By Caitlin Rothermel The Vashon Island Fire and Rescue levy (Proposition 1) is coming to a vote this August. If the levy is voted in, the VIFR annual budget will grow from $6.7 million in 2023 to as high as $10.4 million in 2029. In our population-stable community of 10,866 people (based on United States…
Island Resilience
An Islander’s Response to “Our Electric Vehicle Future,” Part 2
by Nellie Bly To continue from last month, reducing one’s carbon footprint may best be achieved by: Keeping the car you have. Using real, pure gas. Taking care of your car, and other things you already own. Buying American. Not because of jingoism, but because buying local, or at least on your own continent, is…
Children, Gardening
Gardening with Children – Late-Season Carrots
By Caitlin Rothermel It can be challenging to garden when you have young children, but you also want to get them excited about growing things. It’s a dilemma. It is totally possible to introduce small, focused projects that can be fun for everyone. Like carrots. They can fit into small or otherwise hard-to-use spaces, and…
Recipes
Walnut Waldorf Salad with Citrus Maple Vinaigrette, in Jars
By Sandra Thylin I live in Montana. At the beginning of June, I drove to Spokane for my niece’s graduation. I was excited to hit up the Trader Joe’s because there isn’t one in Montana. My old roommate and I went on a snack run to stock up the mini-fridge, and one of the items…
Recipes
Island Epicure – Salad Days
By Marj Watkins When I and my family first came to Vashon Island in 1969, we bought a house with a view, joined the yacht club, and my husband, just retired from the United States Air Force, returned to his first career as a schoolteacher. He was hired to teach sixth grade as soon as…
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From the Roasterie
“The coffee flavor manifests its characteristics through the land, the elements, and from the hearts of the people all along its way.” – Eva Within the coffee industry, there are many ways to describe the flavors of coffee. Hints of caramel, chocolate, or wine. Undertones of nuts, figs, or flowers. These fancy descriptors cannot capture…
Health Matters
The Wonders of Licorice
By Kathy Abascal Many of us love real licorice candy and enjoy licorice’s sweet flavor in various herbal teas. But few appreciate what an amazing and useful plant licorice is. Licorice has been used medicinally for thousands of years in both European and Asian traditions. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), licorice is considered harmonizing because…
Health Matters
Medicinal Plants on Vashon – Cleavers
By Leigh Siergewicz When I first started learning about herbs, it was so exciting to find that the common weeds we see everywhere can be consumed for many benefits. After learning about cleavers, galium aparine, I can’t help but notice how abundant it is in spring. Cleavers are native to Europe, but have naturalized here. Cleavers…
Health Matters
Assess, Move, Re-Assess
By Sandi Silagi In February 2015, after withdrawing from a golf tournament, Tiger Woods claimed, “My glutes are shutting off.” That was the “butt” of many jokes to come, but what is the reality?Initially, I thought, “Fire your trainer!” “Use your ground forces, use your feet!” “Channel Arnold Palmer!” But I was wrong. The chain…