This week on the Compass, KPTZ’s Larry Stein takes a look at the work of JCIRA, which is the acronym for the Jefferson County Immigrant Rights Advocates. And then Steve Evans talks with East Jefferson Fire and Rescue Chief Bret Black about stretched resources in a year much of the American west is on fire as the result of a summer with widespread drought and record-breaking heat waves.
This week, Siobhan and Chris speak with Bex Berryhill, who is not only Centrum’s Program Manager for Creative Youth Development, but she’s also one of the seven Cooperative directors of the Gray Coast Guild Hall in Quilcene. We learn about the building’s history, the mission of the cooperative, who gathers there, and the inclusive impact its range of activities can have on the local community.
Today on Brewocracy Now KPTZ host Tim Quackenbush and City Manager John Mauro were joined by Dr. Philip Higuera, Professor of Fire Ecology with the University of Montana, and East Jefferson Fire and Rescue Chief Bret Black. The discussion covered the science and consequences of increased wildfire activity due to climate change, and its impacts on public health and public policy.
(Airdate: September 2, 2021) Sitting in for Missy Nielson, Everybody Can guest host Cliff Moore had the opportunity to visit with Wendy Bart, Chief Executive Officer of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA. Their conversation touched on the past, present and future of the YMCA here in Jefferson County. In particular, it focused on programmatic opportunities for our residents. Wendy also highlights some volunteer opportunities for community members who would like to support the Y’s efforts. A wide-ranging, energetic, and fun conversation.
(Airdate: September 1, 2021) A seafood treat in their native Europe, the Green Crab poses an ecological and economic threat to the Pacific Coast. Catch up with the latest in a 6-year effort to create a baseline database of our nearshore ecosystems and to monitor for expansion of the Green Crab territory into the Salish Sea. Nan Evans talks with Chris Jones and Eileen Cooney, members of the Washington Sea Grant’s citizen science team working at the lagoon at Kala Point.
(Airdate: September 1, 2021) Washington State boasts 3,000 miles of coastline that protects communities from ocean storms and provides important resources for local economies. Shoreline monitoring is a critical tool for assessing the health of our shorelines and for evaluating the success of restoration projects along the shore. And anyone can do it! Host MaryAnn Wagner talks with Jason Toft, a principal research scientist at the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, who developed a Shoreline Monitoring Toolbox anyone can use and whose work focuses on Puget Sound shorelines.
(Airdate: August 30, 2021) Officer Bill Corrigan of the Port Townsend Police Department discusses with Attention Please! host Phil Andrus strategies for more safe cycling and walking about in our community.
(First airdate: August 31, 2021) Joe Gillard, a history buff and founder of History Hustle, a digital publication, has fun with Cris talking about their favorite selections from his book The Little Book of Lost Words. Who doesn’t need to know about a word like Snollygoster, a dishonest politician or Snuggery, a cozy room perfect for reading and dreaming?
The Community Build Project has worked to construct tiny homes as a means of providing temporary housing for our local homeless population. Peter’s Village was the first incarnation of this project, with 12 tiny homes (or “wooden tents) on the grounds of Community United Methodist Church in Port Hadlock. If you drive down San Juan Avenue in Port Townsend, you’ll notice the next nearly completed construction phase of the Project: brightly-colored, secure shelters, located on the grounds of Evangelical Methodist Church. On July 31, we visited the Community Build Open House and spoke with builders, organizers, and organizations about their work, their plans and their dreams on behalf of our unsheltered neighbors.
On today’s Through Science to Health, KPTZ’s Dick Keenan interviewed Kate Keenan, Retired Communicable Disease Investigator from San Diego County. They discussed the big picture, that the virus continues to pose a threat to our collective health 18 months after the first reported cases in our state.
The Delta variant is dramatically changing the face of the pandemic. It is more transmissible and infectious, affecting even those who have been fully vaccinated. Returning to masking when indoors, despite vaccination, is the best chance of reducing community spread. Our current case rate is the highest it’s ever been: 263 per 100,000 population.
Vaccination remains effective at preventing hospitalization and death, but slightly less effective at reducing infection, once exposed. Thus the new recommendation to provide an additional dose for those immunocompromised persons. This data comes from a country with high immunization rates – Israel – who decided that an additional dose would blunt fresh waves of hospitalizations in the face of the delta variant. The additional doses are not a new formula, but a repeat of the shots you originally received. Future vaccines may be reformulated according to the variants circulating.
Human behavior is the most complicated factor in maneuvering this pandemic. Although we have made remarkable progress with a safe and effective vaccine, medical treatments and sufficient masking supplies, there is also progress in a population response to the current threat of the Delta variant. As much as we want our old world back, many individuals, organizations and businesses are adopting the interventions we know stems the tide of more community spread such as masking, reducing traveling and monitoring ourselves for any sign of infection.
