Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
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Amazon Prime and Netflix recently released two eight-part direct-to-streaming miniseries whose respective target audiences are far apart, but whose commitment to their genre formulas of storytelling are equally impeccable. 'Reacher' on Amazon If you've ever read one of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, you're old enough to remember when airplane trips didn't include the luxury of entertaining yourself with portable electronic devices during flight. For you youngsters out there, a subspecies of...
The Port of Dewatto began the year by reviewing its storm damage and revisiting online payments and reservations. As of the port commissioners’ Jan. 12 meeting, Campground Coordinator Joe Newman said he hadn’t been to the campground since the December snowstorm because the snow was piled high in front of the gates. He told commissioners he’d go there after the snow melted. Port Commissioner David Haugen had been there and discovered many branches and limbs had come down during the storm. At le...
A few days remain before Valentine’s Day, so since we gave you six films last week, here are eight more, so you can enjoy 14 offbeat romantic movies through Feb. 14. ‘Pump Up the Volume’ Christian Slater is an anonymous, foul-mouthed pirate radio DJ who can’t work up the nerve to speak out as provocatively in his daily life as a high school student and new kid in town, until he connects with an inquisitive and insightful classmate, played by Samantha Mathis, who’s written him filthy letters a...
The Port of Hoodsport welcomed its newest commissioner at its Jan. 26 meeting, and OK'd the trimming of "hazard trees" and other trees to ensure its trail park and disc golf course are cleared and safe before spring starts. Cody Morris was welcomed to his first meeting as the port's Position 3 commissioner, repeating his oath of office, though he'd already been sworn in with a notary. Morris' term is set to end in 2027. The port district's 1,851 registered voters cast 793 ballots in the...
Maybe it's Valentine's Day and you're looking to get into the spirit of the occasion. Maybe it's date night, whether it's with someone new, with whom you're looking to take things further, or with a longtime love with whom you're looking to keep that romantic spark going. The problem is, so many of us have seen so many of the same familiar favorites, from more modern popcorn crowd-pleasers like "Love Actually," "When Harry Met Sally" and "Say Anything" to cinema classics like "West Side Story,"...
Belfair Self-Storage doesn’t have shows scheduled for February, but manager Barbara Treick hopes area artists will think ahead to her March fundraiser for “Keep Music in Schools” month. She wants artists to create and display their works at her business’ art space for the occasion. “I’d like to get the word out for this as soon as possible so artists can start working on their pieces during February,” Treick said. “Especially since the subject for all the pieces — artists’ interpretations of...
The Port of Dewatto’s monthly voucher total for December was once again lower than the previous month’s, which allowed the port to move into the new year with enough cash to close out its December warrants and prepare for the first quarter of 2022. During the port commissioners’ regular meeting Dec. 8, port volunteer Kris Tompkins reported the port had received another $4,000 in state Department of Natural Resources timber trust money since its commissioners’ November meeting, for a 2021 to...
You can tell a lot about someone by who their favorite "Saturday Night Live" performers are. Folks who still swear by the original "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" are staunchly loyal traditionalists. Those who favor Phil Hartman (RIP), Bill Hader or Kenan Thompson appreciate performers who are solidly dependable, if not as showy. If you love Adam Sandler, you either just turned 13 or have remained 13 for too many years. And the Joe Piscopo fan club consists solely of Joe Piscopo. If you...
I've spoken before about what a gravity-defying franchise "The Karate Kid" films already were, even before they became the foundation for the ongoing "Cobra Kai" Netflix series, and that's never been more true than now, in the wake of the show's fourth season. "Cobra Kai" continues to thread the needle between empathetically reflecting the minefields of modern adolescence and sharing the Marvel Cinematic Universe's ability to whistle past what would happen if certain events occurred in the real...
Area art exhibitors offered their outlook on what lies ahead this year in their world of art. When asked what she looks forward to in 2022, Belfair Self-Storage owner and manager Barbara Treick expressed hopes of generating a good turnout for the “Keep Music In School” show she has planned for March. “I am working on a prospectus for a call to artists to celebrate MIOSM (Music In Our Schools Month) by creating art that shows their favorite song or musical instrument,” Treick said. “My art wall...
Port of Allyn Executive Director Lary Coppola addressed the port's damage claims and security measures during the board of commissioners' Jan. 3 regular meeting. Coppola had previously conferred with the commissioners regarding the "severe damage" to the finger pier on the dock during an Oct. 25 storm, with waves so strong they fractured the 4-inch galvanized brackets holding the finger pier to the main dock and tore 4-inch lag bolts out of the beams holding the brackets to the pier. Coppola...
Port of Allyn Executive Director Lary Coppola gave progress reports on several projects and expenditures, including the port’s upcoming update to its comprehensive to-do list, at the port’s Jan. 3 board of commissioners meeting. Coppola noted the port posted a community survey on its website and its Facebook page, and included a copy of the survey in its meeting packet. “I posted it in every Facebook group that I can identify for Mason County,” Coppola said. “There’s about 10 of them.” The...
Retired teacher Nancy Snyder has found a way to educate people about the causes of extreme weather, and the Climate Change Committee of the League of Women Voters of Mason County is but one of the recipients of the knowledge Snyder has gained in the past year. Snyder was originally slated to attend an in-person training session offered by the nonprofit Climate Reality Project, which was founded by former Vice President Al Gore in 2005 as the Alliance for Climate Protection. However, COVID-19...
Is it possible to evolve (or retain) a social conscience while remaining an unrepentant criminal? Gangster fables have contemplated that question for generations, with "The Godfather," "Pulp Fiction," "The Sopranos" and "Breaking Bad" serving as some of the more notable examples. And while the answer has been "no" in all the aforementioned examples, none of those tales have been set in a world as lawless as Tatooine, where there aren't even any cops to bribe. It's no exaggeration to describe...
Sunday promises to see Belfair Self-Storage test out a new approach as owner and manager Barbara Treick invites the public to enjoy “Art From My Living Room” at 2 p.m.at the business’ location at 23270 NE state Route 3. Although Belfair Self-Storage’s previous art receptions have showcased some of the artists in-person with their pieces, and even included a couple of live performances, Treick said the post-holiday months can be slow for foot-traffic. Treick described Belfair Self Storage...
The Port of Dewatto adopted a 2022 budget of $119,500 after commissioners conducted a public hearing on its revenue sources prior to the winter holidays. Port of Dewatto Commission Chair Ray Mow oversaw the November meeting, which didn’t draw any members of the public, while port volunteer Kris Tompkins reviewed the specifics of the port’s proposed budget and its revenue sources. According to Tompkins, the port received $16,427 more in state Department of Natural Resources timber trust fun...
The Port of Allyn received a recap of what to expect from its upcoming legislative session during its board of commissioners’ Jan. 3 regular meeting, thanks to a presentation by port governmental affairs consultant Holly Cocci. The session began Monday. It’s the second year of the legislative biennium, or the shorter legislative session of the two, so it’s scheduled to last 60 days. “Legislators attempted to lower expectations for the forthcoming short session,” Cocci said. “However,...
I've seen a few folks review writer-director-producer Adam McKay's "Don't Look Up" under the assumption it was intended as a response to COVID-19, even though enough of its pre-production was finished COVID and its principal photography was originally slated to start in April 2020. More than a dozen years ago, I was rewatching an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" with one of my housemates at the time, in which Picard was captured and tortured by alien interrogators (Trek fans will...
The Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce’s Zoom meeting split into focus groups Dec. 16 to answer several questions designed to help the Shelton School District develop a five-year plan. When asked to describe what they saw as the school district’s reputation in the business community, Melissa Strong, chief nursing officer at Mason Health, credited the district with being “pretty involved” in the Health Science Academy rollout, which she deemed a “really great experience for us” and a “reall...
The Rev. Barbra Weza, development director of Community Lifeline, addressed the League of Women Voters of Mason County on Dec. 21 about how the pandemic has affected the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Community Lifeline's mission is to provide low-barrier shelter, meals, showers, case management, advocacy, education and resource connections as pathways to permanent housing. Weza said limits on crisis services have made it more difficult to serve people already in need, even with diverse...
The new year is almost upon us, and you are pretty much done with holiday spirit. You need a palate cleanser to wash the taste of holly-jolly cheer out of your mouth. Just as "Die Hard" is the seasonal 1980s action film that actually embodies the spirit of Christmas, "Less Than Zero" is the '80s drama that's also set during Christmas but runs absolutely counter to the spirit of the holiday. The 1987 film is based on Bret Easton Ellis' 1985 debut novel of the same name. It is practically the...
Exhibitors of area artists offered their thoughts on what the past year has meant for the local art scene and what the year ahead could bring. Elizabeth Bennett, operational manager of the Rest-A-While RV Park, saw her annual art and music fair expand into an entire series of one-weekend-per-month events, running from spring through fall, with a growth in the number and diversity of vendors. “It’s been a really special year, with a lot of new vendors,” Bennett said. “And the people who are alr...
The Port of Grapeview’s final regular meeting of the year Dec. 21 was an evening of farewells. District 2 Commissioner Glenn Carlson read aloud from his letter of resignation, which takes effect Jan. 18, that referenced several accomplishments over the past nine years, from rebuilding the boat ramp to adding a dock, gangway and restroom, for which he credited “the help of able colleagues.” “I’ve got many wonderful memories of fine friends and working relationships developed over these past year...
Hed: ‘Green Amendment’ proponent recaps history of environmental movement Word count: 964. By Kirk Boxleitner [email protected] The League of Women Voters of Mason County’s Climate Change Committee meeting on Zoom opened the floor to Maya K. van Rossum, author of “The Green Amendment; Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment.” Van Rossum opened her remarks Nov. 18 by saying permitting is essential to environmental protections, because “environmental pollution and degradation...
Although 2020 was the year COVID first struck, 2021 has been more of a year of transition for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Disney+ shows like "WandaVision" and "Loki" took established characters on arcs that redefined who they were and could be, while "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" and "Eternals" introduced new players to the MCU. What "Black Widow" attempted to do in theaters is what "Hawkeye" so far seems to be doing more successfully on Disney+ by portraying a torch-passing...
