Here’s the latest from Rock Island…

High-Speed Broadband is happening in San Juan County
Find out more & show your support!

OPALCO’s 78th Annual Meeting sets sail this Saturday, May 2 on the Washington State Ferry

With the introduction of real high-speed broadband to the islands, your continued support matters. We currently have 10 neighborhoods under construction with more than 300 new Rock Island Fiber and LTE customers coming online soon, and well over 2,000 residents and businesses indicating they want better service and support.

We are all investing on our future. Development of a reliable, high-speed system is critical for economic development, property values, emergency services and overall quality of life in San Juan County. Lack of modern infrastructure is our collective responsibility and together we are solving it – your involvement is important!

Here’s how you can get involved: Click for full story.

This looks like a fun event happening down at the cheese shop tonight. Here’s Richard the cheesemonger with the details…

Beer and Cheese? What a concept! Celebrate May Day with San Juan Island Cheese and special guest Island Hoppin’ Brewery from Orcas Island.

Four impressive beers will be paired with four delicious artisan cheeses. Also, we’re excited to announce that our patio outdoor seating will officially reopen at this time!

Bring on the sunshine! No reservations needed.

Details:
San Juan Island Cheese
155 Nichols St.
Friday, 5/1 from 5:00pm-7:00pm
www.sjicheese.com/events-pairings
For more info, please call 360-370-5115

Spineless Invertabrates – Susan Middleton photo

Spineless: Portraits of Marine Invertebrates by Susan Middleton

See huge spellbinding images of octopuses and jellyfish in the San Juan Islands Museum of Art summer exhibition by acclaimed San Francisco wildlife photographer Susan Middleton.

In astoundingly detailed photographs from her book Spineless: Portraits of Marine Invertebrates, the Backbone of Life, published in 2014 by Abrams and Chronicle Books, Middleton uncovers the mysterious and surprising world of marine invertebrates, which represent more than 98 percent of the known animal species in the ocean.

This show will be at IMA from May 23 through August 21, 2015. Visit the IMA Website for more information

Here’s a note from Jafet Soto about an upcoming auction to benefit the high school’s weight room…

Click to enlarge poster

Help Friday Harbor High School’s athletic programs! The high school’s weight room is in need of new machines and repairs to old ones.

In order to fix this issue, students Jafet Soto and Nick Armstrong are hosting a charity auction at the Roche Harbor Pavilion on Thursday, May 14th at 6:30 p.m.

Get the chance to acquire local meals, Mariner’s tickets, a stay at Roche Harbor, and much more…

Tickets for the event are $30 and will be sold at the door. Tickets can also be purchased in advance via email to Jafet Soto at:
awesomejfet[@]gmail[.]com or through Nick Armstrong at:
nickarmstrong888[@]gmail[.]com

Tickets will also be available at King’s on Sunday, May 3rd and on Saturday and Sunday, May 9th and 10th.

Thanks for a Wonderful “Greeting Ceremony” Event

Wow! Not only was The Whale Museum’s 9th annual “Greeting Ceremony” event a lot of fun, it raised much needed funds for our exhibits and facility. Our heartfelt thanks are expressed to everyone who helped make this such a successful event.

Our deep appreciation goes to our committee who worked tirelessly to get the word out and coordinate the event held at the beautiful Brickworks. The food & drink were delicious, thanks to Market Chef, Northwest Totem Cellars, Island Hoppin’ Brewery, and San Juan Roasters as well as the dessert creators, including Shona Aitken, Bakery San Juan, Mary Jo Farrer, Elli Gull, Julie Hanks, Market Chef, Mike’s Café & Wine Bar, Sandy May, and Patti Wickham.

The auction items were amazing, contributed by individuals as well as many businesses on-island and from farther away. Please check out the full list printed on our website. We cannot thank them enough for contributing items that were so enticing to our attendees. Our MC & Auctioneer Duncan Wilson did a wonderful job leading us through the evening.

We had great event sponsors – thanks to Islanders Insurance, Islanders Bank, Petro San Juan, Coldwell Banker-SJI, and Ed & Clare Kelm. And the volunteers and Museum staff were amazing – more than 20 people were on-hand to decorate, run the event and clean up, including the wonderful student chefs from Friday Harbor High’s Food For Thought Program.

Thanks to everyone who attended and supported our 9th annual “Greeting Ceremony” fundraiser. Because of you, we raised just over $18,000 to further The Whale Museum’s mission of promoting stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research.

Thank you!
John Aschoff, Board President
Jenny L. Atkinson, Executive Director

It’s not late breaking news that not everyone is ecstatic about the new Ferries Reservations System. Here’s long time islander Lisa Guard with her opinion on it…

Good morning,

I am a native of San Juan Island, I have lived in Friday Harbor all of my life and happily accepted my toll road as a blessing and gift of island life.

The new reservation system is a complete upset to residents of the San Juans!

I woke up at 6 am this morning April 28th in order to plan my life, or what Washington State Ferries would let me plan. I started at 6:50 am just to see if the 7 am rule held true. When I couldn’t make a reservation I opted for breakfast. I came back to my computer at 7:07 to find heavy volumes and had to wait while my computer patiently paused awaiting my turn. This was like being on hold with the telephone but I didn’t get any elevator music. When I finally was connected I found most of the return trip ferries (that’s Anacortes to FH for me) were booked! Continue Reading

The new bulkhead down at Spring Street Landing – Contributed photo

Port Checks Off ‘Must Do’ Project As Complete

Port Commissioners Mike Ahrenius, Barbara Marrett and Greg Hertel invite everyone to come down to Spring Street Landing at 3:00 pm on Friday, May 1st for a ribbon cutting celebration and brief tour of the new $1.5 million Bulkhead project recently completed by Mike Carlson Enterprises.

A Poppy for Tony – Janet Thomas photo

The Poppies are out. You’ll see them all over the island. Many of them were planted by Tony Surina – Here’s Janet Thomas with some insight on that…

Island friends… In the early 90s I was county fair manager. After a couple of days on the job an unfamiliar man showed up in the office and said he had something to show me. It was Tony Surina. He took me out to the horse arena and showed me where he had planted California poppies. Then he asked that they not be mowed down. They weren’t.

Turned out that every year he planted poppies all over the island in honor of his war buddies. Every time I see them budding up out of dust & gravel, I think of Tony. The poppies open & close to the warmth until way late in the fall. But if they are picked, they go limp in a minute. All they need is the sun.

Part of Tony Surina’s legacy – Golden Poppies on San Juan Island – Ian Byington photo

Load up the car and come to the Fairgrounds THIS Friday night for a spectacular showing of Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park!

During a preview tour, a theme park suffers a major power breakdown that allows its cloned dinosaur exhibits to run amok. (1993) Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller. Rated: PG-13 Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, & Jeff Goldblum

• Time: Movie begins 9:00pm
• Sound: FM radio
• Parking: First come, opens at 8:00pm, taller vehicles will be parked in back rows
• Cost: $5 Person, Age 5 and under, FREE, family up to five $20.
• Location: SJC Fairgrounds, 846 Argyle Avenue

Questions? Call 378-4310, info[@]sjcfair[.]org

After more than ten years of service as EMS Chief of San Juan Island EMS/Island Air Ambulance, Jim Cole resigns to take the position of EMS Coordinator in the PeaceHealth Oregon West Network. His last day will be June 5, 2015.

“I am honored to have served this community alongside the professional volunteers and staff of San Juan Island EMS,” said Cole.

The Commissioners of the San Juan County Public Hospital District #1, which oversees the operation of San Juan Island EMS, thank Chief Cole for his decade of service. “We greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication that Chief Cole brought to the position. We will miss him,” said Chairperson Dr. Michael Edwards.

A search committee will be formed.

Building permit inspection services offered by the San Juan County Department of Community Development will be limited during the week of May 4th during a staff training program designed to improve service and increase efficiency.

With the aid of the Washington State Auditor’s Office LEAN Academy, San Juan County is working to update and streamline its permit processes using the LEAN methodology. LEAN is the concept of streamlining processes while optimizing resources to improve efficiency and maximize customer value. Although LEAN was developed to improve efficiency in the world of manufacturing, it has recently been adopted by other sectors including local government as a way to improve service delivery at the least possible cost.

Staff from Public Works, the Health Department and Department of Community Development will spend the week of May 4th through the 8th identifying performance improvement strategies.

“The County Council fully supports the investment of time and staff resources to this initiative,” said County Manager Mike Thomas. “In order to focus on how best to deliver more value to our customers—the people of San Juan County, we need to pause in order to make improvements.”

In order to accommodate this pause, building permit inspections will be limited the week of May 4th.

• Inspections will be available on Orcas and Lopez on Monday May 4th and Wednesday May 6th.
• Inspections on San Juan Island will be available on Tuesday May 5th and Thursday May 7th.
• All requests for inspections during this week must be made by phone at 378-6270.

Conscientious Projector Documentary Series hosted by Rob Simpson
Tonight, see The Comedy of Real News. From comic relief characters in the tragedies of Shakespeare to the court jesters of royalty past, only comedians were allowed to speak the truth… as long as they didn’t go too far.

Today, a young generation of comedians has entered the field of news reporting. Do we have anything to learn from these contemporary court jesters?

All this and organic popcorn (sponsored by the Friends of the Library). *Note special day and time, this month only* Wednesday, April 29, at 7:15pm

Have you ever had a hankerin’ to serve as a school board director, or fire commissioner, or Town Council member? Those and many other local government offices through San Juan County will be elected in November. But in order to appear on the ballot, you must first file as a candidate.

Online candidate filing will be available beginning Monday, May 11 at 9:00 am through Friday, May 15 at 4:00 pm. In person or emailed filings will be accepted Monday, May 11 at 8:00 am through Friday, May 15 at 4:30 pm. Mail-in filings will be accepted no earlier than Monday, April 27 and no later than Friday, May 15.

Candidates are encouraged to file for office online. Candidates who file online will not only receive confirmation of their filing, but also updates when other candidates file for that office. Candidates will be able to file from their personal computers or on a computer set up in the Elections Office.

The names of candidates facing two or more challengers will appear on the August 4 Primary ballot. Offices with only one or two candidates will go directly to the November 3 General Election ballot.

Candidates filing online will log onto the Elections webpage at www.sanjuanco.com/elections and navigate to “Candidate Filing Online.” If filing by mail, forms are to be sent to San Juan County Auditor, Elections Office, PO Box 638, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. In-person filings forms should be taken to the Elections Office, 55 2nd Street, Friday Harbor.

The following are offices open for this election season. Continue Reading

Kate Schuman at the Golf Course – Contributed photo

Local singer/guitarist Kate Shuman has a busy season planned and would love to share it with you. Here she is with info on where you’ll find her this year…

Hi Everyone, and Happy Spring! Music is in the air, and here’s where to find it:

San Juan Golf and Tennis Club, EVERY Tuesday 5:00 to 6:30, starting May 5th (Cinco de Mayo) through the end of September.
I can’t say enough about this wonderful venue. Easy parking and access, beautiful view, delicious food and drink. Last season we just had fun, fun, fun. This year I plan to feature more local musicians, one at a time, and so far have lined up Keith Busha, Teddy Deane, James Barkshire, Kirk Fuhrmeister, and Debbie Nash Strasser, with more to come! The Club is always OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, and everyone is welcome! On May 5th Keith Busha will be joining me to kick off the season. Hope to see you then!

Rumor Mill, Friday, May 15th, 7-10pm.
It’s a solo gig for me, with my new keyboard and vocal machine that allows me to add percussion and harmonies to my tunes. Come on, let’s dance!!

Rumor Mill, Friday, June 26th, 7-10pm
It’s The One More Time Band with yours truly on vocals. Always a good time, with lots of dancing to a big band sound!

San Juan Community Theatre, Night Music, Thursday, July 23rd, 7:30.
Keith Busha and I team up for another fun evening in this delightful summer music series. We haven’t decided exactly what we’re going to do, but I’m sure there will be lots of Patsy Cline tunes. Let us know what you’d like to hear!

Port of Friday Harbor, Sunday, August 23rd, 2-4pm.
Fun in the sun with Keith Busha and I presenting tunes from across the musical spectrum. It’s outdoors, it’s free, and the people-watching is top-notch!! Chairs are provided.

That’s it for now. Many heartfelt thanks to all of you supporting live music in Friday Harbor!! It’s always a joy to see you in the audience.

Kate Schuman

Click to enlarge poster

The Salish Seeds Project, a joint venture between the San Juan County Land Bank and the San Juan Preservation Trust, is hosting a tour of their Red Mill Farm Nursery, located in San Juan Valley.

Not quite a year old, the Red Mill nursery focuses on producing seed of federally-threatened golden paintbrush and other prairie plants for restoration sites on Land Bank and Preservation Trust preserves.

And, be sure to bring you binoculars, as the expansive valley view from the nursery offers plenty of bird-watching opportunities…including a nesting pair of Western Bluebirds!

Sunday, May 3, 2015
11:00 am to Noon at Red Mill Farm, San Juan Island

Directions to Red Mill Farm Nursery: Drive west on Spring Street out of Friday Harbor and it will turn into San Juan Valley Road. Turn left at Valley Farms Road and then take the first right. The nursery will be on your left, a little ways down the drive, across from the farmhouse. Please park well off the driveway.

Sponsored by the San Juan County Land Bank and San Juan Preservation Trust.

Click to enlarge poster

The Children’s Festival is an annual island-wide FREE event where over 30 community groups gather to celebrate children by providing entertaining, creative, interactive, educational and playful activities. It is supported by numerous businesses and organizations and is coordinated by Island Rec.

The Children’s Festival is an entire community effort and is second only to the county fair in its scope of community participation and the number of people who attend and it is the commitment of the dedicated volunteers on the Children’s Festival Committee who bring the festival to life every year. Don’t miss it! This Saturday, May 2, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the Fairgrounds.