“The cities of Bainbridge Island and Bremerton are teaming up for a legal challenge to Initiative 695.The suit, expected to be filed in Thurston County Superior Court today, was announced by officials from both cities Monday.“This suit reflects the underlying feelings and philosophy of Bainbridge Island citizens,” said Dwight Sutton, Bainbridge mayor. “It was a poorly crafted initiative, and it will mean economic disaster for all of us.””
“It’s not as hot as last year. Not quite. But Bainbridge Island’s real estate market still has local agents pleased with 1999 sales.“There’s a fair number of smiling faces,” said longtime island broker Ed Kushner of Windermere Real Estate. “It’s been a good year.” Eleven-month figures compiled by Kushner show 412 island home sales so far this year. At this time last year, 430 sales had closed, en route to a single-year Bainbridge record of 483.”
Two days at the mediation table have left the Bainbridge Island School District still holding the bag for an estimated $5.4 million in repairs to Woodward Middle School – half the building’s original construction cost.Formal mediation sessions Sept. 29 and Nov. 8 failed to determine who is responsible for poor construction that led to extensive water damage at the school – or who will pay how much to fix it – according to school board president Bruce Weiland.
“Not so fast, Bremertonians.“Bainbridge Island doesn’t stack up to Bremerton,” crowed the lead sentence of a front-page story in a Bremerton newspaper’s Thursday edition.The news story, about a “Sprawl Report Card” released this week by 1,000 Friends of Washington, a Seattle-based land-use watchdog organization, trumpeted the fact that Bremerton ranked fourth and Bainbridge Island 29th in a study of 33 Puget Sound municipalities’ approaches to growth-management strategies.”
“There is a caveat, but you have to hunt around a bit to find it.Tucked away at the bottom of page 11, about halfway through the document and next to a chart that ranks Bainbridge Island dead last in population per acre among Puget Sound cities, it reads:“Bainbridge Island is somewhat of an anomaly, because of its large land mass and mix of urban and rural environments.”
“For one day, Hollywood and home were one and the same.It was in sparkling evidence during Sunday’s special benefit premiere screenings of “Snow Falling On Cedars,” the eagerly awaited film adaptation of David Guterson’s critically aclaimed and best-selling novel, at Bainbridge Cinemas.”
“If someone gave an award for Bainbridge Island’s most assiduous citizen – Most Likely to Read Something Boring in the Public Interest – we’d probably nominate Vince Mattson.By our observation over these many years, Vince is in a class by himself. He seems to be the only private citizen on the island who actually reads the city budget cover to cover – every single year.”
“Nine-year city public works director Bill Bryan will leave his post by the end of the year, effectively fired by the mayor and city administrator.Bryan agreed to step down after a Nov. 15 meeting with Mayor Dwight Sutton and Administrator Lynn Nordby. The move was never announced publicly, but was confirmed in inquiries by the Review Monday, based on information from several sources.”
“Shannon Service brought six months of painstaking preparations. Russell Everett brought a sense of historical import. Susan Anderson brought her four-year-old son. Those three were among the hundred-plus Bainbridge Island residents who played small roles on the worldwide stage in downtown Seattle during the demonstration and destruction that accompanied this week’s World Trade Organization delegate meetings.“I could see it would be a big event, a life experience,” said Everett, a Bainbridge High School senior who was among an estimated 70 to 90 classmates at assorted protests Tuesday. “I wanted to say yes, I was at the Seattle WTO protest, and I saw what went down.””
“There’s still work to be done on the beautiful new Bainbridge High School gymnasium before its Jan. 8 grand opening.While there’s still time, one of the items on school district’s checklist ought to be giving its new crown jewel a name.”
“A stuffed animal, believe it or not, may be your best protection against a burglary.So says one convicted burglar.Of all the decoys that homeowners have employed as protection against intruders – lighting timers and operating televisions and radios among them – one of the most effective deterrents may be a large stuffed dog viewed through half-closed blinds.”
“Softball-gloved girls will be regularly taking to the field at Lower Rotary Park for the next two seasons – for the first time ever.It’s the key provision of a Nov. 3 agreement, brokered in a six-hour mediation session between Bainbridge Island Little League board members and softball advocacy group Angels in the Infield.”
