This edition of The Beachcomber includes news of the recently completed survey of Islanders regarding the placement of our new library. I’d like to explain how this survey came about and to thank the people who made it happen.
Editor’s note: According to statewide data, Vashon teens are more likely to have used marijuana or alcohol in the last 30 days than their peers statewide.
Vashon’s public library connects our community to the world, just as Thriftway, Vashon Market and the Farmers Market feed us and The Beachcomber and The Loop help inform our civic debates. All are vital parts of our town culture; none are expendable. Where they are, what they look like and how effectively they operate are important to the complex daily life of our community. We depend on them.
Last Thursday the state Senate released its 2009-11 proposed Senate Transportation Budget.
The state is in a world of hurt. A deficit economic forecasters thought would reach $6 billion is now approaching a staggering $9 billion — making Washington one of the 10 worst states in the country in terms of its budget shortfall.
By GREG WESSEL For The Beachcomber Columnist’s note: This was discovered in a recent translation of the Unabridged Book of…
If the King County Library System’s preliminary analyses are correct, we have new and significant information to consider as we debate the future of our beloved branch at Ober Park.
According to statewide data, Vashon teens are more likely to have used marijuana or alcohol in the last 30 days than their peers statewide. A group of Islanders who work with youth or on youth-related issues has put together a series of talks and workshops focused on teens, parenting and drug and alcohol use in an ongoing effort to address teen substance abuse on Vashon.
When I agreed last year to run for the position of president of the Vashon-Maury Chamber of Commerce, I was well aware of the problems related to our national declining economy, but was not totally prepared for the seriousness of the downturn that would coincide with the beginning of my tenure.
The votes are in. Judging from the e-mails and comments I’ve received on the street, readers of this column are happier when I rant and rave than when I wax thoughtful.
It’s spring, and bird song is in the air. What are they all excited about? Like tree frogs and the rest of us critters, birds are responding to the longer and warmer days, a burgeoning crop of food and a rising amatory urge.
Those of us who pay close attention to the school board and watched its careful crafting of the bond measure that just went down to defeat noted this: To a large degree, these five elected Islanders tried hard to garner the input of their constituents every step of the way.
The gap between teens and adults seems to be getting wider and more contentious as each of us tries to understand why the gap is there and what can be done about it.