On January 21, 2023, Patricia Buchanan was laid to rest in the manner of her choosing, in the new Green Burial section of the Vashon Cemetery. After a lifetime of achievements, both as a community organizer and a world-class triathlete, her son Donnie Sakaida said, “Mom was ultra-competitive, so being the first one there, and…
In the summer of 2022, three members of our Editorial Team gathered in a garden to discuss our Island’s media landscape. No one newspaper can do it all, we concluded, and voila! The Vashon Loop was rebirthed, under new ownership! At the same time, the cost of paper and fuel skyrocketed. Two months later, we…
Many of us have heard the story of a regretful young George Washington who, upon being accused of harming his father’s cherry tree, said something along the lines of, “I cannot tell a lie … I did cut it with my hatchet.” This story perfectly illustrates the well-understood and universally accepted axiom that honesty is…
In Part One, I shared how our family found itself deserted by the Social Security Administration, for over ten months and counting… Thankfully, I speak Spanish. Thankfully, the Mexican Consulate helped us piece together this bureaucratic puzzle. Thankfully, I have a cell phone service that allows me to call Mexico. Thankfully, after a woman put…
I grew up in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Long before high tech games and distractions became ubiquitous and childhood changed in so many ways. Gone are the days when children burst forth into their neighborhoods, playing Red Light, Green Light in the streets, dodging slow-moving cars headed home as the work day came…
Since the advent of the printing press, around 1436, by German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg (and much earlier, in China and Korea), the written word has had a staggering effect on our world. Venice – a primary, Mediterranean shipping hub in the late 15th century – was fertile ground for a fledgling global news network, as…
If you haven’t heard of Substack, you’re in for a treat! Substack is an online platform designed to support writers, bloggers, philosophers, citizen journalists, and literary creatives of all types. The designers of Substack believe good writing is invaluable. What we read, what we learn, what we think, and how we engage in the world…
In March 2021, Forbes Magazine ran an article titled, “The Roots of Conspiracy Theory.” According to Helen Lee Bouygues (the author), “What’s needed is a more nuanced understanding of what drives conspiracy theories, and what kind of interventions can actually be effective against them.“ Labeling conspiracy theories as “far fetched ideas,” she reminds us that…
Welcome to our January puzzle! ****** SPOILERS!**** Answer Key below Last chance to look away, look away before the Answers appear! Okay, here is the – ACROSS: 4. lemon 5. zinc 7. ionophore 8. raw 9. nature trails 11. coffee 12. sleep DOWN: hydrated 2. walking 3. vitamin D 6. chocolate 10. honey