Vashon Island saw no lack of big news in 2024, from health care to ferries to the all-consuming comprehensive plan update. Here are eleven of the biggest stories The Beachcomber covered this year.
Island health care expands
This year’s biggest story wasn’t one story at all. It was the flowering of new health care options from no less than three different island providers.
Vashon Fire & Rescue’s Mobile Integrated Health program, established in February, was first out of the gate.
The program provides home care for islanders, by appointment, with a wide variety of needs, including follow-up visits after surgery, wound care, fall prevention assessments, care for chronic conditions, and nutrition and wellness checks.
MIH is funded by local property tax revenue and an already-existing King County levy, with no additional cost to those who use the service.
Currently operating two days a week, the program is now slated for expansion to three days a week. Its current staff of one firefighter/EMT, two part-time registered nurses, and one per-diem nurse, will expand in January to include a part-time licensed independent clinical social worker as well as a part-time physician’s assistant who will be able to treat injuries and illnesses and prescribe medicines.
Over the summer, Vashon Pharmacy began to roll out another option for islanders: a clinic now open five days a week that is currently staffed by three credentialed pharmacists.
The clinic, said pharmacy owner Tyler Young, can help fill the gap in providing treatment for a variety of needs and acute ailments that islanders have, in recent years, struggled to find immediate care for.
Services offered include diagnosis and treatment of acute conditions including urinary tract and yeast infections, stings, bites, and burns, and management of chronic conditions including diabetes, cholesterol, asthma, and blood pressure screenings.
The clinic also offers consultations on travel vaccines, vaccine assessments, and point-of-care testing and treatment for COVID-19, flu, and streptococcal pharyngitis (Group A strep). The clinic can also diagnose respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Vashon Pharmacy’s clinic offers consultations on hormonal contraception, as well as risk assessments for opioid and tobacco cessation. Nutritional consultations and medical therapy reviews are also available.
In August, the Vashon Health Care District (VHCD) voted to contract with DispatchHealth, a mobile urgent care provider, to serve the island eight hours per day, seven days per week. It was part of a bigger expansion of the district’s goals into urgent care, behavioral health and care for vulnerable adults, following its 2022 split with Sea Mar.
The DispatchHealth contract culminated months of study by the district to find the right urgent care fit for the island. A brick-and-mortar clinic with MultiCare didn’t transpire, in part due to the island’s small population.
In the meantime, VHCD considered but ultimately declined a pitch from VIFR to shelve their DispatchHealth plan and instead fund VIFR’s plan to provide urgent care through an expansion of its MIH program.
DispatchHealth treats urgent care conditions such as skin infections, urinary tract infections, coughs and colds, cuts that need minor stitches, illnesses, care for minor muscle pains, food poisoning and kidney stones. Staffed by nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, EMTs and other medical practitioners, its crews can suture wounds, administer fluids, x-ray suspected fractures and more.
DispatchHealth saw 170 patients in October and November, its first two months on the island. Data from the provider indicated very high patient satisfaction.
Vashon Island Fire & Rescue
Firefighter/EMTs Fale Waggen (left) and Yolanda Dowell, at Station 56. (Elizabeth Shepherd Photo)
The addition of Mobile Integrated Health (see Page 1) was far from VIFR’s only accomplishment in 2024.
The district continued its trajectory of enhanced service in 2024, following the passage of a levy “lid lift” for the district in a 2023 election. The district has also received new grant funding — which most substantially has included $2.3 million in 2023 and 2024 from the federal government’s Ground Emergency Medical Transportation program.
The district’s two most recent hires, in October — bringing its number of career firefighters to 24 — were made possible by another $850,000 federal grant to cover those wages and benefits for the next three years.
VIFR’s aging fleet — long a concern in the district — now boasts a new fire engine and two new ambulances, as well as the replacement of several staff vehicles.
In October, the district marked one year of operation of its reopened Burton Fire Station #56, speeding response time to calls for help in many parts of Vashon’s south end and Maury Island.
Additionally, VIFR is now six months into a major renovation of its main Station 55, on Bank Road — a $3.2 million project with construction expected to be completed by June 2025. The project includes a medical examination room for walk-in care at the station; a decontamination and gear storage room for safety and efficiency; new MIH office space; an upgraded fire alarm and sprinkler systems; renovated living quarters; repairs to major water damage; and a new roof over a portion of the building.
But late 2024 also signaled big change for the district, as Fire Chief Matt Vinci, who has spearheaded the district’s progress in his two-and-a-half-year tenure, announced in December that he would resign to accept a job as a fire chief in a larger district in eastern Washington.
VIFR, no doubt, will continue to make news in the months to come (see story, page 1).
Comprehensive Plan
Morgan Brown, Pia Bloom and their dog Suki stand in front of the field on the south side of S.W. 178th. (Leslie Brown photo)
No moment felt more like throwing off a fifty-pound hiking backpack than the conclusion this month of the two-year King County Comprehensive Plan update process.
The county drafts a new comp plan every 20 years, and halfway between, it issues a complete plan review and update, as required by the Growth Management Act. The county council adopted its 10-year update this month on Dec. 10, marking the end of that roughly two-year process.
The comp plan largely concerns unincorporated King County, so it had major implications for Vashon. It brought changes to zoning and housing incentives in the island’s central “Rural Town” area, designed to encourage greater density and housing affordability.
Those zoning and housing changes earned the most ink, but the sprawling reach of the plan connected to numerous other major island projects. It included provisions facilitating efforts to convert the Grange Hall on the island’s north end into a grocery store; for developer Morgan Brown to build an ambitious green housing development behind the Vashon Market IGA; to re-evaluate the island’s water system; and to allow Heritage Trail signs on the island.
Geographically speaking, most of the island — zoned “Rural” — was barely touched by the plan. But conversation and debate about the plan reached every neighborhood, from Tahlequah to Dockton to the north end ferry dock.
As the plan approached the finish line, the pace of changes reached an all-out sprint — with legislators and islanders burning the midnight oil to get their favored projects in the text, and to carve out measures they felt weren’t appropriate for Vashon.
The plan’s passage will continue to generate news stories. But you can take a deep breath, for now; the council won’t touch the plan again until 2029, at the earliest, for technical and minor adjustments.
Aquatic transportation
A passenger on the Triangle route watches as another ferry passes on the way between Vashon Island and West Seattle. (Alex Bruell photo)
The year started with the news many islanders had long been dreading: Washington State Ferries (WSF) acknowledged that its COVID-era ferry restoration plan, which had estimated full service on Vashon’s north end could be back by early 2024, was not going to happen.
Instead, WSF announced, full, lasting restoration on all of its routes will likely have to wait until the agency can get its first new hybrid-electric ferries — at least 2028.
The news galvanized Vashon, and by the end of the year, coalitions of islanders and local, regional, state and federal politicians had achieved real, though measured progress for aquatic transportation on and off the island.
In April, former Chamber of Commerce Director Amy Drayer took the helm of Islanders for Ferry Action (IFA), a chamber-sponsored advocacy group.
This summer, King County added four round trips each weekday to its water taxi service between Vashon and downtown Seattle, part of an injection of state funding to help the island out. And WSF added an unscheduled third boat — often referred to colloquially as the “ghost boat” — to make unscheduled runs on the north-end routes, when needed and when crews and a vessel are available.
Throughout the year, IFA met with ferry advocates from other Salish Sea ferry-dependent communities to jointly plan for the upcoming legislative session. In the meantime, WSF is currently working with the Vashon, Southworth and West Seattle communities on a project to rebuild the Fauntleroy ferry dock.
Full ferry relief is still, by all appearances, years away. But this year proved Vashon’s capability to organize, self-advocate, and, if you’ll excuse the pun, “get ship done.”
Island Center Homes
The ribbon is cut at Island Center Homes by, from left to right: Kelly Rider, director of the King County Department of Community and Human Services; Judy Tucker, owner of Form + Function Architecture; Kari Dohn Decker, interim executive director of Vashon HouseHold; Alex Crowder, CEO of Crowder Construction; Chris Lovings, community engagement specialist at the Washington State Department of Commerce; Rachel Hetrick, housing stewardship manager at Vashon HouseHold; and Shelly Whitlock, property manager at Vashon HouseHold. (John Decker photo)
Island housing nonprofit Vashon HouseHold this month cut the ribbon on its finished 40-unit Island Center Homes affordable housing development, marking the conclusion of a seven-year project to expand the island’s thin rental market. Residents will start moving in this January.
Island Center Homes will serve veterans, people making 30% or less of the area median income, seniors, people who have experienced homelessness, people using the behavioral health system and adults with developmental disabilities. The project leapt several common island hurdles — including water shares, permitting delays and costs — to finish in only two years after breaking ground.
Another major affordable housing development is still in the works. In February, the developer of Creekside Village on Vashon — a 40-unit apartment community off Gorsuch Road promising affordable rents for workforce tenants — received $2 million in funding for the project from the Washington State Department of Commerce.
School finances
(Left to right) Alana Bass, Amelia Medeiros, Annabelle Moeckel, and school nurse and track coach Brandi Greenidge sit together after the school board meeting. In an emotional appeal, the three students urged the board not to cut Greenidge’s job. (Elizabeth Shepherd photo)
This spring, Vashon Island School District (VISD) staff members, parents and students united to voice opposition to staffing and program cuts proposed by Superintendent Slade McSheehy in response to what was then projected to be a $1.3 million deficit in the 2024-25 school year.
A successful emergency fundraising campaign by the Vashon Island Schools Foundation restored some of the projected cuts, including the jobs of one of the two nurses serving the district’s 1,400 students and a member of the small intervention team that helps elementary school students catch up with their peers in reading and math.
One of McSheehy’s remaining reduction in force measures cut in half the hours of operation of McMurray Middle School’s library program — meaning that the school’s librarian, Julie Jaffe, was asked to work half-time as a librarian and half-time as a classroom teacher. Jaffe, who had not worked as a classroom teacher for many years, announced her earlier-than-expected retirement in May, after a 30-year tenure with the district.
Other finance woes included a State Auditor’s Office report issued in September, finding fault with VISD.
According to the report, the district’s business office staff lacked adequate training, did not gain an adequate understanding of their duties, did not have an effective secondary review of their work, and lacked a process to adequately reconcile some cash accounts to their general ledger.
In response to the finding, the district acknowledged “the lack of adequate controls, oversight and reconciliation processes and recognizes the critical nature of this finding.” The district also detailed its corrective action — to contract with Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) to provide a comprehensive review of fiscal processes and establish internal controls.
The district’s director of business and finance, Kim Mayer, resigned in August. District finances are now being overseen by Cassie Zizah, who was hired to fill that position, and Justin Lanting, PSESD’s financial director, who has now revamped the district’s financial reporting statements. In November, Lanting unexpectedly reported that in his and Zizah’s review of the district’s finances, the district’s general operating reserve — used to manage cash flow during months when the district awaited infusion of tax revenue — stood substantially higher than expected, at 9.7% of the district’s almost $27.5 million budget.
Vashon activism
Around one hundred demonstrators took to the town core in January on Vashon Island to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. (Alex Bruell photo)
From the presidential race to big-ticket races in the state executive and four big citizen initiatives, islanders had a major November ballot to fill out.
Along with the typical — sandwich board and yard signs, hats and lots of social media posts — islanders found creative ways to reach out to their neighbors.
Islander Jenna Riggs, the beekeeper behind “Honey for Harris,” hand-delivered jars of her harvested honey and encouraged islanders to make a $47 donation directly to the Harris campaign. Known for his lovingly crafted troll costume, fellow islander Matt Beursken took to the town center for weeks to encourage voters to pick Harris.
Vashon is, of course, a reliably Democrat-voting bastion even in the Western Washington sea of blue. But activists weren’t universally supportive of the Democratic administration and the status quo.
In January, around 100 people called for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war at the center of Vashon town. As of this month — 14 months after a Hamas-led incursion into Israel took more than 200 hostages and killed about 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians — Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza and the associated humanitarian disaster has now led to a reported death toll of more than 45,000 Palestinians.
“The question of the Palestinians is kind of a litmus test of the world’s humanity,” said Bett Capehart at that protest.
Plihal places 13th in Paris
Olympic athlete Jacob Plihal arrived to the Vashon Theatre backlot to cheers and applause from the Vashon community on Aug. 27. (Alex Bruell photo)
In a climate that saw some bitter debates on local and national politics, no one brought Vashon together quite like Jacob Plihal.
Vashon’s own Olympic sculler took 13th place at the Paris Olympics in the men’s single sculls, shining a spotlight on the island in the world of rowing and proving that Plihal belongs in the cohort of the rowing world’s elite.
Plihal, 28 and towering at six-foot-ten-inches, competed in a particularly grueling event — the singles, where individual rowers steer and propel themselves with an oar in each hand to try to finish a 2,000 meter course the fastest.
Plihal spent 2024 earning wins at qualifying tournaments around the world, with islander Patrick Call documenting his globe-trotting journey to France. He won his race in the “C” final by a commanding 2.5 seconds — setting an American record. In doing so, he won 13th place overall in the competition.
Plihal came home in late August to cheers and applause from hundreds at the Vashon Theatre Backlot, where he relived his final race, reconnected with friends and answered questions about the Olympic games.
Following the presentation, Plihal gave this advice for future would-be Olympian rowers: “Enjoy it. Row hard. Commit to your race. Trust your training. Be a student of the sport. Watch World Rowing races. Be thoughtful, be consistent, and be a good teammate.”
County transfers Mukai plant
From left to right: Lynn Greiner, Kay Longhi, Teresa Mosqueda and Jennifer Meisner. In this photo, Mosqueda passes a basket to the Friends of Mukai representing the physical transfer of the barreling plant property back to the Vashon community. (Alex Bruell photo)
Islanders in September celebrated the transfer of the Mukai Farm & Garden Fruit Barreling Plant to the Friends of Mukai — the last major hurdle in the long-awaited quest by the nonprofit to restore the historic barreling plant to public use.
Friends of Mukai acquired the Mukai house and garden property eight years ago, and restored the exterior of the house to resemble its appearance in B.D. Mukai’s time, along with the fields and garden at the property.
The transfer was crucial for the organization’s plans to rehabilitate and return the historic 98-year-old Mukai agricultural building to its original use: Food processing and preservation.
The plant, when restored, will feature five tenant spaces as an island food hub for food processing and preservation. The Vashon Island Growers Association’s food hub (including a commercial kitchen and storage) will live in one, and other tenants — from bakers to fermented food producers — will come to occupy the other four. The building will also feature interpretive and historical materials to educate visitors and tell the story of the Mukai family.
Outcry follows monk’s videos
(Left to right) Alana Bass, Amelia Medeiros, Annabelle Moeckel, and school nurse and track coach Brandi Greenidge sit together after the school board meeting. In an emotional appeal, the three students urged the board not to cut Greenidge’s job. (Elizabeth Shepherd photo) A store worker cleans the coffee aisle of Thriftway near the empty spot where Monastery Blend Coffee had been displayed. (Elizabeth Shepherd photo)
Videos posted by island cleric Father Tryphon led to controversy, a coffee boycott and the formation of a new group, Not On Our Island, aimed at organizing islanders to show solidarity with the island’s LGBTQ+ community.
Tryphon is the abbot of the All-Merciful Saviour Monastery, a Russian Orthodox church founded on Maury Island in 1986.
In June, Tryphon published two widely-viewed videos condemning Pride Month on his YouTube page, which has almost 30,000 followers, and then subsequently removed both following an uproar on local social media pages.
One of the videos was shot from the window of a slowly moving car, showing Pride flags waving in the breezeway of Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) and hanging outside uniquely identifiable private residences on Vashon.
The video was backed by Tryphon’s stern narration of Bible verses from the Old Testament book of Proverbs, detailing God’s punishment for the sin of pride. A second video, bannered with a preview image of Tryphon in front of a Pride flag, was titled “The Source of All Evil” — splashed in large red letters across the graphic.
The videos, said members of Not On Our Island, shattered their sense of safety on Vashon.
In a national climate of sharply rising anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in numerous states, hate crimes and vigilante attacks, members of Not On Our Island said, Tryphon’s pronouncements could serve as “dog whistles” — seemingly innocuous statements that can provoke violent behavior among a target audience — for extremists among his thousands of YouTube followers, or others online, to target and harm LGBTQ+ islanders.
In a subsequent apology video, Tryphon said that filming private property was a mistake and apologized to anyone “who unintentionally might have been hurt” by his actions and statements, which “were not directed at any individual.”
In an interview, Tryphon also said he was not anti-gay and had been misunderstood by those who criticized him.
As a result of calls for a boycott of Monstery Blend Coffee, a long-time enterprise of the Vashon Monastery, both Vashon Thriftway and Island Market IGA removed the product from their shelves.
Thunderbird Treatment Center
More than 60 people turned out in person to the Vashon Presbyterian Church in September for a Vashon-Maury Island Community Council meeting that focused mostly on the upcoming Seattle Indian Health Board’s Thunderbird Treatment Center and on details of the county’s comprehensive plan process. (Alex Bruell photo)
Though the facility did not open this year, the plans by the Seattle Indian Health Board to open the Thunderbird Treatment Center on Vashon at the site of the former Vashon Community Care building once again drew the attention of islanders.
The Health Board unveiled details of the treatment center at a number of public events throughout the spring and summer, and islanders debated the project at a handful of contentious community council meetings — ultimately culminating in a 97-26 community vote to officially endorse the project at a September meeting.
In August, The Beachcomber released a painstakingly reported update on the complicated pieces of zoning law around the project. In short: Despite some confusing wording in county code, there are no obstacles from King County to the treatment center opening as a Community Residential Facility on Vashon, offering a 45-day intensive inpatient treatment program for those who are addicted to alcohol or other drugs.
