By Brian Anderson I-638 will restore fairness and dignity to girls’ sports in Washington State by restricting girls’ sports to biological girls (i.e., females). Here are two of examples of how Washington State’s transgender sports policy undermines safety and fairness for female athletes. Kallie Keeler is a 15-year-old wrestler who claims she was sexually assaulted by a transgender girl…
Island Voices, October 2026
What Was I Thinking?
By Gates (Pam) Johnson Now that I’m feeling better and have my health stuff semi-under control, it’s time for me to get back to a project that has been on the shelf for a few, make that several, years. I am writing a cookbook. One would think that a vanity project like this could be…
Island Voices, October 2026
Lost and Found
By Donna (Rocky) Liberty Recently, a friend and I saw each other uptown and stopped to have a conversation. She asked me, “You know you’re missing an earring, right?” Oh, dear! I did NOT know. One of my favorite pairs of earrings, and one of them missing! Yikes! Quickly, I retraced my steps through the…
Island Voices, October 2026
Still She Smiles
By Suzanna Leigh Mom is on hospice now. A lot of what I have been doing this month is spending time with her daily, working to keep her house and finances in order, and communicating with her caregivers. It is, as Carol Spangler says, a sacred time. Mom’s energy and strength are ebbing. Sometimes getting…
Announcements, Island Voices, October 2026
The Magic of Music with Marj
By Rich Osborne Many of you know Marj Watkins. Air Force wife, writer, artist, charitable donor, and a dozen other roles in the 102 years of her life. She has a new role. She now has a performance venue for Island Musicians. It started innocently enough. I lead “The Island Rockers” in the “Music Mends…
Island Voices, October 2026
Parallel Lives – The Lean Place
By Richard Odell There comes a certain hour in September. The long march of Spring and Summer stands still. The alder leaves are now a time-hardened raiment of darkened green with flecks of brindle and gold. The broken fields are spent, whitened, at rest in the tilted sunlight. One looks upon it all and feels…
Island Resilience, October 2026
Building Wealth
By Stephen Buller What is wealth? We should start by differentiating between the tangible and intangible: Tangible wealth consists of physical items like land, cars, equipment, and gold; intangible wealth consists of non-material items like good health, skills, reputation, and relationships. In my opinion, one would be wise to value intangible wealth above the tangible…
Island Voices, October 2026
I Pledge Allegiance to All Americans
Who Do You Pledge Yourself To? By March Twisdale As long as I can remember, I’ve seen all Americans as my “fellows,” and we are not the same. We root for different sports teams, worship differently, speak different languages, and hold endlessly diverse viewpoints. However, as Americans we all have one shared trait. Our nationality….
Island Resilience, October 2026
Threshold into Autumn: Hawthorn
By Anthony Latora As the seasons change and the leaves begin to fall, I start to notice the daylight growing shorter and the cold beginning to return. A shift in myself begins to occur – from the highly expressive, movement-filled nature of summer toward the harvesting, tending, and inwardness of fall. The fruits are ripe…
Nature, October 2026, Recipes
Autumn Birds and Venison and Oyster Stew Recipe
By Emilia Flor Autumn is the season when the Pacific Northwest begins putting itself away for winter. We can feel the change before we usually see it. Mornings are colder. Light comes lower through the trees. Rain taps against cedar branches and darkens the bark. Wet leaves soften beneath your boots, and the air takes…