Here’s a letter to the people of Friday Harbor from Linda Cooper…

Dear San Juan Update,

My dear friend, Marty Robinson, long time Friday Harbor Elementary School secretary, was trekking in Nepal when the recent earthquake took place. She is safe with a group of 5 people from the Northwest organized by 4winds of Seattle. Having also done this trip, I know how kind the Nepalese people are; they made her group their upmost concern in a difficult situation. She asked me if you might post this website: http://fourwindsnepalrelief.com/

In the center group shot, Marty is in the front row 4th from the left. This photo was taken before the quake hit, and scrolling down you can see some of the recent damage. These porters work incredibly hard and rely on trekkers for their livelihood.

Thank you,
Linda Cooper

Public Works Director Brian Vincent – Contributed photo

San Juan County is pleased to announce the hiring of Brian Vincent as its new Public Works Director. Mr. Vincent brings to San Juan County a vast wealth of public works knowledge and experience gained from having worked in local government over the past 25 years. Brian comes to San Juan County by way of Multnomah County where he held the position of County Engineer. He also worked for Clark County where he held several positions including operations manager and construction manager

Brian holds a civil engineering degree from the University of Washington and an MBA from the University of Oregon. He is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Washington and Oregon, and served in the US Navy Civil Engineer Corps.- both active and reserves. Brian is married with four children and is says he is looking forward to trying the fishing and crabbing around the islands.

Friends of the San Juans would love for you to consider donating to support their work. Here’s their official press release…

GiveBIG to FRIENDS of the San Juans on May 5!

Since 1979, FRIENDS of the San Juans has worked hard to protect and restore the San Juan Islands and the Salish Sea for people and nature. The public can help support our programs by “giving big” on May 5.

FRIENDS is excited to take part in the Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG event on Tuesday, May 5. The more FRIENDS raises through the Seattle Foundation’s website on the 5th, the greater the percentage of the stretch pool we’ll receive to protect and restore the Salish Sea for people and nature. Plus we might win a Golden Ticket! The Seattle Foundation will randomly pick donors to select a non-profit of their choice to receive an additional $1,000. And the donors they select (it could be you!) will also receive a $100 gift certificate. Donations can be made by clicking here (until 11:59 p.m. on May 5).

In addition, a generous FRIENDS member has offered to match up to $40,000 of all online gifts – so you could more than double the impact of your gift if you donate on May 5.

Your generosity will help with our current projects, including: Continue Reading

Port Commissioner Greg Hertel cuts the ribbon with the help of Port Director Marilyn O’Conner – Aaron Shepard photo

On Friday May 3, Friday Harbor Port Commissioner Greg Hertel did the official honors by cutting the ribbon at the newly constructed Spring Street Landing Bulkhead. The waterfront project has been on the “must do” list for many years, and reconstruction of the Spring Street Landing Building provided the perfect opportunity.

PND Engineers designed the bulkhead, built of stabilized earth with a rock facing to the north of the pier, and of formed concrete to the south of the pier. Mike Carlson Enterprises was the contractor on the project, which had a cost of $1.4 million.

Permits issued by the Corps of Engineers required all “in-water” work to be completed by the middle of February (the “fish window”), so the contractor worked into the midnight hours for much of the project. The Port took the opportunity to remove and dispose of contaminated soils in the area during the excavation.

A new restaurant/ office building has been designed for the site and construction is expected to begin in July. The next phase will include creation of a waterfront walkway with seating, lights and planted areas along the edge of the new bulkhead. A new feature of the waterfront will be a stairway leading down to a small beach near the fuel pier, which will be open to the public once the building and walkway projects are completed.

Click here for a slide show of images by Aaron Shepard showing the construction progress over the last couple of months.

Hammering things at Island Rec’s 2015 Children’s Festival – Aaron Shepard photo

Island Rec’s 25th annual Children’s Festival was held on Saturday at the fairgrounds with about 1200 people in attendance.

34 local organizations provided activities for the event, ranging from fishing for a prize, coconut bowling, face painting, puppet shows, and of course Trash to Treasures with Kevin Roth.

25 volunteers manned booths or helped with set-up and tear down.

Click here for a slideshow from this year’s event.

Laughter – Contributed photo

Save the Date! “Theatre Games” Workshop May 23, May 30 and June 7

The San Juan County Arts Council (SJCAC) is sponsoring a workshop “Theatre Games”, to be led by new Lopezians and long-time theatre folks Bob and Sean O’Connell. The workshop will be offered on Lopez Island at the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts, Saturday, May 23, from 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

It will be repeated on San Juan Island in Friday Harbor at the Dance Workshop II (15 2nd Avenue N) on Saturday, May 30, from 11:45 am to 1:45 pm, and again on Orcas Island at the Orcas Island Public Library Community Room, on Sunday, June 7, from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. The fee will be $20 for adults and $14 for teens, per workshop. Each of the workshops is intended as a stand-alone experience, but all three workshops may be attended for the cost of two. All proceeds will benefit the San Juan County Arts Council.

Theatre Games are organized fun for adults and teens. Although sometimes used by stage actors and directors as warm-up exercises for rehearsals or performances, for this workshop, the Games are intended as an opportunity for anyone who is interested to drop in and spend a couple of hours flexing their imaginations and laughing and running around having a good time. No prior theatre experience is necessary or expected.

Bob and Sean O’Connell founded and operated ACT I, a community theatre, and GroundWorks, a professional theatre, in Nashville, Tennessee, where they lived for forty years, before their retirement to Lopez Island early last year. They have acted in, directed, and/or produced dozens upon dozens of productions, on both the community and professional level.

Register:

1. online at sjcartscouncil.org
2. by e-mailing seano445[@]centurylink[.]net
3. or by calling Sean at 468-3318

Link to Registration form (PDF)

Work begins on the relocation of Cattle Point Road – Louise Dustrude photo

Story and photos by Louise Dustrude…
If you hike or bike at American Camp, or if you live at Cape San Juan or Cattle Point Estates, you’ve seen work begin on the relocation of Cattle Point Road through the park.

So far it’s a matter of grooming the terrain and saving the topsoil, and they’re finding more topsoil than they expected — it’s not all sand! The amount of cut and fill is planned to balance out so that no dirt needs to be imported.

The six-month project to relocate the road up higher on Mt. Finlayson is the culmination of years of concern as the southern edge of the island erodes and falls into the ocean. The road will be some 300′ farther from the shoreline and is supposed to last “more than 70 years.”

Looking east from Mt. Finlayson toward Cattle Point, you can see the existing road, and the location of the new road – Louise Dustrude photo

That means it will be about 150′ from the popular trail leading to the top of Mt. Finlayson. Nevertheless, Shannon Wilbur, the senior project engineer for Public Works, points out that, because of the terrain, as you look out toward the Olympics from the top of the trail the road will not be visible in the foreground. Continue Reading

Kids enjoying some hands-on activities at the FHL Open House – Contributed photo

On Saturday, May 16, 2015, the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Laboratories will hold its annual Open House. This event offers a splendid opportunity to meet scientists and students at the Labs and check out the research and teaching facilities. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Labs will be open for self-guided tours. Scientists and students will showcase their marine science research, answer questions and provide demonstrations. There will be posters, marine plants and animals, microscopes, plankton sampling and observations, and activities for visitors of all ages. Families are particularly encouraged to attend.

The public is invited to learn more about marine zoology, botany, fisheries, oceanography and the equipment used by scientists in these fields. People can step aboard and tour our 58’ research vessel, the R/V Centennial, and check out its remotely operated vehicle (ROV), oceanographic tools, and sonar systems. There will also be underwater SCUBA demonstrations from the FHL dock at 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30 pm.

There will be three scientific lectures presented in the FHL Lecture Hall.

• 1 pm-  “A Short History of the Friday Harbor Labs: 1904-2015.”
  Dr. Claudia Mills
• 2 pm-   “Trans-Generational Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Molluscs.”
  Dr. Carolyn Friedman
• 3 pm- “The Known, the Unknown, and the Misknown: Biodiversity of the Most-Studied Marine Fauna in the U.S.”
  Dr. Gustav Paulay

Sturdy shoes are recommended because the tour route includes rough dock planks, gravel paths and trails.

In keeping with FHL Open House tradition, there will be free popcorn. Hot dogs and other snacks will also be available for purchase on the Dining Hall deck.

FHL’s website http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/ provides a detailed overview of FHL’s research, service and educational activities.

Catlin Gabel students present The (Sci-Fi) Mikado

The Catlin Gabel School is proud to present a live production of The (Sci-Fi) Mikado, an adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta, The Mikado, presented in a futuristic setting. This musical show is free of charge and open to the public.
The production takes place at four locations in the San Juan Islands:

• Tuesday, June 1, 2 p.m. – Friday Harbor, WA
  Mullis Community Senior Center – 589 Nash St, Friday Harbor, WA.
• Wednesday, June 2, 1 p.m. – Orcas Island
  The Orcas Center – 917 Mt. Baker Rd., Eastsound, WA.
• Thursday, June 3, 1 p.m. – Shaw Island
  Shaw Island Community Center

Since 1988, Catlin Gabel 8th graders have sung their way through the San Juan Islands, performing in schools, community centers, and residential care facilities. This is the 27th year for this musical tradition.  Continue Reading

The Maypole at Stillpoint School – Contributed photo

Stillpoint School shares this photo of the May Day Maypole. Thanks for sharing!

Silver Lining – Tim Dustrude photo

Dramatic skies, and clouds with a silver lining one recent late afternoon at American Camp.

Merri Ann Simonsen has the first quarter results for real estate transactions to share with you…

Merri Ann Simonson

The first quarter results for San Juan Island were very exciting, as the real estate dollar volume was up 36% from the same three month period in 2014. The number of transactions was 50 which is down 8%. This decrease in transaction number but increase in volume is a result of 7 transactions that closed in excess of $1,000,000 each during the first quarter on San Juan.

Having recovery in the high-end of our market is a very positive sign. Over time, high-end sales will increase our median home price and hopefully lead to appreciation and more confidence in our recovery.

Click here to continue reading.

The elevator at the San Juan County Courthouse is out of service for repair and refitting. The target date for completion is May 18, though there is hope work may be completed sooner. Offices affected include courts and the County Clerk.

People who need assistance with stairs should contact the office they need to access via telephone and a County employee will arrange for service to be provided.

Phone listings area available on the County website at: http://sanjuanco.com/phone_addr.aspx and in the phone book.

Hanging the flower baskets – Contributed photo

If you’ve ever wondered where those beautiful downtown flower baskets come from, they come in part from our very own SJI Garden Club! They’ve just voted to give another $500 to the cause this year and if you want to help contribute to beautifying the town and your garden at the same time, consider buying some plants here to help with their fundraising efforts!

http://sjigardenclub.weebly.com/flower-power-fundraiser.html

Thanks for your consideration and have a wonderful Summer, SJI Garden Club

Visitors coming to the island – SJ Update file photo

Barbara Marrett at the Visitor’s Bureau has this to share about island visitors…

Do you like to travel? Where do you like to travel? Well, for thousands of people, the San Juan Islands are their destination of choice and these visitors spent $193.2 million (projected) last year in San Juan County, a significant spending increase of 12.1% from 2013, according to the recently released Travel Impacts & Visitor Volume report prepared for the Washington Tourism Alliance by Dean Runyan Associates.

National Travel & Tourism Week, May 2 – 10, champions the power of travel to not only benefit the traveler but also enhance the locations visited. Look around you. What would the Islands be without performing arts centers, museums and gorgeous galleries? Without a plethora of parks and open spaces? Many of the places islanders cherish are present, in part, due to their shared appeal to visitors.

Visitor dollars help support the cultural vibrancy of destinations like the San Juan Islands by creating jobs; direct visitor sector jobs represented 18.3% of total employment in 2013 and increased 2% in 2014. Visitor dollars also relieve the tax burden on locals by contributing funds towards town and county projects. In fact, the visitor share of taxable sales in San Juan was 34.4% in 2014. Continue Reading

The San Juan County Lead Entity for Salmon Recovery is requesting salmon recovery project proposals for the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) 2015 grant cycle.

Private citizens, non-profit organizations, local, state, and tribal governments, and special districts are invited to apply for funding through the SRFB Lead Entity process for salmon recovery. Projects must be located in the San Juan Water Resources Inventory Area (WRIA 2), which is the San Juan Islands and adjacent waters. Please submit your project proposal to SJC DCD, PO Box 947, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, or deliver to the office located at 135 Rhone St. Salmon recovery project proposals must be received by May 15, 2015.

Please contact the Salmon Recovery Lead Entity Coordinator, Byron Rot, for additional information at 360-370-7593, byronr[@]sanjuanco[.]com.