Chamber of Commerce Saves Dungeness Crab Festival

The Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival almost went under last month. The organization that produces the annual event — Olympic Peninsula Community Celebrations — voted to disband itself.

But now a new nonprofit organization, Olympic Peninsula Celebrations, has formed. This group, in partnership with the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, will be producing the Crab and Seafood Festival. It’ll be held October 10th and 11th this year at City Pier, Hollywood Beach and the Red Lion parking lot. This year the festival might also use the Gateway pavilion and/or close off one block of Lincoln Street between Front Street and Railroad Avenue.

The Chamber’s board of directors voted last week to help with the management and production of the annual festival.

Wildfire Hazard in Clallam County, North Olympic Peninsula

Clallam County ranked fifth out of 413 western counties in a study of the damage that could be caused by a wildfire. This study was not concerned with the likelihood of a fire; just the potential for catastrophic damages if a fire occurs.

Jefferson County ranked 58th in the same study. The study was co-authored by Peninsula College Professor Dwight Barry. He worked with the state Department of Natural Resources, local fire districts, Olympic National Park and Olympic Natural Forest to compile this information.

Basically, the hazard is so high in Clallam County because of the combination of a heavy fuel load, the dryness caused by being in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, and the fact that there are “a whole lot of people who like living in the woods,” as Barry put it.

The results of the study can be found here.

More Possible Delays on Hood Canal Bridge

People waiting to cross the Hood Canal Bridge can still expect delays because of continued retrofitting being done on the west half of the bridge.

Joe Irwin, spokesman for the Hood Canal Bridge project, said:

“Now that the bridge is again open to traffic, ongoing construction activities such as anchor cable replacement, ballasting and other adjustments — both expected and unexpected — could affect how long draw span operations take. We didn’t want to delay the June reopening of the bridge to accomplish these tasks, but they need to continue throughout the summer to get the bridge in shape for the winter and assure optimal performance in the future.”

Travelers can stay informed of unexpected bridge closures by signing up for text message alerts. Go to this website, click on “e-mail updates” (in the upper right hand corner) and follow their instructions.

It Isn’t Burglary if the Property Wasn’t Fenced In

The Washington State Supreme Court just made this ruling. If a person steals something from property that isn’t completely fenced in, it’s not burglary.

The Court has overturned the burglary conviction of Roger Dean Engel — who had been convicted of stealing aluminum wheels from a rural business — because the property was only fenced in on one side.

I suspect this decision won’t be too popular. What say you?

More Money for Harbor-Works?

Harbor-Works Public Development Authority is planning to ask for an additional $1 million. They want a loan of $500,000 from the Port of Port Angeles and from the City of Port Angeles.

They’re also anticipating a $200,000 grant from the Department of Ecology.

The City and the Port have each loaned $150,000 already to Harbor-Works for startup costs. The Harbor-Works budget includes $277,200 for administration, $185,000 for projects, $100,000 for reserves and $174,000 for legal.

They’re using the law firm of Gordon Thomas Honeywell LLP, which specializes in tribal issues.

Port Angeles Concerts on the Pier

We’ve already had the first two Wednesday concerts at City Pier. Here is the rest of the schedule for the summer:

July 8: Lynn Peterson & The Phat Kattz — Jazz Cabaret

July 15: Green Light Situation — Island Rock

July 22: Jim Hoffman Band — Country Rock

July 29: Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble @ 6-7 p.m.; Dixi Blue (Jazz) @ 7-8 p.m.

August 5: Deadwood Revival — Bluegrass

August 12: Tune Stranglers — Swing Era Jazz

August 19: Nakai’i Hawaiian Music

August 26: Electric Wood — Soul/R&B/Reggae

September 2: Howly and Da’ Boyz — Country

New Port Angeles To Be Unveiled July 11th

On Saturday, July 11th, there will be a celebration of the downtown Port Angeles spruce-up. The volunteers of “Our Community at Work: Painting Downtown” will have a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1 p.m. on Front Street between Laurel and Lincoln streets.

Following that, the Dawg Cart and the Port Angeles Food Bank will be serving free hot dogs and lemonade. The celebration will also include the unveiling of four new additions to Port Angeles’ outdoor art gallery.

Architect Charlie Smith designed the paint schemes for all of the newly repainted buildings, and he’ll be conducting free tours of the spruced-up buildings.