by WIP News Service

When you hear the words “grass roots,” do you usually think of lobbyists, along with marketing and salespeople, gathering together to pave the way for wealthy developers? Or do you think of someone with a petition on a clipboard, ringing doorbells and sitting at a table at community events, soliciting donations in a coffee can and trying to spread the word and involve anyone who will listen? Nobody interviewed for the article about the future of downtown (see article above) had heard about Oly2012, a supposedly “grass roots” organization, until the Olympian started talking . . .

by WIP

Student Group SDS banned by Evergreen State College

Olympia Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) has been suspended by The Evergreen State College (TESC) administration for the remainder of the academic year and will face probation until January 2009. The suspension means that SDS has lost its budget and office, can no longer hold meetings, book events, or use school facilities and equipment.

After Evergreen’s February 14th dead prez concert and the ensuing

by Tobi Vail

From an April 14 letter by Tobi Vail

Dear City Council Members,

As a self-employed musician, a long time downtown resident and a worker in the music industry I am writing in opposition of the noise ordinance. I first moved into the Martin Apartments in 1988. I was 18, a musician and active member of the local Olympia music scene. Nirvana, Calvin Johnson's Beat Happening and Melvins were just a few of the terrific local bands that played in downtown art galleries and all ages venues on a regular basis. One of those groups went on to become one of the most celebrated bands in the . . .

by Craig Oare

The noble bird is framed in my sigh,

waiting for the camera to take him.

Sadie, caged Earth Tribe warrior,

looking at these pictures in the mail,

staring out her window at the sky.

Now I’ve got some fleeting forest light,

and heron glides serenely on his way

after consenting to our collaboration.

Sadie sleeping in her federal cell,

Dreaming every night of wings and flight.

by Nicholas Pace

Civil rights leader James M. Lawson, Jr. will visit the Olympia community on May 2-5. Professor, Methodist minister, civil rights leader, sit-in organizer; and advisor to World Council of Churches, James Lawson has accomplished a great deal in his 80 years. Involved with the civil rights movement since its beginnings in the fifties, Lawson’s close friend Dr. Martin Luther Jr. once called him the “…the leading nonviolence theorist in the world.” Currently he is a professor of Vanderbilt University, and is now 80. Although you may not have read about him in your high school . . .

by Eyewitness Report

May 1: Eyewitness Report of May Day Mêlée

Just before Works In Progress went to press, we were given the following account of the events that followed the downtown Olympia May Day Rally.

Most people know what to expect from May Day in Olympia. Music, dancing, marching (usually without a permit). Food Not Bombs serving from a big tub of soup. A festival, both to celebrate Beltane, and in honor of those who died so we could have a weekend, overtime pay, and an end to child labor. In recent years, this has been complimented with May Day’s additional focus as an immigrant rights . . .