Here’s our video of a replica
of the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space), made by
Fred and Jordan Rabinovitz in their South Kitsap garage. The
TARDIS, of course, is the spaceship (in the form of a British
police call box) that allows the Doctor to travel through time and
space.
Category Archives: Entertainment
Dr. Who? In which I learn what I’ve been missing
Yes, I have been living under a rock.
So when the Kitsap Sun got an email from Fred Rabinovitz of Port
Orchard saying he and his son had built a TARDIS in their
garage, the newsworthiness of the announcement whizzed right past
me … defying the laws of space and time … much like the TARDIS
itself.
When I was asked to write about Rabinovitz’s TARDIS, I had no idea
how lucky I was. My first clue was photographer Meegan Reid, who
clawed the assignment away from Larry Steagall and who gushed with
excitement when we arrived at Rabinovitz’s garage.
Meegan is by nature pretty low key. I don’t think I’ve seen her
this worked up over anything … except maybe those whales in Dyes
Inlet. To myself, I’m like, “Nice blue box. But what’s the big
deal?”
To Whovians everywhere, I apologize for my ignorance.
The TARDIS, of course, is the time-space travel machine that
figures centrally in the long-running BBC television series “Dr.
Who.” From the outside, it appears an ordinary British police call
box. Inside … ah, that’s another story.
The Doctor in “Dr. Who” has had multiple incarnations since the
show launched in 1963 — each played by different actors, with
different (mostly female) sidekicks and villainous otherworldly
enemies.
I’m not going to say how many Doctors there have been for fear of
stepping into Whovian trivia quicksand. I do know the Doctor is an
alien Time Lord (apparently with two hearts) and a shape shifter …
unlike the TARDIS (for Time and Relative Dimension in Space), which
got stuck as a police call box early on in the series.
That’s not to say the TARDIS is a static prop.
Over the course of the series — both the “classic” earlier version
and the reincarnation that began in 2005 — the TARDIS has been so
much more than a vehicle through space and time. It (she?) has a
personality and oft independent will, as the Doctor does battle
over the millennia with various hordes of rubbery monsters. All of
this is served up with that dry British wit that seems to poke fun
at the show’s inherent hokiness.
What’s not to love?
Jordan Rabinovitz, 17, is the resident Whovian – reminiscent of the
11th Doctor in a natty vest and bow tie — proud as a hen on a new
clutch of eggs as he opens the door to the TARDIS.
Inside, Fred Rabinovitz, an engineer by trade, has done wonders
with a metal recycling bin, some holiday rope lights and a DJ’s
music mixing console he got off eBay. There’s even a
black-and-white television that displays a grainy image of the
hypnotizing introduction to the show.
Jordan pushes a button and the TARDIS emits a noise suggestive of
futuristic travel. His secret? A key scraped along a piano wire.
It’s thoroughly convincing. Take note, BBC.
The Rabinovitz TARDIS has had its own dramatic career, appearing in
the family’s extravagant Christmas light display and as a prop in a
video for a Spanish assignment.
Jordan is a relative newcomer to the fandom — which like the TARDIS
is bigger on the inside that it appears from the outside. He
started watching in December 2012.
“I had heard a little bit about it. I decided I may as well watch
the first episode (from the 2005 reboot), and it just got me
intrigued,” Jordan said. “Episode by episode, the emotional
attachment set in.”
By June he had his dad hard at work on the TARDIS.
“I would build it, and he would come out and say, ‘That’s not
right.’” Fred said. “I’d say, ‘It’s good enough.’ And he’d say,
‘No, it’s not.’”
“It’s a work in progress,” Fred said. “We’re always adding to
it.”
Jordan Rabinovitz has watched many of the Dr. Who episodes —
including those of the classics he can locate — and he can rattle
off trivia rapid fire. He even has a replica of the crazy-long
scarf worn by an earlier doctor and a sonic screwdriver.
Jordan, a senior at Crosspointe Christian Academy, often comes home
from a long day and closes himself in the TARDIS. Listening to the
take-off noise or music from the console, he is indeed
transported.
“It’s a getaway. It’s imaginative. It lets the creative juices
flow,” Jordan said. “I have achieved time travel, but only when I’m
in it.”
In case there was any question, let’s make one thing perfectly
clear: “I’m a huge fan, not obsessive,” Jordan said. “There’s a
line; you don’t cross it. Some have, and I’m sorry for them.”
As to the question, “Is it bigger on the inside?” Just wait ‘til
you see their next model.
You’ve earned the right to cry over this.
The projected numbers kept growing. It went from an expected to 300,000 to a half a million on Tuesday. The lines at the ferries made it easy to believe the other estimates that came out on Wednesday, that the crowd was up to 700,000. During the party at CenturyLink Field Paul Allen said it was a million. If Allen was wrong he can be forgiven for not really identifying with numbers less than a million. He can also be forgiven because Seattle was celebrating in the house he and you, the taxpayers, built. Whatever the numbers, they were massive.
If there weren’t a million people downtown, it sure felt like it. Imagine if all those people who tried to board boats around Kitsap and trains in the areas surrounding Seattle had managed to get on.
It was cold, it was crowded and it was beautiful.
I saw someone posting on Facebook a wish that we could gather that many people for something perhaps more noble. That’s a worthwhile dream, but let’s not spend a lot of time feeling bad about this. I certainly don’t have a mind sharp enough to tell you why it is we care so much about sports, I just know I’m as big a sucker for this as anyone.
Charlie Peach of Bainbridge Island told me he cried when Percy Harvin ran the second-half kickoff back for a touchdown. I haven’t been a Seahawk fan as long as he has. He was a fan when the team was launched. I jumped on the bandwagon in 2003, when I heard on the radio some guy talking about wanting the ball so they could march down to score. You know what I’m talking about.
Despite my relatively recent adoption of the Seahawks, I’ll confess that I kind of cried too when Harvin scored. I wanted this win as bad as you lifers, because I wanted it for you. I grew up somewhere else and have seen my teams win it all. A lot of you, including a few of my cousins, had not. I know the Storm won two titles, but as Nathan Joyce wrote before the Super Bowl, those titles have not filled the void that has been building since the Sonics won it all in 1979. Sunday was a good day.
So I wasn’t at all surprised to hear the outrageous estimates of the crowd size in Seattle. This victory was special. If the team gets more, the parades and the rallies in the future probably won’t be as well attended. It will still feel great, but this one is special. Years of frustration, at least in football, are over.
America gets to kiss your ring, Seattle. For years you’ve been able to talk about your teams’ greatness, the 2001 Mariners, the 2005 Seahawks, the 1996 Sonics, and everyone else could ask to see the trophy. Now you can show them the proof. And you can puff out your chest and declare yourself a champion.
And don’t be surprised if every time you see the replay of Harvin taking that kickoff to paydirt you shed another tear. Over the past 38 years you have earned the right to be emotional about this.
Editor’s note: This piece was edited to include the mention of the Seattle Storm and to correct the year figure in the last sentence. While we’re discussing this a little bit, let me mention the video. I wasn’t prepared to take video yesterday. That was going to be another reporter’s role, but that reporter couldn’t get on the ferry. Not getting on the ferry became the main story and Josh Farley did an excellent video on that topic. I was left to my own device, my iPhone, which kept running out of juice at inopportune times. That’s why there is no video from the ceremony itself.
KRL hands out “catch and release” books
You’ve heard the term “catch and release” used by fishermen (and -women). Here it is applied to books.
Kitsap Regional Library staff members will tour the county Saturday to “release” special copies of KRL’s One Book, One Community selection to the public.
More than 100 copies of “The Leisure Seeker,” by Michael Zadoorian, will be handed out, free and available to keep … or release to bring others enjoyment.
The books are not part of the library’s collection and don’t need to be returned. They were purchased with funds from the KRL Foundation. Each comes with special labeling urging temporary owners to enjoy and share.
The label on the cover of each book says, “Read & Release. Take this Book. Details inside.” Inside the front cover is another label explaining the One Book, One Community program, coming up in October, which gets the whole community on the same page, so to speak. Online discussion of the chosen book and book groups around the county draw readers together.
Each “read and release” book has a unique identification number that has been registered at Bookcrossing.com. Readers can use that number to record their comments on the book, see the path it has taken through the community and to note where they have released it for the next person to take.
The “read and release” effort is aimed at getting people jazzed about the One Book, One Community program, said library Spokesman Jeff Brody. Copies of the book also will be available for checkout from the library.
The Leisure Seeker,” announced in March as KRL’s One Book selection for 2013, is “a story about making the most of your time, a celebration of love and partnership, of Old Route 66 and the challenges of modern life,” according to a KRL news release. A couple, married 50 years, “goes on the lam against doctors’ orders and the wishes of their grown children, piling into their RV, the Leisure Seeker, to take one last road trip together.”
“KRL hopes to encourage more people to read this thought-provoking book by releasing these extra copies into the community and urging people who find them to read them and pass them along to family, friends or neighbors,” Brody said.
Copies of the book will be released Saturday at the following
locations and events:
8 a.m.: A Port Orchard senior center (will it be yours?)
9 a.m.: Poulsbo Farmers Market
10:30 a.m.: Bainbridge Farmers Market or other Bainbridge location
(they want to keep you guessing)
3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Silverdale Whaling Days Festival
For more information on the special release of “The Leisure Seeker” copies in the community, contact KRL Marketing Manager Jeannie Allen, (360) 475-9033
World premier of Macomber’s Cedar Cove series is Saturday
The big question is, “How will we look?”
Fans around the country are eagerly awaiting Saturday’s world premier of “Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove,” the Hallmark Channel television series based on books by local bestselling author Debbie Macomber. Macomber in turn based her wildly popular series on the town of Port Orchard, where she makes her home.
The show is at 8 p.m. Saturday on the Hallmark Channel, with episodes scheduled at the same time every Saturday at least through August 31. Spoiler alert: I’ve pasted summaries of the six episodes below for those of you who want to get a jump on the whole experience.
The Debbie Macomber experience has been a phenomenon for the city of Port Orchard for nearly three decades. The humble and perennially cheerful homemaker began her career typing at the kitchen table. Macomber rose through the ranks of bestselling women’s fiction beginning in the 1980s. Her early success was documented by the late JoAnne Marez, retired Kitsap Sun reporter and editor, who died July 7. Macomber recalled how a story JoAnne wrote in the mid-1990s was picked up by the Associated Press, accelerating the author’s fame and fortune. I know if JoAnne were alive, she would be glued to the TV for every episode.
I interviewed Macomber in 2009, as the town was getting ready to portray itself in the first (and so far only) Cedar Cove Days, which drew thousands of fans from far and wide. Locals dressed up as characters from the books. A map showed places — the library, restaurants and homes around town — that inspired Macomber’s imaginary Cedar Cove. The town got a new paint job, and there was some tension over the color scheme. Some aspects of the town didn’t lend themselves too well to sprucing up — Bay Street buildings that showed (and still show) their backsides (adorned with dumpsters) to the waterfront and marina. But the unpretentious Macomber wanted her fans to see the town “warts and all.”
In the series, Judge Olivia Lockhart is played by Golden Globe
winner Andie McDowell. We’ll take that as a compliment.
Macomber herself
stumped for the filming to take place in Port Orchard, but
producers may have felt that was a little too much reality. The
series was shot in Victoria, Canada. We’ll take that as a
compliment, as well. Which brings us back to the original question,
“How will be look?” All glammed up by Andie McDowell and Victoria,
B.C., will Port Orchard (a.k.a. Cedar Cove) even be able to
recognize itself?
In the series premiere, MacDowell plays Judge Olivia Lockhart, “whose Cedar Cove Municipal Court is the professional milieu and social microcosm of issues the judge will face in her own day-to-day life with family and friends,” according to the Hallmark Channel website.
“Jack Griffith (Dylan Neal), the editor of the Cedar Cove Chronicle, is a new friend and potential love interest for Judge Lockhart,” the website continues. “Judge Lockhart hears her name is being put forth for appointment to a Federal judgeship in Seattle, and she asks that her family keep the news a secret. But Griffith, “desperate for a meaningful news story,” (those damn newspaper people!) “corners Olivia’s mother who inadvertently tells the editor about everything in her daughter’s life – including the possible appointment. … Suddenly, Olivia (much to her chagrin) is front page news.”
Hmmmm, judge-editor, potential love interest … I could have told Judge Lockhart THAT was a bad idea.
Two actors from the set recently visited Port Orchard, according to Macomber’s daughter Adele LaCombe, executive director of Debbie Macomber the Brand. Yes, our neighbor Debbie Macomber is a copyrighted brand that covers not only her books, but movies, television series and even cookbooks that Macomber has written (one based on recipes mentioned in the Cedar Cove books).
The actors were utterly charmed by Port Orchard, LaCombe said. Fortunately, they made their visit about a week before a fire ripped through the upstairs apartment/rooming house of the Los Cabos building on Bay Street. The cause of the fire is considered suspicious and is still under investigation. Now, with renovation of the Myhre’s building (also gutted by fire two years ago) stalled in a legal morass, the town has bookend eyesores.
But there are also some charming new additions: The nearly completed DeKalb Pier upgrade and a new dock at the Water Street Boat launch help make the town look prosperous and classy. The city of Port Orchard did that work and a recently completed a segment of the Bay Street Pedestrian Pathway that is one of several enhancements to the Port of Bremerton-owned Port Orchard Marina Park.
I guess your impression of the town depends on your willingness to look past the “warts” and see the efforts being made by shopkeepers and building owners — flowers, banners, attractive wares, a public market in the works at the old Slip 45 building — to make Bay Street look like something out of a storybook. Oh, alright, maybe we’ll never be Cedar Cover. But if we were Debbie Macomber — our down-to-earth neighbor, not the brand — maybe we could see the best in our town and cherish it for what it is … warts and all.
See, I can write fiction, too.
Here at the episode capsules courtesy of Hallmark:
‘DEBBIE MACOMBER’S CEDAR COVE’
Hallmark Channel Original Primetime Series
Episode: #1001 “A House Divided”
Saturday, July 27 at 8p.m. ET/PT, 7C
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal, Teryl Rothery, Bruce
Boxleitner, Barbara Niven, Brennan Elliott, Paula Shaw, Sarah
Smyth, Corey Sevier, Timothy Webber, Elyse Levesque and Garry
Chalk
Judge Olivia Lockhart finds herself in a house divided after her seaside town goes up in arms when arrogant and wealthy developer Warren Saget threatens to tear down Cedar Cove’s historic lighthouse. Local Thyme and Tide innkeepers Bob and Peggy Beldon lead the townspeople in protest, including Olivia’s mom Charlotte, leaving Olivia caught in the middle when the case ends up in her courtroom and she must put her emotions aside to abide by the law. Then, Olivia’s new romance with newspaper reporter Jack Griffith is threatened when he paints Olivia in an unfavorable light in his story about the case. While the town begins to turn their backs on their respected judge, Olivia’s daughter Justine, recently single after ending her engagement to Warren, sees a spark reignite with old high school sweetheart Seth Gunderson and Olivia’s best friend Grace Sherman, home from a post-divorce vacation, begins readjusting to single life.
‘DEBBIE MACOMBER’S CEDAR COVE’
Hallmark Channel Original Primetime Series
Episode: #1002 “Reunion”
Saturday, August 3 at 8p.m. ET/PT, 7C
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal, Teryl Rothery, Paula Shaw,
Andrew Airlie, Sarah Smyth, Corey Sevier, Timothy Webber and Elyse
Levesque
Guest Starring: Sebastian Spence and Tom Stevens
When Jack’s estranged son Eric shows up in Cedar Cove completely unannounced, their uncomfortable reunion is long overdue. As Jack starts to get to know his son amid Eric’s constant hurtful reminders of Jack’s alcoholic past and poor parenting, Olivia and Grace learn a secret that makes them question Eric’s intentions. Charlotte wants to fulfill the dying wish of a stroke victim she met while volunteering at the local hospital by tracking down his family and asks Olivia for help. But when Charlotte also recruits Olivia’s friendly ex-husband Stan to do some digging, Olivia is faced with her own uneasy reunion.
‘DEBBIE MACOMBER’S CEDAR COVE’
Hallmark Channel Original Primetime Series
Episode: #1003 “Suspicious Minds”
Saturday, August 10 at 8p.m. ET/PT, 7C
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal, Bruce Boxleitner, Barbara
Niven, Teryl Rothery, Paula Shaw, Andrew Airlie, Sarah Smyth, Corey
Sevier, Garry Chalk, Brennan Elliott, Elyse Levesque, Timothy
Webber, Kendall Cross, Matreya Fedor and Brendan Meyer
Guest Starring: Tom Stevens and Charlie Carrick
A bloodied and quiet man arrives to the Thyme and Tide in the middle of the night asking for a room, inexplicably missing all of his belongings. Sensing trouble, Bob and Peggy reluctantly let him stay, promising to work out the details later. But when he is found mysteriously dead in his room the next morning, the Beldons are stunned and upset and the Cedar Cove gossip mill begins buzzing with the news. As Sheriff Troy Davis leads the investigation, Jack is quick to begin covering the story for the Chronicle—even in the midst of rising tensions between him and Olivia about Eric’s bad attitude. Meanwhile, at Cedar Cove’s annual Art Walk, Justine is on the verge of a new career when she receives a prominent booth to display her work and is stunned when her dad Stan shows up to support her, invoking unresolved feelings.
‘DEBBIE MACOMBER’S CEDAR COVE’
Hallmark Channel Original Primetime Series
Episode: #1004 “For the Sake of the Children”
Saturday, August 17 at 8p.m. ET/PT, 7C
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal, Teryl Rothery, Kendall
Cross, Lochlyn Munro, Paula Shaw, Elyse Levesque, Matreya Fedor,
Sean Michael Kyer, Sarah Smyth, Brennan Elliott, Timothy Webber and
Garry Chalk
Guest Starring: Tom Stevens and Sebastian Spence
In court, Olivia hears both sides of Rosie and Zach Westen’s heated, he-said, she-said divorce case, struggling to decide what’s best, for the sake of the children, Allison and Eddie. While the case stirs up painful memories of Olivia’s own divorce, Jack is also reminded of his past when he notices Eric is stalling to find a job and starting to take advantage of Jack’s guilt. Then, after budget cuts leaves the Mayor no choice but to close the town’s beloved library, Grace resolves to raise the money to keep it open herself, hosting a fundraiser where she meets a charming man new to Cedar Cove, Cliff Harting.
‘DEBBIE MACOMBER’S CEDAR COVE’
Hallmark Channel Original Primetime Series
Episode: #1005 “Free Spirits”
Saturday, August 24 at 8p.m. ET/PT, 7C
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal, Teryl Rothery, Bruce
Boxleitner, Sarah Smyth, Corey Sevier, Paula Shaw, Elyse Levesque
and Timothy Webber
Guest Starring: Sebastian Spence and Charlie Carrick
Justine is excited to welcome Seth back from his job at sea, but when he doesn’t show up for several days, she fears the worst and decides to go on a dangerous solo trip to a remote Alaskan town to find him. Olivia is concerned, especially as she remembers the pain of losing her son several years ago in an accident. Worried she’ll lose Justine too, Olivia’s sleepless nights start taking a toll and is hesitant to leave town when Jack asks her to go to Seattle for the weekend on their first trip as a couple. As both Justine and Olivia face stepping out of their comfort zones, they ultimately realize the adventure might be worth the risk.
‘DEBBIE MACOMBER’S CEDAR COVE’
Hallmark Channel Original Primetime Series
Episode: #1006 “Help Wanted”
Saturday, August 31 at 8p.m. ET/PT, 7C
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal, Teryl Rothery, Bruce
Boxleitner, Barbara Niven, Matreya Fedor, Brendan Meyer, Kendall
Cross, Sarah Smyth, Paula Shaw, Andrew Airlie, Garry Chalk,
Timothy
Hallmark’s two-hour world premier of Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove
is 8 p.m. Saturday. The program kicks off a television series based
on the Cedar Cove books by local best-selling author Debbie
Macomber.
Webber
Guest Starring: Richard De Klerk and Sebastian Spence
The Westen’s messy divorce starts taking a toll on daughter Allison, who is quick to lean on her friend Anson for support and put in extra hours at the Thyme and Tide Inn just to escape. But when her mom Rosie gets a permanent room at the Inn, Allison is on the verge of a breakdown. Then, before a trip to Seattle with Jack, Olivia gets a surprising visit from Lenny, a reformed criminal she helped put in jail years ago, who has returned to Cedar Cove wanting a fresh start. Seeing a change in him, Olivia promises to help Lenny find a job, but feels defeated when everyone in Cedar Cove is too quick to judge the ex-convict and turns him away. Then, when the harbor’s beautiful pergola goes up in flames at the hands of an apparent arsonist, even Olivia is suspicious of Lenny, but everyone is shocked by the conclusion in court.
With skatepark open, a word on helmets
South Kitsap Skatepark opened today, after six years of planning and nearly eight months of construction. Immediately the place was filled with jubilent skateboarders and trick bike riders, according to Kitsap Sun reporter Brynn Grimley, who passed the park on her way home earlier.
Tomorrow (Saturday) there will be a grand opening celebration.
As work on the park was under way in January, I heard from James Gates, a local resident concerned with personal safety. More than one member of Gates’ family has had head injuries related to skateboarding.
“I am in favor of a park, but not in favor of accidents that are preventable,” Gates said.
The county, which owns the skatepark at South Kitsap Regional Park, does not require helmets. Signs are posted recommending use of helmets and knee pads. Those signs confer “recreational immunity” on the county from anyone who would sue over injuries from use of the skatepark, according to Ric Catron, the county’s parks project manager.
Catron is from Oregon, where helmets are required by law for bike riders and skateboarders under 16. Earlier this year a bill, now dead, proposed to raise the age to 18.
Catron was surprised by Washington’s lack of a similar helmet law. In Oregon, where Catron also worked in parks development, violators could be fined, heftily. Some jurisdictions confiscated skateboards from those who neglected the law.
Gates thinks South Kitsap Skatepark Association, a major donor to the skatepark, should take the lead in educating young skateboarders about the importance of helmets, and, Gates said, they should lead by example. Mike VanDenBergh one of the SKSPSA’s leaders said he always wears a helmet and has his children, Ethan, 13, and Sophie, 11, do so as well.
At the event Saturday, professional skateboarders will be giving tips. It will be interesting to see if safety is emphasized in their lessons.
Parents, do you make your children wear helmets? Do you wear them yourself?
The Bay Street Report: works in progress
Old buildings, they’re like that box of chocolates in “Forrest Gump” — you never know what you’re going to get.
The old Slip 45 building, now being transformed into a public market, has hatched more than its share of surprises. The discovery of asbestos caused a delay last year. A new hitch has impeded progress on the market — billed as a Pike Place-style venue — but the project is still on track, says local businessman Don Ryan, who leases the building from Seattle-area property owner Mansour Samadpour.
Samadpour in 2012 agreed to invest in renovation of the building at 715 Bay Street. Ryan had hoped to open the market last summer, but he and Samadpour, whose investment has crept from $300,000 to nearly $600,000, used the delay to improve the design. Ryan now is shooting for this summer … sometime.
The latest hitch, which has slowed work to a crawl, was the discovery of two walls back to back where the facade of the building is to be built. The property, although listed by the assessor as a single structure, is made up of at least two, possibly three buildings, Ryan said. The assessor’s office says it dates to 1935.
The wall configuration means the façade must be re-engineered or redesigned to meet city standards for structural integrity. Once the city of Port Orchard, construction can resume at full speed ahead, possibly by next week, Ryan said. Vendors will then build their own kiosk-style spaces inside the market, which will offer fresh produce and flowers, cheese, seafood, beer, meat and more.
Ryan remains intentionally vague about pinpointing an opening date, because you never know ….
Down on the 600 block, another project under wraps is chugging along, according to the couple who plan an “Old World-style” pub on the corner of Bay and Harrison Street (the former Jordan’s Western Wear store).
Stacy Bronson and Dave Tagert, formerly of South Kitsap, opened the Devilfish Public House in Chehalis in 2007 and, emboldened by their success, are planning a second incarnation in Port Orchard.
“We’re not a bar or a saloon or a tavern,” Tagert said.
The Devilfish will be a quiet little gathering place that caters to
an older crowd (35+), a place where you can engage in conversation
without competition from the big screen or a loud band. The
occasional acoustic group might be part of the mix. Microbrews from
around the country and hearty pub fare (nothing fried) will be on
the menu.
Tagert and Bronson are remodeling the interior themselves, and it will take as long as it takes, they say. Like Ryan, they are hoping to open this summer … sometime. Meantime, brown paper on the windows hides what’s going on inside the former deli.
Both veterans, Bronson and Tagert are looking to hire cooks and bartenders, with preference given to military spouses. The name Devilfish (for octopus) harkens to Tagart’s days as a commercial diver.
The building long owned by the Cohen family is now in the hands of Doug Zimmermann of Seattle.
The DeKalb Pier refurbishment, another Bay Street work in progress, should be complete by early July, said City Engineer Mark Dorsey. The city will replace the viewing platform and some of the crossbeams underneath, and make the platform handicapped accessible.
Musical winners from Kitsap high schools
Five performances by Kitsap musicians earned high honors in a statewide competition Friday and Saturday, including two performances that took top prizes.
Nick Stahl from Bainbridge High School took first in the solo soprano-alto saxophone category, outperforming four other competitors.
Shannon O’Brien from Bremerton High School won a solo competition in the vocal-bass category.
Second place winners included a small percussion group from Central Kitsap High School and small vocal group from North Kitsap High School. Kelly Lanzafame from North Kitsap High School took third in the vocal-alto category.
The annual competition happens on the last Friday and Saturday of April and Central Washington University in Ellensburg hosts the event. Contestants from across the state first competed in 22 separate regional contests to qualify for the showcase.
This is, according to one educator, the musical equivalent to athletes taking state.
Neighbors would be notified of extra pets, under PO ordinance
The city of Port Orchard allows residents to have up to three dogs and up to three cats per household. Licensed kennels are excluded from the pet limit.
But what about the family who moves into town with more than the allowed number of dogs or cats? Or the family that inherits a pet from a family member who moves into a nursing home or dies?
For those folks, the city offers a “pet variance.” Up to now, getting a variance has been a simple matter of filling out a form to document “hardship.” The city council recently revising the ordinance to factor in the impact of extra pets on neighbors.
The original proposal, discussed at an April 16 work-study meeting, was to require written permission from neighbors on either side of the residence slated for bonus pets.
The council discussed the issue of barking dogs, the most obvious potential source of annoyance. The city’s nuisance ordinance prohibits, “frequent, repetitive or continuous noise made by any animal which unreasonably disturbs or interferes with peace comfort and repose of property owners or possessors …,” Licensed kennels, shelters, vet clinics, pet shops and service dogs are exempted.
Councilman John Clauson pointed out that the number of dogs is not always the issue, when it comes to noise.
“You got five dogs that are little quiet dogs that live in the house, and you never see ‘em, I don’t care if you have 10 of ‘em,” Clauson said. “But you could have one sitting in your backyard that howls all night long, and I’m going to be unhappy.”
City Clerk Brandy Rinearson said the city’s contract with the Kitsap Humane Society covers barking dogs and yowling cats. Animal control officers from KHS are contracted to enforce this part of the city’s nuisance ordinance.
Public Works Director Mark Dorsey said health and sanitation also were concerns in allowing people to have more than three of any type of pet.
According to Rinearson, three was a somewhat arbitrary number set by the council that established the pet variance ordinance in 1999. Some cities have different limits (up to five dogs in one town she knows of); others have no ordinance limiting the number of pets allowed.
The council, after some discussion, decided it would be adequate to simply notify neighbors on either side if someone applies for a pet variance. The notification would come before the variance is approved. Members of the public can comment on any city council agenda item at the start of each meeting.
“My heartburn was we were constantly granting these with no process, and so the neighbors didn’t know,” said Councilman Rob Putaansuu. “So for me it’s about notifying the neighbors. I think you notice the issue so they know this is coming before us, and if they’ve got heartburn with it, here’s an opportunity to come and testify.”
The council agreed to place the amended ordinance on an upcoming agenda for formal approval.
Another “process” gap in the city’s code is how to handle the occasional request from a business for after-hours music and other goings-on. Such a request came before the council in early April, when Amy Igloi of Amy’s on the Bay sought permission to play music on her deck after 11 p.m. (the city’s noise curfew).
The city’s nuisance ordinance prohibits a host of public disturbances between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., including the sound of machinery and power tools like lawn mowers, blowers, grinders, drills and power saws. The code bans loud vehicles and music from both inside and outside buildings, along with “yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on or near the public streets” during those hours.
What’s missing, said City Attorney Greg Jacoby, is “a fair and reasonable process that’s applied consistently regardless of who makes the request.”
The city now issues special event permits, reviewed by staff and approved by the council. Jacoby said the council might choose to roll the music-after-hours requests in with special events.
Several people at the meeting raised the concern about “what if” authorized events became a magnet for complaints either because of mismanagement by the business owner or in spite of their best efforts and intentions.
Rinearson said then-Cmdr. Geoffrey Marti, now Port Orchard’s police chief, suggests that such events be allowed on a one-time basis only, not as recurring events.
Marti said his officers get many complaints about noise after 11 p.m., coming from both inside and outside Bay Street establishments.
Two city residents who were at the meeting testified to the remarkable ability of noise to carry up the hill from Bay Street.
“I hear the music all the time. It wakes me up,” said Bek Ashby, who is a member of the Port Orchard Bay Street Association, a business owners group.
The council was in a quandary as to how to proceed on the after-curfew music question. Rinearson offered to see how other cities handle the issue and get back to them at a future meeting.
Amy’s on the Bay expected to reopen Friday after building issue
Amy’s on the Bay in Port Orchard has been closed since Monday, due to an undisclosed problem underneath the building, owner Amy Igloi said Wednesday.
“It’s kind of a sensitive issue,” she said.
Beyond that, Amy was unwilling to comment except to say she is working with the Mentor Company, which owns the building, her insurance company and the Mentor’s insurance company on a resolution.
Jennifer Mills of the Mentor Company said it was a plumbing leak that has been fixed. The restaurant is expected to open soon, Mills said.
Amy is hopeful she’d be able to re-open Friday morning.
“My first and foremost goal is to open the doors and be in business,” she said. “But I have to ensure the safety of my customers and staff.”
Amy’s, a popular destination for both locals and visitors, will celebrate its seventh anniversary on April 28.
