Reporter Josh Farley was all over the fire on a yacht in Port Orchard marina this morning. It was pretty dramatic. Smoke from the fire could be seen along the coastline all the way to East Bremerton.

According to the story, “Crews couldn’t get the water mains in the marina to function, so a Port Orchard police officer invited two firefighters aboard their 31-foot police SAFE Boat and they were able to tow the burning boat away from the marina, police chief Al Townsend said.”

I just got of the phone with chief Townsend, who said, “That boat just paid for itself.”

In September, I wrote about Pasha Phares, well-known in the South Kitsap acting community, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Phares, 40, his wife, Debbie, and daughters, Sierra and Maddie, faced the physical, emotional and financial ravages of critical illness. Friends of the family were trying to lighten the burden, at least financially, by holding a benefit performance of “Fools,” in which Phares had played a leading part couple of decades ago with the performing arts guild of South Kitsap.

Pasha died peacefully on Friday, surrounded by those he loved. His obituary runs in tomorrow’s Kitsap Sun.

Friends who commented for the story remembered him as a “quiet man who says little and observes a lot.” On stage, he had a great comic presence. He was “very intellectual, very intelligent, a man with a quick wit,” said Linda Jensen, who organized the benefit.

Here’s the obituary:

Pasha Phares
of Port Orchard
July 2, 1968
to April 24, 2009
Veteran
Pasha Phares peacefully passed away on Friday, April 24, 2009. He was surrounded in love by his wife, Debbie, and two beautiful daughters, Sierra and Maddie. Pasha is loved by many people: His brother, Pablo; father, David; nephews, Evan, K.C, and Chandler; his niece, Courtney; his second family, mom and dad, Pat and Chuck; brothers, Jeff and Jason; sisters, Denise, Bunny, and Renee. The list of people whom he loved and who will love and miss him are too numerous to mention, but you know who you are.
Pasha was a great husband, father, and best friend. He never lost his love of video games, fireworks, disc golf, soccer, playing in the ocean, and generally having fun. He would choose Disneyland with his family over working around the house. He would choose taking the day off to drive to the ocean with his “girls”, as he referred to Debbie, Sierra, and Maddie over doing chores. In other words, he chose to live and play and never lost that childlike glee that escapes so many of us once we become a certain age. He leaves us his love, joy, and never ending zeal for what the world offered. In his memory, please commit a random act of kindness. Cherish him by taking care of others.
Online memorial at www.rill.com.

May 1
What: Smokey’s Bar-B-Que Grill will hold a Grand Opening Celebration with the addition of patio dining and expanded hours. The event will feature free snacks for diners. The restaurant has been open since November  for dinner only. New hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tues. – Thurs.; 11:30a.m. to 9 p.m. Fri. and Sat.; noon to 8 p.m. Sun.
When: 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: 682 SW Bay St., Port Orchard
Cost: Varies
Info: (360) 443-6369

The Port Orchard City Council on Tuesday took up discussion of Port Orchard’s reputation for attracting bail bond businesses. The topic came up during a presentation by Development Director James Weaver of the city’s critical areas ordinance update which drifted into a discussion of the city’s code for the downtown area (and the oft controversial issue of building height) then to the issue of bail bonds.

In a previous story I wrote about an effort by the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce to “brand” the city in a favorable light, someone commented that the town ought to be called Bail Bonds by the Bay. It was a joke … kind of … one that doesn’t sit well with the council, whose members are trying to reinvent the town as a trendy upscale place. Bail bonds don’t exactly fit the image, they say.

Of the bail bond companies listed in the Kitsap Peninsula Yellow Pages, five show physical addresses on Bay Street. No surprise since the Kitsap County jail is just up the hill. But that’s too many according to Mayor Lary Coppola, who said at the meeting, “I just think that’s the wrong message for our city.”

Coppola is disgruntled with the town’s bail bond companies not only for the less than savory image he says they convey, but also for the fact they don’t generate sales tax for the city. All they pay is $30 a year for a business license. “This is a business that gives our downtown a black eye, and we don’t make any money off it,” he said.

Some council members asked why bail bonds are allowed in the downtown business district at all.

When the city revised its code for the downtown area, they specified retail businesses could go on the street level of Bay Street, but business services, which the council envisioned as “medical-professional” businesses such as dentists or lawyers, must go on the second story. Turns out bail bonds, under state laws, fall under the category of “business services” and so are technically allowed in Port Orchard, said City Attorney Greg Jacoby.

Those bail bond businesses (and other business services) already on street level before the code revision are vested, but any coming in after would be required to whisk themselves out of sight of tourists and shoppers.

The council discussed its desire to attract retail shops to downtown and, not so subtly, invite the bail bond businesses to move elsewhere.

Coppola asked Jacoby if the city could pass a surcharge on such business. Jacoby said it would amount to a form of B&O tax (he will look into it, he said). When Coppola asked if the tax could be made to apply only to bail bonds, Jacoby said “probably not,” that would be discriminatory. He added that the city has limited taxing authority.

Councilman John Clauson asked if strip joints are allowed. Turns out the city already researched that last year, when Espresso Gone Wild of Gorst, featuring baristas in pasties, wanted to set up shop in Belfair. Mason County’s code nixes such attire in its business district. Port Orchard has similar laws protecting its citizens from the perils of pasties.

Clauson complained that the bail bondsmen are seldom in their offices. He wondered if the city could enact some ordinance requiring that shops and business be actively open certain hours of the day. Jacoby said he’d look into it.

“We can regulate their signage pretty heavily,” offered Weaver helpfully.

The council seemed united in its opinion of bail bonds in Port Orchard. When Coppola asked, “Am I the only one who feels they’re a detriment?” there was a chorus of agreement from council members.

Jacoby suggested one way to get them to move is to find an alternate place for them to go. The council discussed having them locate closer to the courthouse, but there was discussion about the courthouse neighbors sensitivity to such business.

“Bottom line is, our code says they have a right to be there, so you have to persuade them to move,” Jacoby said.

“I want to get in their pocket in a serious way,” Coppola said, referencing the above-mentioned tax or other regulatory measure. “We either make some money off them, or we make it so unattractive to them that they want to move.”

The City of Port Orchard took careful note of two open records lawsuits recently settled against Mason County.

At Tuesday’s work study meeting, City Clerk Patti Kirkpatrick told the council staff are looking into ways to avoid the pitfall Mason encountered when a records request was tagged as “spam” by the county’s e-mail system.

City Attorney Greg Jacoby pointed out that there were other lapses in Mason County’s case resulting in $320,000 in penalties and court costs against the county, including a delayed response to the request once they knew it had been filed and even after they knew the suit had been filed. “The Mason County case is kind of extreme,” he said.

At the meeting, Councilman Fred Chang questioned the wording of the city’s open records ordinance in reference to e-mailed requests.

PO in September enacted an update to its public records ordinance, stating the city will no longer accept e-mail requests. The city clerk, who is the designated public records officer for the city, will still process requests by e-mail; the change in the ordinance was meant to cover the city in the event that one slipped through the cracks.

Chang said he was concerned about the wording of the ordinance that he said could be construed as confusing. He suggested a rewording indicating that while the city makes every effort to respond to e-mailed requests, sending them in other forms is recommended.

Chang acknowledged riding herd on the hundreds of e-mails the city receives each day and responding to public records requests is an “onerous” task, but he questioned why Port Orchard is the only city in Kitsap County with such a policy.

“Every other city in the county has more staff than we do,” said Mayor Lary Coppola.

Coppola said the city is not “worried about getting around the law,” it is dedicated to meeting the requirements of the law despite the quirks of e-mail and spam.

Kirkpatrick said the city has had problems with e-mails going to the spam server and they are “looking into that.” There is also talk of having a designated e-mail address for public records requests.

“It was never my intention to tell anybody that we would not accept e-mail (requests),” Kirkpatrick said.

Jacoby said having a designated e-mail account for public records requests would put the city in a good legal position in the event of a suit.