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....
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REFLECTION: The Olympia Police Department (OPD) is roiled in a troublesome search for a new Chief of Police. Olympia’s City Council had hired Karras Consulting to help recruit Oly’s next top cop, and on March 25, the City announced the names of four finalists under consideration for the job.
It’s Saturday afternoon and we are at the Victory Garden, a fenced 2-acre plot owned by the Thurston County Food Bank on Martin Way in Lacey. ...
The seed for GRuB was planted in 1993 as the Kitchen Garden Project (KGP). Inspired by the work of Vietnam veteran Dan Barker (founder of the Kitchen Garden Project—KGP), South Sounders Richard and Maria Doss began building free vegetable gardens for low-income people in southwest Washington....
It’s been hard to hope. Beginning with the 2020 election in November, and then the Electoral College vote in December, and then the official electoral vote count in January 2021, and then the inauguration on January 20, each was an opportunity to hope....
Comparison of the requirements versus the rewards of a registered nurse, schoolteacher, police officer and property owner.
“Stewardship of the commons is a fundamental purpose of local government” On March 30, Olympia City Council members signed a 15-year contract needed by Milestone Companies to attract financing for their “West Bay Yards” project, a luxury mixed-use development on the edge of Budd Inlet. Hundreds of citizens weighed in…
When we to home on the westside returned from an excursion to the north Cascades....
MOVIE REVIEW: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are getting more powerful, to the point where the programmers who created AI do not know what is going on inside—a black box, if you will.....
Nick Leppmann is a Seattle-based artist who depicts the often overlooked impact of our ambitions on the natural world. He can be reached at nickleppmann.com, on Instagram at @ nickleppmannart or on Facebook at @NickLeppmannArt.
Imperium is a 2016 movie based on the real experiences of undercover FBI agent Mike German who infiltrated white supremacist organizations, as related in his book Thinking Like a Terrorist published in 2008. Unfortunately, the lessons found in the movie are all the more relevant today, as white-supremacist Trumpism increasingly…
BOOK REVIEW: We believe this book to be so important that we are running a second review. Isabel Wilkerson’s masterwork, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, makes painfully clear exactly who we are. She expertly lays out how systemic discrimination, abuse, and murder of those within the lowest caste of the US is intrinsic to the fabric of our country....
President Biden announced in February that he would end support for Saudi Arabia’s offensive operations in Yemen. No more refueling warplanes, providing logistical support, no more advanced weapons systems for the Saudi war effort. But the warplanes are still delivering their bombs....
Sea-Tac, April 1. Father Steve Kelly, S.J., a Jesuit priest and longtime nuclear resister, was brought in chains to Tacoma on March 30 to appear in the US District Court on a warrant for a previous probation violation.
Where will the money come from? The big question and the Republicans’ number one argument against President Biden’s long-overdue program to repair the country’s infrastructure is: where will the money come from? For example, what about the $40 billion the President asked Congress to spend on the huge need for…
P.O.W.E.R Fundraiser ♦ Black Mama’s Day Bail Outs! ♦ American Friends Service Committee ♦ Evergreen seminar: College behind bars ♦ League of Women Voters ♦ Genealogy Cafe ♦ GRuB ♦ Glen’s Parallax Perspectives: ♦ OCEP Victory!
On March 15, Commissioners at the Port of Olympia heard from Olympia officials about what the City hopes will be a shared initiative to memorialize the “maritime history” of Olympia.
A warrior Republican President, Dwight Eisenhower spoke clearly about the link between our military spending (see the back page pie chart for details) and the reasons we choose to impoverish so many working people: “To amass military power without regard to our economic capacity would be to defend ourselves against…
…Mike Kreidler dealt the insurance lobbyists …Our legislators think that cities and towns shouldn’t be allowed to make their own zoning rules. …Ecuador defied the trend …it’s old news, but really. …Speaking of bi-partisanship?
What happened during…and after? In December 2020, a group named Oly Housing Now (OHN) formed to organize an action at the Red Lion at the end of January. Days before, President Biden had signed an executive order extending FEMA’s Public Assistance Reimbursement policy to states that provide safe housing for…
WIP has received a grant to print book reviews in 2021. How will it work? Each month we’ll 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…
Work that’s its own reward For years it was home to an abandoned building. In 1997 the City paid to demolish the building, leaving the lot vacant. It was the last unoccupied parcel located at the intersection of two busy arterials on the Westside—Harrison and Division. Early one May Day…
The Commons is a documentary film about communities re-asserting sustainable futures using consensus, equity, and shared resources—ancient Commons principles. The film offers many examples of how it is possible to take the inspired path toward a communal future so many are drawn towards.
REFLECTION: The federal minimum wage in the United States, signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938, has been a topic of debate ever since. Its purpose was to protect workers from being paid a wage lower than what is necessary for survival....
Olympia City Council elections: Statements from candidates on the West Bay Yards issue
Members of the public had an opportunity to talk to the City Council about the viability and desirability of facilitating the introduction of an “urban village”—a 470-unit apartment/townhouse-retail-commercial complex — between West Bay Drive and the edge of Budd Inlet at the site of a former plywood plant.
In response to the movement and demand for justice for Black Lives, and because these times are calling on us to have a wise and courageous response, Thurston County nonprofit communities have signed onto this collective letter indicating our intention to align with racial justice and a local racial equity-focused policy agenda.