By Janet Miller Bound for Vashon. We all have our path that brought us together onto this Rock. Each of our stories are unique, and some are truly inspiring. For Wayne and I, we had concluded that we just needed to get back to the Northwest. Wayne and I met at the University of Oregon….
Beach Cleaning
By Rich Osborne Suzanna and I go walking every day we can. Our favorite beach walks are Tramp Harbor and KVI beaches. A couple of years ago, we noticed that the amount of beer cans, cigarette butts, vape containers, and general trash had increased exponentially. At Suzanna’s suggestion, we started to take a plastic bag…
Dear Old Mom
By Mary Litchfield Tuel I have spent years in therapy trying to get the critical inner voice of my mother to pipe down, without success. Having realized that, I thought if I can’t get her to move out, I might as well mine her for material. My mother was fond of telling me that I…
Meeting Grief: Unmet Needs During the Pandemic Years
By Kara LC Jones (GriefAndCreativity.com) Though grief is as human an experience as joy or love, we often find we are not as skilled at dealing with loss and its aftermath as we might be if dealing with celebration. These pandemic years of human life have included a lot of adaptation, change, loss, and readjustment….
Welcome to Issue #2
Printed newspapers arrive on the Island today, and will be delivered to numerous businesses and other locations throughout the Island. Are you a fan from over the water? Or are you an Islander who doesn’t want to wait for your copy? For a newspaper experience (the closest you can get!) read The Vashon Loop, Vol….
An Incurable Trickster
By Seán Malone and John Sweetman John Sweetman and I were sipping beer in front of a roaring fire in the cozy confines of my log cabin overlooking outer Quartermaster Harbor. “Why don’t you write about that thieving raven you had in Republic,” John suggested. I laughed like hell when the raven tore out of…
Ten Things to Know About American Healthcare That Industry Insiders Will Not Tell You, Part Two
Read part 1 of this story here. 6. We are 12+ years into ObamaCare and have collectively spent more than $24 trillion on chronic healthcare services, but the healthcare system has barely taken a step toward the transformative thinking necessary to operationalize meaningful change. There has been no decrease in chronic disease rates, and we spend…
My Little Slice of Heaven
By Mary Litchfield Tuel The cat jumped up on me, and he was wet. I thought maybe he had slobbered all over himself, but as I toweled him off, I looked out the window and saw the leaves on the apple tree bouncing with raindrops. Earlier, before it rained, I swept off the front porch. That…
The Dorsal Spin: Enduring Spirits
By Orca Annie Stateler In the grip of the pandemic, Tlingit artist Odin Lonning painted four square panels for the Open Space Arts and Community’s public outdoor mural project. From openspacevashon.com: “Attention! Artists at Work” is a jobs program led by Open Space in partnership with local nonprofit organizations. The goal of the program is…
School Bond Daze
By Marc J. Elzenbeck It’s that time in the decade when a school district’s thoughts naturally turn to bonds, and next February, the Island will be asked to approve a $19.5 million capital raise. The math works out to a 20¢ increase per $1000 of King County-assessed property values. Those property values went up a…