Young befriend old, liberals befriend conservatives. There is no other group over there. On Lopez, there is only Us. Here fanciful driftwood gates decorated with bells lead onto lush community gardens, surrounded by charming cedar-shingled houses of 515 to 875 square feet. Don't Microwave Them.
Passions run high on island issues.
Resentments still linger over billionaire Paul Allen's purchase of Sperry Peninsula and the ouster of the beloved Camp Norwester there. Houses and landscaping on the guarded property have employed huge work crews, and some islanders laud Allen for creating new jobs. But others are still stinging. They took what was an incredibly beautiful place and altered it. Like all islanders, Lopezians worry about what the arrival of the wealthy and the departure of the poor means for the fabric of the community.