Friday Harbor Film Festival Winter film series of audience favorites

Tracks (directed by John Curran) tells the incredible true story of Robyn Davidson, a young woman who in 1977 undertook a perilous solo trek across 1,700 miles of stunning Australian outback.

Abandoning city life, Robyn arrives in the town of Alice Springs and declares to the amused locals her ambition to travel to the iconic Ayers Rock and across Western Australia to the ocean.  However, after months of camping out and working on a camel farm (to learn to manage and obtain the animals necessary for her journey), people begin to take her seriously.

A chance meeting with National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan provides her with the necessary financing for her expedition under the condition that he be allowed to photograph part of her journey for the magazine.  With only her dog and four unpredictable camels for company, she embarks on an inspiring and life-changing journey of self-discovery.

Winner of the 2014 NSW & ACT Gold Award by Australian Cinematographers Society and the 2015 Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA) Award

Tuesday, April 19th at 7:00 pm at the Grange

Opening Day Boat Parade in Friday Harbor Sunday May 1st

“A Community Afloat” (visualize a 4th of July parade on the water) is the theme of this year’s Opening Day Boat Parade sponsored by the San Juan Island Yacht Club. The parade will be held Sunday, May 1st at 2:15 pm, with boats passing by Spring Street Landing and the Port of Friday Harbor Marina.

Boats of any size, whether power, sail, or human-powered, are eligible to enter the parade. Prizes will be awarded in four categories:

1. Most creative display of the theme
2. Nautical display of traditional signal flags
3. Classic wooden boat
4. and the Commercial category.

Registration is free, but entrants must register and receive a number to be in the parade. To register, visit www.sjiyc.com. The port of Friday Harbor is giving a free night of moorage on either Saturday, April 30th or Sunday May 1st to all parade entrants. To reserve a place, call Harbormaster Tami Hayes at 378-2688 or contact tamih [@] portfridayharbor.org.

The Parade Awards Ceremony will be held at the San Juan Island Yacht Club, 273 Front Street, at 4:30 PM. Boat parade participants, skippers and crews, are welcome to stay for a Steak & Prawn Dinner ($20/person) after the awards ceremony, beginning at 5:30 PM

Mike Close will announce the parade on the dock at Spring Street Landing. Sheriff Ron Krebs will serve as Grand Marshall.

Parade and Dinner registration information is posted at www.sjiyc.com. Contact Bill Robinson, Fleet Captain, (206) 399-6474.

Homes arrive by barge for the Hometrust – Aaron Shepard photo

San Juan Island Home Trust shares this press release…

Home Trust infuses $1.26 million (so far) into local economy with construction of Sun Rise Phase II

Twelve repurposed/recycled homes from Canada are planned for Sun Rise Phase II, with seven homes now on site at the San Juan Community Home Trust’s newest neighborhood of permanently affordable homes. A total of $1,269,289 has been spent on labor, materials, and services to develop the site and refurbish the homes.

The project is also creating jobs. Victoria Compton of the San Juan County Economic Development Council has stated that over 50% of every dollar spent locally will be reinvested in our community.

Work is proceeding on schedule, with occupancy of the first five homes expected in June of this year. Eleven of the twelve homes are reserved for families earning up to 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), which is $54,300 for a family of four, adjustable by family size. Direct subsidies reduce the purchase price making the homes affordable to those families. One of the homes is reserved for a family earning up to120% AMI, and will be sold for $210,000 to compensate for the lack of direct subsidies. Home prices range from $158,000 to $210,000.

Committed homebuyers have already reserved the first five homes and are now working on obtaining mortgage financing. If you would like more information or an application form, call the Home Trust at 378-5541.

Gerry Lawlor of Rock Island Communications shares this update with you…

Rock Island Heads into Spring at Full Stride

Thank you to the OPALCO Board for their strong leadership.

With just over one year of being in business, Rock Island Communications has overcome numerous challenges, and has connected close to a thousand islanders to fast, stable and scalable broadband.

“In just over twelve months, the Rock Island team has installed over 500,000 feet of fiber (over 94 miles) on several islands, and in a wide range of challenging geographic conditions. We have 15 LTE wireless sites online now, giving us the ability to serve over 1,500 homes and businesses. We have 16 active neighborhood construction projects underway, and over 700 fiber connections on deck that will keep our construction teams busy into 2017,” said Alan Smith, SVP of Engineering for Rock Island. “We have completed 11 community fiber builds to date representing hundreds of families, students, seniors and businesses who now enjoy the benefits of modern broadband.”

After incorporating in early 2015, Rock Island set out with a three-part charge to build out a fiber network, deploy a countywide LTE wireless network and provide communication support to all first-responders. With additional operational challenges such as purchasing and integrating a local ISP and its employees, and expanding the Rock Island staff and systems to be able to achieve its objectives, the team had a lot on its plate. Rock Island met these challenges, and was able to complete several large-scale projects in its first year of operation, supplying hundreds of locals with modern Internet connectivity. Continue Reading

Mike’s Café and Wine Bar at 135 Second Street will host “Yappy Hour”, a benefit for The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor, Wednesday, April 13 from 5:00 – 6:30.

Enjoy a glass of award winning wine, or beverage of your choice, plus endless appetizers and help animals at the same time!

Grab some friends and join the fun! Tickets are available at the animal shelter or Friday Harbor Pet Supplies. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door. Price includes one glass of wine or beverage of choice plus all-you-can-eat appetizers! See you at Mike’s!

Here’s an Update from the Animal Shelter on their project to fund and build a new facility…

Dear Friends of the Shelter:

We’d like to take this opportunity to bring you up to date on the progress we are making prior to groundbreaking for the new shelter. Thanks to the changes in building regulations that have been adopted in the past few years, we are finding that ‘nothing is easy’! However, our progress is on track and we are glad to report that the engineering designs and reports that are needed for a building permit have been completed to the point that we have had a pre-application meeting with the County Building Department where we received enthusiastic support.

The septic facilities design for both human and animal needs are complete, and the engineering, electrical and storm drain designs are very close to being finished. This means that we are looking forward to an April call for bids and a May 1st filing for the building permit. All of this takes time and requires a great deal of coordination between designers. However, we have been able to do a large amount of site clearance in preparation for construction and invite you to come see how the site is developing.

Thanks to the generous donation by a longtime supportive couple, the land purchase was finalized in October of 2013. As for the current status of the campaign fundraising, we have surpassed the 50% mark of the funds needed to complete the building. As we have promised, we will not break ground until we have reached 80%. Our current goal is to announce that we have reached the 80%+ mark at this year’s ‘Wags to Riches’ event on July 30th. To reach that goal will take a major push in fundraising this spring. Continue Reading

Entrepreneurs are invited to attend the San Juan County Economic Development Council’s upcoming FREE half-day workshop entitled “Business Startup 101” on Thursday, May 5th. Participants will learn the building blocks of starting a successful business from experts in the legal, accounting and banking fields.

The half-day event will be led by local attorneys Peter Goddu and Thomas Sandstrom; Bruce Martin, banker with Islanders Bank; and accountant Chris Compton, from Lake Kennedy McCulloch, CPAs.

Included in the three-hour workshop will be an overview of considerations when starting a new business, creating a business plan, determining a business structure, and a discussion on various types of business entities.

Leading the discussion on the legal implications of starting a business will be Peter Goddu and Thomas Sandstrom. Goddu and Sandstrom have over 40 years combined experience advising clients on all aspects of business and commercial law and as of May 1st will be partners in the newly formed Friday Harbor law firm of Goddu Langlie Loring Sandstrom, PLLC.

Bruce Martin will lead the discussion on crafting effective business plans. Martin is vice-president and senior loan officer at Islanders Bank, and has over 33 years of banking experience with 25 years of lending experience.

Chris Compton, CPA at Lake Kennedy McCulloch, will touch on the tax aspects of new businesses throughout the discussion. Compton has worked as a CPA for over 11 years, moving to Friday Harbor from Alaska with his wife, Anna.

Details: Thursday, May 5th from 9-noon at the San Juan County legislative meeting room at 55 Second Street in Friday Harbor (next to the San Juan County Elections office). Advance registration is required; please call 360-378-2906 to reserve your space, or email: info [@] sanjuansedc.org.

The EDC thanks San Juan County government, Islanders Bank, GodduLanglieLoringSandstrom, PLLC, and Lake Kennedy McCulloch, CPA’s for their support of this workshop.

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) is the islands’ economic development office. We strive to strengthen and diversify the economy of San Juan County. We believe a strong economy builds a strong community.

Opening events on Earth Day weekend in and around Friday Harbor

Landscape Photography Walk: “Seeing with the Inner Eye”, Dorothy Kerper Monnelly. In her work, Monnelly forays through the marshes to catch the magic of dawn, but also explores coastal landscapes across the continent in all seasons.
Saturday, April 23, 10 am, location TBA, Tickets: $30 available at SJIMA or online at sjima.org The class is limited in size, so first-come is first-served.

Museum Gallery Walk, Ernest H. Brooks II. Ernest H. Brooks II is one of the foremost underwater photographers and a trailblazer in the development of underwater photographic equipment and technique.
Saturday, April 23, 2 pm, SJIMA, Free to ticket holders and members

Book Signing, Dorothy Kerper Monnelly Sat., April 23, 3 pm, SJIMA. Her many years living in the midst of the Massachusetts Great Marsh culminated in the 2006 publication of her critically acclaimed book of black and white landscapes, Between Land and Sea: The Great Marsh (George Braziller Inc., 2007).

Art As A Voice Lecture “Ansel Adams: Artist and Conservationist” Michael Adams, MD (Ansel Adams’ son) Adams pre-visualized images, expertly crafting elegant iconic landscapes where he intensified and purified the experience of natural beauty, capturing the sublime magnificence of wilderness.
Sat., April 23, 7:30 pm, Brickworks, Tickets: $20 non-members, $15 members, $10 students, Available at SJIMA or online at sjima.org. Remaining tickets will be available at the door.

The exhibition “Fragile Waters” (Ansel Adams, Ernest H. Brooks II, and Dorothy Kerper Monnelly) is further supported by educational programs focused on relevant global as well as Salish Sea issues. The exhibition and its related programs will provide learning opportunities for a wide audience of all ages through Labor Day. The exhibition opens Saturday, April 23, Earth Day weekend, and will run through September 5, Labor Day, 2016 at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA), Friday Harbor, Washington.

EDC offers FREE business workshop on pricing products & services

The San Juan County Economic Development Council will present a FREE workshop on pricing of products & services for small business owners and entrepreneurs on Lopez Island, Tuesday, May 3rd from 12-2pm at the Lopez Island Fire Department meeting room. Advance registration is required.

Pricing products & services is a critical element in achieving a profit, and is a factor that entrepreneurs have control over. The workshop course material will be presented by Tony Salas of the Small Business Development Center of Skagit County, and a management consultant for over a decade.

Salas will cover all aspects of setting prices and ensuring that businesses are profitable. Participants will learn how service costs impact pricing, how to gauge what competitors are charging (and why), and understanding conversion rates and tiered pricing.

Details: Lopez Island, Tuesday, May 3rd from noon-2pm at the Lopez Island Fire Department meeting room. Advance registration is required. Please call 360-378-2906 to reserve your space, or email: info [@] sanjuansedc.org.

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.

Island Marble Butterfly – Photo Courtesy of Keith Van Cleve

U.S. ​Fish and Wildlife Service Announces 12-month Finding on a Petition to List the Island Marble Butterfly.

​The Service has determined that the island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus) is warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act, but precluded by higher priority listing actions.

The island marble butterfly will be added to the Service’s candidate species list. These are species for which the Service has enough information regarding their biological status and threats to propose them as threatened or endangered, but listing is currently precluded by higher priority listing activities.

“Conservation of the island marble butterfly remains a significant concern for the Service,” said Washington State Supervisor Eric Rickerson. “We will continue to closely monitor the butterfly and work with our partners to implement conservation measures and address threats to the species.”

The island marble butterfly is a species only found in the San Juan archipelago in San Juan County, Washington. The only remaining known population is centered on American Camp, a part of San Juan Island National Historical Park on San Juan Island. Threats to the species include: habitat loss, direct and incidental predation, and small population size. Small population size renders the species vulnerable to additional random events, such as severe weather events, storm surges that destroy habitat, or any other event that increases mortality. Continue Reading

Team Vinny’s, 2015 – Contributed photo

Mark your calendars! It’s time for the 2016 Great Islands Clean-Up… our annual spring-cleaning! And again this year, both Orcas and Lopez will be joining San Juan in the event!

The specific information about San Juan Island’s effort is as follows:

• When: Saturday, April 23, 9 am – noon
• Where: All island roadsides and beaches
• Rain or shine!

Last year on San Juan, 225 islanders collected over 1600 pounds of litter from approximately 45 miles of roads and several beach areas. And, our island really did look GREAT!

But sadly, our refuse continues to end up as litter. Thoughtless tossing of bottles, cans, food wrappers, or cigarette butts; accidental “blowing away” of debris from unsecured loads on boats and trucks; or deliberate dumping of tires, etc., all contribute to the need to make litter pick-up an ongoing effort.

Multiple organizations – including San Juan County, the town of Friday Harbor, San Juan Sanitation, island service clubs, the Chamber of Commerce and Friends of the San Juans – are collaborating to sponsor this year’s Great Islands Clean-Up, a day when all able-bodied islanders are encouraged to help pick up the accumulated trash so that residents and visitors alike are treated to a litter-free island when warmer and sunnier weather beckons us all outdoors. The town of Friday Harbor has even issued an official proclamation supporting the clean-up and encouraging everyone to help out!

On behalf of the Town of Friday Harbor, Mayor Carrie Lacher gives the official proclamation to clean-up organizer Lori Stokes – Tim Dustrude photo

Please connect with your business, school, non-profit, service or neighborhood groups, family and friends and volunteer to help. You can join a group that has already been formed, or you can organize a group of your own! Continue Reading

All Aboard Sailing is the featured chamber member of the month – Contributed photo

SJI Chamber of Commerce Featured Member of the Month

I originate from Lands End, Cornwall England, where on the granite cliff top there is a signpost pointing West that reads ’New York 3147 miles’. I joined the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as an engineer and photographer, sailing from Cornwall to the far reaches of the US Aleutian Islands combating issues of whaling and indiscriminate fishing. Jumping ship, I moved on to studying and internet sharing the acoustics and underwater video of Orca whales at a place called Orcalab in Johnstone Strait, Canada.

I first came to Friday Harbor driving a school bus with the display of a one-mile-long patchwork banner. The banner made by kids from around the world called for the release from Sea World of the Northern Resident captive orca Corky. The County Fair was the last stop in our tour so I stayed here working with friend Ben White and the Natural Guard Tree Company. Settling into island life I trained with our local San Juan Fire and Rescue, with the EMS and Island Air Ambulance

House prices here were high so I bought a boat, a 1956 classic wooden sailboat recommended to me by Anacortes shipwright Andy Stewart. Learning the islands waters I took friends sailing and they had such an amazingly good time that it occurred to me to make this a business and help support the boat’s maintenance. I’d also been working with the Whale Museum’s Soundwatch Boater Education program, with the Lime Kiln Point Hydrophone System and then with Maya’s Legacy Whale Watch as skipper. So the background was there for me to extend running my sailboat as a whale watch and islands tour boat. Pieces further came together when I met Barbara, who was excellent at whale identification and had previously worked with the Center for Whale Research. Continue Reading

Image courtesy of Fenner Photography

Island Rec – Hill of Thrills Soap Box Race

Island Rec is very excited to announce a new event we are putting on Saturday, May 21 – The Hill of Thrills Soap Box Race.

This is a classic old fashioned ‘gravity’ race where people race their homemade non-motorized contraptions down Park St. from Marguerite to Price St.  There will be prizes for style as well as for the races.  The racing will have categories for ages 5 through adult and there will be a parade for ages 0-5 to kick off the event, which goes from 9:00 am-noon.

Race packets and applications can be found on-line or at the office.  Please register soon.  During the May 7 Children’s Festival at the Fairgrounds we will have examples of different cars and have a build station and support people there for those who want help building their own.

We would love to have as much promotion of this event as possible to help kick it off and make it an annual fun event. Once a fleet of cars are made it will self-generate.

To view a full schedule of our programs or to register online please visit our website at www.IslandRec.org, call 360-378-4953, or visit our office at 580 Guard St. Monday – Friday 11:00-5pm.

Peter W. Goddu and Margaret C. Langlie of GodduLanglie, Lawyers-Advisors, are pleased to announce that, effective May 1, 2016, Kathryn (Katie) C. Loring and Thomas D. Sandstrom will join us as partners and the name of our firm will change to Goddu Langlie Loring Sandstrom, PLLC.

Peter Goddu and Margaret Langlie established their law firm in 1982 and in 2010 acquired the Friday Harbor law practice of Donald E. Eaton when he was appointed San Juan County Superior Court Judge. Katie Loring and Thomas Sandstrom have practiced in Friday Harbor since 2008 and 2009, respectively, with the Law Offices of Christon C. Skinner, which purchased that practice from John O. Linde when he was appointed San Juan County’s first Superior Court Judge.

The new firm combines our diverse backgrounds and our collective legal expertise—as well as our mutual commitment to a client-centered practice and common sense approach to the law—to provide a broad range of civil litigation and transactional legal services in the areas of contracts, construction, commercial and business law, estate planning and probate, family law, and real estate and land use.

The office of Goddu Langlie Loring Sandstrom, PLLC, will be located in the space currently occupied by the Skinner firm at 365-E Spring Street; phone numbers will remain the same: (360) 378-2181 and (360) 378-2191. More information will be available soon at our new website.

Contact:
Margaret C. Langlie
360.378.2181
mlanglie [@] goddulanglie.com

Dear Island Neighbors,

On behalf of the San Juan Island Service Scholarship board I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who came out on March 31st to support our annual Dining for Scholars event. It was wonderful to see so many community minded friends and families dining out to support the mission of volunteerism and scholarship here on San Juan Island.

We also want to extend our gratitude to all of our partner restaurants who donated a portion of their March 31st proceeds to the SJI Service Scholarship fund. Without their generosity this event would not happen. So, a sincere thank you as I encourage all of us to continue to support the following local businesses…

Café Demeter, Market Chef, Hungry Clam, Spring Street Deli, Roche Harbor’s Lime Kiln Café, China Pearl/Kung Fu Pizza, Vic’s Drive In, Haley’s, Cask & Schooner, Mi Casita, Coho, Roche Harbor’s McMillan’s Room, Van Go’s Pizza & Rumor Mill.

The mission of San Juan Island Service Scholarship is to support higher education and promote volunteerism among our community’s youth. Students who have completed a minimum of 80 hours of volunteer community service during their high school career are eligible for a scholarship from our organization.

If helping to grow volunteerism in our community appeals to you, please join us by making a donation to our scholarship fund by visiting us on the web at www.sjiservicescholarship.org or mailing your support to

SJI Service Scholarship
P.O. Box 3366
Friday Harbor, WA, 98250

We are a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your donation is fully tax deductible.

Sincerely,
June Arnold

This story was contributed by Debbi Fincher…

Luke and Zach Fincher and their Nana – Contributed photo

We lost our son’s nana to a man texting and driving about four years ago. The texting driver was also killed and the crash took the life of a third person, as well. Seven cars were impacted when this person chose to text and drive.

No one ever thinks it will happen to them. Unfortunately, nearly 431,000 people were injured in a distracted driver caused crash in 2014, in the US alone. That is like filling the Seattle Mariner’s Safeco Field eight times! Another 3,179 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver.

My son and I attended a conference in Chicago recently with the National Safety Council to share our story. The room was filled with other people who were left behind when a loved one died in a distracted-driving crash. These needless crashes claimed the life of a vibrant family member. This survivor advocates group was not a group our family ever thought we’d be part of, nor would we wish membership on anyone else. However, with vehicle crashes as the leading cause of workplace death, with distraction as a top factor, and distracted driving the leading cause of death among teens in America, we figured it’s time we start doing more about this. Continue Reading