR – April 30, 2020 – The Animal Protection Society – Friday Harbor (APS-FH) is pleased to announce a grant awarded by the San Juan Island Community Foundation (SJICF) Board of Directors to be used for the purchase and installation of PetPoint Data Management System – a new, updated software package  Continue Reading

In person meeting or call in?? Read on… San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1 is giving public notice of a Special Meeting to be held on Tuesday May 5, 2020, 6:00 p.m. at the Hospital District Offices ( 849 Spring Street Unit B-5). Call-in information for the public follows: Call-In Number: 509-824-1884 Conference  Continue Reading

Need something else to be worried about this year? Covid-19 not quite enough to raise your hackles? How about Asian Giant Hornets? (a.k.a. Asian Murder Hornets) No, it’s not a B rated horror movie. They’re real and they’re here. Check out this article on CNN and for goodness sake be careful if you see any  Continue Reading

COVID-19 updates from San Juan County around subjects on the minds of islanders Antibody Testing: There Are No Shortcuts to Success There is nothing anyone of us wants more right now than to put the COVID-19 crisis behind us and get down to the work of reopening and restoring our communities. There is an inclination  Continue Reading

Need an excuse to get outside? (safely and and while maintaining self-distancing, of course…) OLYMPIA–The Washington Invasive Species Council, state agencies and researchers are calling for a census in May to help determine the location of Scotch broom throughout the state. “We need everyone’s help to size up the problem,” said Justin Bush, executive coordinator  Continue Reading

Local photographer Kevin Holmes shares this photo of a Bald Eagle he photographed a few days ago. Great shot Kevin – Thanks for sharing!

No standing in lines and no rushed shopping at the Mullis Senior Community Center this year. We are online only in compliance with all safety guidelines for COVID-19. Our Spring Plant Sale starts at 9am, Tuesday, May 5. Healthy veggie starts need new homes! Eight new varieties this year, including two delicious cherry tomatoes, cucumbers,  Continue Reading

Don’t forget – tonight’s  “Know Your Islanders Talk” is happening over Zoom… In 2011 Christchurch, New Zealand experienced a devastating earthquake that leveled the city.  In 2019 an attack on two mosques further shook the humans of Christchurch.  Gail Richard, who has strong ties to this community and is a team member of Humans of  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

Hello There! please join the NW Regional 4-Hers for a virtual 4-H Talent Show! Our teen leaders want to let people know that we are thinking of them and that they are not alone! Join via a smartphone or computer. Participants will need to register with a ZOOM account (you may need to create one)  Continue Reading

To our loyal customers: Your outpouring of support, along with your heartfelt messages of encouragement, has given us the steam to keep on as booksellers during this fraught time of the pandemic and consequent shutdown of community and economic life. Our doors may be closed, but we are still open for business, albeit only through  Continue Reading

On April 27th, Governor Inslee announced a May 5th partial opening of some outdoor recreation activities. Included in his action was a opening of many State Parks across Washington for day use activities. However, he held off on announcing any opening of San Juan County State Parks, pending support from San Juan County decision makers.  Continue Reading

Concurring with an April 29, 2020 decision by the San Juan County Board of Health, San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James has extended his order limiting transient accommodations, camping, and access to playgrounds from May 4th until May 31st. This decision is intended to align with Governor Inslee’s May 1st announcement that as  Continue Reading