Disqus - Latest Comments for heidi_witherspoon

Re: Organizers cancel world-famous swim due to rough surf conditions

heidi_witherspoon — Sun, 06 Sep 2015 03:39:27 -0000

It was relatively tough getting back in through the channel from the deep when practicing Friday--hamster wheel status. But the crossing...hard to say...looked okay. It was cancelled 20 mins prior. Too bad.

Re: Your Almond Habit Is Sucking California Dry

heidi_witherspoon — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 15:59:42 -0000

Water is just one problem. Has anybody considered it also sucks HALF the nation's honeybees each season just for CA pollination, and stresses the hell out of the bees? This monocrop is not sustainable. There are less "taxing" nuts out there.

Re: Wine medals, do consumers care?

heidi_witherspoon — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:22:16 -0000

Hi - I'm with JJ. The competition "win" is less about the medal and more about the members of on- and off-premise trade tasting the wine! Unless it is a big competition or carries regional clout, such wins rarely make it to a shelf talker a marketing spin.

Re: Thai restaurant to open in Vashon town this fall - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:40:53 -0000

Thank you, God!

Re: Coach gives to fields, honors team - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:38:59 -0000

Way to go, Mark! My dream is to have enough cash to fund the whole thing and get this thing built...I play lotto! Until I win, there are people like Mark.

Re: New tutor joins popular Study Zone - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 11:35:35 -0000

Study Zone is the best resource ever. THANK YOU, tutors!

Re: Some commuters get left on the dock as ferry ridership climbs - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:39:53 -0000

The bump in overloads spiked at the exact time Russell Financial moved from Tacoma to the downtown Seattle Wamu bldg. This is not a coincidence. This is a result of No. Pierce and So. Kitsap employees using the walk on boat to get to their new workplace. Overloads are here to stay until a solution comes.

Re: BARC moves forward with outdoor skatepark plans - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:48:38 -0000

Easy, now. Do you really think Parks is unwittingly (or wittingly) fostering a pot subculture? Drug prevention is as much a parenting issue as it is an environmental one. Surfing, skiing, skating, riding (snowboards) bring with it fashion that can be somewhat subversive; after all, uniforms aren't involved. There is an element of rebellion in not playing team sports, but to brand this segment only is unfair. Drugs can and do happen across the board with athletes. Michael Phelps, anyone? Don't think he knows how to skate....Glad you support the park (in a marginal sort of way, apparently).

Re: Hunting in public forest triggers debate - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 23:19:02 -0000

I like hunting in Island Center Forest...for chanterelles, boletes, and turkey tail fungi! The thought of dodging bullets is a tad disconcerting.

Re: Man bound, pistol whipped in Vashon Island home invasion - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:36:11 -0000

It seems like there is a similarity to this Aug 26 crime, but maybe it's par for the course.
http://seattletimes.nwsourc...

Re: Body of missing Islander found - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 11:35:17 -0000

Typo in 2nd paragraph referring to Olson's body.

Re: A population proliferates: Vashon struggles with deer - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:28:01 -0000

This was a great read. Lots of opinions on the topic.The forager/gatherer in me can't help but think how much food a single deer would provide a family. Is that wrong of me?

Re: Vashon Park District plans to open pool in late May - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:51:37 -0000

This is great news for everyone on the island! Bravo, Parks.

Re: What exactly is the 'Vashon Hum'? - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:59:49 -0000

My first home on the island was on Westside Hwy on a bluff overlooking Colvos Psg near Cove. When tugs pulling barges or freighters passed at all hours, it would hum, and vibrate. Indeed those FAULT LINES catching the vibration actually made the old farm house shake. My first night on Vashon I was awakened and called 911 asking if we'd had an earthquake (no.). I think there is also some validity to Navy operations and other maritime activity that create the hum as well. Bizarre!

Re: Concerns mount over Vashon's Village Green - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:47:20 -0000

Crazy! A friend and I were dining at Spice Route last night and before our eyes what appeared to be a blatant a drug deal had just gone down between a park dweller and a man in a very run down station wagon -- ya know, fake wood paneling, missing hubcaps, bad muffler-- unfortunately the tragically cliche stereotype. If there's a frequent category of park-goer, and evidence of drug use, homeless or not ,there is a big problem happening in a tax-funded place. My instinct was to run out of the restaurant and snap a phone pic at the stop sign. I think another commenter had the right idea in just "scaring" out illegal activities by reclaiming this park asa family place and occupying it.

Re: Island Lumber sign brings up Vashon values - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:04:52 -0000

Darn, you guys are missing all the fun on the Dec. 9 comments on letters. There should've been a teaser at the footer of his article to go there first.

Re: Letters to the editor: Dec. 9 - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:14:22 -0000

Completely understand your convictions. Of course times change, of course there will be precedents set in the name of progress (tasteful or otherwise). Keeping in mind Do It Best is a franchise brand working with 4100 indie hardware retailers, the sign could have been a corporate recommendation or just one that IL owners thought would move the needle on sales (the notion of community service bulletins is great, but for temp and time we need look no further than our dashboards or cells). Cheers for the dialogue, -h

Re: Letters to the editor: Dec. 9 - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:15:47 -0000

My instinctive reaction to the sign was exactly like Nanette's. It felt completely out of character for the Island. This sign is great for a freeway offramp, or those car dealerships you see near Bremerton, or those fronting a casino. I love having the option to shop at Island Lumber, sign or not. The circulars in my mailbox were quite enough to make me aware of IL's brands and specials. The sign neither compels me to shop there more, nor will it prompt a boycott. It's just a big glaring thing that never needed to go up. Sorry someone felt they had to slam on the letter writer in the upper post to get their point across.

Re: Colorful Islander Gene Amondson dies - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:39:13 -0000

I'm so sorry to hear of Gene's passing. He was a really lively, engaging fellow. What a shock. My heart goes out to his family.
-Heidi Skrzypek

Re: As election nears, a primer on the bond measure - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

heidi_witherspoon — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:40:28 -0000

Thank you for a straightforward bond ayout. I am in one of those on-the-fencers you mention and here is why:

The "Vote Yes!" campaign for the school bond has proven itself a relentless, "hit-you-over-the-head" style marketing blitz. Even though "Committee" funded, I contend the budget allocated toward this months-long promotional initiative--comprised of printing, design, advertising placements and consulting---could have easily checked a project or two off the laundry list of those noted in the bond package.

As a public relations practitioner (who was initially invited by a VISD-funded consultant to promote the cause--but declined), I know the amount of money that backs the production and postage of a full-color direct mail folio (sent to every Vashon household!), signage, full-page newspaper ads, three-color direct mail postcards, an ongoing newspaper advertising buy, plus numerous related communication pieces, all of which this effort has deployed. I also consider the extensive resources and hard costs that go into bringing this bond to the voters. By the time this note goes to print, many of you will have already cast your vote.

I have wanted to get behind this bond since the beginning, and there is no question after seeing it firsthand our high school needs improvements. So why do I still get a queasy, gut-wrenching feeling that this is an over-packaged bond with the hardest sell of any initiative I've seen yet on this Island? When an initiative (such as a bond) is marketed exhaustively to the public, it makes me question whether or not it can stand on its own merits, as if reading the straight literature of the bond measure itself was not enough to compel citizens to vote "yes."

As my vote is cast, I will not only consider our future students--my own children, I will also think about the wallets of every Island homeowner, and whether or not there is a leaner, meaner bond proposal yet to be penciled.

I thank the Beachcomber for its insightful pro- and con-bond editorials; I'm sure those opposing the bond appreciate having a voice, since they lack the thunder of a well-funded marketing campaign.

Pensively, Heidi Witherspoon