People

We islanders describe ourselves in many ways. Some of us are from here; some are from away. Some of us are from here, went away for school or work, but could then no longer
resist the draw of “here”, and came back. We are young or we are old, and all ages in between. We fish, we paint, we build, we teach, we farm, we volunteer. We are
entrepreneurs, service providers, business owners, employees, or retired. Some of us might
wear several of these hats over the course of a year. We work at the grocery store, the post office, the Friend, the Closet, the ferry. Some of us worship at one or more of the three
churches; others are spiritual in different ways. We can be gruff or we can be cheery. And yes, we are red or blue or something else.

What binds us together is this place – the incomparable beauty of it on land and water and the strong sense of community – and what it takes to live here – the wind, the ferry, the isolation. We care for each other, and we take care of each other. It is important to understand how the cuts and tariffs will affect our lives here.

The health of our children and adults are threatened by cuts to Medicare that will be in effect after the midterm elections of 2026. The education of our children is threatened by the demolition of the Department of Education and the funding it provides. Our seniors are threatened by cuts to Medicare and Social Security. Our many veterans are threatened by cuts to the benefits and services provided by the Veterans Administration. Health care as we know it here is under siege.

Due to these cuts and tariffs, we expect higher prices on just about everything. In order to keep the services we now enjoy we may be paying higher local taxes, or we will have to make hard choices about what cuts will need to be made. There may be services we cannot maintain.