The need for in-home care is growing rapidly. While the field of in-home care is known for low wages, cooperatives provide an alternative. Recently WIP’s Matt Crichton talked with Nora Edge, founder and past executive director of Capital Homecare cooperative, and CHC current executive director Paulette La Douceur.
Posts published by “Matt Crichton”
New legislation mandates zoning in cities statewide to allow multiple housing units on a single-family lot Every piece of legislation begins with words like these: “The legislature finds that…” What follows is free from any grounding in evidence or constraints of logic. “Findings” are not a place to recognize reality…
If someone steals money from their employer, they could be guilty of a serious crime. But what if an employer takes money from their employee’s paychecks? Employers steal billions of dollars from their employees each year by working them off the clock, by failing to pay the minimum wage, or…
In his book Myth and Reality, the late scholar of religion Mircea Eliade suggests that, contrary to the popular understanding of myth as a fiction, in early religious practice it defined both the constitution and understanding of reality—a line that defines the limits of belief or a wall that defines…
Uncaged Art is an exhibit of large-scale photographs of art made by adolescents, ages 13-17, from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
The exhibit, including educational elements, was organized by members of local cultural and activist organizations. The young artists were detained at the Tornillo Children’s Detention center in El Paso County, Texas, from June 2018 to January 2019.
In an attempt to blunt an impending budget shortfall, South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) has offered employees a $25,000 incentive to leave their jobs.
Proponents of saving Washington’s few remaining legacy forests testified at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) monthly public hearing wearing yellow caution arm bands. On the auction block were four large parcels of land including legacy forests—defined as forests containing trees over 100 years old.. The community action group showed…
At a time when the probability of nuclear war is as nearly as high as it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it is crucial that we recall the story of Vasili Arkhipov, a Soviet submarine officer who prevented a Soviet nuclear strike against US surface warships during that very…
During the years of 1846-1848, many Irish people were immigrating to the US due to extreme economic hardship and famine in Ireland. This coincided with the US invasion of Mexico, known as the Mexican-American War. Many new Irish-Catholic immigrants joined the US army to earn money and possible citizenship in the war against Mexico.
The Ecosystem Guild is not an institution, it is a community network built of relationships in pursuit of a regenerative bioregional culture. The Guild has been emerging across the Salish Sea and Cascadia for generations. A website was developed by stewards in the estuary cities of Olympia and Tumwater, where…
The owner of Traditions Café in downtown Olympia hopes rentals can sustain this community venue that never recovered from Covid. The café, connected to New Traditions, a fair-trade store located on Fifth Ave., has been known for hosting concerts, fund-raisers and other events for 26 years. On Dec.31, the café…
In 1975, one of Olympia’s social spots for young adults and students was, oddly, the local crisis clinic. Many Evergreen and Saint Martin’s students looking for ways to connect volunteered there.
A local college is again offering discounted auto repairs to the public, and applications are easier than ever with a new online form. The automotive department at South Puget Sound Community College is offering auto repair for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The public is invited to…
The sentence for attempted murder in Washington state is between 308.25—411 months. You might expect therefore that a teenager who shot his marijuana dealer during a drug transaction would be charged with attempted murder, and if found guilty could face up to 35 years in prison.
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…
WIP has new funding for our “Readers Review” offer. Each month we publish a list of books (here). 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 buy it)…
I was among the many social workers, state employees and volunteers who approached and questioned our unhoused neighbors in Thurston County during the last week of January.
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.
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?).
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.
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…
The City of Olympia has again ignored state law in its handling of developer Jerry Mahan’s application to build family homes on a toxic waste dump.
(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
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 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…