Rural Oregonians have been responding to attacks on immigrant neighbors and family members by taking action, organizing our communities, and opening challenging and necessary conversations about what our communities need for every person to truly feel safe. In this way, we counter the constant news of anti-immigrant rants from the…
Posts published by “Bethany Weidner”
Lopez Community Land Trust was created almost 39 years ago to meet the need for affordable housing for island residents. Since then, the Trust has purchased land and built homes in five separate and distinct communities on the island. Each of the projects is built with sweat equity and the…
Ed Note: On Oct. 17, Judge Debra Hayes of Spokane District Court will allow the use of a climate necessity defense in another case involving direct action against fossil fuel projects. The trial for Reverend George Taylor on charges of trespassing and obstructing an oil train is expected in January…
Adapted from the website http:://www.shutitdown.today/action_strategy “If people are not acting as though there is an emergency, people don’t believe that there is an emergency.” —Leonard Higgins, Oregonian and grandfather For many of us engaging in work to avert civilizational collapse, there comes a point when it becomes clear that the…
Community-Assisted Resources for Equity (CARE Fund) was formed a year ago primarily to help people pay small fines to get their drivers’ licenses reinstated. The fund’s purpose has expanded to be available for many other court-related expenses that, if not paid, interfere with a person’s ability to get on with…
[Ed note: this interview is excerpted from one in a series called “Interviews for Resistance”nconducted by In These Times with organizers and others in Indiana fighting inequality in all its forms. Sarah Jaffee is on the staff of In These Times and writes on labor, social movements, gender and media among…
On several days in September, a line of sign-holding locals stood along a busy street in Shelton waving to drivers. Many of the drivers waved back, some honked, in a heartening show of support. The drivers were going about the serious business of life in this former lumber town. The…
West Central Park at the crossroads of Olympia’s Westside brims with flowers, fruits, unique gardens, a chess table, bocce courts. In summer it offers a farmers’ market, art and music fairs, movies, outdoor dances and other events. How did this extraordinary oasis come about? Not from the city, nor any…
Our purpose The aim of WIP is to confront injustice and encourage a participatory democracy based on justice in the economic, social, and environmental realms and across races and genders. WIP does this in part by providing a voice for those most affected by systems of inequity and the exclusionary…
In recent years, fossil fuel corporations have targeted Washington and Oregon as locations for fossil-fuel export facilities. A variety of companies presented the state, public ports and cities with proposals to build methanol, propane and LNG terminals, to construct facilities for storing, refining and transporting crude oil, along with a…
The Thurston County Democratic (TCD) party believes strong ties between labor and our party are essential to having our government fight for the working class and for all of our citizens. This belief is deeply entrenched in our core party value of supporting “economic justice for all.” Candidates must go…
The following was excerpted from emails sent to volunteers for Amahoro House, a hospice for the homeless, by Angela Lee, RN, a project volunteer. Melanie Curry—known on the streets as Pixie Unicorn—passed away this week on the streets of Olympia. She was well loved by our friends at the shelter,…
Dear WIP, Thank you for publishing the piece by Olympia City Councilperson Clark Gilman in the August issue. It is unsettling to me that in a country that is supposed to be a democracy, one that is supposed to be a government “of, for, and by the people” that we…
Olympia Zine Fest invites community members to a three-day celebration of zines and DIY culture. The 3rd annual festival will take place October 13-15 in downtown Olympia. Zines are self-published works, often photocopied, and can be about any topic. Olympia Zine Fest welcomes newcomers and seasoned zine-makers alike. The event kicks off…
Works in Progress is a free newspaper that’s been produced and consumed in Thurston County every month for almost 30 years. Periodically, some WIP folks look up from their tasks and discover that it’s time to bring in some new and different people to keep the publication going strong. Check…
Then. In May, Evergreen faculty member Bret Weinstein went on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight where he stood by while Carlson mischaracterized the events of a day when students disrupted Weinstein’s class. Carlson’s programs are often culled for presentation on “alt-right” media. After Weinstein’s appearance, the college was the subject…
On July 11, local members of the Puget Sound Communities 4 Impeachment asked the Olympia City Council to adopt a resolution calling on Congress to investigate impeachment of US President Donald Trump. Twenty or more people gathered in front of City Hall, unfurled a banner and waved flags to the…
[Ed note: When the legislature left Olympia on July 20 this year (after three extra sessions) they had agreed on the amount and detail of the budget that funds all state-supported capital projects. It’s just that the Senate Republicans refused to vote on it. This reflected the increasingly frequent breakdown…
When they come for you… Dear WIP, Here is a recap of the July 17 hearing in Seattle, where the issue is removing Zahid Chaudhry from the country. Judge Paul deFonzo spent some time to mark exhibits and make sure each party had the same documents; then government side wanted…
The best place to see Moxlie Creek is on the loop trail in Watershed Park. Moxlie Creek starts out as an artesian spring at the southern end of the park. As it flows through the park northward towards Budd Inlet, the creek is joined by more springs and groundwater from…
Do Your Homework. Recognize that the Right is a complex movement. No one organization “controls” the Right. No single funder is “behind” the Right. Some large organizations are important, but many others appear to be more influential than they really are. Recognize that there are multiple networks of organizations and…
A case of beer. Around midnight on May 21, 2015, two men carrying skateboards attempted to steal a case of beer from the Safeway at Cooper Point Road in Olympia. Confronted by a clerk, they threw the case toward her and ran out of the store. Two Olympia police officers…
Mount Vernon, WA — A Washington state judge has ruled that Ken Ward, a climate activist who who helped to temporarily block the flow of tar sands oil from Canada to the United States in an October protest, cannot present the climate necessity defense at his trial scheduled to begin…
Olympia community organizer Renata Rollins announced her candidacy today for Olympia City Council Position 6. Her campaign asks, “Where Can We Go?” and will focus on embracing what’s possible during times of transition. “In Olympia we face rising population, rising home prices, rising rents, rising homelessness and rising sea levels,”…
Assad’s Chemical Weapon? Dear WIP: In his article in the May 2017 issue of Works in Progress, Peter Bohmer claims that “there is close to but not 100-percent proof” that Assad carried out the recent sarin attack on Khan Shaykhun in Syria. He further suggests that “those who deny or cast doubt…