“Bainbridge Island ferry service won’t be cut this summer – with the exception of the third boat introduced during peak tourist season last year.But the prospect for rolling back city taxes don’t look as bright as they did a month ago. Those are among the results of the stop-gap state budget that the Legislature passed Thursday, after the close of second special session in Olympia.”
“Woodland Village is out of the woods.The city council Wednesday gave preliminary plat approval to the 27-home project on Ferncliff Avenue north of High School Road.I feel like I just got finished with a 3-1/2 year pregnancy, project developer Doug Nelson said, and Wednesday evening was two-hours of labor.The project was approved by a 5-1 count, with Councilwoman Christine Nasser casting the sole dissenting vote.”
“Sometimes even places of worship need a face lift. This week, a new set of windows has left Port Madison Lutheran Church feeling bigger, better and full of light. The sanctuary has a brand new look, Pastor Ron Hoyum said.When the cracks in the sanctuary’s 40-year-old windows suggested that replacement was necessary, Hoyum welcomed the opportunity to enhance the building.The glass design is both biblical and Bainbridge, he said.The natural images selected to adorn the 10 new opaque, fused-glass windows were chosen either for their religious significance or because they grow on the island. Committee members and Bainbridge Island’s Messolini Glass Studio collaborated with the congregation to select plants like Narcissus, holly, blackberries and grape for the windows’ motifs.”
“The invaders from Port Angeles swaggered onto the Bainbridge soccer field Tuesday evening, and showed why they’re called Roughriders. And why they’re unbeaten.In a game that was over almost before it began, the Riders outmuscled if not outhustled the Spartans, posting a 4-0 shutout.The Sparts rebounded Thursday to blank Central Kitsap by the same 4-0 score.”
“With its radical stylings, the Honda Insight looks like a car Jack Kerouac might love. But a local Buddhist – who, it seems, is on the road even more frequently than the late dharma bum himself – says her car’s attraction drives deeper than the beatnik allure of, say, Dean Moriarty’s Cadillac.It has to do with not hurting plants and people and the earth, said the Rev. Anne Heller, making the Insight a rolling reflection of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path.The Insight definitely fits that bill, the national Sierra Club organization decided, when the it gave the fuel-efficient two-seater an award for Excellence in Environmental Engineering this year.”
“The Columbine shooting cast a shadow over Bainbridge schools this week, as a bomb scare closed Ordway Elementary School Monday. Parents and school buses were called to escort some 400 students home as police searched the building throughout the afternoon.We have decided to respond as if this were an imminent threat, said Steve Rowley, superintendent of Bainbridge Island schools.The threat had actually been made five days earlier – left on a staff member’s voicemail – but the instructor reportedly was away at a conference and the message went unchecked until Monday.”
“Buying the statistically average home on Bainbridge Island today requires either a six-figure income or a six-figure down payment.According to information supplied by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, the average selling price for an island home in the first quarter of 2000 was $412,870. That compares to an average of $355,191 for the first quarter of 1999.”
“Frogs, backpacks and the Seattle skyline – they’re just a few of the logos embroidered on quilt aptly named A Lot of Things About Bainbridge. The Island Quilters had to brainstorm to come up with so many different ideas, designer Linda Johnston said of the king-size quilt now up for raffle.Johnston’s favorite island image is the slug, although she knows a lot of people prefer the dog sleeping in the middle of the road. Fellow quilter Pat Reynolds stressed that the diversity of the group is reflected in their work. Every possible sewing technique was used to assemble the quilt’s 100 different blocks, she said.”
“The first large-scale apartment project on the island in at least 15 years gets a hearing before the Planning Commission Thursday. But while the Village Square development has picked up support, neighbors are concerned about one condition for approval – the controversial linking of Ericksen Avenue and Hildebrand Lane.”
“In a prime example of a squad peaking at the right time of the season, the BHS water polo varsity swamped the opposition at last weekend’s regional tournament.The blue team not only posted a perfect 4-0 record in tourney play at Ray Williamson Pool, but it won those matches by a combined score of 49-10.This is the best we’ve played this year, coach Steve Killpack said. It was a tremendous unifying experience for these girls to play four games in 23 hours, and to play as well as they did.”
“Passions run high on Ericksen Avenue.This we learned while covering the city council back in 1992, when Ericksen residents and neighbors beat down an attempt to open the quiet road as a temporary thruway to Hildebrand Lane, even as the dusty reconstruction of High School Road tossed the rest of Winslow-area traffic flow into chaos.In the years since, we’ve strolled the quaint Ericksen corridor many times. We’ve come to value and appreciate the historic character so treasured by neighbors. We’ve also been brushed by countless passing vehicles, or forced to tread the lawns of the old funeral home and other properties to keep a safe distance from the roadway.Now, with a sizeable multi-use development planned for nearby Hildebrand Lane, the fire district and city engineers have again raised the possibility of running Ericksen through to High School Road, creating a new north-south arterial next to the highway.”
“Bainbridge’s depth was too much for Bremerton’s strength at the top, as the Spartan netters dropped the Knights 7-2 Wednesday.Elliott Beam, the number two boys’ singles player, maintained his unbeaten league record with a 6-2, 6-0 win. The sophomore has not lost a set in Olympic League play this year.You can pick up a lot of points with a strong number-two player, coach Mike Anderson said.”
“The project team responsible for the new pool is recommending a new start, after all four bidders for the construction contract belly-flopped the first time out.For reasons that are not yet clear to park district officials, all four bids came in roughly $1 million over the project’s budget and higher than estimates.”