The San Juan County Council has scheduled a special council session July 22 to consider putting a proposal on the November ballot that would increase the county’s property tax. State law limits annual property tax increases to 1 percent; an increase of more than 1 percent requires voter approval.
Steve Duzan of Friday Harbor made a hole-in-one at Pacific Dunes Course, in Bandon, Ore., today. It’s Duzan’s fourth hole-in-one. He made the ace with a 9-iron on the 141-yard No. 14.
The Guard family loves a picnic. And one is scheduled on Aug. 1 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the arrival of the Paul Guard family on San Juan Island.
Dr. Denise King, for four years the director of Skagit Valley College San Juan Center, is leaving in August to become dean of arts and humanities at St. Charles Community College in Missouri. King made her resignation public last week in an e-mail sent to more than 113 people.
Our property is our nest, and we care about it more than government planners or people who do not own property. I model my interest in the environment by volunteering in numerous recycling efforts. The issue facing all of us is not whether to protect the environment, but how.
I have lived on the island for more than 20 years. I enjoy the ambiance of the island and its varied wildlife, and would like to see it continue the same way for the rest of my life. I do not believe the increased buffers outlined in the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) Guidelines are needed. In fact, they constitute an illegal taking of property.
The San Juan County Council has scheduled a special council session July 22 to consider putting a proposal on the November ballot that would increase the county’s property tax. State law limits annual property tax increases to 1 percent; an increase of more than 1 percent requires voter approval.
It appears that Washington State Ferries will be able to avoid drastic reductions in morning sailings from the San Juans this fall, thanks to a decision announced Monday by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has notified Washington State Ferries that it can continue to schedule “touring watches” on its Anacortes-to-San Juan Islands routes on a trial basis. Touring watches allow WSF to schedule crew members to finish a shift in the San Juans, spend the night, then begin a new shift here the next morning.
The Town of Friday Harbor and San Juan Island fire departments host their annual pancake breakfast at the town fire hall on July 18 and 19. They will serve from 7 a.m. to noon both days. Breakfast is a helping of ham, scrambled eggs, coffee, OJ and all the delicious pancakes you can eat.
The hour changes were made official Tuesday after the County Council voted to give County Administrator Pete Rose the authority to modify the hours county agencies are open to the public for periods of up to three months.
Lynn Danaher of Friday Harbor, co-founder of the Pacific Islands Research Institute (www.islandexplorer.org) and a member of the Explorers Club, visited The World cruise ship when it anchored off San Juan Island July 5-6. Here is her account of her visit …
Two San Juan County residents, two Grays Harbor County residents and the San Juan County Green Party today sued Secretary of State Sam Reed and County Auditor Milene Henley, seeking to prohibit placement of unique bar code identifiers on ballots. The plaintiffs are Allan Rosato and Tim White of Orcas Island, Arthur Grunbaum and Linda Orgel of Grays Harbor County, and the San Juan County Green Party.
News that San Juan County has the lowest jobless rate in the state may come as small comfort to the 500 or so islanders who are collecting unemployment checks. San Juan County’s jobless rate was 5.4 percent in June, far better than the U.S. rate of 9.5 percent — the nation’s highest in 26 years — and the state rate of 9 percent, according to the state Employment Security Department. It was also far better than in neighboring counties: Island County, 8.7 percent; Whatcom, 8.4; Skagit, 9.9; Snohomish, 10.1, King, 8.8. The worst unemployment rate was in Lewis County, where almost 13 of every 100 working-age residents is out of a job.
