Gas prices
Drivers in Kitsap County feel like they are back to square one after a number of complications paired with scheduled maintenance led to a recent spike in gas prices locally.
The average gas price in the county topped the $5 mark once again as of Sept. 27. Just a week before, the average gas price in Bremerton was $4.50 per gallon.
The increase in prices at each station has varied across the county. Most stations increased around 30 cents per gallon, while others increased by as much as 50 cents and are still climbing.
AAA says that costs have been driven up at higher rates on the West Coast recently due to a combination of refinery and supply chain issues, including fires and scheduled maintenance. The increase also has voters concerned for the future, as the gas tax in Washington state is expected to increase in 2023 and beyond.
Booster clinic
A Moderna and Pfizer Bivalent Booster Clinic will take place Oct. 8 on Bainbridge Island at Commodore Options.
People are considered eligible for the bivalent booster if they received the initial vaccine series (two Moderna or Pfizer, or one Johnson and Johnson) or the initial vaccine series and subsequent booster vaccinations and it has been at least two months since their last dose.
Those 18 and older are eligible for Moderna, and individuals 12 and older are eligible for Pfizer.
Moderna appointments are available from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Pfizer 1:30-5:30 p.m. Appointments open Sept. 28 at noon at covidbi.timetap.com/#1.
If you are unable to get an appointment or are unavailable Oct. 8 Walgreens, Costco, Safeway, Rite Aid and other local pharmacies also offer the bivalent vaccine. A full list of providers is available online at https://vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov.
Apartments sold
The 114-unit multi-family community living in the Blis apartments has a new owner.
Carin West of SoundWest Group bought the apartments for $65.5 million.
The Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce newsletter says the housing is in a prime location at Cave and Ferncliff Avenues near the ferry terminal.
The complex features 107 apartments and seven loft townhomes and includes a courtyard terrace, fitness center, Electric Vehicle charging stations, central community spaces and conference rooms.
New stage on BI
A new music venue is open and hosting live acts in downtown Winslow.
The Stage at The Ravine was funded in part by the newly accredited Bainbridge Creative District.
Erika Thayer, owner of the Bainbridge Apothecary and Tea Shop, designed the layout for The Ravine courtyard area and used the skills of local artist James Rudolph to create the stage, which was built with wood trimmed around surrounding boulders to keep the natural appearance flow.
The stage will host various musical arts, further supporting the island’s creative economy, which is the mission tasked of the BCD — to advocate for the arts and make the island a thriving place to live, work and visit.
The BCD can support such ventures like The Stage at The Ravine through funding from the Washington Arts Commission, which provides funding for the arts, artists and arts facilities.
Sewage suit
The King County Council Sept. 27 voted in favor of a $5 million settlement with the Suquamish Tribe to redress the repeated release of sewage into Puget Sound from that county’s wastewater collection and treatment system.
The settlement is designed to curtail further wastewater pollution, including the West Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, a news release says. The settlement funds ecological restoration projects in Puget Sound that will support the recovery of salmon, orca and other marine life, and it compensates the tribe for past releases that continue to impact tribal fisheries.
Settlement talks began following a July 2020 notice from the tribe that it intended to file a lawsuit for violations of federal clean water law and for infringement on the tribe’s treaty rights.
“The tribe took legal action when it became clear that the county was failing to protect the water quality in Puget Sound as required by the Clean Water Act, and the pollution was interfering with our treaty fishing rights. We could no longer stand on the sidelines hoping conditions would improve,” tribal chairman Leonard Forsman said.
Band excels
The Bainbridge High School Marching Band competed in the Peninsula Classic competition at Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor Sept. 24 and won several awards.
BHS senior Dani Heylen was awarded first place for Drum Major and led the Spartan musicians to win Best Percussion and second place overall at their first competition of the season.
The band will compete against 20 other bands Oct. 22 at the Puget Sound Festival of Bands in Everett.
Black Student Union
The Kitsap Black Student Union is hosting a “Welcome Back, Kick Back, Give Back” event for Kitsap County youth Oct. 2 from 1-5 p.m. at the Marvin Williams Center, 725 Park Ave. in Bremerton.
The event is free and will feature DJs, performances, games, food trucks, resource vendors, BSU merchandise and more.
KEDA expands
Having won a $500,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce, Kitsap Economic Development Alliance has hired two new team members to launch its new “WAV-C” maritime autonomy and innovation program.
Hired were program manager Seth Abelson and business development manager Rochelle LeMay.
WAV-C stands for Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster. The maritime autonomy industry is a fast-growing sector of the maritime industry. Such clusters bring key components together to solve industry challenges that limit growth and innovation.
In addition, James Davis joins KEDA as the organization’s new economic development manager. He comes to Kitsap after most recently serving as Business Development and ScaleUp program manager for Thurston Economic Development Council.
4 on health board
Four nonelected members have been appointed to the Kitsap Public Health Board.
The move was required by state law.
Stephen Kutz was appointed by the American Indian Health Commission and the Suquamish Tribal Council.
Three community representatives — Drayton Jackson and Drs. Tara Kirk Sell and Michael Watson — were nominated by the health board and appointed by the Kitsap Board of County Commissioners. Those three were among 40 applicants for those spots.
St. Olaf concert
The St. Olaf Orchestra, conducted by Chung Park, will perform at Bremerton High School Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. as part of its national tour.
The concert is free for all students and $10 for adults. Tickets may be purchased at stolaf.edu/tickets.
Named “one of the best college orchestras in the nation” by Time magazine’s Richard Ostling, the St. Olaf Orchestra is known for its passionate music-making and professional-level performances. Highlights include Symphony No. 1 in G Major by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, standout soloists from the ranks of the St. Olaf Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s gripping and poignant Symphony No. 6 Pathétique.
The St. Olaf Orchestra was named winner of the 2018-19 American Prize for Orchestra Performance among colleges and universities for the second time.
Judge: $0 fine
Judge Piper Thornburgh ruled not to fine any of the protesters at the Trident base as part of Ground Zero’s annual commemoration of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
“You have admitted the infraction, and I have found that it was committed. I am reducing your fine to zero,” the judge said.
Those arrested and charged were Michael Siptroth, Br. Gilberto Perez, Dr. David Hall, Rev. Anne Hall, and Caroyln Wildflower.
Siptroth said, “With real national security, no one in this country would be hungry or without health care and a decent place to live.”
Hall added, “We were engaged in a ritual protest, part of a forty-year effort to bring public attention to the presence and danger of nuclear weapons and to offer our prayerful hope for the future.”
House for Life
A house directly across from Kitsap County’s sole Planned Parenthood clinic has become a hot spot for members of the pro-life movement whose goal continues to be saving the lives of the unborn and their mothers.
Bremerton’s Planned Parenthood has stood as the only branch in the county for over a decade since the closing of the Silverdale branch in 2011. Since then, NE Riddell Road has played host to a number of protests organized by those who are either for or against abortion.
Laurie Coykendall, executive director for Western Washington Coalition for Life and a local campaign leader for 40 Days for Life, said that her organizations started to look across the street for ways to continue their collective campaigns.
Coykendall called it an answered prayer when “For Sale” signs popped up in the house’s yard in the spring of 2020, and with the help of several donations, she was able to raise over $200,000 to pay for the house, along with closing costs and other added expenses.
Access stickers
A new project of Kitsap County’s Accessible Communities Advisory Committee provides businesses, schools, places of worship, and other public spaces with an easy way to assist people with severe mobility impairments in gaining access to buildings.
These organizations are offered a sticker so the business can write down its phone number then affix it to front doors and other points of entry, a county news release says. People with disabilities can call the number to reach someone inside to request the door be opened for them.
Corrections
Jane Martin was the source of the story Sept. 30 in the Review about the Zero Waste Lending Library, and the Rotary Auction has 600 volunteers.
The Wanderers’ Nest is a therapeutic farm. Michele Muffoletto, who taught at Ordway Elementary School, worked with Puget Sound Goat Rescue in adopting their goats. One goat, Miles, is a Saanen. A story in the Sept. 30 Review was incorrect.
