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Community Tides ~ 6/03/25

Amanda Milholland is Executive Director of Jefferson County Farmers Markets. They’ve been selected to lead the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. It’s a nutrition assistance program that gives seniors with low incomes the buying power to purchase fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. We broaden our conversation to discuss food access and food security, focusing especially on seniors, with Patricia Hennessy, Executive Director of Jefferson County Food Bank Association, and Matt Sircely, Data Systems and Music Coordinator for the Farmer’s Market, about those impending government cuts and what plans are afoot to address them.

Booklovers’ Cafe – Barbara Sjoholm, Reindeer of Chinese Gardens

(Airdate: June 3, 2025) Barbara Sjoholm visits Booklovers’ Cafe to talk about her latest novel The Reindeer of Chinese Gardens. This is indeed an intriguing novel that brings to life the history of Port Townsend from 1897 to 1907. We meet a trio of immigrants from Norway, China, and Lapland, all women and all strong and unique. This is a story of friendship intertwined with the themes of class, gender, and racial prejudice. This is a fresh and riveting history of our town, with very specific details of everyday life in Port Townsend as well as vivid images of the Klondike Goldrush and Sami camps.

Silk – 73

(Airdate: June 3, 2025) We’re in Gansu Province, and we’ve just left the town of Jiayuguan and past the fort on the Jiayuguan Path. The fort is where merchants stopped in ancient times to pay tolls, and travelers stopped to have their papers checked. Then they headed into the desert. Many wrote poems on the walls of the fort before heading into the unknown. Visitors still write poems, although the subject matter isn’t quite so ominous and heartrending as it once was….

County Public Health Report ~ 6/02/25

Dr. Allison Berry is on maternity leave, so Director of Emergency Management Willie Bence gives a report on this year’s fire season (raised to MODERATE fire danger as of June 1), public safety, and evacuation protocols. The BOCC issues two public declarations at the start: One: for Public Transit Month, and Two: for PRIDE Month. The All-County Emergency Preparation Event is on June 28 at Finnriver in Chimacum (formerly it was held at the All-County Picnic). Anyone with a cellphone can sign up for NIXLE alerts by texting JEFFCODEM to 888777.

Point Wilson Lighthouse

KPTZ’s Taylor Clark heads on down to Point Wilson to talk with David Ehnebuske of the US Lighthouse Society and Mel Carter, caretaker at Pointt Wilson for a tour and to hear more about the upcoming Lighthouse Celebration on Saturday June 7.

County Connections

(Airdate: May 30, 2025) Co-hosts Jim Burke and Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour talk with Chris Macklin, Assistant Manager of Parks and Recreation, and Sam Miller, Recreation Supervisor for Jefferson County about athletic and recreational programs with Parks and Recreation this summer and fall mostly for children but also adults.

Brewocracy Now ~ 5/29/25

KPTZ’s Taylor Clark and Port Townsend City Manager John Mauro welcomed the Port Townsend Main Street Program to BrewNow: we where joined by outgoing Executive Director Mari Mullen who reflected on her 26 years running the program, and we also celebrated the new Executive Director Natalie Maitland.

#266 Jose Borrayo, The Greenest Thumb in PT

(Airdate: May 27, 2025) Maryanne interviews Jose Borrayo, the owner of the PT Garden Center. Jose’s a classic entrepreneur. He started out as the maintenance guy at the Garden Center and after years of hard work and study he ended up owning the place. He’s been through some challenging times. During the pandemic his main supplier of plant starts and herbs went out of business. So he ended up buying land and erecting a large greenhouse. Now he grows his own. That results in better prices both for him and for his customers. He’s also expanding into landscaping, partnering with his brother. Jose’s insatiable curiosity has led him to read and absorb every label. When it comes to gardens he’s now a finely tuned expert.

Silk – 72

(Airdate: May 27, 2025) We’ve been staying at the Jiayuguan Guest House, one of the most expensive places we’ve stayed at so far. We figured the Chinese Ministry of Tourism inspector in charge must have been bribed to award them two stars! We’ve been visiting all the surrounding convenient sites, but the one site we decided to forego was the July 1st Glacier, located over 100 kilometers away in the Qilian Mountains….

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