The smell in the air is distinctly autumnal.
Not many Islanders turned out for a meeting with the state Transportation Commission when it came to the Island to discuss proposed changes to the ferry fare structure earlier this month. But those who did spoke clearly, civilly and passionately.
Our Island children are all back to school again, and the yellow school buses are running along Vashon’s roads and highways, picking up and delivering students each morning and afternoon. Parents and students are adjusting to the new bus transportation plan, which includes reduced bus routes and fewer stops implemented as part of a plan to achieve a balanced school budget this year.
Last March, we, the community told the Vashon school board that we wanted preventive maintenance done on all our school buildings. We told them we wanted to have a fully funded maintenance program. Well, the Vashon school board heard our voices and is giving us a capital levy to vote on in November to cover a fully funded maintenance program and much-needed technology instruction and equipment.
For some time now, the news has been filled with stories about swine flu. One moment, it is going to sicken half of us, causing some 90,000 deaths mostly among young adults. The next, we are told that swine flu will be very mild. How worried should we be? In my opinion, we should be worried enough to prepare for the worst.
Just as they have from the beginning, current and former leaders of the group most critical of our project are once again having trouble accurately characterizing our proposal to provide the Puget Sound region with desperately needed sand and gravel in the most environmentally sound manner available.
A couple of Sundays ago, my betrothed and I married. The word betrothed is a synonym for “promised,” and the first thing she made me promise was not to write about the wedding.
On Aug. 13, when U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez ruled against Glacier Northwest, Preserve Our Islands and its many environmental allies had the victory they have sought for more than a decade.
Just last week, we noted an unfortunate finding from a recent survey of Island teens: Many, it turned out, believe the adults in their lives are not terribly concerned about teenage drinking or pot-smoking.
Every year around this time, I get that feeling of the back-to-school excitement I felt as a kid. September has become an annual checkpoint for me, almost more relevant than New Year’s. It’s the bittersweet feeling of letting go of the last few days of summer fun to get ready to dive headfirst back into the classroom schedule.
As the do-it-yourself season slides into squash and tomatoes, I’ve discovered that even ordinary gardeners can experience extraordinary things.
While the songs of summer birds are on the wane, many birds are already on the move. By early September, millions of migratory songbirds and shorebirds will fill the skies.
All of us who worked for nearly a decade to protect Maury Island’s waters from Glacier Northwest’s proposed industrial dock were relieved, jubilant and thankful for Judge Ricardo Martinez’s careful ruling that halted construction. Judge Martinez grasped that Puget Sound, its orcas and salmon are dying because of the failure to take a “hard look” at specific projects. It’s great to want a healthy Sound, but the decision makes clear that this depends on preventing many cumulative, damaging actions.