(Airdate: May 3, 2023) Nature Now takes to the field again in this reprise airing, as host Debaran Kelso heads out along the shore with guide Nam Siu of the WA Dept of Fish & Wildlife to talk about our native seaweeds. This is part one of a two-part program.
(Airdate: May 2, 2023) Maryanne interviews Jamie Maciejewski, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Jefferson County. Jamie found her calling early. During her college years at UW she was already involved in non-profit organizations that helped runaway teens who had drifted to prostitution. She’s been running Habitat here since 2007 and has overseen an era of growth and outreach. Affordable housing is crucial for the region. Perhaps the most intriguing project on the horizon is the plans for the 17-acre parcel owned by Habitat in Hadlock. With the new Hadlock sewer line, up to 200 homes could ultimately be built there. It will likely be a mix of apartments, condos and even some single-family homes. This pioneering concept will be “permanently affordable” due to the fact Habitat will still own the land under the units and only lease to the owners. This workforce housing will be available to families with annual incomes under $110,000. As Jamie notes, people who work here — teachers, nurses, police, etc. – will be able afford to live here.
(Airdate: May 2, 2023) Located in Brinnon, the Emerald Towns Alliance focuses on coming alongside the needs of the community of Brinnon and surrounding area. Emerald Town Alliance embodies the often-overused term “it takes a village” as the proceeds from this festival benefits a wide range of community needs- from the volunteer fire department to the local schools. Join Missy Nielsen as she speaks with Belinda Graham, the president and dedicated organizer of the Fjord Fest-a regionally known music, arts and craft festival that benefits the “Emerald on the Hood Canal.”
The following is a recording of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. The summary below was provided by Jim Burke, producer of KPTZ’s Tuesday’s Local News.
On April 19, the levels of COVID-19 virus present in Port Townsend wastewater were 4 billion copies of the SARS-CoV-2 gene per person, per day. That data indicated an upward trend in the presence of COVID-19 in our community. Though that data was last updated on the Jefferson County Covid-19 page on April 19, Dr. Berry indicated that the Covid-19 detected by wastewater surveillance has dropped significantly. She said that there are little spikes in levels after every weekend, when there are more people visiting, but that the levels drop during the work week. When the levels rise and stay there is when we need to be more concerned.
Covid boosters are readily available at doctors offices and pharmacies. If you are over 65, or have one or more underlying health conditions, a second dose of the bi-valent booster is recommended for patients who are otherwise up to date on Covid-19 vaccinations. Patients who have had a recent case of Covid-19 should wait about two months before another booster, as the vaccine will not prompt an immune response so close to a recent infection.
(Airdate: May 1, 2023) Chris Bricker brings a Special Housing Forum, part 1 that occurred on April 16 at the Connectivity Fair.
(May 1, 2023 – Learning to Dress Myself, Part 1) The primordial years.
North of the Chimacum crossroads you can find a beautifully designed multi-use park conceived for our Jefferson County Communities. It’s called H.J. Carroll Park, and it’s just nine miles south of central Port Townsend, off of Rhody Drive (or State Route 19). A short road from the turn-off opens onto soccer fields, basketball courts, a pavilion, the amazing and innovative JUMP Playground, walking paths, and more…
But also within the bounds of the park, lies the Kul Kai Han Native Plant Demonstration Garden. It’s extensive, beautifully laid out, meditative, educational, and most of all, inspiring. It’s next to the Salmon Shelter where Chimacum Creek flows at the garden’s edge. Here to tell us all about it are Linda Landkammner, the the garden’s original designer and project coordinator, the Garden’s former Co-Director, Robin Nye.
(Airdate: April 28, 2023) Co-hosts Jim Burke and Commissioner Greg Brotherton welcome the former Director of OlyCAP, Dale Wilson and Current Director, Cherish Cronmiller. They discuss Seventh Haven, which will be welcoming tenants soon, and the 5-year journey it took to get it from idea to realization.
(Airdate: April 18, 2023) Missy Nielsen of Everybody Can visits with the Port Townsend High School Students for Sustainability (SFS). This year they traveled to Olympia to advocate for Washington state’s WRAP Act (Washington Recycling And Packaging Act), which included packaging and bottle bill provisions. This act intends to extend producer responsibilities for certain packaging and paper, create a container deposit system that includes reuse targets, “truthful labeling” rules, and minimum recycled content standards for items like plastic thermoform containers, food tubs, and single-use cups. While the bill ultimately did not move forward these students are not dissuaded and plan on bringing this bill forward at next session. Join us as we speak with the leadership team of the Students for Sustainability at P.T.H.S.
Guests on Brewocracy Now included Officer Kamal Sharif of the Port Townsend Police department, and Suzie Haynes (she is a personal trainer, and her business is called “S cubed” – S3). They were on to talk about the upcoming Bike Rodeo to help teach kids (and adults) about how to ride bikes safely. The Rodeo takes place on May 6 at Blue Heron School, from 8am to 4pm. We also discussed last night’s open house about the golf course, and tonight’s open house (in Chimicum) about the pool. Check the cityofpt.us web page for a list of upcoming events like this. There are lots of opportunities to provide input. John Mauro also gave us an overview of the new Port Townsend Poet Laureate program. Finally, we discussed once again John’s recent sojourn to the Boston Marathon where he ran consistent 6:40/mile splits and finished in under 3 hours. Congratulations are in order.
(Airdate: April 26, 2023) Nan Evans introduces Nature Now’s newest host, Jackie Canterbury. Jackie shares not only information about her background, but also what inspires her about birds and the natural world. After introducing Jackie to listeners, Jackie presents her first Nature Now program- a brief conversation with Tom Mangelsen, renowned wildlife photographer. Their interview takes place on the Platte River during the annual spring migration of nearly 1 million Sandhill Cranes.
(Airdate: April 25, 2023) Cris talks science and finds out what poo can do for you from author and microbiologist Bryn Nelson, PhD. The book is titled Flush: The Remarkable Science of an Unlikely Treasure. There are many aha moments as Bryn addresses human health concerns as well as the benefits of recycling and reusing human waste as we face together a need to rapidly change the way we live to preserve our planet. If you enjoy the work of Mary Roach then this book is for you. Cris thanks Port Townsend advocate Carol McCreary of PHLUSH: Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human for introducing her to Bryn Nelson.
(April 24, 2023 – The Boy Who Ate Dirt) With ruminations on the nature and composition of topsoil.
(Airdate: April 24, 2023) April is Earth Month, so this week on Attention Please! host Steve Evans meets down at the Recycling Center with Environmental Specialist Laura Tucker to talk the nuances of solid waste and how our practices in relation to it affect the health of the planet. (Reprise of show originally aired on April 25, 2022.)
(Airdate: April 21, 2023) Jim Burke is joined by his co-host County Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour and guest Stacie Prada, Treasurer of Jefferson County to talk about property taxes. How, when and where to pay them is the start, then they discuss where the money goes and even tax abatement and deferral programss
Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Daniela Speilmann, in Port Townsend to teach and perform at Centrum’s annual Choro Workshop, stopped by KPTZ. As part of the April 12 interview (listen below) with Al Bergstein for his Wednesday morning Brazilian music show Music2DrinkCoffee2, Daniela decided to launch her new album, Obrigado, Zé da Velha, named in honor of the trombone player Zé da Velha, who helped found and recently retired from their collective, Choro na Rua (Choro in the Streets). Choro na Rua is a group of Rio musicians who formed to bring Choro music out of the nightclubs and bars and into the streets for anyone to enjoy. They often play weekly in outside cafés and parks around Rio de Janeiro. Daniela, a PhD music professor in Brazil, has many albums to her credit, and played with legendary Brazilian jazz clarinet player Paulo Moura.
Mayor David Faber joined co-hosts Jim Burke and John Mauro, they talked about the successful, recent Connectivity Fair and Transportation Fair. Other topics were the second Golf Course Open House coming up at Fort Worden Commons on Wednesday, April 26 at 5pm, and the Healthier Together Pool open house on April 27 at Chimacum High School. Mayor Faber reminded us that candidates for City Council need to file between May 15 and May 19. And John teased that the City of PT has hired a new Communications and Marketing Manager to be announced on Friday April 21.
Larry Stein interviews Danielle McClelland, Exec. Director of the PT Film Festival, about this year’s Women & Film Festival. The Festival runs in person from April 19-23, and then April 24-30 online.
(Airdate: April 19, 2023) Host Debaran Kelso speaks with special guest Clare Manis Hatler about finding what came to be known as “The Manis Mastodon” on their farm in Sequim in 1977. It’s still one of the most significant archaeological finds in North America! This is part 2 of a two-part program.
(Airdate: April 12, 2023) In part 2 of their conversation, Nan Evans and Kathleen Dean Moore, philosopher, writer and environment activist, explore moral and ethical perspectives on the earth’s climate crisis and what we all must do in the face of these catastrophic forces. They discuss Kathleen’s most recent book, Take Heart, Encouragement for Earth’s Weary Lovers. Kathleen describes this book as “written for broken-hearted activists, veterans of environmental struggles, as a thank you gift to people who are tired, perplexed, and battered from all directions”.
(Airdate: April 18, 2023) Maryanne interviews Sophie Nordstrom, Superior Court Administrator for Jefferson County. As a young woman Sophie raised kids and had a series of jobs in the service industry. But about the time she turned 40 she made a decision to do something more meaningful with her career. First, she decided to go to school to become a legal secretary. After earning a degree, she landed a job with the county clerk’s office here in Jefferson County. She loved it and flourished under the pressure. When the job of Superior Court Administrator opened up, she threw her hat into the ring. She’s never looked back. You could say all the business in our courthouse passes under her eagle eye.
(Airdate: April 17, 2023) In this edition of Attention Please! Phil Andrus interviews Sarah Kliegman, co-Executive Director of the Okanogan Highlands Alliance. We learn of the thirty years of thoughtful contributions made by the Alliance to the health of their special place in northeastern Washington.
Each Month during the noon hour, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins his co-hosts, Port Director Eron Berg, and Port of Port Townsend Commissioner Pam Petranek, to bring you news and stories surrounding our vibrant Maritime Community. The fishing fleet is preparing for this upcoming season. Most boats will be headed to Alaska. Alaska has the most prolific commercial fishing industry in the United States, producing more harvest volume than all other states combined. We’re heading out into the Boatyard today on Our Working Waterfront, to catch some of our hauled-out fishing fleet. We visit with Greg Friedrichs, Captain of the Arminta, Grant Fletcher of fishing tender O.L.Elgin, along with David Griswold from the Shipwright’s Co-Op, and Greg Veitenhans, aboard the Voyager as he preps for the season with helpers and fisherwomen Lauren and Brenna.
Guests were Dan Burden, internationally recognized proponent for walkable cities, and Port Townsend Assistant City Engineer Jeff Kostechka, a new member of Port Townsend’s professional staff who is also studying in the UW Sustainable Transportation Graduate Program. We talked about transportation policy engineering and how we might continue to make Port Townsend a ‘fifteen-minute city’ for walking and biking. This all leads up to the “Moving in the Right Direction” conference, Friday April 14. More information on the conference (which is open to the public) may be found here.
(Airdate: April 14, 2023) This week on County Connections, Jim Burke and co-host County Commissioner Kate Dean talk with Linda Noble, who is a neighbor to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, a volunteer, and stakeholder member of the newly formed board of the Jefferson County Fairgrounds Association.
The hope going forward is an organization that looks after the fairgrounds property and not just the County Fair.
(Airdate: April 11, 2023) Cris welcomes Lesley Hazelton to Booklovers’ Cafe to talk about her book, The First Muslim: the Story of Muhammed. Lesley is a former psychologist and political journalist with deep roots in both Judaism and Catholicism. She once described herself as a Jew who seriously considered becoming a rabbi, a former convent schoolgirl who daydreamed about being a nun, an agnostic with a deep sense of religious mystery though no affinity for organized religion Her work has been widely praised for its blend of insight, in depth research and fine writing.