Voters on the Island have a little less than a week to weigh in on the Vashon Island School District’s request for a renewal of its technology and capital projects levy. The Beachcomber urges those who have yet to cast their ballots in this Feb. 14 all-mail election to support the measure.
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updated 11:50 AM February 7, 2012
A couple of weeks ago, on my first outing after Snowmaggedon 2012, I was at Bishop’s or, for the sushi-eaters, the Red Bike, having a beverage with a north-end friend who shall remain nameless and a couple other mid-Islanders. These distinctions will prove important later — promise.
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updated 11:49 AM
February 7, 2012
On behalf of Mark P. Waterman Lodge #177 of Free and Accepted Masons, I would like to thank our neighbors on Vashon for their generous support of our 2011 public school library fundraising campaign. Over five Saturdays this summer, we raised $3,000 to contribute to the Becky Braicks fund established to purchase critically needed books and resources for our children’s libraries.
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updated 11:47 AM
February 7, 2012
You may have noticed that, despite the fact that spring is almost upon us, the holiday candy cane decorations are still up on poles along Vashon Highway. You may also recall that I wrote disparagingly about them some weeks before Christmas.
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updated 11:45 AM
February 7, 2012
For three days last week, hundreds of Islanders were gripped by the mystery of Jack Randles’ whereabouts. And after a couple of nights of icy-cold weather, many of us feared the worst.
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11:38 AM
February 1, 2012
Our state Legislature is poised to pass a historic bill that has the support of our governor and will make Washington the seventh state to recognize marriage equality for same-sex couples. I was overjoyed when I learned that the state Senate had enough votes to pass the marriage equality bill and uncharacteristically filled my Facebook status that afternoon with many exclamation points.
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11:37 AM
February 1, 2012
We have a modest proposal for Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s board of commissioners.
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updated 2:42 PM
January 24, 2012
A few weeks ago, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the state of Washington has failed to meet its constitutional duty to sufficiently fund basic education. The ruling compels the Legislature to follow through on ESBH 2261, a massive education reform bill passed in 2009 with an implementation deadline of 2018. Noting the Legislature’s lack of progress to date, the high court said it will retain jurisdiction to ensure lawmakers meet the reform bill’s deadline.
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updated 2:41 PM
January 24, 2012
Raven Pyle-McCrackyn joined me for coffee at Minglement one gray afternoon in December. She walked over from the office building next door where she works as an accountant for Williams + Callan. Before setting her cup down at my table, Raven stopped to greet several people. My first impression was of a woman who makes a strong connection with others. As the interview progressed, that first impression began to make sense. The words connection and community peppered many of Raven’s answers. By the end, it became clear they were at the heart of her story.
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updated 10:57 AM
January 24, 2012
When you live in a maritime climate, the vagaries of weather don’t exactly dominate your life. Spring spills into summer, rainy but mostly pleasant and mild. Fall can be glorious and sweet, but rarely extreme. Winter is grey and wet and rainy, but again — certainly by northern standards — mild.
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updated 12:41 PM
January 17, 2012
Every now and then, a court steps in and through the force of its opinion brings about wholesale change in our political, social or environmental landscape.
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updated 11:26 AM
January 10, 2012
