The News Tribune in Tacoma has a story Friday likening Bremerton’s waterfront transformation with Tacoma’s.

Kitsap County’s most urban city, known for years as a rough Navy town with views of the Olympic Mountains, is redefining its frontyard stretch of waterfront. No longer is it dominated by empty storefronts and taverns in the shadow of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

The city of 36,000 is relying on an active waterfront, new businesses and condos to restore its core.

It’s a journey similar to the one Tacoma started in the 1980s.

The story has comments from the mayor, a naysayer, and the owner of Boston’s Deli and Pizza.

Gerald Ford spent a few nights in Bremerton when he was in the Navy.

After the fire, Monterey was declared unfit for service and the crippled carrier reached Ulithi on 21 December before proceeding across the Pacific to Bremerton, Washington where it underwent repairs. On Christmas Eve 1944 at Ulithi, Ford was detached from the ship and sent to the Athletic Department of the Navy Pre-Flight School, St. Mary’s College, California where he was assigned to the Athletic Department until April 1945. One of his duties was to coach football.

Bremerton could get money for a school for drop-outs and for improvements to the J.C. Penney building in downtown Bremerton.

In pointing you to the latest details on the killing that took place Wednesday morning, I believe it also worthwhile to draw your attention again to Josh Farley’s earlier work asking why Bremerton was considered the most violent city per capita in the state.

Much of the violent crime in Bremerton is committed against criminals themselves, and very rarely are strangers the victims. “The crime we¹re talking about is people that know each other, who commit crimes against each other,” (Bremerton Police Capt. Tom) Wolfe said.

Bremerton had three murders in 2005. Wednesday’s killing was 2006’s first, because the killing outside the pool hall in the Redwood Plaza happened across the street from city limits.

We’re working on getting more extensive archives available for you, but until then the best thing I can do is copy it from archives I can access and post it here. Click on the link below to read the first of several stories on violent crime in Bremerton.

Continue reading →

A 38-year-old Bremerton woman was killed this morning and her 32-year-old brother was arrested. Go here for the story and continue to check back for updates.

Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman was listed as a newsmaker for 2006 in the Puget Sound Business Journal’s Dec. 22-28 edition.

I’d post the link, but you can’t read it online unless you’re a subscriber, so I won’t bother.

Bozeman was categorized as an “innovator” in a story detailing Bremerton’s waterfront condo development, new parks, building renovations, wireless Internet downtown and the future development of the former J.C. Penney building, owned by the Bremer Trust and used as a parking lot.

The magazine reports Bozeman “has made it his personal mission to bring vitality and people to a formerly struggling waterfront, and as a result his city is on a building binge.”

Bozeman is joined on the innovators list by Expedia and Zillow Web business builder Rich Barton, Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center President Dr. Thomas Hansen, China President Hu Jintao and Ray Ozzie, who replaces Bill Gates as Microsoft as chief software architect.

Also on the newsmaker list is William Marler, a Bainbridge Island resident and lawyer who has made a name for himself fighting companies over E. coli outbreaks. He’s on PSBJ’s list of “fighters.” Marler first became prominent by fighting Jack in the Box in 1993 for its E. coli outbreak. Most recently he sued Taco Bell parent company Yum! Foods after E. coli was traced to green onions used in its food. Marler is joined on the list of fighters by Seattle City Council President Nick Licata and U.S. Rep. Dave Reichart, R-Auburn.

The Seattle Times editorial page staff was highly complimentary of Manette Neighbors, who are willing to tax themselves to keep a former reservoir as some sort of park.

The best neighborhoods are distinguished by more than an address or location. The best neighborhoods are defined by a caring community spirit. Such a spirit is alive in Bremerton’s Manette neighborhood, where a group of residents want to buy a former reservoir from the city and turn it into a park.

The other big news in Manette was the first church service at the New Life Assembly. The church bought the former Manette School property, which some of the same people saving the park were instrumental in stopping from becoming condos. Getting the church service Christmas Eve took some doing.

Church leaders had not planned on unwrapping this gift so early, but the Internal Revenue Service said they had to have at least one service in their new building before the end of the year to qualify for tax-exempt status next year. It took a bureaucratic miracle to make the deadline. The aging school, built in the 1940s, does not have a sprinkler system. But Bremerton city officials agreed to accelerate the temporary permitting process so that the church could make its IRS deadline.

A power outage gave us an interesting dilemma. Would it be cheaper to run the car on gas or beer? I did the math and beer was the clear winner.

Chad Lewis wrote Friday about how OC won in the governor’s budget.

We’re going to have more stories in the near future about other local impact of the budget. Here are a couple worth mentioning now.

There’s $4.7 million proposed for the Washington Youth Academy, a special school for 16-18 year-olds who dropped out. Elaine Helm wrote about this in October.

There’s also $3 million set aside for the public element should the J.C. Penney building get redeveloped.

At a moment when the rain was coming down hardest, I made the wise decision to drive over to the former Cencom building near the Warren Avenue bridge to have a look around.

Like many of you, I’ve driven past the building countless times, perhaps noticing the little green space next to it, but not paying all that much attention.

Today I walked the green space. It leads to the canyon that divides Bremerton’s east and west sides and offers a little glimpse under the bridge. No one was there when I looked, but I wouldn’t have blamed them for taking cover. The park is nice, but it’s loud being right next to the busy Warren Avenue.

I’m sure dentists and accountants and their assistants will make good use of it, now that the city has sold the old Cencom building to a Renton couple who plan to use it for dental and accounting practices.

Here’s the story.