The committee, which was tasked with deciding how to spend the park district’s new levy-backed property acquisition fund, has recommended the purchase of a large parcel that would connect the two largest Grand Forest Park properties.

The 31-acre property, referred to as the Hill Top Tree Farm, stretches between the Grand Forest’s east and west sections, and includes forest, trails and a 7-acre meadow with views of the Olympic Mountains. It also includes an unoccupied cottage and a large barn.

The park district would use $500,000 in levy funds to match a $500,000 state grant. The combined $1 million would help the Bainbridge Island Land Trust make the full $2.75 million purchase.

BILT plans to turn over all or most of the land to the park district.

The property’s meadow could be used for an off-leash dog park, community gardens or open play areas, according to committee members.

I’ll have more on this later.

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First, the City Council decided to de-fund the city’s Housing Trust Fund, which supports local affordable housing projects.

Then came news that the Housing Resources Board was delaying the start of the Ferncliff community land trust project by one year. Later phases will likely be delayed a three or more years.

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This week, a Bainbridge man was found dead under a fallen tree on the island’s north end. The Sun’s story, plus comments from people who knew the longtime island resident, can be found here.

Blotter’s below.

March 6
Death: A 47-year-old man was found dead under a large fallen maple tree on Knight Road shortly after 7 p.m. The man’s teenage children had been looking for him for about two hours. He had left the home to cut trees sometime before 5 p.m. The children found tree cutting equipment but not their father. Police located the man and cleared the tree from his body. Bainbridge firefighters attempted to resuscitate the man but were unsuccessful. He was declared dead at the scene. Police are investigating the man’s death.

Assault: A Bainbridge man was arrested for assaulting his wife at their Battle Point Drive home at approximately 11 a.m. The victim had been looking in a file drawer when the suspect slammed it on her hand and then shoved her into another room, the victim said. The incident caused bruising on the victim’s upper arms and back. The suspect, who had left the home before police arrived, later turned himself in and was taken to the county jail.

March 5
Vandalism: Three 4-foot-tall letters were spray-painted on an exterior wall of the Kids Discovery Museum on Madrone Lane sometime during the night. Damage was estimated at $100.

March 3
Crash: An unknown vehicle crashed through two posts, a large rock and a large planter with shrubs in a yard off Winslow Way sometime during the night or early morning. The vehicle apparently continued on and did not attempt to contact nearby residents.

Mar. 1
Theft: A buoy was reported stolen near Crystal Springs Drive sometime during late February. The owner suspects that the operators of a fishing trawler may have taken the buoy. The trawler had been seen near the buoy.

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You can see the latest list of cuts here. The council is scheduled to approve the reduced budget at tonight’s meeting.

As for the Bainbridge Conversation’s last poll, results showed strong opposition to the Bainbridge Ratepayers Alliance lawsuit. Fifty-eight percent of the 178 votes cast were against it, and 42 percent were for it.

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Yet, people get busted for having misdemeanor amounts (under 40 grams) of pot just about every week on the island.

How do the police do it?

“We can arrest someone for having drug paraphernalia,” Scott Weiss, an island officer, told criminal justice reporter Josh Farley. “But not for the marijuana.”

And what if the person has some pot but doesn’t have a bong, pipe or other common pot-smoking accoutrements?

“Even if they have marijuana in their pocket, then the pocket becomes the paraphernalia,” said Kitsap County deputy prosecutor Claire Bradley.

So, whatever the pot is in – baggie or back pocket – is considered “paraphernalia,” and could carry a 90-day jail sentence.

Last week, the Bainbridge Police Department asked the City Council to finally put misdemeanor pot possession on the books. They change, police say, will give a more accurate and honest description of a person’s criminal conduct.

The council has asked for more information about how many drug paraphernalia cases are filed in county’s district court, and will likely decide how to proceed later this month.

Read more here.

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Big for BPA, at least.

Considered a departure from its usual smaller, community theater-scale productions, BPA’s Grapes of Wrath will do its darndest to encapsulate John Steinbeck’s epic Dustbowl tale.

“It’s a big show,” Director Kate Carruthers said in Kitsap Sun story about the play. “There’s — what — 27 actors and musicians, lots of people and music. I know the last thing I did was (Yasmina Reza’s) ‘Art,’ with a cast of three.”

And some of the cast members are doing double, triple, quadruple duty to fill out the array of characters that pop in and out of the Steinbeck’s 1939 novel.

I recently ran into local author and super nice guy George Shannon, who has volunteered his talents for the play.

“What part are you?” I asked him.

“I play seven,” he said.

“Uh….who?” I asked

“I play seven parts.”

“Which one’s the biggest?”

“Well…one of my parts dies at the end…”

I’m a little more than halfway thought the book right now, so I asked George to reveal no more. I should be ready for George’s death scene by opening day, March 19.

For more about BPA’s Grapes of Wrath, check out Michael C. Moore’s story.

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About 90 island residents attended the meeting, according to a city press release.

The SMP update has piqued the interest of many waterfront landowners. The update could lead to tougher regulations for near-shore development.

Using a state grant, the city hired planning consultants AHBL to assist in developing the public participation process. The firm’s staff helped direct the meeting and will evaluate the public input in the coming weeks.

The city will begin discussing shoreline policy issues later in the process.

The city’s SMP is a combination of planning strategies and regulations that guide shoreline development.

State law requires that the city update its SMP by December 2011.

Residents can contribute ideas about the SMP’s public participation process before Mar. 16 through a survey posted on the city’s website, by mail (Shoreline Master Program Update, Planning and Community Development, City Hall, 280 Madison Ave. N., Bainbridge Island, 98110) or e-mail (pcd@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us).

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Small Potatoes, Anne and Ryan Willhoit’s online exploration of good eats from close to home, is one of five blogs named in the local cuisine category.

Here’s the reaction over at Small Potatoes:

“Some evenings are more surprising than others. You sit down, check your email, glance at that the blog stats and… wait where did that massive spike in traffic come from? After a glance at the incoming referrers you discover you’ve been nominated for a “Best Food Blog” award by Saveur magazine. Really? That Saveur? Really?”

Small Potatoes is photo rich and has plenty of step-by-step tips on how to make use of seasonal and often island-grown ingredients. A few highlights: small batch ketchup, eating local foods while backcountry camping and how to eat local in winter.

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For the second week in a row, a drunk Californian was injured in a crash on the island’s south end.

Also this week, a man beats up a surly pedestrian at the Chevron station and Bainbridge police bust a drug den in Suquamish.

Blotter’s below.

Feb. 26
Burglary: Several juvenile males were seen running from a locked Bainbridge High School concession stand just before 4:30 p.m. The witness checked the stand’s door and found it had been unlocked. It was not clear if anything had been taken.

Drunken collision: An intoxicated San Francisco, Calif. woman suffered head and back injuries when she crashed her Ford car in a ditch on the opposite side of the Eagle Harbor Drive lane in which she was traveling. According to witnesses, the woman’s car came speeding down Eagle Harbor Drive just before 2 p.m. She over-corrected her car’s steering at a bend in the road, sending her car over the oncoming lane and into the ditch at high speed. Police said the woman was moaning and bleeding from her mouth when they arrived at the scene. She also had a bruised forehead and complained of back pain. She fell unconscious for about one minute. She had the odor of alcohol on her breath, police said. Police ordered a test of the alcohol level in her blood. The woman was airlifted to Harborview Hospital in Seattle for treatment.

Theft: A Bainbridge woman reported that her $400 cell phone was taken from her unlocked car in the High School Road Safeway market just before 11 a.m.

Drug bust: Bainbridge police arrested two suspects for drug possession during the search of a Suquamish home at approximately 9 a.m. The home was suspected as a base for several drug traffickers operating on Bainbridge. Police found a small bag of marijuana, several pain killer pills, a partially burned pill and two pipes with marijuana residue in them. Police found other evidence that indicated the pills were being smoked. A shotgun with a “copious amount” of bird shot and slugs were found in a closet. The suspects were taken to the county jail. The Suquamish Tribal and Poulsbo police departments assisted with the search.

Feb. 24
Crash: An Indianola man and a Seabeck woman suffered minor injuries during a vehicle collision on Day Road shortly after 8:30 a.m. The Seabeck driver’s Geo car rear-ended the Indianola driver’s Subaru stationwagon when it slowed for other traffic. Both drivers complained of neck and back pain.

Drugs: Police purchased pain killers from a Bainbridge man dealing narcotics out of the Harbor Square condominium on Winslow Way just before 7 p.m. Police arranged for an informant to contact the suspect and purchase three Oxycotin pills. A police detective observed parts of the transaction from afar. Police learned the suspect had prior convictions for narcotics sales, stolen property, bail jumping, drunk driving, drug possession, assault and reckless endangerment.

Feb. 23
Assault: A Bainbridge male was arrested for punching and kicking another Bainbridge male outside the Chevron gas station on Hildebrand Lane just after 10 p.m. According to the suspect, the victim was standing in the middle of Hildebrand and partially blocking the path of his vehicle. He drove around the victim and parked at the station. The victim then yelled that he was going to “take out” the suspect. When the suspect confronted the victim, the victim grabbed his coat. Fearing an attack, the suspect punched the victim’s face. The blow cut and bruised the victim’s face and sent him down on his knees. The suspect then walked away but returned to kick the victim. The victim was “extremely intoxicated,” declined medical assistance and would not answer questions, police said.

Feb. 20
Malicious: A Bainbridge woman allegedly caused almost $900 in damage to a neighbor’s fence on North Madison Avenue. The victim and suspect had been in a four-year court battle about erecting a fence and a property line. The suspect began harassing and threatening workers when they began erecting the fence. She also threw dirt at them and videotaped their faces. She recently filled in holes for fence posts and caused other damage. A report was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.

Feb. 18
Disorderly: A Seattle man was arrested for disorderly conduct after he was found lying on the ground and bleeding from his face outside a Winslow Way bar shortly after 7:30 p.m. The man appeared “extremely intoxicated” and swore incoherently at passersby and police. When warned that he would be arrested for disorderly conduct, the man began punching a brick wall. Police handcuffed the suspect and transported him to Harrison Hospital in Bremerton.

Feb. 17
Theft: A purse was stolen from a locked car outside a Madison Avenue home sometime during the night. Entry was gained by breaking one of the car’s windows with a brick. Damage was estimated at $500. The purse contained ID, a debit card and $20 cash.

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Rachel Pritchett reports in today’s Sun that the departures represent about 20 percent of American Marine’s work force. Most of those who left were administrators or managers at the bank’s Winslow Way headquarters.

Most of the American Marine’s tellers and rank-and-file staffers at the bank’s other 11 branches were offered jobs with Columbia State last month.

For more, click here.

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