“What if Bainbridge children weren’t able to play outside, for fear they might lose limbs, or their lives, in explosions?In countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, where landmines and unexploded bombs litter the landscape, parents fear daily for the safety of their children.A group of Bainbridge families has joined forces to create Clear Path International, a non-profit organization to sponsor landmine removal and victim assistance programs in Southeast Asia. “
“While it may not be immediately obvious, Bainbridge Island’s new pool is on schedule for a November opening. About one-third of the project – the bulk of it the largely invisible pipe and electrical work – is done, including the walls for the locker rooms and the outline of the pool area itself.The 55-space parking area is now used as a staging area by the contractors.The in-ground part takes forever, pool supervisor John DeMeyer said. The walls go up quickly.We’re pleased to be moving forward with this, Bainbridge Island Park and Recreation District Director Dave Lewis added. We have a fine project team for a very complex job that involves codes, soils, piping and everything related to water. “
“For those who demand truly fast two-way internet access – that is, speeds at least 10 or 20 times as fast as standard dial-up service – DSL is the only option on Bainbridge Island. And Qwest is the principal provider, at least if you want to choose your own Internet service provider.For those who are willing to ease those requirements, other options are available, including the following: “
“Buckle up, Bainbridge.The city council is revisiting a long-dormant bicycle helmet ordinance, under the sponsorship of Councilwoman Liz MurrayI know most of the kids and many adults wear them as a matter of course, Murray said, adding by analogy, But I know I didn’t wear my seatbelt until they made it a law.The ordinance was introduced last fall, but has been stuck in committee over questions of liability and enforcement. “
“After 21 years living on Bainbridge Island, Matt and Marie Randish have a pretty good idea of what will and will not appeal to customers.That local knowledge is why they think they can succeed with a convenience store/gas station on High School Road where Arco failed.Bainbridge Island is a unique market, Matt said. Arco is a good company, and has a stamp-out program that is generally successful. But it didn’t fit on the island.The Randishes recently purchased the facility from Arco, which closed the store on Jan. 18. “
“A Monday morning fire gutted the historic Taylor Avenue home of local art gallery owners Wes and Andrea King, damaging their own collection of artwork.The Kings were eating breakfast in Winslow when the fire broke out, and no one was injured.Bainbridge Fire Department Executive Director Ken Guy said the fire was accidental, and apparently electrical in origin. “
“The Maryland Public Television film crew reviews raw footage from the morning’s shoot in a darkened corner of the room.The subjects of their video – Barry Hoonan’s Odyssey Multiage Program students – use the time to unwrap sandwiches and break open cartons of milk.It is Thursday, the fourth day of filming, and everyone seems to have the routine down. One could imagine that these kids always had six guys from PBS underfoot; the TV crew could be furniture, for all the attention they receive. The producer of the series, Marilyn Phillips, is impressed with the students’ aplomb. These kids are incredible, Phillips says. They aren’t goofy like other kids we work with. They don’t make the peace sign or wave at the camera and say ‘hi, mom.’ We are pointing hand-held cameras right in their faces, and they just keep working. “
“Fits and starts, or endless circles?The city public works department is steering toward the latter – a traffic roundabout – as it plans major changes to the High School Road/Madison Avenue intersection this summer.And the city council agreed Wednesday, authorizing formal engineering of a single-lane roundabout as an alternative to an already-planned traffic signal.The decision is not final, but informal discussion suggested general support among council members.I see nothing that can’t be overcome with education and good engineer design, Councilwoman Elizabeth Murray said. “
“Ever feel like you were going in circles?Like confused motorists trapped in a traffic roundabout, unable to make that last jog back into the lane of travel to head on their way, we have the feeling we’ve been here before.That’s certainly the sense we get as the city council ponders approval of a roundabout at the High School Road/Madison Avenue intersection, replacing the non-functional four-way stop and foreswearing the rather pedestrian traffic signal. In fact, we can see the process now: “
“Like out of a scene of Searching for Bobby Fischer, 30 students sat furrow-browed over chess boards, their feet dangling several inches above the floor.It wasn’t a prodigy chess tournament in New York City or Chicago; they were Bainbridge kids in the Ordway Elementary School library. Chess and schools make a good partnership, said Ordway principal, Bruce Colley. It ties in with the whole academia that schools promote.As part of a new after-school program, students at Sakai, Ordway, Wilkes and the Odyssey program learn chess from master Charlie Nguyen. “
“Rep. Beverly Woods introduced legislation this week that she thinks will moderate ferry fare increases, by shifting more of the system’s burden on the taxpayers.But the Poulsbo Republican is not yet willing to address the question of how to get that money from the taxpayers.Woods’ bill would require the state transportation commission to report annually to the Legislature about the percentage of ferry operating costs recovered from fares, and to exclude maintenance costs from the base in making the report. “
“Of all the art exhibits to hang, the big, conglomerate group show could be hardest. As with the Intermediate and Middle School Art Show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts, there are a lot of objects that have to go somewhere.For the curator, envisioning what fits on what wall, giving each artist their due while shaping the whole is arguably as much a creative exercise as making the art in the first place. What I did, BAC Director Janice Shaw said, was to allocate space based on the number of students a particular teacher had. Shaw and eight art educators do a remarkably good job of coherently packing about 175 student works into one small room. “
“The photograph was taken at the Seattle Center, sometime in the mid-1960s.Packed into the frame, a few dozen kids out for a Teenage Fair mug for the camera, several waving electric guitars, others with fists in the air and faces wild in a youthful declaration of purpose:Yeaaahhhh!!!And in their midst is a fiftyish man, conservatively suit-and-tied, gazing somewhere past the camera with a face that suggests bemusement or chagrin or maybe a little of each.The photo – which appears midway through the Experience Music Project Northwest Passage display of Seattle rock memorabilia – suggests the uneasy detente between teens and adults best embodied by rock and roll music.It’s a precarious relationship that Robert Santelli, a preeminent rock scholar who finds himself at midlife, would seem to understand.It’s by young people, for young people, says Santelli, 49, of the music and culture that has been his passion and his livelihood. Some people my age are lucky enough to still get something out of it. It’s helped keep me young, that’s for sure.Deputy director for public programs at the EMP, Santelli will speak on Popular Music in American Culture at the Bainbridge Library Jan. 25, as part the Arts and Humanities Council’s American culture inquiry series. “
