Victoria Stoppiello has been writing a column for The Chinook Observer (based in Long Beach, Washington) since 1996...and previously was included in the print version of the Upper Left Edge. She has degrees from UC Berkeley and the University of Colorado. Most of her adult life has been spent managing within community college and non-profit organizations, including general manager work at KBOO-FM, KMUN-FM, and the Astoria Co-op Natural Food store. One of those American rarities, a 100 percenter, she comes from Finnish roots in the lower Columbia region and is married to another 100 percenter, an Italian American. (Hey, they have the best food!) Her blue-collar, left-leaning family background gave her the concepts of equity, fairness and community building, while her higher education gave her the skills to express those ideas more effectively (she hopes!).