— from Eleanor Hoague —
The San Juan Islands are not unlike other areas in the country which rely heavily on tourist dollars. Recently, NPR aired an illuminating piece on a similar area of the U.S., the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. That area’s response to planning for the next few months is far different from that being considered by our San Juan County Council.
During a normal summer the Berkshires host some 350,000 tourists, many who come to enjoy the arts and music scene centered around the Tanglewood Music Festival (not unlike the Orcas Chamber Music Festival and Orcas’ many other festivals and concerts). These visitors boost the Berkshire economy to the tune of over $50 million dollars and, although there is little data available about the tourist industry in our county,
I would hazard a guess that it might be comparable.
The impact of the virus shutdown on Berkshire restaurants, hotels, and retail businesses has been similar to that suffered by Orcas businesses: devastating.
Notwithstanding this and the extremely low COVID 19 infection rate in Berkshire County the Tanglewood festival and related events have been cancelled and the county is staying at Stage 2 reopening. (Infection rate for Berkshire County is .5/100,000 versus the higher .8/100.000 in SJ County.)
So why are the Berkshires reopening more cautiously? Because the tourist industry there feels an incredible obligation to be protective of its community, as NPR reports. Tanglewood and Berkshire County want to be on the right side of history rather than contributing to a coronavirus surge that would take them back to a stage of total lockdown.
Rick Hughes, Jamie Stephens, Bill Watson, don’t you want to be on the right side of history, too?
If you wish to hear the news report on NPR, CLICK HERE.
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I’ve spoken via email with both Rick Hughes and Jamie Stephens. Based on their words, neither of them seem to be particularly interested in being on the right side of history on this one. I strongly suggest everyone interested email them directly.
Well said!
The important thing is to make your comments in writing, ask that it be kept in the record; otherwise, it won’t. council@sanjuanco.com – attention Ingrid Gabriel.
Saide, I’m pretty sure they are kept in record. They state that in the meetings. A few weeks ago, they stopped reading the letters/emails and were only reading the person’s name and the island that they reside on. This went on for a few weeks. I made a public comment about this saying that it marginalizes some voices in our community because they do not have the time or can not get off work to do this. I believe they have started reading letters again.
My sympathy lies with the small business owners here on orcas. At the same time I cringe when I see license plates from Arizona and California. We have done well here so far with regard to covid 19. I hope our luck holds now that we are seeing more and more visitors here.
Write in, make your voice heard and part of the record, and- most importantly- vote in August!
2 of us visited Orcas from Seattle two weeks ago. Walking through your town, we were the only people wearing masks. Most, although of course I don’t know for sure, looked to be locals. The ferry into Orcas was almost empty. Other than the servers at Madrona, we didn’t see anyone with a mask on the entire days visit. We visited friends on Whidbey Island the next weekend and were pleasantly surprised to see masks on absolutely everyone.
Melany–first, both residents and visitors seem to insist on making judgments about who is local and who is not. Second, I’ve seen residents wearing masks everywhere. Most of us avoid the town, because it is brimming with tourists, some of whom are not compliant. I think your trip might have occurred just before the Council’s mandatory mask edict went into place.
Thank you, Eleanor. And to expand on Heather Immoor’s comment, vote in August for council members who promise to be on the right side of history.
While I am very grateful for a job right now, I simply don’t understand the complete ignoring of the risks to people who work with the public in restaurants. Honestly, I don’t understand why restaurants are open at all. As a server I am within a foot of almost every unmasked guest that receives a dish or beverage multiple times per seating. I cannot serve food or beverage without being right in front of someone. Since they are seated, they are not required to be wearing a mask, and once they are seated, almost no one does. Tonight I had my first table who actually masked up every time I came to talk to them and it actually highlighted for me that the previous 200 tables had not. How do we justify the idea that masks can help us curb the spread, while also having a glaring situation where that is not happening at all and requesting to the state that we make this available to happen more by increasing capacity? Next time you go to a restaurant, please don’t only notice the care they are taking for you, but also look at the lack of care most are taking for them.
As a 40 year resident of Orcas Island I have seen San Juan County go from a laid back community with established tourist inns and lodges with very little marketing to a fully on San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau described as the ‘official destination marketing organization (DMO)’ to the tune of over a million dollars a year. This money is collected from the Lodging Tax and used to promote “tourism-related expenditures, and construction of tourism-related facilities”. This may be the time to take a good look at where this path is leading us. Much of this money goes to supporting our museums and parks which benefit us all but could some of this money be better spent elsewhere rather than promoting more traffic and encouraging more tourist related shopping? I am running for Council in District 2 Orcas and will continue to welcome visitors at the same time work for a more diversified economy and protect our natural resources so they will be here for future visitors and residents.
I am a retired physician living on Orcas. It is clear that the politicians have placed their support in favor of financial concerns for the community rather than heeding the public health concerns for our community. They should heed the fact that retirees constitute the largest voting bloc in the county. While older, we will not forget what our current politicos have done come election time.
Michael Durkand: You raise interesting points but I’m troubled at your last two statements which clearly emphasize visitors over residents. Could you clarify please?
Tracy, We will always have visitors who come here to enjoy the same quiet, slower pace, wildlife, and scenic countryside that we enjoy. We cannot stop tourism and their dollars help our business community provide more amenities for all of us. What we must prevent is becoming a destination resort community such as Vail or Lahaina where tourism is the main industry. We must welcome visitors and work to protect our residents old and young so that they can continue to live here without worry of being priced out of the islands. Our elder residents are worried that they will be taxed out of existence and the younger folks worry that they cannot afford to buy a home. This year we are faced with two extremes, to close down and be safe and allow some folks to suffer economic hardship or open up and risk the health of all of us. I think the current administration is erring on the side of risking our health for the benefit of local businesses. I was apprehensive about opening up to Phase 3 and am glad for the reprieve from our Governor. There should be a way for local government to assist businesses suffering because of closures rather than open up too quickly and risk all our health. So to answer your concerns – I welcome visitors when it is safe to do so and more important I will work to protect the safety and livelihood of all our residents over that of tourism.
Thanks for elaborating, Michael and sorry for missing my misspell of your surname! I recognize that we are faced with having to make difficult tradeoffs.
I suspect we will find out the horse is already out of the barn door. Given the fact we are right next door to Skagit county where the infamous choir practice showed us indoor aerosol spread is capable of infecting a lot of people in short order, I have a very difficult time understanding how indoor dining, for instance, happens “safely”. People talk and laugh. Aerosols linger and concentrate. Staff is breathing the air in the room for six to eight hours at a time. If I still worked in a restaurant, I would be anxious about serving without an N95 mask, gloves and goggles. Unfortunately, N95s are still expensive and hard to come by.
Which phase we are in makes very little difference with transient accommodations, marinas and indoor dining open. People need to make a living, that is true, and our small businesses need our help to survive, but according to the WA State DOH, 40% of the people hospitalized for COVID 19 in have been under the age of 60. Think about how much economic damage a single person or a family suffers from a two week hospital stay and a month-long convalescence. I think every day about who gets asked to take the big risks and shoulder up the economic consequences of opening even to modified phase 2.
As your County Council person, I will look squarely at problems and listen to the Doctors and Paramedics charged with making public health based on data. I will consider the well-being of people who do the daily work, listen to them about their experiences and do whatever the county can to help with real risk reduction. I will consider the quality of life for the many retirees who call this place home. I will not speak disrespectfully to the Health Officer when he changes his mind based on new information.
Here’s a reminder to join the League of Women Voters’ online forum for Orcas County Council candidates, tomorrow (Tuesday, July 7, 5:30 pm): https://www.facebook.com/LWVSanJuans/photos/a.1652316948386702/2740614046223648