It's magic when you're on the air

Finally, us poor folk without the highfalutin cable teevee can watch the Island's public access station.

Well, as long as you have a highfalutin internet connection, that is.

BITV is now streaming all its programs via www.bitv.org

Right now the channel 12 is streaming its shows "live" on the site, which is great for people that don't want cable, don't have a TV or don't trust their computer when it's left alone.

I'm looking forward to when this service when it's "on demand" so's I can catch all the drama, the intrigue, the THRILLS at COBI city council meetings when ever my heart desires.

BHS History 101: "Sever the roots that bind"

If I were still a pimple-pocked upstart I'd have my spitballs loaded and ready for the next time any teacher tried to instill the importance of history at Bainbridge High.

Such lessons are suddenly laughably hypocritical at BHS, because outside the classroom window living pieces of history are being ripped from the campus grounds.

The papers are carrying stories, photos and letters about how BHS plans to chop down a cluster of blooming cherry trees planted some 70 years ago as a gift from the Japanese-American Community. They are, apparently, in the way of a building expansion. The school district says it hasn't enough money to move the trees, despite pleas and assurances from Island tree experts that the trees could be safely relocated.

Money, back-hoes, new bricks and mortar aside, what kind of lesson is this for the students?

In defense of the school's decision to hack the trees, school board prez Bruce Weiland is quoted in the Bainbridge Review as saying: "Our mission is to educate kids," and not, perhaps, to worry about trees. True, but what is education without the values associated with it? Learning about history is not simply cramming names and dates into young heads. It's also about learning to revere history, to value the stories that tell us why and who we are today, and to feel rooted to the past.

If I were a young BHS scholar, I'd fire a wet, pulpy one square in the eye of the school administration, hit the library and kickback with some good Island history under a shady cherry tree.

Barato burrito rebirth

There is nothing so fine as a quick burrito.

The Island has suffered for years after Chili Cosmos closed somewhere around 2003. It was there, and only there, that you could get a no-frills burrito on the cheap and not have to worry about combing your hair or "putting on your face." A good sloppy burrito'd mess both up anyhow (depending on the level of gusto to which you applied your hunger-fueled enthusiasm).

Well, Chili Cosmos was tossed in the waste bin of Island history after their landlord decided not to continue their lease. Now we have an expanded Cafe Nola in its place. Yey.

Cosmos used to be a hangout and feedery for cab drivers, aging hippies and young hoodlums. Hopefully, the new Casa Rojas burrito shack will serve the same purpose.

Opening sometime this week, the new Casa Rojas fills the void in the Safeway sprawlville left open when 'It's Casual' (arguably the best, and most fitting, restaurant name on Bainbridge) went out of business.

The other Casa Rojas at the concrete monolith known as 'the pavilion' is my second favorite place to nosh burritos, and I expect they'll put their tried and true balance of price and taste into practice at the new place.

On the menu: quality fast food, like burritos, salads, nachos, and, for all you commuters who haven't mastered the "milk + cereal + bowl = morning meal" equation, a line of breakfast burritos.

Inslee: More than just (daytime) talk

A headline from Saturday's Bainbridge Review gave me one of those "Zoinks?!" moments.

"Jay Inslee's goal: to get on Oprah." the front page declared.

Uh, wow. I'll have to check this out, I thought. After all, Inslee's made a name for himself promoting such lofty stuff as breaking our addiction to Middle East oil, promoting bio-fuels, fair trade vs. free trade, pushing for recognition of those Islanders sent to concentration camps during World War II.

Now his 'goal' is to yak it up with Oprah.

I wondered, as I forked over my three gilded Washingtons, what would Jay and Oprah discuss before a live studio audience. Weight loss tips? Childhood traumas? What in this spring's fashions will bring out the azure of Jay's peepers?

Nothing of the sort. Seems Inslee's writing a book about what Inslee loves best: clean energy. Not much of a Zoinker after all. I felt a bit duped, a little tricked. But I got to hand it to you Bainbridge Review - you got me.

You got my 75 cents and I got a journalistic wedgie.

Spartans! The movie?

Right on time, Hollywood has produced an action-packed thrillride of a feature film about the Spartans.

Ok, so it's not about our Spartans, but the timing is uncanny. When was the last time you saw a movie about the hardest-core warrior society of the ancient world? And when was the last time Bainbride High's high-flying hoopsters were a hair's breath from taking a State Title? Here it is, a cosmic overlap of (Greek) mythic proportions.

I don't know how much islanders truly appreciate what it is to be a "Spartan." Honestly, I don't understand why the island of olden days would pick such a mascot.
For those not in the know, the movie "300" about a group of Spartan soldiers pulling an Alamo at mountain pass against the Persian invaders, should give Bainbridgers a hint at what it means to be Spartan.

But for a little, more history, check this out:

Sparta was, above all, a militarist state, and emphasis on military fitness began virtually at birth, according to Wikipedia. Shortly after birth, the mother of the child bathed it in wine to see whether the child was strong. If the child survived it was brought before the elders of the tribe by the child's father. The elders then decided whether it was to be reared or not.

If found defective or weak, the baby was left on the wild slopes of Mt Taygetos. In this way the Spartans attempted the maintenance of high physical standards in their population.

It was customary in Sparta that before the males would go off to war, their wives...would present them with their shield and say: "With this, or upon this." The idea was that a Spartan could only return to Sparta in one of two ways, victorious or dead.

If a Spartan hoplite were to return to Sparta alive and without his shield, it was assumed that he threw his shield at the enemy in an effort to flee; an act punishable by death or banishment.


A strong emphasis was placed on honour and carrying out acts because it was the 'right thing to do.' Xenophon wrote about the Spartans as he observed them during an Olympic game:

"An elderly man was trying to find a place to sit and observe the Olympic Games, as he went to each section. All the other Greeks laughed as he tried to make his way through. Some ignored him. Upon entering the Spartan section all the Spartans stood and offered the elderly man their seats. Suddenly the entire stadium applauded. All the Greeks knew what was the right thing to do, but the Spartans were the only ones who did it."

Perhaps our Spartans can await such honors when they return to Bainbridge with their shields rather than upon them.

Chilling images

Recovered yet from the Chilly Hilly?

Well, now re-live the battle. The Review newspaper has posted an online gallery from the ride.

Bainbridge ferry company kaputt

The island based Kitsap Ferry Company is throwing in their sweat and sea salt soaked towel.

Reading this story in the Sun, we learn that the passenger-only ferry service can't make ago of its infrequent crossings from Bremerton to Seattle once Kitsap Transit pulls its subsidy away. Kitsap vote-casters gave the big thumbs down to the notion that they'd allow their tax pennies to revive the trail of little steamers. I guess people wanted more money for Cayannes, Cross Countries and Outbacks (i.e.=the mosquito swarm of our paved inland canals...ah, the romance...)

Too bad. A true web of ferries in the Mosquito Fleet tradition would be a real boon for commuters, travelers, revelers and rovers looking for a quick jaunt over to the Big City or a visits with cross-Sound family. Imagine it: kicking back, enjoying the Puget-perfect view, sipping coffee, chatting with neighbors, listening in on conversations, reading the paper - all while traveling from the old ports-of-call at Port Madison, Manzanita, Fletcher Bay, Point White, Eagledale, Yeomalt, Rolling Bay to Manette, Port Orchard, Seattle, Suquamish, Poulsbo and Manchester.

Here's a map of a Kitsap County effort to catalog the old Mosquito fleet trail:



It's a small map, but the bounty of black dots lining the island's coast gives you a pretty good idea of what once was, and what one day could be......Alas, we'll stick to our cars, resigned to burn copious hydrocarbons and plumes of road rage fumes.

It was both chilly and, of course, hilly

It didn't break any records, but it sure brought out the Northwest's toughest pedal-pushers.

The '07 Chilly Hilly had over 4,000 people register, which doesn't quite measure up to the 4,700 back in 2005.

The difference between '07 and '05?

2005 was hilly, but not so very chilly.

2007 was bone-biting cold, especially after a cold, high-speed shower down Sunrise Drive, then a "break" standing in the rain, then a gust of wind.

But I'm not complaining. Maybe gloating. After all, I have stronger alliegiences to the no-frills bikers out en force with rain slickers, egg-shaped Bell helmets and flat pedal, steel frame style. The spandexalista largely stayed home, likely running the wheels on their stationary in the study whilst pondering how to shave a milligram off their tube caps.

Local politicos eye-ballin' Oly

Christine Rolfes from our city council was just too good a politician to hang up her gloves. Earl Johnson from the fire commission is just too flamin' patriotic not to run for a higher office.

After a couple terms on the city council, Christine has announced she's running for the House of Representatives. She'll likely beat Bev Woods, a Republican who has lasted far past her expiration date in a mostly left-leaning district (that's the 23rd Legilative District for you yokels, which comprises our fair isle, Poulsbo, Kingston and the North half of Bremerton).

When Christine decided she wouldn't run for the city council, some of her fans, who tuned-in to every week (or so) for BIB's finest reality TV show, were disappointed she'd be leaving the cast of characters. Where people like Debbie Vann and Nezam Tooloee ranted predictably from their respective camps, Christine was the voice of calm consideration. While lots of politicians talk about finding compromise, Christine seemed to actively, and honestly, seek it. She had her platforms, of course, but who can argue against more open space and bike lanes?

When she quit the council, I knew her excuses ("spend time with family") was a ruse. Which points out why she's a good politician from the other angle. She plays her cards close, says little that offends and choses her enemies wisely. Bev Woods is fine, but it's always been odd that she lasted so long. Rolfes is going to drag a pretty big voting bloc from Bainbridge. She's got name recognition, a squeaky-clean image, she's affable and smart and apparently lots of powerful Dems like her too, including Patty Murray.

As for Earl Johnson, he's going to have a tougher time taking on Sherry Appleton for the House. Not many know him and Sherry's been doing a bang-up job in her first couple years. And have you read Earl's book? It's a thin little number and a few minutes paging through it at Eagle Harbor Books will give you the gist without having to drop any change. The title is some take-off of "Stairway to Heaven" or something. It's about Earl's experience in one of the Twin Towers during 9-11. Basic theme: the man loves America. And firefighters. I read in the paper he also has some business know-how.

But if I were betting on this horse race, my odds are on Appleton, who, despite living in Poulsbo, is pushing for a law that is Bainbridg specific (because we're an island) and would help us contol our growth (rather than letting the state do it). That, and she's a fiery little lady that'll be representing the island for a long time.

The Bulletin Lives!

Ok, we're back.

Sorry about the 8 month delay. We here at the Bainbridge Bulletin aren't known for our organizational skills or for a particularly keen memory. That's why the little slip of paper, torn from an old copy of the P-I, with this blog's access codes were lost and not found......until today! Serves me right for coming up with such a brilliant and convoluted password.

Again, an appology to all who checked and checked in and checked in. Nothing less fun than a dead blog.

On to the blogging......

Peles or Galileos

Battle Point Park, a fitting name - especially now as soccer moms duke it out with astronomy geeks.

Who will win? Probably the starry-eyed ones who have the ace "we were here first" card. Who should win? That's harder to say. Valid points are made left and right in coffee shops, newspaper articles, letters to the editor, and in parks board meetings.

Producing little Peles.
Some have said our fields are few and failing. This means our young kickers have to carpool to Mall Town to the south or Navy Town, even further south. That's rough for teens trying to juggle homework along with their athletic aspirations. The upgraded, fake grass fields would allow longer, continuous play while the lights would let them play on through the short fall and winter days. Soccer folks say that our kids need the opportunity to play and practice at the highest level. For them, this means high tech fields.

But, is that really necessary? Soccer in the USA is largely a suburban sport. Don't believe me? Go into inner-Seattle. They're playing basketball, they're playing baseball, they're skateboarding. Soccer is king in the lands of culdesacs, two car garage, green grass and John Deer saddle-mounted mowers. And that's also where the money is. So where's our suburban Peles? Can you name a famous American soccer player? High-tech fields, swank uniforms, and SUV carpooling does not a pro soccer player make. Now, name a few non-American superstars. That's easier. Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo. That was easy. These three cut their teeth on broken concrete and dirt lots. They stopped playing when they couldn't see the ball. They didn't have trainers and they sure as heck didn't eat Powerbars and Gatordaide.

The astronomers will likely win the battle at Battle Point. While their "my way or the highway" stance on this issue is pretty off-putting, they make a strong point. Chief among them is that their observatory has the best and biggest public telescope in the state. Oh, and it's also really nice to maintain a pocket of darkness in a few spots of this growing island.

Hopefully, the island's soccer fields will grow along with the population. In the meantime, kicking a ball in the dirt and mud until the sun goes down will do just fine. Besides, sunshine and dirt contain both vitamin D and B, respectively. Good stuff for our growing kids.

All the news that's fit to blog

Blogging is an odd habit. It's a new one for me. I just started, in fact. But I've read plenty of them. Often I find them annoyingly self-obsessed. But sometimes they're quite informative - but that's when the blogger steps awat from his/herself a bit and tries to get some insight into the outside world. That's the aim here, with The Bainbridge Bulletin. While I won't be writting about the antics of my kitten or what a yummy cookie I just ate. I'll be looking outward - but not too far outward. My vision stops at this island's shores. So, this is a blog about Bainbridge. Read. Enjoy. Reply. Repeat.