“More than 180 marijuana plants, some 4-5-feet in height, were seized in a raid on a south Bainbridge home Friday morning.A 44-year-old male resident was arrested, shutting down what police called a highly sophisticated growing operation.It’s a major, major bust, Bainbridge Police Chief Bill Cooper said.The raid concluded a three-year investigation by the WestNet drug-enforcement team. “
Jazz vocalist Toby Schneider was auctioned off last week. Whoever bought her for the fundraiser – as well as the audience for this weekend’s March 11 concert – will hear jazz informed by Schneider’s 37-year commitment to the idiom.
“At two Bainbridge schools this month, students travel to foreign countries right in the classroom. In a five-week program planned by parents, Island School students are studying all aspects of Japanese culture. And at Sakai Intermediate School, Theresa Cosgrove’s German language students celebrate Fasching – the German holiday that combines elements of mardi gras with Halloween – while other Parent Teacher Organization-sponsored language clubs offer a range of programs.We have cultural studies every spring to make sure these students are exposed to something beyond Bainbridge, Island School director Kelly Scribner said. “
“The good news: You’ll still be able to enjoy a beer or a glass of wine aboard the ferry.The bad news: We’re not sure there’s still going to be a ferry, as Thursday’s day of reckoning came and went for legislative bills hoping to clear committee and get a hearing before the full chambers.By our count, no fewer than 21 pieces of ferry-related legislation were introduced as the session got under way in January. Most had little or nothing to do with ferry funding, dealing instead with such non-issues as banning alcohol sales aboard the boats; allowing private vendors to sell ferry tickets; compensating ferry and highway workers who are assaulted by motorists; allowing ferry terminal workers to send to the back of the queue any motorists who block driveways or try to cut in line (don’t they already do that?) “
“Besting Tim Eyman in court has been a mixed blessing for attorney Tom Ahearne.On the plus side, judicial voiding of two anti-tax initiatives has helped stave off potentially calamitous cutbacks in city services.On the minus side, Ahearne says, initative sponsor Eyman may have learned how to write legislation that will withstand constitutional scrutiny.I’ve looked at Eyman’s new initiative, and I really can’t see any constitutional problems with it, said Ahearne, who led the court challenges against I-695 and I-722 for Bainbridge Island and other Washington cities and counties. I think that measure will have to be defeated on the merits by the voters. “
“A first-time visitor to the island drives off the ferry, up the hill to the stoplight at Winslow Way, and glances to the left, towards downtown Winslow.And sees a vacant lot on the southwest corner of the intersection – hardly indicative of the vibrancy the downtown area wants to project.The lot owner – Union Oil of California – is now exploring what productive uses can be made of the land. The company has filed a pre-application with the city to put an office building on the site. “
“On a picture-perfect Northwest morning, with panoramic views of sea, mountain, cityscape and sky, one cannot avoid being dazzled by the possibilities of the Wyckoff site on the south shore of Eagle Harbor.Plainly, something grand can happen on the 55-acre parcel once the Environmental Protection Agency finishes its $40 million cleanup. Tuesday morning, a group of citizens charged with making recommendations about that future got its first look at the progress of the cleanup effort.We really don’t know what can be done, or how it fits with the cleanup schedule, said Judith Hartstone, a Bill Point resident who was involved in earlier planning for the site, and is now part of a second effort. “
“Bainbridge Island has a lot of writers. Every now and then, it needs a good eraser, and Bruce Wallace is it.But Wallace doesn’t go around expunging the works of the local literati. His target is graffiti.I’m an avid walker, Wallace said, and I get tired of looking at graffiti. So just like I pick up trash, I started removing it.Years ago, there was an active anti-graffiti patrol on the island. But it faded away, and Wallace stepped into the breach. For the last two years, the city has assisted him with a $2,000 grant funded by the city’s hotel-motel tax, levied on patrons of local overnight establishments. “
“One Bainbridge resident has been following the collision of the nuclear submarine Greeneville and a Japanese fishing vessel with special interest.Capt. Michael King, who moved here five years ago to take command of the Trident submarine USS Alabama, is now Chief of Staff of Submarine Group 9, consisting of all the Trident boats at Bangor. His immediate superior, Adm. Chip Griffiths, was named investigating officer of the tragedy for the court inquiry; the Navy launched a formal inquiry this week. “
“The Mosaic Club has formed, and Dave Berfield, Bev Smith, Emma Stockemer, Betty Dunaway and Gayle Barker are the charter members.Their first joint project – Finch Place spelled out in bits of colored tile, each letter on a 16×16-foot concrete square – rests on a raised bed of cedar bark, outside the women’s home at Finch Place Apartments.I’ve always loved mosaic so I wanted to start a club, an opportunity for people interested in mosaics to get together, Berfield said. I offered a class at the senior center, and we evolved into the club.The group coalesced in the course of the year-long project. They also became friends. “
“Health advocates knocked heads with libertarian-minded bicyclists over a proposed helmet ordinance Wednesday.In a sometimes animated hearing before the city council, several riders argued that even if helmets protect bicyclists’ safety, the city has no business mandating their use.People are making smart choices, they’re doing it in the privacy of their homes, said longtime bicycle commuter Jennifer Sampson, and they don’t need the mommies and daddies of the city council telling them what to do. “
“The title of Tod Kowalski’s photography exhibit at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, Out of Context, might apply to the artist as well.Kowalski could be familiar from several contexts having nothing to do with art. Thousands of children have learned to swim in Kowalski’s park and recreation classes; he was, for a decade, the personable man behind the fish counter at Town and Country Thriftway grocery store.The Bainbridge Arts and Crafts exhibit reveals Kowalski’s private side.I never exhibited until my wife, Leona, gave me a good push, Kowaski said. Now I’d like to show more. “
“On Bainbridge Island, Wednesday’s earthquake was more like an amusement-park thrill ride than anything else – scary while it was happening, but with little long-term impact.Island prize for the scariest ride may go to Paul Roy, music director at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. He was some 30 feet up in the church’s bell tower when the quake hit.It was Ash Wednesday, and I was up there hanging a banner for Lent, Roy said. When it started rumbling, I thought a truck was going by. As it grew more intense, it seemed unbelievable to me because the tower was shaking back and forth. I thought it might collapse.Roy fell back against the wall and held onto ropes tied to a dowel that he was using to hang the banner. I could see the tower moving, so I focused outside, and the big trees were shaking like they were being pushed from below, he said.Both Roy and the church came through unscathed.Everyone on the island felt the sharp temblor that jolted the Pacific Northwest for half a minute at 10:55 a.m. Wednesday. “
