By Caitlin Rothermel It’s a serious sign of how culturally messed up we are that we so often defer to experts – sometimes even refusing to take advice from anyone who’s not an expert – while allowing wealthy generalists to claim they have real expertise across a number of areas. This is a big-picture problem…
By Caitlin Rothermel Last month, the Loop Editorial Board reviewed and updated the “Health Disclaimer” run in every issue. We made changes based on input from a writer who pointed out that its language – applied to be legally protective, and typical of what you would see in a health disclaimer – was actually off-putting…
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…
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…
Because public health is an increasingly (and unexpectedly) in-your-face part of life, it’s a good idea to understand how public health “talks” to and sends messages to us. While I was working on my public health degree, I was never given the impression that our kind would emerge with any sort of genuine authority or…
I invite you back to mid-March 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown started. It was seasonable on Vashon. But because it was not yet really spring, it was still easy to feel cold, especially at night. Most notable at that time was a sense of worry and waitfulness. An uncertainty regarding what would come next, combined…
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, or any climate that goes relatively sunless over winter, it’s important to think about vitamin D. For half the year, your body synthesizes vitamin D, thanks to the sun. But that changes in the winter, thanks to gray skies and less daylight. This winter gap is a problem,…
Respiratory diseases are surging again, and there is disagreement about what we should do in terms of masking. Some people are masking when they go out, some are no longer masking, and some would like everyone to wear a mask. There’s been no answer that makes sense for everyone, and this puts us all at…
Do you have a business on Vashon? If so, are you like the majority of Vashon businesses in that you’re not located uptown? Vashon businesses are everywhere on the Island – really, everywhere. But many are effectively hidden, without the storefront or drive-by appeal that would let you know they exist. Because Vashon is not zoned…
This year, I’ve been obsessed with learning to make side dishes that capture the aromatic, vitamin C-infused flavors of summer. I’m talking about the kinds of tastes that just explode in your mouth, that also happen to have great texture, and that you yearn to experience during the autumn and winter. This grated carrot salad…