We are very excited that there is an excellent candidate for our next County Council representative from District 3 (Lopez/Shaw). Jane Fuller is knowledgeable, experienced and energized, and is the right person at the right time for San Juan County. She has a long history with Lopez Island dating back to her childhood and since moving here with her family Jane has immersed herself in important community issues. Jane is a good listener and has demonstrated leadership in a variety of private sector and government positions that will prove helpful to our county. We give Jane our full support and hope you do, too.

Tom and Tammy Cowan
Lopez Island

On April 7th, our town was changed forever by an act of arson.

There are no words to describe how it felt to arrive on scene and see the scope and magnitude of the fire. It was devastating to watch our iconic downtown burn. The destruction was extensive and the unanswered questions of how and why weighed heavily on all of us. An immediate investigation into the cause of the fire quickly resulted in the identification and arrest of the suspect, giving some small closure to those questions, for which I am grateful, and we can now concentrate on healing and rebuilding.

To the many businesses affected by this tragedy, my heart goes out to you, for the senseless loss you have experienced.  May you rebuild swiftly and thrive once again.

To the people who so unfairly lost their jobs and livelihood, I hope you find new employment and continued prosperity here. It is heartwarming to see all the support being offered to you by fellow businesses and community members.

To my community, who I grieved with over the destruction of our historic downtown, my spirit is lifted by the outpouring of love, generosity and support you have provided. You are the heart and soul of our islands, a shining light during the darkest time. I appreciate you so much. Continue Reading

• Congrats to Friday Harbor High School junior Cody Balcomb-Bartok, who organized the well-attended car show show held on Saturday at the Fairgrounds for his community project.
• Great Islands Clean-up participants collected 1,742 pounds of trash on San Juan Island on Saturday. The afterparty was the first event of the year in the beer garden at San Juan Brewing Co.
• Friday Harbor High School fastpitch lost 16-3 on the road in a non-conference game at Ferndale on Saturday. They travel to Coupeville tomorrow.
• The injury recovery fundraiser for Chad Settles is almost halfway to its goal.
• Property taxes are due on May 2, a week from today. After the deadline, outstanding balances are automatically charged one percent interest. You can search for your property’s tax balances on the County Assessor’s website.
• Due to a staff shortage, Hermosa is temporarily suspending Friday and Saturday evening dinner service.

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

Citing financial losses that would stem from recently changed Coast Guard capacity rules, the operator of MV San Juan Clipper has filed a petition with the State of Washington to temporarily suspend operations in 2022.

San Juan Express, Inc., filed the petition with the Washington Utilities and Transport Commission last week. It would eliminate the company’s four day per week service between May 12 and Sept. 5, as well as its three day per week service between Sept. 9 and Oct. 9 in the fall.

The company has also reportedly begun cancelling reservations for its three day per week spring service, although it does not mention that approach in its petition. Spring service is scheduled to start next Friday.

“SJE had hoped, bolstered by a prospective fuel surcharge, to continue operations at an increased capacity of approximately a 200 passenger limit, to resume service and attain modest profitability in the 2022 sailing season,” according to the petition. “However, in late March 2022 and ironically on the same day of SJE’s pending fuel surcharge submission, the Company’s outside naval architect, Theresa Fielding of the Elliott Bay Design Group, was informed by the United States Coast Guard that apparently due to controlling federal regulations which were revised following a major vessel fire off the coast of California, SJE’s vessel capacity would be limited to 150 passengers for the indefinite future until and unless significant design changes in the vessel were implemented.” Continue Reading

• Friday Harbor High School fastpitch beat Darrington 14-6 at Linde Community Fields to win their fifth straight game. The Wolverines improved to 7-4 overall and 6-1 in league play.
• Here’s another promotional video for San Juan Community Theatre’s upcoming performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. It opens May 13.
• The library is holding a public hearing related to its 2022 budget on Tuesday at 10 a.m. over Zoom.
• Island Rec is putting on a 75-mile get-ready-for-summer fitness mileage challenge. You can register here.
• Registration for Island Rec’s summer programs opens on Monday, May 2 at 7 a.m. Learn more about the available programs on the Island Rec website.
• Medio Cafe — located inside Friday Harbor Suites — is now serving breakfast burritos. Locals gets a discount. They’re open Fridays and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for now, but they hope to expand their hours starting in May.
• There’s a pet parade happening at the Fairgrounds at 10 a.m. this morning. It’s free to watch.
• The Friday Harbor Car Show runs from 1 to 4 p.m. today, also at the Fairgrounds. It’s free as well.

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

A two-run double by Camden Losey in the bottom of the fourth inning broke open an unexpectedly close game and helped give the Friday Harbor High School Wolverines the insurance runs they needed to put away the visiting Darrington High School Loggers by an 11-2 count on a sunny but cool Friday evening at Linde Community Fields.

Darrington entered the game winless, had been outscored 75-19 on the season, and fielded only one senior. But they managed to keep the Wolverines off the board until the bottom of the third, when Friday Harbor scored two runs without the benefit of a hit – one on a bases-loaded balk, the other on an error.

The Loggers responded with two runs of their own in the top of the fourth, including one on a double to left field that ended the day of starting pitcher Graham Learing, who struck out five and walked three. Darrington nearly took the lead after reliever Levi Buchanon surrendered a single to right field later in the inning, but an accurate throw from AJ Rude cut down a baserunner at home plate attempting to score from second.

Buchanon brought the game home for the Wolverines after Losey’s double put Friday Harbor up 5-2, shutting out Darrington in the final three innings with four strikeouts and no walks. He also had a strong day at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a pair of singles and reaching base on both a walk and an error.

Nathan Posenjak, Learing and Losey – Friday Harbor’s three-four-five hitters – led the way for the Wolverines on offense, combining to go 7 for 11 with two doubles.

The win is Friday Harbor’s tenth straight and moves the team to 11-1 on the season and 8-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play. It keeps them a game ahead of the Coupeville Wolves, who knocked off Mount Vernon Christian in a 4-3 road win on Friday.

Friday Harbor takes on the Wolves on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Coupeville.

The Town of Friday Harbor shares an update about the newest member of its Arts Commission.

The Town is pleased to announce the appointment of Islay Ross to the Friday Harbor Arts Commission. She will serve as the youth representative on the eight-person commission through June 2023, advising the Town Council on the cultivation, selection, acquisition, and placement of public art within Friday Harbor. 

Ross is a lifelong islander, artist, and student body president in her junior year at Friday Harbor High School.

“We are fortunate to have this talented and enthusiastic student on our Arts Commission,” said Mayor Ray Jackson, noting appreciation for her interest in the emergence of new art within the community as well as in learning the processes involved in town government. Ross will be the fifth youth member to serve on the commission since its establishment in 2015.

We enthusiastically endorse Jane Fuller for County Council, District 3. Having known Jane as a board member of the Friends of Lopez Island Pool, co-founder of the Lopez Island Parent Student Teacher Association, an elected member of the Charter Review Commission and an active community member, we are grateful for her competence, hard work, and community-minded public service. Her passion and commitment to equity, sustainability and the wellbeing of SJC residents and our islands makes her well-suited to serve our county at this pivotal moment in our history.

Chris & Chom Greacen
Lopez Island

• Take a look inside the San Juan Community Theatre’s upcoming performance of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella in this wonderful promotional video.
• It’s another sign of spring: the first Island Marble Butterflies of the year have been identified by local conservationists and Park staff at American Camp. Only a few hundred are believed to remain in existence, found only in a few locations on San Juan and Lopez Islands.
• Want to learn more about Island Marble Butterfly conservation efforts? The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank is holding a habitat tour two weekends from now, on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The tour will include stops at three sites where landowners are making new butterfly habitats. Attendees will learn about the different habitat creation methods being tested, what the butterfly needs to survive, and how anyone can get involved to help. Contact Tanja Williamson at [email protected] or 360-370-7655 to register.
• Ranunculus from Mama Bird Farm are now available at Market Place and Deer Hazel.
• Friday Harbor High School baseball and fastpitch are back at it this afternoon. Both teams have home games against Darrington High School at the fields at Linde at 4:45 p.m.
• Coho is having another late-night pop-up tonight. It runs from 5 to 10 p.m., it’s dine-in only, and they’re serving Southern comfort food: hush puppies, mac and cheese, collard greens, fried okra, fried chicken, beignets, and half a dozen more choices.

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

The Chamber of Commerce shares news about a fundraiser that kicks off next month.

The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce along with co-sponsor San Juan Canvas will be holding a silent auction to benefit the Chamber’s Fire Relief Fund.

Thanks to donations from our kind and generous creative community, we will be auctioning off some beautiful pieces. All items being auctioned will be displayed in the windows of the Chamber Visitor’s Center located at 165 First Street S. Items will begin to go on display during the week of April 25 through May 7 with auction items added as they come in.

The silent auction will begin on May 8 and close May 15.

We invite islanders and visitors to come by to check out what our talented island artists are creating. Find a treasure for yourself and support the victims of the tragic, heartbreaking fire.

The April 7 fire that destroyed four Friday Harbor buildings and caused upwards of $10 million in damage was started more than five hours before it was reported to San Juan County Sheriff’s dispatchers, according to a statement presented in San Juan County Superior Court yesterday.

A probable cause statement prepared by Lukas Peter, San Juan County Sheriff detective, notes that a security camera attached to the Windermere Real Estate building captured a bright flash of light lasting for roughly thirty seconds at 10:04 p.m. on the night of April 6. Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives have concluded that the content of the video is consistent with the ignition of an ignitable liquid.

“As the ignitable liquid is consumed, the light produced by the fire diminishes,” according to the statement. “ATF experts assert it is not unusual for a fire caused by ignitable liquids to smolder for hours before flaring up once combustible materials dry out sufficiently.”

Dwight Henline, who is suspected of starting the fire, was captured by security cameras purchasing an eight-ounce bottle of lighter fluid from an unnamed local business nine minutes before the fire started. Security footage also shows Henline leaving the scene of the fire one minutes after its ignition, then going to retrieve a suitcase that had previously been stashed at the bottom of the steps near the Cheesecake Cafe. Eight minutes later he is shown boarding a ferry to Anacortes, carrying a backpack and pulling a suitcase. Cameras in Anacortes recorded Henline getting into a waiting sedan upon his arrival. Continue Reading

• An anonymous donor is matching up to $10,000 in donations to the EDC’s Fire Recovery Grant pool.
• Co-ed adult soccer league registration is open now through Island Rec. The league is for ages 16 and up, with games on Tuesdays or Thursdays between 6 and 9 p.m. It runs from May 24 to July 26. At least eight teams are needed by May 11 — a little less than three weeks from today.
• Enrollment for Griffin Bay School for the 2022-2023 school year is open now.
• Post San Juan, and the building it’s located in, are for sale for $750,000.
• High school band Shawty and the Colors are performing tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at the Port of Friday Harbor. They also have a show next Friday at 6 p.m. at Everelse. Both performances are all ages and free.
• Family Art Days take-home packs are available for pick-up on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the San Juan Islands Art Museum. The packs are free, but you need to register in advance.

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