A pipefitter was injured when he fell into a ferry bilge at the Bainbridge ferry maintenance yard this morning. Read reporter Ed Friedrich’s story below.
Monthly Archives: April 2008
Stalking and pit-bull stealing
If you’re a regular reader of the Bainbridge police blotter, you might remember the report of a woman seen stealing a pit-bull from an island home.
Within hours, the poached pooch was found wandering through the backyards of a Gig Harbor neighborhood.
But the mystery remained: who would enter a house and nab one of the most fearsome breeds in all of dogdom? That mystery is now solved. Read on for the details…
Memorial bill headed to Oval Office
A bill giving the Japanese-American memorial national park status passed the House today and is now on its way to the president’s desk. Read my story below.
Rep. Jay Inslee, an islander and the bill’s prime sponsor, told me today that federal recognition of the memorial will help Americans “never allow the power of fear to overcome the power of liberty.”
Take a look at Jay Inslee’s speech in support of the bill here.
Water debate looks murky
Kitsap Sun environmental reporter Chris Dunagan weighed in on the island’s water problems in his blog “Watching Our Waterways.” Touching on the city’s community priorities survey results, which placed water quality and quantity as the island’s top concerns, Chris argues that the island’s underground water supply may run deeper than many islanders think.
Read the blog entry here.
Higher bus fares, fewer buses
Kitsap Transit is planning a public meeting on Thursday to discuss raising fares and cutting routes.
One possibility that will likely make ferry commuters unhappy is the proposed elimination of some bus services to the Winslow ferry terminal. Increasing bus fares by 25 cents probably won’t thrill riders either.
Read the Sun’s story below.
Police blotter: Dad calls cops on studious son
This week, a frustrated Bainbridge dad calls the police after his 12-year-old boy refuses to move his homework project. The boy attempts to bargain with police for better sleeping quarters in case the juvie bunks aren’t up to par.
An indestructible deer and a less-than-indestructible drunken cyclist also grace the blotter page. Read on….
Survey says….
See my story below for an early look at the city’s not-yet-released community priorities survey. I managed to get a copy of the results on city service priorities yesterday. There are a few surprises, and a few familiar items from the last major priority survey eight years ago.
I must stress that the documents I obtained are in a draft form and are subject to change. The full, official results – with interpretation from the pollsters and City Council – are scheduled for release on Wednesday.
Winslow Way ‘switcheroo’
Do you think city staff pulled a true “switcheroo” on the City Council last night? Are public officials acting “willynilly?” Think those caddywampus pipes need to be fixed? Is the price tag making you feel not so hunkydory about City Hall?
Don’t yet know what to make of the ballyhoo? Then read on….
Planning director resigns
After only 16 months on the job, Bainbridge Island Planning Director Greg Byrne announced his resignation today.
He will assume his new role as the city of Albany, Oregon’s planning director in June. His last day with Bainbridge is May 16.
“Greg has made important contributions to the organization and to the management team,” Mayor Darlene Kordonowy in a statement announcing Byrne’s resignation. Kordonowy noted Byrne’s revamp and streamline of city code as one of his key accomplishments while with the city.
“We will miss his leadership and his commitment to building a sustainable community,” she said.
Byrne, who took over after former planning director Larry Frazier retired, offered no reason for his resignation but stated his confidence in planning staff and in the administration as it looks for his replacement.
Kathy Cook, current manager for downtown planning, will serve as interim planning director in the meantime.
Byrne bested 33 candidates for Bainbridge’s top planning
position in January 2007.
He came to Bainbridge from Fort Collins, Colo., where he served as
the city’s executive director of community planning and
environmental services for over 15 years.
There, he oversaw a staff of 90 in four planning, building and
natural resource-related departments.
One of his most noted accomplishments while in Fort Collins was the preservation of 35,000 acres of open space in and around the city.
Byrne’s resignation follows shortly after City Manager Mary Jo Briggs quit in January.
Police blotter: Don’t drink and drive your ‘moticle’
This week, police don infrared goggles in search of the island’s feared golf cart rustlers.
Also, the blotter brings us a valuable lesson: never use ‘motor vehicle’ in its slurred variant, ‘moticle,’ while talking with police. They will know your are drunk. Instead, try the one-syllable ‘car.’
Bainbridge man killed, child injured on 305
A 42-year-old Bainbridge Island man was killed Sunday along State Route 305 north of Seminole Road after the truck he was driving went off the road, according to Washington State Patrol reports.
Jonathan Markowitz and his 8-year-old son were heading north around 2 p.m. when the man’s 1977 Toyota pickup truck left the road to the right, went down an embankment and struck a tree, according to reports.
Markowitz was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday, according to the Kitsap County Coroner’s Office.
His son was initially taken to Harrison Medical Center, but was then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with a broken neck.
Troopers were still investigating the cause of the accident Sunday, which caused the shutdown of the northbound lanes of 305 for almost three hours.
Streetscapers are islanders too
Reader Debbi Lester writes in to say that the folks redesigning Winslow Way care about its future because they too call it their mainstreet. Read her letter below.
