a weekly digest for bainbridge business owners and our island community | |
PLEASE NOTE: In honor of the Indigenous Peoples' Day holiday, the Chamber & the Licensing Desk will be closed on Monday October 9
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BUSINESS & COMMUNITY NEWS | |
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The Best of Bainbridge:
2023 Winners Announced
It is that time of the year: The Chamber wishes a big CONGRATULATIONS to all of our members who won or were a finalist for this year's the Best of Bainbridge!
All of the category winners now move forward into consideration for Best of Kitsap - so stand by to vote once more...
Thank you to all that nominated and voted - especially those that picked our own Grand Old 4th celebration as the winner of Annual Festivals/Events for the Grand Old 4th - say congratulations to delighted Chamber VP Jessica Perkins the next time you see her!
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Roundabout at West Port Madison & Hwy 305 | |
Highway 305 Updates: From Bridge To Roundabouts
A construction concludes on the fish culvert on 305 near Sportsman's Club (scheduled completion date is November), WSDOT will next turn it's attention to constructing roundabouts at the intersections of SR 305 and Northeast West Port Madison and SR 305 and Northeast Adas Will Lane until the Fall of 2024.
The improvements include a feature at the intersection of Agatewood Road Northeast which will become a right in/right out intersection to reduce the potential for collisions by eliminating left turns in front of oncoming traffic.
Once the 2 roundabouts are completed, next up could be one more at the Day Road/305 intersection too...
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COBI Council Candidate Forum Announced
Wed Oct 18, 6:30pm
City Council candidate forums in advance of the Nov. 7 election in Kitsap County will begin this week, with events scheduled across the County by the League of Women Voters of Kitsap and Greater Kitsap Chamber of Commerce.
The League of Women Voters of Kitsap, are a non-partisan organization which does not support or oppose any candidate or political party.
Save the date for Bainbridge's forum on Wed Oct 18, 6:30pm - attend in person at City Hall or remotely via Zoom.
| In addition, look for the Chamber's own in-depth candidate interviews right here and at bainbridgechamber.com in the run up to the November election. | | | |
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COBI Home Compostable Product List Published For Business Owner Feedback
On September 12, 2023, the City Council passed Ordinance No. 2023-24, to amend regulations around disposable food service ware items and waste reduction, while repealing the 25c Cup Fee.
The ordinance required the City to establish a list of home compostable disposable food service ware items to be used by local retail food establishments based on availability, cost and performance.
Impacted businesss owners are encouraged to give feedback to the the City on a list of 16 proposed products through the feedback form linked to below through October 29, 2023.
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WA Minimum Wage to Increase in 2024
Heads up that Washington State’s 2024 minimum wage has been announced, and will increase to $16.28 an hour, up 54 cents from the current rate to become the highest state-level minimum wage in the nation.
The Washington Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) calculates the minimum wage for the coming year based on federal estimates of price increases. 2024's 3.37% increase announced Friday reflects rising costs of housing, food, medical care and other expenses as shown in the Consumer Price Index.
The new 2024 minimum salary for overtime-exempt employees will be $67,724.80/year - up significantly from 2023's $57,293.60/year.
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Business Roundtable 09/28/23: Freshly minted WA State Senator Drew Hansen stopped by the Chamber to give a preview of the upcoming legislation session for business & community leaders. | | | |
“Look at this Electric Bug” Owner Greg Dronkert showing off one of the conversion vehicles to Joanne Maher (Island Volunteer Caregivers) and Debra Ruzinsky (Bainbridge Arts & Crafts) at the September After Hours | |
Photo Gallery of PacWesty Event & Sign Up for John L. Scott October After Hours
Thu Oct 26, 5:30pm
To celebrate both the successful launch of Bainbridge Island’s first community carshare (ZEV co-op), and the continuing success of sister companies EV Works and PacWesty, Greg Dronkert and his team at Pacific Mobility Group welcomed a sold-out crowd of Chamber members to their Day Road home for a fun After Hours event. Check out the photos here
Ready for a spooktactular event! Come join Randi, Caron, & the John L Scott Team for a haunting After Hours at John L. Scott on Thursday, October 26 at 5:30pm.
Dust off your favorite Halloween costume for the costume contests.
Complimentary wine provided by our event sponsors at Eleven Winery
Tickets are always free for Chamber members and available to a limited number of non-member guests for $20.
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Chamber Member Offer: 10% Off Ad Space in Tideland Mag
Special Chamber Member offer: 10% off advertising space in Tideland Magazine, the West Sound's premier lifestyle magazine.
Tideland is distributed quarterly to thousands of homes and businesses on Bainbridge Island and in Poulsbo and Kingston, as well as on the Bainbridge ferries.
Featuring engaging content and top-notch photography, each issue showcases all the West Sound has to offer---from food and culture to parks, trails and community spirit.
For rates and more information about advertising in the magazine, check out media kit.
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20 Under 40 Awards:
Chamber Will Nominate YOU
Let the Chamber know if you would like us to nominate business leaders under the age of 40 (as of January 30th of the current award year) who are making an impact in business, philanthropy and/or in their local Kitsap County communities.
Nominees should be top leaders in their organization or industry and demonstrate their commitment to the Kitsap community.
Email membership@bainbridgechamber.com by Fri October 6 to have us nominate YOU.
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Celebrating The Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts Grand Opening of their $18M facility with John Ellis, Eleanor & Julia Wilson, Cynthia Sears, Dominique Cantwell, & Council Member Clarence Moriwaki (l to r). | | | |
Wildcat crew at the 2023 Emmys, celebrating their win.
Photo courtesy of Steve Hall
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Local Filmmaker Wins Best Nature Documentary Emmy
Congratulations to BHS Grad Dr. Samantha Zwicker who won Emmy for Best Nature Documentary for Wildcat.
The documentary features the amazing journey of an unlikely trio including an ocelot and Samantha (founder of Hoja Nueva – a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation center in the Peruvian Amazon).
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Working in partnership with The Island Wanderer, we are sharing stories of local businesses and the people behind their success. | |
By Welding, Rory is Doing What He Loves
Rory Thurrott got his start in welding when he was seven years old, learning the craft from his father.
He took to it immediately and by the age of 10, he was welding bike and go-cart frames in his parents’ garage and in 2009 he started Rory's Custom Fabrication on Eagle Harbor Dr.
When he’s not doing custom interior/exterior work for others, he’s expanding his automotive repair/rebuild side of the business and is currently rebuilding a 1972 K20 truck.
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Clark Construction's team accepting Groundbreaker Award | |
Congratulations! Clark Construction as Groundbreaker Award Winner
Clark Construction Inc. announced that it has been honored as a recipient of Procore’s 2023 Groundbreaker Awards in two categories.
The first award was for Project Excellence for the reHOME sustainable community building project.
The second came in the form of individual recognition for Clark CEO, Casey French, who was honored as 2023 Groundbreaker of the Year.
The Groundbreaker Awards celebrate the companies, projects and individuals that drive excellence across the construction industry.
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Lind Okazaki "Birds Take Flight Into Twilight," 2023, watercolor | |
New Exhibition Opens at BIMA
Linda Okazaki: Into the Light exhibition will be shown at BIMA Oct 6 - Feb 4 in the Feferman & Beacon Galleries.
The Opening Reception is Saturday, October 7th, from 5 – 8 PM, free and open to the public.
Two interactive programs are scheduled with the artist, on October 22nd and November 12th, both at BIMA.
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Russell Everett from Bainbridge Brewing photo courtesy of Joshua Johnson, Tideland Magazine | |
Bottoms Up: Five Breweries Capture the Craft Brew Scene
As Washington craft beer boomed in the 1980s, Kitsap Peninsula’s own microbrew scene took root in a Poulsbo farmhouse called Thomas Kemper Brewing, later purchased by Seattle’s Pyramid Brewing.
Tideland Magazine visited and highlighted 5 of the Kitsap breweries, including Bainbridge Brewing.
Chuck & Russell (the father-son team) operates the Brewery & Taproom at Coppertop Park and Bainbridge Brewing Alehouse in Winslow, where ferry passengers can find a pint of fresh local beer just footsteps away.
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Lind Okazaki "Birds Take Flight Into Twilight," 2023, watercolor | |
Winslow Green Retail Location Available to Rent
Looking for a 1,000 sq foot rental space on Winslow? Windemere has a space for you and your shop.
Retail space right next to popular bakery in the busy shopping center of Winslow Green. Tenant pays Condo Dues (shown in the NNN amount) and Electricity separately.
Reach out to Meagan Stockman for a showing.
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Tell Congress to Stand Up for Main Street over Wall Street
Big banks are working to raise credit card swipe fees (have more than doubled in a decade), and the rise in fees will affect you and your business.
Wall Street banks significantly profit from credit card swipes due to the dominance of two companies controlling 80% of the market.
To address this issue, there's a proposed bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act, aiming to introduce competition by requiring two processing networks on each card.
This could potentially save $15 billion for businesses yearly.
Congress is urged to prioritize Main Street interests over Wall Street profits, especially as Visa and Mastercard plan to increase fees.
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The Bridge - Year 2 of BI Creative District Fest
Sept 30 - Oct 6
Arts & Humanities Bainbridge invites you to The Bridge Fall Arts Festival, with open house-style events happening at arts, crafts, and creative organizations and businesses participating in a free week-long celebration of arts and culture focused inside the walkable Bainbridge Creative District.
See the Schedule of Events
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First Friday Art Walk
Fri Oct 6, 6-8pm
Spend an evening experiencing all that downtown Bainbridge has to offer.
Many galleries, shops and businesses will be participating this month showcasing the art of our talented creative community:
More from Island Wanderer
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First Friday Gallery Reception: Neal Philpott
Fri Oct 6, 6-8pm
Classically trained, Philpott brings this expertise and experience to his love of the Northwest landscape.
He has the ability to create a vast landscape on any size canvas.
As a “preservationist” painter working in realism, Philpott has become an artistic witness to the Northwest environment.
More from JGO Galleries Bainbridge
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First Friday Reception: Len Eisenhood
Fri Oct 6, 6-8pm
Painter and paper marbler Len Eisenhood will exhibit a series of works in October and November at Jeffrey Moose Gallery on Bainbridge Island.
Facebook Livestream will be broadcast from approximately 5:10 to 5:30 with the artist providing a walk-through commentary on works in the show.
At 7pm, Eisenhood will deliver an informal talk about his 2023 Residency as a “Community Creative” at Bloedel Reserve.
More from Jeffrey Moose Gallery
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Farmers Market/KiDiMu Great Zucchini Races
Sat Oct 7, 10am
The popular Bainbridge Island Farmers Market and Bainbridge Island Kids Discovery Museum (KiDiMu) event returns, and is being held outside Bainbridge Performing Art’s brand-new building adjacent to the Farmers Market/Town Square site.
Contestants hit their “labs” to modify and customize zucchinis of all sizes and then on the big day, launch them down the racetrack in search of glory.
“Vehicle” weigh-in starts at 10am, and the races start at 11:30am.
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Family Carnival at The Island School
Sat Oct 7, 12-3pm
The Island School’s 38th Annual Family Carnival has something for everyone—games for all ages, live music, delicious BBQ and a used book booth. All games are free. Come be part of a family-friendly tradition. Everyone welcome.
More About this Fun Family Event
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True Loves Concert
Sat Oct 7, 7-9pm
Listening to the abundant sounds of the Seattle-based funk & soul group, True Loves, is like walking down a favorite neighborhood street, slapping five with friends, checking up with clerks in their stores, admiring your dark sun-glassed face in their windows, ducking under flowerpots and smelling the familiar smells of your most cherished locale. The band is its own block party.
Purchase Tickets at Lynwood Theatre
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Congrats for 15 Years: Fletcher Bay Winery
Sun Oct 8, 3:30-7pm
Happy Anniversary Jim & team at Fletcher Bay Winery.
Celebrate with them at their Coppertop location with Grape Stopping, Raffles, Games and music from DJ Mike Jelinek starting at 4pm.
More from Fletcher Bay Winery
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A Conversation with ReFashion Bainbridge
Wed Oct 11, 7:30pm
ReFashion Bainbridge is proud to present a one-hour discussion at BHS between J. B. MacKinnon, journalist and author of The Day the World Stops Shopping (in addition to The 100-mile Diet) and Rebecca Rockefeller, co-author of Buy Nothing, Get Everything, and one of the founders of the world-wide Buy Nothing Project.
More from Island Wanderer
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BIFD Pancake Breakfast
Sat Oct 14, 8am - 12pm
Join the BI Fire Department for their Annual Pancake Breakfast at station 21 (8895 Madison Ave NE).
There will be great food, fun games, view the trucks and Airlift Northwest, & meet the crew!
All You Need to Know from BIFD
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Business Info Brochure Racks:
Let everyone know about your business with 4x9" rack cards at both the Ferry Info Kiosk & Winslow Way Info Desk
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The Via Rosa 11 Conference Room:
Seating for 10 people, 50” video screen + internet, giant whiteboard wall: Available to book for 60 or 120-minute sessions
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The PSE Spotlight Pop-Up Window:
Prime position Winslow Way 6ft x 6ft area comes with 43" monitor + stand, power, lights & internet: Available for 2 week slots.
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Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce
Advocacy, Connection, and Community since 1927
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