Monthly Archives: May 2008

T&C on the TV

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King 5 News brought their cameras to Town & Country Market for a story about how more shoppers are bringing their own grocery bags. You can watch the bit on bags here. There’s plenty of familiar folks on view, including our own village “idiot” (he said it, I didn’t).

For even more information on T&C’s success in cutting back on paper and plastic, read my Feb. 08 story here.

Waterfront Park’s future

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The city’s hosting an open house on Tuesday to gather input on a few designs proposed for Waterfront Park.

None of the sketches were available today for a sneak-peek, but you can check out the design firm’s website to get an idea of the work they’ve done in the past.

Read my story below…

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Police blotter: Pot-laced lollypops?

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How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? I dunno, but I bet it’s a trip when you’re licking one laced with weed.

Bainbridge High’s vice principal stopped by the police station this week to drop off some drug paraphernalia (you know, the usual) and get a lollypop checked for marijuana. Yep, that leafy stuff usually smoked or baked into treats can apparently be converted into a form fit for “lacing” into hard candy. Police have dutifully sent the the lollypop to the lab. Results are due in two to four months, so don’t hold your breath.

Also this week, a mastiff attacks a 4-year-old, teens go on an craft supply shoplifting spree in Winslow and another guy gets busted for yelling in a park.

Read on…

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Dave’s Farmtopian Vision

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I spent a lot of time hanging out at the Day Road farms last week for a story on city-owned farmlands. You can read that story here.

I came across Dave Ullin volunteering a lot of sweat and time building an irrigation culvert. Dave’s not a farmer, but I always like to hear Dave’s thoughts, so I sat down on one of the boulders awaiting its place in the culvert and asked him what he thought about the state of farming on Bainbridge.

Dave is Bainbridge Island’s answer to Henry David Thoreau. His life is barebones simple. He lives in an anchored-out tugboat without heat, electricity and plumbing. He eats a lot of tug-grown sprouts and stinging nettle sauerkraut. He hauls his own water and uses his hand-forged tools for a variety of volunteer projects, from felling logs for Yeomalt Cabin to ripping out invasive plants at Waterfront Park.

He also spends a lot of time thinking, and sometimes he puts his thoughts on paper. So when I asked him about farming, he stopped by my office later and handed me an essay entitled “Dave’s View: a Vision for Affordable + Sustainable Living.”

I couldn’t quite fit any of my conversation with Dave into the farming story, but you can read his essay below.

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Police blotter: ‘Nice day’ yeller gets busted

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After a cold, dark and wet winter, the last week’s worth of sunny skies have been enough to make anyone want to go to a park and yell out some hallelujahs. But watch the decibels. A Bainbridge man’s sunshine praises didn’t get an amen from the neighbors, nor from the cops called to the scene.

Also this week: a brass knuckle brawl at the library and two mysterious cases in which burglars stole nothing but a shower and a nap.

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Doughnut throwers go national

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The island’s high-speed doughnut throwers have gone national.

Humorist Dave Barry posted the Sun’s recent police blotter item about a truckload of islanders attempting to toss doughnuts to a second truckload while heading north on 305. You can see Barry’s blog post and about a dozen or so reader comments here.

I think our local readers had wittier comments. Here’s a choice one from my original story:

“I am sure once the call went out on the radio, all the cops descended on that area to gather the ‘evidence’ for ‘processing’ and coffee!”