The new lift at the Whale Museum – Click to enlarge – Contributed photo

Here’s a note from the Whale Museum about their new lift…

In response to The Whale Museum’s growing need to expand our accessibility we have installed a stair lift that will allow our visitors to explore the upstairs exhibit hall regardless of their physical limitations.

We would like to thank the following organizations and individuals who made this possible:

• The San Juan Community Foundation and the Women’s Fund who graciously gave us the funding for the stair lift;
• Mobility Concepts who installed the lift and who was fantastic to work with from start to finish;
• American Cruise Lines and Road Scholar for supporting us through the process;
• Town of Friday Harbor;
• Friday Harbor Electric;

We also thank Jeff Gull for his work on the stairwell and railings and The Whale Museum’s staff and volunteers who helped us achieve this important goal.

A special thanks goes to The Whale Museum’s Education Curator Cindy Hansen, who got the project off the ground and saw it through to completion.

More than 500 observations of flora and fauna were logged by 64 field participants during the first annual BioBlitz held May 3rd & 4th at American Camp, according to park Education Specialist and project coordinator Raena Parsons.

A BioBlitz is a unique combination of taxonomic inventory, public outreach, and science education. At its core, the BioBlitz is a species inventory in which teams of volunteers, each led by an expert scientist, find, identify, and photograph as many species as possible within a 24-hour period.

With generous support from the National Park Foundation, teams of scientists, students, and citizen scientists attempted to inventory all the life they could find in the American Camp unit of the park. More than 60 scientists, volunteers, students, and community members contributed to finding and identifying 162 different species!

Here are the final results:

• 516 observations
• 162 species:
  • 76 plants
  • 50 birds
  • 13 marine algae
  • 10 marine invertebrates
  • 9 insects
  • 3 mammals
  • 1 reptile

For more information about the BioBlitz and how you can be involved next year please contact Raena Parsons at 360-378-2240, ext. 2222, or e-mail her at [email protected].

Sunshine Alley – Click for larger image

There will be an open house on the final Sunshine Alley design plan and improvement costs on Wednesday the 2nd of July at Brickworks. The open house will begin at 6:00 pm with a presentation of design particulars by the consultant team at 6:15 pm. The team will be available afterwards to answer questions and take comments.

The Evergreen State will sail her last run on Sunday – Tim Dustrude photo

When my family moved here in ’71 it was the BIG BOAT. At that time the islands were served by the Evergreen State, the Klickitat and the Nisqually and every run was a “milk run”. The Evergreen was faster and carried more vehicles. Now it’s the small boat on our route and the slowest. But it holds lots of memories. Kind of sad to see her being retired – gonna miss that sweet old boat…

Here’s the official press release from WSF:
WSF retires its oldest ferry
Bon voyage sailing for the Evergreen State is June 29

The public is invited to bid “bon voyage” to Washington State Ferries’ oldest ship, the 87-car Evergreen State, with one last ride from Friday Harbor to Anacortes Sunday, June 29. Crews will decommission the vessel and retire it from service following its final sailing.

The Evergreen State was the first vessel custom built for Washington State Ferries in 1954.

“This remarkable ferry has served our customers well for six decades,” said Interim Assistant Secretary for Ferries Division Capt. George Capacci. “It’s tough to see her go, however decommissioning the Evergreen State and rotating in our newest, state of the art ferry, the 144-car Tokitae, brings us one step closer to improving overall reliability of our entire fleet.”

In the recent past she plied the waters of San Juan County between Anacortes and Sidney B.C. The ferry currently serves the interisland route.

“Washington State Ferries, and the Evergreen State have enabled our county to grow our economic base and provide basic transportation to Anacortes, Sidney and between islands,” said San Juan County Council member Rick Hughes. “Words are not enough to express what the Evergreen State has done for our community.”

Evergreen State’s final sailings on Sunday, June 29:

Interisland
· Departs Friday Harbor at 11:35 a.m. with departures from Orcas (12:25 p.m.), Shaw (12:40 p.m.) and Lopez (1 p.m.).

Friday Harbor to Lopez and Anacortes
· Departs Friday Harbor at 2:15 p.m., making a stop in Lopez (3:05 p.m. departure), before arriving in Anacortes.

The ferry will follow its normal summer sailing schedule until the 2:15 sailing from Friday Harbor on June 29. All applicable vehicle fares apply. Walk-on passenger tickets remain free of charge for both sailings.

San Juan County and the U.S. Coast Guard will provide an unofficial escort for the Evergreen State on her final interisland and Friday Harbor/Anacortes sailings. Private boats are welcome to join the escort and sound their horns in tribute. For safety and security, WSF reminds boaters to stay at least 100 yards, the size of a football field, from the ferry during transit.

Taylor Clark can hook you up with some good stuff – SJ Update photo

Has your sweetie ever sent you to the store to pick something up? Mine did – I was off to get something for dinner. She didn’t know what – just something for dinner, except she knew she needed ice cream. Not having much of a sweet tooth myself, I didn’t know what to get so I asked Taylor, “Hey can you recommend some ice cream for my wife?” and he knew just the thing.

“Here, try this” he said. It was some new brand he’d just stocked in the freezer at King’s, called Loch Mead out of Junction City, Oregon. So I got Butter Pecan (how should I know what to get…?)

Well, I got home, we had dinner, and then Shannon tried it.

She said, “Don’t you Ever, EVER buy this again!” and boy did I figure I had messed up… Until she said, “This is so delicious, it’s dangerous! Take it away! I’m liable to eat the whole pint!”

Soon after, Shannon’s friend in Anacortes wanted to try some. Shannon says, “Do you think you could find this stuff in Anacortes? How about, ‘NO’!”. Apparently you can only find it at King’s. So her friend came over to visit and bought 2 pints of the stuff for dessert.

So if you need some good ice cream, and you’re not sure what to get, go to King’s and try that Loch Mead stuff… I hear it’s so good, it’s dangerous.

Thanks Taylor!

Bikes at Discovery Sea Kayaks are ready for you or your visiting friends and relatives to rent – Contributed photo

They’ve added Bike Rentals at Discovery Sea Kayaks in addition to Kayak Tours. Discovery has just added a fleet of Felt 24-speed rental bikes to their operation. Bikes can be rented from their shop in downtown Friday Harbor and are available for a half day, full day or multiple days. Go check them out in the Jeri’s Mall building on Spring Street.

Check out this film which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, Short Subjects in 1996!

A survey of the world’s oceans, emphasizing the fact that it’s a single interconnected ocean, and the dependence of all life on the ocean. Along the way we spend time with some surfers, with researchers cataloging and tracking whales, a Coast Guard rough weather rescue squad, a deep-ocean research team, and in the Palau Islands, notably at a saltwater lake with an unusual jellyfish variety. Jon Reeves.

The Living Sea is narrated by actress Meryl Streep, with music by Sting, produced by Science World, a Vancouver based science education centre, and underwater imagery directed by filmmaker Greg MacGillivray.

It’s showing at the Grange tonight at 7:00 pm. Running time: 77 minutes

Click to enlarge

Meet Sally Thomsen, Director of the San Juan Island Parks and Recreation District (better known as “Island Rec”) and Brent Snow, General Manager of Roche Harbor Resort and SJI School Board member, to walk the Forest Glen Trail in the Roche Harbor area. See the side trails and learn about the walking opportunities there.

Meet and park at the intersection of West Valley Road and Roche Harbor Roads. Length is 4 miles round-trip. Rating is easy to moderate. Terrain is wooded trail. Dogs on leashes welcome.

Saturday, June 28, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Rain or shine. See sanjuanislandtrails.org for more information

Business entrepreneurs invited to the first EDC Business Café

The San Juan County Economic Development Council invites business entrepreneurs to the first San Juan Island EDC Business Café event, on Thursday, June 26th, from 10:00am until 11am on San Juan Island.

The EDC Business Cafés were created as a way to ensure that our entrepreneurs have an arena to discuss issues important to their businesses. Businesses in all stages of growth and health are invited to attend – to share stories, to find solutions, to create solidarities. The cafés will be held regularly on all three islands in rotation.

The cafés were created by the EDC’s Business Incubation Committee, a group created to foster emerging businesses through education and cooperation.

Details: Thursday, June 26th, from 10:00 to 11:00 am at the Bean Café, 150 First Street, Friday Harbor. Please call (360) 378-2906 for more information or email:
info [@] sanjuansedc [.] org

The EDC thanks the Whidbey Island Bank, San Juan County government, the Town of Friday Harbor, the Port of Friday Harbor and the Port of Lopez for supporting our events.

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. The EDC works to build an environment that helps business owners create jobs. We serve business: linking organizations and resources, providing valuable information, rendering assistance and advocating for an improved island business environment.

Here’s a note from Rob Simpson for the Conscientious Projector series at the library…

Hello Sun-Celebrating Islanders,

Yes, it feels like summer… at least for a few days.

This Monday, June 23rd, is our summer catchup of Conscientious Projector topics. We’ll see brief clips and updates on various topics we’ve touched on in the past.

We’ll also see some “flip book” type summaries of things we’ve explored before. I find these helpful on big topics where the long-term details sometimes get buried in the sheer volume of information and revelations coming at us.

We’ll have lots of little pauses to chat and share how these things hit us today.

So, come on down to the library main room this Monday at 7:00 pm. Once again – popcorn, coffee and volunteer snacks will be waiting thanks to our librarian Bethery and the Friends of the Library (and anyone who has excess cookies around the house and would like to bring them).

And… it’ll still be daylight when were all done!

Hope to see you there,
Rob

San Juan County Initiates the Lopez Village Subarea Plan Project
Notice of Public Meeting

San Juan County is pleased to announce the appointment of the Lopez Village Planning and Review Committee and initiation of the Lopez Village Subarea planning process. Committee members include Annie Albritton, Sandy Bishop, Daniel Drahn, Nancy Greene, Madrona Murphy, Dennis Ryan and
Barbara Thomas.

The Committee will meet with Councilman Jamie Stephens and San Juan County Community Development & Planning Department staff on Friday, June 27, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at the Lopez Library. The library is located at 2225 Fisherman Bay Road on Lopez Island. Officers will be elected and other organizational business will be conducted at the meeting. The public is welcome to attend. A public comment period will be included on all regular Committee meeting agendas. Continue Reading

Last year’s marching band – Click to enlarge – SJ Update photo

First practice this year for the Community Marching Band that marches in the Fourth of July parade is Monday, June 23 at 7:00 pm.

Show up and be part of something really neat! Dust off your instrument and join the Community Fourth of July Parade Marching Band.

Rehearsals are at 7:00 pm June 23rd, 25th, and 27th at the 4H Building (behind the Main Building) at the Fairgrounds.

Final rehearsals are at 7:00 pm June 30th and July 2nd at the High School Band Room (off the school parking lot).
Any questions and to pick up music, call Chris Bevens at 378-5023

Sponsored by King’s Market

Mary Kate Berger

You know Mary Kate from MKate Design, and formerly By Design? Well she has a battle going on and she is undergoing some pretty intense chemotherapy to help her win it. Many people have asked “What can I do to help?” and here’s the simple answer to that.

An account has been set up at Islanders Bank to help with the financial burden that comes with this awful treatment. Please go in and tell them you want to donate to her medical fund – just say Mary Kate Berger (Panero) and they’ll fix you right up.

Also, keep August 9th open on your calendar as there will be a fundraiser/benefit party coming up for her as well. More details on that coming soon…

Click to enlarge poster

It got such rave reviews when it was presented during the On Book! Readers Theatre series that it just made sense to make it a full-fledged San Juan Community Theatre production!

Director Joy Van Camp is holding auditions THIS Monday and Tuesday, June 23-24 at 7:00 pm at the PARC (70 Saltspring Drive) for SJCT’s hilarious fall play, Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”

Joy will be casting four women and two men for this Tony Award-winning play the New York Times called “deliriously funny.”

The plot centers on Vanya and Sonia who live in the family home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Named for characters in plays by Anton Chekhov, Vanya and Sonia have not had to grow up. Neither has a job, and money is provided by their sister Masha, who is a movie star, who owns the house and pays the bills. Vanya (who is gay) and Sonia (who is forever reminding everyone that she is adopted) spend their days doing nothing, bemoaning their rather Chekovian lot in life. Their world is turned upside down when Masha returns home bringing her much younger dimwitted lover, Spike.

Performance dates are October 16-26; contact Joy for information at 378-5753

WSF Evergreen State enters Friday Harbor – SJ Update photo

Join Washington State Ferries at community meetings this summer to discuss route-specific issues, liquefied natural gas, new vessel construction and long-range planning.

Community meetings are hosted twice a year to discuss current issues facing the ferry system. In addition to meetings, customers also may voice their concerns and provide input through our Ferry Advisory Committees.

Seven meetings are scheduled during June and July. The one in Friday Harbor is next week:

San Juan Island

• 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 25
• San Juan County Council Chambers
• 55 Second St., Friday Harbor (corner of Second and Reed streets)
• Meeting will be streamed live from the San Juan County website.
• Questions will be taken via email to [email protected]

2013 parade crowds – SJ Update photo

4th of July Parade Special Needs Reserved Seating

Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church welcomes seniors and those with special needs to reserve a seat along the sidewalk in front of the Church for the 4th of July Parade. There is also space for wheelchairs. Please call the Church Office with your name and the number of guests needing reserved seating for the parade. 378-4544