Black Lake District residents have submitted a petition to the Thurston County Commissioners asking for the dissolution of the current Black Lake Flood Control District (BLFCD). More than 200 residents from across Thurston County submitted a supporting petition requesting that the County create a Lakes Management District in place of the BLFCD.
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Many people who qualify as homeless do not live on the street or solicit donations with a cardboard sign. They have full or part-time jobs, live in cars or tents, or lodge with others in dwellings designed as single family units. Among them are over 40,000 school-aged children in Washington...
Another unarmed black man was killed at the hands of police last month. Marchers took to the streets, fists in air. The mother and father of the victim cried on TV. And countless other parents of black and brown bodies shuddered at the thought of this crime visiting upon their sons’ heads someday...
At a US Special Forces camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on December 5, 2001, the Taliban offered an unconditional surrender. They would disband and disarm: a military force would no longer exist. George W. Bush ignored the offer …and continued attacking the Taliban until the end of his term. If only in…
On Tuesday June 29, temperatures in Eastern Washington farm communities including Ephrata, Wenatchee and Yakima rose above their highest recorded levels, reaching 116 degrees in Ephrata and 113 in the other towns. Farmworkers in those communities and across the state endured the brutal heat with little protection or respite....
(In 4/4) Listen —a sharp snare cracks A simple rock fill strides down On the toms boom, daboom—boom. Right foot plows the kick—exactly. There’s wild prancing singing up front But built on this groove. Do you ever wonder, How long in the pocket Can one stay? It’s a mystery, Only…
In the last column, I reviewed the movie Imperium based on the experiences of undercover FBI agent Mike German who infiltrated white supremacist organizations, as related in his book Thinking Like a Terrorist published in 2008. Here we shall see how the author approaches the problem of terrorism, in contradiction…
Requirements for this $150/month position are: A commitment to overseeing the distribution of WIP to over 30 locations in Thurston and Mason County every month as soon as the paper is delivered from the printer Reliable transportation to deliver issues in Olympia and beyond Coordination between team members to ensure…
An August article about Olympia’s Hearing Examiner, highlighted his role in a case where citizens were appealing a new zoning ordinance adopted by the City. The HEX had rejected the group’s appeal, leaving the ordinance intact. The article pointed out that when the citizen group took their case to the…
A Place to Reflect • GarageBand for iPad • Black Hills Audubon Annual Picnic • Variety Show Auditions • Become a Gleaner • "Walls Tell Stories" Walking Tours • Join Orca Board of Directors...
In 1994, students in the master’s in public administration program at The Evergreen State College tried to characterize the future (our current) historical epoch. Few would argue their forecast, twenty-five years later, was inaccurate.
Olympia council members decided this June to review their Hearing Examiner contract with an eye toward opening another RFQ “to get a gauge on the market.” This could lead to appointment of a new hearing examiner.
Not Russia, China, North Korea, nor even for that matter Israel or Palestine, is able to focus the American mind the way Cuba does. Simultaneously, the official American right and the official American left (with a few honorable exceptions among the latter), have overcome the self-righteous character of their respective…
Olympia lost beloved community member Hali Panneton on March 12, 2020. Hali was 63 and passed unexpectedly at home from a cardiac event. Due to limitations on gatherings during the pandemic, her memorial celebration was held this summer on June 22, which is Hali’s date of birth. Hali was a…
India Walton—a self-described democratic socialist, former nurse, and founding executive director of Fruit Belt Community Land Trust—shocked the Buffalo NY establishment by defeating four-term incumbent Mayor Byron Brown in the Democratic Party primary by a seven percentage-point margin (51.9 percent to 44.8 percent). If Walton prevails in November, she will…
WIP still has funds from our “Readers Review” grant. Each month we publish a list of books (see below). If you’d like to be considered to review one of them, email us and put BOOK REVIEW in the subject line. We will buy the book (or reimburse you if you…
On a misty, cool Saturday morning, vendors at the Olympia Farmers Market begin their weekly routine of arranging produce, preparing their displays and drinking their coffee before the market opens.
I don’t know how the mud flats...or how the prairie grasses.
Those who grew up in Westside Olympia during the 50s through the 70s had few restraints on the length and breadth of their society. The Null Set was a particular sort of offbeat joint for our band of underage youths to partake in an Olympia underground of poets, artists, musicians…
Before there were Dollar Stores, before there were Starbucks, before there were cinemas in the Mall, before there were Target and Walmart and Netflix—there were three towns with quirky entrepreneurs and room for everyone. We grabbed some memories from Reddit and elsewhere to give you a hint of what we’re…
Getting to this point took extensive effort by individuals in the community, including a final hurdle last winter.
In 2017, the new owner of a retired Washington State Ferry arranged to moor the vessel at the Port of Olympia’s Marine Terminal while he arranged to take it to the Caribbean. The Florida businessman had no previous involvement with boats. Three years later, the Evergreen State Ferry was still…
Railroads are grappling with a weird phenomenon that is a combination of “labor shortages” and 12.6 million people still claiming some form of unemployment compensation, amid stimulus-fueled demand.
Not much news about working people makes the news. We hear about the stock market every day: Dow Jones—up today! Lookin’ good. Oops, Nasdaq—down today! Disappointing result. Oops, S&P-500, up, as investors look past poor economic data. And drilling into our brains despite us. On the other hand, we have…
...remember how the City Council ...remember how two votes make a majority ...In a victory for the climate