Dear Logger: Maybe Patty Lent Will Enlist Goats to Run the Bremerton Foot Ferry

All illustrations by Jessica Randklev.

Dear Logger: After your surprise return from a five-year bender, I’ve reluctantly kept an eye on the news coming out of your zip code. I must say, the city has come a long way in half a decade. For example, I recently noticed the headline: “Bremerton may enlist goats in battle against waterfront rats.” Naturally, I thought this would be a story about a kerfuffle between the city and boaters in the Bremerton Marina. Then I remembered that there are no boaters in the Bremerton Marina.

Nope, turns out that Bremerton’s city council is poised to employ goats against the rats in the blackberry bushes near those fancy new condos downtown. Councilman Jerry McDonald is proposing the city rent goats to mow through the bushes and expose the rats to predators. Says McDonald: “Goats eat everything, clear the end, and then we don’t have anything else to worry about.”

Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t it be nice if all Bremerton had to do was release a few goats into the city so that you wouldn’t have “anything else to worry about”? If all it would take to rid Bremerton of its vermin were a few goats, I think the city would have been cleaned up — and the taxpayers spared a pretty penny — a decade ago. But that’s almost beside the point. Maybe the councilman is onto something. Maybe goats could be employed to assist the city elsewhere — they’re about as competent as the creatures running your town.

Heck, maybe Patty Lent could hire a team of goats to operate a passenger-only ferry between Bremerton and Seattle during the next football season? She could use all the help she can get. Lent’s call to run the foot ferry to the final two Seahawks home games was about as successful a call as throwing to the end zone from the 1. Come to think of it: Once the goats are done with Bremerton, perhaps they can help the Hawks in the Red Zone.

Reluctantly yours,

— Winslow

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Dear Logger: Congratulations, You Found a Way to Get New People to Bremerton: F*&^ing

All illustrations by Jessica Randklev.

Dear Logger: I’m sorry to hear fate dropped you back where you belong. But, if we’re being honest, you must have seen it coming. Now, let me breakdown my response in the listicle fashion that is the only way you people know how to communicate:

1. I knew things were bad in Bremerton, but only in Bremerton is word that the EPA has listed your neighborhood a superfund site filed in the good news bin. But, to your point, I’m glad Bremerton has found another federal agency to dump money into it. Now that Norm has left congress and taken his pork with him (he hasn’t been far from cured meats in three decades), and no private money is making a go of it in town, you’ll be looking for plenty more opportunities. Wait, I guess you’re right: Jara has found a way to lure Bremertonians back to the mothership: booze. Real shocker there. Bremerton needs another place to tip a glass about as much as it needs another above-ground artificial reef. Oh, well. Give the people what they want, I guess.

2. I don’t see how you label what’s going on in your town as “progress.” Far as I can tell, it’s more or less same-o-same-o. For example, I looked up that new bank you spoke so enthusiastically about and found this headline: “Kitsap Bank’s new building could be seed for Wheaton Way revitalization.” What year is this? Still beating the “revitalization” drum? Let’s be clear: “revitalization” is Bremerton’s “shovel ready.” If Cary Bozeman taught us anything, it’s that if a Starbucks with a tunnel can’t revitalize a town, a new branch of a regional bank ain’t gonna do it.

3. And I really don’t think I should have to say anything here at all, but I’m glad you finally figured out a way to grown Bremerton’s population: f*&^%ing. I’d congratulate you, but, no, I don’t think I will. You’ve decided to bring a child up in a town where the preferred topic of conversation among parents is “how to we get our children out of the Bremerton school district?” My advice to you is to, as the kids say in Portland: put a bag on it.

Reluctantly yours,

— Winslow

 

Dear Old Man Winslow: Bremerton’s Back! New Bank! New Starbucks! New McDonald’s!

All illustrations by Jessica Randklev.

Dear Old Man Winslow: I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written. I guess I don’t have any good excuse. I mean, I did leave Bremerton for a few years, and kept myself busy doing “city” things and making babies. But now I’m back.

When was the last time you were in Bremerton? You’d be amazed at all the progress: the streets are narrower, there’s a movie theater, and Carlos Jara, a 2009 mayoral candidate, put in a great new bar called the Toro Lounge. And I haven’t even gotten to East Bremerton yet! There’s a new McDonald’s, a new Starbucks and a shiny new Kitsap Bank!

Oh, and, you remember that polluted strip of land at the end of my street? Good news! The EPA finally named it a superfund site, which means there’s going to be all kinds of money to clean it up. It’s all looking up over here.

Hope you’re well. Type at me soon.

— The Bremelogger

 

A Note From the Editor

Yeah, so about this blog …

 

Bremerton Patriot Throws Some Love in the Bremelogger’s Direction, (Thankfully) Snubs Old Man Winslow

Local music and arts taddle tale Bill Mickelson is spread the word about our upcoming mayoral debate/show/cocktail hour, Wednesday, at the Hi-Fi. In this week’s North Kitsap Herald, Mickelson writes that Bremelog.com has arranged “an intrinsically Bremertonian, quasi-revolutionary mayoral forum.”

Obviously, this is the nicest thing anyone’s ever said about us. It’s glad to know that 20 dollars as far as they used to.

In a separate article, Mickelson gets to the bottom of the “Why the Crap is Moen?” question, detailing the write-in candidate’s run for mayor. Here’s Mike Moen’s campaign site.

Thanks, Bill. Your check is in the mail.

 

A Quick Not About Callow, Part 3: Cheap Mojitos at Hi-Fidelity Lounge on Saturday

I know, the sky’s telling me it’s not mojito season, either. But this work week is telling us we don’t really care what our hooch is mixed with. Gentry’s gettin’ rid of his remaining mojito fixings on Saturday, pushing the minty beverage for $5.

Our suggestion is to go the distance on Callow this weekend:

— $5 Hot ‘n’ Ready at Little Caesars

— 5 tacos for $5 at La Poblanita

— $5 mojito at Hi-Fidelity

Just sayin’.

 

Raise Your Hand If You’re Surprised That This Ferry Is Out Of Service

Via Washington State Ferries: “Seattle/Bremerton – Hyak Out of Service: The 9:00am departure from Bremerton is cancelled (sic) due to electrical problems on the Hyak. A one-boat schedule with the Kitsap is in effect until necessary repairs are completed. We apologize for the the inconvenience this may cause.“

Boy, I’m sure glad we don’t have those backup passenger-only ferries anymore. Our friends in San Francisco need them more than we do.

The one-boat schedule, via Kitsap Sun is:
Leave Bremerton: 10:15 a.m.; Leave Seattle: 11:25 a.m.; Leave Bremerton: 12:35 p.m.; Leave Seattle: 3 p.m.; Leave Bremerton: 4:15 p.m.; Leave Seattle: 5:30 p.m.; Leave Bremerton, 6:40 p.m.; Leave Seattle: 7:50 p.m.; Leave Bremerton: 9 p.m.; Leave Seattle: 10:30 p.m.

 

It’s Nice to Know That If There’s an Accident on the Ferry, Your Life Jacket Is Locked Up Safely

 

Guest Column: Why I’m Leaving Bremerton

By David Morse

You may see some very angry letters in the paper from fellow commuters.  Mine may be one of them.  When it all comes down to it, what we want and what would benefit the community is “regular and reliable” ferry service.  More frequent boats would be a huge plus ~ but we’ve dealt with that for the past 7 years.  I don’t see things getting better and it’s time to move on.

We’re angry.  We’ve invested lots of time, money and effort into trying to make Bremerton a better place.  We moved to a town which was pretty down-and-out.  Did many of us from Seattle move to the “nicer” but boring parts of Bremerton?  No.  We purchased in the older parts of West Bremerton, the areas with the more interesting houses and sketchy neighborhoods.  When we leave, our homes will become rentals and the downward cycle begins again…

 

Ever Wonder What Happened to Those Passenger-Only Ferries That Used to Run Between Bremerton and Seattle?

That's not to say there isn't much to love about the bucket of rust currently on the route. After all, it warm, comfortable, and rarely full.

They’re treating commuters in San Francisco to the good life. As in, fans can take the old Snohomish — now called the MV Napa — home on special runs after Giants games. Wow.