Island Rec is hiring a Director and a Counselor for Camp Eagle Rock, which runs from June through mid-August. Learn more in the Island Jobs section of the San Juan Update.

Local volunteers for the Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA) program are hosting an online introduction to Medicare for enrollees joining the program in 2022.

On Monday, March 21 at 1 p.m., the presenters will outline how Medicare works, its different coverage options, and key program milestones and dates that must be met in order to avoid penalties.

To register, email [email protected] or call 360-376-5892. You’ll need to provide your first name, last name, and email address.

SHIBA is overseen by the state’s Office of the Insurance Commissioner to provide free, unbiased, confidential counseling in San Juan County. The organization is sponsored locally by the Inter Island Healthcare Foundation.

San Juan Island Food Co-op has openings for a produce clerk, a grocery clerk, a cashier, and a grocery lead. Learn more in the Island Jobs section of the San Juan Update.

Incumbent San Juan County Clerk Lisa Henderson has announced her intention to run for re-election.

Henderson was appointed by the County Council to complete the unexpired term of former Clerk Joan White in March 2018. She was elected to a full term in Nov. 2018.

According to Henderson, “My first term has been filled with unique challenges brought on by the pandemic. Certainly no one anticipated we would still be talking about it two years later. I am so proud of my team and how we navigated the hurdles brought on by COVID and the unprecedented number of legislative and technology changes affecting our operations. I am honored to serve the citizens of San Juan County during this historic time. I am committed to continuing the work we have started and to leverage technology in a balanced way to best serve our community efficiently and economically.”

County Clerk is one of eight positions up for a vote in the Nov. 8 general election. The County Council seat for District 3 (Lopez and Shaw), Assessor, Auditor, Prosecuting Attorney, Sheriff, Treasurer, and District Court Judge are also open in 2022. The primary election for those contests takes place Aug. 2.

The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold a regular meeting on Friday, March 18 at 8:30 a.m. Items up for discussion or action at Friday’s meeting include:

• Chair and Commissioners report
• County Council update – Christine Minney
• Director’s report – Acquisitions update
• Stewardship report – Final review of draft agricultural policy
• Outreach and volunteer report – Upcoming community conversations
• Future agenda items – JEDI update, climate change policy statement

The Commission will also hold a non-public Executive session to discuss the acquisition of real estate.

You can view the live stream of the meeting online.

SJICF is looking for a full-time accountant to be responsible for all financial, accounting and fund management functions of the Foundation. This senior executive position will join an expert team assuring the successful execution of the Foundation’s charitable community mission. Learn more in the Island Jobs section of the San Juan Update.

Friends of the San Juans shares news about the outcome of legal proceedings involving Phillips 66 and a proposed expansion of its refinery in Ferndale.

Friends of the San Juans, a small environmental nonprofit based in the San Juan Islands, recently scored a decisive legal victory against fossil-fuel giant Phillips 66, representing an important win for critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales. On Feb. 28, the Washington State Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Friends in a lawsuit regarding Phillips 66’s expansion of its Ferndale, WA, refinery.

In 2019 Phillips 66 applied for a permit to expand its fossil-fuel storage facilities in Ferndale. But in its permit application, Phillips 66 neglected to include predictions of how many additional vessels would visit the refinery. Since scientific data clearly show that increases in vessel traffic across the Salish Sea result in greater risks to the endangered Southern Residents killer whales, or orcas, such predictions are required in facility-expansion permits. On that basis, Friends, along with multiple community members, objected to the permit. Friends of the San Juans pursued legal actions to ensure that protections for the orcas were upheld by Whatcom County. Continue Reading

San Juan Island Fire and Rescue sends along some details about their response to a recent fire at a home in Friday Harbor.

On Friday afternoon, March 11, San Juan Island Fire and Rescue (SJIF&R) crews received a page from a 911 call regarding reports of fire at a home in the town of Friday Harbor.

The first engine crew arrived on the scene in minutes and came upon an active exterior fire with heavy smoke, and the fire had already spread onto a covered entryway, as well as enveloping some materials stored alongside the home.

SJIF&R fire crews rapidly deployed the engine’s hose line and were able to extinguish the fire, which had begun to spread onto the roof line of the home. Additional fire personnel and resources arrived and entered the home’s interior to ensure the fire had not spread internally. Fire crews deployed fans to ventilate the home’s interior and extricate smoke and particulate matter. After ventilation, crews remained on scene to help the homeowners by covering the entryway from further damage from weather.

No people or animals were inside the home at the time of the fire and there were no injuries during the emergency response. Residents were receiving assistance from the American Red Cross. The cause of the fire was accidental.

The emergency response was successful and partner agencies actively assisted by providing support during this incident.

Luxel has an immediate opening for a full-time Lab Technician to join their growing team. Learn more in the Island Jobs section of the San Juan Update.

Law enforcement officer by day, baker by night – Andy Urbach is the aproned hero delivering fresh-baked bagels to an island that can’t get enough of his yeasted works of art.

A Corrections Officer with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Andy is the driving force behind Old Town Bagel Co., a pop-up shop preparing for its fourth bagel bonanza this coming Sunday, March 20 from 8:30-10 a.m. at Van Go’s Pizza on Web Street. (Pre-orders open Wednesday at 8 a.m. on their Facebook page.)

Although he’s been baking since arriving on San Juan Island nearly two decades ago, it wasn’t until last year that Andy seriously considered becoming Friday Harbor’s local bagel broker.

“I started studying, researching, testing bagels and recipes,” he says. “Eventually the Sheriff’s Office became my guinea pigs.”

In the end, it was the combination of a made-up January holiday and serendipitous kitchen space that sealed the decision. Continue Reading

Jessa Madosky is one of three candidates running for the open seat on the OPALCO Board of Directors that represents District 1, which includes San Juan Island. Voting opened on March 11 and runs through April 27. OPALCO asked each candidate more than a dozen questions related to key issues facing OPALCO and Rock Island Communications now and in the years ahead. The San Juan Update shares their answers here.

OPALCO’s mission is to provide safe, reliable, sustainable and cost-effective essential utility services with a commitment to the utilization of renewable resources and carbon reduction. Which of these is most important to you and why?

The most important part of the OPALCO mission needs to be to provide sustainable essential utility services or ultimately the entire mission will be unsuccessful. Without providing essential services that are sustainable (both in terms of the environment and in terms of the community) we may be able to provide services for a short time, or provide services to only parts of the community that are well off, but without providing services that are both environmentally sustainable and sustainable for all of our community members we cannot ensure that everyone has access to essential services. Continue Reading

Steven Carleton is one of three candidates running for the open seat on the OPALCO Board of Directors that represents District 1, which includes San Juan Island. Voting opened on March 11 and runs through April 27. OPALCO asked each candidate more than a dozen questions related to key issues facing OPALCO and Rock Island Communications now and in the years ahead. The San Juan Update shares their answers here.

OPALCO’s mission is to provide safe, reliable, sustainable and cost-effective essential utility services with a commitment to the utilization of renewable resources and carbon reduction. Which of these is most important to you and why?

Safe, reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable would be how I prioritize these elements of OPALCO’s mission. Our obligation to our community is to provide essential utility services. The manner in which we do that is up for debate. I find it interesting that ‘cost-effective’ is listed last in the question. With so much discussion and debate around affordability across many areas of life in the county (affordable housing comes to mind), it seems as though cost-effective should not be a ‘nice to have’ or the last consideration in our mission. Continue Reading

Mark Madsen is one of three candidates running for the open seat on the OPALCO Board of Directors that represents District 1, which includes San Juan Island. Voting opened on March 11 and runs through April 27. OPALCO asked each candidate more than a dozen questions related to key issues facing OPALCO and Rock Island Communications now and in the years ahead. The San Juan Update shares their answers here.

OPALCO’s mission is to provide safe, reliable, sustainable and cost-effective essential utility services with a commitment to the utilization of renewable resources and carbon reduction. Which of these is most important to you and why?

Clearly, we must provide safe and reliable power. That’s always our first job. We need to do that as affordably as we can, given the rising cost of power, and control our costs. Within this framework, we must work to improve resilience, sustainability, and create local renewable generation, while encouraging efficiency and moving away from fossil fuels by helping members switch to EVs and adopt heat pumps. All elements of our mission are important, but they build on each other, starting from a foundation of safety and reliability. Continue Reading

The Town of Friday Harbor has an immediate opening for a collection and support person for the Town Refuse Department. Learn more in the Island Jobs section of the San Juan Update.