Now that we have our feet planted firmly in the new year, let’s take a look at some newsworthy items 2018 might bring to the pages of The Beachcomber:
Out of the gate, we had Vashon High School making national headlines when it opened its new all-gender restrooms — being one of the first public schools in the country to convert previously gendered restrooms — and it looks like the Vashon Island School District will remain on the news radar, locally at least, as it searches for a new superintendent to replace the retiring Michael Soltman (see story, page 1).
As 2017 came to a close, Vashon saw its first retail cannabis shop open five years after Initiative 502 was passed by popular vote in Nov. 2012. Have the floodgates opened? A second shop is said to open in the coming weeks.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, (D-WA), who won the Congressional seat for Washington’s 7th district in 2016 after long-term incumbent Jim McDermott retired, will return to the island for a second town hall (the first was last spring) at the end of January.
Vashon town’s ever-evolving business landscape now features, albeit temporarily, a new musical instrument-lending library (see story, page 12) and the business planning to open in the Vashon Landing building (the Ruby Brink) has painted the formerly red bricks blue. Will 2018 be the year it finally opens? Cliff’s Beer lovers, meanwhile, anticipate the opening of his Vashon Brewing Community Pub in Vashon Village this spring.
Vashon Community Care starts the year under new management as Transforming Age has recently taken over from Providence. (See story, page 1.)
Speaking of VCC, we have it on good authority that one of the special trishaw bikes that the Vashon Senior Center and VCC plan to share in a Cycling Without Age program was fundraised for and arrived back in the fall. Rides are set to begin when the weather becomes a little more cooperative, so watch for it on the road when the sun comes out.
The pool now has its dome and opened for its trial of year-round swimming on Monday. Will you go? Will the project be a success? Stay tuned.
Last year brought us the Cowboy Junkies, this year, the inimitable K.D. Lang lands on the island to perform a concert as a fundraiser for the Land Trust and Vashon Center for the Arts next month. And anyone who was listening to the radio in the 90s will likely remember another artist coming to perform this spring, Paula Cole, who has sung backup for Peter Gabriel and had her own hits with “Where Have all the Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait.”
Vashon’s multi-focused resistance groups are still hard at work. What will this year’s targets and actions include? How can you get involved?
November will bring us the most significant mid-term elections in recent memory — that is if no one has pushed their “big, powerful buttons” yet.
And last, but certainly not least, The Beachcomber will, presumably, find itself a new editor. Also keep an eye out for changes in the paper’s design, the community calendar and our website in the coming months.
