REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
INTERNMENT: Kitsap Week revisits FDR’s order to intern Americans of Japanese descent. Inside this issue
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2012 | Vol. 112, No. 7 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢
PSE to replace poles By DENNIS ANSTINE
By RICHARD D. OXLEY
Staff Writer
Puget Sound Energy “tree wire” project is keeping flaggers busy these days along a 1.7-mile stretch of New Brooklyn Road. The project, which includes replacing several older poles with new ones, focuses on reliability by replacing wires with stronger ones that have insulated rubber coating and are more resistant to branches falling on the wires. “The new wire is heavier so it’s also important that we replace some of the existing poles with new ones that are stouter and have cross-arms to keep the other wires separate,” said Gretchen Aliabadi, PSE’s public relations manager. “This is about reliability and has nothing to do with capacity.” Potelco, PSE’s service provider, has been working on the project since late last year and will continue through much of this year,” Aliabadi said. She said many of the cedar poles along New Brooklyn and other island roads are SEE PSE, A3
Plastic bags may soon be outlawed Staff Writer
Dennis Anstine/staff photo
Crew members of Potelco, a service provider for PSE, work to put a new pole in place along New Brooklyn Road.
Council discussed a proposed ordinance to ban plastic bags on Bainbridge Island Wednesday and its possible effects on island retailers. “The goal is to eliminate specifically the use of the ‘single-use plastic bag’ because these bags are so prevalent, so thin and poorly made that they often cannot be used again,” said Council Member Kirsten Hytopoulos. “…(the bags) are more likely to wind up in waterways.” Hytopoulos said that one goal of the ordinance is to encourage the state to enact a statewide ban by following the example set by some of its cities, including Seattle, Bellingham, Edmonds and Mukilteo. Curbing the influence of plastic on the environment is central to the ordinance’s purpose and cites both the resources used to manufacture and dispose of plastic bags, and the mounting concern over plastic products polluting Puget Sound and “posing a threat to animal life and the natural food chain.”
While the ban’s aim is to foster a healthy environment, the ordinance will also affect island retailers, many of whom will have to transition from cheap plastic bags to paper options. “I am bringing forward an ordinance almost identical to Seattle because it has been thoroughly vetted by that city’s legal department and their community and retailers, and as such, we aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel,” Hytopoulos said. Hytopoulos told council she has received considerable support from the community for the ban since proposing the idea. Support, she said, includes 79 emails from community members, an island neighborhood that submitted signatures for the ban, and support from some in the local business community. “This is low hanging fruit, a no brainer,” Hytopoulos said. “This is something that has been happening around the world for years now.” The bags in question are 2.25 millimeters thick, or less, and are currently proSEE PLASTIC BAGS, A11
Council adds water utility to 2012 workplan By RICHARD D. OXLEY Staff Writer
Three council members came out in support of revisiting the issues surrounding the water utility, and added the topic to their list of high priorities to tackle in 2012. “From my perspective I would like to look at the decision to keep (the water
utility) for 18 months,” Council Member Steve Bonkowski said. “To see if it is still appropriate with the new council members as well as the additional information we are getting from KPUD. We shouldn’t surprise anybody.” Deputy City Manager Morgan Smith updated the
council on the work, and progress, the city has made over the course of 2011, as well as gave an overview of the year ahead during council’s weekly meeting Wednesday. A list was organized from highest to lowest priorities of goals to work on in 2012. It was an opportunity for council and city
staff to set their agendas and modify the direction of the city if needed. Not on the 2012 work plan was the search for a new city manager, which has been a recent development. Considering the impact of the search on their priorities, Council Member Anne Blair pressed council for any
other large items that they would like to add to the list, specifically addressing the issue of the divestiture of the water utility. Bonkowski came out first saying that he would like to revisit the topic of the water utility. He said that considering everything the council is aiming to work
on in 2012, he would like to address the water utility in the third quarter of the year. Council Members Sarah Blossom and David Ward echoed his statement. “I definitely would like to see that discussion occur,” Ward said. “I would like to SEE UTILITIES, A4