My father once told me that in management there is no such thing as an irreplaceable person.
When we first discovered the San Juan Islands, we – like many others – were primarily attracted to their natural beauty. But after living here for over 12 years, what keeps us so attached to this beautiful place has more to do with the dynamic sense of community that thrives here. This is why we are supporting Lisa Byers for San Juan County Council.
We islanders sometimes boast that having no bridges makes these real islands. We kind of like that. But there’s one case where bridges are good. It’s the collaborative kind we need between nonprofits and businesses, and between islanders of divergent interests.
I want to thank Lisa Byers for running for county council. Having served with her on the Eastsound Planning Review Committee for a number of years, I know first hand how she can be a thoughtful and diligent leader.
For the past six and a half years, I have served on the board of OPAL Community Land Trust, the organization for which Lisa Byers has been executive director for 17 years. Based on those years of working with Lisa, I enthusiastically urge you to vote for her for county council. Frankly, we will miss her at OPAL, but she is so remarkably good that the whole county deserves her.
We have many problems demanding our attention, but ocean acidification is one which could forever change our islands.
Did you know that volunteers have been providing ongoing care for our County Day Parks since 2009? That year, our day parks were slated to be closed. Then, community volunteers came to the rescue and they continue to provide needed support today.
It is with regret and concern that we write this letter to you. We had an unfortunate and serious bullying issue take place at our school, and many rumors are flying in our small and concerned community.
The recent election saw the recommendations of the Charter Review Committee affirmed by the voters, substantially changing the operations of our government in San Juan County.
On Nov. 3, approximately 450 citizens attended the Gateway Pacific Terminal scoping hearing – an unprecedented number for one day of environmental action in our community.
Twelve years ago, whenever salmon was on the family dinner menu, I would go out fishing and within a few hours, dinner would be in the boat. I heard many stories about how fishing used to be, before my time, when you could catch dinner in about 10 minutes.
Community Leadership engages citizens in a learning community, working together from January until May, weaving Whole Systems and experiential learning with opportunities to interface with county leaders to explore areas of governance, economics, environment, health/education and art/history and culture.
The Gateway Pacific Terminal will provide short term construction jobs and several hundred operational jobs, but these gains should be evaluated against long-term economic impacts on local, regional and global economic health.
