As Jefferson County leads the state of Washington in the rush to get vaccinated against COVID-19, it is clear that there is a widespread urge to get back to the kind of normal where we can all once again mingle freely, perhaps imbibe some brew, and maybe even talk about old times. In honor of that sentiment, this week on the Compass we bring back a show first aired on April 15, 2013, about a gathering organized at that time to reminisce about Port Townsend’s legendary Town Tavern of the 1970s.

The Ground Zero Center for Non-Violent Action borders the Navy’s Trident submarine base at Bangor. In August of 2019, KPTZ attended the Buddhist ground purification ceremony for a soon-to-be-built Peace Pagoda at the Center. And it was there that we encountered two of the many extraordinary individuals in attendance.

• Jim Douglas, former Theology professor, who along with his wife, Shelley, was part of a group of non-violent activists in the Northwest that formed the Pacific Life Community in 1975. Later, he and Shelley became co-founders of the Ground Zero Center in Poulsbo.
• Gilberto Perez grew up in the streets of Spanish Harlem. His personal journey took him along open paths of discovery across this country as our nation rocked from the turbulent but enlightening times of the ‘60’s and ‘70s. Eventually Gilberto became a Monk of the Nipponzan Myohoji Dojo on Bainbridge Island.

These are their stories…

We give you yet another 100 percent virus-free program, as we talk with a local philosopher – yes, there ARE such animals – and explore a multi-media program he presented at the Jefferson County Library in Port Hadlock. It was called “Seriously Funny: Humor, Film and Philosophy.” This is a reprise of a previously aired program, but good philosophy is a fruit that never goes bad.

On the tenth anniversary of the commencement of the world’s worst nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, Japan, this week we talk with Arnie and Maggie Gundersen, perhaps the world’s pre-eminent experts on nuclear safety, about a disaster that continues to unfold and for which an end is not yet in sight.

In a narrow 5-4 ruling, the Washington State Supreme Court recently declared the state’s felony drug possession law unconstitutional because it did not require proof that the accused knowingly or intentionally possessed the drugs. This week on the Compass, we talk with Jefferson County Prosecutor James Kennedy and then with Public Defender Richard Davies about the effects of the ruling, and for their opinions on how replacement legislation should differ from the rejected law, or if there should even be a replacement.

Everyone needs a safe, decent, stable place to live. For some of the most vulnerable people in America — for the homeless — living on the street is not so much a choice as much as it is part of a crisis. This week on the Compass, we bring you a special program called Homeless Voices. Voices from the shelter, a Voice from a wooden tent, a Voice from the woods.  These are the voices of your neighbors…

We’re wondering if you’re just as sick and tired of hearing depressing news as we are. If so, we give you a 100 percent virus-free program today, as we focus on happy science in three short, reprised interviews with the experts. First, we learn about the surprising powers of your heart to bring you peace, love, truth and joy. Then we talk with a neuroscientist about how music can have almost magical healing effects on the brain. And we finish with a geologist who finds clues to the past by looking at stone buildings in Seattle and Port Townsend.

In mid-November of last year, our district’s Democratic U.S. Congressman Derek Kilmer was given the inaugural Convergence Award for Extraordinary Leadership in Bridge-Building for heading up multiple bipartisan initiatives during a time of historically deep divisions between the parties. This week on the Compass we talk with Representative Kilmer about working in Washington in the toxic atmosphere surrounding the January 6 insurrection and the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump, along with other issues from the climate change crisis to the new pandemic stimulus bill.

In early August of 2019, KPTZ reporter Chris Bricker had the opportunity to speak with author and activist Mary Wynn Ashford M.D., who has been a leader in the international peace and disarmament movement for several decades. The conversation has significance for our community now, because of ongoing efforts of local activist and anti-nuclear advocate, Doug Milholland in a proclamation announced recently by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, as had the Port Townsend City Council and the Jefferson County Board of Health done before them, in support of the the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The Treaty was adopted on July 7, 2017, opened for signature on September 20, 2017, and entered into force on January 22, 2021. It has now been signed by 50 nations. The Board’s Proclamation encourages the United States to participate. January 22, 2021 was declared by the Board of Commissioners a day of celebration and support of this historic milestone. KPTZ is pleased to reprise our timely conversation with Mary Wynn Ashford.

This week on the Compass we once again talk with Jefferson County Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke as he tries to recruit volunteers to help with a mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19 – when and if the plentiful supply of vaccine required for such a campaign becomes available. We also talk with him about a proposal to completely overhaul Washington’s public health system now before the state legislature that, if passed, would relegate county health officers like him to the dustbin of history.