Newsmakers
New branch sprouts on Lopez pioneer family tree PAGE 16
Island Scene
Musical stars shine in the month of May PAGE 9
As I See It
They don’t have to be elaborate to be meaningful, as Friday Harbor’s Memorial Day parade reveals PAGE 6
Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, May 14, 2014 Vol. 107 Issue 20
of the San Juan Islands
Back to biz for Port tenants
www.sanjuanjournal.com
SJ farmer wins pot shop lottery By Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
By Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
Business is buzzing at the new kiosks in front of the nowvacant lot that formerly was the location of the Spring Street Landing building, which was gutted by a fire on August 17, 2013. And a new food cart is on the way nearby. Before the fire, the building housed Downriggers Restaurant, Friday Harbor Marine, San Juan Excursions and San Juan Safaris. The fire devastated the operations of all four businesses, though Excursions and Safaris were significantly less affected, partly because much of their whalewatching business was already booked into September. The fire caused a mini-recession on San Juan Island, putting more than fifty people out of work, closing Downriggers and shutting down most operations at Friday Harbor Marine and Friday Harbor Yachts for several months. Since then, Friday Harbor Marine owner Mike Close is slowly rebuilding his business, using the north end of the Windowcraft factory on Mullis Street. Soon after the fire, the Port of Friday Harbor and the four businesses started talking about providing a presence on the waterfront until construction of the new SSL building was complete. After negotiations, the Port Commission found a See TENANTS, Page 2
Contributed photo
Lottery winner Lawrence Enterprises earns the license to sell pot on San Juan Island, but on Lopez, no business or individual qualified under state Liquor Board rules to run a pot shop on the Friendly Isle.
Story ends, long legacy lives on By Colleen Smith Armstrong Sounder Publisher/Editor
With his mop of white hair and pen and pad in hand, Ted Grossman was an icon of Orcas Island. Grossman, former owner and editor of the Islands’ Sounder, passed away on May 3. He was at the helm of the Sounder for 21 years, covering the joys and heartbreak of a community he adored. “Ted was the consummate small town newsman,” said Elyse Van
If you’re looking to buy a bag of legal pot on Lopez Island, don’t hold your breath. Both applicants for marijuana retail store licenses on Lopez failed to provide qualifying applications to the Washington State Liquor Control Board, charged by Initiative 502 to implement and regulate marijuana legalization in the state. Those on Lopez will have to travel off-island to score legal weed, at least until the WSLCB reopens the window to apply for a marijuana retailer license later this summer. But Lopezians won’t have to travel far. Potential retailers were approved for Orcas and San Juan Island, one for each. Only one of two applicants for a retail pot shop on Orcas Island, apparently to be named “Token Herb,” survived the initial application screening. The application for Token Herb listed 837A Crescent Beach Road in Eastsound as its potential store location. Two applications were originally filed for Orcas, but only Token Herb survived the first cut, thus obviating the need for a lottery drawing. A lottery was required for San Juan Island, See LOTTERY, Page 3
Contributed photo
Ted Grossman, former editor/owner of the Islands’ Sounder, passed away May 3
den Bosch, former publisher of the Sounder. “He had his reporter’s hat on 24/7 and really believed that the local newspaper could and should be a valuable community resource. He was a compassionate and sensitive person who cared as much about the smaller human interest stories as he did the more dramatic, hard news ones.” Ted first got newsprint on his fingers at his high school’s newspaper in Connecticut. He majored in history at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania but was on the editorial staff of the college newspaper, The Lafayette, for all four years. He served as layout editor, managing editor and sports editor. After graduating, he attend-
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ed Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago. But in 1963, he left to join the Peace Corps. It was in Peace Corps training See LEGACY, Page 4
2011 Special Award; Second Place: General Excellence from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
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