When: Tomorrow, Monday October 6, 2008 from 11 to 1 (or 2)
Where: State Capitol Legislative Building Steps (North side of building)

The No LNG workshop at Traditions earlier tonight was informative. I learned that there are a number of good reasons to be opposed to a proposed LNG terminal on the banks of the Columbia River in Southern Washington State. The composition of the opposition is grass roots; it's a coalition of local stake-holders who would be affected by the Bradford Landing liquid natural gas terminal, as well as advocates for environmental justice.

Tomorrow's rally will call on Governor Gregoire to assist the peoples' opposition to this unnecessary and environmentally harmful project. The office of the Governor has made noises about even going so far as suing to stop the Houston based NorthernStar Energy Group's efforts to develop LNG terminals and pipelines - given the lack of appropriate state level input, environmental review, and oversight. The proposal has thus far been pushed and ferried through under authority of the 5 person Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), although one member of the Bush Administration appointed commission, Jon Wellinghoff, who is also the only one to have met with concerned stake-holders, has written a powerful and substantive dissent of the FERC position (to permit) the NorthernStar LNG endeavors. Find out more about that at tomorrow's rally! (More detailed information is available on the FERC website, as well.)

Jay Manning from the Dep. of Ecology will be among the speakers. There will be important information about what exactly is going down with proposals for pipelines and shipping terminals, the natural gas market, and the dangers and environmental pitfalls of the LNG trade.

No to global warming! No to LNG! Yes to renewable/sustainable energy! Yes to a better tomorrow!

More information: No LNG [http://nolng.net/]

[correction: It's the "NorthernStar Natural Gas" Energy Group that has proposed the Bradwood Landing LNG Terminal and associated pipelines, not the "Northstar Energy Group", as previously stated above, article amended to reflect correction.

Also for more information please see: River Vision: Renewable Energy Sources, Columbia River Vision.]

Here is the video from the September 30, 2008 Olympia City Council Meeting. The meeting included deliberation over a proposal to rezone an area of the "Isthmus" in downtown Olympia in order to allow the development of a mid-rise luxury condominium project. Original video (w/ better A/V synchronization) is available at the city website, City of Olympia. Video on the flipside.

On September 9, The Olympia City Council voted, and passed on first reading, to ordain the repeal of the city's 2005 Nuclear Free Zone Act. A decision was also made to pass a noise ordinance for downtown Olympia. Higher quality video is available at the city website (www.ci.olympia.wa.us). This video has some audio/video synchronization issues, but it works especially well for purposes of leaving it to play in the background.

Here's the video as posted to the Google Video:

After the public hearing at the Washington Center Yesterday I went on a photographic odyssey. It was a gorgeous day, much like today, except there were more clouds and there was less of a gusty breeze. First I went to the port plaza. There were a few other people there also enjoying the beautiful Sunday afternoon.

After that I went to Watershed Park. It was a great day for a walk around the loop trail. The Old Growth Forest smelled great. I saw 7 other people while walking the loop.

Citizens for the Future

Check below the fold for a slideshow.

Percival Landing Panorama

This image is composed of 13 individual photographs.

I've been thinking about a comment made by a young woman at the city council meeting. She mentioned how everyone keeps talking about how we need to "revitalize" downtown, but in her view it already IS vitalized -- as in, full of life.

I happen to share her view. I've lived downtown for a long time and I love it here. Almost everything I need (with the notable exception of affordable groceries) is just a few blocks away. Any time I walk down the street I cross paths with someone I know, or at least recognize. Community isn't just an abstract concept here, it's something you can see and feel. And hear... like the folks who saw fit to bang drums and sing songs at the top of their lungs on the street near my building tonight while I was trying to sleep. But hey, it's better than the pile driving that will wake me up tomorrow -- at least those people were enjoying themselves.

Anyway, what I'd like is to hear what people think is wrong with downtown Olympia. I'm especially curious about what the pro-condo crowd thinks, since they're such big fans of revitalization and all.

The 5th annual World Sacred Music Festival of Olympia is scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 2009. It may seem a long time from now, but when planning such a huge event, the time is really short!

The committee is urgently seeking a few key volunteers. If we don’t have these positions filled by October 15, the festival probably will not occur! WILL YOU PLEASE help identify people who might be willing to fill one of these critical volunteer spots?

· Event Coordinator: Someone who will oversee the work of the various committee chairmen and keep them on track. Organizational skills and event management abilities are key. 

· Funding/Sponsorship Coordinator: Someone who, with staff support from festival sponsor Interfaith Works, will seek business and community sponsors for the festival. Put your connections to work!

· Volunteer Coordinator: Schedule and arrange the training of festival volunteers. We have much of the scheduling and structure already in place, just need someone to oversee it all. 

Interested persons should contact interfaithworks@comcast.net or phone 360-357-7224.

Lots of info about the festival may be found on the festival website, olysacredmusic.org 

A devoted volunteer planning committee is already deeply engaged in recruiting performers and artists, soliciting tablers, recruiting volunteers, etc. These three volunteer, part-time positions are crucial to completing the planning group.

more info: www.witnesstoacrime.com

[update from Monica:]

Ohio 2004 Election Fraud speaker at Traditions at 2:00 Sept 18th

In addition to speaking at Media Island at 7PM Thursday Sept 18, Richard Hayes Phillips will be at Traditions Cafe at 2 PM on Sept 18 for casual Q and A. Traditions is located at 300 5th Ave SW, Olympia.

From Robert F. Kennedy, Jr: "Richard Hayes Phillips worked day and night for three years compiling irrefutable evidence of how the Republicans stole the 2004 presidential race in Ohio. This landmark investigation is a testament to what private citizens can accomplish when government officials fail to protect our right to vote and to count those votes as cast. Every American - Republican and Democrat - should read this book, and join the fight for democracy's most fundamental right."

Hello all,

Richard Hayes Philllips will be in Olympia this Thursday, Sept 18, 7 PM. He will speak at Media Island (816 Adams, across Adams from the Olympia Library). Please see the attached flyer and forward this to anyone you know who might be interested.

Richard began investigating the Ohio election when he received an unsolicited e-mail containing obviously erroneous election results from Cleveland. He quickly found that hundreds of votes in certain precincts had inexplicably shifted from John Kerry to other Presidential candidates. He then spent 3 years compiling irrefutable evidence of election fraud in Ohio in 2004. His new book on his findings is Witness to a Crime, a Citizens' Audit of an American Election.

He is stopping on his way between Portland and Seattle and this just came together very quickly yesterday so we were unable to find a larger location. It is possible that he will be in Olympia as early as noon Thursday and could meet informally with interested people in the afternoon. If you would be interested and available, please let me know and we'll set something up.

Thanks,
Monica Hoover

Sponsored by Alliance for Democracy.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., says: “Every American – Republican and Democrat – should read this book and join the fight for democracy’s most fundamental right.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 7:00 p.m. speaking engagement at Media Island, 816 Adams SE, across from the downtown Olympia library.

Peaceful music video shot in Olympia, I am thinking that this has been posted here before, maybe by Rick.

from the description: a short video of Olympia, Wa. Features the music of M. Ward.