(Airdate: December 27, 2021) This week on Attention Please! host Steve Evans sits by the gas stove in their boathouse and talks with Nordland General Store owners Tom and Sue Rose about building back from the fire that destroyed the iconic business a little more than a year ago and, most importantly, about plans (or the lack thereof) for the traditional Polar Plunge that happens each New Year’s day off of their Mystery Bay dock opposite the store.
In this year-end edition of Through Science to Health, Dr. Joseph Mattern, Chief Medical Officer for Jefferson Health Care, joins KPTZ Host Chris Bricker for an informed discussion that helps us navigate the information overload surrounding COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. He emphasizes the Common Good when it comes to being mindful over the holidays, and gives us some optimistic encouragement as we roll responsibly through the next few months.
On today’s Brewocracy Now, hosts John Mauro and KPTZ’s Tim Quackenbush welcomed Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval. Mayor Sandoval reflected on her 20 years of service to the community and answered wide-ranging questions, including the effect of social media on local politics, the reasons she decided to serve for two decades both as a Council Member and Mayor, and her hopes and vision for the future of Port Townsend.
(Airdate: December 22, 2021) ‘Tis the holiday season, a time when buying and wrapping gifts are a big part of our holiday traditions. Your Coastal Café host MaryAnn Wagner brings listeners something a little different with ideas on how we can be more ocean friendly during the holiday season. Sarah Kollar with the international non-profit organization Ocean Conservancy provides tips and ideas for upcycling materials to create ocean-friendly holiday décor and wrapped gift and tells us why it matters for ocean health.
(Reprise airdate: December 22, 2021) Our show this week is from deep in our archives, first aired in October 2016, but the information is still as interesting and relevant today as it was five years ago! Host Debaran Kelso is joined by guest Dr. Fred Sharpe, speaking by phone from Alaska about the use of drones as a sampling tool to study humpback whale populations.
(Airdate: December 20, 2021) Attention, Please! for the week of the Winter Solstice and Christmas presents the good work being done by Center Valley Animal Rescue, as produced by KPTZ’s Chris Bricker for Community Tides. Closing the show is a story by Jean Ritchie, “The Christmas Tree” and John McCutcheon’s Christmas in the Tenches, his song about the Christmas truce during World War 1.
The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The summary below was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.
As the rest of the county experiences surges in COVID-19 cases primarily due to the Delta and Omicron variants, Jefferson County remains steady with a case rate of 180/100. Three people are hospitalized and no new deaths have been reported. County Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry told the Commissioners this morning that the Omicron variant is “incredibly transmissible and that it is starting to overtake Delta in some parts of the country.” Dr. Berry said that she anticipates seeing this happen in January in Washington. There are cases reported in King and Clallam Counties, and she believes that it may be circulating in Jefferson, but the genetic sequencing that will tell her that has not been completed to confirm her suspicions. She also noted that prior COVID-19 infection alone is not enough to protect from Omicron. “We are definitely seeing increased reinfection and, unfortunately, increased breakthrough infection as well,” Dr. Berry said. “The good news is that even if you don’t get a booster, the vaccines are showing very strong protection against hospitalization and deaths from Omicron. And the boosters are showing very strong protection against symptomatic disease. So if you get a booster for for COVID-19, it really should protect you quite well against Omicron. We’re seeing about 70-80% protection against any disease at all if you get your booster. “We’re seeing that the majority of infections right now are among the unvaccinated. And that’s concerning because there was some initial thought that the Omicron variant would be less severe based on some early data coming out of South Africa. “If you haven’t been vaccinated, Omicron is showing the ability to be just as severe as prior variants,” she reported. “But if you are vaccinated, you are much, much less likely to get severe disease, much less likely to get hospitalized.” Dr. Berry strongly recommends being vaccinated and boosted for the best protection during the holidays. Her next report to the Commissioners will be on Monday, January 3. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following Monday’s BOCC meeting.
