OPALCO meets with County Council: Energy supply will not meet demand
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OPALCO meets with County Council: Energy supply will not meet demand

What’s our energy future going to be? Tuesday, February 18, 2025 FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT BY OPALCO The OPALCO team attended and presented at the San Juan County Council meeting on February 10th. The team outlined the dire situation that the regional power supply is facing. Our shrinking regional power supply and increasing demand is…

ONE DAY LEFT: Community Water Taxi urges citizens to email or phone legislators in support of HB 1923
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ONE DAY LEFT: Community Water Taxi urges citizens to email or phone legislators in support of HB 1923

Tuesday, February 18, 2025 FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY WATER TAXI We continue to shape and support legislation to help our local ferry crisis. We are asking for your support for HB1923, “The Mosquito Fleet Act”, which will provide funding for passenger transportation initiatives in San Juan County and beyond. If passed, this bill…

LIVESTREAM AT NOON:  #50501 ‘Not My President’s Day’ protest in Olympia (updated)

LIVESTREAM AT NOON: #50501 ‘Not My President’s Day’ protest in Olympia (updated)

Monday, February 17, 2025SanJuans.Today UPDATED AT 10:35 a.m.: SanJuans.Today has learned that the organizers of today’s #50501 “Not My President’s Day” protest was not properly permitted to be held on the Capitol campus. It is possible that if it’s a large group, it may be dispersed by the Washington State Patrol. Either way, SanJuans.Today will…

San Juan County’s four public school superintendents team-up to ask for a correction in state funding formula
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San Juan County’s four public school superintendents team-up to ask for a correction in state funding formula

Sunday, February 16, 2025by Jeff NoedelVideo by Jeremy Tyler A SanJuans.Today VIDEO IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE All four public school superintendents in the San Juans drove to Olympia last week for two days of lobbying legislators for a fix to the public schools funding formula. On Thursday, the four superintendents sat down…

SanJuans.Today to livestream portion of President’s Day protest in Olympia
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SanJuans.Today to livestream portion of President’s Day protest in Olympia

Sunday, February 16, 2025by Jeff Noedel Tech gods willing, sometime in the noon hour Monday, SanJuans.Today will livestream a portion of the “Not My President’s Day” protest on the state capitol grounds in Olympia. And if there’s a counter-protest at the same time and the same site, we’ll cover that, too. This is nonpartisan coverage…

IMPORTANT VIDEO:  State Rep Greg Nance explains HB 1923, the ‘Mosquito Fleet Act’ – Committee hearing is Wednesday
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IMPORTANT VIDEO: State Rep Greg Nance explains HB 1923, the ‘Mosquito Fleet Act’ – Committee hearing is Wednesday

If enacted, the new law could lead to improved life for San Juans’ inter-island travelers and citizens of other seaside towns by creating more freedom of movement IMAGINE: A trip to see a doctor in Bellingham. Using a foot ferry and a ground shuttle could turn a 4-hour one-way trip to Peace Health Medical Center…

Local 1909 union accuses Town of Friday Harbor of unfair labor practices – Town responds (updated)
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Local 1909 union accuses Town of Friday Harbor of unfair labor practices – Town responds (updated)

ORIGINAL: Friday, February 14, 2025 @4:01 p.m.UPDATED: Saturday, February 15, 2025 @9:28 a.m. (quote from Denice Kulseth added)by Jeff Noedel In a press statement today, Guild of the Pacific Northwest Local 1909 leaders accused the Town of Friday Harbor of bad faith bargaining. The union claims that Town Administrator Denice Kulseth “has employed a strategy…

Orcas Island’s Pea Patch Campus advocates tell their stories to state legislators
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Orcas Island’s Pea Patch Campus advocates tell their stories to state legislators

Friday, February 14, 2025 FROM OLYMPIAby Jeff NoedelVideo by Jeremy Tyler “When we all help each other, we all rise together.” That’s the message Orcas Island resident Alex Callen shared with state legislators in Olympia Wednesday. Callen told state legislators his apartment is “real small… but it’s been a real game-changer for me… My health…

PeaceHealth Peace Island nationally recognized for excellence in patient experience
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PeaceHealth Peace Island nationally recognized for excellence in patient experience

Wednesday, February 12, 2025 FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT BY PEACE ISLAND MEDICAL CENTER FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. – The Emergency Department at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center has been recognized with a 2024 Human Experience Pinnacle of Excellence Award® by Press Ganey, the national leader in healthcare consumer and workforce engagement. This is the eighth consecutive…

SanJuans.Today welcomes new underwriter!  Earthbox Inn & Spa
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SanJuans.Today welcomes new underwriter! Earthbox Inn & Spa

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 SanJuans.Today is proud to announce a new underwriter: Laura Saccio‘s Earthbox Inn & Spa. SanJuans.Today is operated by CNL2 Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Washington corporation. Saccio’s underwriting decision is the first donation received to CNL2 Media in 2025. “As owners of Earthbox Inn & Spa in Friday Harbor,” said Saccio, “we know how…

‘MIXED REACTIONS’ IN OLYMPIA THURSDAY:  San Juans citizens lobbied for improved WSF inter-island service
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‘MIXED REACTIONS’ IN OLYMPIA THURSDAY: San Juans citizens lobbied for improved WSF inter-island service

Friday, February 7, 2025by Jeff Noedel reporting from OlympiaVideo by Jeremy Tyler A SanJuans.Today VIDEO IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE A delegation of two County Council members, six other San Juans citizens, and one activist from Vashon Island met with nearly a dozen State Senators and State Representatives Thursday as part of a…

Trump administration tells states billions in EV charger money is on hold
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Trump administration tells states billions in EV charger money is on hold

Friday, February 7, 2025FROM THE WASHINGTON STATE STANDARDby Jake Goldstein-Street Washington was in line to receive $71 million for chargers along I-5 and other roads. But the U.S. Department of Transportation says it will revamp the program. WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD, Olympia–The Trump administration on Thursday told states it was blocking money for electric vehicle chargers,…

FROM ARCHIVES (19 weeks ago): WSF marine engineers and oilers get 4% pay bump two years in a row – MEBA sought to close gap with other job titles on vessels
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FROM ARCHIVES (19 weeks ago): WSF marine engineers and oilers get 4% pay bump two years in a row – MEBA sought to close gap with other job titles on vessels

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: Thursday, September 26, 2024REPUBLISHED: Thursday, February 6, 2025 The union representing Washington State Ferries’ engine room crew members (Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association) and state negotiators reached an impasse in bargaining their new contract in early August. The parties entered into an interest arbitration hearing Friday, August 23. The hearing ended Friday, August 30. …

WA lawmakers and governor are getting big raises. Here’s how much

WA lawmakers and governor are getting big raises. Here’s how much

Thursday, February 6, 2025FROM THE WASHINGTON STATE STANDARDby Jerry Cornfield A citizen panel approved hikes of 16% for legislators and 14% for the governor spread over two years. Increases kick in July 1, barring a referendum. WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD, Olympia–Washington’s governor, attorney general and state lawmakers are in line for hefty pay raises in the…

Fair pay?  Here’s what the Town of Friday Harbor pays its unionized employees now
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Fair pay? Here’s what the Town of Friday Harbor pays its unionized employees now

Wednesday, February 5, 2025by Jeff Noedel Two Thursdays ago, attorney Nicholas Power, who works for Bellingham-based Guild of Pacific Northwest Employees (PNWE) Local 1909, took to the podium at the Friday Harbor Town Council to implore Town leadership to do everything in their power to prevent the Town’s 29 union-represented employees from becoming “the working poor in a…