link to photos

And you can find a 360º Panoramic Video; here.

[from omjp]

On Nov. 2, 6 high schools and universities in Tacoma will be converging on the military recruiting station at the Tacoma Mall at 3pm.

Organizers have expressed their desire to see an Olympia contigent at the event. It is not a traditional walkout, meaning it will take place after school, but it seems to be an amazingly well organized action by young people that we should show our support for with our presence.

For more information, Contact Tom McCarthy 253-350-9290 Please forward this announcement widely to other peace and justice groups in Olympia.

Olyblog has been invited to crosspost local political news to Washblog, a very cool site that covers state politics. I'm wondering if we have enough Olybloggers to justify such a committment. I'd like to hear from those of you who would like to contribute, and which issues are important to you.

From the Olympian:

OLYMPIA -- Candidates hoping for the chance to set the city's course said they'd deal with homelessness by working with advocacy groups, building more affordable housing and possibly crafting new laws that preserve such housing.

The question, posed by Rob Richards, a spokesman for the homeless advocacy group Bread & Roses, kicked off a forum Saturday that focused on what City Council hopefuls would do to help the poor.

• Olympia should look at what other cities do to keep affordable housing.
• Consider laws on living wages and requiring developers to replace housing that's lost when land is developed.
• Direct the police to focus on dealing with crimes like drug use, vandalism and other crimes committed by people who aren't homeless.
• Work with nonprofit agencies to improve services.
• Partner with nonprofit groups like Behavioral Health Resources.
• Work with other juruisdictions (Lacey, Tumwater, Thurston County) to improve housing and other homeless services.
• The city should develop an implementation strategy, then fund it.
• Teach the homeless how to open new businesses.
• Look at supporting businesses that produce a high number of jobs.
• Work with schools to equip residents with the skills to get quality jobs.
• Direct the city's attorneys to investigate businesses before they open to ensure they benefit the economy.
• Support the small business climate, where the job growth is occurring.

The following is part of an email from the omjp list that came in this week.

At the Eastside Neighborhood meeting last night (10/13), I asked Doug Mah, who is running for a second council term about police accountability to the public, since he is endorsed by the police guild. His response was to the effect that the police have privacy rights as employees which should be honored; that was it. Joe Hyer, who is running unopposed for his postion on the council, responded that there may be a couple of "bad apples" in the department, but for the most part they are good people. Joe also said more transparency from the police dept. is a good idea.

t.zander