By Stephen Buller The initiative to reject Washington’s “millionaire’s” tax was shot down in spectacular fashion, and it looks like high-income Washingtonians will be filing a state income tax return starting in 2028. If you think it won’t affect you in any way, I hope this article will give some perspective on how taxes usually…
By Marc J. Elzenbeck It’s evening, and a landscaper sits in a grocery parking lot, savoring the remains of the day. The sign on his passenger door says “Landscaping,” the truck is a diesel and its idle resonates deep. The driver of the pristine white 2024 Chevy Silverado LTZ Duramax looks to be in his…
By Gates (Pam) Johnson It’s beginning to look a lot like the holiday season. I can’t believe that I am five months into my year-long cancer treatments. There are only four more infusions to be done, then I should be declared cancer-free. It sure has been a long, rough road, but I’m still standing and…
Upcoming concert news and reflection, and a nod to a Seattle early music luminary By Jane Valencia “I have news for you!The stags bellow,the snow of winter fallsSummer is no more.” ~ From a 9th c. Irish poem On Saturday, November 21 at 2:00 p.m., Islanders have a chance to savor fall’s passage into winter…
By Caitlin Rothermel Scientists are in an ongoing discussion as to whether our recommended vitamin D intake is too low, and whether this is due – at least in part – to a poor mathematical decision. Some important background. In the United States and Canada, the daily recommended vitamin D intake for adults up to…
I wonder if anyone else on Vashon was as disappointed as I was to receive this year’s voter pamphlet which described the various good-intentioned candidates and their messages to voters of why they are running and what goals they might be interested in pursuing, if elected. Here’s what I find very sad: Not that anyone…
By Emily Kiefer Sometimes, all a reader wants is to fall into a cozy fantasy that reads like a long-lost fairytale. At least that’s what I felt from the first page reading “Once Upon a Broken Heart” by Stephanie Garber. As a fantasy lover at heart, this book (and entire trilogy) hits all the right…
By Mike Ivaska As I sit and write, my family and I prepare to go to the hospital. It will just be a preparatory appointment (which, by the time you read this, will have been a few weeks ago). But the timing is imperfect. Our daughter needs a corrective procedure to fix something in her…
An Update on Marj Watkins By Suzanna Leigh “Swing low, sweet chariot, comin’ for to carry me home …” Erin’s voice touches my heart like holy water, as we sing with Mom. Mom’s voice is barely above a whisper, but she is singing! Later, Mom hums some of the tune, or a bar or two…