As 2023 comes to an end, as a reminder of the top stories of the year, here is a list of their headlines.
JANUARY: 65,000-gallon sewage spill west of BI; Cars and property stolen at church on Christmas Eve; Storybook shop sells stuff on honor system; Overpasses a safety feature at BI bike park; BI city attorney resigns after 6 years; BI ferry to be converted to hybrid-electric; King Tides add to sea level rise concerns; BI singing dentist’s invention not a fairy tale; Many local high schoolers taking longer to graduate; Bainbridge rowing coach wins national award; Spirit Squad provides lift to all cheerleaders at BHS; Machine to replace officer in long ferry wait lines; Accident, amputation helped her turn her life around
FEBRUARY: Deets helps count homeless people where they live; BI cuts speed limits, works on housing plan; BI schools staff already interested in Wintergreen; Bainbridge breaks Vikings swim streak; Planning Commission: Add steering committee to Winslow process; Students learn team building from long-distance runner; A shattering season for Spartans girls basketball; Spartans swim to 6 titles to win district crown; KT plans to restore Sunday service; 43 drivers needed; 2 resign early from BISD board; Despite economy, some leaders getting tall raises; Don’t want Winslow to be like Pike Place Market; Nordgren 1st in 3 events to lead BHS swimmers to 3rd at state; Ex-police chief new BHS football coach; Starry-eyed: New planetarium projector like a ‘time capsule’; Bee careful; use them wisely to pollinate plants
MARCH: Sailing adventure to 7 continents; Gateway to Winslow project withdrawn; BI seeks more EV, solar participation; Spartan gymnasts 5th at state; ‘Matchmaker’ connects BI students to colleges; Crime up but Deets praises BI police; Trail from BI to the coast in the works; State leaders talk issues with BI residents; BI parks to fix rather than replace pool; Is the Housing Action Plan for BI pro-development?; Morrow: Some healthcare workers may want to still wear a mask; BI DRB OKs affordable housing apartments; BI ‘blindsided’ by police-court overruns; Plenty of strings attached to KPHD’s COVID funding; Public involvement key for BI’s new mayor; Kitsap Commissioner Gelder to resign after 12 years; Inflation affects funding in prep sports; Decline in local news hurts democracy, costs taxpayers
APRIL: BISD settles suit over suicide for $1.325 million; Boy in cop car brings concerns from parents of special needs students; BI could mandate recycling in future; Big water, sewer rate increases likely for BI; BI looks to hike impact fees to deal with growth; KT adding 10 more buses to grow electric fleet; BI man honored for serving 70 years with American Legion; Petition: Sakai not being developed as promised; Over 600 rescued from ferry aground on BI; School effort leads BI parks to pull back on turf; $600K drop in income a concern for BISD; BHS boys basketball coach resigns; Vikings end Spartan soccer unbeaten streak; BI OKs committee for Winslow plan; Audio tours now at BI’s Japanese American Exclusion Memorial; BHS walk supports suicide prevention; BI picks steering committee for major planning; Ship has come in for Kitsap County attractions; JR Ritche looks to spring into Single A action
MAY: BISD superintendent: Budget cuts a ‘hair trim’; Gelder seeks sales tax hike for public safety; Sheriff: Lawmakers fail police on pursuits, drugs; REAC provides checklist for committee; BHS drummers win state; Armstrong top sax player; Public records take time, money for BI staff; Recall effort against 4 parks commissioners; Spartan girls track wins title that doesn’t count for postseason; Ferry returns, fuel contamination led to grounding; BI vote split on members of major committee; BHS baseball headed to state, soccer falls short; Kitsap boys, girls qualify for state in golf; BI must compost, could produce it; Father, son’s legacy continues through Biddle Foundation; Records requests cost taxpayers millions some years; Short-term rentals face regs out of fairness; Kitsap tries to beat the heat in various ways; 3 Spartans shatter track records; KT eyes free fares to increase ridership
JUNE: Filer recalls recall as Sakai Park talks advance; Bainbridge police-court facility named after late judge; BHS water polo 3rd in state; Spartan girl golfers 6th at state; Kitsap players earn medals at state tennis tourneys; Kitsap’s 1 national champ, 6 state champs in track; 1 public request alone cost NKSD almost $96K; Rolfes named commissioner, will resign from state Senate; Hong Kong pollution spurred Joe Deets to tackle climate work; Influential ex-Congressman Bonkers dies in Silverdale; Wide variety of public requests asked of BISD; Spartan athletes sign to play in college; Moriwaki: Taking care of the earth a lifelong value; REAC: Be careful with your words in many contexts; New EV car share program starting up in BI; BI works to stop underage drinking; BI hires 1st equity manager; Arrested development: Old BIPD to come down; Havil steps down from BHS girls golf; Classification changes loom with new WIAA amendments; Walk-ons only on BI-Seattle ferry Sept. 7-13; 340 graduate from BI schools; Quitslund lives in a natural setting; Juneteenth raises awareness about ’true’ history; Report: Student, 9, placed in police car violated BISD policies; At last, Highway 305 roundabout complete; NK wins, BI 2nd in 1st Kitsap Athletic Cup; She walks the environmental talk; Public piano in tune with BI experience; ‘Bushy’ eyebrows lead to Silverdale man’s arrest; BI author writes children’s book on saving orcas
JULY: BI moves along process in Comp Plan update; She was inspired by aunt to be activist; Fort Ward center rises from historic bakery building; BCF awards record $606K to 65 nonprofits; Family, chemistry important for BHS football this summer; Tribal leader who led cleanup of bay dies at 50; BI votes against experts to feel safer; 2 women find niche tour business for rise in pickleball; Going to LOO keeps free stuff out of landfills; BI man, 93, who died in fire identified; KPHD: Healthcare costs, access a ‘crisis’ in Kitsap; Lawsuit over BI police-court facility dismissed in court; BI Pride festival includes support from churches; Suspect up a tree in more ways than one; BI steering committee hits a snag right away; Crime up, deputies down in Kitsap; Not swift, but BI ‘Swifties’ shake it off, get Taylor tickets; There’s more nightlife in Kitsap, BI than you might think; Work on BI Superfund site set to begin; State audit shows Kitsap lacked control on COVID funds; State agency drops ball, but compost facility up to par
AUGUST: Donations sought to bring giant troll to BI; Island Cool Frozen Yogurt buys Mora Iced Creamery; BPA remodel ready for grand opening; BIMA birthday a chip off the old block; BI agenda: Affordable housing at old police site; Donation pays for new turf fields at Woodward; Windows smashing, fights with cops occur in Kitsap; Kingston to get extra ferry to help during BI shutdown; BI opens arms to distraught Maui pickleball players after devastating fires; BI drops fees to encourage affordable housing; Ferry rates to rise despite problems with Kitsap commutes; Temperatures reach 100, tips on keeping cool; BI criticizes state lawmakers, votes to hire lobbyist; 260 petition for BI bike path change; Get ready for walk-on only ferry in BI; BI still coming up with menu for Comp, Subarea plans; Go for a stroll and meet the troll on BI
SEPTEMBER: St. Michael wait times drop from 15 to 2 minutes; Ferry spans set to go into place on BI; 1st BI festival features 40 films, 4 venues; BISD approves $64.8 million budget, declining enrollment continues to be a problem; No Ferrymagedden as BI ferry work done early; Tribe helps BI students celebrate school’s new name; 2 suspects injure 3 officers in separate attacks; BI hires 1st Sustainable Transportation coordinator; KKOL gets static from residents upset with interference; BI blasts proposal for not really being affordable; Well-known BI runner becomes state representative; She says open spaces needed in Winslow Subarea Plan; Tip on tipping: Pressure, proliferation leading to fatigue; BI man collects soccer items, takes them to Colombia; Skull tattoo a dead giveaway to crime; ’Complicated’ affordable housing project approved; BI looks at three alternatives for Winslow Subarea Plan; Work continues on Highway 305 fish passage on BI; Hidden business gems outside of Winslow; 2 agencies don’t enforce state laws against Kingston business; Strategies to replace trees dying off on BI; BI family, schools debate treatment of some students
OCTOBER: Villages over high rises favored at Comp Plan event; Over 700 attend grand opening of BPA center’s remodel; BI airbnbs: Knit retreats not party places; Man threatens to light gas with kids upstairs; NK edges BI in football’s Agate Cup; BI parks thins trees to make forests healthier; Kettleball used to smash window in BI burglary; Work set to start on St. Michael patient tower; Your Kitsap newspapers win 36 awards in statewide competition; Does draft law to help affordable housing go far enough?; BI group makes teddy bears for kids in crisis; What’s really going on with short-term rentals?; Local Jewish community rally in prayer for Israel; Racial equity key in updating Comp, Winslow plans; KPHD: Mental health keeps getting progressively worse; Sex ed: Petition seeks more parental involvement; $4 million sought for new memorial visitor center
NOVEMBER: Another complaint about lack of input on Comp, Winslow plans; BI inn moratorium ends, lobbyist hired; Bainbridge ousted from playoffs after final-minute loss in football; Longtime state 23rd District Rep. Sherry Appleton dies; New BI department: Make recreation accessible, inclusive for all; BI incumbents winning easily in general election; BISD seeks input on ways to cut budget up to $4.5 million; Business, community comments still don’t like compost law; Bainbridge water polo wins state championship; Bainbridge volleyball falls short of state berth; BI business hooks fishers worldwide with fly rods; BI Land Trust restores critical fish habitat at preserve; Red shoes, Giants logo help deputies catch suspect; 5 Kitsap News Group newspapers get new general manager; New justice center opens on BI
DECEMBER: Help sought to close, consolidate schools to save money; BI: No party pooper but no Woodstock either; Roundabout work being done along Highway 305; Help the Review celebrate its 100th anniversary; Beloved statistician begins 40th season at BHS; BI to decide on design of Wyatt to Hyde nonmotorized path; HRB keeps pushing for affordable housing; ’Arms’ provides funds, hugs during cancer treatments; BI may limit online comments due to ‘hate speech’; BI playwright makes off-Broadway at age 69; Olympic College partners with Kitsap, Virginia Mason to expand healthcare education; Parents fight potential BI closures; BI schools chief resigns for medical reasons
Files Photos Passersby can buy products at this cottage on the honor system.
Pickleball players from Maui were met with open arms as they came to BI right after the devastating wildfires.
Leslie Schneider and other BI councilmembers were featured in a series on what they do to lower their carbon footprint.
The roundabout near Poulsbo is done, as is the fish passage work on BI, so the focus now is two roundabouts that will be built on Highway 305 on the north end of the island.
