CONSERVATION Vashon steward works to save wild salmon. Page 14
THE POWER OF WORDS Blue Scholars bring a message to Vashon. Page 11
es See pag 0 13 to 2
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012
Vol. 57, No. 16
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
75¢
LAWMAKERS VISIT AFTER MARATHON SESSION ENDS Islanders hopeful about new plan for county engagement County will pilot program on Vashon By NATALIE JOHNSON Staff Writer
Natalie Johnson/Staff Photo
The three lawmakers who represent the 34th Legislative District, which includes Vashon, West Seattle and Burien, attended the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council meeting Monday night, where they talked about the lengthy legislative session that ended last week. The three Democrats — from left, Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, Rep. Eileen Cody and Sen. Sharon Nelson — said the session was at times brutal and rancorous. Even so, they said, it ended on a positive note, with lawmakers successfully staving off threatened cuts to K-12 and higher education and keeping the safety net largely intact. “I have to say, this was the worst session we’ve had in my 18 years (in Olympia), but I’m very happy with the way it turned out,” Cody told the crowd of about 30 Islanders at McMurray Middle School. All three cited successes, including ending a tax break for large, out-of-state banks, progress on state-sponsored health care reform and a transportation budget that once again keeps the state ferry system afloat. The state budget was spared some of the worst-case scenarios, thanks to a slowly improving economy and fewer people seeking state services, they said. Even so, significant problems persist, including a ferry system that still is not on solid financial footing. “There’s a lot of good news but a lot of huge challenges,” Fitzgibbon said. Nelson agreed, adding, “Our community has to be one that votes for taxes.”
Islanders who attended a meeting to introduce King County’s Community Service Area program were cautiously optimistic about the county’s new plan for engaging Vashon residents. About a dozen county officials came to Vashon for the meeting, including county Councilmember Joe McDermott and Alan Painter, the newly appointed Community Service Area (CSA) manager. At the meeting, which took place Tuesday at McMurray Middle school, officials presented the framework of the CSA program, which they called a work in progress. They explained how King County — an administration that often seems far away from the ferry-dependent Island — might communicate with Islanders in the future. They also handed out what they called the 2012-2013 work plan, a document that outlined current county projects on Vashon as well as issues the county plans to address in the following year — everything from increasing the water taxi’s capacity to restructuring Vashon’s
police service. Officials suggested Islanders’ input would help shape the work plan in the future and said a new grant program would provide funding projects that had community support. “I think the majority of the people came out of there with a little bounce in their step, and looking at this as an opportunity to start something new,” said Islander Tag Gornall after the meeting. The new approach to engaging residents of unincorporated King County comes after the county in January ended its contract with the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council — along with the five other unincorporated area councils — stripping it of its semi-official status and pulling its funding. The county is now piloting the CSA program on Vashon, a place Painter said is ideal because of the Island’s distinct boundaries and engaged residents. “There’s a strong history of community involvement on Vashon, and we wanted to take advantage of that,” he said in a brief interview after the meeting. The county hopes to get continued feedback from Islanders and work out the kinks before SEE COUNTY, 25
Chorale’s concert celebrates Vashon
By ELIZABETH SHEPHERD Arts Editor
Vashon Island Chorale will present its spring concert this weekend, featuring an eclectic repertoire that includes ballads, religious works, jazz, love songs and even a choral soundtrack from a major motion picture. What everything on the diverse menu of music has in common is a direct connection to Vashon. The concert, dubbed “Songs in the Key of V: Celebrating Vashon Composers,” was the brainchild of chorale artistic director Gary Cannon.
More than a year ago, Cannon began to imagine what a Vashon-themed concert might sound like, and he said he was delighted by what he heard when he began to listen to locally composed music. “I was thrilled to discover so much fine music connected to our Island,” he said. In fact, he added, he found so many local works that in the end, he had to make some difficult choices about what to include in the final repertoire. Islanders can delight in his decisions on Saturday and Sunday, when 60 chorale SEE CHORALE, 27
Courtesy Photo
Chorale members sing at a recent rehearsal. The choir’s latest concert features a lineup of pieces that were all written by Vashon composers or people connected to the Island.