Music video for olympia band: feedBackara

Great news! You can eat pizza AND support Works In Progress at the same time! Works In Progress, Olympia's beloved monthly community newspaper is having Fundraiser Pizza Party. Enjoy your choice of pizza, freshly baked in an outdoor cob oven, AND the lively music of Vince Brown and friends. Yes, that's Vince Brown of Hot Club Sandwich and Tune Strangler fame!

Join us at the charming cottage garden at Fertile Ground Guest House.

Friday, August 18, from 7-10pm.

Fertile Ground is at 311-9th Ave SE (just south of the downtown Olympia library).

Bring a hearty appetite, friends and, yes this is a fundraiser, so do bring spending money!

See you there!

[via email]

On Sunday, September 10, at 1 p.m., Bernie Meyer, "The American Gandhi" will portray Gandhi's 1930 Salt March with a modern emphasis. The march will begin from the Capitol Steps and will proceed to the Public Market and Port Plaza where Gandhi will focus on creativity, nonviolent action, global warming, and environmental solutions and some youth and community folks will briefly respond to his challenge.

Download flyer here.

Federal Judge Orders Halt to Warrantless Wiretapping

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: August 17, 2006
Filed at 1:09 p.m. ET
Amy Leang, Detroit Free Press via Associated Press

DETROIT (AP) -- A federal judge ruled Thursday that the government's warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it.

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit became the first judge to strike down the National Security Agency's program, which she says violates the rights to free speech and privacy as well as the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.

''Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution,'' Taylor wrote in her 43-page opinion.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of journalists, scholars and lawyers who say the program has made it difficult for them to do their jobs. They believe many of their overseas contacts are likely targets of the program, which involves secretly listening to conversations between people in the U.S. and people in other countries.

The government argued that the program is well within the president's authority, but said proving that would require revealing state secrets.

The 87.7 FM story interests (and delights) me for a variety of reasons. So I have a question for you OlyBloggers who know local radio. Is what 87.7 FM doing a fairly frequent happening in the Oly area? What is the history here?

CNN: "Google: Free Wi-Fi for our hometown":

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Google Inc. on Wednesday plans to offer free, high-speed Internet access to everyone in its Silicon Valley home town -- a hospitable gesture that the online search leader hopes to see spread to other parts of the country.

As the article points out, this could also be a business decision for Google.

But it is nice to see a company putting resources back into the community.