announcements

author : wip

by wip

Olympia Movement for Justic & Peace (OMJP) Yard Sale

Saturday, August 30, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 902 Division Street NW, Olympia (Right on the #41 busline)

Support OMJP and get some great stuff at great prices at the same time. Last minute donations are fine, but NO JUNK!

Raindate: Saturday, August 6

POWER Outage: Labor Day Picnic at Kennydell Park

On the first Monday of each month enjoy a night out with Parents Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights

Monday, September 1st, Labor Day, Beach Picnic at Kennydell Park at Black Lake

Bring the whole family, a potluck dish, swimsuit and beach toys! We have the shelter closest to the lake. We’ll carpool from the POWER office at 5 p.m. if you want a ride.

Directions: Take Highway 101 off I-5. Exit onto Black Lake Boulevard southbound. Proceed approximately 2 miles, then turn left onto the Black Lake-Belmore Road. Follow the Black Lake-Belmore Road approximately 2 miles. Turn right onto 66th. At the sharp curve to the left, 66th will become known as Fairview Road. Kenneydell County Park entrance is 600 feet after the curve on the right.

Contact: POWER at 701 Franklin Street SE Olympia, WA 98501, 360-352-9716 toll free 866-343-9716 welfarerights@riseup.net, http://www.oly-wa.us/power/, http://www.myspace.com/parentsorganizing

POWER is an organization of low-income parents and allies advocating for a strong social safety net while working toward a world where children and care giving are truly valued, and the devastation of poverty has been eradicated

Olympia Family Barter Faire: Creating a Local Economy

Join us for the second annual Olympia Family Barter Faire in nearby Matlock at a lovely organic farm, September 12-14. The Olympia Family Barter Faire is a family-friendly, weekend event connecting local skills, food, and passions with our local community. Our goal is to bring together local and regional vendors in a family style gathering to barter crafts, produce, cuisine, skills, and collections of stuff. In addition to bartering, there will be camping and daytime visitors, singing, dancing, music, conversation, and many volunteer opportunities.

The Olympia Family Barter Faire is being created to build community, support a local economy, provide educational opportunities through workshops and skill shares, promote the arts, and work towards local sustainability. Our events will encompass values that reflect a respect for diversity and the vision of a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable society. We are seeking volunteers for this wonderful event! Spread the word, bring your friends, help us create a sustainable community for all! Contact us at www.oly-wa.us/olybarter or call 866-1489 or jsquared277@mac.com for more information.

City Council Rezone Hearing

Tuesday, September 16, doors open at 5 p.m., Washington Center, 512 Washington Street in downtown Olympia

Members of the community will have a chance to address the city council regarding the proposed amendment to the Comprehensive Plan which would raise building height limits on the isthmus between Budd Bay and Capitol Lake to 90 feet. An additional hearing will be conducted on Sunday, September 21, beginning at 3 p.m., also at the Washington Center, if necessary. The council promises to allow everyone who is present by 7 p.m. a chance to speak. Unlike the Planning Commission hearing, where pro and con speakers were taken randomly, giving pro-rezone speakers the floor more than half the time despite the fact that three-quarters of the audience opposed the rezone, this hearing will rely on a random drawing for speaker selection. Please come and share your vision for Olympia’s future with the City Council!

Heart of Activism Events in October

Olympia activists are bringing together a remarkable cadre of experts to address the demise of democracy and rise of corporate power, and the role of the military in our [soldier’s] lives. In October the Cost of War series features the following positive, can-do events supporting rebuilding democracy:

October 3, South Puget Sound Community College (BRICK) brings Greg Palast to speak on elections, past and present.

Volunteers working with the WPC Thurston County chapter have drafted a proposal for a Voter-Owned Elections program in Olympia. The proposal includes draft language for a proposed ordinance, along with explanatory material. See documents and meeting information at Thurston@washclean.org.

October 12, following major protests over the Occupation of Iraq, Wayne Smith from the Unitarian Universalist Civil Liberties Program, is the featured speaker on the Cost of Iraq. Smith, a Viet Nam veteran, will address reparations, and his experience receiving a Nobel Peace prize, along with Vietnamese soldiers, who bicycled 1200 miles with US soldiers on a reconciliation journey from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. He will focus on what we can do to stop funding wars, and will meet with local activists.

October 17-19th, the Rachel Corrie Foundation presents the 5th Annual Peace Works conference, this year focusing on the occupations in Palestine and Iraq. Speakers include

Dahlia Wasfi, Iraqi American activist, who lived in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq; Phyllis Bennis, author and committed scholar-activist, with the Institute of Foreign Policy and journalist specializing in the Middle East; and Colonel Ann Wright, well-known retired military and diplomat.

“These three women along with other speakers will be leading workshops, panels, and trainings that will promote positive relationships, education, and the sharing of new ideas to end occupation. Check for speaker and sponsor updates at www.rachelcorriefoundation.org."

-Rebecca Pilcher, Community Outreach Chair, Peace Works Conference 2008

Oct 20th Antonia Juhasz will brilliantly summarize the Tyranny of Oil, and outline what we must do to stop Big Oil.

“Juhasz identifies and articulates an extraordinary problem, provides the critical details, offers real solutions, and gives concrete steps to achieve them. In a world that glorifies war and violence, Juhasz offers thoughtfulness and activism."

– Professor Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Campaign

Ambassador, International Campaign to Ban Landmines

Tickets sold for $10 will benefit the GI Coffee House.

Oct 24 the Iraq Student Solidarity Committee convenes an intimate fundraising dinner in support of 2009 displaced Iraqi students who need our support.

Vegan Cooking Demo and Zine Reading with Joshua Ploeg

Saturday, Sep 6, 2008, 2:00 – 6 p.m., Olympia Timberland Library, 313 8th Avenue SE, Olympia

Traveling vegan chef, food writer, musician and zinester Joshua Ploeg (http://joshuaploeg.blogspot.com/ ), aka "Joshua Plague," will demonstrate vegan cooking techniques, talk about his travels, and read from his work. Joshua sang for hardcore bands Behead the Prophet and the Mukilteo Fairies, has published several cookbooks and zines, and worked as a food columnist. Local zinesters Chelsea Baker, Zach Mandeville, and Nicki Sabalu will read their work following Joshua. If you're curious about independent publishing or vegan cooking, please join us @ the Olympia Timberland Library!

Arlington Northwest Memorial Display and Vigil

Sunday, Sep 7, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Heritage Park in downtown Olympia, 5th and Water Streets

Join our local Veterans for Peace Rachel Corrie Chapter in presenting to the community a reminder of the cost of war. We will present grave markers Arlington Cemetery style for each US military person killed in the Iraq war. There will be an opening ceremony, midday speakers, a continuous vigil and a closing ceremony. War should never be back page news and it is with this sentiment that the Arlington Northwest Memorial was created.

If you wish to help set up this even please contact Jim James at 360-480-5957 or visit our website for updates: http://www.vfp109cc.org

Olympia City Council Meeting to Vote on Repeal of the Nuclear Free Zone Ordinance

Tuesday, Sep 9, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Please attend this City Council meeting and have your say. The vote to repeal from the governance committee came after city staff told the committee that out of all the correspondence the city has received on the issue since January 1, 2004 through August 26, 2008, 216 people favored the ordinance, 38 opposed it, and 28 had no opinion. In order words, despite the fact that 76% of the people who weighed in on the issue favored the ordinance, the committee voted to repeal it. It’s a slap in the face to the hundreds of Olympians that educated the community, attended the public hearings, and voiced support for the ordinance. Please attend the City Council meeting and address this issue during the Public Communications period at the beginning of the meeting.