HAYLEY DAY / REPORTER

The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

‘Good Kids’ explores rape culture in social media age

Ula Grace was 11 years old when a 16-year-old girl was raped by two high school football players in the small town of Steubenville, Ohio. Now, Grace is the same age the victim was during the 2012 crime, and acting in a play that dramatizes the event. “I hadn’t heard about it until this play,” said Grace about the crime. “It’s interesting to have context now.” Clarifying sexual violence is the objective of the play “Good Kids,” which Grace’s mom, Krista Strutz, will direct from April 19 throug
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

San Juan Islander receives bionic hand after accident

If you ever need help, Lyle Mann can lend you a hand. In fact, he can take off his roughly one-pound, metal hand and give it to you. “It means a lot,” said Mann about receiving his prosthetic hand. “There are things I can do that I couldn’t do prior to getting it.” Last June, the 85-year-old was building furniture in his San Juan Island shop, when he accidentally sawed off all of his fingers and most of his thumb on his right hand. That’s his dominant one. Now he’s relearning to eat, bathe an
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

A bright future ahead | An inspirational speaker visits blind student

About a year and a half ago, Friday Harbor High School senior Quincy Vague was a kicker and left tackle for the school’s football team. He played video games and threw shot put in track and field. That was before doctors discovered his cancerous brain tumor in winter of 2017 that left him blind, as well as unable to stand or walk on his own. Today, the 17-year-old is adjusting to life with disabilities with the help of a local Stanford University professor, whose class on engineering for the di
Cincinnati Refined •

Your Next Concert Should Be At The Woodward

If you've been living under a large rock, with your eyes closed and your hands over your ears, you've probably still heard that The Woodward Theater opened in November. It embodies everything trendy in current Cincinnati news: a rehabbed early 20th century building, indie music, craft beers, and Over-the-Rhine. Yet, in Cincinnati, history repeats. "These aren't trends," says co-owner Dan McCabe, who's booked MidPoint Music Festival since its CityBeat acquisition in 2008. "The success of th
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

Vonnegut play questions masculinity, heroism at San Juan Community Theatre

The San Juan Community Theatre is showing “a simple-minded play.” Don’t worry, that’s not a jab; it’s the first line of “Happy Birthday, Wanda June,” which debuts on the weekend of Friday, Feb. 16 at the San Juan Community Theatre. In one of about five plays Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ever wrote, the fiction writer recycles themes from many of his famous novels, like the realities of war in “Slaughterhouse Five,” and the effects of science on society in “Cat’s Cradle.” Plus, there’s that famous loose Vonnegut tongue, which makes the performance for mature audiences.
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

San Juan Islanders shop small at artisans’ Holiday Market | Video

It’s easy to shop small on San Juan Island thanks to the San Juan Island Artisans’ Holiday Market. The event has been a venue for local artists to sell their work for nearly 40 years. “It’s a wonderful gift-buying event, a lot of locals come out, some visitors here for the holiday,” said Paula West of Paula West Pottery. One day of the market takes place on Small Business Sat
Cincinnati Refined •

A Guide To Viewing Art (For The Rest Of Us)

Last month, art critic Philip Kennicott of the Washington Post famously irked every museum educator in the country with his strict rules on how to view art. Readers are used to being advised by critics -- so-called experts in their field -- but Kennicott has become the Christian Grey of the art world. There's no romance in Kennicott's contract, just submissiveness to his view of art. If I were you, I wouldn't sign. Instead, I'd follow the only advice you really need in art (and life): be yourself.
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

The case for required volunteering at Friday Harbor High School

Instead of watching movies or playing videos games, 16-year-olds Emmett Carrier and Evan Foley are on their fourth month researching how residents and visitors can prevent pollution in local waters. The project is part of the friends’ requirements to graduate high school. For 15 years, juniors at Friday Harbor High School have been mandated to take a semester-long course to
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

San Juan islanders conserve public land through private donations

When Rosa Blair noticed that 33 acres near her San Juan Island home were for sale, she decided to take conserving the land into her own hands. She and about nine other initial donors put $50,000 down to secure the area last March. “A group of us wanted to preserve this piece of property in a way that was owned by and for the community,” said Blair. The land, now a nonprofit called Ihiya Biological Reserve, is part of a growing trend across the country, where citizens are purchasing land throu
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

Contemporary art exhibition at San Juan Island National Historical Park examines Americanism

Hushed breezes may roll through the pastures surrounding the park’s 19th century, wooden buildings, but inside holds photos, audio, videos, textiles and paintings of the modern age, exploring Americans’ relationships with both their past and present. The contemporary art exhibition, “Becoming American,” tentatively runs through September at the National Historical Parks sites on San Juan Island: English Camp and American Camp. At those park sites that mark the inaugural entrance of the San Jua
CityBeat Cincinnati •

The Powers That Beard

Of course, there’s no way to number how many beardos inhabit the Queen City, as we aren’t in charge of the U.S. Census, and the U.S. Census only asks irrelevant questions about topics like race and income. Yet it’s easy to see the power of the beard encroaching Cincinnati’s chin — which probably begins in Over-the-Rhine. Just ask Procter & Gamble Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller. The Cincinnati Fortune 500 company, which acquired Gillette in 2005, reported a 16 percent loss in net income fro
CityBeat Cincinnati •

The Art of Beer

“We are seeing individuality as part of bars and breweries,” says Michael Morgan, founder and president of Queen City History & Education and author of Over-the-Rhine: When Beer Was King. “There’s a certain rejection of everything being Bud or Miller.” The rejection is of the mass-produced — from the beers sold at bars and breweries to the art they commission. ArtWorks has tours for some of the 90 public murals they’ve created since 1996, but today local bars and breweries could h
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

Art in motion | Friday Harbor statue is sculpted in front of museum onlookers

On day one, a dull, shapeless head stared blankly at onlookers. By day five, the listless, melted features were transformed into the face of Friday Harbor founder Edward Warbass. For six hours a day, during five consecutive days, Gareth Curtiss molded part of a new town statue at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art. Observers could watch the artist inside the glass atrium facing Spring Street or simply pass by the see-through workspace. The process allowed residents to form an intimate connect
The Journal of the San Juan Islands •

Islanders fund new mobility scooter for local

Aaron D’Errico was almost home last summer when his mobility scooter gave out just before the hill on Tucker Avenue. With no way to continue up the unfinished street, members of the road’s construction crew pushed D’Errico the rest of the way. “It was surprising, moving and cool … that they would take the time … to help out,” said D’Errico, whose cerebral palsy makes it difficult to walk long distances. What started as a kind gesture turned into a campaign to replace D’Errico’s 3-year-old scoo
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