The 12th Annual Meeting of the San Juan Community Home Trust will feature affordable housing advocate Greg Winter, speaking on “Local and regional housing affordability strategies – examples from Whatcom and Skagit Counties.”

Greg Winter is Director of the Whatcom Homeless Service Center at the Opportunity Council in Bellingham, and Chair of the Whatcom County Coalition to End Homelessness. He is also president of the research firm Cornerstone Strategies.

This October, Winter received a “Friend of Housing Award” at the WA State Affordable Housing Conference in Spokane, in part for his role in the success of the Bellingham Home Fund levy that was approved by Bellingham voters last year.

He is knowledgeable about affordable housing issues in San Juan County, working with the Family Resource Centers on San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands to help them deliver several grant-funded homeless prevention programs. He also managed the 2011 San Juan County Prosperity Project community assessment.

A pizza and salad dinner will be provided by the Home Trust. The public is invited at no charge. Please RSVP to the Home Trust by email at
info [@] hometrust [.] org

or call 378-5541 to reserve your spot. Following dinner and the presentation, an annual business meeting and election of Board members will take place.

Annual Meeting: Thursday, Nov. 14th, 6pm at the Friday Harbor Grange

All San Juan Island veterans and community members are cordially invited to attend Friday Harbor Elementary School‘s Veterans’ Day Assembly on Friday, November 8 at 8:30 AM. The very special assembly, an annual event at FHES, will be hosted by sixth graders Jordan Lawson, Jaden Jones and Weston Swirtz.

This year’s guest speaker will be Friday Harbor resident and veteran Frank Mulcahy who will inspire the students and audience members with stories from his military experience. The program will include a stirring performance of patriotic songs by the FHES Eagle Spirit Choir under the direction of Mrs. Traci Wilson. The colors will be posted by Scout Troop number 90. On display will be the school’s Veterans’ Wall of Honor which includes the names of veterans or currently serving military members submitted by staff and students.

Continuing the patriotic tradition to honor those who have served to secure our freedom, Friday Harbor Elementary School encourages local veterans to attend this extraordinary assembly.

Other Desert Cities, the latest production from Island Stage Left – Click for larger poster

We are thrilled to announce our fall play, “Other Desert Cities” by Jon Robin Baitz, opening at the SJ County Fairgrounds on Friday Nov 15th and playing Thursdays – Sundays for the rest of the run through Dec. 15th. (except for the week of Thanksgiving, it plays Wednesday instead of Thursday)

Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2012 , winner of the Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play 2011.

“Smart, entertaining”, “richly enjoyable”, “superbly crafted”, “funny, cutting and illuminating”, “scathingly funny, deeply felt drama”, “wit, wisdom and compassion”

High anxiety erupts at Christmas when Brooke Wyeth, a leftist writer with an about-to-be-published family memoir, visits her conservative parents, in Palm Springs, California.

Lyman, a former movie star and former United States ambassador during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, and his razor sharp wife, Polly, have chosen to live here in luxurious exile. There are aspects of their past they would rather not be reminded of, though it is hard to forget them with Silda, Polly’s sister, in residence after her latest stint in rehab.

Mr. Baitz looks deeply into his characters and no one is drawn in black and white. Like all of us, there is more to them than meets the eye – and a huge family secret lies waiting to be unearthed.

Island Stage Left
1062 Wold Rd
Friday Harbor, WA 98250

360 378 5649
Email: stageleft [@] centurytel [.] net
www.islandstageleft.org

From an award-winning production of Frankenstein to an eclectic opera featuring a nose on the loose to acclaimed British actor Kenneth Branagh’s first Shakespeare performance in over a decade…San Juan Community Theatre’s new HD-live program is brimming with world class performances November 1, 3 and 4.

On Friday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m., SJCT will screen an encore performance of the 2012 sold-out run of Nick Dear’s Frankenstein (based on the Mary Shelley novel). The National Theatre received several awards for director Danny Boyles’s production, including the 2012 Olivier Award for Best Actor for Benedict Cumberlatch and Jonny Lee Miller. The two alternated roles as Victor Frankenstein and his creation.

Then on Sunday, November 3 at 2:00 p.m., The Met: Live in HD presents Shostakovich’s The Nose. Paulo Szot reprises his acclaimed performance of a bureaucrat, whose satirical misadventures in search of his missing nose are based on Gogol’s comic story. Valery Gergiev conducts.

Monday, November 4’s 7:00 p.m. presentation features the Manchester International Festival’s production of Macbeth, with Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn, Hamlet), and Alex Kingston (Doctor Who, ER) as Lady Macbeth. This electrifying new production of Shakespeare’s tragic tale of ambition and treachery unfolds within the walls of an intimate deconsecrated Manchester church.

SJCT’s partnership with The Met and National Theatre was made possible through a generous bequest from the late Dodie Gann, which also allowed for new satellite, projection and sound systems in the Whittier Theatre.

Tickets for each of these productions are $20 for adults, $18 for SJCT members and $10 for student reserved. The SJCT box office (378-3210) is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are also available on-line at www.sjctheatre.org

The San Juan County Economic Development Council will present a 2.5-hour workshop on the basics of building a website or blog using WordPress – an ideal platform for new businesses and organizations. The workshop will be held at the San Juan Island Library’s community room on Tuesday, November 12th, from 9-11:30 a.m.

The course material will be presented by Bryan Hoyer, who built his first website in 1995 on realizing the World Wide Web would change the way we promote and inform ourselves. Bryan is an inventor and successful entrepreneur who spent 25 years in Silicon Valley before moving to the Islands in 2007.

The workshop is ideal for budding businesses that need an online presence, for organizations looking to keep their members informed, or for entrepreneurs looking for something more customizable than social media. WordPress offers fully customizable, free web software that can be used to create a site in almost any format.

Participants will learn the fundamentals of producing a website or blog using the WordPress personal publishing system, and each participant will leave the class with a live site up on the web.

Details: Tuesday, November 12th, from 9-11:30 a.m. The class will be held in the community room of the San Juan Island Library in Friday Harbor. Cost: $20. **Advance registration and laptop required**. Call 360-378-2906 to reserve your space, or email:
info [@] sanjuansedc [.] org.

The EDC thanks the San Juan Island Library for hosting this event. We also thank San Juan County, the Town of Friday Harbor, the Port of Friday Harbor and the Port of Lopez for supporting our Business Education Series.

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.

The National Park Service plans to apply herbicide to Canada thistle infesting critical habitat for the island marble butterfly at American Camp, an area of critical importance to the island marble butterfly, announced Superintendent Lee Taylor .

The treatment will target 1.5 acres east of Pickett’s Lane and one acre south of the Redoubt Road. This step is one part of a broad strategy to restore habitat for the island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus), a federal species of concern.

“The island marble butterfly population is dwindling and American Camp is their final stronghold,” Taylor said. “We must take action now to improve and expand habitat for these creatures or they will not survive.”

Herbicide use will help combat nonnative, invasive thistles that compete with island marble butterfly host plants for habitat. Island marble butterflies rely on just a few plant species as a source of food and as a location for laying their eggs.

No road closures are anticipated during the treatment, although a few trails in the immediate vicinity may be closed for a short time. Caution signs will be posted along road ways and trails near the project. Park visitors are urged not to stop along the roadway or enter the area while herbicide operations are taking place.

Herbicide use is the only effective method to control certain invasive species. Annual or biennial weeds in low densities can usually be controlled by pulling if the entire root is removed. With perennial species, such as Canada thistle, which reproduce by fragmentation of roots or shoots, herbicides are necessary to ensure death of the entire plant. Manual or mechanical removal exacerbates thistle infestations because new growth occurs from portions of the plant left in the ground.

“We’ll be using the safest herbicide possible in a focused way on a small area,“ Taylor said. “I believe it is worth it to accomplish the goal of saving a species on the brink of extinction.”

For questions or comments please contact Chief of Integrated Resources Jerald Weaver at 360-378-2240, ext. 2224 or
jerald_weaver [@] nps [.] gov

Brass Reflections – Click for larger view

Chamber Music San Juan’s fall concert at San Juan Community Theatre on Saturday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. takes a brass twist with special guests Brass Reflections.

The Northwest quintet brings a versatile collection of classical standards, jazz and gospel to the Whittier stage.

The group has performed concerts in Edmonds, Lynnwood, Shoreline, Seattle, Coupeville, Mill Creek, Everett, and Bainbridge Island. They have performed alone as well as with adult choirs, children’s choirs, and on organ recitals. They are in residence at St. Mark Catholic Church in Shoreline and play frequently at Epiphany Parish in Seattle.

CMSJ Artistic Director Patricia Kostek states that this will be an unforgettable evening of music ranging from Bach, Handel and Purcell to Leroy Anderson, “Fats” Waller and well-known Gospel tunes.

The Business Partner for this performance is Islanders Bank. Tickets are $26 for adults and $13 for student reserved. $5 Student RUSH will be available at the door. A private donor has made provision for free tickets to anyone needing financial assistance to attend a Theatre event.

The SJCT Box Office is open Tuesdays-Fridays, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturdays 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and one hour before any performance. Call 360-378-3210, or surf to www.sjctheatre.org.

Just got this note from Dot Vandaveer to share with you…

San Juan Island Garden Club regular meeting, November 5, 2013, Mullis Center, 1 pm.

After the garden is put to bed for the winter it’s time to awaken your inner crafting spirit .  Explore new materials, new techniques and enjoy the non-gardening months ahead.  Bonnie Turman of “Bonnie’s Creative Passions” is just the person to inspire you and fire up your enthusiasm.  Her ever expanding business venture–“Creative Passions” is testament to her many talents and is a warehouse of top quality crafting supplies.

Garden Club regular meetings are always open to all.  Join us for a fun filled afternoon. RSVP to Marguerite Bennett 378-8524 so we can ensure adequate seating and desserts!

Click for larger version

In May 2013 the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (IMA) acquired the old EMS building at 540 Spring Street in Friday Harbor. Over the past several months great progress has been made in designing the renovation of the old EMS building into a visually impactful Visual Arts Museum here in Friday Harbor.

Richard Hobbs, FAIA + Wagner Galloway, Architects was chosen as the project architect. Richard led a series of collaborative meetings with the IMA Building Committee as they identified and prioritized their needs for this facility. The results of this collaboration are represented in the architectural drawing shown here.

The stunning, light – filled glass Atrium Gallery will be added to the front of the current building. This impactful design faces Spring Street and the artful combination of wood, steel and glass create an impressive structure. This Atrium Gallery can feature sculptural art as well as serve as an open reception area for special exhibitions and events.

The covered walkway to the east of the building leads you to the main entrance of the Museum where light again envelopes you from the high glass entry way. A staircase just to your right as you enter the Museum will lead you upstairs to the “Workshop/Teaching” space. From the reception area, just inside the first floor entrance, you can turn right to enjoy the art display in the “North Gallery” or turn left to enter into the “Main Gallery” exhibit area; and continuing through the “Main Gallery” large archways allow you to progress into the “Atrium Gallery”.

In addition to the artistic renovation of the exterior of the building, critical improvements are being made to the interior to ensure an enjoyable art experience, as well as protecting the art work themselves. Significant interior structural changes are being made to ensure quality systems providing temperature, humidity and light control in all of the galleries and art storage areas.

When completed, this magnificent 5,800 square ft facility, which is artful in its own presentation, will house ongoing art exhibitions and workshops from national, regional and local artists. It is projected that IMA’s first opening exhibition in this new space will take place July 2014.

IMA is a registered 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization and depends on donations, fundraising, and dedicated volunteers. For more information, check out the IMA website at www.sjima.org or call (360) 370-5050.

Island Air Ambulance Wins 2013 Fixed Wing Award Of Excellence From The Association Of Air Medical Services – Click for larger photo

The Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) awarded San Juan Island EMS and MedEvac / Island Air Ambulance the 2013 Fixed Wing Award of Excellence at the annual Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC) before a crowd of thousands of the industry’s leading medevac operators, professional associations, and air medical practitioners.

The Fixed Wing Award of Excellence is presented to “an individual or team that has made significant contributions to enhance the development or promote the improvement of patient care and/or safety, specifically in the fixed wing component of the air medical transport community.” The award is sponsored by LifePort, Inc, a Sikorsky Aerospace Services Company and voted upon by a committee representing the diverse professional associations of the air medical profession.

“We are humbled to receive this award on behalf of the residents and visitors of San Juan County. We are a partnership that can best be described as a family of islanders caring for islanders,” said Chief Jim Cole who along with Island Air, Inc. President Jackie Hamilton and other agency representatives received the award. “We honor all of the county’s responders who always make a difference and sometimes make all the difference,” Hamilton said.

Island Air Ambulance is the critical care medevac service located in San Juan County and operated by San Juan Island EMS and MedEvac in partnership with Island Air, Inc.

For further information go to www.islandairems.org.

Introducing Michael Long, New Personal Trainer at Xtreme Fitness

Michael Long is the newest member of the Xtreme Fitness team. As a personal trainer, Michael has a passion for helping his clients be their best. He received his initial training at Vision Quest in Kent. He has a strong back ground in martial arts. He will work with you to keep you focused on your goals.

Whether you are training for a special event or just trying to maintain or get back into shape, he can help. Young or not so young, being fit can add quality to your life. It doesn’t matter where you are with your fitness, he can help you. He can help the most dedicated couch potato. There is no such thing as too old to start.
Training includes:

• Free initial consultation
• Fitness screening and assessment
• Daily physical activity program

After your free consultation and initial assessment, you will receive training program consisting of goal specific workouts that are created based on your fitness level, desired results and schedule.

Xtreme Fitness offers you access to state of the art health and fitness programs and equipment. If you are a beginner or fitness fanatic, you’ll find just what you need. We’re confident that everything Xtreme Fitness SJI has to offer will help you add strength, drop pounds, and increase your stamina in a health conscious friendly environment.

Xtreme Fitness is located at:
70 Saltsprings Rd. Suite X
Friday Harbor WA, 98250
Phone: (360) 370-5636

For more information on Personal Training or to schedule an appointment you can reach Michael at (253) 740-7720

It’s almost time again for the Community Dinner. Let’s see what’s on the menu for November…

November’s Community Dinner Menu – Click for larger version

Chicken Gyros– Roasted Chicken in a soft pita with Tzatziki Sauce and Romaine Lettuce
Pork Souvlaki– Skewers of Pork Shoulder Marinated and Grilled
Rice Pilaf– Seasoned Rice with fresh herbs, onion and peas
Greek Salad– Cucumber, Tomato, Kalamata Olive, Red Onion, Banana pepper and Feta Cheese
Tzatziki– Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce
Hummus– Traditional dip made with Chickpeas, Garlic and tahini
Baklava– A rich, sweet pastry of layered phyllo dough, chopped nuts and honey

Suggested Donation of $12 for Adults and $6 for children under 12

Rob Simpson checks in to announce tonight’s free movie showing at the library…

Greetings Inquiring Islanders,

Most of us remember TWA’s old commercials using that song “Up up and away… fly TWA “ and how TWA was a major carrier

But, they’re gone now.

TWA went bankrupt not long after Flight 800 (a Boeing 747) burst into flames after take off from New York in 1996. The official story…. possibly wires shorted circuited inside a fuel tank. (After 4 years of investigation, the NTSB was still never really sure.)

In 2001 an investigative documentary came out that challenged the official story. But, no one remembers ever seeing it…let alone the inconsistencies it attempted to make public.

Why?

It was silenced by 9/11.

We’ll be showing this forgotten film tonight (Monday) 7:00 at the library. I guess you could call it another in Conscientious Projector’s “living mysteries” series.

Come see why the film was released with the ironic title SILENCED just before so many legitimate inquiries became silenced. Is there any sort of pattern here? Is it all coincidence?

Since we are all living within these mysterious dramas, might as well come down and enjoy the pop corn… and probably some spirited conversation with your fellow islanders.

(Thanks again, as always to Friends of the Library for providing us with free snacks …and a screen.)

Hope you can make it.

—
Rob

PS. I’ll get out some info on last week’s Extra Projector follow up to the SIRIUS DISCLOSURE film later this week. Boy, was that a good one.

Mike Loucks Designs Trajectory and helps guide NASA’s LADEE Spacecraft to Lunar Orbit – Click for larger photo

Mike Loucks of Friday Harbor, owner of Space Exploration Engineering Corporation (SEE), designed and helped implement the trajectory that was used by NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) to get from launch on Sep. 6, to lunar commissioning orbit on Oct. 13.

Mike Loucks

Loucks designed the trans-lunar and lunar orbit capture portion of LADEE’s trajectory. He was on-site at the NASA/Ames control center from launch on Sept 6, through the final Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) maneuver on Oct. 13 and served as the trajectory lead and a member of the flight dynamics team during that time.
Loucks also designed trajectories for the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission which launched in 2008, and the Orbview-II spacecraft which launched in 1997.

See the official Press Release for more info.

Duke and Caesar

Meet Caesar and Duke, two of the nicest dogs you’ll ever meet. These guys are both 7 years old and have lived together their entire lives, so we want to make sure they find their forever home together too. Caesar is a BIG German Shepherd and his pal, Duke, is a Lab mix. They both have impeccable manners and are house-trained, neutered and up to date on all vaccines. Stop by the shelter to see for yourself how wonderful these boys are! 111 Shelter Drive.

Along with the Toy Box, more than 600 stores from coast to coast will participate.

As a child, nothing compared to the enchanted feeling of shopping for toys at your local toy store. Gazing with wonder at the aisles of exciting choices…holding your new toy for the very first time…anticipation building inside you as you finally took your new gifts home.

On November 9, The Toy Box will join over 600 stores across the country to celebrate the third annual Neighborhood Toy Store Day.“When you shop at an independent toy store, you are entering a universe of play possibilities,” explains Kathleen McHugh, President of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA). “Neighborhood Toy Store Day is about celebrating the role the local store plays in the community. We are highlighting the expertise your local store has in selecting just the right toy to help your child grow and learn through play.”

As part of the festivities, The Toy Box will offer free cookies, balloons, prizes and give-aways, surprise discounts at check out. Continue Reading