Charles Conatzer Photo
MyNorthwest.com: When Chiara D’Angelo-Patricio learned developers planned to cut down 800 trees for a new Bainbridge Island shopping center, she burst into tears. Now, she’s taken to the treetops in hopes of halting the project.
The 19-year-old lifelong island resident scaled a 70-foot evergreen Monday morning and vows to stay up there as long as she can to protest the development at High School Road and Highway 305.
The new shopping center is expected to be home to a KeyBank branch, Bartell Drugs, restaurants and other businesses.
But Chiara argues the development isn’t needed and will have devastating impacts on local businesses. “I believe that Bainbridge needs more time to really express their frustrations with this mall and really take in what this mall is going to mean for our island, what it could mean for local businesses,” she said in an interview from the platform (made out of wood?) she erected in the treetops.
Opponents have unsuccessfully fought to stop the development for more than a year, and with logging set to begin on the property, the Western Washington University student decided it was time to act.
While she admits she’d love to see her protest stop the development, she admits the broader goal is to raise as much awareness as possible with ongoing rallies and a letter-writing campaign.
Nearly 100 people turned out for a candlelight vigil Saturday at the site, and dozens, including her mom Debra, were on hand to support her Monday from below. “I feel honored, that’s how I feel to call her my daughter,” Debra said. “We felt like somebody’s got to speak out and she did.”
Chiara won’t say how long she’s willing to stay up in the tree in what she says is the first tree-sit in the state since 1999.
“Right now, I’m feeling pretty right up here,” Chiara said. “I’m feeling pretty confident and pretty comfortable with my ground support, with the amount of food and water I have here, and really with my intention here. I feel really strong about my intention.” She also has a cell phone with a solar charger and a good book (made out of wood?) to keep her company.
But her intention might not get her very far. Ohio-based developer Visconsi had told the Bainbridge Island Police Department it planned to push for an arrest after 4 p.m. Monday, she said. Police have now given her until 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities did move a cherry picker to a site nearby the protest, but whether police can or will try to remove her from the tree remains to be seen. The company has not responded to a request for comment.
Chiara, an environmental justice major at WWU (see Duke professor: College leaves liberal students ill-equipped), says she’s always had a passion for the environment of Bainbridge, especially the waters of Puget Sound, and the mall protest is just part of her dedication to preserving a quality of life she says is threatened by increased development.
“I grew up feeling very nourished by this island and I’ve seen this island really shift and change and I think it’s really time for us to say keep Bainbridge, Bainbridge.”
What’s that guitar she’s got made out of, hemp? Does she live in a mud hut? Does she recycle her toilet paper? What are the food containers made out of that she has? Were no trees cut down for the cell phone tower for her phone? Did she get a permit for that wood platform? Practice what you preach honey.
While I applaud her for having a strong opinion, breaking the law is not the best way to take a stand. Maybe she should stick to the city permit process or better yet, run for council one day so she can save all the trees.
DCG
