Llaughing Llamas Chronicles
Llaughing Llamas

Llaughing Llamas Chronicles

I’d love to give credit to Alex at the Auto Parts store for this one! Why are Irish bankers so successful? Because their capital is always Dublin! And thanks to Martin Feveyear for one more Irish joke! Why do you only put 239 beans into an Irish bean stew? Because, if you put one more…

What Brought You to the Island?
Arrival Stories

What Brought You to the Island?

Vashon was a complete mystery to me. Born and raised in the Seattle area, I had never heard of Vashon until I was sent over to the Island on assignment while working as a cable technician. I remember thinking, “Go where?” It was 2006, the day after a huge windstorm. The power was out all…

Love Letter to the Island
Letter to the Island

Love Letter to the Island

The Loop invites Islanders to share what they appreciate about Vashon-Maury Island and Island life. Send your letter to editor@vashonloop.com Dear Island, That morning I said yes to writing you, I had some doubts. You’ve changed so much in recent years. Did your magic still exist? Then I recalled what I love about you. Every…

Are Our Students Being Heard?
Editorial Page

Are Our Students Being Heard?

Our society champions the “freedom to love who you wish” with great consistency. The movie “Loving” portrays the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose arrest for interracial marriage in 1960s Virginia began a legal battle that would end with a historic Supreme Court decision in 1967. The documentary film, “The Case Against…

Coyote Solution in the Works
Editorial Page

Coyote Solution in the Works

Local experts, inspired by Yellowstone National Park, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, have formulated an innovative plan to simultaneously curb Vashon Island’s growing coyote and deer populations. “These intelligent and adaptable animals now manage to occupy almost every conceivable habitat type, from…

In Lockdown With “A Gentleman From Moscow”
Literary

In Lockdown With “A Gentleman From Moscow”

I invite you back to mid-March 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown started. It was seasonable on Vashon. But because it was not yet really spring, it was still easy to feel cold, especially at night.  Most notable at that time was a sense of worry and waitfulness. An uncertainty regarding what would come next, combined…

News

Vashon Park District Levy – To Renew or Not To Renew?

“Despite living on Vashon Island for close to 20 years, I find our levy system confusing,” I said. “I understand,” laughed Elaine Ott-Rocheford, Vashon Park District Executive Director. “Our property tax system is one of the most complicated in the country.” After a two-hour meeting, and some seriously mind-bending exercises, I began to understand how…

AtWork! Part 2 – An Interview with Brette
Island Voices

AtWork! Part 2 – An Interview with Brette

Brette is a smart, bold, funny islander who always speaks her mind. Brette recently began working at Vashon Thriftway and utilizes a job coach accommodation through AtWork! – a supported-employment nonprofit organization that works throughout Washington state to match people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with good jobs in their communities. Brette and I shared…

Cowzilla
Literary

Cowzilla

In last month’s “Farming Is Easy,” we introduced our foster cow Minnie, the purebred yearling Holstein whose name was upgraded on delivery to Leslie Lou Minnie Moo. Standing barely shy of six feet at the shoulder, my personal code name for her, “Cowzilla,” was rejected by one and all as too negative, human-centric, and bovine-shaming….

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