by Janet Blanding

Who needs to hear from the public when you already have a "mandate"?

If you want to tell the Olympia City Council about how Mt. Rainier is about to erupt and we had all better put on our lava-proof hats, you will be given three minutes at the beginning of the meeting. If you want to plug your upcoming pie-eating contest or say you like the new trees on Legion Way, they’re happy to hear about it. But if you want to address important community issues being decided by the city council, you may find yourself gagged.

by WIP News Service

The Freeschool Community is Now Accepting Classes for the Fall 2008 Quarter!

Brief description: Anyone can facilitate a class as long as it is free of charge. Some class subjects we are looking for are: Art, Language, Dance, Yoga, Activism, Cooking and just about any subject that you desire. Our class catalog is quarterly. The class submission deadline for the Fall quarter (October, November and December) is September 1st. A class submission form is available on our website. Information should include: Name, contact, title of class, location of class (it can be located . . .

by Necashaw R. Montgomery

Amid the crowded streets of Lakefair last week, military recruitment officers wandered the grounds in search of potential enlistees while counter-recruitment volunteers set up a booth next to Traditions loaded with facts about the war, alternative solutions to enlistment, and a carnival style war game, called Collateral Damage.

by Port Militarization Resistance

On July 28, 2008, the USNS Brittin returned to the Port of Tacoma. This ship is transporting damaged equipment from the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team 2nd Infantry for repair and further deployment.

Community members, anti-port militarization activists and others from the peace and justice community of Washington and Oregon will descend on the Tacoma Federal Courthouse, 1713 Pacific Avenue, everyday from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm to demand the withdrawal of the military from this port. These peaceful, family friendly vigils will con-tinue everyday until the equipment . . .

by Daisy Ouye

“I couldn’t have planned this” Bernie laughed. In fact, it wasn’t even his idea. This hometown hero gone global had to be coaxed into his first portrayal of the Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi. He reveals a wonderfully rich life of contemplation and courage, as he tells his story in his new book The American Gandhi My Truth Seeking With Humanity At the Crossroads.

by Ashley Harrison

On the north side of the Labor Temple building at State and Capitol, we will affirm the sister-city connection between Olympia, Washington and Rafah, Palestine. The mural will examine Olympia’s “hidden histories” and explore links between our local past and global struggles for social economic justice. Labor history, the dispossession of Na-tive Americans from their land, and current immigration and deportation struggles link us to events which have shaped the history of Rafah. Through art, we seek to under-stand our own past and present participation in colonialism and . . .

by Janet Blanding

Hard times are upon us. Gas and food prices are skyrocketing. The consumer price index in June 2008 was 5.6% higher than in June 2007. Retail sales are down, foreclosures are up, rents are on the rise, and some of Olympia’s largest employers have laid off employees or cut back on hours. More layoffs are mostly like in the works. People are finding it difficult to make ends meet, to find affordable housing, to keep the gas tank filled and the refrigerator stocked. The middle class is being impacted, and the poor, as usual, are being hit even harder.