Editorial: To-do list
Published 11:45 am Thursday, September 11, 2025
In considering the subject matter for this editorial, after the rest of this issue was ready to go, I realized what I wanted to say had already been expressed in the rest of this week’s paper.
My job gives me a glimpse into the character of our community each week, as the values of Vashon reveal themselves in column inches of The Beachcomber. Throughout my many years of working at the paper, Vashon’s news has, at times, been difficult to write. Our community, like any other, faces challenges, controversies and setbacks.
But lately, it seems, our stories have presented an alternative to what one person who was interviewed for a story this week called the … “not-so-joyous, not-so-heartwarming and not-so-cheerful times we find ourselves in.”
The national headlines are indeed terrible right now. In the time that has elapsed since this editorial was published in print and is now being published online, they have only gotten worse.
We tell a different story on these pages.
Our community, at its best, is a place where people of different walks of life can come together to protect, honor and celebrate each other. It is a place where music, art, creativity and generosity thrive, and activism is alive.
It’s up to us to keep it that way. We hope there is inspiration on these pages about how to do that.
I’m making a to-do list after assembling this issue of the paper:
• In honor of Stupid Bike Night, do something child-like, in the best and most beautiful sense of that word.
• Give to the Vashon Food Bank to support food justice and accessibility on our island, and shop at local farms that provide a bounty of wholesome foods to our community. Support other nonprofits, including Vashon’s DOVE Project, that uplift and protect those who most need our help.
• Attend upcoming community events, including but not limited to Islanders for Ferry Action’s legislative forum on Sept. 24, Vashon Care Network’s annual Christine Jovanovich Seminar on Sept. 21, Vashon’s very own opera company’s performance of “Cendrillon” on Sept. 19 or 21, and a special screening of a funny and uplifting documentary about grammar, of all things, at our historic, single-screen movie house on Sept. 15. Go see live music, listen to lectures, read the works of local poets and other writers. Dance and dream.
• Protect your health and the health of others in our community by answering the call of Vashon’s Medical Reserve Corps to become fully vaccinated against disease.
In short, be kind, creative, respectful and compassionate in your daily life. Embrace activism, inclusion, empathy and equity for all.
It’s a tall order. But Vashon can do that. Just read our local newspaper and you’ll know that’s true.
— Elizabeth Shepherd, Reporter
Editor’s note: This editorial was revised for the online edition of The Beachcomber.
