For you political junkies... they needed 15% of the registered city voters in the last general election (25,460), or 3,819. They turned in 5,251. The Auditor stopped counting at 3,849 valid signatures, leaving 251 uncounted. The 1,151 they looked at that weren't valid were:

Best,
Thad

Janet Jordan interviewed people involved in the Isthmus Park Initiative campaign for the next episode of her "Green Issues" program on TCTV (on cable, Channel 22). The panel's Jeff Jaksich (Olympia Isthmus Park Association, Olympia Capitol Park Foundation and Olympia Planning Commission Alum), Allen Miller (Olympia Isthmus Park Association, Olympia Capitol Park Foundation, Olympia Planning Commission Alum, and attorney), Sandi Kris Goddard (20/20 Vision Olympia), and Peggy Clifford (20/20 Vision Olympia). It will be shown for the next month on Fridays at 5 PM and again on Wednesdays at 8:00, starting this week.

Best,
Thad

I'm curious what folks on OlyBlog think earns them a "right" to or justifies any sense of entitlement?

Is the US culture a meritocracy?

Please chime in-

-some folks seem to think status or class in America is derived from economic success and others seem to think it is centered in philanthropic works, but I'm curious what everyone thinks-

for me, it is the raw odds of being lucky enought to be born in the US that humbles me

-any thoughts?

A public presentation by archaeologist Scott S. Williams

Monday, Oct. 20, 2008 at Noon [stevenl note: I'm assuming it lasts an hour]

State Capital Museum and Outreach Center, 211 - 21st Ave. SW, Olympia

(360) 753-2580

Sometime in the late 17th century a Manila Galleon, carrying tons of beeswax and other cargo destined for the colonies of New Spain, wrecked on the Oregon coast near Nehalem Spit. Clatsop Indian oral histories tell of the shipwreck and its survivors. Over time the Indians incorporated the cargo into their trading and daily lives. This presentation by Scott S. Williams (Cultural Resources Program manager at WSDOT) will discuss on-going investigations to locate the mysterious wreck and document it.

This public program is part of the "Adventures in Northwest History and Archaeology" series at the State Capital Museum.

Admission to each lecture is $2.

You are welcome to bring lunch. Coffee and tea will be served.

Arts Walk is on First Friday this month. 

Get ready for Arts Walk XXXVII

Thanks to the support of downtown businesses and the talents of hundreds of artists, downtown Olympia rolls out the red carpet for Arts Walk on Friday, October 3, from 5-10pm!

Just a reminder that this is the first event where the closed streets at 5th and Washington will be 100% acoustic! This means no electricity for outside performances, creating more intimate pockets of music rather than a wall of sound.

This fall’s event also marks the 20th Anniversary of the Olympia Arts Commission, major sponsor of the event. If you have a moment, drop by the Washington Center for the Performing Arts from 4-5pm to celebrate not only their Anniversary but also the efforts of 19 other Arts Organizations who have nurtured the arts in our community for 20 years or more!

We look forward to seeing you at Arts Walk!

Thanks also to Art House Designs, Capitol City Press, Comcast, Heritage Bank and Mixx 96fm for their support of this City organized event.

For more information, please contact Erin Conine, Arts & Events Program Specialist, Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation at 570-5858.

I believe that The Olympian has done a disservice to the community in regard to what has been its biased coverage of the Isthmus debacle. I submitted a letter to the editor last week (on Wednesday the 24th of September).

I just telephoned the paper today to ask about it - because I usually receive a verification call within a couple days of submission. Not so this time. It turns out the letter was not selected for publication. The letter contains a critique of The Olympian's coverage of the Isthmus Rezone.

Another letter I can remember having gone unpublished was a critique of The Olympian's "comments section" - where hate speech against gays, against people of color, against ethnic groups, and etc., is tolerated.

Does The Olympian have a policy of not publishing letters that are critical of The Olympian?

Maybe the newspaper would be more successful if they found a way to integrate constructive criticism.

Here's the unpublished letter, without further ado:

September 24, 2008

To the Editors:

Coverage of the isthmus rezone proposal in The Olympian has been disappointing. Coverage has been incomplete and biased in favor of the rezone. Where is the appropriate skepticism and attitude of oversight?

Meanwhile, the Olympian has portrayed those who oppose the Urban Waterfront Isthmus Building Height Rezone (proposed by Triway Enterprises) as "simplistic nay-sayers." Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, opposition to the proposal is based on a multitude of reasons: reasons that are both complex and meaningful, and sophisticated and solid. To brand the opposition as somehow simplistic is, quite frankly, insulting.

The Olympian newspaper has a policy of liberally publishing letters to the editor. I have submitted several letters to the editor - and most have been published. However, a few of the letters that I have submitted have gone unpublished. Common denominator? The unpublished letters were critical of The Olympian newspaper.

Do you have a letter that has not been published? Well, you're welcome to publish it on OlyBlog. Of particular interest are letter to the editor submissions that have gone unpublished for political reasons.

bert

...and all I got was this cuneiform pictograph weighing 16 tons

As per usual, I rode a bicycle 30 miles to take these pictures with an inferior camera phone so you won't have to. All I ask in return is a 16 ton cuneiform pictograph. I do not think this is too much to ask. (No, you're wrong, it actually isn't too much to ask. Your corner convenience store has two 16 ton cuneiform pictographs on isle four and they are practically giving them away. It seems the demand was not as great as they anticipated.)

OK, let's hear it-

really, what is the justification/reason to drive when you can walk or bike?

why drive in Oly?

for me, I like to drive, and enjoy when I want to, and not because I need to-

-and I find, that even though I like to drive, that I drive way less when I'm only driving when I want to, vs. when I drive when I have to

Oly is small. I walked over to the westside today and shopped and then came back to the eastside where I live, and then rode back over to a friend's house on my bike for some dinner & music, and it was no hassle, and nicer than driving-

-is weather the only factor? I also consider the freedom of non-motorized inebriation to be a factor...

...how many times have you had a good-time walking home from downtown after drinking/shows/night out?

-being able to do that easily in Oly is very, very nice (true quality fo life)

-any thoughts?

ya know, I'm finally there-

bert convinced me (in part) with one of his pictures that shows the Olympics behind that big building

All things considered, I'd rather have a park & green-corridor that high-rise development on the isthmus

that is all