The Downtown Neighborhood Association would like to announce the First Annual Pasta Festa Potluck this weekend. This is a private event for all downtown businesses and residents.

WHAT: Big community dinner/potluck

WHERE: On Washington Street between 5th and Legion

WHEN: We will have pasta teams making fresh pasta at 3pm, the actual potluck will be at 5pm

WHY: Any excuse to eat good food and to meet your neighbors

COST: Free, this is a potluck event put together by volunteers

The vision of the event:

Picture an evening of al fresco dining, laughter, and music in the street. Our plan is to close off Washington Street and line up tables for a community created banquet of culinary delight. This is a great opportunity to show off your Italian cooking skills and to meet the residents of the Downtown area. Earlier in the evening/afternoon we will have teams cranking out fresh pasta (it could include you!) Later on, folks can line up the tables with potluck food they have made in advance. Throughout the evening we will be playing music (such as Pavarotti, Louis Prima, etc…). We also hope to engage in a few rounds of bocce ball over in Sylvester Park.

We hope that you can attend, this event can turn out to be as simple as a small dinner party, or as large as a rockin’ block party depending on how many folks join in. Bring food, and if possible, things like tables and chairs would be much appreciated. :)

Look forward to seeing you there!

So here's the idea. Start off by using a bus that is a hybrid or all-electric. Every bus serving as public transit could include a treadmill. This device would be engineered in such a way that it would store the energy generated by the user in some sort of storage unit, like battery cells.

Access to the treadmill would require a transit user card. The more the rider uses the treadmill, the more energy credits she/he would gain toward future bus fares since their efforts would cut fuel costs. Also, this idea would contribute to having a healthier population.

Well, there you have it. Maybe someone else has thought of this and I have not found it yet.

The end.

Buchanan Parcel Volunteer Event

The Olympia Volunteers In Parks (VIP) program is sponsoring a work party at the Buchanan Parcel (new park name as yet undecided) at 2415 Burbank Ave NW on Saturday, September 22, from 9 am to noon. Join other enthusiastic volunteers in our first Volunteer event at this new, neighborhood park. We’ll be removing invasive ivy, lamium and Himalayan blackberry. Meet at 2415 Burbank Ave NW. Volunteers under 18 must have written parental permission, under 14 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Tools and refreshments will be provided, but bring gloves and your favorite pair of hand shears or loppers if you wish. No power tools, please. Call 753-8365 to RSVP, or just show up!

Walkability for Thurston County Neighborhoods
with Dan Burden of Walkable Communities

Join us for a lively presentation from an internationally known specialist in walkability and to explore some of the opportunities and tools for creating more active environments in neighborhoods around Thurston County .

September 20, 2007

6 – 8 PM

Location: Thurston Regional Planning Council Main Conference Room

2424 Heritage Court SW, Olympia

Arrive by foot, bike, transit or carpool. Heritage Court is located a short walk from bus stops on Intercity Transit routes 43 and 44 from Downtown Olympia, Olympia ’s Westside and Tumwater Square.

The Design for a Loving Future Conference 2007
runs Sept 20-24th and Oct 4th -7th.

It  is a permaculture, peak oil, healthcare
design and multicultural community symposium, a
conference, that offers experienced instructors
and workshops from all over the world and also
offers participants hands-on instruction in an
enjoyable learning environment.

No One Will Be Turned Away For Lack of Funds.
This means, if you don't desire to pay an
admission fee (for any reason), this event is
free for you. We just encourage you to join us at
this event! :)

LINK strives to create a multicultural, community
inclusive event and welcome everyone.

LINK runs from September 20-24 and October 4th-7.

To print out the PDF schedule for the September
2007 Symposium please visit our website.

To print out the document version of the schedule
for the September 2007 Symposium please visit our
website.

We look forward to seeing you!

For the benefits of those who are using slower
computers and/or have trouble downloading pdf or
documents, we have included a few of the many
workshops of the LINK Symposium schedule below.

Love, Solidarity,

-LINK Symposium - http://www.blueskylink.org

Alternate LINK Symposium Activities for September
21, 22 and 23rd, 2007.

LINK is part of the Film festival network.

I just got a call from Brian Baird inviting me to a town meeting in Olympia.  I'm previously engaged so I hope others can make it and speak for us.

Funny, it sounded like a recording.

I'm part of a group planning a local response to these youths who've been left behind by justice. Please read their story and join us on the 22nd of October to stand in solidarity for the basic human rights of all.

From today's Olympian:

"Bill Pilkey, a financial planner and frequent critic of Thurston County's efforts to build a new jail, said he was skeptical that the intervention programs would work. He said he would rather see drug, alcohol and mental health rehabilitation programs for adult offenders to allow them better success at not returning to jail if released into the community."

Bill, if you are an Olyblog Reader, you can reach me at 943-0409. We can have a nice chat about intervention programs and rehabilitation programs. I've got experience to share on both subjects. Just ask for Larry.

Patchy fog in the next couple days. Rough for commuters, but I love this element of the weather in the autumn (or near-autumn, for those of us still clinging to summer). It also gives me an opportunity to spout forth one of my favorite poems, which I suddenly realize could have been written in Olympia, if Carl Sandburg had ever made it out this far:

The fog creeps in on little cat feet.

It sits on silent haunches,

Looking over harbor and city,

And then moves on.

Any near-death experiences with fog out there? E.g., has anyone else ever driven in fog so dense you had to lean out the car door and stare down at the centerline in order to stay on the road? That happened to me in Iowa when driving a river road one night (yes, there are rivers in Iowa, and trees too for that matter). Plus once I saw some swamp gas in the shape of ghostly people alongside the road.