By March Twisdale We need people who know the job. If I were running for the school board, this would be my first and primary focus. What is my role? My duty? My obligation? Who do I serve? We need people who can hold power responsibly and gently. Power is scary, because coming along right…
By March Twisdale When we hear something said often enough, we have a human tendency to believe it is true. This is known as the illusory truth effect: Hearing or reading a claim, especially repeatedly, makes you more likely to think it’s true. And it’s used against us, again and again. When businesses hire advertisers…
Abuse happens. How we respond determines whether the abuse is effectively stopped. Or whether a pattern develops, as the abuse is tacitly allowed to continue. On Thursday, April 27th, Vivian Lyons read a letter at a Vashon Island School District board meeting, written by one of two women who have co-filed a formal complaint against…
Awhile back, I began to question my credit/debit card habit. It felt like a convenience – with a hidden cost – and I wasn’t the only one to notice. “Keep Cash Alive” and “Cash is King” have entered the public sphere, along with several reasons for returning to good old-fashioned paper money. For me, two…
Kate Moore is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of “The Radium Girls.” A British writer based in London, she has published numerous Sunday Times bestsellers, writing across various genres including history, biography, true crime, and humor; her work has been translated into more than 12 languages. The Radium Girls was the winner of…
We invite you to join us in co-creating a thematic series of recipes! Tucked away in family cookbooks are recipes reflecting a life few of us remember. Family favorites handed down through the generations. Creative tricks shared, invented, and treasured during the Great Depression. Heritage and cultural memories, embedded into braided breads, spiced meats, fermented…
“Despite living on Vashon Island for close to 20 years, I find our levy system confusing,” I said. “I understand,” laughed Elaine Ott-Rocheford, Vashon Park District Executive Director. “Our property tax system is one of the most complicated in the country.” After a two-hour meeting, and some seriously mind-bending exercises, I began to understand how…
The path leading to my first gun purchase has been long. It began in the summer of 1992. I was a young, healthy, and carefree college student, riding my bike along the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento, CA every day, to and from college, work, and just for the fun of it. Until the…
Given the age demographics of Vashon-Maury Island, a considerable number of us grew up during a time when “trust in polls” was high. For decades, “exit polls” were especially accurate, with a nearly 100% accuracy rate when compared to actual election results. Then, things changed. It’s universally acknowledged that polling results failed miserably during the…
I wanted to change the title of this article to “An Island of Exceptional Opportunities!” Ever since I moved here, I have been aware of our Island’s unique wealth when it comes to people power and the opportunities we co-create together. Which is why I was impressed, but not so very surprised, to learn that…