“The sign says 25 mph.Spend the morning watching traffic on Grow Avenue, though, and you might wonder.That guy on the motorcycle is a regular, says Dave Corn, as a biker roars past at 45 mph. Sometimes he’ll come around the corner and just whale on it.It’s 6:45 a.m. on a Thursday, and Corn and neighbor Bob Conoley are holed up in a van kitted out for comfort, in the driveway of the Grow Village condominiums. Their mission: surveillance.Drivers, they say, like to speed on their street, to the point that they and other residents feel unsafe. To prove their point, they have borrowed a radar gun from Bainbridge Police and set up shop.”
“There may, in the end, be nothing like the power of the ticket book to give drivers a little more respect for neighborhood speed limits.An example from earlier this month comes to mind:Irked by heavy dumptruck traffic roaring in and out of the Blakely Harbor/Fort Ward area, a West Blakely resident called police and asked if they’d swing through for a look. By coincidence, a patrol officer was already in the area on other matters. In the hour that followed, three truck drivers were cited for speeding, enforcement that was followed by a letter from police to the trucking company, asking them to slow their employees down.The next day, a neighbor reported following a dumptruck from Blakely Harbor to the highway. Its speed: slooowwww…”
“Once he is finished explaining how his name is pronounced, Zoltan Szigethy will explain his hopes for the Kitsap Regional Economic Development Council.I hope I can expand the diversity of employment, said Bainbridge Island resident Szigethy, who was appointed the EDC’s new executive director last week.The Kitsap Regional EDC is a non-profit organization that looks to bring bigger and better business into Kitsap County. Bainbridge Island resident Kevin Dwyer, the EDC’s director of business recruiting and marketing, said the EDC’s mission boils down to bringing new dollars into the market.We want to recruit and maintain primary businesses, Dwyer said. The companies don’t have to be headquartered in Kitsap County, but we want people working for them here.EDC president Karl Jonietz said Szigethy has the right balance of business sense and community devotion that he and the other board members looked for in their search, which brought candidates from all over the nation.”
“Plans for new public schools next to the Grand Forest have inspired controversy. They may also have generated a solution.Although it has not been formally addressed, local officials are discussing a land swap of the future school site off Mandus Olsen Road with a park district-owned section of the Grand Forest off Miller Road. If the parks department is willing, and the school board is in agreement, the schools and the parks will make a trade, Bainbridge Island School Board President Bruce Weiland said this week. And I think it could be a very good solution to this issue.”
“The news was good, and the timing wasn’t too bad either.Just as a morning-long seminar on pedestrian and bicycle issues wound down at city hall Thursday, planners learned that the city had landed a $35,000 state grant for a non-motorized transportation plan.This is going to be a fun one, said Marti Stave, senior planner for the city, who applied for the grant earlier this year.The non-motorized plan will bridge what Stave calls a big gap in the island’s transportation planning, long on policies for roads but arguably short on ideas for modes of transportation that don’t involve four tires and a gas tank.”
“First it was a retirement village.Then it was apartments.Now even the name has changed, and Sakai Village – formerly the Village at Sakai Lakes – will be all townhouse condominiums, developer Doug Nelson says.I’ve been trying to do everything I can to make everybody happy, said Nelson Friday, smarting from what he described as hate mail generated by his previous development proposal.I decided I’ve got to do something (different) here, he said. I’m turning into a real bad guy with the public.”
“For the cost of a Coke on the ferry, movie buffs can style themselves in 1940s attire, and bring their families to celebrate the birthday of the Lynwood Theatre.The festivities include a screening of the classic film Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, which was originally shown at Lynwood during its first year of business in 1936. A unique wire recording of dance music from Fletcher’s Landing will also be played, and prizes will be awarded to those who arrive in costume. The occasion marks the 64th anniversary of the historic theater. The event costs $1 per person, and begins at 7 p.m. July 25. The theater will donate all proceeds to the Bainbridge Foundation.It should be a lot of fun, said owner Jeff Brein. The last birthday party we had filled all 250 seats with people. We are optimistic about having a big turnout this year as well.”
“What did it take for some quick city council action to deal with the loss of significant trees to planned developments?While they were already inclined toward new and stiffer penalties, a little pressure from the public didn’t hurt.We got a letter from a woman saying ‘shame on you,’ Councilwoman Christine Nasser told us this week. And nobody likes getting mean letters.Hence a proposal, from Nasser and Councilman Norm Wooldridge, to substantially boost monertary penalties and provisions for tree replacement when protected greenery falls.”
“Once upon a time, a lawyer had to choose between the excitement, challenge and financial rewards of a big-city practice and the lifestyle benefits of a smaller town.But today, it’s possible to have both, according to Jon Ferguson, managing partner of the what is called the Seattle branch of an international law firm. The office isn’t in a Seattle high-rise, but on Bainbridge Island’s waterfront.Our principal asset is our database, Ferguson said. Electronic connectivity allows us to send documents back and forth on the Internet, so it doesn’t matter where we are.Ferguson and Jeffrey Bean, along with paralegal Leslie Rothbaum, are the Northwest outpost of Chandler, Franklin & O’Bryan, a Virginia-based firm with affiliated offices in Washington D.C., Maryland, Los Angeles and in 11 countries in South and Central America. The firm represents claimants in injury cases, both personal and commercial.”
“They describe their music as Johnny Cash and James Brown get drunk together in Spain.Ruby Darby, an island sextet, hosts a CD release party tonight for their debut album, 130 Pounds of Pep. The show begins at 7 p.m. in Waterfront Park, as part of the city’s summer Concerts in the Park series.We feel good about the response that we have received so far, said lead singer/guitarist Don Clifton, of the band’s fusion of tango, funky folk and rock n’ roll. We have a strong live show that is engaging enough to draw interest to our CD.”
“Although scratched and hobbled in the wake of a still-unexplained grounding, the Wenatchee remains a safe and serviceable ferry, and will remain on the Bainbridge Island route for now.That’s the word from Mark Nitchman, maintenance director for Washington State Ferries.There’s a hairline crack in the hull, but it’s not letting any water in, Nitchman said. We’re monitoring it to see if it’s something that happened as the result of the vessel grounding, rather than something that developed afterwards.”
“Thirty thousand dollars.That’s what it’s going to take to clear the last hurdle and complete funding of the Marge Williams Center on Winslow Way.That was the good news from Kate Carruthers and Wendy Johnson, who took time to give us an update on the project in the Team Winslow office Monday afternoon. Better still, they told us, building permits are on the horizon, and the purchase of the property itself will close this week.”
“Three weeks into the job, Barbara McGilvray is already determined to improve and expand the Bainbridge Island Senior Center. The center’s new director also hopes to make sure the individual interests of its members are included in its activities.The thing that makes a senior center successful is developing activities that the members themselves are excited about, McGilvray said. One of my roles is to listen to what members want and then implement their ideas.McGilvray comes to the island senior center having served at more than 23 similar centers around King County.Most recently, she worked with Seattle’s Meals On Wheels, an organization of volunteers that prepares and delivers hot meals to elderly people who are unable to leave their homes.”
