Bainbridge Conversation

The Bainbridge Conversation blog has packed up and moved to a new home.

To see new posts and to make new comments, go to:

http://pugetsoundblogs.com/bainbridge-conversation/

The archives and old comments are making the move too.

The new blog looks a bit different and has a few new features, but mostly its the same blog you're used to. All of the Sun's other blogs are moving to new addresses and formats as well.

For those of you who subscribe to the Bainbridge Conversation blog via
e-mail, your subscription has been transferred, and you will be e-mailed
each new post.

For those of you subscribing via RSS, you will have to re-subscribe for the
feed from the new blog. Go to http://feeds.feedburner.com/
BainbridgeConversation to sign up.

Thanks, and I'll see you over at the new place.

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 6:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After two decades, Bainbridge in Bloom reigns as one of the Northwest's premier garden tours, boasting high-profile speakers, internationally celebrated landscapes and bus loads of green-thumbed gawkers.

"It's the grand lady of garden tours," said gardening guru Ciscoe Morris, who will lead one of the tour's workshops this weekend.

But the two-day event's origins came out of the not-so-grand financial troubles of an island nonprofit group.

"We were just sitting around a living room trying to come up with ideas for a source of income to keep our organization going," said Janice Shaw, one of the early board members of the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council.

Several ideas were bandied about, but board member Joanna Newnham's spur-of-the-moment notion for a garden tour stilled the brainstorming session.

"It was an 'a-ha' moment," Shaw said. "We said 'that's it' and everything just started clicking. We cranked the tour out in a short amount of time."

Hoping for at least $5,000, members were stunned when the 1988 tour of six island gardens generated $11,000.

"It was extremely successful and exceeded expectations," Shaw said. "We knew we had a winner."

Continue reading "Garden tour celebrates 20th bloom" »

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Citing water quality concerns, the city's made it a little tougher for the park district to install artificial turf at Battle Point.

Read on...

Continue reading "Higher hurdle for artificial turf" »

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The case against a Bainbridge man who allegedly undressed a girl in a Bainbridge Aquatics Center bathroom was thrown out by a Superior Court Judge.

Read Josh Farley's story below...

Continue reading "Judge tosses Bainbridge pool molestation case" »

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Read on for my story on why the city is struggling to hold on to its senior managers....

Continue reading "City Hall's revolving door" »

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Islander John Waldo has joined a group in a lawsuit to force Washington State Ferries to pump up the volume of onboard announcements. Read Josh Farley's story below.

Continue reading "Suing to hear" »

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This week, police busted a tipsy boater, a sloshed street dancer and a tanked teen driver who managed to crash a car with its engine off.

A hip new diet craze may explain the shoplift this week of almost $100 worth of steak and vitamins.

Get the full blotter below...

Continue reading "Police blotter: Drunken boater, street dancer and car pusher" »

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Sun's Josh Farley reports that four Bainbridge teens were charged by Kitsap County prosecutors for their suspected roles in using homemade bombs to destroy portable toilets around the island in June.

Continue reading "Potty bombers heading to court" »

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Bloedel Reserve has been named the 2008 recipient of the Award for Garden Excellence from the American Public Garden Association.

The north island reserve -- which consists of 150 acres of gardens, woods and ponds -- was honored for its design, displays and environmentally friendly practices, according to a statement. It was also chosen for its commitment to plant collections.

"It is a place, unlike most public gardens, that minimizes its messages to its visitors," said Richard A. Brown, the reserve's director. "Rather, it provides a high-quality environment within which visitors are given ample opportunity to receive messages from nature."

The former estate of a Northwest timber baron has been open to the public for 20 years.

Other gardens honored by the APGA include the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the North Carolina Botanical Garden.

The reserve is open for public tours by reservation. Visit www.bloedelreserve.org for more information.

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 1:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bainbridge Island earned the county's first red tide closure of the year.

The eastern side of Bainbridge Island has been closed to the harvest of all clams, mussels and oysters following the discovery of high levels of a dangerous toxin.

It is the first full "red tide" closure in Kitsap County this year, although the entire eastern side of the county remains closed to the harvest of butter clams, according to Jim Zimny of the Kitsap County Health District.

Paralytic shellfish poison is a toxin produced by a species of plankton. The toxin tends to concentrate in the tissues of shellfish. Mussels collected in Eagle Harbor on Monday showed concentrations of 152 micrograms per 100 grams of shellfish tissue, Zimny said. Beaches are closed when the toxin level exceeds 80 micrograms.

When consumed at high levels, the toxin can affect the nerves and breathing and may be life-threatening. Symptoms usually begin with tingling lips and tongue, moving to the hands and feet. Anyone with symptoms should seek medical help.

The toxin cannot be seen and must be detected with laboratory tests.

The new closure area is from Point Monroe to South Beach Road, including all the bays and harbors in the area. The closure does not apply to crabs, but crabs should be cleaned before cooking and the "crab butter" discarded.

For information, call the health district at (800) 2BE-WELL or go to www.kitsapcountyhealth.com

Posted by Tristan Baurick at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)