Marc J. Elzenbeck It’s always sunny in San Diego. Even on November 26th, 2025, the start of Thanksgiving weekend, it was still great for driving convertibles. Hugo Parra and Ariel Beltran decided to make that afternoon even better. They hopped into Ariel’s red Alfa Romeo and drove from their apartment complex over to the Churchill…
By Caitlin Rothermel On June 4th, 2026, the price of gas on Vashon was about $6.60 for a regular unleaded gallon. But where does the money go? The greatest expenses come at the start, for crude oil production and transportation, followed by oil refining. At about $4.00 per gallon, these factors make up more than…
By Andy Valencia EV’s are in most ways simpler than their internal combustion engine cousins. There really just need to be batteries, a controller to send power to the wheels, and a charger. But these parts work hard, since we want fast recharges and even faster acceleration. Stressing electronics means failures will show up eventually….
By Marc J. Elzenbeck Imagine it’s May of 2022. You’re a 15 year-old boy in Chicago named Merritt. You’re sitting in your bedroom in front of your laptop wearing a mask all day on Zoom, pretending it’s school. Your teacher, also in their bedroom on Zoom, sits in front of a fake digital shelf of…
One week before winning this year’s NFL Super Bowl, Jody Allen, long-time manager of the Estate of Paul G. Allen, a family trust that owns the Seattle Seahawks, issued a statement saying the team was not yet for sale. On February 18th, only ten days after a triumphant victory in Super Bowl LX, the estate…
Olympia lawmakers are poised to begin discussions of a proposed “Equitable Ferry Initiative,” with plans to pursue legislation in 2027 to increase revenue while balancing personal responsibility among Washington State Ferry system users. Washington State is unique in that its ferries are part of the state Department of Transportation highway system. Known as the “marine…
By Andy Valencia The Loop received a question about all those double power poles you’ve been seeing for years along Vashon Highway and other roads on the Island. It’s twice the visual impact, and how hard can it be to switch to the new pole and remove the old one? Why are the old ones…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck North America was raised on Sheriffs standing up for the rights of their constituents, for modest pay plus risk to life and limb. Hollywood regaled us with their tales, often in Western movies. As the highest law enforcement officer in a county, Sheriffs had a tough job. Sometimes they had to…
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced that a rifle cartridge commonly known as the Springfield Thirty Ought Six (.30-06) was used last month to assassinate a prominent conservative activist during an outdoor rally at a Utah college. Online pushback against this statement began immediately and continues to thrive, with an ongoing cottage…
By Caitlin Rothermel It’s time to talk about COVID booster shots and the implications of encouraging their use. Before I go there, it’s important to first summarize some vaccination policy changes that have occurred at the federal and state level. On October 6, 2025, the CDC officially voted to shift COVID-19 vaccination guidance for all eligible U.S. residents…