Spotty cell phone coverage in the San Juan Islands, where boaters at Sucia Island get better reception than many Orcas residents, might be coming to an end.
Local governments, San Juan County included, are moving away from live auctions and negotiated sales to putting surplus property on the Internet for managed, computerized auctions. Bidders register and provide deposits, then bid over a pre-set time period, just like people bid on eBay, an online auction website, for Weller pottery. Things can get interesting at the close of the auction, when all bidders can keep bidding until five minutes pass with no higher bid entered for the item.
The early morning hours of Sunday, May 27, proved once again that perils of wind and tide spare neither man or boat, and that even the Coast Guard is sometimes left on the beach.
Overtime parking at Orcas Village might cost $25 if the San Juan County Council decides to enforce the ten time-limit parking signs (all different times) already installed near the ferry dock on Orcas Island.
In council District 1 (San Juan South), incumbent Lovel Pratt is opposed by Bob Jarman. Two newcomers, Rick Hughes and Scott Lancaster, will compete to replace current District 4 (Orcas West) Councilman Richard Fralick, who is retiring from the council. District 3, representing Friday Harbor, will see a contest between veteran incumbent Howie Rosenfeld and Friday Harbor businessman Marc Forlenza. Because only two candidates filed for each position, after the primary, all six candidates will advance to the Nov. 6 general election.
Three ballot titles for three ballot propositions for three charter amendments, for three council members from three islands.
The number “three” keeps popping up in the deliberations of the San Juan County Charter Review Commission. That’s not counting three more hours of debate by the commission on Saturday about the three ballot titles that Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord must weigh-in on before the package goes to the County Council for final action for the November ballot.
Despite assurances from federal officials, San Juan Island residents and officials seem skeptical that Navy training exercises adequately protect local whales.
Flanked by a dozen charts and graphs typical of any fiscal forum, economist Dave Wallace of the Washington Department of Employment Security last week relied on visuals and detailed analysis to describe the effect the recession has had on the state and on San Juan County.
The Friday Harbor Town Council on Thursday endorsed a ballot measure that, if approved by voters, would raise the local sales-tax rate from 7.8 percent to 8.1 percent.
Although Cimarron Trucking may be the last hope for self-haul services at the Orcas and San Juan transfer stations, it’s not a title that Cimarron wants.
San Juan County Health officials are urging islanders to make sure all adults and older children who come in contact with very young children are immunized against the disease pertussis, also known as whooping cough.
Of the 77 miles of Orcas Island shoreline, less than three are available for public access. And virtually none of that is on the northeast side of the Island.
The level of service ordinance passed by the San Juan County Council in early April is another step in the process of privatizing solid waste disposal service following voter rejection of the council’s Plan A ballot proposal in November.
