www.olyblog.net

author : Drew Hendricks

Compiled and edited by Drew Hendricks

Olympia has one of the richest media environments of any small community in the United States. The latest addition to the constellation of self-publishing web sites is known as Olyblog.net. Here's their blurb, in their own words: About OlyBlog.net

OlyBlog is a site for news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. OlyBlog was founded by Rick McKinnon, a long-time OlyWa resident.

If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. You can post your news as a story, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. You can also send news to mckinnon.rick@comcast.net

What follows here is a small digest of stories selected from Olyblog.net over the course of the last month or so. Some of the entries are slightly edited for length and grammar.

The cold is here

Submitted by Rick on Thu, 02/16/2006 - 8:18am.

From The Olympian:

South Sound homeless shelters expect an influx of homeless people as bitter cold descends on the area.

When the temperature dipped to 22 degrees early Wednesday, two dozen people sought refuge at The Salvation Army shelter in downtown Olympia, the "highest I've seen so far in the past few years," said Beth Zimmerman, cold-weather coordinator for the Emergency Shelter Network.

It looks like it is only going to get colder. Does Bread & Roses have enough coats, gloves, hats? Should we bring stuff to B&R to distribute?

Connecting Domestic Policy Problems with the War Agenda

Submitted by Rob Whitlock on Thu, 02/16/2006 - 8:00am.

Start: Sat, 03/11/2006 - 11:00am

Location: INS - ICE Northwest Detention Center, 1623 J St, Tacoma WA

Connecting the Dots: Speaking Truth to the Politics of Power with a Vision of Peace

People concerned about peace and justice at home and abroad will gather at the Tacoma ICE/INS detention center at 11 AM on Saturday March 11th, 2006, for a rally. At noon, they will march from the detention center to the downtown Sheraton, where the Pacific Northwest National Security Forum (PNWNSF) will be taking place. The day's activities will include speakers, music, and street theatre.

The purpose is to set forth an alternative vision for the future -- one that is peaceful, cooperative and secure. The purpose is also to directly challenge the PNWNSF, and the abilities of war and militarism generally, to resolve conflicts, and achieve a real and lasting security situation.

local ownership of local resources

Submitted by chris on Wed, 02/15/2006 - 12:24pm.

Today's Olympian newspaper reports that the Olympia city council took action to reclaim our water rights at the brewery.

As I understand it, the current owner is in danger of defaulting on his loan. If he does, then the water rights will go to his lender in California or to the highest bidder.

With an impending worldwide water crisis, selling off water rights to a company seems kind of assinine. Perhaps it makes sense for a community to lease those rights with a time limit, but not relinquish ownership.

I still don't think it should be legal for a company to determine how a community is able to manage it's local resources such as water. (e.g. when Miller closed the brewery in 2003, they were able to stipulate that beer could never be brewed on that site again - I can't find an online resource to quote for that though .. anyone?)

In any case, I'm so thrilled that our city council is trying save our water rights I think we should throw them a thank you party for not allowing it to languish.

Another Voice

Submitted by Sarah on Wed, 02/15/2006 - 9:24am.

Fighting Back. If ignored, Hate Groups thrive.

Floyd Cochran says that "silence and apathy was his biggest ally when he was recruiting members into 'the doctrines of hate.'"

"Organized white supremacy groups are counting on you to do nothing," said Floyd Cochran, who at one time was the fifth-ranking member of the Church of Jesus Christ Christian/Aryan Nations -- a white supremacist group that combines Nazi ideas with a racist brand of biblical fundamentalism known as Christian Identity.

What's that saying?

Submitted by Rick on Wed, 02/15/2006 - 8:18am.

I think it goes: "Fool me once shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

From The Olympian:

OLYMPIA -- For the second time in six months, an inmate at the Olympia City Jail has damaged expensive electronic equipment by urinating on it from his cell.

The latest wetting happened Sunday night, after police booked a transient who had been fighting with another man outside a grocery store. Matthew F. Hobbs was in a holding cell when he allegedly urinated on two video monitors stored under a counter at the jail's booking station. The monitors were valued at $1,600, Olympia police reported.

Open Source Radio coming to Seattle, give them a topic

Submitted by emmettoconnell on Tue, 02/14/2006 - 1:22pm.

One of the best radio shows out there, Radio Open Source, is coming to Seattle and is looking for Northwest centered topics. The gist of the show is that they build interest for topics prior to air by discussing them online. When a topic is "ready" so to speak, they give it a show.

Anway, give them a piece of your mind here; http://www.radioopensource.org/sourceless-in-seattle/

Some liveaboards history: Liveaboard Association of Puget Sound

Submitted by emmettoconnell on Mon, 02/13/2006 - 8:13pm.

I remember back in 2000 when the DNR started cracking down on liveaboards across Puget Sound. Apparently they got together and started fighting back.

They have an association: http://www.liveaboards.org/index.htm

Dating back almost 100 years, liveaboard boaters have been a part of the color and richness of Puget Sound. The liveaboard lifestyle is an age-old pursuit, it is a choice to passionately pursue a love of water, adventure, and freedom. The liveaboard community of Puget Sound, together with concerned citizens across the state, have formed this assocation to protect a NW heritage, and a cherished way of life.

Long Hair David trial is postponed to April 10th

Submitted by DrewHendricks on Mon, 02/13/2006 - 5:20pm.

Longtime community activist and EGYHOP founder Long Hair David has finally secured a private attorney in his two-year ordeal with felony assault charges.

The charges stem from an incident which happened Feb 16, 2004 as David was in Sylvester Park downtown in Olympia. Three WSP Officers approached David, accused him of dropping a cigarette on the ground; the misunderstanding that resulted ended in David's arrest for felony assault of an officer. The bench trial, which had been scheduled for Feb 13, 2006 has been moved to April 10th.

EGYHOP is the Emma Goldman Youth and Homeless Outreach Project - a direct, mutual aid organization for the street populations of Olympia.

David is one of my heroes; it has broken my heart to see him reduced in spirit and body as the stress of worrying about this case has worn him down. The men who attacked him that day have never taken responsibility for their misunderstanding or contributory negligence in the case, and likely never will, even when David is aquitted.

The case number is 04-1-00343-5 and you can track the docket for it here and paste the case number in the box, and choose Thurston County.

"American Nazis: Stress, Agitation and Disquietude"

Submitted by Rob Whitlock on Mon, 02/13/2006 - 4:54pm.

These nazi's are just plain creeping me out. I want to know what prompted them, out of the blue, to show up and start disturbing, disrupting and instilling fear into this community.

I am concerned about the local reaction to the Nazi presence.

I have two separate visions in my imagination:

1)8 or 9 nazi's standing in solitude, isolated on a hill top, blathering obscenities and slogans like "white-power," while one of their number ridiculously holds a shield

-OR-

2)8 or 9 nazi's defending themselves against a group of 150 counter protestors, arguably being threatened - even to the point of necessitating police escort.

Now I ask, which image would most likely tend promote recruitment more?