Transition San Juan Island’s Waste Reduction group shares today’s habit shift inspiration from the global Plastic Free July campaign.

At the Bakery

Unfortunately, bread, rolls, and other baked goods often come in plastic. You can avoid single-use packaging by shopping at a local bakery and opting to carry your baked goods out without a plastic bread bag, or by bringing your own containers. Choose to take your bread without any bag at all by slicing your bread at home. If you must have your bread sliced at the bakery, ask for it to be packaged in a paper bag instead of plastic.

Local volunteers for the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) program are hosting an online introduction to Medicare for enrollees joining the program in 2022.

On Tuesday, July 19 at 1 p.m., the presenters will outline how Medicare works, its different coverage options, and key program milestones and dates that must be met in order to avoid penalties.

To register, email [email protected] or call 360-376-5892. You’ll need to provide your first name, last name, and email address.

SHIBA is overseen by the state’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner to provide free, unbiased, confidential counseling in San Juan County. The organization is sponsored locally by the Inter Island Healthcare Foundation.

Contributed photo

San Juan Island National Historic Park shares good news about the return of their Encampment event.

Encampment, San Juan Island National Historic Park’s annual popular living history weekend, is back this year after a three-year hiatus. Join us Aug. 6 and 7 at the English Camp Parade Ground for a glimpse of the past as living history interpreters dressed in period clothing will portray Hudson’s Bay Company employees, American soldiers, and British Royal Marines from the mid-1800s.

Demonstrations that will bring history to life include loom work, metalworking, fur trade, and what life was like for members of the military of all ranks and their families. Mid-nineteenth century games will be available for visitors of all ages to participate in and a candlelit dance will be held on the evening of the sixth.

“Encampment has drawn San Juan Island residents and visitors to the park to experience the people and personalities who informed important historical events that make the island what it is today,” said San Juan Island NHP Superintendent Elexis Fredy. “We are delighted to be able to host such a popular and unique event again this year.”

This year marks the 150th commemoration of the settlement of the boundary dispute between, and joint occupation of, American and British military forces on San Juan Island in 1872. Encampment will play a central role in the park’s ability to share the story of peaceful resolution and provide a window into the lives of the people who were impacted.

Visitors are also encouraged to explore the new American Camp Visitor Center, with compelling exhibits from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday each week. Check the park’s website for updates on additional programming and other commemorative events that pay tribute to this historic anniversary.

• The road construction project on Beaverton Valley Road was completed ahead of schedule and the road is open to all traffic again.
• Wolf Hollow’s annual online auction ends later today.
• The San Juan Island Naturalist Program has returned after a two-year hiatus and is looking for volunteer naturalists now through Sept. 30. Volunteers are stationed either at Westside Preserve or Lime Kiln State Park and work to educate locals and visitors about the Salish Sea, whales, threats to the whales’ livelihood, and what each of us can do to help. If you’re interested, here’s a link to the application.
• Merri Ann Simonson shares her latest real estate market summary.
• Desolation Sound performs this Saturday at San Juan Island Brewing Co. from noon to 3 p.m.
• Here are the week’s specials at Market Place and Kings.

Have something to share with the Island? Whether the news is big or small, let us know!

Transition San Juan Island’s Waste Reduction group shares today’s habit shift inspiration from the global Plastic Free July campaign.

Plastic Free Events

Cut down on the waste at your next event and promote more sustainable practices by offering reusable items. As the host of the event, you have an opportunity to model sustainable behavior by displaying to others how easy it is to have an impact, and help to spread the message to ‘choose to refuse’. You can:

• Skip out on plastic cutlery and dinnerware and use reusables, or let guests know that this is a plastic free event and to bring their own reusable dinnerware. 
• If guests are bringing their own dinnerware, offer a washing up station so they can pack clean items back in their bag for home.
• Offer cloth napkins instead of paper ones.
• Let guests know your intention for a plastic free event and they’ll most likely go out of their way to help make that happen.

The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold a regular meeting on Friday, July 15 at 8:30 a.m. Items up for discussion or action at Friday’s meeting include:

• General public comments
• Chair and Commissioners report
• County Council update – Christine Minney
• Second quarter financial report
• Director’s report
• Glenwood Inn acquisition – statement from the Chair, Commission discussion
• Public comments regarding Glenwood Inn acquisition
• Stewardship report – Coffelt Farm lease proposal recommendation
• Outreach and volunteer report
• Future agenda items

You can view the live stream of the meeting online or take part in person at the San Juan County Parks and Fair Office, located at 846 Argyle Ave.

The EDC sends along news about the newest program in their Tech Training Accelerator Initiative.

The San Juan County Economic Development Council will facilitate a software development learning cohort for youth as part of their Tech Training Accelerator Initiative. This initiative aims to train local workers into high-wage, skilled tech jobs, as well as serve local business owners needing technological assistance for their enterprises. This initiative has been launched by the EDC in partnership with the Town of Friday Harbor, San Juan County, and the Raynier Institute.

The upcoming course will present an introduction to the programming skills needed for a career as a software developer, beginning in late July of this year. The course will be offered online through LinkedIn Learning, and a cohort of students will meet each week with an EDC advisor to achieve successful benchmarks, working on their own schedules.

In this free course, students will gain a broad perspective on core technologies for web development, software development, and databases. It introduces common programming languages such as HTML, CSS, Python, and JavaScript, and discusses the bigger picture of how development careers work. Instruction is open to participants from San Juan County, ages 13-17, who are looking to enter careers in the web development field.

The course is broken into weekly assignments that can be completed on one’s own schedule, averaging four to eight hours per week. The EDC will host advisory meetings via Zoom on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. from July 26 to August 23.  These meetings will give participants the opportunity to check in with the rest of the group, discuss course material, and ask questions.

Visit the EDC website for more information or to register. For questions, contact the EDC’s Tech Training Coordinator, Jillian Urbach, at 360-378-2906, or [email protected].

The Friday Harbor Film Festival shares news about their ongoing Director Series.

The Breach and The Wild will begin with a free online showing Thursday, July 14 as Friday Harbor Film Festival’s next offering in the Director Series.

The Breach explores the alarming drop in the Pacific Northwest’s wild salmon population. The film uses beautiful cinematography and effective storytelling from the point of view of the salmon to portray the mutually beneficial relationship between salmon and humans. This leads the viewer to understand the importance of saving bodies of water critical to the survival of salmon and other wildlife.

The Wild picks up up where The Breach ended, as filmmaker Mark Titus returns to the wilds of Alaska, where the people of Bristol Bay and its wild salmon runs face devastation if a massive open-pit copper mine is constructed in the headwaters of the most prodigious wild sockeye salmon run in the world. The conflict in Alaska becomes a harbinger to a larger, global question: How do we reconcile human separation from the natural world that sustains us – and if we can change course, how do we save what remains? 

From July 15–27 this double feature will be available for $1.95.

Transition San Juan Island’s Waste Reduction group shares today’s habit shift inspiration from the global Plastic Free July campaign.

Plastic Free Party

Swapping balloons and other single-use plastic party decorations for reusable ones is the way to celebrate in style without having a devastating impact on the environment. A balloon can travel thousands of miles and then end up polluting the ecosystem where it lands. Balloons can be especially harmful to birds and marine life who can mistake the balloon debris for food or get tangled up in it. Some creative — and prettier — alternatives include fabric garlands, fabric buntings, paper streamers, pom-poms made of yarn or paper, and flowers.

Comedy of Errors cast members Timothy Hyland, Daniel Mayes and Benjamin Nickols — Photo credit: John Sinclair

Island Stage Left sends along a look into their newest production. It was originally scheduled to open tomorrow, but multiple positive COVID tests among cast members today have delayed its debut. Performances are cancelled until further notice, however Island Stage Left hopes to return to the stage for the last few weeks of shows.

Shakespeare is back. Thursday evening at 8 p.m., Island Stage Left’s new production of The Comedy of Errors opens for a monthlong run, Thursdays through Sundays.

Professional actors from Seattle and beyond have been rehearsing since early June alongside Daniel Mayes and island actors at the Wold Road outdoor theater.

The play revolves around two pairs of identical twins, separated in childhood, who don’t realize that for the first time in decades, they’re in the same town. People mistake the two who have just arrived for people they’ve known for years. When women and money enter the picture, confusion begets jealousy, mistrust and righteous indignation – all of which is very funny.

“Everyone’s off balance,” says director Helen Machin-Smith. “A woman’s husband – well, the man she thinks is her husband – is suddenly not behaving the way he usually does. He scarcely seems to know her. And when he gives money to the person he thinks is his reliable servant, that person is no longer reliable, either.” Because it isn’t actually the right servant; it’s his twin.

As always in Shakespeare, language itself is a spectator sport. The characters’ frustrated confusion results in many marvelous insults, from the simple, “Thou peevish sheep!” to the elaborate, “Mutt, malt-horse, capon, coxcomb, idiot, patch!” And the twin servants weaponize verbal humor as their only defense against increasingly crazed employers. Continue Reading

To everyone who cares about housing in Friday Harbor,

We want to hear from you! The Town is in the process of developing a Housing Action Plan to assess our existing housing stock, look at factors affecting housing affordability, determine the types of housing needed, and remove regulatory constraints to providing adequate housing in Friday Harbor. In order for our HAP to accurately reflect who we are, we need your input.

You can share your ideas with us right now by completing our Community Survey. It’s just 13 questions. If you’ve only got a minute to spare, take our Micro Survey — it’s just 3 questions — click-click-click and you’re done! Best of all, complete both.

You can find the surveys on our Friday Harbor Housing Action Plan website.

Thanks for participating! Watch for more opportunities to share your ideas in the coming months!

Denice Kulseth
Town Administrator
San Juan Island

• An article by Richard Arlin Walker in Indian Country Today examines the significance of Indigenous voices, stories, and histories in the new visitor center at American Camp.
• Salty Fox is now open from 3:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, featuring a rotating menu of sweet and savory foods each day.
• Roberto the Magnificent will perform a juggling show for children and families today at 1:30 p.m. in the play shed at Friday Harbor Elementary School.
• Tonight is game night at Medio Cafe, located inside Friday Harbor Suites at 680 Spring Street (across from Post San Juan). Bring your favorite board or card game, or play something from Medio’s collection of games. All are welcome, but the organizers ask that all kids under age 13 come with an adult.
• Chris Eger Band performs at 6:30 p.m. tonight at San Juan Historical Museum, as part of Island Rec’s free outdoor summer concert series.
• Kathryn Clary and Michelle Stringer are hosting training on bed-bound care and transfers at the Village at the Harbor on Monday, July 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. It’s free and open to the public, but space is limited and RSVPs should be made at 360-317-8954.

Have something to share with the Island? Whether the news is big or small, let us know!

Transition San Juan Island’s Waste Reduction group shares today’s habit shift inspiration from the global Plastic Free July campaign.

Beach/Park Clean Up

When out enjoying a plastic-free picnic this summer, take a step further and leave the beach or park even better then you found it. Bring a pair of garden gloves and a bag to pick up plastic trash you see while walking along the beach or at a park. You can make an immediate and real difference by cleaning up a local beach or park — and then join your community members in the twice-yearly Great Islands Clean-Up.