Seajane has been watching ballot processing up at the Thurston County auditors office as observer:

I received an e-mail from another PCO who said that our County Auditor was verifying by computer signature of the orignial registration card and the ballot. He questioned whether this was a tactic to throw additional ballots out. I've been observing the ballot processing and there's nothing to worry about. It is true that they are using a computer to compare the signatures but only to display a scan of the signature on the ballot to a scan of the original signature -- a trained worker actually does the comparison.

...

IMHO things are going well and it is a fair and well managed process.

Seajane is also a Democratic precinct committee officer. Here's the email she was talking about:

My son, who is 21 and a first-time voter in a Presidential election, got a letter from Kim Wyman, the Thurston County Auditor, that his ballot was rejected due to his signature not matching.

Could you tell me who is working as the voter’s rights watchdog in Washington? How can we find out if this practice is widespread?

Here's a response from another Dem PCO:

Twelve candidates in a general election race is way too many to make an educated choice, especially in a low profile race like district court judge. That is, unless someone passes along some first hand perspective to you.

The guys over at the local dad's rights blogsosphere apparently (can't really tell because they took the post down) like Bill Gilbert:

The County’s District Court Judicial race seems to have degenerated into a popularity contest like electing other politicians. A massive endorsement list does not reflect the quality of a judicial candidate and should NOT be the criteria for voters’ decision.

Bill Gilbert has over 20 years’ legal experience with variety as deputy prosecutors in two counties, pro tem judge in various capacities, and a business owner in private practice. His variety of experience at various levels and capacities in Thurston County courts lend him the most relevant insight into what voters deserve at the District Court.

Yodelling Lama (an actual member of the legal community) likes Sam Meyer:

Because I’ve met Sam, and I know a lot of other lawyers and court-certified interpreters and the like who have met Sam, and we all seem to agree he’d be a fantastic choice. Fair. Consistent. Knowledgeable.

Rolandovich over at Oly Ost also says Meyer:

The Thurston County Auditor has begun to mail ballots to registered voters in our county. Unfortunately it appears that today some students have also received address verification notices in the place of their ballots. What does this mean? Ballots for an unknown number of students and residents in our area are not being delivered and instead will be retained by the auditor until address confirmation is received. Essentially, voter rolls are being purged at the last minute, leaving very little time for voters to provide the requested verification.

If you have received a letter from the County Auditor or the Secretary of State that indicates your ballot will not be mailed on time, please respond to the verification request as soon as possible. Additionally, I ask that you please take the time to reply here so that we can begin to assess the scope of this problem. One step you can take includes filing a report with the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State by calling (206) 624-2180 during business hours.

Additional points of contact include:

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed: (360) 902-4151 http://www.secstate.wa.gov/office/ Thurston County Auditor Kim Wyman: (360) 786-5408

The Olympian Reporters:

Rolf Boone 360-754-5403 rboone@theolympian.com

Venice Buhain 360-754-5445 vbuhain@theolympian.com

Matt Batcheldor 360-704-6869 mbatcheldor@theolympian.com

Brad Shannon 360-753-1688 bshannon@theolympian.com

I went to the Thurston County Democrats meeting earlier tonight, and Sandra Romero was nominated by the precinct committee officers in commission district two, beating out former Lacey City Councilmember John Halvorson 77 to 63.

This "nomination" business is fall out from the Top Two primary decision. I've been complaining about it all week:

What's likely going to happen tonight (Thurston County Dems nominating mess/sham)

What we should have done (sham nominating conventions)

"Nominating conventions" are baloney, B.S., horse puckey

Comments closed here, go over here to talk.

A fence, an elderly caretaker and a Rottweiler are all that stand between you and the Falls.

We've all been to the lovely Deschutes River waterfalls by the old brewery. But did you know that 20 miles upriver there is another park, covering 154 acres and sporting two waterfalls, a 75 foot gorge and a mystical forest dripping with moss? And that you are absolutely not allowed to go anywhere near it?

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  The Letter To The New York Times: 

As you said, Obama has gotten this far on hope. We, his supporters have heard his message and we want Barack Obama to know, we've got his back. For every negative campaign that Clinton puts out there, we will counter, not with an attack, but with a good deed. For every tactic of fear, we'll reach out to someone in need; for every attempt to divide on cultural and ethnic lines, we will cross those lines to demonstrate how interconnected we all are; for every sneer that's made at our message of hope, we will demonstrate how that hope brings communities together.

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The "Valentine Five" were arraigned today for their suspected involvement in the unrest that occurred after the Dead Prez show on The Evergreen State College campus last month.

All five pled "not guilty" to various charges. I didn't take notes and I don't have the details (sorry). Maybe someone else who was there will have more details to share. [more details from Jeremy Pawloski, www.theolympian.com/...]

court room picture:

Audio from the TESC Valentines Day Uprising - Nine One One calls.

021808 TESC Riot 911 ph call (Error in date is original to the file):

021508 TESC Riot Call to EVPD:

021508 TESC Riot 2nd EVPD Ph call:

Note: The following links do NOT link to graphic images.

In March of 1998 a unidentified body was found on Sheldon Rd in Thurston County. (I have not been able to find where Sheldon Rd is, the linked sites don't have other information on the location.)

The victim is estimated to have been born anywheres from 1970 to 1978, meaning he would have been either in his early or late twenties when found.

A new artist's rendition has been created. Artist renditions are an inexact science and should not be assumed to be the flawless likeness of the John Doe.

This is not the only John Doe in Thurston County.

These are images made of the CAPCOM (Capital Communications) calls to 9-11 dispatch, showing who called and from what cell, where that cell phone was at the time of the call, and what dispatch did in relation to the call over the course of the evening. Enjoy!