In The Armies of the Night, Norman Mailer writes about going to a big demonstration against the Vietnam War. He isn’t planning to go at all, but a friend calls him up about it. He feels as if he ought to go, though he doesn’t want to. Finally he goes.
Posts published by “Thad Curtz”
In Who Owns the Sun, Environmental activists Berman and O’Connor offer a scathing explanation of why solar technology has played such an insignificant role in meeting America’s energy needs. Politicians, utility companies and even many mainstream environmental groups come under attack for either their lack of leadership on this issue…
CENTER PAGE: We live in an age when ignorance is praised. Ignorance and division are being manufactured on a mass scale. There is essentially an industry teaching us to doubt what we know...
It turns out that if you’re a refugee trying to escape horror and death by coming to the United States via the Mexican border—make sure that you are Ukrainian!
Most Olympia residents would welcome a coffee shop or small grocery store into their neighborhood, yet plans for such Neighborhood Centers have been in talks for years with little to show for it.
As Starbucks reports quarterly profits of $40 billion, they try to quash organizing efforts of baristas and other staff who are voting to unionize for better working conditions. Recently Matt Crichton talked with one of the baristas at the Cooper Point Village Starbucks about the employees’ experience trying to form a union.
Heat, smoke and climate assault have become “new normal” conditions that daily threaten workers, especially in agriculture.
Late in July 2021, the head of Olympia’s Office of Community Vitality requested $200,000 as a new “enhancement” to the City’s operating budget. It would pay for the City to hold a special election in the spring, to put a .1% sales tax increase before voters....
PERSPECTIVE: Ever wonder what a Department of Natural Resources (DNR)–approved clearcut of public forestland looks like after the fact? Our Whatcom County field team got a close look...
Until the last week of this July, there was a forest of 80– to 100–year–old trees in a residential neighborhood, on Cooper Point Road between 20th and 28th Streets.
On July 21, 2022, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Conservation Northwest v. Commissioner of Public Lands, the “All the People” case.
BOOK REVIEW: I suppose it will surprise no one to learn that the age–old fight for free speech goes on, and likely will continue as long as there are unpopular ideas...
In May 14, a young white supremacist armed with a semi–automatic assault rifle traveled over 200 miles to the zip code 14208, which seemed an ideal place for implementing his plan to kill black people.
This is not a story about the broad swath of Olympia residents who spend half their income to pay for a place to live. It's about reshaping Olympia for investors.
I’ve always been intrigued by electric cars. I love driving but hate the problems that cars bring—like maintenance and the looming possibility of another expensive thing breaking that I don’t know how to fix. A car is “the gift that keeps on taking.” So, when the State motor pool offered…
The founder and resident kitchen god at Delmonico’s, “Olympia’s only truly artisan butcher shop,” Brian McDonald, who seems to have found his niche after years gaining experience and honing skills in the culinary arts, the food service business, and related pursuits. He says he got his start at home. “My…
Theresa Mosqueda of Olympia was one of three sponsors of a Seattle City Council program that awarded up to $835 per childcare worker to over 3,500 childcare providers in Seattle. In her regular news to residents of the city where she serves, Mosqueda said that the money is “an important…
Three years ago, 47 states (all but California, West Virginia, and Mississippi) allowed either philosophical or religious exemptions to school vaccine requirements – including New York. New York didn’t allow philosophical exemptions but did allow parents to avoid vaccinating their kids for school by declaring that they held a “genuine and…
Three stories were told about housing and homelessness as candidates vied for votes in Olympia’s primary election. All three stories will be part of the general election. Three different narratives The first story comes from incumbent Council members Jim Cooper, Lisa Parshley and Yen Huynh. They say the solution to…
Back-to-school—the comforting seasonal phrase that conjures images of kids with backpacks, pencils and lunchboxes. We trot it out every year as a reminder that some things can be relied on to help us maintain a sense of continuity. Like so many other things, going back to school has taken on…
We ran out of license plates!...Another loss for a public voice...Housing the homeless in under-used hotels...Once–decent jobs are being chipped away...Show me your papers!
When the City of Olympia purchased park land at LBA Woods in 2016, it quickly moved forward with a plan to set aside ten non-forested acres fronting Boulevard Road to develop as affordable multifamily housing.
Public outcry may have prompted delay In February 2021, when members of the public learned that purchasers of the large dairy farm once owned by the Doehlman family wanted to build a warehouse/distribution center, the outcry was immediate. The proposal for the parcel, located at 13333 Case Road SW in…
WIP still has funds from our “Readers Review” grant. Each month we publish a list of books (see right column). 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…
Local Good Governance is a new Thurston County coalition formed to make the advocacy work of environmental and affordable housing nonprofits more efficient and their voices stronger. The coalition is the brainchild of a small working group of League of Women Voters Thurston County (LWVTC) with support from Thurston Climate Action…