Editor’s note: This regular column is written by VashonBePrepared, an island emergency preparedness organization. This article is an adapted of that organization’s newsletter.

Only weeks remain to save continued funding of the midday runs on the King County Water Taxi. Things are not looking good, and the state legislature will adjourn at the end of April.

Rick Wallace, VashonBePrepared’s representative on the Islanders for Ferry Action (IFA) steering committee, explains: “We are all grateful for the Governor’s promise to restore three-ferry service to the Triangle Route. However, within hours of his announcement, Washington State Ferries staff were already walking back the Governor’s commitment. Unfortunately, legislators considering water taxi funding don’t understand that the car ferry restoration is anything but certain. Legislators are assuming that restored car ferries will render the water taxi unnecessary, and they are discussing cutting water taxi service. So, we are in a double jeopardy situation where car ferry restoration doesn’t seem entirely feasible with the current number of boats, and our water taxi service looks like it will get cut as well.”

For more details, here are two links:

• A Beachcomber editorial that explains the situation in plain language: tinyurl.com/WaterTaxiEditorial.

• An IFA video of of islanders explaining why the water taxi matters: tinyurl.com/IFAwaterTaxiMatters.

Islanders for Ferry Action asks everyone to take a few minutes and share their ferry crisis story with our legislative delegation. Explain how vital the water taxi is for mitigating the ferry crisis by getting people to medical appointments, school, and work. Here are the emails for each of our representatives:

• 34th District Senator Emily Alvarado: Emily.Alvarado@leg.wa.gov

• 34th District Representative Joe Fitzgibbon: Joe.Fitzgibbon@leg.wa.gov

• 34th District Representative Brianna Thomas: Brianna.Thomas@leg.wa.gov

New VashonBePrepared Website

Try it out — explore the new website at VashonBePrepared.org. (Courtesy photo)

The new VashonBePrepared website connects islanders directly and quickly to preparedness information with all-new layouts and menus.

Special sections have been set up with checklists and tips for preparing your home, your animals, your neighborhood, and your business.

A section on hazards helps you understand the particular risks we face on Vashon, including everything from severe weather to earthquakes and landslides.

VashonBePrepared.org has been completely rebuilt and now displays well on any size of device, from a smartphone to a tablet to a desktop computer.

You can choose English or Spanish, plus a long list of additional languages.

The revamped search feature makes it easy to find information anywhere on the site, also soon to include the vast archive of these newsletters.

Thanks go to the VashonBePrepared web development team that worked with Vashon Island web developer New Theory throughout the project. We add a special shout-out to team members Michelle Bates and Vicky de Monterey Richoux for their home-stretch push to take the website live. Other web team members include Pen Stout, Michael Sperazza, and Rick Wallace, plus expert input from all the VashonBePrepared groups such as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS), and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

CERT: Constantly ready

In this CERT photo, Michael Meyer from Vashon’s Auxiliary Communication Service (ACS) teaches best practice procedures to conduct clear emergency radio communications in the field. (MJ Witt photo)

Vashon’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) trains frequently to keep up their skills and be ready for an emergency call-out. Nearly 30 CERT volunteers worked on a recent Saturday, which had been designated as a concentrated training day.

The training covered a range of topics, such as decoding the island’s street naming system and map reading. Find out more about CERT at vashonbeprepared.org/partnerorganization/cert.