By Andy Valencia The United States is staggering along under more debt than you might expect: US Public Debt, Last 10 Years Debt is money you borrow – rent, if you like. If the rent is very close to zero, who cares how much you’ve borrowed? But over time, if you print endless money at…
By Michael Shook By the time this is in print, the leaves of the bigleaf maples will have taken on their darker summer look, and depending on how dry things are, they might already have the first dulling of dust covering them. But for now, in June, their leaves, and those of every other plant…
by E. Dane Rogers About three months ago, March Twisdale asked me to write a few articles for The Loop. We share many similar views, and many opposite views, but what stood out to us both was the centrality of truth and our pursuit of it. Cultures rise and fall on much smaller issues. Another…
By Stephen Buller Continuing with the “Cash on Vashon” concept, this article will get to the heart of why so many people use credit cards, namely the rewards. We’ll look at the incentive this creates, why it’s okay for you to get that cash back, and how you can consciously choose when your reward is…
By Rich Osborne Yes, Vashon, at long last, we need to fully fund our fire department. Someone wiser than I said “Expecting better results while repeating the same behavior is the definition of insanity.” VIFR just getting by is risky in a warming climate with, whisper it, GLOBAL WARMING increasing our fire risk every year….
By Caitlin Rothermel The Vashon Island Fire and Rescue levy (Proposition 1) is coming to a vote this August. If the levy is voted in, the VIFR annual budget will grow from $6.7 million in 2023 to as high as $10.4 million in 2029. In our population-stable community of 10,866 people (based on United States…
by Nellie Bly To continue from last month, reducing one’s carbon footprint may best be achieved by: Keeping the car you have. Using real, pure gas. Taking care of your car, and other things you already own. Buying American. Not because of jingoism, but because buying local, or at least on your own continent, is…
By Caitlin Rothermel It can be challenging to garden when you have young children, but you also want to get them excited about growing things. It’s a dilemma. It is totally possible to introduce small, focused projects that can be fun for everyone. Like carrots. They can fit into small or otherwise hard-to-use spaces, and…
By Sandra Thylin I live in Montana. At the beginning of June, I drove to Spokane for my niece’s graduation. I was excited to hit up the Trader Joe’s because there isn’t one in Montana. My old roommate and I went on a snack run to stock up the mini-fridge, and one of the items…
By Marj Watkins When I and my family first came to Vashon Island in 1969, we bought a house with a view, joined the yacht club, and my husband, just retired from the United States Air Force, returned to his first career as a schoolteacher. He was hired to teach sixth grade as soon as…