The COVID-19 lockdown brought into sharp focus our intergenerational trauma – emotional and spiritual baggage habitually restrained in “normal” times. We dove deep into our Indigeneity. Our thoughts turned to our First Nations ancestors who endured countless pandemics inflicted on them by colonization, the federal government, and the military. Would we survive this novel coronavirus?…
Welcome back, dear Salmon! We celebrate your return to our Island. We honor the end and beginning of your life cycle, and the wonder of your transformation. You feed the waters and forest, the creatures of sea, land, and air, as well as us humans You nourish our bodies, brains, and imagination, our spirits and…
Reflections on the SPJ Code of Ethics As a receiver of information, a reader of newspapers, a browser of magazines, a participant in social media platforms, a subscriber on YouTube, Rumble, Substack (and other platforms), a listener of radio shows and an all-around consumer of media … what does honesty look like to you? Isn’t…
This morning, I was trimming my mustache and soul patch. I almost went too far, which would have given me a Noel Coward mustache. Fortunately, I stopped just in time. After all, I didn’t want to look cowardly. The good news is, I’m looking in like Flynn! On another note: Curatives! – Letting go of…
Coffee is a labor-intensive crop, grown in some of the most economically marginalized and environmentally sensitive regions of the world. The life of not only the plants themselves, but also of the farmers, the pickers, and their families and communities, are vulnerable to rapid changes in political and economic challenges, as well as the ever-increasing…
By Andy Valencia We moved onto Vashon more than 20 years ago, and although there were occupants in Vashon Village, most times when I walked through, the feeling I got was “ghost town.” Eleven years ago, Cliff Goodman established himself as a local brewer whose products eventually made their way onto the ferries and to…
By March Twisdale Welcome to our new series, focused on Island Businesses that lie well outside of Vashon Town. For the Island newbie and the occasional visitor, this network of resources, services, professionals, experts, and knowledge is almost entirely hidden from view, and discovery is not easy. Many do not advertise. Some do not even…
By March Twisdale Written roughly 100 years ago, Upton Sinclair’s novel, “The Jungle,” captures the breadth of human behavior, both then and now. There is an interesting fact about fictional stories. No matter how far the author’s imagination strays from what is considered real or mundane, the fundamental basis of their work, the world, the…
By Kathy Abascal Intermittent fasting has been trendy for some time. On this type of fast, people eat freely for 8 hours and fast the remaining 16 hours of the day. While this fast can be very healthy if done properly, many have implemented it in a way that is not. For example, many skipped…
Autumn is here, and like always, it brings big changes to the amount and quality of daylight on the Island. These seasonal transitions can be intense – especially, it is said, for people who live in the forest and on the Westside. The twilight and eventual darkness become a constant companion, with a presence that’s…