“The on-again, off-again Winslow Town Square project has surfaced again, this time with an arts orientation to go with the underground parking and affordable housing.Art is almost the definition of what our community is, said Winslow architect Peter O’Connor, one of the plan’s proponents.And this is a way of keeping some of the people that make this the place that it is. “
“Here lies the grave of John O’DeaWho died maintaining his right of wayHe was right – dead right – as he marched alongBut he’s just as dead as if he’d been wrong.* * * * *This epitaph – apocryphal, no doubt – seems appropriate to the lawsuit local homebuilders have filed against the city.They challenge the legality of the city’s building-permit surcharge, which was imposed, by its own terms, for the purpose of financing the Housing Trust Fund. To the builders, it’s a clear case of right and wrong. Washington law says that construction and development can’t be taxed to raise revenue, no matter how laudatory the purpose. What the city can do, they say, is levy a fee that covers the cost of the permitting process. But since the money raised by the surcharge is stated explicitly to be for other purposes, they argue, the surcharge is illegal. “
“Taps opened Friday afternoon at the new Don Nakata Memorial Pool, for a landmark leak test as the facility and its 250,000-gallon tank near completion.Construction is outpacing the park district’s ability to pay for it, though, as volunteers continue a campaign to tap local donors for $500,000 in private funding.In fact, the district is still $175,000 short of what it needs to pay for the bare bones facility – with a mid-September or early October opening date looming. We were, and are, very confident that the capacity is there to raise the money, said Dave Lewis, Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation District director. There’s a lot of potential there, and when if it comes to fruition, we’ll be in pretty good shape.Confidence, though, is just one of the faces Lewis and other district officials are wearing. The other is concern. “
“Saying they should not be taxed to support general public obligations, three Bainbridge Island builders have filed suit to strike down a building-permit surcharge the city uses to support affordable housing. We’re not against affordable housing, said Andy Mueller, one of the named plaintiffs. But that should be funded by the public at large, not by a small group of people. We want our money back. “
“Five years ago, a citizen committee charged with envisioning a post-cleanup Wyckoff site proposed a development plan, believing they had no other choice.At tonight’s city council meeting, a second committee will propose that the whole parcel go into public ownership – to be used as a park, relegating development proposals to a fallback position. “
“Ed Kushner’s real estate office will stay in the family – the Windermere family.Kushner, who started the business with two partners in 1978, this week announced sale of the Bainbridge office, a Windermere Real Estate affiliate, to corporate colleague Jim Laws.We wanted ownership of the office to be a person who was good for the people in our office and for the office, who was good for the community of of Bainbridge Island, who was good for Windermere in the big sense, and who was good for us, Kushner said, identifying goals he shared with his wife Karen. We concluded that if we could meet those first four criteria, the last one would take care of itself. “
“The computer room was already lined with machines, from the slightly out-of-date 486 IBMs and Mac Power PCs, to a Texas Instruments museum piece.The generational difference – in technology, and its comprehension – was not lost on Rotary Auction volunteer George Scott.There were two 12-year-old kids in here putting computers together, just flying through ’em, said Scott, a retiree visiting from Boston, who was putting in hours at the auction setup with his Rotarian hosts. Unbelievable, he said. I still don’t know what I’m doing.The auction, which annually draws thousands, runs 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 30 at Woodward Middle School. “
“Overturning a recommendation made five years ago, a citizens committee now urges that the entire 50-acre Wyckoff site be turned into a public park – possibly even under federal ownership – when it is cleaned up from years of contamination.The change is not one of heart, but hope.We did look at public ownership the first time around, but dismissed it as not feasible, said Judy Hartstone, a member of both the 1996 and 2001 citizens committees.But now, with the involvement of Jay Inslee and his office, we think there is a chance it can be done. “
“The news that Winslow Hardware owners Mary Hall and Ken Schuricht are expanding by opening a paint store on Hildebrand Lane is welcome indeed, even to those folks who don’t patronize their establishment.While it may not be immediately obvious, Mary and Ken’s success puts a few more pennies in all of our pockets. Money spent at their establishment generates sales-tax revenue. Some of that — 85 hundredths of 1 percent — goes to the city. And every dollar the city realizes in sales-tax revenue is a dollar that does not have to be raised from property taxes. “
“On a Friday morning, some 30 communicants kneel in prayer, breathe in the incense and sing chants that would not have been out of place a millennium ago.To Roman Catholics, the eucharist is not only the central ritual of faith, but a link to timeless and universal tradition.We come together daily as a faith community, said the Rev. Dennis Sevilla, pastor at Bainbridge Island’s St. Cecilia Catholic Church. The eucharist is a doctrinal adoration of Christ.The eucharistic service is a re-enactment of the Last Supper, where, according to the Bible, Christ enjoined his followers to eat bread and drink wine in his memory. When bread and wine are blessed and distributed to communicants, we believe in the real presence of Christ, Sevilla said.And while languages may differ, the substance of the Mass is the same around the world.The universality is appealing, said Jim Decker, Sevilla’s pastoral assistant. Anywhere you go in the world, you can find a Catholic church, and you will know what is happening in the Mass. “
“Success has painted Mary Hall and Ken Schuricht of Winslow Hardware into a corner – too many customers in too little space.To address that pleasant dilemma, Hall is opening a second store on Hildebrand Lane this fall, to specialize in paint, relieving the most congested area of their present Winslow Way store.Paint accounts for 30 percent of the store’s volume in the summer months, Hall said. You can’t move in the paint area during the summertime – we have customers 15 people deep. “
“Inflatable beach balls burst from the crowd at intervals, punched into the sky to float down and bounce around on outstretched hands.Individuals, one and all, Dave Ellick deadpanned, as students enjoyed one last breach of discipline at the principal’s expense during his commencement address Saturday. “
“Your sign may or may not be illegal. You may or may not hear about it from the city. The sign code itself may or may not come up for discussion and amendment before the planning commission or the city council.No one seems ready to make the first move, as city officials look to bring rogue signs into compliance around town, particularly on Winslow Way. Not that such signage is thought to be, in most instances, particularly egregious – no flashing neon or backlit displays designed to hook the unwary eye – with violations said to be picayune, some measured in mere inches above sidewalk grade. “
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