These images, which were created by the City of Olympia and a consultant in San Francisco to show what a rezone could do to the appearance of the isthmus, are not available online. Nor have they been published by the Olympian. So I had to scan the wrinkled old hard copy I got at the public forum at the Olympia Center of March 22, where maybe 100 very dismayed Olympians got a glimpse of the isthmus' future. I tried to get them from the City of Olympia -- at first they said they would post them when they got them from the consultant, then later they changed their minds and decided not to post them. Gee, I wonder why?

(click on a picture to see a larger image)

Part II

Just before Works In Progress went to press, we were given the following account of the events that followed the downtown Olympia May Day rally. The May issue of Works In Progress, which includes this and other articles of local interest, is now available at the usual locations around town, and will soon be posted to the Works In Progress website.

May 1: Eyewitness Report of May Day Melée

Most people know what to expect from May Day in Olympia. Music, dancing, marching (usually without a permit). Food Not Bombs serving from a big tub of soup. A festival, both to celebrate Beltane, and in honor of those who died so we could have a weekend, overtime pay, and an end to child labor. In recent years, this has been complimented with May Day’s additional focus as an immigrant rights day, and with it a focus on multilingualism and the ongoing ICE raids.

All went as expected for most of the day. Indeed, there was music. There was dancing. There was marching (with a legal permit, this year). There were invited speakers, talking about things ranging from the Longshore work stoppage, to the proposal before the Olympia City Council to establish Olympia as a Sanctuary City for war resisters and immigrants.

As the mother of a teenage girl, I am quite concerned about the two sexual assaults that have occurred recently in our neighborhood. (Statistically, females are more likely to be raped during their teen years than any other time in their lives.) It seems to me that the Olympian is moving kind of slowly in reporting on this event, especially since there is now a sketch available of the suspect. The sketch is shown on video on the KIRO-TV news website. <p>

The rape which occurred Wednesday near the St. Martin's University campus is not that far from the sexual assault which occurred on March 17 at Indian Springs Country Club (Olympian story here). I haven't heard anyone mention that the crimes may be connected, but I'm sure the thought has occurred to other nervous people who live near these two locales.

I emailed the Lacey PD, requesting the police sketch of the suspect to post to Olyblog, but haven't had a response from them yet. I can't believe that although this sketch is available, the Olympian hasn't posted it yet.

It's March, right?

A friend of mine was willing to "talk out" pretty much anything with her kid. I am willing to give my daughter a rationale for all of the rules I impose on her, but she can't always hear the rationale again, especially when it's bedtime at issue.

Kids don't like bedtime. I think a little rebellion at bedtime is pretty common. My daughter has heard an explanation of why she needs sleep, and she doesn't get to hear it again every night. When it's bedtime, it's bedtime -- it seems futile to talk about it when we're both tired. My daughter knows that it's useless to try to stall bedtime by a long discussion of its fairness and utility, so when bedtime comes, she knows she has no choice. A friend of mine, though, is willing to discuss the need for bedtime with her kid every time the kid resists. Sometimes these discussions can last an hour, and can be very intrusive for the parents, disrupting their evening plans.

I think if a kid has heard about why bedtime is necessary, and he or she still resists at 9:30 p.m., the discussion should be postponed until morning, when it is unlikely to take place, since it will no longer serve to postpone said bedtime. I don't really see delaying bedtime until the tired child agrees that it is necessary. Possibly, the child will never agree to it. I think sometimes parents just need to turn out the lights and let them fuss in the dark until they fall asleep.

Look, her photo got published in the Stranger!! I am so excited. (Phoebe, however, is very blase about the whole business.) You can bet this is going into her college applications!

At the Port of Olympia, about 9 a.m. this morning. Photo by Phoebe Blanding.