Taking down a section of "Sylvester's Window":

Yesterday morning I spent a couple of hours helping pack away parts of the reference desk, the genealogy and Northwest collections to help prepare for the renovation of the building over the next month or so.

You can't really see it in this crappy video I took, but the staff signed the circulation desk that is being removed.

The boxing the books process was, to put it mildly, exacting. Each box was numbered, and each collection was taken from beginning to end, left to right (at least I hope it was left to right) and boxed in order.

Here's a stack:

Here's a bottom box that didn't make it:

The city of Olympia was part of a performance audit by the State Auditor on a handful of local governments and how they collect and use impact fees. I won't have time to read the entire report tonight (warning big pdf file), so if anyone else wants to take a crack at it before I get to, have at it.

Sorry for not posting the the entire report on scribd, but for some reason, the publicly paid for report is password protected and won't convert.

Here are some highlights though.

On fire fees:

Olympia’s fire impact fee schedule/calculation does not effectively demonstrate the connection between growth and system improvements. Olympia does not take into account the cost of public facilities necessitated by new development or the availability of other financing.

On park fees:

Olympia may not be spending park impact fees as effectively as it could, based on the results of a citizen survey and based on other cities’ use of multiple park zones.

• Olympia should consider removing the “one-half to one mile” and “10- to 20-minute walk” from its definition of a “Neighborhood Park.”
• Olympia should consider dividing the City into two park zones to demonstrate a clear relationship between where impact fees are collected and spent. Two zones for park impact fees would appear to be reasonable, as the City is approximately six miles across.

Community Acupuncture Studio, Olympia's very first community Acupuncture clinic, opens it's doors for patients today. People can now receive very affordable acupuncture treatments regardless of their insurance status. We offer community-style acupuncture treatments based on a sliding-scale, starting at $20. We will be open 1-8pm Tues-Sat. For more information, check out the web-site, www.cas-olympia.com or call (360)943-6730.

Live Karaoke on TCTV Cable Channel 22.

Come up this Friday and sing live on cable.  440 Yauger Way Suite c, Olympia, WA 98502.  Sign up begins at 6:30pm.  Program is live from 7-8pm on the Third Friday of every month.  Replays every Friday after that.

 www.myspace.com/karaokeoly

karaokeoly@gmail.com

The KUOW radio show The Conversation today had a interview with port commissioner Bill McGregor and tomorrow (listen to the live show at 1 pm or through site later) there will be interviews with people who were involved in the port protests.

...dozens of anti–war protestors were arrested at the Port of Olympia last year. None were charged with a crime. Now the port's commissioners say they'll take future protestors to civil court.

You can listen to past programs through their site. Today's interview was in the first ten minutes of the show.

KUOW often can be heard best in Olympia through 1340 AM, that is what I use. Information on service area and reception

Please join us for the 2008 Gingerbread Holiday Cottages Competition sponsored by South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity. The event is being hosted to support and bring community awareness to our organization, to join the Olympia Downtown Association in celebrating the holidays, and to tap into the creative magic that is abundant in our community. The event will be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 29-30, 12-5PM at the Olympia Ballroom above the Urban Onion, 116 Legion Way SE, Olympia.

This is the first year of the Gingerbread Holiday Cottages competition, and we have high hopes for the event. We look forward to seeing the magic of creativity that I know the participants will bring to the event. There are three divisions of competition: “Professional,” “Sponsored,” and “Community/Family.” There will be 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in all three categories and the entries will be judged at the opening of the competition by a delegate of the major sponsoring business. There will also be a “people’s choice” winner determined by the most number of tickets sold to the visiting public. That award will be named at the end of the competition. All judging will be based on overall appearance, originality, creativity, seasonal theme, craftsmanship, architecture, and adherence to the contest rules.