Leigh Feisthammel wants to invite cancer patients and their friends and family to her abode.
The home she has in mind will combine features of a retreat, a spa and a meditation center.
Dubbed Humble Abode, the center will be located in Poulsbo, to serve the emotional and spiritual needs of Kitsap residents living with cancer and those who love and care for them.
The storefront at 166 Winslow Way is wrapped in brown paper that conceals the new business opening there Friday.
Several signs on the door – that read “Tofu Emporium: No Fu Like Tofu” and “Hamburger on a Stick – the biggest idea in fast food since hot dog on a stick” just deepen the mystery.
“We’ll have the real sign by Friday,” said Kathe Fraga, who, with husband Jeff Fraga, is transforming the former Deering Music Store into Gallery Fraga, a new showcase for arts and crafts.
Councilman Michael Pollock would like to see Bainbridge City Council meetings start at 6 p.m. and adjourn by 9.
But at last Wednesday’s meeting, discussion of Pollock’s proposal began at 10:16 p.m., more than four hours into the session – facts not lost on the councilman.
“The irony of this is killing me,” Pollock said, introducing what he hopes will be steps toward more efficient council meetings.
Proposed federal guidelines to increase security aboard Washington State Ferries vessels has drawn fire from commuters and local lawmakers.
Drafted by the U.S. Coast Guard, the measures could subject ferry commuters to airport-style screening. But on Monday, Admiral Tom Collins, Coast Guard commandant, apologized for not informing members of the Washington State congressional delegation about the proposed measures.
Darcy Herrett wants her eighth-grade students to understand just two things about art.
First, it’s a lot about self-expression. Second, there is a possibility of making a career, not just a hobby, out of it.
So Herrett, an art teacher at Woodward Middle School, invited four local artists – Bob Lucas, Patty Rogers, Terri Samilson and Diane Walker – into her classroom to discuss and share their artwork and inspirational words.
“I wanted my students to see how rich of an art community Bainbridge has and get them interested if they weren’t already,” Herrett said.
The city’s planning department came under blistering attack Thursday night from shoreside property owners, who said permit delays and requirements add tens of thousands of dollars to the costs of relatively simple projects.
The consistent theme: Information given was inconsistent, and requirements were imposed arbitrarily.
“The concept of flexibility has been turned upside down,” said Gary Tripp. “It should be used to give citizens the freedom to fulfill requirements in different ways, but instead, it’s used to give the city the ability to impose endless conditions.”
Rep. Beverly Woods believes Kitsap County benefits by having her voice inside the closed-door Republican Party caucus.
Without it, she says, issues vital to the county – especially ferry funding – could be lost within a party that draws most of its support from Eastern Washington and the Seattle suburbs.
“I was the one pushing to include funding for passenger-only ferries in the transportation measure,” Woods said. “I keep trying to convince my colleagues from Eastern Washington and from the Eastside that we need funding for our ferry system.”
After ringing over 9,000 doorbells during her campaign, Sherry Appleton has learned one thing – voters aren’t as engaged in state-level politics this year as they have been in the past.
That disengagement exists even on Bainbridge Island, despite its reputation for political awareness, Appleton said.
“People are afraid of war, and of what’s happening in the economy, and don’t seem as concerned about what’s going on at the state level,” she said. “But what happens at the state level affects them more directly than anything else.”
That apathy is just one of a number of obstacles facing challengers, she said. Other barriers are the lack of effective forums, and the short period of time between primary and general elections.
Islanders have a new beach.
And a new forest.
And a new marsh.
Natural features as varied as any Bainbridge has to offer come with the 12-acre Hall property, approved for purchase Wednesday by the Bainbridge Island City Council.
Purchase price was $790,000, with funds coming from the $8 million in open space bonds approved by voters last fall.
“This is a wonderful piece of property,” Councilwoman Christine Nasser Rolfes said. “We’re all going to enjoy it.”
Voters in the 23rd Legislative District have one easy choice and one tough call Nov. 5.
Some teen trick-or-treaters will forego candy for canned goods this Halloween.
National Honor Society students – and any teens who care to join in – will ring doorbells to collect non-perishable items for Helpline House, a tradition started three years ago by Bainbridge High School graduate Lily Grainger.
“I thought Halloween would be the perfect occasion to collect food,” Grainger said. “Helpline is always especially needy during the fall, and when else do people so eagerly and conveniently open their doors to strangers?”
Washington has seen tough times before, and has worked its way through them, Rep. Phil Rockefeller says. He is convinced the state will do so again.
“Twenty years ago, when I was on the governor’s staff, we faced a budget deficit of 11 percent, and we found a way to come up with a balanced budget,” Rockefeller said. “I’m confident that somehow, we will once again find a way to meet our constitutional obligations of a balanced budget.”
While the Bainbridge Planning Commission is not going to throw out all the work that has been done on the city’s Shoreline Master Program, it will take a fresh look at the issues that have sparked public outcry.
The commission plans to hold a series of public workshops, probably beginning next year, on questions involving a native vegetation zone, docks and bulkheads, and on whether current shoreline uses will be considered non-conforming.
But first, it wants to find out at its meeting this Thursday exactly how current regulations are being applied.