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There appears to be a contact-style naval mine floating in the waters near Bainbridge Island, Washington. This island is located directly across from Seattle and vessels have to navigate around either side of it to reach the sprawling Kitsap Naval Base. The base is home to one of the Navy's most important shipyards as it is capable of servicing even the largest supercarriers and is a major decommissioning site for retired nuclear powered vessels. KGW.com reports that the mine was spotted near Brownsville Marina, which sits across the channel from the western side of the island. The Coast Guard has...

An active shooter has been firing a gun from a boat toward the Bainbridge Island shoreline late Saturday, near Eagle Harbor. People are advised to avoid the shoreline area. No one has been injured, said Assistant Fire Chief Luke Carpenter. “He was just firing randomly,” Carpenter said. Washington State Ferries suspended Bainbridge Island-Seattle service until further notice. Law-enforcement officers were called to the area around 9 p.m., said city spokeswoman Kellie Stickney, though it’s unclear under what circumstances.

A Bainbridge Island teacher is giving a lesson that has parents on edge. The lesson plan: Boys can't play with Legos. The Bainbridge Island Review reports that Karen Keller, a kindergarten teacher at Blakely Elementary, is tackling the issue of gender equity by not allowing the boys in her class to play with Legos. The Lego-restricted lesson plan doesn't make a whole lot of sense for KIRO Radio's Dori Monson. "If I was a parent of a boy in that class, I'd get them out of there ... we've gone insane in our public schools," he said. "This Bainbridge Island...

In Karen Keller’s kindergarten classroom, boys can’t play with Legos. They can have their pick of Tinkertoys and marble tracks, but the colorful bricks are “girls only.” “I always tell the boys, ‘You’re going to have a turn’ — and I’m like, ‘Yeah, when hell freezes over’ in my head,” she said. “I tell them, ‘You’ll have a turn’ because I don’t want them to feel bad.” Although her approach might anger some parents, Keller is sticking to her guns: It’s all part of a plan to get girls building during “free choice,” the 40 minutes of unstructured play time...

Arrests made in bomb-related cases By LEVI PULKKINEN P-I REPORTER Bainbridge Island police arrested a 17-year-old boy Friday after a search of his computers revealed bomb threats against Bainbridge Island High School.Police found marijuana and bomb-making materials at the boy's home following a bomb threat against the school in June, Deputy Chief Mark Duncan said. The boy pleaded guilty to several related charges in juvenile court earlier this year. During a search of 17 computers found at the boy's home, police found a message from the boy to another student that included a bomb threat, Duncan said. The boy...

Bainbridge Council Still Unpledged to Saying the Pledge By Rachel Pritchett rpritchett@kitsapsun.com BAINBRIDGE ISLAND After being handed a decision on whether the Bainbridge Island City Council would precede meetings by saying the Pledge of Allegiance, the council exercised a bit of freedom — and sent the decision back to Mayor Darlene Kordonowy. Not that the issue is settled just yet. The mayor, in face of e-mail criticism that followed her order to council members to make the call, said she will make a statement at a Wednesday meeting in response. Kordonowy said she'll announce that if the members want...

Inslee talks with BI kids about war, budget Marietta Nelson Sun Staff April 15, 2003 U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee brought his politics home Monday. The Democrat from Bainbridge Island spoke to 50 juniors and seniors at Bainbridge High School about his views on the war in Iraq and the federal budget. Earlier Monday, he visited Central Kitsap and Olympic high schools. With his son Joe in the front row on Monday afternoon, Inslee told the Bainbridge students that he voted late last year against giving President Bush the authority to wage war. Now that the action in Iraq is winding...