On today’s edition of Community Tides, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Co-Host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, speak with Kim Herman, who has worked in affordable housing since 1969.  He was the Executive Director of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission for over 35 years, and retired in 2019.  He’s now providing his expertise and sharing his vast experience here in Jefferson County. Today he helps explain what the city is working on and the implications involved for middle-income workers here. We discuss projects underway in Port Townsend as well as successful models for affordable housing in other communities. Kim reinforces the importance of residents here to be engaged in the process toward sustainable affordable housing solutions, and to continue to put pressure on our political decision makers.

(Airdate: February 2, 2023) In this edition of Community Tides, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker, and co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, join Jacob Perritt-Cravey, Founder of Tree Ring Consulting, to talk about his relationship with the Economic Development Council as he works to develop its Creative Entrepreneurship Network on our Peninsula. With creative outreach, he’s working with rural and indigenous communities to explore unique opportunities that can resource community effort and build a resilient, interconnected network,  Led by creative entrepreneurs, or “makers,” our communities can articulate an emerging, robust, and visible Jefferson County economic identity.

On this week’s edition of Community Tides, co-hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, have a frank and meaningful conversation about the affordable housing dilemma that not only affects our own community, but also countless others across the country. It’s the elephant in the room that we can no longer ignore when we live in a market-based economy guided by supply and demand. What’s affordable to an average buyer wanting to pursue the “American Dream”?  What are the factors that prevent some from participating and others not?  How can we think creatively to solve the problem of inequality in opportunity?  And how do we make it possible for young families and those employed here with jobs that provide infrastructure for our of life to be counted as a real part of this vibrant community?  In short, how do we reconcile “market rate” with the Common Good, and how are doing here with regard to solutions?

On alternate Fridays during the Noon Hour, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker joins co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, to explore new developments, new paradigms, and the panorama of Good Work our vibrant community continues to do day in, and day out. Dr. Linda Rosenbury was appointed superintendent of the Port Townsend School District on July 1, 2021. She came to Washington State as a Doctoral Resident in Highline Public Schools. Previously, she worked in New York City as a teacher and middle school principal. Linda got together with Siobhan and Chris back in August of 2021, and we thought it would be a great conversation to reflect on what she and her colleagues have accomplished over these past months, as well as what she herself has learned from this unique community, along with her thoughts on wellness, equity, voice, and connection.

Community Tides comes to you twice each month, with hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation. We join special guests to discuss fresh ideas, new developments and new paradigms as we travel into the months ahead. Today, Chris and Siobhan visit with Dick Schneider, who lovingly tends to orphan orchids at Raincoast Farms, a magical place tucked away among fir, hemlock and old growth cedars, just minutes from Port Townsend. In two greenhouses, Dick has a collection of unique species of tropical plants and selected hybrid orchids. Once he rehabilitates donated orchids to flower and health, he re-homes them to Jefferson Health Care.

Nestled handsomely and quietly at the Jefferson County International Airport, the Port Townsend Aero Museum invites curiosity from passers-by to and from the airport proper. Inside, there’s an amazing display of vintage restorations, and always an eager volunteer present to regale you with histories and stories. Not only that, an amazing mentoring program exists for teenagers, who can learn about flight—the mechanics, the skill, and the art of it all. They explore career options by volunteering their time once a week, and in exchange, they will ultimately have the opportunity to take flight training free of charge. With us for a tour is Michael Payne, the Museum’s Director, who also shares his own life journey among the clouds.

In this edition of Community Tides, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and his co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, discuss year-end charitable giving and how donors can have the greatest impact. Then they welcome Kathy Ryan, volunteer food grower for the Food Bank Farm & Gardens. Over time, this network of farms, gardens, and gleaners has become a huge supplier for local food pantries. They talk about the United Good Neighbors Campaign, which specifically includes organizations that provide for basic human needs.

(Airdate: November 4, 2022) The Community Boat Project is a job-training program aligned with the nearby Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. Based out of Port Hadlock, Wayne Chimente and his talented crew of adult mentors provide hands-on, meaningful and organic learning experiences, by partnering with teens in unique programs that focus on real work, critical thinking, and human-social skills. Wayne is a Master Mariner, Master Rigger and Sailmaker, and he has 31 years in sail training. On-the-water programs with twenty different schooners and square-riggers throughout the world have given him and the Project a unique view of the horizon. Interns and students from the Community Boat Project have also been building tiny houses to help address the need for local transitional and affordable housing. Co-Hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty settle in for a great conversation with Wayne about the importance of all of it.

(Airdate: October 21, 2022) This week on Community Tides, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, find out more about the history of Quimper Grange and the movement that sparked it. Over time, the building has enjoyed a physical renaissance to become a welcome gathering place for 21st century Port Townsend.  The first Quimper Grange master was Jacob Miller, and for the first 30 years, Grange meetings were held in his chicken house The current building itself was a donated barracks originally built for the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps at Fort Worden.  Quimper Grange’s Sheila Blech Long tells us more and paints us a picture of the newly renovated building, hall, and dance floor, along with information about meeting there, playing music there, dancing there – and of course, joining the Grange.

It’s hard these days for our community not to become engaged in conversations about housing density and affordability. The conversations have become much more nuanced, and these days more than ever, there needs to be transparent, solutions-oriented dialogue. Joining KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-host Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, are 3 special guests: Jaisri Lingappa, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Global Health at UW Seattle and volunteer with Habitat for Humanity East Jefferson County and with the Housing Solutions Network; Emma Bolin, City of Port Townsend’s new Director of Planning & Community Development; and Liz Revord, Director of Housing Solutions Network. We explore what affordable housing, density, and equity mean in the light of the distribution of wealth,“market rate”, and the forces of gentrification and displacement.