Kitsap Sun
Iran suspends talks over attacks on Lebanon
Iran halted indirect talks with the United States over Israel’s intensifying attacks on Lebanon, according to Iranian media reports, signaling a possible breakdown in diplomatic efforts to end the 3-month-old war. The Iranian semi-official Tasnim news...
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‘It’s about being a safe, happy, positive spot’
POULSBO – A pandemic side hustle that once dropped off plants on doorsteps has taken root as a full-fledged shop with its own downtown storefront. Send Nodes Plant Shop opened in the historic Poulsbohemian building downtown earlier this spring,...
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‘COMMUNITY ASSET’
The marquee, seats, HVAC and sound systems have been restored at the Roxy. Now, how about the lemon custard ice cream? Roxy Bremerton Executive Director Michael Goodnow can’t promise just yet that the signature flavor from the theater illustrious...
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Potential Iran deal puts Trump in a bind
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump finds himself in a bind as he seeks to end the war against Iran: He is under pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and get U.S. gasoline prices down but at the same time faces a potential backlash from Iran hawks...
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Death toll likely to rise from explosion at plant
The death toll was expected to rise in a Washington town after a chemical tank exploded at an industrial plant. The tank at Nippon Dynawave Packaging in Longview, Washington, ruptured May 26 in what Gov. Bob Ferguson said was likely the deadliest...
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Fatal explosion leaves 9 missing in Longview chemical accident
LONGVIEW — One person was killed and several others are injured or missing after a chemical explosion at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Company facility in southwest Washington. On the morning of May 26, authorities responded to a “major chemical...
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U.S. military strikes boats, missile sites
The U.S. military on May 26 launched new strikes on Iran, threatening to shatter a 7-week ceasefire and derailing negotiations in Qatar just days after President Donald Trump said an agreement was almost completed. U.S. Central Command said it carried...
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Pressure mounts as peace talks resume
President Donald Trump on May 25 faced mounting pressure to finalize a peace deal with Iran after lowering expectations that a deal was near. Nearly three months since the start of the war, Trump is bound by expectations to reopen the Strait of...
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A DAY TO REMEMBER
Miller-Woodlawn Funeral Home & Memorial Park grounds specialist Buck Bowyer unfurls an American flag as he places them along the roads through the cemetery in observation of Memorial Day. Ceremonies will be held at 11 a.m. at Forest Lawn Memorial Park...
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‘I’m very, very happy’
BANGOR — Blue, green, yellow, red and white. Many small flags of the five colors are now hung on four strings tied at the top of a Buddhist stupa and spread to the ground to surround and decorate a Peace Pagoda just outside a Naval Base in Kitsap....
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Cal. mosque shooters adopted racist ideology
SAN DIEGO – Materials left behind by the two teenagers who attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego on May 18, killing three men before taking their own lives, revealed widespread hatred and anger at society at large, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the...
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Bremerton’s FIFA Fan Zone gets latest nod
BREMERTON -- A new statue was unveiled in Quincy Square Wednesday afternoon, a unique gift for display as the start of a rollout of spectacles for the fast approaching FIFA World Cup. Known as a “SEA Beacon” statue created for the international soccer...
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Iran threatens war ‘beyond the region’
DUBAI – Iran threatened on May 20 to spread war beyond the Middle East if the United States attacks again, after President Donald Trump said he had come within an hour of restarting the military campaign. Six weeks since Trump paused Operation Epic...
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All smiles on the farm
Five-year-old Benedict Di Lallo and Winston the cow peer at each other over the stall gate during F.A.R.M. Days at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds on May 18. The two day event of fun for children with special needs features horse rides, snow cones,...
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Judge tosses evidence in Luigi Mangione case
A New York judge has partially granted a request to toss crucial evidence obtained after law enforcement located Luigi Mangione in the wake of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione, 28, was found at a McDonald’s in Altoona,...
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‘There’s a longing for something deeper’
At newlife church’s South Kitsap Campus in Port Orchard, attendance has climbed 58% since 2019 — and Pastor Ryan Brewer says the energy in the building reflects it. h “There’s a lot of buzz and vibe here,” said Brewer, the campus lead pastor. “The...
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Trump leaves Beijing with few victories
BEIJING – President Donald Trump left China on May 15 with no major breakthroughs on trade or tangible help from Beijing to end the Iran war, despite two days spent heaping praise on his host, Xi Jinping. Trump’s visit to America’s main strategic and...
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‘We’re stronger when we work together’
About midway between Sixth and 11th Streets on Callow Avenue, in Bremerton’s Charleston neighborhood, sits A. Carpenter Shop, Kitsap County’s only store that refurbishes old furniture. Just down the block is Typewriter Fever, which breaths new life...
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Washington Supreme Court sees 5 contested races in 2026 election
State Supreme Court races often pass by without much attention as incumbent justices sail to reelection. It’ll be different this year, as retirements promise to shake up the high court. Five seats are on the ballot. And the fate of the...
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Illness on cruise ship renews concern
One viral outbreak on a cruise ship was already commanding worldwide attention last week when health officials reported another on a separate vessel. Oceanwide Expeditions’ MV Hondius was grappling with hantavirus cases that resulted in three deaths...
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‘Decisions are made for the future of the fleet’
SOUTHWORTH — Washington State Ferries is working closely with partners in the Legislature during the pre-construction process of its Southworth Terminal Preservation Project, with the initial construction now scheduled for 2027. On Friday, May 8, U.S....
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Infighting slows Trump’s agenda in GOP Congress
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said he’s doing the impossible on Capitol Hill. Over the last few weeks, Johnson has been hard at work negotiating with House Republicans and Senate counterparts to enact President Donald Trump’s...
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TURNING IN THE BREEZE
A caspian tern swoops down over the water while fishing off of the Port Orchard shoreline on a sunny afternoon last week.
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Mother’s Day deals, specials announced
We don’t want to scrimp on celebrating Mom, but we would be remiss if we missed out on a bargain. Besides, celebrating the holiday, which is on May 10, is expected to cost more this year, so getting a deal can lessen the impact on your budget. Despite...
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Charting his own path
It’s been nearly 1,000 years since King Henry IV stood barefoot in the Italian snow to beg forgiveness after clashes with Pope Gregory VII, and over two centuries since Napoleon imprisoned Pope Pius VII in France. Now, a battle is underway between a...
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Port of Bremerton to replace breakwater
PORT ORCHARD — The Port of Bremerton is ready to bid for construction on a project to replace the aging breakwater at the Port Orchard Marina, a step closer for an issue the port has been discussing and preparing for years. The port, which owns and...
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A BRUSH WITH BAY STREET
Local artist Adam Smith, owner of Blue Creations Art, works on his mural along the Bay Street Pedestrian Pathway near the playground in downtown Port Orchard on May 4. The mural, depicting views from the Port Orchard shoreline, is halfway finished...
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A MAY MOMENT
Bremerton Parks Department’s Scotty Ferido waters pots of petunias in one of the city greenhouses in Stephenson Canyon Park in Bremerton on May 4. Crews will begin hanging the baskets and planting the potted flowers in downtown Bremerton and the...
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‘The reason why we’re working’
PORT GAMBLE — A new diner in Port Gamble delivers more than its catchy name promises — Whiskey & Waffles is serving enough small-town charm to go around the whole community. Attached to the General Store, Whiskey & Waffles opened a couple weeks ago as...
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KEEPING CALM
Bremerton residents Mark Bradford, left, and his father Roger fish from a small boat on a calm Kitsap Lake on May 1. A no-contact order issued on April 6 due to a bloom of cyanobacteria, or blue green algae, was lifted earlier in the week by the Kitsap...
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BFD’s new boat is ready to respond from marina
Bremerton Fire Department’s new boat has arrived at the city’s downtown marina, and will be ready to respond to emergency calls soon. Currently under training for personnel that will captain the Marine 20, Assistant Chief John Payne said the new...
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Expansive menu, view at new area restaurant
With vibrant decor that promises guests an entertaining setting for their meal, the lively atmosphere of downtown Bremerton’s newest restaurant truly comes from the people behind it. Char Kitchen, located in the new Marina Square development on...
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Recall effort against Ferguson ends
Campaign finance activist Conner Edwards’ quixotic quest to recall Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson from office was intended to prod the governor into filling two vacant seats on the state’s Public Disclosure Commission. It worked. Late Friday, Ferguson...
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KIDS’ CATCH
Five-year-old Silas Ellison, of Port Orchard, grins while carrying his freshly caught trout over to show his sister during the Kitsap Poggie Club’s 76th Annual Kids Fishing Party at the Jarstad Park hatchery in Gorst. The popular annual event, which...
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Blanche: Trump ‘likely’ targeted in shooting
WASHINGTON – Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on April 26 said the gunman who opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner appears to have targeted President Donald Trump and officials in his administration. “It does appear...
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FRESH PRODUCE
Over a period of two years following the COVID pandemic, record levels of federal dollars poured into Kitsap County’s Farm-to-Food Pantry program. The Kitsap Conservation District, managers of the program, went from spending $3,100 on farmers’ crops...
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Lebanon ceasefire extended by 3 weeks
Israel and Lebanon extended their ceasefire by three weeks, President Donald Trump announced, though reports of salvos continued between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon. Also continuing was Trump’s blockade against commercial shipping to...
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Land donation by longtime Kitsap family protects estuary
A family with deep ties in Kitsap County has donated 14 acres of pristine property in Seabeck in honor of its deceased family member, helping create a new wildlife preserve along an estuary on Hood Canal. The Drury family of Bainbridge Island donated...
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‘I think it was the smile’
He’s known on Bainbridge Island because of his beer, and maybe also his beard. Now the second of the two has been recognized by more than just Chuck Everett’s friends at the taproom. Everett co-founded Bainbridge Brewing with his son, Russell, in...
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War negotiations on shaky ground
Iran is considering attending peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on April 20, following moves by Islamabad to end a U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports, a major hurdle for Iran to rejoin peace efforts....
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New WA law could block candidate for Sheriff
A new state law outlining stricter qualifications for elected sheriffs could block one candidate for Kitsap County Sheriff from filing in the 2026 election, and he has filed a lawsuit in response. Scheduled to take effect by the end of the month, SB...
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Strait of Hormuz opened amid two-week ceasefire
Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” to all commercial vessels, the country’s foreign minister said, meeting a central demand of the United States as the two countries teased another round of peace talks and the clock wound down on a...
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Snow drought presents climate stress test
Across much of the Western United States, winter 2026 was the year the snow never came. Many ski resorts got by with snowmaking but shut down their winter operations early. Fire officials and water supply managers are worried about summer. Where I...
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Bremerton Port settles lawsuit with local family
The Port of Bremerton will pay $350,000 to the family who was attacked on a dock in the Bremerton Marina in September 2024, when a twoyear-old girl was pulled under the water by a river otter before her mother fought the animal off. A release approved...
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BLUE BIRD AFTERNOON
A great blue heron perches at the top of a maple tree that is part of the rookery overlooking the Bethel and Bay Street intersection in Port Orchard on April 8.
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Bremerton’s newest bar has roots in Bainbridge
The butcher paper was taken down from the windows on a bright and sunny Wednesday, and a neighborhood eager to see what would fill the storefront vacated by a beloved restaurant noticed. Armathia Bolles opened the door as a woman was walking past, who...
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Court battle ignites over Washington’s new income tax
Opponents of Washington’s new income tax on high earners filed a lawsuit Thursday, arguing the controversial law is unconstitutional and in conflict with nearly a century of state Supreme Court precedent. This marks the start of a much-anticipated...
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Iran sets conditions for further talks with U.S.
Iran vowed on April 10 not to participate in negotiations unless a ceasefire takes hold in Lebanon and Iran’s assets are unfrozen, throwing doubt over highstakes peace talks set to begin the following day in Pakistan. Iran’s parliamentary speaker,...
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Bremerton’s aging KRL branch could be rebuilt
BREMERTON – Kitsap Regional Library is planning to demolish its aging Sylvan Way branch building. What could come next, and when, is still undecided, but the library is exploring options that include a collaboration with the YMCA that could add a new...
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$35M hub in the works
BREMERTON — Olympic College will begin transforming a fairly ordinary piece of property on the west side of campus, mainly grass and an asphalt parking lot, into its new hub for computer science-related programming later this year. Plans for OC’s...
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Artemis II photos show views before lunar flyby
More breathtaking images released over the weekend from NASA’s Artemis II mission showed both the moon and Earth in all their cosmic glory as four astronauts headed toward our celestial neighbor. The three Americans and one Canadian have captured some...
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Parents demonstrate for kids losing rehab access
SILVERDALE — An estimated 250 pairs of children’s shoes lined the street outside St. Michael Medical Center Thursday, April 2, a silent display of frustration from parents worried about the pending closure of a pediatric clinic. About 30 people stood...
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Nimitz history intertwined with the advent of a democracy in Asia
Thirty years ago, the USS Nimitz crew was ordered to the waters off the Taiwan Strait. Tom Hoffman of Bremerton, a veteran who served on the Nimitz aircraft carrier from 1993 to 1996 and in the Navy for 21 years, still remembered the rush after the...
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1 rescued after U.S. jet downed over Iran
A search and rescue operation was underway April 3 for the crew of a U.S. fighter jet that was downed over Iran, multiple news outlets reported. One crew member was rescued, Israeli media said, citing Israeli officials. Iranian officials called on...
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SNAP-Ed saved money, helped Americans eat healthier
If the government had found a way to save $10 for every dollar it spent helping low-income people get healthier, wouldn’t it make sense for it to keep doing that? Well, that’s exactly what the U.S. government did when it piloted the SNAPEd program in...
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Trump says Iran asked for ceasefire
President Donald Trump, ahead of his scheduled prime time address to the nation, signaled the United States may soon end its part in the Iran war but sent conflicting messages on his strategy. In a social media post on April 1, Trump said Iran’s “new...
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‘A power in names’
Gary Satoshi Sakuma, who now lives in Poulsbo, was born in 1944 in an incarceration camp in Minidoka. His older brother was born in 1943 in Manzanar. Their grandfather, two uncles, father, and mother were all removed from Bainbridge Island under...
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Iran being threatened with targeted strikes
President Donald Trump on March 30 said the United States was engaged in “serious discussions” with Iranian officials on a deal to end the war – but threatened to launch strikes on the country’s power, oil and water facilities if negotiations...
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Local ‘No Kings’ protest joins national movement
The movement born in 2025 to oppose Trump Administration policies doesn’t appear to have subsided in a second year, as the third edition of “No Kings” rallies again brought thousands of Kitsap County residents to the streets on Saturday, March 28. In...
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SPRING SWING
JB Ortiz returns a shot to Caden Mosier as the friends play a game of badminton in Bremerton’s Evergreen Rotary Park on March 25.
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Trump delays strikes on Iran power plants
The Pentagon is weighing sending an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East as the war with Iran rages, multiple news outlets reported. It remained unclear when a decision will be made on whether to send the additional combat soldiers, according...
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‘Trump slump’ hit U.S. tourism in 2025
With an upcoming FIFA World Cup being staged across the nation, 2026 was supposed to be a bumper year for tourism to the United States, driven in part by hordes of arriving soccer fans. And yet, the U.S. tourism industry is worried. While the rest of...
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Boutique part of local owner’s growth plan
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND -- Dolly Mama greeted visitors to a new home on Winslow Way the second week of March, marking the boutique’s third location since Michelle Kammer founded the shop in Gig Harbor 12 years ago. Formerly the home of longstanding...
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Trump postpones strikes on Iran
President Donald Trump on March 23 said the United States has engaged in “very strong talks” with Iran and reached “major points of agreement” that could end the war – claims Iranian officials quickly denied. Trump said U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and...
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Kitsap club player earns a rare national cribbage title
SILVERDALE — “That’s $1.10,” Lance Denham admitted as he finished counting small holes on the cribbage board on a table at Moments Brewing, smiling at friend Steve Everhart across the table. It was a steep loss in this paring, a game between friends...
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‘HEARTBREAKING’
Shalyn Green-Gaden was devastated when she learned a clinic that provides physical therapy to her 8-year-old daughter, Peyton, planned to close in April. Peyton, who has been diagnosed with autism and down syndrome that her mother said will require...
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Troops deployed to Middle East region
Despite President Donald Trump’s promises of the war with Iran ending soon and broad domestic disapproval of further involvement, the United States is sending more troops to the region, a defense official said. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit,...
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Olympic College announces its next president
Olympic College announced it has tabbed a candidate to become the school’s next president. The Olympic College Board of Trustees on March 17 voted to extend a public offer to Dr. Chantae Recasner to serve as the 16th president of Olympic College, the...
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