In these times of economic uncertainty, I want to encourage islanders to hire, shop and buy locally.

It is so discouraging to me when a person living in our islands hires someone from off island to do work that they could obtain locally. I have heard it said, “I can save money hiring someone from off island.”

You, as islanders, know how much it costs to live here. Is it not worth paying a little more to hire an on-island contrator which in turn supports our friends, families and neighbors? If you all continue to hire and buy off-island, there may come a day when you won’t be able to get an electrician or plumber over to your house in an emergency, when you will have to take your dry-cleaning off island, etc.

Please take a moment to consider what our island has to offer the next time you are spending money. Let’s support our local economy. It helps us all.

Jamie Justiniano
San Juan Island