Monthly Archives: June 2011

Hitchcock plans expansion, lunchtime menu

Despite the economy and the upheaval caused by the Winslow Way reconstruction project, at least one Winslow restaurant is doing well enough to expand.

Hitchcock, a local foods fine-dining restaurant that opened on Winslow Way last year, is in talks to expand into the next-door space recently occupied by a bath supply boutique.

“I’ve got some big plans for a business that would be an extension of Hitchcock, philosophically, but deliver the products we’ve worked so hard to procure over the last year to consumers in a different way,” said owner/chef Brendan McGill.

He said he’ll divulge specifics once a deal for the space is finalized.

McGill is also expanding Hitchcock’s hours to include lunchtime service. The focus will be on traditional Neopolitan pizzas made in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven.

“Lunch is a good excuse to crank the oven up for pizzas – good, fast lunch food,” he said.

Lunch service is offered now on weekends. Once the reconstruction project is done this fall, Hitchcock will begin serving lunch during weekdays.

I profiled Hitchcock last year when three restaurants specializing in local foods opened at the same time in Winslow. One of the restaurants closed a few months after opening. Its space will soon open as a wine bar. Local Harvest is still going strong in the Pavilion. You can read about the little boom in local food restaurants here.

In other Winslow food news, Greg Atkinson (chef, author, regular NPR guest) is opening a French restaurant on Madrone Lane, near Mora ice cream. Read more in Rachel Pritchett’s recent story.

Official confirmation Inslee will run for governor

I just got an email from Jay Inslee’s campaign office announcing that the Bainbridge congressman will officially kickoff his run for governor next week.

He’ll make the announcement Monday morning in Seattle. Followup stops are planned for Yakima, Tacoma, Vancouver and Spokane.

Inslee’s campaign website, www.jayinslee.com, went up this evening. Not much there yet. There’s a photo, a campaign sign (see over to the left), an official campaign slogan (“Building a Working Washington”) and a link for making financial contributions.

He’ll be matched against Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna.

Inslee was elected to represent the 1st Congressional District in 1998, shortly after moving to Bainbridge.

“He is the automatic front-runner for the Democrats at this point,” state Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz told the Seattle Times. “He’s very popular with the party and a proven vote-getter on both sides of the mountains.”

Guterson’s upcoming novel retells Greek tragedy in modern Seattle


Bainbridge author David Guterson is mining ancient Greek drama for his next novel, a modern retelling of Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex.”

His publisher, Random House, calls the forthcoming “Ed King” a “darkly funny” story of “destiny, desire, and destruction.” The hardcover edition is due out in October.

Its protagonist is an orphan who becomes an Internet tycoon. If it follows the Oedipus Rex story line (spoiler alert!), it won’t end well for him.

Guterson is best known for “Snow Falling on Cedars,” a novel set in a fictionalized, World War II-era Bainbridge Island.

His most recent book, 2008’s “The Other,” drew heavily on Guterson’s own experience growing up in Seattle.

Here’s more about “Ed King” from the Library Journal:

“Milquetoast actuary Walter Cousins sleeps with his underage British au pair, who dumps the resulting babe on Walter’s doorstep. Subsequently adopted, Edward Aaron King grows up to be a world-renowned billionaire Internet tycoon whose life is fated to end in tragedy; this is a modern retelling of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. Snow Falling on Cedars author Guterson is getting really ambitious; with a 75,000-copy first printing, a three-city tour to Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle, and a reading group guide.”

Bainbridge Islander on Facebook

Like everything and everyone else (including your grandma and your five-year-old niece), the Bainbridge Islander is now on Facebook.

Unlike this blog, which gets updated once or twice a week (or month), our Facebook page has news updates, links, photos and non-anonymous reader discussions about all things Bainbridge each and every day (except on weekends, and sometimes not on Fridays or when we’re really busy on deadlines).

Get there by following this link: http://www.facebook.com/BainbridgeIslander

You can also find it by entering “Bainbridge Islander” in the Facebook search box.

Oh, and it only works if you’ve setup a personal Facebook account. Might as well if you haven’t already. Your mom, your boss, your ex, your kid’s soccer coach and that guy you sat next to in 10th grade chemistry class are already there, waiting for you. Fun times. Besides, how else are you going to know what that chemistry class guy thinks about the chicken teriyaki salad he just ate?

Police blotter: Shed forcibly transformed into mini bar

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A Bainbridge man was surprised this week to find a new lock on his shed. Once entry was regained, the owner discovered that someone had converted the shed into something of a mini bar, complete with a cooler, booze and at least three fruity mixers. Rather than fix himself a drink in celebration of this boozy windfall, the man tossed it all in the trash under the watchful eye of Bainbridge police.

Also this week, a jogger on Ferncliff Avenue threatened to kill a dog, and a drunk driver wished he stayed home and mowed his lawn.

The blotter is below.

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Farm preservationists earn first Blakely Award

Steve Romein and his wife Ty Cramer earned a special commendation from the Bainbridge Historic Preservation Commission for their work rehabilitating the Lynwood Center building and preserving two south Bainbridge farms.

“Steve and Ty have set an excellent example for other developers to follow and made our community a better place in which to live,” the city commission said in a statement after awarding the couple the commission’s first Blakely Award for preservation leadership. The commission plans to give the award on an annual basis.

The commission also recognized the Bainbridge park district with a Blakely Award in the “project of excellence” category for its work to restore the cabin at Camp Yeomalt Park.

In 2007, Romein and Cramer began pouring money into fixing up and expanding the decaying Lynwood Center building in a manner that fit its 1930s-era Tudor style.

“In their renovation efforts, Ty and Steve chose to do so in a way that it would retain its original historic integrity,” the commission said. “The Lynwood Center neighborhood has been revitalized by their efforts.”

Early this year, Romein and Cramer purchased an Old Mill Road farm with the goal of preserving it as farmland and to develop a trail connecting to other public pathways. They also plan to rehabilitate two 19th-century farmhouses on the property.

The pair then purchased an even larger farm that island preservation groups have had their eye on for years. Romein and Cramer plan to put farmers to work on the land, develop a farming education program with nearby Blakely Elementary and set aside a portion as preserved open space.

You can read my profile of Steve Romein here.

VIDEO: Big green development taking shape in Winslow

King 5 News has a story about Grow Community, a large housing development set to take shape along Wyatt Way and Grow Avenue.

It’s aim is to be fully solar powered and to foster an earth-friendly lifestyle that’s oriented toward walking, cycling and growing food.

I had a story about it earlier this month, which you can read here.

Unlike most big developments on Bainbridge, Grow Community has drawn little criticism (so far). At a recent public meeting, most of the concerns were about traffic impacts. The development’s designers gave assurances that they’d actually be improving the area’s transportation infrastructure by adding sidewalks and bike lanes along Wyatt and Grow.

Grow Community will begin building an eventual 137 homes in May.

Canucks get secret pep talks from Bainbridge mountain climber

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If the Vancouver Canucks win tomorrow’s Stanley Cup final, they’ll likely give a big thank-you to Bainbridge mountain climber Ed Viesturs.

Viesturs, who summited Mount Everest seven times, has been giving closed-door motivational talks to the NHL team.

“You’re not supposed to know about that my friend,” Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa told a Globe and Mail reporter. “You’ve got privileged information. That’s something we don’t talk about, that’s our own personal thing.

The Canucks’ opponent, the Boston Bruins, have drawn inspiration from a jacket they pass to each game’s best player.

Viesturs, said Bieksa said, has been the Canucks’ version of a magic jacket.

“He spoke to us at the beginning of the season and spoke to us before the playoffs,” Bieksa said. “So he’s been our guy.”

Bieksa said there are “a lot of parallels” between hockey and high altitude mountain climbing.

“The challenges and teamwork obviously,” he said. “(Viesturs) summits a lot of the peaks but it takes a whole team just to get up there. It’s months and months of climbing and it’s years and years of training, too.

Read the full Globe and Mail story here.

Google map marks Bainbridge water access points

The city Road Ends Committee has developed an interactive online map marking more than 70 public water access points around the island.

Many of the points include a photo, a description and advice on how to find parking and trails.

The committee developed the map using Google Maps. You can find it here.

On a side note, the committee is seeking volunteers to maintain and improve the island’s road ends.

To volunteer as a road end steward, call call Nanci Burkel at (206) 780-0601.

Police Blotter: Man gets in beer can-throwing fight with mom

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A Bainbridge man was arrested for assaulting his elderly mother after she pelted him with empty beer cans to wake him up. He tossed a few back at her before stumbling out the door and into the arms of the arriving cops.

Also this week, a woman assaulted her boyfriend after he poured himself a glass of water without doing the same for her.

Blotter’s below.

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