Entrepreneurs can bring their business ideas to the next level in the third annual EDC Launch San Juan Islands business plan competition, created by the San Juan County Economic Development Council and sponsored by local businesses.

Participants will receive instruction in business planning and marketing, plus follow-up mentoring—and some will win cash prizes to help launch their businesses.

Thousands of dollars in cash prizes will be awarded to contest winners this year.  The greater goal, however, is to help every participating entrepreneur to advance their business. 

Included in the program for all participants will be seminars on business planning, financing and marketing; opportunities to network and collaborate with other entrepreneurs; media coverage for contestants; professional advice from a team of experts, and feedback on business plans.

Launch San Juan Islands will start in September 2017 and run through November 2017. The cost to participate is $65 if registration received prior to September 18 or $85 thereafter.  Deadline to enter:  September 25^th, 2017.  This fee covers direct costs for course materials and events.  Please see www.sanjuansedc.org/launch for more information.

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) strives to strengthen and diversify the economy of San Juan County.  We believe a strong economy builds a strong community.   The EDC works to build an environment that helps business owners create jobs.  We serve business:  linking organizations and resources, providing valuable information, rendering assistance and advocating for an improved island business environment.        

Teachers on strike, march from the school to downtown Friday Harbor – SJ Update photo

San Juan Island teachers are on strike today. According to one of the teachers who prefers to remain anonymous, this is the last chance they have to negotiate locally – because of recent state legislation, the state will take control starting next year and give out 3% pay increases based on current pay. They feel the school district is spending money too far away from the classroom and that that money could be better spent on:

• Equal Pay
• Smaller Classroom sizes
• Allocation of resources back to teacher control
• and better resources for special needs students, to name a few…

Teachers on strike in downtown Friday Harbor – SJ Update photo

They would love for you to show your support by showing up at their meeting today at the high school library. The meeting is at 2:00, but they suggest arriving at 1:45.

In a phone interview with SJISD Superintendent Dr. Danna Diaz and School Board Chair Ralph Hahn, the school district stated that “The board’s goal is to reach an agreement that fairly addresses teachers’ concerns and is fiscally responsible and sustainable.”

Dr. Diaz also added, “History proves that this will come to an an end and when it does, we will turn our attention to our shared mission of educating San Juan Island students.”

More info was posted last night on this press release from the School District.

On Sunday there will be a free presentation, Around the World in “80 Days” via an Electric Car, at the Mullis Center. (Come for the Pancake Breakfast stay for the electric cars!). Presenter Alan Soule of Sebastopol, California will share his around the world adventure… 

Around the World Race Begins in Barcelona, Spain – Contributed Photo

You are invited to a free (public) slide presentation at the Mullis Community Center on Sunday, September 3, from 1-2 pm by Alan Soule of Sebastopol, California.  

In the summer of 2016, Alan and his EV (electric vehicle), a Tesla Model S, joined 12 other International EV driver-teams to circumnavigate the globe. Their goal was to promote the rapid adoption of non-polluting vehicles and to help dispel the myth of “range anxiety” that has been associated electric cars.

Their odyssey began and ended in Barcelona, Spain with no fixed routes and no pre-determined charging stops. Each team chose their own route and how and when they would stop to charge their cars. Team cars were transported together across the two major oceans in the hold of a cargo aircraft. 

Alan Soule is U.C. Santa Barbara-trained mechanical engineer who was born in Berkeley, California. He is a passionate advocate for electric vehicles and clean renewable electricity generated by wind (turbines) and  solar (photo-voltaic panels).

We hope that you can join us for his amazing travelogue.

NOTE: Several local San Juan Island EV owners will have their EV’s parked at the Mullis Center parking lot and they will be available to answer questions about their cars. GM, Nissan, Kia, BMW, SMART (Mercedes Benz) and Tesla EV’s will be on display.

You may have heard that Amy Wynn’s bike was stolen last week. “I probably locked my bike up at least 90 percent of the time…” she said. This was one of the times she didn’t. She was in a hurry to get to work. Then her son Nelson met her for lunch and they drove home from there, and Amy thought “I’ll just walk to work in the morning”.

Well when she got to work her bike was gone. She put a call out on Facebook to see if anyone could help her find it. And that was the right thing to do. In the words of her neighbor Mike Martin: “When a member of our community is down, 5 other community members are there to pick her up”.

Amy says “More like 50!” She received so many offers for bikes from other people who had one in the garage not being used to its potential. Emily Carrington and Ken Sebans (hope I spelled your name right, Ken) were the ones whose bike now belongs to Amy.

And Amy would like to say a huge “Thank You!” to everyone who offered theirs, and to let them know, she has a bike now.

Chamber Music at The Brickworks
Join us as we fill the beautiful Brickworks event space with music, conversation, and community. This diverse program includes music by living composers (one based on San Juan Island), some Latin flair, and a classic of the string quartet repertoire.

• Alex Shapiro – Intermezzo for Harp & Bassoon
• Astor Piazzolla – Cafe 1930 for Harp & Violin
• Miguel del Aguila – Malambo for Bassoon & String Quartet
• Beethoven – String Quartet No. 1, Op. 18

Thursday, September 7th at 7:30 pm at Brickworks, 150 Nichols Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250
Tickets: $20, free for students 18 and under, available online or at the door
www.archipelagocollective.org

The San Juan Community Theatre Board of Trustees has received notice that our Executive/Artistic Director will be leaving his position in early December of this year. In a letter to the board, Bobby stated, “I am honored to have been a steward of this magnificent organization. I treasure the many projects we have created and the goals we have accomplished. Relationships with the members, patrons, and staff of this dynamic community will forever be cherished.” He thanked the Board of Trustees for their “deep and sincere dedication to his vision and work with the San Juan Community Theatre.”

The Board of Trustees expresses our sadness at Bobby’s decision and express deep gratitude for the creativity, lively spirit, new vision and energy he has brought to the theatre community. We are happy to hear that Bobby and Tyler Ryan hope to remain on the island and continue as part of the theatre community.

Members of the board also wish to express our gratitude to all of our staff, volunteers, donors, members, and patrons for your faithful support and commitment through this last year of challenges. San Juan Community Theatre’s board and staff remain committed to enriching lives through the gift of the arts in our island community.

San Juan Island National Historical Park Issues Fire Restrictions

Friday Harbor, WA – Due to very dry conditions and increasing fire danger on San Juan Island, Superintendent Elexis Fredy has announced fire restrictions in San Juan Island National Historical Park.

Beginning August 31, 2017, fire restrictions prohibit:

• Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire, charcoal grill, tiki torches, incense burners, candles, propane campfires, or wood burning stoves, including in developed picnic grounds. Devices using pressurized liquid or gas exempted;

Fireworks are prohibited at all times within San Juan Island National Historical Park.

These fire restrictions will remain in effect until further notice.

Alan Budwill of the Kent and Alan show presents award to Becki Day, Executive Director San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce – Contributed photo

STAR 101.5 Listeners Pick the Northwest’s Best LOCAL GETAWAY

Wednesday morning, August 16th, STAR 101.5 Kent & Alan Morning Show listeners voted for their favorite local getaways. Listeners had 24 hours to place their vote via phone, Facebook, text and email. The results . . .

1. San Juan Island for the 10th year in a row!
2. Seabrook Washington’s Beach Town in Pacific Beach

First and second place winners will be presented with a plaque from Trophies2go.com to display at their business.

Other honorable mentions include Chelan, Leavenworth (special mention of the new PostHotel), The Kalaloch Lodge, Suncadia, Cave B Winery and Sun Mountain Lodge.

Check out the many suggestions on the STAR 101.5 Facebook Page.

Nanotechnology Career Opportunity

Luxel is the world leader in freestanding ultra-thin films used as EUV and soft x-ray bandpass filters and pressure windows. We are active in diverse fields such as x-ray astronomy, fusion energy research, extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL), synchrotron radiation research, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). We have an immediate opening for a full-time Staff Engineer to join our growing team.

The Staff Engineer position is responsible for a broad range of duties including:

• Hands-on micro-assembly in a Class 5 cleanroom environment
• Helping design products to meet and exceed the needs of our customers
• Provide unmatched customer technical support
• Design and carry out process experiments as needed
• Support and troubleshoot thin film deposition processes
• Quality Assurance
• Occasional facility maintenance

Luxel, located on beautiful San Juan Island, WA, was established in 1973. San Juan Island has 8,000 year round residents, no stoplights or chain stores. Many people aspire to move to San Juan Island to live the island lifestyle. The employees of Luxel work as a team and strive for a healthy work-life balance.

Requirements:

• Minimum B.S. in Engineering, Polymer Science, Material Science, Chemistry, or similar area
• The ability to juggle multiple demands and timelines without sacrificing quality is critical.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team.
• U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Additional Skills that are desired but not required to apply:

• Demonstrated mechanical abilities
• Electrical knowledge
• Knowledge of thin-film processes and their applications in soft x-ray and EUV wavelengths
• Knowledge of LabVIEW, Python, Ruby, Clojure
• Experience with programmable logic controllers (PLC) and automation

Luxel offers an excellent work environment, competitive pay, and generous benefits. Luxel is an equal opportunity employer.

Please send your resume to [email protected].

On Friday September 1, 2017, the San Juan Island School District Board of Directors will hold a Special School Board meeting Executive Session, then an Open Public Meeting. The purpose of the special meeting is to conduct an executive session to discuss potential litigation with legal counsel pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(i), and then in an open public meeting, to consider and take potential final action regarding any necessary response by the District to action taken by the San Juan Island Education Association at a meeting anticipated to be held on the afternoon of August 31.

At the Open Public Meeting, to be held at 2:00 pm, all public comment, with the exception of public hearings on policy, budget or other specific items, will be heard during the “Public Comment” section of the Call to Order. Anyone wishing to address the board on any topic will be scheduled to speak during the public comment period by the Administrative Assistant present at the board meeting. Check in to be scheduled to speak will occur during the 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.

San Juan Island School District and San Juan Education Association reach impasse in Collective Bargaining

At 6:20 pm on Thursday August 31, 2017, the San Juan Education Association (SJEA) informed the San Juan Island School District that the SJEA will hold a strike on Friday, September 1, 2017.

Schools will remain closed (San Juan Island only) for the duration of a strike. Look for updates through the online newspapers, the SJISD website, social media, and Parentlink, the District’s communication app.

The District and the union have been meeting since July and have reached an impasse. Both the District and the union have agreed on mediation.

According to SJISD Superintendent Danna Diaz, “This is a very difficult situation for our entire community. The District is committed to resolving this situation as quick-ly as possible. Strikes do end, and at that time we will work together again on our shared mission of educating students.”

Cattle Point Light viewed from the water side – US Coast Guard photo

“A house built upon sand ….”

Sometimes there’s no choice: the same sand that destabilizes a lighthouse is shifting under the water and making the lighthouse even more necessary.

The lighthouse at Cattle Point was built in 1935 and has stood ever since. The sand was mostly stabilized by the strong roots of the grass growing around it.

But generations of visitors tramping around the building finally destroyed the grass, and the sand was blowing away, undercutting the building by approximately 40 percent.

“It seems likely that the lighthouse will be turned over to the new San Juan Islands National Monument,” according to Marcia deChadenedes, monument manager, “though I can’t say for certain — decisions like that are made above my pay grade!” but first it had to be made sound, itself, and safe for the public to visit.

Vet Industrial of Bremerton won the bid and has been working out there since June. The building was jacked up and a new concrete foundation built under it.

Cattle Point Light on jacks – US Coast Guard photo

Gary Vestman, superintendent at Vet Industrial, said the building was “in pretty precarious shape — I couldn’t believe it.” He told of standing on the top in February in a high wind, “and I could feel it moving under me.” Continue Reading

Committee Members, Staff, and Volunteers, Created a Fun Event at the Mullis Center – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

With September comes a seasonal shift. The season of tourists, house-guests, and beach life, gives way to cozy evenings and deeper community involvement. At the Mullis Center, the Operations Committee, aka “the board” invites interested islanders to come to the center’s September meeting on Wednesday, September 6, at noon in the Mullis Center dining hall and consider running for a position on the Committee. The Mullis Center is located at 589 Nash Street in Friday Harbor.

Senior Services Specialist, Gail Leschine-Seitz, explains, “The Mullis Center Board (whose formal title is The Operations Committee) consists of 15 members who serve for 3 years each, with 5 board members cycling in and out each year. The elections for the board are scheduled every October and every person 60 or over who is a resident of San Juan Island can vote in the election. New members are formally accepted at the December meeting and begin in January. The officers are nominated and voted in at that meeting. Officers include: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer”.

With important decisions coming up including remodeling ideas, increasing services and programs, and planning events, new energy and expertise are welcome. When previously I wrote about Mullis Center volunteers I found that the common thread was a valued enjoyment of the people that volunteering brings us in contact with. If you are looking for a positive way to participate in our community and wonder if this might be a good fit for you, come to the September meeting and feel free to ask questions.

Again, Gail explains what is required, “Commitment to the board includes being able to attend 2 hour meetings once a month, volunteer at some events, and be willing to be part of some committee work in your area of interest”. If you have time to commit to a worthy cause, please consider running for a seat. Ours is an island with an active senior population. That makes it an exciting time to get involved in shaping our growing senior center.

San Juan County’s amateur radio volunteers form a critical communications link between islands and to the mainland in the event of a major emergency or outage. The San Juan County Amateur Radio Society (www.sjcars.org) is hosting a training in Friday Harbor to prepare islanders to take the Amateur Technician test. This certification allows islanders to become a part of this crucial communications system.

The four hour class is free but there is a $15 fee to the ARRL for taking the test.

To register or for details, contact Bryan Hoyer at [email protected]

Tuesday Sept 12th 5-7pm
Thursday Sept 14th 5-7pm
Test: Saturday Sept 16th 10-12am

Class Location:
San Juan Island Fire Station
1011 Mullis Street
Friday Harbor WA 98250

The League of Women Voters of the San Juans (LWVSJ) announce a community program “Our County Comp Plan Update: Shaping the Future”.

This program will be held in Friday Harbor at the San Juan Island Library meeting room at noon on Monday, September 11, 2017. This informative update features Erika Shook, Director of Community Development for San Juan County, as speaker. The public is invited.  

The Comp Plan Update will set the growth policies and goals for the county for the next 20 years with updates to the plan being required every 10 years. The Plan is regulated by the Growth Management act which was passed by the state in 1990 to curb rapid population and suburban sprawl. There are many elements to the Plan that can be addressed by the update such as Land Use, Rural and Resource Lands, the Housing Element, Transportation Element, Water Resources and Parks, Recreation and Open Space Element, Capital Facilities and Utilities Element to name a few.

The focus of this educational meeting is to explain the Plan in simple, easy to understand language so that the citizens of San Juan County know why this Update is important and to understand what can be accomplished through citizen participation in the Update to this Plan which will directly impact the future development of the county.

Erica Shook will explain an overview of the Plan including the Vision the County has developed for this Plan Update, the Guiding Principles of this project, where we are in the Update process and next actions, as well as the hoped for outcomes of this Plan Update.  

As an outcome of this program we hope that people will realize that they too have a voice in county government and as such will get involved in tracking the progress of the Update, make specific, constructive and direct comments to the Update as it unfolds, and attend public hearings on the Plan.

About the League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization, which encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Contact:
Clare Kelm, President, League of Women Voters of the San Juans
360 378-3373     [email protected]

Samish Indian Nation Marine Debris Clean Up Map Honored by Esri Storytelling with Maps Contest

2^nd place honor awarded in conservation, environment, and sustainability category

Anacortes, Washington – Aug. 30, 2017 – The Samish Indian Nation announced today that its map tracking marine debris clean up in the tribe’s traditional territory has been honored with a second place award in the 2017 Esri Storytelling with Maps Contest.

The map was created using geographic information systems (GIS) technologies by Casey Palmer-McGee, GIS/Database Analyst. It depicts the Samish Indian Nation’s Traditional Territory and efforts by the tribe’s Department of Natural Resources over the past three years to remove more than 400,000 pounds of creosote treated wood and other marine debris from public and private shorelines. 

“The Samish people have been stewards of the environment in the San Juan Archipelago for hundreds of generations,” said Tom Wooten, chairman, Samish Indian Nation. “Creosote wood and marine debris represent a big impact on the marine fish and wildlife that exist in our traditional territory. We are proud of the removal work by our Department of Natural Resources, with partners, to remove extensive amounts of debris. The map created by Casey is an ongoing survey and display of that work and we are honored by this designation from Esri.”

Restoration work was done in partnership with the Samish Indian Nation Department of Natural Resources, with funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington Conservation Corps, Veterans Conservation Corps and Earthcorps.

Moving forward, the Samish Indian Nation and its partners plan to continue with creosote and marine debris assessment and clean up. There is still a lot of territory to cover, and often, marine debris washes up on the same beaches ever year. The Samish Indian Nation is committed to continuing the removal of toxins from our Traditional Territory so that the Samish People will be able to continue utilizing the bountiful natural resources of the Salish Sea that is central to our cultural identity.

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About the Samish Indian Nation
The Samish Indian Nation is the successor to the large and powerful Samish Nation, a signatory to the Treaty of Point Elliot in 1855. Linguistically and culturally, the Tribe is grouped as Coast Salish and traditionally speaks a dialect known as “Straits Salish,” rather than Lushsootseed dialect that is common to other neighbors in the region. The Tribe’s Traditional Territory historically stretched over a wide area from the Cascade mountains to the far western shores of the San Juan Islands.