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Posts published in “Issue: February 2022

Community Spotlight — February 2022

Download as PDF IT Bike Commuter Winter Challenge February 1 – 28 It’s time to celebrate winter bicycling, with the Winter Bicycle Commuter Challenge! The Winter BCC runs for the whole month of February, with awesome prize drawings each week, and a bonus drawing at the end of the month…

Gentrifying the forest

Every few months we read about another parcel of land being sacrificed for housing. The planned destruction of the forest near Evergreen and the ten acres of “non-forested” land at LBA Woods are recent examples and more will follow. Indigenous people have a different way of seeing the natural world.…

Where are the “Housers”?

“We call ourselves Housers,” said a former staffer of the Housing Authority of Thurston County. I had never heard the term before but now I had a word for the opposite of “Developers.” Housers build housing for people in need of homes and a place to live at a price…

The consequences of personal choice should not be mistaken for oppression

PERSPECTIVE: In the January 2022 issue of Works in Progress, “Cassandra” wrote a perspective piece objecting to vaccine mandates. She compared restaurants requiring proof of vaccination to Jim Crow and called abortion rights “the mantra of progressive left voters.” Here is my response to what I found to be a thoughtless and irresponsible “perspective.”

Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home

BOOK REVIEW: Lynda Mapes’ book opens with the heart-breaking story of Tahlequah, a member of the J pod who in 2018 touched the hearts of millions of readers as she carried her dead calf, who lived for only 30 minutes, for 17 days and over 1000 miles. Sharing in Tahlequah’s grief, the world was asking why. Why was her newborn calf unable to survive?

Oral history project records challenging times and creates new community connections

Window Seat Media is a community storytelling organization in the South Sound that uses oral history and personal narrative to spark conversation, connection, and social change. When it launched its Third Thirty Oral History Project to honor and amplify elder voices, Window Seat trained community members in oral history interviewing…

New coalition will improve citizen access to local government processes

What often makes a real difference in the lives of Thurston County residents are decisions about policies and projects made by the city councils, the Port of Olympia, and the county Board of Commissioners. To influence those decisions, residents are directed to contact their local appointed and elected officials directly…

Goodbye, Greta

WIP’s unofficial four-legged mascot, Greta Ahimsa Star, crossed o’er the rainbow bridge early this year. A service companion for longtime WIPster Scott Yoos, Greta was a familiar sight to Olympians, walking and bussing around town with Scott, faithfully delivering the paper and greeting her many friends. Our condolences to all…

How dangerous is Trumpism?

LOOKING FORWARD: How dangerous is Trumpism? Are people not more rational, long-term, than this, able to reject much of Trumpism once the leader is out of power and not setting the agenda? To get insight into such possibilities, we examine what transpired in the Soviet Union with the rise of Stalin.