Year From Hell, A Document:

The Council for Postsecondary Education had been charged by the Washington State Legislature to begin a study of The Evergreen State College in 1977. In Feb. 1979 they published the final version of The Evergreen Study : Report and Recommendations on The Evergreen State College.

An observation from the Report, "Current studies of nontraditional education in the United States conclude that the pendulum appears to be swinging from self-directed programs to programs with greater structure and career preparation relevance ... One of the ironies encountered as the Evergreen program is examined is that the College's efforts appear to be highly effective, but those efforts, for any of a variety of reasons, seem to be appealing to decreasing numbers of students ... The comment of one observer is appropriate here. 'I have an image of an efficient and potentially seaworthy vessel slowly capsizing for lack of ballast. I also feel uneasiness over the possibility the crew of the vessel is unwilling to consider re-configuring the ship to take on a different, perhaps more conventional cargo, because that would threaten its original crew moving over the hull as the ship rolls over, saluting the wake as it slowly slips beneath the surface.' [The speaker requested anonymity]. This analogy, while appealing, is probably inexact. Some might also argue that the problem is not so much one of ballast and re-configuration as a need to constantly zig-zag to avoid torpedoes ..."

The Report went on to make specific recommendations:

Recommendation 1: It is recommended that the 1979-81 and 1981-83 bienna be dedicated to an opportunity for The Evergreen State College, through an institution-wide effort, to increase its enrollment level and reduce its unit costs by making adjustments in its educational concept and attracting students. Target enrollments of 2500-2600 FTE students by 1980-81 and 3050-3350 FTE students by 1982-83 are suggested. It is also recommended that during this period the College continue to be funded at Instruction, Student Services, and other enrollment-driven Physical Plant formula levels comparable to those applied to its sister institutions. Other support program expenses should be maintained at current expenditure levels, adjusted only for inflation. It is further recommended that during this period Evergreen prepare and present annual progress reports to the Council for Postsecondary Education each November, and that the Council convey these reports with its comments to the Legislature and Governor not later than the following January.

News from Yakima Herald, also heard on KUOW:

Beginning in April, all outgoing stamped mail from Olympia will be postmarked and canceled in Tacoma, imprinted with an "Olympia/Tacoma" postmark, in that order. Initially, the U.S. Postal Service was going to eliminate Olympia completely in favor of Tacoma but backed down under protests from state and federal elected officials.

Sam Reed, secretary of state, still isn't happy. Of all places, the state capital should have its own postmark, he said.

"We're fighting it," Reed said Thursday in a telephone interview.

At least two other capitals have historically never had a postmark: Annapolis, Md., and Carson City, Nev.

Taking a well-established one from Olympia is a matter of historical pride, Reed said. "The Olympia postmark goes back to the mid-19th century and we're going to get copies of that and show there's a long history to our state capital and the postmark."

Why does Yakima care? There is talk of taking their postmark away too.

Looks like the folks that aren't for the county's Critical Area Ordinance have a website. Also looks like the progressives caught on and "freeped" their poll.

I just got a most curious piece of mail. Seems that the Developers and Realtors have teamed up to cook up a grassroots organization to stop the County's Critical Areas Ordinances. They are calling themselves "People for Responsible Environmental Policies". Looks like they are throwing some money into it and hoping to add fundraising to it. See for yourself: http://www.preptc.com/. You can even vote for "Who is impacted the most by Thurston County's proposed CAO's?". I voted for "Developers". They are currently winning by 55%.

Since the website is built on geeklog, anyone can sign up for an account. I did on a lark, but they haven't opened up persmissions yet to allow anyone to post content.

When the 1978-79 school year began, TESC was having severe image problems. What had been an exciting and daring experiment in the first half of the 1970s, had, by the Age of Disco, become a relic of the past. Several years of negative headlines had accumulated and solidified into painting the College as a tax-wasting Hippy school, giving President Evans one of the greatest marketing challenges of his career.

Critics of the school had a long list of complaints. The McCann-Evans transfer of power, which nearly resulted in the closure of the College, was still fresh in the minds of legislators. Enrollment was falling. Evergreen cost more per student than the other State institutions of higher learning. The BA in Liberal Arts, the only degree TESC offered at the time, was proving to be a problem for those who spent four years studying nothing but the sciences when they applied to graduate school. The Department of Fisheries announced they could not hire Evergreen grads unless they had a BS. The Veterans Administration had a problem with the structure of the College and refused to pay benefits unless the vets were in a traditional program. That one was going into court. "Dan the Man's Retirement Plan" had evolved into "The Evergrowing State Crisis."

Something had to be done. And it would. But what would be the price for survival?

Murielle Degauque was, by all accounts, a normal child. A typical girl next door, you might say. True, as a teenager growing up in southern Belgium, she dabbled in drugs and preferred boys to books. But there was nothing to indicate that she would become the first Western woman to launch a suicide bomb attack in the name of jihad when she blew herself up in Iraq last month."

Article continued here.

When these stories of middle-class inviduals who participate in homicide bombings come out, does it debunk the belief that terrorism stems from sociological conditions instead of from an ideology?

Q: What is an estuary?

A: An estuary is an area where saltwater mixes with freshwater. In this case, it would be the Deschutes River mixing with Budd Inlet. Estuaries are some of the most biologically productive areas on earth, home to many species of birds, fish and mammals.

Q: Would an estuary cause odor problems?

A: A restored Deschutes River estuary probably would smell much like other estuaries along Puget Sound, such as Mud Bay or the Nisqually Delta. Many longtime residents recall the foul odors of the Deschutes River mud flats prior to creation of the lake. The foul smell might have been due in large part to raw sewage and other untreated waste entering the estuary. Wastewater generated in urban South Sound now is sent to the LOTT Alliance wastewater treatment plant in downtown Olympia for advanced treatment before it’s discharged to Budd Inlet.

Not a word about about the caiman infestation, however. You wouldn't believe the email I'm getting (caimans are poor spellers), urging me to oppose the removal of the dam. Think about it. Where would all the caimans go if the lake is drained?

From Puget Sound Business Journal:

Capella Healthcare has completed its $260 million acquisition of five hospitals, including Capital Medical Center in Olympia, from Hospital Corporation of America Inc.

The purchase prices of individual hospitals were not disclosed. Capella is backed by private equity firm GTCR Golder Rauner LLC.

Capella, based in Brentwood, Tenn., specializes in hospital operations in communities of similar size to Olympia, said Joe Sharp, chief executive of Capital Medical Center.

HCA was the original developer of Capital Medical Center 20 years ago. The 119-bed hospital employs nearly 500 and serves all of Thurston County and the surrounding counties.