Your highly-esteemed local pirate radio station, Free Radio Olympia, is once again permeating the airwaves on 98.5 FM. Please check the website at www.frolympia.org for the broadcast schedule, along with exciting special events througout Summer, sponsored by FRO.

from a Raccoon Collective e-mail

Hey yall. We are having a summer solstice benefit party at the Nut House (2220 Walnut rd.) on Thurs. June 21st. It is going to be a benefit for the future space as well as the Olympia Family Barter Faire. There will be music all day, dance, drink, a cafe, butoh, games, a kids corner, a silent art auction, as well as a bunch of other fun stuff. We will start partying at noon and go until really late. Volunteers to come and help out with various things throughout the day, as well as folks that just want to lay on blankets and enjoy the sun, are all welcome. Please come, and bring your friends and families.

ARTISTS-- We are going to have a silent auction to benefit the space and that means we need art. If you have anything to donate, write to raccooncollective(at)gmail(dot)come, or just bring the art to the Nut House on the day of the party. Collective skill share to bring in capital for collective dreams.

I'm a member of the Elks Lodge, up near Stormans (not sure why, other than the community service part, I guess)

Anyway...taggers keep hitting the building and the old retired guys are having to paint over it. Most of them don't need the extra hassle and climbing ladders isn't the greatest idea either.

I've noticed that the taggers usually don't hit murals, so I'm wondering if there is an artists group that wants to use the building as their canvas and make a statement about Elks helping children. The club isn't doing well financially, but I'd go to the Board for some sort of financial donation.

Any takers?

My best friend and his sister did projects like this in Seattle and Tacoma with kids. It gave the kids something to do and be proud of, and provided a better view than crappy tagging.

New York (eCanadaNow) - The US Consumer Product Safety Commission as well as toy company RC2 Corp has recalled Thomas and Friends wodden railway toys due to lead in the paint. Over 1.5 million of the Thomas and Friends wooden railway toys are being recalled as reports are stating that there are dangerous amounts of lead in the paint. The lead is in the paint and could harm children and cause them to get sick if they got it in their system through ingestion. Consumers are being told to stop using these toys immediately. The full list of toys for the recall is below. These include wooden vehicles, buildings, and other parts of the Thomas and Friends train set. The package is labeled "Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway."

Here is the list of the toys being a part of the recall: Red James Engine & Red James' # 5 Coal Tender. Red Lights & Sounds James Engine & Red James' #5 Lights & Sounds Coal Tender. James with Team Colors Engine & James with Team Colors #5 Coal Tender. Red Skarloey Engine. Brown & Yellow Old Slow Coach. Red Hook & Ladder Truck & Red Water Tanker Truck. Red Musical Caboose. Red Sodor Line Caboose. Red Coal Car labeled "2006 Day Out With Thomas" on the Side. Red Baggage Car. Red Holiday Caboose. Red "Sodor Mail" Car. Red Fire Brigade Truck. Red Fire Brigade Train. Deluxe Sodor Fire Station. Red Coal Car. Yellow Box Car. Red Stop Sign. Yellow Railroad Crossing Sign. Yellow "Sodor Cargo Company" Cargo Piece. Smelting Yard. Ice Cream Factory.