Constrained financial circumstances have brought about some changes in the June issue of Works in Progress. Currently, Works in Progress has only enough advertising revenue to sustain an eight-page issue. In order to accommodate as many articles as possible with our reduced size, we are running fewer photos and graphics.

Sadly, we had to cut or postpone publication of several articles, most by local writers, all of which we felt would have been of interest to our readership.

by Monica Peabody

I have been involved with the Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition (WROC), for a long time. I have a 17 year old daughter and became aware of wroc when she was an infant and we lived in a studio apartment in Seattle. Her father had abandoned us and no one wanted to hire a woman who refused to put her newborn into daycare, insisting she could work with her on her back.

by Jeff Berryhill

As the US forcefully imposes a military occupation of Iraq, now in its fourth year, it is important to recognize an equally illegal and immoral occupation that has lasted forty years with the explicit approval and support of the US. I am speaking of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that began at the conclusion of the June 1967 war, mounted in an equally aggressive manner and possessing many characteristics which are comparable to the US role in Iraq. Israel has managed this occupation with notorious impunity, ignoring rights of Palestinian . . .

Meanwhile, Tacoma cops pursue imaginary Olympia "anarchist" cell

by Mark Jensen

TACOMA -- An additional pretrial hearing has been scheduled for twenty defendants who appeared in court from the port militarization resistance (pmr) protests that roiled the Port of Tacoma two months ago. Tacoma Municipal Court Judge Pro Tem Karl D. Haugh rebuked city attorneys for failing to provide video and other evidence to defense counsel, necessitating a further hearing.

The pretrial hearing has been scheduled for 1:30 pm on June 8, in Tacoma's City-County Building.

by Janet Blanding

The imminent closing of the downtown Olympia Safeway on June 9 may result in the realization of a longtime dream of many Olympians: A downtown Olympia Food Co-op. Staff collective member Grace Cox confirmed that the Co-op is aggressively pursuing the option of moving into the space that will soon be vacated by the departing Safeway grocery.

"At this point, Safeway holds the cards," said Cox, "because they hold the lease for five more years."

by Pat Tassoni

News of the demonstrations, protests, and arrests at the Port of Olympia in May of 2006 touched off a barrage of worldwide media coverage and criticism. It also became a sort of blueprint for how other ports were going to deal with demonstrations against military shipments as we've seen this year in Tacoma and Aberdeen.

by Gail Johnson

The Olympia City Council's General Government Committee voted 2 -- 1 not to endorse the resolution calling on Congress to begin an impeachment investigation of Bush and Cheney. Jeff Kingsbury and Joe Hyer voted against the resolution; T.J. Johnson voted in support.

Prior to that meeting, Hyer sent an email dated April 24 to all the members of the City Council. "I have researched and thought on this issue for several months, in addition to speaking with community members and local elected officials," he wrote. "In addition, I met specifically with Congressman Baird in Washington . . .

by Drew Hendricks and DJ Megawatti

Free Radio Olympia (FRO) ceased transmitting its signal over the airwaves on May 22nd to avoid a probable raid by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The interruption of our service to the community will last until a new volunteer steps forward to host our transmitter, accepting the risk of a raid or FCC visit.

Recent FCC harassment has escalated significantly, both statewide and nationwide. The FCC has also

recently harassed two other unlicensed stations in Washington State, according to DIY Media's FCC

by Daisy Ouye

"I thought there must have been a murder down there or something." This was the response of a Nisqually Wildlife Refuge employee to the excessive number of police vehicles blocking the main road leading to Frank's Landing Smoke Shop. "I told my crew it must be something serious to use all those resources."

He, like many others familiar with the Frank's Landing Native Community, was angered to hear of the raid on the smoke shop located on tribal land in Nisqually. Even more upsetting was the home raid on the shop's owners, Hank and Alison Gottfriedson.

by Erin Genia

Chechnya falls outside Americans' awareness of international affairs, despite the dire impact of US foreign policy on the embattled republic. Russia is a key US counter-terrorism ally whose participation in the "war on terror" legitimizes its conquest of Chechnya.

The media is responsible for public approval of atrocities against the Chechen people by issuing reports that omit crucial realities of the crisis -- its history, pervading human rights abuses, and impunity -- in addition, bias is exhibited in assertions that all Chechens are Muslim "terrorists." Many journalists who do . . .