Our Town

(Airdate: May 31, 2022) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews John Clise, a man who embraced and enjoyed several different careers over his first 90 years of life. John grew up in Seattle, served as a translator in the Korean war and finished his undergraduate degree at Stanford. After returning to the Pacific Northwest, he spent some years in his family’s business. He was working out of an office at the Pike Place Market, which at that time was under threat of developers turning it into offices and condos. John was part of the group that successfully “saved” Pike Place by getting its historic designation. He went on to become Executive Director of Pike Place for nearly a decade. Looking for a new adventure, John decided that Port Townsend would be his next home base. He soon realized that he had to find a career on the Olympic Peninsula. He found out that the venerable Aldrich’s Market was teetering on the brink of insolvency. So he bought it and owned and operated Aldrich’s for years. During that time he also turned to local politics — serving on Port Townsend City Council and becoming Mayor in an era before the town had a City Manager. The job was much different than it is today. At some point John thought he might retire. He sold the store and completed his mayoral duties. But he’s not exactly one to sit back and take in the view. He was soon mentoring small businesses and became a versatile actor with Key City Players, playing everything from kings to monsters. He also volunteered and became a key part of the team at KPTZ-FM. What’s next?

(Airdate: May 17, 2022) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Monica MickHager, a  first-term Port Townsend City Council member. Monica has been involved in city politics for years, serving over a decade on the Planning Commission, many years on Parks & Recreation and School District committees plus 19 years with the PT Film Festival. But running for elected office was a big step. She took office in January 2020, just before the pandemic shut everything down. Monica had campaigned aggressively on getting the town’s debt load under control and repairing our pothole-riddled streets. But with the city under strict emergency orders, there was little chance for major change. Still, Monica’s stint as a council member has been eye-opening. She understands more fully why it takes so very long for the city to change policies. That doesn’t mean she has given up on her goals. In addition to focusing on debt reduction and streets, she is also working on affordable housing, renters’ rights, and parking management. And then there’s the ever-growing deer herd in Port Townsend. Monica has meticulously studied every issue and is ready to suggest what she sees as better solutions. Not everyone agrees, of course.

(Airdate: April 19, 2022) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Erin Reading, co-founder of the Port Townsend Psychedelic Society. She grew up in Washington state and has always been transfixed by our mountains. At the University of Washington she studied both philosophy & geology. It made sense to her – combining the theoretical and applied. She was on her way to a PhD when she had her first experience with psychedelics. It changed her life. Erin somehow fell in love with Chimacum and moved here. She found a community of like-minded people. She soon was the co-founder of the Port Townsend Psychedelic Society, which currently has over 600 subscribers to its newsletter. The group is working to decriminalize natural psychedelics such as mushrooms or peyote. The group ’s focus is on legalizing plants, not synthetic chemical compounds. It’s a nation-wide movement that has seen places such as Oakland CA, Ann Arbor MI, Washington DC and dozens of others move toward decriminalization. The Port Townsend City Council recently passed a resolution directing police and prosecutors to make psychedelics their lowest priority. According to Erin, that amounts to “de-facto decriminalization.”

(Airdate: March 22, 2022) Becky Steffens, Physical Therapist. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Becky Steffens, a Physical Therapist with Jefferson Healthcare. Becky grew up in rural Iowa in an agricultural town of about 100 people. But this farm girl wanted to get off the farm and travel. She was fascinated by the medical world. But after working part-time as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) as a student, she realized nursing wasn’t for her. But there are other opportunities in the medical field – if you are willing to work hard to get there. You might not realize it, but physical therapy certification requires a doctorate these days. But Becky didn’t let that – and a mountain of student debt – hold her back. After graduation she first became a “traveling physical therapist” zigzagging across the country on assignments. That helped her see the country. Traveling physical therapists also make more money than full-time staff people. She really wanted out from under that debt load. Port Townsend was one of her stops but it really caught her attention. Now she has joined Jefferson Healthcare full time. Her start date at Jefferson Healthcare was supposedly March 2020. She had already moved here when the job was put on hold due to the pandemic. Single and new in town, she threw herself into working for the Food Bank. When the worst of the crisis eased she started with Jefferson Healthcare. She loves working one-on-one with patients on their road back to mobility and health.

(Airdate: March 8, 2020) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Artis the Spoonman, a talented and eccentric musician. After dropping out of school in the 10th grade, Artis spent a few years in the Navy. He says his two goals from childhood were being a musician and seeing the world. He figures he’s accomplished that. Artis has played with the likes of Frank Zappa and showcased his spoon-playing skills on the David Letterman show (among many TV appearances). Over the years he’s played gigs all over the world. He’s as comfortable busking on the street as he is playing with the Seattle philharmonic in a white silk tuxedo. Artis is proud of his “heritage in the hippie world” thanks to his free-spirited Mother. A Northwest native, Artis was a fixture at the Pike Place Market in Seattle for many years. But he ended up here in Port Townsend a few years ago. He loves it here but he’s worried about gentrification. After all, he’s not all that gentrified.

(Airdate: February 8, 2022) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Dr. Linda Rosenbury, PT’s new Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Rosenbury came to teaching from an art history background.  She soon found herself as a teacher and later a principal at some of the nation’s toughest schools in areas such as the Bronx and Brooklyn. At one point, her school had the distinction of being in the highest crime rate district in the nation. A full 100% of the kids in that school fell below the poverty line, thus qualifying for free or reduced-cost meals. Dr. Rosenbury soon realized that most schools faced common issues including a disciplinary system that simply removed kids on suspension and didn’t address the underlying problems. After earning a Doctorate at Harvard, she came to Port Townsend. Despite COVID-19 she has moved ahead with an ambitious agenda. For example, a rethinking of the disciplinary system means there’s now on-campus suspension where kids on both sides meet with counselors. There’s a new data management system. There are also efforts to make school a safer place for students of color. She’s a woman with drive & ambition and part of her mission is improving the PT school district.

(Airdate: January 25, 2022) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews David Faber, Port Townsend’s new mayor. David is partner in the uptown law firm Faber & Feinson. His family moved to Port Townsend when he was eight years old so he has first-hand knowledge of the PT school system as well as most local issues. David was a council member and Deputy Mayor before assuming the largely ceremonial post as Mayor. PT also has a City Manager, John Mauro, as well as a mayor and a seven-person city council. The council hires the city manager and approves his major decisions. David says that affordable housing is one key issue facing our community. He has also been listening to citizen concerns about the state of our roads, which have had little maintenance for years. But adequate repair of our streets is an expensive proposition. Major arteries such as Water Street or Discovery Road are candidates for either federal or state grants. But neighborhood streets are not eligible for that sort of funding. Where are we going to get the money to fix our streets? It’s not a simple matter.

(Airdate: January 11, 2022) COLIN FODEN: MAKING RADIO DREAMS REALITY. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Colin Foden, KPTZ co-founder and long-time President & Chairman. Colin joined IBM as a young man. Those tech skills turned out to be easily transferable when he left Northern England and headed for New Zealand. Next it was on to California where he worked for financial giant Pacific Life. He hadn’t been on a college track back in England. But Pacific Life financed his MBA at Pepperdine University. The plot digressed when he and his partner had a baby girl. Soon they were in the proverbial VW van headed up to the Pacific Northwest. He had friends in Port Townsend and soon was part of the community here, serving as the key financial guy at Centrum for several years. But before long he was the single parent of two toddlers. That role clashed with full-time employment so he left Centrum to become a consultant. A chance meeting with a friend at Swains (an institution which folded a few years back) resulted in him joining a small band of idealists devoted to starting a community radio station. The rest is history, as they say. They started the ball rolling in 2007 and by 2011 our own community radio station – KPTZ, 91.9 FM – was up and running. Colin was at the helm as President & Chairman of the Board during KPTZ’s first decade. It hasn’t always been easy.