A few weeks ago, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the state of Washington has failed to meet its constitutional duty to sufficiently fund basic education. The ruling compels the Legislature to follow through on ESBH 2261, a massive education reform bill passed in 2009 with an implementation deadline of 2018. Noting the Legislature’s lack of progress to date, the high court said it will retain jurisdiction to ensure lawmakers meet the reform bill’s deadline.
We have a modest proposal for Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s board of commissioners.
When you live in a maritime climate, the vagaries of weather don’t exactly dominate your life. Spring spills into summer, rainy but mostly pleasant and mild. Fall can be glorious and sweet, but rarely extreme. Winter is grey and wet and rainy, but again — certainly by northern standards — mild.
Raven Pyle-McCrackyn joined me for coffee at Minglement one gray afternoon in December. She walked over from the office building next door where she works as an accountant for Williams + Callan. Before setting her cup down at my table, Raven stopped to greet several people. My first impression was of a woman who makes a strong connection with others. As the interview progressed, that first impression began to make sense. The words connection and community peppered many of Raven’s answers. By the end, it became clear they were at the heart of her story.
Last year at this time, with the community’s help, Preserve Our Islands did an amazing thing. We won one of the most important environmental battles for both the Island and Puget Sound as the acquisition of the former Glacier site was completed.
Every now and then, a court steps in and through the force of its opinion brings about wholesale change in our political, social or environmental landscape.
Three weeks ago, just back from a 14-hour flight from Europe, where I was visiting my grandkids. Wiped. Crawled into bed at 7 p.m., snuggled down and …
I took my cell phone out to the car, away from my kids’ inquisitive ears, to make the call. Took a couple of deep breaths and dialed. “Hi. I don’t think we’ve ever met . . .”
It’s been a little shocking to discover the depths of the Vashon Park District’s financial problems.
With 2011 drawing to a close, we at The Beachcomber would like to offer our thanks to the many people who support us.
As part of a liberal press conspiracy, The Beachcomber asked us to review the past year and highlight events they were too timid to discuss.
Our Island has been alight with wonder these past weeks. In these short days, as power outages remind us that the dark and cold are ever near, the Island has been alive with light and wonder. For weeks, we have been singing and dancing and reading out loud to one another, in plays and ballet performances, concerts and book readings. We outdo one another in gingerbread architectural extravaganzas, and Island quilters and knitters, carvers and potters have been busily turning out creations of such loveliness. Best of all, the cold afternoons and quickly falling nights are met with colored lights everywhere, adorning our homes and fences, trees and tractors. The Island glows in the dark.
In a community as small as Vashon’s, small things sometimes matter. And one of those small things is the location of this year’s Christmas tree.
