News Briefs | April 2 edition
Published 1:30 am Thursday, April 2, 2026
Students help dig up tires
Vashon Rotary and Zero Waste Vashon teams, joined by 41 Vashon Harbor School students in grades 5-8 and staff, removed 10 buried tires and additional trash during a three-hour cleanup at low tide Monday, March 23, at Portage in upper Quartermaster Harbor. Organizers said the effort followed a neighborhood cleanup on the west side of lower Quartermaster Harbor near Lost Lake, where eight tires were unearthed and staged for pickup three weeks earlier.
Rotary and Zero Waste Vashon are asking residents to help identify beach tire locations, dig them up, and move them to the Jensen Point Park staging area north of the boat ramp. For information, contact steven.bergman@zerowastevashon.org.
VIGA receives USDA grant
The Vashon Island Growers Association has been awarded a USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program grant, one of three awarded in Washington state, according to the group.
In a newsletter, VIGA said the funding will support efforts tied to Heights Grocery, preservation equipment, and workshops aimed at helping growers sell directly at the market, as part of broader work to strengthen local, sustainable marketplaces for island-grown goods.
Heights Grocery update
Organizers of Heights Grocery said planning for the neighborhood market and coffee shop is moving forward, with the project recently receiving a Certificate of Appropriateness from the King County Landmark Commission for “light-touch” alterations to the hall.
They said permit applications are nearly complete for civil and structural engineering work and health department requirements. Organizers also announced plans for a fundraising campaign this spring to offer the community new ways to support the store, with more details to come.
Road closure
King County Road Services crews will close Dockton Road SW between Tramp Harbor Road SW and Highland Avenue SW from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 6, to conduct maintenance work, including shoulder mowing. Emergency vehicles will have access through the work zone. The work may be rescheduled due to weather or equipment and crew availability, according to King County Road Services.
Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., in reintroducing the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, according to a March 26 press release from Jayapal’s office. The bill would place a 2% annual tax on household and trust wealth above $50 million, with an additional 1% surtax on wealth above $1 billion.
Jayapal’s office said the measure would apply to about 260,000 households nationwide — roughly the wealthiest 0.15% — and would raise an estimated $6.2 trillion over 10 years. According to the release, that revenue could help pay for programs including child care, housing, paid family leave, community college and lower Medicare eligibility.
The proposal also includes anti-avoidance measures, including additional IRS funding and a 40% exit tax on wealthy Americans who give up their citizenship to avoid the tax, the release said. Jayapal’s office said the bill has 10 Senate co-sponsors and 39 House co-sponsors.
