Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Two Halloween-appropriate horror films, and two first-season finales of streaming shows: Halloween Ends Watching "Halloween Ends" made me feel like the 2005 viral meme of Tyra Banks (herself a victim of Michael Myers, in 2002's "Halloween: Resurrection") when she screamed, "I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you!" I will still defend 2018's "Halloween" as the best film in the franchise since the 1978 original, and its direct sequel, 2021's "Halloween Kills," started out with all the...
Port of Allyn’s Board of commissioners will have a special public meeting at their administrative office Oct. 24 to discuss commissioner district boundaries and a couple of other items that Port of Allyn Operations Manager LeAnn Dennis added to the meeting agenda. One of those items is routine — approving a $500 voucher for payment to the Economic Development Council of Jefferson County for its annual dues. “I think we’re also adding a discussion about electricity fees to the special meeting...
This past week on streaming offered a quartet of spooky and suspenseful films to get folks into the Halloween spirit. Mr. Harrigan's Phone "Mr. Harrigan's Phone," released Oct. 5 on Netflix, has the ominous buildup of a monkey's paw undead revenge thriller, but ultimately resolves itself into a compelling, nuanced character study, told from the perspective of small-town New England adolescence. Yes, it's based on the Stephen King novella of the same name, and it even stars Jaeden Martell from...
The HUB (Hospitality, Unity, Belonging) Center for Seniors is reviving its runway show next year. Beth Gizzi, executive director of the HUB, said the center has had a fashion show “on and off” since 2007, but COVID prompted an extended break. Gizzi said the show in May will be the HUB’s first wearable art fashion show, and possibly the first of its kind for the area as well. “We started a ‘found’ fashion show — items that are found in a thrift shop, like our own HUB shop — to showcase what g...
While commissioners for the Port of Grapeview repeatedly noted they’ve made no final decisions regarding next year’s budgets for the port, the three commissioners acknowledged several areas of overall agreement at their Oct. 6 budget workshop. “As we’ve gone over the operations budget, we’ve seen how difficult it’s going to be for this port just to maintain the facilities that it has, which are very minimal,” Jean Farmer said, before she and fellow port commissioners turned to the preliminary c...
The Port of Allyn has a busy month ahead. Port of Allyn Executive Director Lary Coppola warned at the port’s Oct. 3 meeting that while revenues are performing as expected “for this time of year, and in this economy,” the port’s expenses have exceeded its budget “in several instances,” notably what they’ve paid in legal fees, “so money is tight and cash flow somewhat problematic.” The same meeting saw port commissioners approve a loan, with interest, from the port’s water fund to its general fund...
Bewitching ladies in blasts from the past dominated this past week's streaming releases, targeted toward different ages of audiences, and to wildly varying degrees of success. Blonde Christopher Lee said actors occasionally can't avoid appearing in bad films, "but the trick is to never be bad in them." Ana de Armas has made a career out of abiding by that advice, with breakout roles in quality films, including 2017's "Blade Runner 2049" and 2019's "Knives Out." When I saw that Netflix's...
Belfair Self-Storage's artist of the month for October is visual artist Sharon Taylor, for whom business manager Barbara Treick will display a sampling of her pieces this coming month on the self-storage offices' art wall. "Describing the type of art that I create is somewhat difficult, because I don't have one particular type," Taylor said. "I love all art. I see art in just about everything. It really comes from my heart. I love to paint with acrylics and watercolor. I love using various...
During the North Mason School Board’s Sept. 15 meeting, high school counselor Rebecca Roberts spoke about the work being done for the Comprehensive School Counseling Plan before Board Director Laura Boad moved to approve the plan as presented. According to Roberts, the American School Counseling Association has a model they’ve published for more than a decade outlining the best practices in counseling. “School counseling has shifted, in the last decade or two, from being very individualized (to)...
I attended the Port Townsend Film Festival from 2016 to 2019, and wrote reviews of its films that were published in The Port Townsend Leader from 2017-19. After 2 years of COVID-prompted cancellations, followed by virtual screenings, the Port Townsend Film Festival has returned, under new management, to offer both virtual and in-person screenings for 2022. So, from Sept. 22 through Sept. 25, I planned to screen 12 feature-length films - eight documentaries and four narratives - plus two short...
The Port of Hoodsport has readjusted its timeline to remove debris and dead and decaying trees from its parks. During the port’s Sept. 7 meeting, port commissioner Terry Brazil said Forest McCullough of Northwest Land & Tree had “really been going to town” on cutting the park’s timber. Brazil said McCullough was fortunate to get help from port maintenance man Scott Lindgren on the project, “because he hasn’t got a lot of other help.” Brazil said McCullough has been shipping “a lot of rotten t...
From the first impeccably staged fight scene of "The Woman King," it's impossible not to hear its implicit sales pitch in your head: Hey, kids, do you like the Dora Milaje of Wakanda, from the Marvel Cinema Universe's "Black Panther?" Because these African warrior women were the Dora Milaje in real life. During the 19th century, the West African kingdom of Dahomey did indeed maintain an all-female fighting force known as the Agojie, which was one of the only standing armies (and one of the only...
Port of Allyn’s commissioners adopted long-overdue updates to the port’s marina rules, but deferred any action on redistricting until they could consult with Mason County officials. Port of Allyn Executive Director Lary Coppola reminded port commissioners they’d already deferred action on updating the port’s marina rules during their previous month’s meeting, so the issue was placed on the agenda again this month. Coppola pointed out that when the marina rules were adopted by the port in 2015,...
Hoodstock 2022 offered folks on the waters of Hood Canal its signature venue to take in an eclectic mix of music from regional performers while giving Cody Morris, brewmaster and founder of Hoodsport-based Potlatch Brewing Co., an unusual business opportunity. Potlatch Brewing teamed with Hoodstock because his company's scale allows it to produce small runs of what he deemed "special" beers, Morris said. He said he hopes Hoodstock might set a precedent for Potlatch Brewing to team up with other...
After a three-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic, the Mason County Concert Association kicks off its 2022-2023 season with The Everly Set performing a tribute to the Everly Brothers at 7 p.m. Sept. 25 at the Shelton High School Performing Arts Center. The series continues with Seraph Brass at 7 p.m. Oct. 24, the four-piece rock band Vinyl Radio at 7 p.m. Jan. 25, and the Sultans of String International String Trio at 7 p.m. March 17. All the shows are in the PAC at 3737 N. Shelton Springs...
As fond as I remain of the original "Karate Kid" films, Parts I through III never quite hung together well as a trilogy, even before they attempted to resurrect the franchise on the big screen - twice, with Hilary Swank and Jackie Chan (and we won't even get into the cartoon). Which makes it all the more impressive that the "Cobra Kai" streaming series, whose fifth season debuted on Netflix on Sept. 9, has not only managed to retroactively recast those disparate films as chapters of a...
Harlequin Productions in Olympia marks the changing of its seasons with its September stagings of the play “This Flat Earth,” followed by its annual gala and the season announcement for 2023. “This Flat Earth,” a 2018 play by Lindsey Ferrentino, depicts students and parents navigating the aftermath of a fictional middle school shooting in a seaside town. Admission to the play, which runs today through Saturday and starts at 7:30 p.m., is $35 for general audiences, $32 for seniors and militar...
Hoodstock cofounders Kelli Kohout and Shannon Crabb-Stanton are thrilled to take stock of the fifth year of the program they kicked off, which returned to Hood Canal in Union on Aug. 20. They agreed this year’s event exceeded their expectations. Kohout and Crabb-Stanton said support from concert-goers and event sponsors helped make 2022 the “biggest year yet” for Hoodstock. Among this summer’s crop of community partners, the Alderbrook Resort and Spa distinguished themselves, Kohout said, b...
Not many self-storage businesses can celebrate a decade in business with a performance by a two-time Grammy nominee, but Belfair Self-Storage plans to. Manager Barbara Treick invites the public to the 10-year anniversary of the business on Sept. 21 at 23270 NE state Route 3. Vince Redhouse, Native American Music Award winner and National Jazz Hero recipient, will perform at 1 p.m., with appetizers and beverages available, followed by a presentation at 1:30 p.m. and a prize drawing at 2 p.m....
I entered into the first two episodes of Amazon Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" with considerably mixed feelings, and in spite of finding myself impressed by a lot of what I saw, I'm approaching the rest of the season with mixed feelings still. Thanks to the subsequent significant stumbles of the "Star Wars" film series, Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy seems even more flawless now than when it was first released, but Jackson's "Hobbit" trilogy was an...
The Port of Grapeview is set to convene a special meeting Sept. 13 to address its redistricting, which is required every 10 years for federal, state and many local government agencies. The purpose of redistricting the port is to balance the populations in each of its three districts to ensure equitable representation. Port Commissioner Mike Blaisdell, who’s leading the current redistricting effort, pointed out that since the 2010 census, the port district’s population has increased by 302 residents. Blaisdell cited “tremendous support” from Ma...
While the Grapeview School District has hired a handful of new folks and moved some familiar faces into new roles, even its biggest changes in the coming school year aim to keep the district on an even keel. Kurt Hilyard is no longer superintendent, but his replacement, Gerry Grubbs, is no stranger to Grapeview. Grubbs interned under Hilyard for the past two years as part of the Washington State University superintendent certification program. "I'd already known and admired Kurt, so I was happy...
The North Mason School District is helping students and families meet the school year with new events, faces and positions within the district, all of which are intended to foster a sense of belonging between the schools and those they serve. Amanda Marley-Clarke, communications specialist for the district, expressed pride in the district's back-to-school outreach event Aug. 25. The event's goal was to get school registration information, and resources from 17 of the district's community...
'Emily the Criminal' I went to see "Emily the Criminal" expecting a brisk, taut crime caper that would afford one of my favorite comedic actresses a well-deserved showcase to stretch her dramatic muscles, but what I also got was a political Rorschach test whose concerns seem especially relevant in light of debates about student loan debt forgiveness. It's easy to dismiss Aubrey Plaza's Emily as an adult child of squandered opportunities, who dropped out of college after racking up a felony...
Downtown Hoodsport business co-owner Katherine Yackel and the Port of Hoodsport appear to have settled their concerns about the community at the port’s Aug. 17 meeting. Yackel, instructor and operations manager of YSS Dive in Hoodsport, acknowledged using the port’s park without an event form April 30. She said she’d been unaware of such event forms beforehand. “I do apologize for that,” Yackel said. “We did instruct our divers to use the parking lot where we had our tents. We did have one te...
