Letters to the editor
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Detire Vashon Beaches
As wonderful as Vashon is, there is a problem that we can solve. There are tires on our beaches. Many tires. Not just illegal dumping, either.
At one point, Department of Natural Resources used old tires to build fish habitats from tires, which came apart and ended up, you guessed it, on our beaches.
Hey! Who knew then about the toxins that dead tires release. Bottom line, there were lots of tires on our beaches. Silently killing sea-life. Fast forward to today. There is now a system to dispose of these tires, permanently.
Sequester those toxins. Yay! Vashon Rotary and other organizations have worked for years to locate and remove these tires. Our main expense is member time and gas for the boats. No, I’m not asking you for money. We got this. The main thing we need is your help to locate the tires we have missed. Last May, during our annual day of service, Vashon Rotary did a large project to remove dozens of tires from Quartermaster Harbor and the east side of the island.
Why? Because most of those tires were relatively easy to get to. Some of us live on the east side of the island or around Quartermaster Harbor. And no, we have not removed that huge truck tire north of KVI beach. Yet. That sucker will require a team and specialized equipment, so we do no harmwhile removing it.
But we are working on it. Now, we need to address the west side. There are tires all along Colvos Passage. If you West-siders walk those beaches, you see them. We need you to help us locate them. Especially at low tide.
If you have a GPS function on your phone, great. Use that. If not, take a picture and send it to us, with description of where you took the picture. If you don’t mind, leave your number, so we can confirm with you. You can send them to me at allthingsrich99@gmail.com, or John Burke at vashonmaritime@icloud.com.
Tires can be sneaky. They hide under seaweed and kelp, seagrass or barnacles. Maybe their dinosaur progenitors are trying to get back at us. I’m not sure, but we are working on it.
Kudos to Steve Bergman, George Spano, Kim Richards and John Burke for carrying the ball so far. You gentlemen are an inspiration to us all. And to everyone who has quietly picked up an extra tire and responsibly disposed of it.
Even if it cost a few bucks to do so. This is a campaign measured by inches. So please help us to get this done. Energize our island, help Vashon become less tired! Help us DETIRE Vashon Beaches in May, 2026.
Rich Osborne, Rotarian
Addiction
Drugs, addiction. Some of us are infected with the disease; all of us are affected by it. Both sides are tragic and painful. We watch knowing we are powerless as a child, sibling, parent, spouse or friend fall in that pit. We pray. Some of us join support groups, some of us remain silent and some feel shame.
Hate the disease, hate the drugs, hate the problem. The families and community members infected with the disease continue to need our love and support. Many addicts have the desire to be sober and clean. We can continue to love them, let them know we value them and would love them to be well. Addiction is a disease, not a choice.
I have lost two siblings with the disease of addiction. I know the pain and helplessness I experience. I watch my parents, my other siblings, the entire community in this pain. Our Vashon community has lost many amazing, wonderful people to this disease.
Remember each one lost and each one still battling the disease in their times of wellness. Think of their contributions to our community, their kindness and joy shared. Ensure to take care of yourself while living with or interacting with active users. Love them as they are.
Recovery provides the opportunity to learn and embrace a softer walk forward. Be responsible for your actions and reactions. Family members and friends that are active users are responsible for themselves. We do not have to like their choices; we are powerless over others’ choices.
Look deeper than the addiction. Remember the beautiful moments shared. Birthday candles blown, ditching’ the trike for a one speed bike. The years roll forward, and now car wheels turn, off goes the grown child, we are powerless.
A parent, sibling, spouse, friend or child, powerlessness is the same. Breathe. You have power over you. Let us work together toward solutions and wish everyone the opportunity to be well.
Thank you, Tressa Azpiri
Environmental decline
Very exciting, incubating salmon in Judd Creek. Without active management, environmental decline will continue. We can all support the Land Trust’s restoration by controlling ivy, holly, hawthorn and knotweed on our own land, so propagules don’t reinfest their hard work.
The Land Trust can advise, or there’s free guidance on a how-to website, seedrain.org. We can also reduce flooding that washes away salmon eggs by shrinking a portion of lawns and pastures, then planting native trees and shrubs. Favor evergreens that soak up twice the winter rains as deciduous alder and maple.
Lastly, naturalize your shoreline with shore trees that shade eggs of salmon’s forage fish that incubate on your beach. Shore Friendly King County offers free consultations, or Shore Friendly Mason Conservation District has excellent online resources. Salmon and orcas thank you!
Steve Richmond
Duty to Impeach
I have recently had two meetings with Representative Jayapal’ s Outreach Coordinator to discuss impeachment. In those meetings, I learned that Jayapal would support impeachment if a colleague introduced it, but she has no intention of introducing articles of impeachment herself until after the midterm elections.
However, the midterms are a year away. In the first year of this administration, we’ve seen the gutting of federal agencies, rampant corruption, the revoking of congressionally appropriated funds, ICE sent into cities, and federal agents murdering people in the streets and in detention centers. We’ve also seen a raid on a Georgia polling site, Trump threatening mail-in voting and threatening to federalize midterm elections.
On February 4th, Jayapal posted on her Bluesky social media account, “It is unbelievable that Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, and Todd Blanche are continuing to protect predators — redacting their names while exposing the names of survivors and refusing to investigate these pedophiles. The people in these files, who wrote these emails, should be investigated and deposed now.”
Yet she refuses to do the one thing that would lead to investigations- impeach. She could introduce articles of impeachment and invoke rule IX, which allows any member of congress to force a vote on impeachment that must be voted on by Congress within two legislative days.
It is congress’s duty to impeach when the president or a cabinet member commits a crime. I urge Pramila Jayapal, as Chair Emerita of the Progressive Caucus, to introduce Articles of Impeachment immediately.
Anna Shomsky
