I'd like to offer a big FUCK YOU to all the punks who tagged buildings in downtown Olympia this weekend, mostly along 4th Avenue from the closed Schoenfeld Furniture all the way up near the fire station.

Do people know how much this deteriorates the downtown area and how much work goes into removing that crap?

If I ever find out who did this, mostly with the Cz tag, I'd like them to be held accountable.

And I'm fully supportive of street art that is endorsed by local businesses.  The crap I saw this weekend falls way outside of even my submissive limits.  If anyone can photograph this stuff and add to this post, it will make it that much richer.

Apologies for the profanity,

Howard

     Early Monday morning August 22 2011, a gang of thugs once again attacked law-abiding citizens for daring to witness and object to their vandalism. Once again they have invited retaliation against the out, proud and constructive members of the Olympia Anarchist community by local reactionaries. There is to no little difference in tactics between cops and the white kids who assault citizens for having the audacity to witness their vandalism. If the Circle K Anarchies continue to attack Olympians, then it is right, if not obligation, for Olympians to resist their violent assaults through the use of defensive, non-lethal tactics and technologies. I for one refuse to turn my neighborhood over to a mob of privileged, disaffected youth two degrees separated from A Clock Work Orange.  Should our little wonder puppy Ms. Jami Williams or any of her cohorts attempt to assault me for objecting to her vandalism, rest assured I will do my best to deliver a stream of my newly purchased mace right between their nose.

     This violent incident has affected me strongly for not more than 36 hours later I  was assaulted and thrown to the pavement for challenging a man for his shouting misogynistic obscenities at a pair of women. As of this writing my wrist, coccus, and ribs still ache. The pain, the fear and frustration at being hit and kicked for trying to make my hood a bit better of a place to live resonates strongly.

Einmaleins TV presents:

Olympia mayoral candidate Karen Rogers sat down with “You Make Olympia” host Mathias Eichler to offer her take on how to bring more residents and visitors to downtown Olympia. The lively conversation also touched on Thurston County’s car culture, wise budget decisions, transportation and uncovering what locals truly value.

Rogers is an Olympia city councilwoman and works for the Washington State Liquor Control Board as a rules coordinator and policy specialist. She previously served at the Department of Ecology and the Washington State House of Representatives, where she helped draft a bill creating the Puget Sound Partnership.

She also serves on the City of Olympia Utility Advisory Committee and the Thurston County Planning Commission.

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Click here for previous interviews with Dick Pust, Nathaniel Jones and Steve Langer.

In 1951 Capitol Lake was created and thereoff became an icon of Olympia Washington's society. It was a lake open to the public, allowing them to swim and race boats. As time has passed, the quality of the lake has no longer met Washington State Standards, and was shut off from public access.

It has become the time to realize that the lake we once had is almost unobtainable, and that we need to focus on the solution to the many problems of the lake, which I believe would be turning it into an estuary. To begin with, the lake is recieving sediment washed down from the Deshutes River. This has lowered the depth of the lake, increasing the temperature, and causing stress on aquatic plants. Also, the lake is infested with the New Zeland Mud Snail. This species has no natural predators. Making the lake into an estuary will allow for the flow of saltwater, which the snail cannot survive in, therefore making the population die out. In an estuary, aquatic life will also be in a healthier environment compared to a lake. Currently, there are low dissolved oxygen levels. With an estuary, the dissolved oxygen levels will grow, benefitting the aqautic life.

Costs for the lake should also be taken into consideration. An estuary could cost up to 90 million dollars, while keeping the lake including dredging could cost up to 154 million.

One could argue that the cost is worth the attraction and symbloism the lake provides for Olympia. However, I believe we want to promote the fact that we are doing what's right for the environment, not just what looks good.

Einmaleins completed its transformation this month from a European lifestyle retail store to Olympia’s Internet broadcast network.

Mathias and Trixy Eichler positioned their downtown location in 2011 as a media hub for the Olympia community, partnering with multimedia production, client and web development professionals to provide original, hyper-local online content about Washington’s capital city.

Einmaleins’ growing family of media products includes “Einmaleins.TV,” an online video network that features entertainment shows about Olympia culture, leaders and news. The network’s flagship show, “You Make Olympia,” puts local creative professionals and entrepreneurs on the hot seat for a casual conversation about their efforts to transform the city.

The company also produces Olympia’s most influential independent websites, including “Everyday Olympia,” which publishes daily news and opinion articles about regional issues. Einmaleins also produces popular event- and topic-specific websites about Olympia’s Arts Walk event and local cooking.

Einmaleins’ downtown storefront remains open weekdays for visitors interested in its hyper-local promotional products. For more information, visit Einmaleins in Olympia at 121 State Avenue or contact via email at clients@einmaleins.co.

Eastbay

Sunny skies gave way to fog. Trip downtown for breakfast and then to the Port to see what's going on.

Saw a fire hydrant being replaced!

And lots of logs at the Port.

And the Wall Street Journal newspaper! Quite a troubling perspective on the world! Interesting and entertaining!

Rupert Murdoch owns both FOX entertainment and the Wall Street Journal. WSJ may also more of a source of entertainment, than really useful and meaningful news and analysis. For example, there was an article comparing the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, to the President of Puerto Rico, lauding cuts in government spending.

Berd

Cruise Downtown Olympia on Tuesday the 2nd of November 2010—Election Day!

Reality check.

I have heard two stories within the past week of friends being harrassed by groups of young men for their gender presentation and perceived sexual orientation.  One friend was forced to run and hide from his bashers near the Oympia Center.  I believe both attacks happened in the early evening.

Fortunately, neither of these instances involved a physical confrontation.

Get angry.  Stay alert.

Here it is folks, in all its Glory! The World Premiere of ArtsWalkOlympia.com.
A fully interactive map and events listings of every artist, location and event at Fall Arts Walk 2010.

Amazing, only online, and brought to you by einmaleins MEDIA. Incredible and you're welcome Olympia!

Perched along East Bay in downtown Olympia, Mathias Eichler and Brandon Rosage overlook development of what could be the city's best chance at attractive urban living.

But the vision begs two questions:

1. Will the grand opening of the LOTT clean water education center in East Bay inspire beautiful building in the area?

2. If housing were built, would Olympians hesitate to leave their three-car garages for an urban community?

The Table is back! On Saturday, September 11, from 4 to 8 PM,a downtown Olympia street will once again host a giant picnic table for hundreds of your closest family, friends, and neighbors.

Last year, over 500 people attended the first Table. This year, Fifth Avenue between Washington Street and Franklin Street will be closed to traffic and open for a potluck served family-style.