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Posts published in “–”

A new Regional Fire Authority for Olympia and Tumwater?

An election this April could impose the biggest increase ever in property tax bills for people in these two cities Olympia and Tumwater voters will decide in a special election this April whether to merge their fire departments into a new Regional Fire Authority (RFA, Authority). Proposition 1 requires approval…

A new curriculum tells the history of the Nisqually tribe

With a click of a mouse, 15 years of cooperative work to create a Nisqually Tribe curriculum to be used by local school districts zipped over to an Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) employee’s remote drive.

Poverty is the recruiter for our “volunteer” army

Oh, the children! Filling the ranks is more complicated than it used to be, thanks to a change that occurred back in 1973, a year of startling historical significance. 1973 was the year of the Roe v. Wade decision and the Watergate hearings (remember those?).

Sharing ideas and strategies that can actually work

For the public to understand the dangers posed by many jobs, it’s vital that journalists write about the real story of everyday conditions, risks and strategies affecting working people.

Hands-on learning about the housing industry

Some time ago, I was employed as a cost estimator for a large local siding company. We installed siding on hundreds of single-family new homes and several multi-family buildings throughout Puget Sound every year. I would create estimates and order packages on between 25-50 homes each week. That experience provided…

¿Donde está Dan Leahy?

(o porqué los revolucionarios no van al cielo)
¿A donde van los revolucionarios después de muertos?
Su destino no es el cielo
ni mucho peor el infierno

Days of Change

Olywa Days of Change is gathering memories from the 1960s to the 1980s for a book project. A group has met online for over two years, encouraging each other to write down stories, share histories and gather photographs and graphics.

Dan Leahy 1943–2022

Dan Leahy was a storyteller, teacher, organizer, traveler and writer. He contributed regularly to Works in Progress, where his political analysis and organizing work were reflected in articles about housing, local elections, traffic on neighborhood streets, oil companies and oil trains—and private developers and their role in government among other…

An open letter to Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland

Dear Madam Congresswoman, As a lifelong Democrat who eagerly voted for you to succeed Lt. Governor Heck as our community’s representative in Congress, I am shocked and saddened by your yes vote for H.Con.Res.9, “Denouncing the horrors of socialism.” This resolution states that “Congress denounces socialism in all its forms,…

Community Spotlight — December 2022

Cougar Theater ♦ String & Shadow Puppet Theater ♦ Center for Responsible Forestry ♦ Rosie’s Place ♦ LOTT Treatment Plant ♦ Traditions Fair Trade ♦ South Sound Progressive Alliance ♦ Olympia Lamplighters ♦ Orca Books ♦ Brotherhood Lounge ♦ TOGETHER ...

Hostages to the future — Thoughts on the Theme — December 2022

We can’t escape our future. The sum of our collective actions as humans acts as another force of nature, influencing the big physical systems that underpin the small blue, watery planet we’ve all come to know. We are in the process of making our own collective future. Our collective status…

Then this happened — December 2022

…police accountability took a hit . …the City of Olympia posted an opening for an entry-level police officer …one year after it was filed, a citizen petition denied...

Home so far away

REFLECTION: The vistas are stunning. The Olympics to the west and the Cascades to the east, blue sky reflected in waters of the Sound, houses dotting evergreen-filled hills. The air is crisp, hints of salt water mixed with musk of western hemlock, Douglas fir, red cedar. Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier stand regally as reminders of roiling powers deep below rich farmland.

Will Thurston’s latest climate mitigation plan make the difference?

The Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan: Framework for Climate Mitigation Action for Thurston County and the Cities of Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater was finished in December 2020. It starts out by listing several years of previous city and county resolutions, strategies, and plans – all concerned with slowing global warming.