Something to think about next time we pay for our vehicle license tabs…

The community gives, so that we all can receive…

The broad range of things the United Way helps support on all the islands is simply amazing, and this year’s budget of $91K is going a long way. (Here’s the website, so you can get YOUR donation in!) Here’s the report from the United Way’s executive director, Eli Gull:

In January, 2013, United Way of San Juan County awarded more than $91,000 to 20 non-profit agencies in the county. The grants support 28 programs on Orcas, Lopez and San Juan islands.

According to Candace Bodenhamer, Treasurer, “We were able to fund 63% of all grant requests received from non-profit agencies countywide.  Although last year we were able to fund 70% of requests received, there were almost half again more applicants this year than last. We were able to fully fund Orcas PIP, Friday Harbor Elementary School PIP, Head Start PIP, Orcas Family Connections Resource Center, San Juan Island Family Resource Center Family Support, Preschool to Kindergarten Transitions, and Orcas Island Senior Center’s Hearts and Hands Program this year.”

Our 2013 supported programs and agencies are:

In addition to the funds granted through the allocation process, a total of almost $8,500 in designated contributions was distributed to these and 8 other non-profit agencies.

“The needs of our community are accelerating,” said Bill Morrissey, Board President. “At a time of dwindling public resources, our support to programs serving children, families and seniors in our community has never been more important.”

Farmer’s Market the Grange tomorrow – Photo by Fabiola Bell

The Farmer’s Market will be open to serve you on Saturday, February 2 at the Grange Hall on 1st Street.

Time: 10:00 am – 1:00 pm.

Today our This is Our Town series puts the spotlight on Mary-Brooke Barger.

Mary-Brooke spreads the love at Mirabella Skin Care

Mary-Brooke began her career as a clinical massage therapist 26 years ago in Boulder, Colorado, and never stopped learning. After several years she discovered a new passion – the science of skin care – and she became a licensed aesthetician…

Click here to read more.

ThisIsOurTown.com is a glimpse of the people and businesses that shape the personality of Friday Harbor & San Juan Island. It is a project of Dustrude Photography.

If you’ve driven past the Fairgrounds in the last few weeks, maybe you’re wondering what’s going on over at the Family Park in the corner there. Why’s it all blocked off and what’s that stuff all piled up keeping the kids from swinging? Well, the Update got on the case and went to Sally Thomsen of Island Rec to find out for you…

That ain’t beauty bark

San Juan Update: Hi Sally, hey what’s up with everything all dug up at the family park? I thought I’d throw a picture on the Update about it with maybe a little story in case people are wondering…

Sally Thomsen: We needed to lower the level of the safety surfacing and to replace some equipment. We first removed the Engineered Wood Fiber safety surfacing and excavated the dirt 14 inches below the surrounding pavement. With the footings exposed we can now repair two of the spring toys. Continue Reading

You always wanted to operate your very own Spa & Massage business didn’t you? Here’s your chance. Cynthia Burke has the scoop:

Spa/Massage Business Opportunity

Turn Key massage/spa business located in town limits of Friday Harbor. This space is completely set up and ready to begin operations with a few days of dusting off and reorganizing to your needs. A wonderful opportunity for someone starting out that doesn’t have the cash flow to buy everything at once. The space also has an attached one bedroom apartment which is available to lease. Continue Reading

Crysta and Faye

It’s always fun to see proud moms with their cute newborns. This is Crysta (who you probably know from Downrigger’s) and her little one Faye. Faye was born on the 12th of last month. Think about that for a minute… Last month was… anyone? (December) good, yes – December. Which is the… anyone? Twelfth Month… and that would have been, let’s see… 2012 also, right? So that makes Faye’s birthday 12/12/12! Pretty cool huh?

This is it! The final four chances to see the works of our islands playwrights live on the Gubelman* stage during the 2013 Islands Playwrights Showcase at San Juan Community Theatre.

The Wager

The showcase completes its run THIS Thursday through Saturday, January 31 and February 1-2 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, February 3 at 2:00 pm.

Formerly titled the Islands Playwrights Festival, the Showcase features five plays and two monologues all written by residents of San Juan County.
Before the plays made it onto the stage there was a process to get them there, including submitting them to the Theatre for off-island judges to vote on, as well as a series of workshops to develop each play, facilitated by the Northwest Playwright Alliance’s Bryan Willis. Then, of course, there were weeks of rehearsals for the volunteer directors and 16 actors performing in the various plays. Continue Reading

The ballot you received in the mail for this primary election may not look like you think it should. To clear up any confusion, here’s Auditor F. Milene Henley with the straight scoop:

The Elections Office has been fielding a lot of questions from voters about the February ballot, most of which have to do with Charter-initiated changes to the composition of the County Council.

Charter amendments approved in November changed the number of Council members from six to three.  As provided by the Charter Amendments, all voters get to vote on the candidates for all three of the new Council seats. The candidates themselves must live in the “residency” district for which they filed.  Those districts are similar to the old County Commissioner districts: 1) San Juan Island, 2) Orcas Island, and 3) Lopez and Shaw Islands.

This being a “primary” election for the new County Council, as defined by the Charter Amendments adopted in November, the February ballot includes only the two races in which more than two candidates filed.  Those races are the ones for the San Juan Residency District (District 1) and the Orcas Residency District (District 2).  Each voter gets to vote in both races, but for only one candidate in each race.

Because only two candidates filed from Lopez, that race is not on the February ballot.

In the April “general” election, the two candidates from Lopez/Shaw, as well as the top two primary election finishers from San Juan and Orcas, will appear on every voter’s ballot.  The top vote getter in each race will go on to serve on the new 3-person County Council.

Please contact the Elections Office at (360) 378-3357 for more information about the election.

Dateline: Westcott Bay – Mobile San Juan Update News Correspondent Louise Dustrude dug a little deeper and files this report on the purchase of Webb Camp and also offers a brief history of the property that you may not have known about:

The cove at Webb Camp, soon to be part of English Camp. Bell Point is about half a mile to the southwest. Two sandspits nearly close off the cove at low tide. John Dustrude photo

Last month’s purchase of the Webb Camp property by The Conservation Fund will add nearly 70 acres to English Camp as soon as the National Park Service has funding available – probably within the next year or so, according to Park Superintendent Lee Taylor.

The property lies along the northern border of English Camp.

Another almost five acres of the property which includes the dock and is home to Westcott Bay Sea Farms has been retained by the Webb family and was recently listed for residential sale.

The Webb family, The Conservation Fund, and the National Park Service had all hoped that the sea farm operation would continue, but all efforts to secure a buyer interested and capable of maintaining the sea farm were unsuccessful. Continue Reading

Jan Newton

SJ Nature Institute’s Arthur Whiteley Lecture: Ocean Acidification by Jan Newton; 7 p.m. Thursday – The Commons, UW Friday Harbor Labs..

Jan Newton, Senior Principal Oceanographer with Applied Physics Lab of UW works with colleagues at UW, including the Labs, and NOAA to assess the status of ocean acidification of local waters. Open to all interested free of charge though donations are gratefully accepted. Here’s more from the Institute’s Fiona Norris:

San Juan Nature Institute welcomes the first speaker in the 2013 Arthur Whiteley Lecture Series, at 7 p.m. on January 31, in The Commons at UW Friday Harbor Labs. Jan Newton, Principal Oceanographer with the Applied Physics Lab at UW will speak on Ocean Acidification.

Jan Newton is also affiliated with the School of Oceanography and School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. She is Executive Director of the Northwest Association of Networked Regional Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS).

Her current interest is assessing the status of ocean acidification in our waters. Together with Terrie Klinger, she has initiated a seawater sampling program in the San Juans, based at the Labs, with the goal of training students in ocean acidification research.  Studies of the changing ocean, chemical and biological, are a major theme at the UW Friday Harbor Labs.

San Juan Nature Institute is dedicated to enhancing knowledge of the unique natural history of the San Juan Archipelago. The Arthur Whiteley Lectures offer the opportunity to showcase current research and are offered free to the public.  Visit our website www.sjnature.org for further information about our core programs.

Coming home: Early morning in the Anacortes ferry line, with the sun over Mount Baker. Photo by Ian Byington.

Let’s take a quick look around the island……

Andrea Kiernan

• Time marches on….Andrea Kiernan started working at Pelindaba Lavender ten years ago, and she’s still there, although her jobs have changed with the passage of time….here’s a nice little writeup about what she’s creating these days….

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• Mary Karen & Cal’s son Tyler Ryan (FHHS ’01) is close to opening night for Anything But Brilliant – a love story on March 29 in Portland…he and Bobby need to raise a bit more money to keep the show going – here’s a link where you can give to help out, and here’s a bit about their production company, Lights Up! Productions.

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• Tough times in Blaine last weekend, as the Wolverines’ basketball teams came up short….the boys (9-7, 5-0 in league) lost 58-42, while the girls (3-13, 1-5) dropped a 53-25 decision to the Borderites.

That’s Jeff MacDonald in action in Victoria last weekend, playing ice hockey in a tournament…photo by Jenny MacDonald (thanks, Jenny!)

The teams wrap up the season this week, traveling to Cedar Park Christian las night, where the girls won 57-34, and the boys got back on track with a 62-46 win –  and finishing at home with Shoreline Christian on Thursday.

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• Here’s what I hear from the Second Act:

WOW! Now shop Second Act online! We’re still learning, but you can now browse our inventory received since the 1st of the year online! Go to our website Secondact.shoprw.com and see what we have!

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• It’s School Board Appreciation Month, according to a proclamation by former Gov. Gregoire earlier this month….this will be celebrated at 6pm  on Wednesday the 30th, at the FHHS library, at the next school board meeting.

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This weekend!

• This Saturday the Farmers’ Market is inside at the Grange (notice – the Grange, not at the high school!) from 10am – 1 pm. I know you think about getting your food at the Market, but here’s a little bit to add to your thinking:

10 Reasons to Buy Your Fruits & Veggies at Your Local Farmer’s Market

by Dr. Edward F. Group
Wake Up World

1. Buying Locally
Buying from your local farmer allows you to support local agriculture. This means that the food you are eating comes from nearby, and does not require us to waste lots of energy and petroleum to ship the food half-way around the world. You are eating food in your own environment, where it has perfectly-created nutrients for your specific climate and region. You are also supporting the environment by reducing the usage of fossil fuels.

2. Cheaper Organic Fruits & Veggies
You can find a variety of fresh, organic produce at more affordable prices than in a supermarket. There are also many farmers that carry products that are not technically “organic,” (as this is a costly and often beurocratic-heavy process), but have many low-priced foods that are pesticide and herbicide free. The advantage at a farmers market is that you can actually talk to the farmer, learn about their methods, and then decide for yourself and in most cases they will allow you to come and visit their farm.

3. Supporting Your Local Economy & Farmers
You are supporting human beings and the local economy, not massive agribusiness GMO food conglomerates.

Not only will your money be staying in your area, but you will happily please the farmer that worked to grow that food. Your belly will remember the farmer’s smile as they handed you that juicy peach.

4. Eat Seasonally
By shopping at the local farmers market, you will eat seasonally, fresh and ripe. This is another great way to increase your overall health. Supermarkets offer too much variety and the food is picked before it has ripened decreasing the vitality. The body does not need to be eating imported pineapple in the dead of a Montana winter!

5. Safer Foods
Food from your local farmers market is generally safer. Remember the recent outbreaks of E. coli in bagged spinach? These things happen mostly in large industrial settings, where business-men work to mass produce food, preserve it and bag it in mass amounts.

6. Fresher Fruits & Veggies
The food from your local farmers market is, quite frankly, fresher. Because it was grown locally, there is a good chance that the apple you buy from the farmer was picked a few days ago. This is virtually impossible in a big supermarket.

7. Great Variety
There is usually an amazing variety of fruits and veggies at your local farmers market. Each farmer may have his own method for growing tomatoes or peppers. This is something that never happens at a grocery store.

8. Better Taste
There is no doubt that locally-grown foods just simply taste better. You will never be able to eat a carrot from the grocery store again!

9. It’s Healthy!
There’s just no way around it, eating fresh, locally-grown fruits and veggies are great for your health.

Buy yourself some local honey, which is sold at most local farmer markets. It has just the right components for allergy prevention in your neck of the woods, not to mention it’s tasty!

10. Most Importantly — It’s Fun!
We stated it in the beginning, but farmers markets are just plain fun for the whole family. Meeting your local community is an excellent way to feel connected to the world around you, increasing health for body, mind and spirit.

An even better solution would be to grow your own food by creating an organic garden in your yard or even on your balcony.

Read more here!

You wanna build a blog or website? You gotta check this out. It’s happening tomorrow morning at the Library:

The San Juan County Economic Development Council will present a three-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 Wednesday, January 30th, from 9 am-noon. Continue Reading

Marie DiCristina has the latest on the newest artwork installed at the hospital:

Artist Kathy Crain and new doors to the Peace Island Cancer Care Center. Marie DiCristina photo – click for larger view

Just heard about an interesting slideshow and talk that Judy Chovan is going to be giving next Tuesday at Mullis Center. Here she is with more:

A mosque in Isfahan, Iran that was part of a former caravansari/madrassa undergoes some renovations

The interior ceiling of the Pink Mosque in Shiraz (home of the shiraz grape). Click for larger view.

In November, Judy Chovan had the opportunity to travel to Iran. Following in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, Nicholas Kristof, and Rick Steves, Judy visited Tehran, Isfahan, Persepolis, and Shiraz.

She had the opportunity to talk to many Iranians, visit historic sites of this 2,542-year-old country, and get a different perspective on the name-calling, saber-rattling tensions between the “Great Satan” and the premier “Axis of Evil.”

That’s Judy with a group of new friends. (click for larger view)

Judy will present a slide-illustrated talk showing the stunning blue-tiled mosques, ancient cities, and modern-day fashionistas – as well as the american Embassy and Shah’s Palace.

Tuesday, February 12 – 7:00 pm at the Mullis Center

Looking into town, from the deck…..

This coming Saturday (February 2nd!) from one to five pm, Bill & Shannon Bailey are hosting a “Double Open Boat” so that you can drop by the marina & come aboard The Catalyst, as well as introducing their new boat, Westward. Here’s more from Shannon:

Double….the Westward joins the Catalyst for Saturday’s Open Boat.

Dear Friends,

In the course of our Natural History-based voyages in the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Catalyst has worked toward providing the best possible educational experience. We have worked hard to make our classic vessel, Catalyst, a safe and comfortable platform for our guests and to gather a crew that is both highly trained as well as good traveling companions. We love doing what we do; traveling where we travel, and meeting the people we meet.

Many guests are referred to Pacific Catalyst by their friends or families who have sailed with us and upon their return told them they needed to make a voyage with us a priority. Some highlighted the healthy and delicious food, others our visits to hidden places known to very few, while the take away for some may be the companionship that develops in the course of the time aboard. We are proud of our history of social and environmental responsibility, and of our roles in raising the public consciousness about ecosystems in peril.

Now, as Pacific Catalyst prepares to enter its 17th year of operation, and Bill and Shannon Bailey their 9th season as owners, we are pleased, and a bit terrified, to announce the acquisition of an additional classic vessel.

The Westward was built in 1924, and like Catalyst, is still powered by her original engine. Westward offers 4-guest staterooms, a salon featuring its original mahogany paneling, beveled glass cabinet doors and, a wood-burning fireplace.

Going below….

Westward has hosted famous actors, successful businessmen, and circled the globe in the 1970’s. More recently she circumnavigated the Pacific Basin in 2006/07 on a cruise that took her from the South Pacific to the Bering Sea and covered over 21,000 miles. She is identified as a Historic Place on the Interior Department’s Registry.

We will continue our Alaska trips with the same itineraries, crew and spirit that our guests have come to treasure; using Catalyst in the same role she has filled since 1995.

Our plans for Westward aren’t quite as clear, but check our website for updates.

Pricing for Westward will be slightly higher than for Catalyst on a per person/per day basis. We plan to make some minor modifications in the guest spaces over the next few years with the intent of giving each guest stateroom its own desk, settee and closet.

Please visit our website at www.pacificcatalyst.com for more details about Catalyst and Westward as well as itineraries for our adventure offerings. Or call us at 360-378-7123. We are still working on introducing the Westward on the website so more will be added in the coming months.

Shannon & Bill Bailey