Articles

In  last week’s column on Local Currency and  in previous ones, I’ve called for the relocalization of our Vashon economy as a hedge against the economic disturbances to come as a result of diminishing resources.  I’d like to continue that discussion.

Earlier this month, Julian Smith of Vashon Island, Washington, was one of two Washington State University seniors honored with the2011 Big Ten Senior Award in Academics.

During his life to date, Islander Joe Ulatoski has held 47 different jobs, lived in 26 different places and worked in 47 different countries. This fact alone tells you what a remarkable life Joe has led. On Sunday, May 15th, Joe will share interesting stories from his unique and varied life experiences as part of Vashon Community Care’s Telling Stories, a Speaker Series by and about Vashon Locals.

Islanders responded to the recent opening of Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union by opening accounts already totaling more than 2 million dollars. Clearly, many of us consider it important that our money be invested exclusively in our community.

In April, 2012, the Vashon Island Chorale will present a concert of music written by local composers or composers with "ties" to the community.

Andrew Franks and Alexander Atkins have been making movies together for more than a decade. They planned their first film in the hallways of McMurray, and by high school they were utilizing the talents of their teachers and showing their films at the Vashon Theater.

OK, OK, OK.  So maybe you poured your heart and soul into in and it was just thrown in your face. Maybe it was a dying business. It was a great idea, a good location but not the right time and it just wouldn’t fly.

In the next several weeks I will be outlining the 10 biggest workout mistakes made by the masses.  Take notes if you are stuck in a rut or a beginner.  This information will propel you much closer to your goals and at a faster rate.

I’m in our library, working on an earlier version of this column, when the fragile calm is shattered like a brick tossed through a window. Our oldest son Colin, ten, and oldest daughter, Meredith, eight, have discovered that they disagree.  

“Honey, there’s a whale in the yard! Grab the camera,” I shouted to Odin around 7:30 on Sunday night, March 27. A juvenile Gray whale glided sideways, barely 10 feet off our beach, waving tail flukes and a pec flipper. S/he had eelgrass draped over the pec flipper, suggesting s/he was bottom foraging in shallow water for tasty tidbits: crustaceans, worms, et al. 

Amanda Knox and her friend, Raffaele Sollecito, were wrongly convicted in 2009 of murdering her British roommate and friend, Meredith Kercher.  They are serving 26-year and 25-year prison sentences near Perugia, Italy.  Rudy Guede, the real killer, is serving only 16 years for the murder; his sentence shortened after the Perugian court encouraged him to ‘apologize’ to the Kercher’s for murdering their daughter.  I am not kidding.