Around the Island
Published 3:20 pm Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Review earns WNPA honors
The Bainbridge Island Review earned 13 awards at this year’s Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspaper Contest, which judges the work of over 75 newspapers around the state.
Staff photographer Brad Camp earned five awards including second and third place for best black and white portrait photo; second place for best black and white action sports photo; second place for best black and white non-action sports photo; and third place for best scenic or pictorial photo in color.
He also won two awards for his work with the North Kitsap Herald.
Staff writer Lindsay Latimore took third place for both best story on the arts and for best short personality profile.
Former staff writer John Becerra, Jr., now with the Central Kitsap Reporter, earned first place in the best sports news story category and second place in the best sports feature category.
For the second year running, former staff writer Chad Schuster earned first place for News Writer of the Year. Schuster’s other awards included third place for best education story and second place for best environmental story.
WNPA represents about 130 community newspapers in Washington state. Entries are evaluated each year by a news organization in a different state.
Awards were presented Oct. 1 at the 121st annual WPNA Convention in Yakima.
Traverse the pumpkin trails
Suit up, grab your flashlight and start practicing your best bouncy house moves. The 15th annual Bainbridge Gardens Pumpkin Walk is on this Friday and Saturday night.
The pumpkin walk, which actually began roughly a quarter century ago at the home of a Bainbridge Gardens staff member, has evolved into a cornerstone event of the island’s Halloween season.
Nightly features include a trail of nearly 300 pumpkins; harvest light displays; a harvest maze; music by Strings Du Jour; photos with the Great Pumpkin; face painting and carnival games; and plenty of food and drink supplied by the New Rose Cafe.
“It’s become this huge community effort,” said Bainbridge Gardens’ Donna Harui.
New this year is the “Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin” contest. The homely, gargantuan gourd was grown by an islander, and the winner takes home a pumpkin pie.
As the pumpkin walk has grown – hundreds of costumed bodies tromp through each evening – Harui said the nursery has come to depend on partnerships with the city, the park department, Public Works, and neighbors to ensure that everyone can park and make it to and from the event safely. Admission is free, but most attractions have a suggested cash donation to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Bainbridge.
“It’s great if you can bring small bills, and dress for the weather,” Harui said.
The pumpkin walk is from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 17 and 18 at Bainbridge Gardens, 9415 Miller Rd. Look for signs to designated parking lots; shuttles and disabled parking are available. For more information, see www.bainbridgegardens.com.
Rate reductions for electricity
Recipients of Puget Sound Energy electricity will see a slight decrease in their electric bills this winter.
Due to a reinstated tax credit, the general cost of electricity is predicted to decrease by 3 percent.
The decision comes after the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) was approved to continue its residential exchange credit on customer bills. The credit had previously been suspended for 16 months.
The BPA credit will average $10.56 for homes with the typical monthly power consumption of 1,000 kilowatt-hours. The credit’s bill reduction would average about 11.4 percent – that reduction is being offset by a 8.2 percent general electric-rate increase by Puget Sound Energy to pay for its operations.
The changes are due to take effect on Nov. 1, PSE representatives said.
Hales on tap(s) at The Pub
Longtime Bainbridge Islander Mike Hale began brewing his microbrews 25 years ago this July. To celebrate that anniversary, the Harbour Public House (The Pub) has been pouring Hale’s Ales from all 14 taps during the month of October.
Hale’s Ales has been around since the early days of the microbrewery revolution. The company’s microbrewery was founded by Hale in 1983, just as similar breweries were starting up and down the West Coast. Many of the early small brewers have fallen by the wayside, but Hale’s has carved out a solid niche in the Northwest beer market.
“We are still here, and in my book that makes us wildly successful,” Hale said. “Success depends on how you define it. Our objective was to make terrific beer and have fun doing it. By that measure we continue to be very successful.”
Since it opened 17 years ago, the pub has served Hale’s Ales and other Washington microbrews.
Talk back at Review website
The Bainbridge Review’s community news site has added a lot more community. Visitors to cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/bainbridgereview can now contribute their own comments to all of our news stories, editorials and letters to the editor.
To comment, you must have a user account. Getting one requires answering three easy questions and you can sign up at the bottom of any story on our site (including this one). It is important that all participants in a discussion be honest about their identity so we prefer that you use your real name when commenting, though it’s not required. This is required of all our employees.
Our goal with this feature is to encourage community discussion and healthy debate and we hope that you will give it a try. Join the conversation today.
