Everyone has something to contribute; Everyone has something they need The COVID-19 pandemic response in the US has challenged communities, as local food banks experienced shortages and shelter beds became even more restricted. Confronted by an uncertain and under-resourced governmental response, many communities countered with energized “mutual aid” organizing. People recognized…
Works in Progress
A February report from Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson reveals that the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) refused to cooperate with an AG inquiry into whether law enforcement agencies are complying with Initiative 940. Among other mandates, the law created by 1-940 requires that investigations of police use of deadly force be conducted by an agency independent of those involved....
The volunteer Managing Editor of Works in Progress is stepping down after five years. Unless someone volunteers for the position and is in place by August 1, the last issue of the paper will appear in September. To support a new managing editor (if one is in place) we are…
Regarding Tom White and Bill Moyer’s article about passenger trains, I understand that it was focused on a comparison between improving current N-S Cascades service and the proposal for Ultra High Speed Rail that would essentially parallel the current Cascades N-S route but on “dedicated” track....
We will run issues monthly with a maximum length of 750 words. We currently have reviews scheduled through June, so there’s plenty of time to read a big book! Moving the Bar: My Life as a Radical Lawyer—Michael Ratner (Autobiography “taking the law to places where it had never been”)…
REFLECTION: Nearly a year ago, George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin during an arrest, after a store clerk alleged that Floyd had passed a counterfeit $20 bill. The obscenely violent act of kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes, killing him—seen and known about only because one young bystander caught it all by video on her phone—ignited a nation into action....