Bainbridge Conversation

The four-year-old girl who was left on a Bainbridge school bus was the talk of the town last week.

Here’s our story (with lots of comments), in case you missed it.

And check out KOMO News’ story above. It includes on-screen comment from Superintendent Faith Chapel.

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In another followup story about American Marine’s failure, Sun business reporter Rachel Pritchett touched on what the bank meant to some of the island’s prominent businesses.

Here’s a bit:

“American Marine has been our bank since Day 1,” said Larry Nakata, president of Town & County Markets Inc. Regularly during the past 52 years, his company got American Marine loans as it expanded its premium grocery stores off the island into Poulsbo and greater Seattle.

Winslow Paint Company owner Mary Hall remembers that it was former American Marine CEO Bess Alpaugh who believed in her and Ken Schuricht when they took over Winslow Hardware in 1994. The bank didn’t forget them later when they opened Winslow Paint Company on Hildebrand Lane.

“We’re very, very, very connected with them,” Hall said.

Rachel also spoke with the widow of American Marine’s founder, Lou Goller, who opened the bank in 1948.

“He would have been horrified, certainly,” said 94-year-old Gloria Goller when asked how her husband would have felt about the failure of the bank. “Old faithful gone bad.”

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Longtime Bainbridge attorney Charlie Wiggins is running for a state Supreme Court seat.

He’s taking on embattled incumbent Richard Sanders, whose impartiality has been questioned by King County and the state Judicial Conduct Commission.

You can see my story on Wiggins’ candidacy here.

Wiggins has been quoted quite a bit in news stories about judicial ethics and elections. He’s also written a few op-eds. Two are below.

Judges should recuse themselves from cases involving campaign benefactors, Seattle Times, March 2009.

Reshaping state law in their own image is the goal of some PACs, Seattle P-I, August 2006.

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The City Council agreed to fill the city’s reserves with $3 million by the end of next year.

They’ll do it by making substantial cuts and selling city property.

The details about those cuts will come this week, when the council is expected to start slashing at staff levels and city services.

The council last week has hinted that some city support for local nonprofits may get the ax.

Mayor Bob Scales called out the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council, the police vehicle fund, the Kitsap Humane Society and the downtown association for likely cuts.

For more about the council’s decision to build up the city’s reserves, click here.

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This week, a police officer visiting an Eagle Harbor marina overheard a loud and boastful boater tell his friends about how he always has excellent pot. His interest piqued, the officer hung around to learn more.

The blotter’s below.

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This week’s acquisition of faltering American Marine Bank by Tacoma’s Columbia State Bank has begged a big question from some of American Marine’s customers: What was Columbia State doing right that American Marine was doing wrong?

The short answer is that Columbia State had a diversified investment base that, unlike American Marine, was not overly dependent on real estate.

Columbia State also managed to increase its capital at a time when other banks, like American Marine, were hemorrhaging it.

Here’s what Brad Williamson, director of the state Department of Financial Institution’s Division of Banks, had to say about that:

“Columbia’s had great success raising capital which in the current environment speaks really well of them. As for our large banks, I expect them to come out of this banking situation stronger than they went into it.”

Columbia State also appears to have a strong leader in CEO Melanie Dressel, who was three times named one of the nation’s 25 most powerful female bankers by U.S. Banker magazine.

That’s the short answer. For more, see business reporter Rachel Pritchett’s story here.

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The City Council is gearing up for a round of budget cuts that could lop $2 million from this year’s $17 million operations budget.

City officials I spoke to last week agree that the city is likely to cut jobs and hack away at several city services.

Read more here.

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The Bainbridge school district chose Seattle-based Mahlum Architects to design the new Wilkes Elementary School.

Mahlum’s client list includes Seattle, Tacoma, Edmonds, Olympia and Orcas Island school districts.

The new Wilkes will be built using money from the recently-approved $42 million capital bond.

For more, click here.

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Meegan M. Reid photo

I noticed on Sunday that Columbia State Bank banners were already covering the American Marine name at the Winslow Way branch. State troopers were guarding the doors while federal regulators continued with the closure and transfer process.

A quick scan of the headlines today shows that American Marine’s closure made national – even international news – with the Wall Street Journal, MSN, Fox News, New York Times, and news outlets in Germany, Argentina, Malaysia and Russia reporting on it.

According to the Seattle Times, American Marine was among six banks that closed nationwide on Friday. Fifteen banks have been shut down since the beginning of the year.

The other two Washington-based banks that failed in this month are Bellingham’s Horizon Bank and Seattle’s Evergreen Bank.

For a timeline of American Marine’s rise and fall, click below.

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The City Council’s back-and-forth over what to do with the proposed senior center redevelopment is starting to make the island’s seniors a little dizzy.

In just over a month, the council has moved the project’s design contract forward, then back, then forward, and then back.

“Oh my gosh. It’s frustrating,” senior center president Don Fisher said after the council opted last week to not approve the contract until the project’s scope and cost are reassessed.

Read more here.

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Longtime Bainbridge institution American Marine Bank was shut down by federal and state regulators today.

Founded on the island 62 years ago, American Marine has suffered severe loan losses in recent years.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has turned the bank over to new owner Columbia State Bank of Tacoma.

American Marine branches will reopen under the Columbia State name either Saturday or Monday, regulators said in a news release.

Read the story here.

And go to American Marine’s website for a statement from the FDIC

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Washington State Ferries has the final design for its new 144-car ferries. That’s it up top.

There’s no funding yet to build them, but the finished design puts Todd Pacific Shipyards in a ready position for the time when the money does materialize.

WSF expects to get funding from the state Legislature to build one or two of the ferries between 2011 and 2013. Its long-range plan calls for adding two 144-car boats to the fleet in 2014. One would replace the 87-car Evergreen State and the second would allow WSF to shift another 87-car ferry to a backup role. The only backup now is the 37-car Hiyu.

Five more 144-car ferries are projected to eventually join the fleet after 2027.

Click here to see the full story.

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