There’s a joke going around that, in 2004, you had to be a computer wizard to find what you wanted on the internet. In 2014, anybody could do it. In 2024, we’re back to only computer wizards finding what they want. What happened? My list of culprits would include click farms, search engine rigging, and…
Editorial Page, May 2024
Vashon Community Care Center
By Andy Valencia Way too many people are dying from their addictions. The latest United States annual report on drug overdose deaths puts the count above 111,000, but that is only a small portion of the misery present throughout our society. The federal budget allocates more than $42 billion dollars for drug programs. But how…
May 2024, Recipes
Apple Cake – From Pecan Court
By Andy Valencia This is a family dessert favorite, developed by my late mother, Denise Valencia. “Pecan Court” is the location of my childhood family home. Apple Cake – From Pecan Court
April 2024, Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editorial Team, The headline of your March 7 editorial is a good description of its reasoning – “Feckless.” You argue that public funds now “serve irregular immigration, people with addictions and/or mental illness,” unlike 20 years ago when “the concern was for members of our community with modest means – they held down jobs,…
April 2024, Island Resilience
Ham Radio in “Peacetime”
By Andy Valencia Last issue, I talked about the strength of ham radio in providing communications during catastrophic disruptions of our traditional networks. But what does a ham radio operator do when the world hasn’t gone full Mad Max? If you have a handie-talkie (a hand-held radio, about the size of a cell phone), the…
Health Matters
Spike Proteins, Mental Fog, and Depression
By Andy Valencia This article is a early “heads up” on some very interesting research coming out of Germany. Dr. Michael Nehls is a physician, as well as a molecular geneticist, and has been chasing population-level brain health issues for many years. He is a published author with works in the area of Alzheimer’s disease, for…
Entertainment, Island Businesses, News
Aliens on Vashon
Update 3/14/2024 5:00PM… turns out this is the creation of local artist Matt Beursken, whose previous fame was that troll costume you saw last Halloween. He doesn’t really want to sell the saucer and alien, but he has some expenses coming up. The UFO started out as a satellite dish, and had been partially converted…
Island Resilience, March 2024
When Cell, Internet, and Landlines Go Silent
By Andy Valencia We keep bottled water in case our faucet’s suddenly dry. We have emergency rations in case the store’s supply chain is interrupted. And then there’s how we keep in touch, find out things, and buy things. Everything – phones, texting, email, apps – has converged on internet technology. When that “cyber event”…
February 2024, Island Voices
When College Doesn’t Make Sense
By Andy Valencia I’ll finish this series of articles with some final notes on places to make a living without a college degree. The point isn’t to supply an exhaustive list, but rather to give you a feel for where to look – and who to ask – when you start thinking about your future…
Commentary, Editorial Page, January 2024
Making a Living Without a Degree
By Andy Valencia My last article provided a strongly negative take on college. It wasn’t fair or balanced, because pretty much everything else you’ll read concerning college will tell you that, unless you buy a college degree, you’ll die disfigured and alone in a gutter somewhere. Before you reach your mid-twenties, most likely. Read anything…