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#203 Richard Davies, Public Defender

(Airdate: June 28, 2020) Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Richard Davies, senior public defender for Jefferson County. Richard and his team represent anyone in Jefferson County who needs state-funded legal representation after being arrested. He estimates that’s about 90% of all legal cases here. We actually have witnessed a drop in the crime rate here. Changing drug laws have helped reduce the overall number of felony charges. The pandemic also helped reduce crime numbers. Fewer people have been out and about and the police have been reluctant to pull over cars for things like broken tail lights. Still, Richard believes our legal system needs a thorough overhaul. Society is in the midst of change. For example, attitudes toward addiction have shifted. We now have a Drug Court which aims to “give people a hand up rather than a boot in the back.”

County Public Health Report ~ 6/27/22

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 of Emergency Management, gave a report. The summary below was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

We are adding 18 new cases this week. The two-week case rate is 979 cases per 100,000 people. This week’s new cases are the total number of cases reported to us as of Friday, June 24, 2022. Future reports will have a full week’s total of new cases. Our current two-week case rate is within the high transmission risk range. At this level, it’s strongly recommended that everyone wear a well-fitting, high-quality mask while in public, indoor places.

Jefferson County Public Health is streamlining its COVID-19 case data reporting as it transitions from an emergency response to a more sustainable and long-term approach to monitoring the virus. The first-ever weekly report published on Monday, June 27 and will appear every subsequent Monday. In addition to shifting to weekly reporting, data will now appear on an interactive dashboard designed with new data presentation software.

Availability of pediatric vaccinations for those 6 months to 5 years has been delayed due to a shipping issue. Dr. Berry said Jefferson Healthcare/ Sheridan Clinic and Public Health will offer the shots the first week in July. Call 360-385-9400 to secure an appointment at Public Health.

The free Covid mask program coordinated though Emergency Management has been discontinued. Director Willie Bence said that demand has slowed “to a trickle.” Some grocery stores still have a supply, as does DEM.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Allison Berry and Willie Bence by emailing contactus@kptz.org. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following BOCC meeting next Tuesday (due to the July 4 holiday).

Kayak Safety

(Airdate: June 27, 2022) This reprise show, produced by KPTZ DJ host and kayaker Chris Bricker on the subject of kayak safety, was motivated by the tragic deaths of two kayakers just off the Dungeness Spit in April of 2015, along with more recent incidents involving ill-fated kayakers. These are beautiful and spectacular waters, but it’s important to remember the essentials when venturing out in this region to enjoy this great sport. We speak with veteran kayaker and adventurer Chris Duff, Dr. Sam Baker on cold water immersion, leaders of the Olympic Peninsula Paddling Club, and rescue swimmers from the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Port Angeles.  Experienced Kayaker, KPTZ’s Mermaid Keri introduces the show.

Washington Oil Spill Response

Coastal Café host Aaron Barnett chats with the head of Washington Dept. of Ecology’s Oils Spill and Preparedness division, Carlos Clements. Carlos describes how Washington is prepared to respond in the event of a catastrophic oil spill as well as prevention measures to avoid such an event.

Nature Now #572
Summer Bird Activities

(Airdate: June 22, 2022) In this reprise airing from a year ago, we wander the woods with Nature Now’s Mary Robson and Gary Bullock for summer bird activities, especially fledglings.

County Public Health Report ~ 6/21/22

The following is a summary of the presentation during the Public Health briefings at this Tuesday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting made by Jefferson and Clallam County Public Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry. Also Willie Bence, Director of Emergency Management, gave a report. The summary below was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

Jefferson County Public Health is streamlining its COVID-19 case data reporting as it transitions from an emergency response to a more sustainable and long-term approach to monitoring the virus. “Our public health nurses continue to spend many hours, including on weekends, compiling data in order to keep up with daily COVID-19 reporting,” said Dr. Allison Berry, Health Officer for Jefferson and Clallam Counties. “Our job is to give people the information they need in order to assess their own risks and make informed choices about how to stay healthier. At this stage of the pandemic, I believe transitioning to once-a-week reporting will provide the public with that information, while allowing our nurses to return more attention to our other public health programs.”

The first-ever weekly report is expected to publish on Monday, June 27 and appear every subsequent Monday. The weekly reported data will include the two-week case rate; the number of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths as well as all-time totals; a percent positivity of tests performed at Jefferson Healthcare; a bar chart showing hospitalizations by age and vaccination status. Jefferson County Public Health’s nurses have issued a COVID-19 report Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, since March 2020. Today, some of that data is no longer helpful when determining risk factors. For example, there is little evidence a person’s sex influences their risk of being infected with COVID-19. So, cases among those identified as female and those identified as male will no longer be included in the report. In addition to shifting to weekly reporting, data will now appear on a dashboard designed with new data presentation software. The public will be able to view and interact with a line graph of case rates over time. Hovering over certain data will reveal more information about how that data was collected. Jefferson County Public Health values input from members of the public. Anyone with questions or comments may send an email to info@jeffersoncountypublichealth.org.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Allison Berry and Willie Bence by emailing contactus@kptz.org. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following Monday’s BOCC meeting.

Buzzy Donahue’s Life in Radio

(Airdate: June 20, 2022) Jim Burke introduces a Ken Jones interview from our sister station KBOO with our own Buzzy Donahue about her life in radio, and also discusses her father, “Big Daddy” Tom Donahue, who started “free form” radio in San Francisco in the 1960s.

Brewocracy Now with John Mauro ~ 6/16

Today on Brewocracy Now KPTZ host Taylor Clark and City Manager John Mauro were joined first by Ellen Michael Caldwell, Executive Director of Olympic Pride, who talked about the upcoming Sound of Pride 2022 event, which takes place June 25th from 10am-4pm at Pope Marine Park in downtown Port Townsend. The rest of the time they talked with Port Townsend People and Performance Director Pamela Martinez about developments in city staffing.

#202 Amanda Milholland, Farmers Market Director

(Airdate: June 14, 2022) Maryanne McNellis interviews Amanda Milholland, director of both the Port Townsend and Chimacum Farmers Markets. Amanda’s a local girl with a passion for food. During her time with the Peace Corp in Uganda she learned the value of knowing just where her food was grown. In recent years, more and more people are wanting to know just how their meat, dairy, or produce is grown. The whole “farm to table” movement is based on that premise. Like all businesses, the farmers markets were impacted by the pandemic. But because they are considered “essential businesses” the time when they were actually shut down was fairly brief. Early on, traffic and revenue shrunk to about half of pre-pandemic levels. Food was still sold but popular events like cooking demonstrations and live music were cancelled for much of the first two years of the pandemic. But right now things are looking bright for the 2022 season. The number of vendors is back to pre-pandemic levels. Amanda is excited to report that music, cooking, and even story time for the kids are back this year. It’s the market’s 30th anniversary and everyone wants to celebrate this hometown treasure.

County Public Health Report – 6/13/22

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. The summary below was provided by and used with the permission of Jefferson County Government.

In her weekly address to Commissioners, County Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry said there is a “plateauing of our cases overall and there isn’t the rise in hospitalizations that’s been seen in other parts of the country.” This low rate is consistent with all of the top four vaccinated counties in the state—that includes Jefferson and Clallam. Dr. Berry said the primary driver of our low hospitalizations is how vaccinated and boosted we are as a community. “If you are not vaccinated, we are still seeing severe disease and we are seeing death,” she said. Our case rates have risen slowly over the past week (to 873/100,000) but indicators point to a slowing of that rise. “I do think we are moving into a different phase of this response, where we will likely still see transmission in our community but we’re less likely to see severe disease,” Dr. Berry noted. “We have the tools we need to prevent severe disease due to COVID-19.” Dr. Berry said to continue to protect yourselves by wearing a mask in indoor settings and getting vaccinated and boosted.

Submit your Public Health questions to Dr. Allison Berry and to Willie Bence by emailing contactus@kptz.org. Note: The weekly deadline for these to be submitted is on Fridays at noon, to be answered at the following Monday’s BOCC meeting.

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