General Interest – The Olympia Standard

This week, we bring you two interviews. The first with two trustees of the Timberland Regional Library and the president of the Timberland union. We discuss the financial crisis the district found its way into earlier this year and how the district can get out. Background:Regional library cuts 25% of staff in South Sound layoffs. Here’s what to know Gloves off baby!’: Messages between two top TRL administrators stoke public outrage The Deep History and Structural Mismatch of Timberland Regional Library The Timberland Regional Library doesn’t face a stand-off, it faces some sort of evolution

What is the future of aquatic sports in Olympia and beyond if the Evergreen Pool is closed. We sit down with swim-team boosters this week to walk through the risks of losing the region’s largest public pool and how we can sustain athletic facilities into the future.

Not that we expect Justin Stang to exit civic life, but Daniel sat down with him following the election to reflect on how it went for him and the future of Olympia.

Whether Interstate 5 “killed downtown Tumwater” will never actually be answered, mostly because we don’t have a time machine and we can’t really settle on what “kill” or “downtown” means in this context. But the premise is one of the most widely accepted historical facts of our area. I take the counter-narrative position that downtown Tumwater was killed by a road, but it wasn’t I-5. In this episode, I take a walk with David Scherer Water to discuss the historical conflict and what it tells us about cities, growth and potential. Here is also some background reading: Why the Myth of Tumwater and Interstate 5 Matters David Scherer Water: The Highway that Shaped (and buried) Olympia David Scherer Water: Tumwater Strikes Back

In this episode, I’m sharing a story from my blog about how neighboring cities shape each other and the surprising ways that history still affects us today. I dive into Lacey’s journey to cityhood, from its rivalry with Olympia in the 1960s over annexation and boundaries, to its push north in the 1980s to grow into undeveloped areas like Hawks Prairie. Along the way, I explore how city boundaries have never been neutral, they’ve historically shaped wealth, services, and political power, often in ways that entrench inequality. I also discuss modern implications, including Lacey’s recent studies on annexing older unincorporated neighborhoods and how financial and service considerations continue to drive decisions. And I touch on a broader idea: what if independent boards, rather than city governments themselves, managed city boundaries to focus on efficiency, equity, and community planning? Finally, I’m excited to share how the podcast is expanding to cover local school district and city council races, bringing in new voices, but the same policy-focused perspective to elections that shape our communities today.

This week, we have the one segment we were able to get in at our live show last week! We welcomed FC Olympia (Ryan Perkins and Van Crisp) to talk about “Pro-Am” sports on the community scale, how it fits in Olympia and the future of community level clubs in our city. FC Olympia The Cooler Guild (Van’s podcast about Reign FC)

In this episode of the Olympia Standard, we delve into the burgeoning movement to unionize Starbucks locations in Olympia. With two more Westside locations, Cooper Point and Black Lake B, recently voting to unionize, Olympia now has three unionized Starbucks stores, joining a national trend of over 600 organized locations. We welcome Pepper Sparkman to the show to discuss the significance of this work.

Daniel Garcia is a planning commissioner and internet phenomenon (at least locally). He runs Heal Olympia, which is driving a vital conversation about the future of Olympia’s built environment. We sit down with him to talk about walking, parking, and the future of our city. Heal Olympia on Instagram Porcupine Media videos feature Lakefair vendors I referenced in the show (scroll down)

This week we welcome back former Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby to talk about the new AHA Olympia Museum downtown and the future of Olympia’s history. Olympia Arts and History Alliance

We take a hard look at the soft xenophobia embedded in the jokes of beloved Seattle columnist Emmett Watson and the eco-soundbites of Oregon Governor Tom McCall. What starts as tongue-in-cheek jabs at newcomers evolves into real political consequences, downzoning, exclusionary housing policy, and a regional identity shaped by who we keep out. We trace the cultural and historical roots of “Lesser Seattle,” explore how humor became a gateway to NIMBYism, and examine how today’s housing crisis can be traced back to decades of protecting “neighborhood character.”

This episode explores the legacy of Judge George H. Boldt and the lasting impact of the 1974 Boldt Decision, which reaffirmed tribal fishing rights in Washington. Featuring a recording from Boldt’s daughter and grandson, the episode highlights the judge’s integrity, precision, and quiet courage, not just in issuing a landmark ruling, but in standing firm amid years of resistance from state and local officials. Being a patriot, Boldt believed, meant upholding treaty rights and justice, even when doing so was unpopular or difficult.

In this episode of The Olympia Standard, we dive into the debate over who and what deserves a statue on Washington’s capitol campus. As the state grapples with the future of its Marcus Whitman monument, we explore the deeper meanings behind public memorials, the myths they enshrine, and the process (or lack thereof) for removing them. From the racist legacy embedded in the Whitman statue to the forgotten controversy over Governor John Rogers, we argue that it’s not only okay to take statues down, it’s sometimes the most historically honest thing we can do.