COVID testing reopens
Due to the increase in COVID-19 the city of Bainbridge Island, in partnership with Kitsap Public Health District and county Department of Emergency Management, is opening a drive-through test site at Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church Sept. 13.
The site will be open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays. The test site will provide nasal self-swab PCR testing, and results should be returned within 48-72 hours.
Appointments can be booked a week in advance. The city would like appointments to be made for people who are symptomatic, have a known or confirmed COVID exposure, or meet other criteria for testing. Testing kits for pre-travel clearance purposes are available for purchase online and at many local pharmacies.
Book online at www.test directly.com/patient/search/ provider_search.
BIMA fundraiser
The Bainbridge Island Museum of Art announces the return of its online fundraiser Sept. 19-26.
The event includes an auction and a marketplace. They will be open to members earlier, but the public can start bidding on them at 10 a.m. Sept. 22. The event closes at 5 p.m. Sept. 26.
A selection of works are on display in the galleries. Learn more at www.biartmuseum.org.
BIMA’s annual fine arts auction has expanded from its limited in-person gala to include nearly 150 pieces of highly collectible Northwest art, craft and unique experiences, which include trips to Palm Desert and Santa Fe. New this year, Bid & Buy for BIMA will also feature fine wine and spirits.
BIMA’s companion event is an online Collectors Marketplace of art, craft, jewelry, antiques, and collectibles—these items aren’t up for bid—once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Cleanup beach
The annual Bainbridge Island Beach Cleanup will take place Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to noon.
In previous years, participants have collected large quantities of Styrofoam, an inflatable raft, pipes, tires, a fiberglass dinghy, metal, plastic debris and more.
Learn more about the cleanup efforts and sign up to volunteer on the Sustainable Bainbridge event page.
Help parks
Bainbridge Island nonprofits can earn funds for park stewardship through Nonprofits Helping Parks, sponsored by the BI Parks Foundation and Bainbridge Metro Parks.
Nonprofits Helping Parks was started in 2020 to bring more stewardship to local parks while offering incentives and benefits for nonprofits. It works like this: Your club, youth group or nonprofit commits to a work party in a public park or along a trail — pulling invasive weeds, for example, — and the foundation will make a donation to your organization as a thank you.
Meanwhile, the foundation also offers community grants for capital improvement projects in a BI park. Applications are accepted through Oct. 1.
The grants encourage and support individuals and community groups with projects (not programs or operations) that will improve and enhance parks, trails and open spaces for users. The grants have funded more than $836,000 in projects serving youth sailing, gymnastics, rowing, trails and boardwalks, mountain biking, pottery, environmental restoration and more.
For details on both programs go to www.biparksfoundation.org/nhp or email barb@biparks foundation.org
Parent night
Online Parent Nights via Zoom will take place for Blakely, Wilkes and Ordway Elementary students.
For second and third-graders, it will be Sept. 13 from 5:45- 6:45 p.m. It will be at the same time the next day for the other students.
Teachers will send out links. Families can learn about the teachers, curriculum, procedures and expectations.
Also, volunteers are needed at Blakely and Wilkes, especially during breakfast and lunch. Email Kate Cressall at katestulips@yahoo.com for details.
Sakai Intermediate needs the same type of help. And its Parent Night is Sept. 21 from 6:30-8 p.m. for fifth-graders and Sept. 23 from 7-8 p.m. for sixth-graders, also by Zoom.
Pay online
The city of Bainbridge Island will soon be launching a free user-friendly, electronic payment system for utility billing.
You can use the online account to: Pay your utility bill anytime via an online portal; Manage your account; Receive email reminders when your bill is ready and a confirmation after making a payment; Make a one-time payment or register to gain access to all features; Choose when to pay – simply schedule a payment for any future date; Set it and forget it with AutoPay (save time and avoid late or missed payments); Use Pay by Text to get text notifications about your bill and have the option to pay through text message with your default payment method.
Paper billing will still be an option for those who prefer this method.
A message about the new payment options will be included on future utility bills.
Bulkhead fix
The city of Bainbridge Island anticipates that bulkhead repairs along Country Club road will begin in mid-September.
The project consists of bulkhead repairs along approximately 200 feet of shoreline, as well as embankment and roadway restoration.
Out of concern for public safety, the city implemented a closure of the westbound lane to traffic in June 2020 because of the failing conditions. The plans for permanent repairs are pending the required permits, which can take several years to obtain.
A postcard will be mailed soon to those who live near the project site.
Jobless down
During the week of Aug. 22-28, there were 5,073 initial regular unemployment claims, down 5.3% from the prior week. Total claims filed by Washingtonians for all unemployment benefit categories numbered 272,845, down 1% from the prior week.Initial regular claims applications are 72% below weekly new claims applications for the same period last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The four-week moving average for initial claims was 5,345, an increase of 39 from the previous week’s During the same time in 2019, it was 5,024.
Decreases in layoffs in health care and social assistance, wholesale trade and retail trade contributed to a decrease of 284 initial claims over the previous week.
There was a decrease in the combined total of initial claims and continued or ongoing claims for all benefits—which include regular unemployment insurance, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.
Federal pandemic benefits programs, including PUA and PEUC as well as the additional $300 per week, are set to expire the week ending Sept. 4. Learn more at esd.wa.gov/covid-19.
