With little debate, the city council voted unanimously Wednesday to extend the existing moratorium on new docks, piers or bulkheads for another six months.
The principal concern is to finish the ongoing assessment of near-shore resources, council member Christine Nasser Rolfes said.
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***State crew to ax maples
A highway crew will bring down six silver maples at the northeast corner of Highway 305 and Winslow Way, state Department of Transportation officials announced this week.
The trees, hanging over the roadway and said to be hazardous, will be axed between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Aug. 20, said Lloyd D. Brown, highway department spokesman.
The trees have been the subject of trimming and maintenance for 12 years or more, Brown said. The decision to bring them down was made after a complaint from the property owner, he said.
“They’ve grown over the roadway to the point we’re afraid they’ll fall down onto the road or onto a vehicle,” Brown said.
Crews will stop traffic, bring down each tree and feed it into a chipper on-site. The work will be coordinated around the ferry schedule.
“We won’t be trying to drop a tree as ferry traffic is trying to let out,” Brown said.
Information: (360) 357-2789.
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***New Japanese festival planned
Next month, the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community holds the first of what it hopes will be an annual “Matsuri,” or Japanese festival.
The festival will be held 3-7 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center, 4450 Blakely Ave. NE.
Planned events include hands-on demonstrations of traditional Japanese arts and culture including origami (paper folding), kanji (calligraphy), ikebana (flower arranging) and Japanese toys and games. Live performances by the acclaimed Seattle Kokon Taiko Drum group, the Peninsula Women’s Club Japanese dancers and a judo demonstration will also be featured. As the grand finale, everyone will be invited to participate in a traditional odori dance.
Also on display will be the video documentary “After Silence, and conceptual plans for the proposed national Japanese-American memorial, “Nidoto Nai Yoni – Let it not happen again.”
Parking at the PSELC is limited, so carpooling is encouraged. Space is also limited; tickets will only be sold in advance of the event. Cost, which includes a family-style dinner, is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and children 12 and younger.
Ticket sales begin today at Bainbridge Gardens, Eagle Harbor Books, Town and Country Market and Vern’s Winslow Drugs.
Information: 855-9038 or clarence@bainbridge.net.
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***Chorale to sing requiem 9-11
The Bainbridge Chorale is seeking singers to participate in a Sept. 11 concert of Mozart’s “Requiem.”
The concert is one of more than 80 being held worldwide as part of the “Rolling Requiem” project, which honors those who died in the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings last year.
Mozart’s “Requiem” will be performed in every time zone, beginning at 8:46 a.m., the time of the first attack.
“It’s been really wonderful, the outpouring of support for this,” said Stephanie Harris, who is organizing the performance on Bainbridge.
Singers who are familiar with the requiem, especially tenors and basses, are encouraged to join the group. Interested singers should contact Harris at sharris@ skyshade.com.
Rehearsals are Aug. 19, Aug. 26, Sept. 2 and Sept. 10 at Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church. Kathleen MacFerran, director of the Bainbridge Orchestra, will be organizing and directing the orchestra.
Everyone is invited to attend the commemorative performance, which will be held at 8 p.m. Sept. 11 in Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church. Admission is free.
