Special meeting called

The City of Port Townsend City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, jointly with the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners, Port of Port Townsend, and Jefferson County Public Utility District 1, for the Intergovernmental Collaborative Group.

The notice from the city states that action may be taken at the meeting, to be held at Port Hudson Pavilion located at 355 Hudson St. in Port Townsend.

The agenda includes regular items, like the welcome and public comment period, along with a presentation about the Community Wildfire Protection Plan and Interagency Partnership and Inspections. There also will be updates on Jefferson County Drought Conditions, the Growth Management Steering Committee, the Healthier Together/Pool Initiative. The meeting is also being held virtually via Zoom, and audio-only by phone. Email comments by 12 p.m. the day before the meeting to ICG@co.jefferson.wa.us. Meeting materials can be viewed online at:  www.co.jefferson.wa.us.

Centrum gets $45K NEA grant 

Centrum has been awarded $45,000 under the Grants for Arts Projects by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

The grant supports Centrum’s Fiddle Tunes and Acoustic Blues workshops and festivals.

“We are honored to be a part of the NEA’s commitment to the folk and traditional art forms that Centrum has long celebrated through programs like Fiddle Tunes and Acoustic Blues,” says Robert Birman, Centrum’s executive director. “Both these events have been passing music and heritage from standard-bearers to younger generations for decades, preserving the special folkways and artistry that are so important to the fabric of our lives and culture.”

Since 1977, Fiddle Tunes has featured tradition-bearers representing geographically specific musical styles like Kentucky bluegrass, Cape Breton music, Texas swing, and other regional folk traditions.

Over the first week in July, faculty and participants take part in more than 100 workshops, 15-20 band labs, and multiple public performances.

One month later, the Acoustic Blues festival, launched in 1984,  goes deep into the music and traditions of Black American folk blues, its roots, forerunners, and their stories.

One of only two acoustic blues festivals in America, it features 22 musician faculty teaching 60 classes, five student ensembles, four faculty showcases, one public concert with an audience of 1800 people, and two evenings of club shows in small venues at Fort Worden.

NEA will award 1,135 Grants for Arts Projects totaling more than $37 million as part of its second round of fiscal year 2024 grants.

Evaluating port infrastructure   

The U.S. Coast Guard convened a Ports and Waterways Safety Board of Inquiry on May 15 to evaluate the risks to critical port infrastructure posed by larger commercial vessels and increased traffic density.  

The Board is composed of senior Coast Guard officers and experts who will work closely with federal, state, local agencies and port stakeholders to conduct a comprehensive assessment of critical port infrastructure.

They plan to examine and then recommend risk mitigation strategies and best practices to ensure navigational safety, given the more complex vessels and evolving maritime traffic patterns on port infrastructure, which includes bridges, cargo terminals, pipelines, railways and power plants.

A Ports and Waterways Safety Board of Inquiry is the highest-level assessment conducted by the Coast Guard.

It follows concerns from maritime incidents, including the collapse of Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, when it was struck on March 26 by a large container ship.

The board will work with federal, state and local stakeholders, including the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to develop and implement effective risk assessment tools and procedures.

They will also evaluate the effectiveness of the Coast Guard’s existing risk assessment tools.

The board will identify 10 domestic ports or port complexes to be examined within 30 days.

A comprehensive final report will be released by May 31, 2025.

Wooden Boat poster released

The poster for the annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival has been released to the public.

This year’s poster was designed by artist Hannah Spencer. Each year, artists submit their work, with the winner earning an $1,800 commission.

About 30,000 people from expected to come to Port Townsend for the festival, which falls on Sept. 6-8.