Is the foliage becoming crispy? How's the water level - too much, too little in the area around in the roots?

esh,
there are a few lower needles that turned crispy brown/black but doesnt seem like any out of the ordinary. It's been raining often but there's a slight incline so no settling around the tree.

Ok, so the yellowing foliage doesn't seem to be dying, just discolored?

Right.

I don't know of anything specific to this species, so I looked up issues with yellow foliage on the genus in general.

I found mention of Juniper blight and Juniper scale (which you already checked for). Other than those two issues and any watering issues, I don't have any more ideas on what this could be.

Well could also tug gently upward on the stem to see if any voles might have eaten away the roots. And poke your finger into the soil around it and then compare how the moisture feels in the area around the one that is still good.

Here is a link that might be useful: Juniper issues

You can also post this question on the trees forum as there are some very knowledgeable folks there as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trees forum

Can anything be done for blight or scale, should it turn out to be one of those?
I posted on the Trees Forum. Thanks!