Noting the drift and consensus of last Sunday's governance meeting, and noting the agenda for this Sunday's reconvening, it seems that the ad hoc movers and shakers are in agreement that there is only one issue, and that issue is which comes first, the County or Vashon.  Poor, misguided, naive me, I thought Vashon had a soul. I guess it's just another UAC.

Bernie O’Malley provided a framed forum last Sunday on island governance, while the Beachcomber has been providing a somewhat more loosely framed forum. In consequence Sunday produced a consensus while the Beachcomber has provided insight. Compare for example Craig Beles top notch history of the Council with Emma Amiad’s succinct take on the nature of the Council (see Letters). On balance I find the Beachcomber far more useful than the O Space production, primarily because print blows away speech. Bite my tongue, the consensus reached Sunday is a solid step forward. But how do I get to again hear & understand some of those remarks? Onward now, chastened somewhat in my backhanded support for Bangassser by Carl Sells’ thoughtful letter, onward into this one-way forum which has yet failed to entice comment, onward to epiphany. What went wrong? Did an individual throw a monkey wrench into a working machine, or was a failed system outed? A review of Sunday and the Beachcomber shows the predominant answer to be that...

  The meeting was a success. Facilitator John Runyan, a rumpled presence is sweats, tended to mumble but in action had iron control. It was Bernie O’Malley’s meeting, a fact he often had to re-establish with Bill Moyer.  Bill kept trying to spin what Runyan said. This was so friendly it could have been an act. The program: Craig Beles dug out the history of the Council before and after unincorporated area status with special attention to the issue of public disclosure. Then Runyun broke us up into groups of four with instructions to find three things of interest, Then we reassembled to hear a spokesmanwoman report from each foursome. There were thirteen of which several had up to six due to latecomers. Then Runyan opened the meeting to individual beatings of the breast. The presentation by Craig Beles was utterly fascinating. Dan Schueler has it on tape. Two grabbers: As to the need for total disclosure of memos, it is an opinion not a ruling; and Beles’ tacit view is that the Board could wiggle out of the corner...

The Beachcomber online has been discovered thanks somewhat to he who publicly shall not be thanked. But Roger is to be thanked since it was he who posted the link to the online article on the council breaking up. Of course, without he who, etc, having caused the breakup, that article would not have been. Discovered, TBC online is updated almost daily with comments on the print edition, and thanks therefore are given. It is too bad that most of the comments contribute nothing useful. The uproar is being confined to the narrow issue of public disclosure. That issue is an artifact of the Council being an arm of the County which is bad and, yes, therefore should be addressed. But of far greater importance there is the issue of what the council was not doing nor intended to do, the issue of Vashon’s economic, social, and moral survival. While the tempest in the pee pot over the plight of the Council continues to rage there has been only one constructive voice, the combined voice of Margot Boyer and Bob Powell. Even...