By Lyndsey Braun-Palmer There’s something grounding and reverent about the process of cleaning skulls – carefully removing the layer of tissue to study the animal’s bone structure. Each skull has its own anatomy, subtle differences that make every one unique. It becomes a quiet moment of respect, curiosity, and reflection. This one is my blacktail buck from…
By Lyndsey Braun-Palmer Moss at my side, foraging along forest paths, the smell of damp PNW air filling my lungs – this is what settles my soul, ties me to the land, and brings me back to myself.
By Stephen Buller Washington Governor Ferguson is championing a new “millionaire tax” as a way to address budget shortfalls and income inequality. Both of these are real and serious issues, but will yet another tax solve the problem? Let’s talk about this tax specifically and use it as a springboard to critique our overall tax…
By Stephen Buller ‘Tis the season to give thanks. I have many things to be thankful for; some I often take for granted, like a roof over my head and food on my table. Some that fill me with gratitude every day, like my wife and children, and some I feel lucky for, like being…
Vashon-Maury Community Council’s President’s Address By JC Graham Since its inception in 1933, our community council has had its ups and downs. Periods of coherence have been followed by dysfunction, or even disintegration, before – some time later – a new form of Council has taken shape. That’s what happened in 2022, when V-MCC was…
By Mary McFarlin The United States and Washington State are facing a literacy crisis. In 2024 in the U.S., based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 30% of fourth graders and 29% of eighth graders scored as proficient in reading. While our averages in Washington are somewhat higher than nationally, we still have a long…
By Stephen Buller I was chatting at a party the other day and, as often happens, found myself talking about our monetary system. I used the term “fiat currency,” and someone asked what that was. I know it’s annoying when people talk about their field in foreign terms and acronyms, as if everyone should know…
By Daniel Hooker I watch our Island community batten down the hatches, preparing for the ongoing storm that is a bipartisan multi-billion dollar cluster bomb of a budget. It’s dropped on the most impoverished portion of our population. I take pride in the people of Vashon-Maury Island and our determination and organized efforts to keep…
By Daniel Hooker You’re new. If you really want to be part of the community, get involved. You’ll feel better about being involved, and your body will feel better. For me, many years ago, saving myself from pancreatic cancer and heart disease (68% blocked descending aorta) involved coming to peace with myself and finding salvation…
By Rich Osborne My name is Rich Osborne. My company is All Things Rich. I sell olive oil, vinegars, sauces, spices, salts, rubs, and local raw honeys. Also dragons. I was a vendor at the Vashon Farmers Market on Saturdays for five years. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, my retail sales opportunities were closed down….