Disqus - Latest Comments for YourNeighbor

Re: Vashon ferry worker on leave after road rage incident - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 16:44:24 -0000

For some reason, many people are quite confident in believing the worst about ferry workers whether they are on duty or not. King 5 has made up many reports that demonize union ferry workers from "investigating" how the trash is thrown away to overtime and other pay issues. Nobody ever seems concerned about whether King 5 or Mr. Schiller are right or accurate in their assertions that ferry workers are a modern day bogey man.

In this King 5 report, Mr. Schiller says in his own words that this has gone on for months between him and Mr. Brice. I believe this is the tip of the iceberg. While Mr. Schiller would have us believe that what was going on was him witnessing Mr. Brice speeding repeatedly, I have heard quite a different story about this ongoing incident. If King 5 was focused on doing even basic investigative journalism, it would have interviewed Mr. Schiller and learned that this accuser was fabricating a story to bully someone that wouldn't let him get his way on the ferry. Both King 5 and Mr. Schiller have done a huge disservice to Mr. Brice and the WSF telling this tall tale on television as if it were true.

It turns out that Mr. Schiller is one of those drivers that insists on getting the center tunnel lane on the boat each morning and has been repeatedly ignoring Mr. Brice's directions to park in other spots. He has repeatedly flipped off deck crew such as Mr. Brice while loading, ignored parking instructions and parked where he pleased. Sadly, this has not been dealt with effectively to this point.

At some point, Mr. Schiller was able to identify Mr. Brice driving behind him off duty and started driving erractically by slowing way down and hitting his brakes repeatedly until Mr. Brice tried to pass him. At this point, Mr. Schiller swerved to block the pass and made Mr. Brice almost go off the road. Mr. Schiller instigated this whole charade by being the aggressive driver not Mr. Brice. Unfortunately, neither driver called the police to report these incidents before they led up to Sandwichgate.

I know Mr. Brice enough to know that the details I have heard and outlined above are a far more believable narrative than the one supplied by Mr. Schiller and King 5. From what I have heard from other Islanders, there are many that know Mr. Brice and, even without the facts from both sides of this story, know there is something fishy about this story from Mr. Schiller. I find it telling that the King County Sheriff's Office did not take up the case. They likely did a better job of adding up the facts in the case that Mr. Schiller was not an innocent victim of a dirty windshield but instigated the whole situation and turned on the camera at a moment of his choosing.

I hope there are many intelligent people out there seeking the facts when King 5 tries to tell yet another tall tale about the much maligned union ferry worker. It's sad so many people these days have little interest in facts before making up their minds. After all, if the Idiot Box says it's true, it must be. Right?

Re: Dogs in Island Center Forest: Should rules be changed? - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:57:09 -0000

Carrying a can of mace would likely be an effective, non-lethal way to deal with out of control dogs whether on foot or on horseback. This assumes the horse is not yet having a big reaction to the dogs. If you don't like the sound of that, it is at least gentler and less permanent than using a gun. I have dealt with aggressive groups of dogs off leash while hiking on Vashon with completely unapologetic owners bringing up the rear offering some lame, "Dogs will be dogs" as a defense. How about off-leash bad dogs will be momentarily incapacitated dogs? If you can't learn to contain your dog for the safety of others maybe you'll be able to contain them to keep them safe from mace.

Re: Ferry officials to visit Vashon, vet changes - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:19:22 -0000

The ferries need boats full of vehicles as much as possible. Getting more people to take a rideshare van or a bus might help get more people on the boat but the boat still needs to be full of vehicles to make as much money as possible to offset the cost of operation. That's why PO boats don't work out economically. Walk on passengers aren't willing to pay enough to justify the cost of the fuel to transport them without vehicle traffic offsetting the cost.

Also, the problem does not go away if there are fewer runs per day with fewer cars. Less service and smaller boats is always a problem since there are many times per day and during weekends that ferries overload that doesn't involve commuting. Taking away an Issaquah class ferry from Vashon and replacing it with the Evergreen State will have huge ramifications for increased overloads especially on weekends and any special events including construction. It will also produce a new height restriction for anything coming or going on that route since the Issaquah class has about a two foot higher tunnel than the Tillikum, Klahowya, Evergreen State. How will oversized loads get to Vashon? This would be a good question for David Moseley to answer. If they take away the Issaquah we need it replaced with the Sealth or there will be a new unintended height restriction for all Vashon traffic.

Re: County announces deal to purchase Glacier Northwest mine site for $36 million - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:41:30 -0000

I am so proud of Sharon Nelson as well as Dow Constantine. See what can happen if you elect the right people? They have not sold out and have remained true to to Vashon. I have to wait for the done deal before fully celebrating as they have not quite reached that point. Still, it is truly incredible that such a hopeful thing can happen after all the years of struggle that looked doomed when the dock buidling started. Thank you Sharon and Dow for all your hard work. I will always vote for you no matter what office you seek. Keep the faith!

Re: Vashon could lose some of its ferry service as state struggles to close budget gap - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:38:55 -0000

I think one of the silliest stances I hear living near Seattle and on Vashon is when people rail against those that drive cars. Idealizing public transportation as some kind of instant utopia maker, usually while referring to tidy little Euro countries with heavy rail line dependence, is a fantasy notion that does not work in our geographically large country and little island in the Sound.

Years ago, when I lived on Alki, I had a job where the bus passing my house would take me within two blocks of my job. That worked great though just for commuting. Trying to run errands while using the bus is a ridiculous waste of time. You also can't carry very much while riding the bus. Piecing together a workable schedule with different routes is just not worth the time. The hours of operation also don't run that late unless you are in a very urban area.

Here on Maury, the closest bus route to my home is a mile away. Since it's the 119, it hardly runs out here anyway so I have to get to the 118 stop which is even farther away. Since I am a public transit worker, my work hours fall outside normal commuting hours. There are no buses running either in the very early morning or very late at night. My work location also varies unpredictably and there are zero car pool/ride share options. The only option I have is whether to ride a motorcycle or take my car. For safety in all weather and the ability to combine errands for mainland shopping and getting cheaper gas, my car with just me inside is the only logical choice.

This is a free country. We can all make our own choices about where to live and work and how we spend our time. I would hope that instead of wasting time blaming SOV ferry users for the effects of a proposed decrease in ferry service you simply can understand that decreasing ferry service is bad for many of your neighbors trying to make the commute to their job and home as safely and reliably as they can. Since the WSF is always forecasting that ridership will only increase over time, it is a silly notion that they should ever be decreasing service.

Re: CiderFest offers a wide array of activities - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 01:25:52 -0000

I just returned from the Cider Fest dinner and dance and was amazed at the difference from the goal of having this gathering be the premier fall island event versus what it was tonight. Unless there is no other fall island event to compete with, there are several basic details that need to be worked out for this to be a premier event.

Showing up after a rainy day and with rains continuing, I was horrified to see that the event parking was on a beautiful wet lawn that was being quickly destroyed and turned to mud by the traffic. Some cars were getting stuck and spinning their wheels. How can this event raise money when the damage being done to borrowed property likely exceeds what they expect to raise? I can't picture that they would be invited back to the late Tom Stewart's property for this very reason.

We next went to stand in the dinner line where one very large industrial BBQ was trying to turn out food for far too many people and comically filling the tent with smoke in the process. The wait was at least 40-50 minutes for a very simple meal. The friendly cooking crew was doing their best but they needed a second big BBQ to try and keep up with the happily large turnout despite the gloomy weather and economy.

For an event billed Cider Fest, I was shocked to see a beer garden area set up in a corner at the back of the hall where all drinking had to take place including with your meal. Since we had our small child with us, even this wasn't an option since state code is apparently too moronic to differentiate between those that could pass for 21 versus toddlers. We were not allowed to enter this area with our child.

Being resourceful, I tried to buy a bottle of hard cider at the tasting area. Amazingly, since it was a little after 7:00pm, they would not sell me a bottle with some story about how the vendors had to catch a ferry! Huh? It's Cider Fest and we didn't get to try any cider because we spent so much time standing in line for a simple BBQ chicken dinner only to find that there was some arbitrary cutoff time for cider purchasing.

Last but not least, when you go to the trouble of selling BBQ to a crowd, you need to have a good plan in place for where people will wash their hands afterward. Despite a beautiful 500+ acre estate, there were no conventional bathrooms to use just three port-a-potties in the dark out back and a foot pump hand wash station. Not a realistic plan for the large crowd or the kind of food being served. I bet it was a little gross out on the dancefloor with everybody trading partners with BBQ hands.

Despite mostly friendly volunteers, there were too many people saying no to simple requests for us to have the good time we were seeking. If nothing is done about these kinds of shortcomings, I would not consider returning to the event unless you had truly danceable music replace the square dancing. How about some Cajun/Zydeco from Louisiana or country music?

Re: Wax Orchard home burglarized, thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:20:24 -0000

I made sure to write down Salmon06's info that was removed as I knew it was too good to be true to get actual useful, concrete information either on here or from our local paper. What forum can we use to pass around what we need to know to know when we see these guys? Still no word if there is any active neighborhood watch group on the island. Is the Beachcomber afraid to get sued by meth heads over bloggers discussing specifics about this case? Why not just remove the lic #? Everything else was just a partial vehicle description. Not enough to be sued successfully.

Re: Wax Orchard home burglarized, thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:57:26 -0000

Salmon06 is right on the money. Thanks for all the great info. I would love to get the names you've collected and any other info you have in case they eer come my way for ease of future prosecution. Hae you been able to pass this info on to the police? Also, does King County have a dedicated drug task force? Let's get these guys on it as that's what they're supposed to be doing. Clearing out the trash. I would loe if our island got the reputation as a zero tolerance community for crack/meth/heroine. Let these human rodents go ruin some other community.

Please keep up the fight but keep yourself safe. Is there any kind of neighborhood watch or take back the night kind of group on the island you could unite with? I hate thinking of brave individuals getting in over their head with real criminals. There's safety in numbers, as the bad guys know for themselves, and likely a greater ability to call for help if someone comes after you.

Keep posting info and be mindful of who can really help you with the goal of ridding our community of these criminals. Wake up Vashon! Don't roll over and try and play nice with these people. Until they quit using there's no hope of reasoning with them.

Re: Wax Orchard home burglarized, thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:14:50 -0000

There needs to be more imagination in bringing charges for this crime i.e. charging the renter(s) with possession of stolen property at the very least. They don't have to "know where it came from" to be guilty of this charge.

More importantly, I wholeheartedly agree with rolfcatdown's suggestion that the partners that were robbed are in a unique position to make a great documentary about the subject of living in a peaceful country community and seeing repeated crimes from our drug addled neighbors go unpunished. I hope that this could show that the criminals chose the wrong people to mess with in robbing their documentary making neighbors.

TrickDogFilms, as victims and documentarians, you may be in a unique position to do something far more powerful than simply picking up the pieces and going on with your lives quietly like most people. You both have a powerful tool at your disposal and a possibly great story to tell about how these kinds of people infest communities and, despite many people being aware of drug houses and their tenants, nothing gets done to send them packing. I hope there will be something courageous you can make of this crime that will ultimately be more rewarding for you both than if it had never happened.

Re: Islander charged with propositioning a minor - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:37:33 -0000

This and other recent stories are making it clear that there is extensive predatory sexual activity happening on OUR island that is not even close to being stopped. Past stories about the two other rapists captured in the past year seem to agree that there is a pool of adult men going to KVI parties and the Vashon softball league games and targeting minor girls, plying them with alcohol and attention and moving on to date rape, etc.

Noting the varied responses to this story shows that such men are quite good at fooling some people who will defend them as innocent. Their illegal behavior requires the smokescreen of such people. I would encourage our community to use our island status and our supposed caring and educated neighbors to open our eyes and recognize what sexual predators look like in person. Fatherofscaredvictim gets it right when he points out that these men know where and when to commit their acts. Like any crime of opportunity, it's easy to decide when it's safe to go after a young, vulnerable girl. If county deputies aren't getting the job done how about some kind of neighborhood watch group that could go and patrol the places where these things are happening?

I feel bad hearing about that one courageous man out on KVI all alone trying to make a difference and getting beat up for his troubles. He was in the right place at the right time just without any backup. If the watch group is big enough and trained for how to call for help and/or do self-defense, there would be a chance to change the dynamic in these situations for the better and take back the safety of our young island girls. For instance, where are the parents for these minor girls? Why are they not stepping up and helping figure out a solution? If I had a daughter I would not stand for them being left at the mercy of such a sexually abusive island community. If you've seen the movie Uncle Buck you can remember that you do not have to be the parent of a victim to help stop a date rapist. It just takes enough motivation to get to where and when the perverts are doing their thing and stopping them. It can be done.

I hope parents and caring adults can get organized around this issue and make a difference. These ongoing crimes are a far greater outrage than the noncriminal grinding at the high school dances that brought forward so much outcry. You don't have to be prudish to get behind protecting minor girls from underage drinking and associated statutory date rape.

Re: Island moms plan to summit Mount Rainier to protest coal plant - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:47:53 -0000

The claim that coal is responsible for 20% of the gases driving climate change is grossly inaccurate. The total CO2 output of human activity is less than 1% of the total CO2 emissions of our planet per year. Volcanoes and the biomass doing its thing are the main culprits. I think maybe what you meant to say is that of the CO2 generated by humans 20% of it is from coal fired plants.

It is time for people to recognize that humans have, at best, a minimal effect on the warming cycle our planet is entering. Earth has long cycle periods of warming and cooling that cannot be stopped. That's why glaciers carved out Puget Sound in the recent past and will likely do so again in the future. In between Ice Ages there are also periods of warming. Our planet's weather trends are not static nor is it a tragedy when land alternately floods and dries out. It is only our stubborn notion of permanence that makes us think the world is in trouble because our beach houses might finally wash away.

By the way, when we release CO2 from deposits like coal, oil natural gas, and methane we are simply returning into the atmosphere what was originally not locked away. Dead biomass such as dinosaurs make up these deposits. CO2 is not a manmade poison. We did not create it. It only alternates from being stored in a solid form like wood or coal to being released as a gas. We should concentrate on dealing with true manmade poisons like DDT that kill baby Orcas to this day through breast milk or the mishandling of raw sewage from agricultural activities like pig farms before we waste precious energy on the bugaboo of CO2. And, no, I am not a Republican or a Tea Bagger.

Re: Terrier shot after killing a chicken - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 23:35:12 -0000

I'm glad Mr. Peterson shot the dog attacking chickens on his property. I find it telling the dog owner, while accepting responsibility for their dog being off leash, thinks the law allowing property owners to protect life on their property with deadly force is wrong. What else was he supposed to do? Risk personal injury trying to catch a wily terrier while it continued to do more harm to his animals? I promise you I would shoot/kill any animal on my property threatening my family or livestock. I would only feel bad that an irresponsible animal owner allowed their animal to go wilding on someone else's property without regard for the safety of others.

Re: Letter to the Editor: Please ask visitors to be courteous - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:19:03 -0000

I'm quite sure that harrassing and killing geese with a jet ski is illegal. I hope Devon will take the time to contact the owners of the property, get the names of the renters/guests and put in a criminal complaint with a King County deputy over the matter. Any chance you retrieved the dead goose or know where it ended up? Evidence of some kind would help. After all, you are the witness to a crime. I hope you will do something to help legally hold the perpetrators responsible for their actions. More importantly, allowing a minor to act criminally would likely be some kind of criminal neglect of parental duties. It would be nice for that 10 year old to learn you cannot act this way towards living creatures without consequences. If he can't learn from his parents, he can learn it from the police and the community standards they enforce.

Re: Vashon woman arrested after raucous scene in town Friday night - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:53:45 -0000

Let's review. The only people from this story that we know were likely to be sober that night were the bartender that called 911, the responding police officers and probably the passing motorist witness. All other witnesses and the two women involved in interfering in the arrest were likely in some altered mental state whether it be from alcohol, pot and/or something else. Why does the Beachcomber Editorial seem to give equal weight to these witnesses they interviewed as the known sober witnesses especially considering how many people were in an angry crowd that night? Does it not seem likely that the less than sober and/or angry people yelling "Pig" at the cops are not going to remember Jessica laying her hands on the officer, disregarding his direct orders to move away from the ongoing arrest, the pot baggie falling from her pocket, and her resisting arrest necessitating the use of pepper spray?

It seems to be cheap sport these days to pretend that police are always in the wrong and are too heavy handed when force is used. How would you like to be one of the two deputies on duty on Vashon and be called in to help employees at the Sportmen's retain order? Have you been out on Vashon at night just as a patron? I would expect that some drunks are looking for an excuse to fight and the unexpected presence of deputies might be just what they want as an excuse. I hope the Beachcomber editor can reconsider the source of their witness information and recognize that the bartender called 911 for a good reason. Likewise, Jessica, the woman with the baggie of pot in her pocket, was antagonizing the police in the middle of a lawful arrest and was ignoring direct commands to step back from this ongoing arrest. At the same time, an angry drunken crowd is building making the whole thing a spectator sport where things could get out of hand quickly putting the safety of the officers in jeopardy. Witness the fact that the baggie of pot was stolen off the police car. Things were tenuously in control at best.

I am grateful the police showed up to assist the bartender that needed help. I am also grateful that they took into custody two lawbreakers that no longer needed to be on the streets of Vashon that night. The ziptied 15 or so people that were considered for arrest got off lucky as somebody stole police evidence and did not get caught.

It's time to back up the lawful actions of police officers doing an undermanned, tough job in our ungrateful community. Stop pretending that Jessica was within her rights to taunt the police that night. Her baggie of pot shows she was already breaking the law before she even got involved in this altercation. Good luck dressing that specific detail up. Maybe she was taking it to someone with a prescription?

Re: Letter to the editor: Let's quit outdoor burning (May 5, 2010) - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 07 May 2010 18:19:45 -0000

Ann Lang's letter asking to end outdoor burning is a view that crops up occasionally with no real ability to solve the issue of voluminous country yard waste. Making piles of debris as home for various critters means it will basically host vermin such as mice and rats. These piles also sit for many years making more and more of a property useless and inviting growth of invasive weeds in the piles. As for hauling to a centralized processing facility, the last I checked the Dirt Yard has been shut down, likely for good, due to environmental concerns. Whether you like it or not, outdoor brush burning, done under proper conditions so as to avoid a smoky fire, is the best solution for disposing of waste like invasive weed piles and downed tree branches. The complaint should be about smoky fires not all fires.

Re: Letters to the Editor: March 24 - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:34:10 -0000

Jan Stephen's letter regarding her father's encounter with a speeder is difficult to comment on directly since I did not witness the event. However, her invitation for speeders to leave the island does deserve discussion. I regularly encounter dawdling drivers on island that insist on driving 10-15 mph below the conservative speed limits we have here. Passing is mandatory as they are oblivious to the parade of drivers they bottle up behind them. Even though state law requires that they pull over and let cars pass them if they hinder five or more vehicles, they act as if those passing them are committing the offense. The slow, erratic drivers of our island should not take precedence over the need for their fellow drivers to reach their destination in a reasonable amount of time. Just because you have nowhere to get to doesn't legally justify your holding up others. If you drive slowly expect to be passed. If you don't like being passed, at least drive the speed limit and/or pull over for others to pass if you are not in a hurry and want to drive legally. I would hope that all would pass with care but understand the frustration that comes with following a driver with not a care in the world, a ferry to catch, a job to start, a child to pick up, etc.

Re: Islander’s beloved pet sheep is put down after a vicious dog attack - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:24:47 -0000

Thanks for writing in Vashann. I called King County Animal Control at (206) 296-3958 to tell them about this attack and what you witnessed. The deputy confirmed that property owners have the right to shoot any dog on their land that is deemed a threat to their livestock or to people. He advised going on the web to kingcounty.gov/pets to file a complaint specifically about what you saw regarding the off-leash Husky that appears to match the description of the attacking dog as well as the incident itsself if this has not yet been done. These need to be a first-hand accounts so I cannot file the complaint as I did not see the dog or the original attack. I hope anyone with relevant information will take the time to do this. They seem to need as much information as possible to determine where the dog lives and show a pattern of off-leash behavior in the vicinity of the attack. I expect the more complaints that come in with good detail especially related to possible owner info would be of great help. Let's help make our land and streets safer for everyone by doing our part to stop these vicious dogs and their inconsiderate, callous owners.

Re: Islander’s beloved pet sheep is put down after a vicious dog attack - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:23:44 -0000

Why must these senseless attacks continue without legal protective action? These dogs must be shot dead even before they reach this level of aggression. It is both legal, and necessary, to protect both yourself and your neighbors by ridding our island of wandering aggressive dogs. If you start shooting them, people will either stop letting them off leash or we will run out of aggressive, off-leash dogs to shoot. Either way, livestock, wild animals and people alike will be far safer than allowing this to go on as it has for so many years. Complaining to the police after the fact is proving not to be a solution worth mentioning in these cases. As you can see, this dog is still at large ready to attack again. Its owner may still be completely, or conveniently, unaware that anything violent or illegal has happened involving their dog. I hope someone will step forward if they know a dog by this description so that further attacks can be prevented. Lastly, any time I find an animal on my property I consider a threat to my family or our livestock better gates are not my solution. After all, I also care about the people and creatures outside my fence.

Re: Editorial: Quartermaster Harbor needs all of our help - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:28:16 -0000

Improving septic tanks and transplanting mussels, while likely helpful, can only do so much to cleanse the waters of Quartermaster Harbor . The cheapest, and likely most effective, single solution to Quartermaster's minimal flushing characteristics is to return it to its original state. Portage should be reopened at the existing marsh area so that Tramp Harbor and Quartermaster Harbor are once again connected bodies of water. Installing a bridge or two for Quartermaster Drive and Dockton Road would be a worthwhile way to keep the vital roadway connections between Maury and Vashon Island. I would love to see the dramatic change in Quartermaster that would ensue once it could exchange water with Tramp Harbor. You can still see that the water wants to go through each year during our extreme high tides as Quartermaster Drive is regularly flooded by water from Quartermaster. Reopening this natural waterway would undo the mistake that developers made a century ago when they filled in the area that now leaves Quartermaster Harbor gasping for a healthy water exchange.

Re: No arrests made in Vashon meth lab explosion - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:52:07 -0000

Mistysky helps connect the dots on this issue quite convincingly. The bizarre recent burglary trend is quite likely the work of meth head idiocy. I have heard for years that there are drug houses known to most old school islanders here and yet the police can't manage to bust them. Should we call in the feds via the DEA or the ATF? Going over the heads of local policing that, for whatever reason, turns a blind eye to this community destroying illegal behavior may be the next step. I know I live here hoping for a peaceful, law abiding community. Isn't it time to root out the crime causing drug abusers? They don't belong here and are out of step with what most islanders seek here. If you know of any drug houses I encourage you to send in an anonymous tip to the Feds so somebody can finally start solving the issue with real drug busts.

Re: No arrests made in Vashon meth lab explosion - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:51:04 -0000

It's time for someone to sue the property owner. Rules of evidence are much lower for civil suits versus criminal charges. Even if no evidence survived the explosion, which is highly doubtful, the preponderance of the evidence would show that past similar criminal activity at the property combined with the person who was in the shed likely having a criminal record should make a convincing case for any judge or jury. Getting the property owner and the renters in front of a judge would likely reveal much about what happened. It's time to clean up the neighborhood. The irresponsible landlord and tenants should be the ones to pay for it.

Re: Letters to the Editor: Dec. 16 - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:31:12 -0000

The letter from Michelle Harvey regarding a recent increase in dog attacks on Cove Road is a recurrent problem on our island. Irresponsible neighbors combined with a virtually nonexistent, once a week animal control presence on the island leaves this issue in the hands of individuals. My understanding of King County regulations for unincorporated areas such as ours allows for harrassing animals, such as dogs off leash, to be shot. We can sue our irresponsible neighbor at a later date for their thoughtless disregard for the welfare of others by leaving their problem animal loose. In the moment, though, killing the dangerous animal is the only meaningful solution left to us since lax law enforcement allows the problem to persist unabated. Innocent pets, livestock, wildlife and people should not be terrorized by out-of-control pets that get a taste for blood and repeatedly attack when loose. Though it is distasteful to consider shooting a dog, it is the only real solution at this time. You cannot force your neighbor to be responsible in the moment. However, you can end the problem and provide for the safety of your community. Like Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird dealing with a rabid dog on the loose, sometimes it takes one courageous individual to do the right thing while others cower indoors awaiting help that was otherwise not coming. I hope Michelle successfully sues the pants off her neighbor.

Re: Get off the couch, drop the remote and visit your local theater - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:36:23 -0000

While I love movies and having Vashon Theater on the island, I was disappointed to read Ms Shepherd's letter that insisted in diminishing watching DVD's at home. Ms Shepherd seems to see only positives associated with viewing a film with a theater of neighbors and strangers along for the ride. I often find that, even though my TV screen is not as big as the one at the theater, there are no cell phones or loud conversations to distract me. There are times when I do want to spend extra and go see a movie at the Theater only to be reminded that neither home nor theater is a perfect viewing option. Let us not forget how inconsiderate some people can be with their behavior and how few want the hassle of dealing with it proactively. The most important ingredient for enjoying a film is how good the movie was and not how big the screen was where you saw it.

Re: Island men shed clothes to support schools - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:19:41 -0000

I've read this article and the comments posted about it and just have to laugh. Maybe we all should? After all, since when is there any nudity in this calendar? They say they're nude and yet no nudity is visible. I'm nude under my clothing when I'm out in public. Should I be arrested for indecent exposure? Likewise, infantilizing kids and teens by saying they cannot make this same distinction shows no understanding that kids think, reason and laugh. Why such a need to cast stones at those that try to keep Vashon weird and raise needed money for Vashon schools at the same time? What are you doing to raise money for the schools? I applaud anyone that would legally fundraise for the schools. They get extra points for being creative or making it fun. Listening to people hand wring and worry that something so mild and innocent will make kids explode sexually or screw up their body images is ludicrous. Sounds kinda like the arguments against rock n roll in the 50's. Try to be a little silly and let loose a bit. Everything's gonna be alright.

Re: All India closes Friday, after 16-month run - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

YourNeighbor — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:33:33 -0000

I feel bad for all the restaurants that come and go on Vashon. They all start with such optimism and great plans for the future. Sadly, few ever understand the fickle nature of Vashon customers when they open. It doesn't take many poor dining experiences before you fall off the short list of favorite places to eat on island for most people. Similarly, Seattle is blessed with many great restaurants of all kinds and price ranges. The convenience of staying on island is not enough to succeed. You still have to deliver consistently great food for a good price. Even if you can pull this off, there is still the reality that many here cannot afford to eat out that often. Maybe there's just not enough of us here to sustain more than a few good year-round restaurants?