Monthly Archives: January 2011

UPDATED: Woman’s body found near Agate Pass Bridge

UPDATE: The body has been identified as that of Bainbridge resident Elizabeth Kaltreider.

A boater near the Agate Pass Bridge reported seeing a body on a beach on the west side of the passage Saturday afternoon, and the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a woman in her 30s or 40s was found dead.

The boater reported the body, on a beach just off Angeline Avenue in Suquamish, around 2 p.m.

A sheriff’s deputy said the death appeared to be recent, and reported that there was no evidence to indicate foul play was involved.

The sheriff’s office is handling the investigation.

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North Madison bike lanes and other notes

North-end cyclists rejoice
The long-awaited North Madison Avenue bike lane and pedestrian improvements will begin today, about a month ahead of schedule.

The city plans to construct a paved shoulder along North Madison between Highway 305 and Valley Road.

The work was originally scheduled to begin Feb. 28, but unseasonably warm weather has made conditions ideal for an earlier start. The work will be completed in during the spring.

Road work will also begin today on Manitou Beach Drive. For a bit more on both projects, head over here.

Closed on Sundays
The Bainbridge Public Library was open for its last Sunday this week. Patrons aren’t happy, but the system-wide hours reduction could save Kitsap Regional Libraries $100,000 each year. For more, read this article.

Gospel music on Bainbridge?
The island’s annual Sing Out! gospel sing-along was held on Saturday at Rolling Bay Presbyterian. See photos, video and read the story here.

Kid-tested, (earth) mother-approved
The Seattle Times did a story on an island mom who founded her own baby frame carriers. In true Bainbridge style, the carriers are made with organic cotton and eco-friendly dyes. Read more here.

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Bainbridge’s union blues and other notes

City breaks state labor laws?
The fight between the city and its union workers is heating up. The union, after having filed a grievance over layoffs earlier this month, is now claiming that the city violated state labor laws.

Read more here about how the layoffs went down, and why the union thinks the city will have to give a lot of that $2 million it got from Washington State Ferries to pay laid-off workers.

County Commissioner Clarence?
In other news, islander Clarence Moriwaki is one of five candidates vying for a soon-to-be-open Kitsap County commission seat. He aims to replace Commissioner Steve Bauer, who is stepping down. Moriwaki has been a radio news reporter, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Lowry, a Tukwila City Council member and a regional office manager for U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee. Recently, he was Kitsap County’s public information officer and helped lead the development of the Japanese-American memorial on Bainbridge Island. He was a finalist for Bauer’s commissioner position when he was appointed in 2007.

Bailey Manor open for business
A reader asked me to check in on Bailey Manor, the adult care facility that raised a ruckus in the Commodore neighborhood back in October.

Well, despite opposition from neighbors, the business did open in December, and now has two live-in clients and four employees.

“There’s no more signs in the yards, no more theatrics, no more drama,” co-owner Marti Bailey said this morning. “We’re just trying to be good neighbors.”

She even got a wave recently from a neighbor who had been opposed to the facility.

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VIDEO: A walk with BI novelist Jonathan Evison

Jonathan Evison | WEST OF HERE from markmcknight on Vimeo.

Bainbridge novelist Jonathan Evison‘s new book, West of Here, is now available in hard cover at Eagle Harbor Book Co. He’ll officially launch the book with a reading there on Feb. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

You can see a quick profile of Evison in the video above. It was made by local filmmaker Mark McKnight.

And here’s my profile of Evison after he won the Washington State Book Award for fiction in 2009.

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Police blotter: They even took the toilet

Policebanner11-09

This week, an unoccupied house was stripped clean of all its appliances, cabinets, sinks and most of its carpet (they left the part that was peed on). And they even hauled off a toilet.

Also making the blotter were a fair number of drunk drivers, including a Hansville man who admitted to drinking eight beers before swerving and speeding through Winslow.

Blotter’s below.
Continue reading →

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