The Green Party was conceived in the 1990’s as a kind of ideal party, one free from the defects of the D’s (too warlike) and the R’s (too oppressive), and unlike either of them, one fully committed to preserving our environment. It has attracted many followers and much international success.…
Posts published in “–”
“Israel’s occupation of Palestine is the longest and one of the most deadly military occupations in the world. For decades it has been characterized by widespread and systematic human rights violations against Palestinians. The occupation has also enabled and entrenched Israel’s system of apartheid imposed on Palestinians,” said Agnes Callamard,…
Local News Community Spotlight School Levies and Lacey’s Police Project Reflect Our Government’s Backwards Priorities Contaminated Sediment Remediation off West Bay Drive NW Local Community Rallies to Provide Safe Housing for Survivors of Police Violence Portrait of a Frog If We Can’t Protect Our Watershed, Let’s Give The Watershed The…
Charles Mitchell and the Puget Sound Underground Railroad. Olympia Center—April 20. 1 pm. When 13 years old, Mitchell escaped enslavement in Olympia in 1860 by traveling by steamer from Olympia to Victoria, B. C. via the Puget Sound Underground Railroad. Author Dr. Lorraine McConaghy will offer an illustrated program followed…
In the March 2024 issue of WIP, Betsy Norton and Sue Danver published an article asking readers to comment on four proposed Thurston County items for the 2024-2025 Comprehensive Plan Docket. In all four cases the landowners were requesting a rezone from Rural Residential/Resource (RRR) to Rural Resource Industrial (RRI)…
On Monday afternoon of Tax Day, April 15, 2024, protesters held a vigil near the district office of Rep. Marilyn Strickland, Federal District 10, to protest the use of U.S. tax dollars for weapons to Israel and particularly Strickland’s support of Israel. This vigil was part of more than fifteen…
I was recently working in a 6th grade classroom when a student told me that they tried to end their life the night before. I was the first adult they shared that with that day. Not because we had any rapport, but because the counseling office had sent them back…
Imagine how you would feel if your child was shot in the back by a city employee. Imagine the fear, anger, and disillusionment of learning that a police officer, whose job is to protect people, has shot and disabled two of your children. How would you expect your community to…
Whatcom Million Trees Project is leading an effort to prohibit the sale of ivy in Washington State. Their petition to the Washington State Department of Agriculture can be found at https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/stop-selling-english-ivy-in-washington If thousands sign the petition, the WSDA board may add ivy to the WSDA Prohibited Plants and Seeds List…
Environmental groups like Black Hills Audubon Society, Restoring Earth Connections and Whatcom Million Trees were overjoyed when on March 15, 2024, Governor Inslee signed into law ESB 6120, “concerning wildland urban interface”. The new law requires property owners to use ignition-resistant materials and methods for new and existing residences if…
“The first thing you need to know. People hold the fate of Adams garden in their hands”, so said our tour guide. A drive through rural Thurston County took us past wet meadows, grazed fields, some ‘overgrown swamps’. At several stops, a verdant green landscape of grass and wetlands stretched…
I participated in “The Stones Cry Out Solidarity Delegation from Palestine to Washington, D.C.” in March 2024. The delegation included twenty-three American Christians from twelve different denominations across the United States. Although most were pastors, I am a layperson. The first act of love is to listen, so in Palestine…
A State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) was open for public comment for the removal of contaminated sediments at the former Dunlap Towing Company on 2003 West Bay Drive NW. The Dunlap remediation site is north of the proposed West Bay Yards project just past Tugboat Annie’s and West Bay Marina.…
In the September 2018 edition of Works in Progress, longtime Olympia resident, sailor, and ecological activist Harry Branch lamented recent decisions by the Olympia Hearing Examiner on appeals by the Olympia Urban Waters League (OUWL). OUWL was fighting a large development in the heart of the historic Moxlie Creek Estuary,…
(Click on images to view full-size) Originally published by the War Resisters League. For more information on War Tax Resistance, visit https://www.warresisters.org/
Local News Biochar: Banishment or Bonanza? Compensation for Cooper Crest Your Voice Needed to save Rural Lands Help “fix” the Wildland/Urban interface “Green Amendment” Proposed for Washington State Thurston County Resource Hub offers services for those in the Justice System Can Trees Really Sing? Culture Return of the Procession of…
At its essence Biochar is pure, black CARBON, the basis of life; the foundation of all organic matter; the ultimate sequester of carbon in soil and remover of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere for centuries. And the beauty of it is that it is made from waste that nobody wants…
The restoration of Cooper Crest, the “ghostly forest” remaining after a clearcut, may finally be getting some help from the City of Olympia. On October 24, 2023, Judge Thomas McPhee, acting as arbitrator, granted the City treble damages against Silvimantle, LLC for illegally harvesting trees from the City’s Cooper Crest…
Four landowners are requesting to change from Rural Residential/Resource (RRR) to Rural Resource Industrial (RRI) zoning. Three projects would enable large warehouses to be built within 50 to 300 feet of valuable habitats and waterways, and in one case “do more intensive” industrial work....
WIP readers will be overjoyed to hear that NOT ONE BUT TWO SOLUTIONS have been proposed to correct problems caused by including defensible space requirements in the 2021 Wildland-Urban Interface Code. But both remain in doubt. You can help by registering your support for ESB 6120. Best solution – Pass…
On January 22, 2024, Representative Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow) introduced a “green amendment” to the Washington State legislature. HJR 4210 would have added a new section to the Washington State Constitution giving present and future generations ”the right to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air, healthy ecosystems,…
I urge folks to support a new County service, the Thurston County Resource Hub located at the Thurston County Courthouse Complex. It’s geared toward people who are involved in the justice system, but service is open to anyone. The Hub helps clients find housing, support for substance use, jobs, peer…
Can Trees Really Sing? How do they sound when they sing? Do they change their tune when it’s sunny or wet? What is it like to dance barefoot in a forest? How can we connect to nature indoors? Find those answers and many others at Dancing to the Music of…
On April 26 and 27, Olympia’s downtown will be a joyful jumble filled with creatures of the air, land, fire and sea as the Luminary Procession and Procession of the Species celebration returns after a 4 year interlude caused by the COVID lockdown. The free community art studio that is…