author : Pat Tassoni
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January 2008
by Pat Tassoni
“The existence of poverty in the US should not be accepted as a necessary evil or an insoluble problem, but should be considered a crisis requiring emergency measures. It is a matter of will and priorities, not a matter of resources.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ending poverty, creating opportunity
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November 2007
State Troopers Woods (with bicycle helmet) and Baker (with cowboy hat) after citing Pat Tassoni. This photo was taken by Tassoni just after his release on June 3, 2004.
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November 2007
by Janet Blanding
Janet Blanding interviews Pat Tassoni, local activist and cofounder of Olympia CopWatch, and the plaintiff in the wrongful arrest suit, as detailed in the article above.
Janet Blanding: I understand that you were involved with the creation of Olympia CopWatch. When did you start CopWatch, and why?
Pat Tassoni: I think it was the fifth anniversary of the beating of Rodney King when we announced the formation of Copwatch in Olympia.
JB: So that would have been 1996?
PT: Yes.
JB: Who was “we”?
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July 2007
by Pat Tassoni
As we pass the anniversary of when a dozen Nazis came to demonstrate at the state Capitol building on July 3, 2006 and because the Washington State Patrol by their own insistence provided 'security' for the event with 275 troopers, we have an opportunity to look at the myth of police effectiveness. I'm not going to address the estimated $50,000 wasted in staff time and fencing the grounds to keep hundreds of peaceful protesters from interacting with the nazis, but rather the change in collision statistics as the troopers abandoned their normal patrol activities for that day. . . .
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June 2007
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.
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November 2006
by Pat Tassoni
Attempting once again to sanitize downtown into a shop-only area, certain members of the Olympia City Council have recently proposed a number of ordinances targeting the poor in our community. These ordinances include a ban on car camping, no panhandling, no sitting on the sidewalk, and a no sale of fortified wine. The city has considered such items before. The city claims it is responding to complaints from "Business," as presented by the Olympia Downtown Association (oda) and the Olympia Police, but as usual are unable to present any real statistical data demonstrating that . . .
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November 2006
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Demonstrators "sit-in" to show solidarity with those who have fewer seating options, September 30. (photo by Pat Tassoni)
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November 2006
16 of the Olympia 22 celebrate outside of the Thurston County Courthouse after winning the right to argue "defense of necessity" for their upcoming trial. (photo by Pat Tassoni)
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September 2006
by Pat Tassoni
On August 20, the first Stryker brigade soldier died in Iraq. Sargent DeRoo was previously stationed at Fort Lewis, and it was his unit's equipment which passed through Olympia during the last weeks of May this year. Eleven days of protest at the Port of Olympia attempted to stop war shipments bound for Iraq. Those protests resulted in 37 arrests. Demonstrators brought to the attention of the Port of Olympia officials, the wider community and eventually the world, the immorality and illegality of the war in Iraq. Protesters also pointed out that the Olympia community and the Port . . .
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September 2006
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Here they are, thirteen of the May 30 arrestees commonly known as the "Olympia 22." Until now, media images of these intrepid local heroes have largely depicted them, here and elsewhere, being pulled by the hair, dragged in handcuffs and shot in the face with pepper spray -- all courtesy of local law enforcement. The Olympia 22 are: Maggie Belknap, Jeff Berryhill, Nick Bland, Dan Bolduc, Wally Cuddeford, Brendan Dunn, Katie Dunn, Jake Erwin, Rachel Graham, Sam Green, Ben Groves, Caleb Hollatz, Daniel Keesler, Lilia Lassiter, Nikki Miller, Phan Nguyen, Luke Noble, Molly Porter, Mat Slobodkin, . . .
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January 2006
by Pat Tassoni
The existence of poverty in the US should not be accepted as a necessary evil or an insoluble problem, but should be considered a crisis requiring emergency measures. It is a matter of will and priorities, not a matter of resources.
-- MLK, Jr.
The Statewide Poverty Action Network is working with local churches, labor organizations and non-profits to bring 1,000 poor people to Olympia on January 16 for a march to the Capitol and related events. Uniting under the above words of Martin Luther King, Jr. on his holiday, they will urge elected representatives to make ending poverty in . . .
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October 2005
by Pat Tassoni
Poverty is a form of violence. It is a result of inequality rather than a proof of inequality... The existence of poverty in the United States should not be accepted as a necessary evil or an insoluble problem, but should be considered a crisis requiring emergency measures. It is a matter of will and priorities, not a matter of resources.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
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October 2005
Our award-winning September cover. Designed by Pat Tassoni
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August 2005
by Pat Tassoni
I have presented my evidence as detailed in last month's WIP to the city council during Public Communications. My claim is that the ODA excludes a class of residential citizens from full participation in their organization, which is inconsistent with requirements of the city's Neighborhood Association program. The only reason that this matters, since the ODA is a business association, is that the city has recognized them as a Neighborhood Association and has funded them from that program for years. At my public testimony, Mayor Foutch lectured me about how the city doesn't give . . .
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August 2005
Pizza Time Strikers, back on the picket line, are hopeful for a positive outcome. (Photo by Pat Tassoni)
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August 2005
Pizza Time Strikers, back on the picket line, are hopeful for a positive outcome. (Photo by Pat Tassoni)
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July 2005
by Pat Tassoni
Follow-up Inquiry into the ODA
Acting on the information that Beth Ward presented with her article, "An Inquiry into the ODA", which originally appeared in last month's issue of The Voice of Olympia, I reviewed the city files on neighborhood associations, specifically the Olympia Downtown Association. It is clear that the ODA does not meet the city's eligibility standard for classification as a neighborhood association because they have repeatedly violated the annual reporting requirements through the entirety of the city file, which dates back to 2002 (the 2004 report was absent . . .
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March 2005
"If they open the place and we're not in there, we'll be out picketing," said Joe, one of the striking delivery drivers. (Photo by Pat Tassoni)
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February 2005
Every Wednesday since March 5, 1980, Glen Anderson (far left) and other members of the Olympia chapter of the Fellowship of Reconciliation have held a noon-hour peace vigil at the NW corner of Sylvester Park on Capitol Way. These dedicated souls, among others, can also be seen at Percival Landing every Friday afternoon at 4 pm. This vigil began in 1998 in response to economic sanctions that were devastating Iraq. http://www.olyfor.org (photo by Pat Tassoni)
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