Indigenous Occupation Continues at State Capitol

Above: Dakota Case, Puyallup, and Eva Ingram, Santee Sioux Niabrara Nebraska, start Tuesday morning with a blessing on the grounds of the Washington State Capitol Campus. Ingram, left, is one of seven women staying in a tarpee overnight outside the Legislative Building.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Drumming, singing, prayer and ceremony, along with the burning of sage and cedar, continued on day three Wednesday as several indigenous women occupy the land and spend nights in a tarpee on the Washington State Capitol Campus. Supporters are always present. 

At about 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, a second notice was delivered to occupiers to vacate the grounds or face arrest. 

Everyone was respectful as two Department of Enterprise Services representatives handed out the notice, explaining that they just wanted consistency in the application of the rules. The notice cites Washington Administrative Code regarding the prohibition of camping and a process for obtaining a permit. 

According to the notice, the Department of Enterprise Services is open to issuing the group a permit to erect their structures and displays on a nearby location that doesn't damage Capitol grounds.

Robert Satiacum, Puyallup, and others spoke with the representatives and showed them a copy of the Medicine Creek Treaty. That interaction was videotaped on a live Facebook feed by Angie Spencer.

On Wednesday, they were served another notice and were told it would be the final one. The announcement was made that everyone would be subject to arrest, but the order was unclear as to where observers could stand and not be arrested. 

As of Wednesday evening, there was no police presence.

Eva Ingram, Santee Sioux Niabrara Nebraska, of Seattle has been sleeping in the tarpee. She runs her own company, Independent Two Spirit Media, and explained why she was there to Little Hollywood.

“We are here so we can pray over this land – as indigenous people we look to our women as life givers and life bringers. You as women teach our young ones the ways that we should live, and bring them up that this land is for you, and you are to respect it, the four-legged, the two-legged...and that’s the power that the life bringers and life givers hold. It’s more power than any male will ever understand. So that’s something that we needed here. There’s never been in history seven women to occupy a tarpee or teepee or any kind of structure in front of a Capitol Building in the world. No matter what happens, we made history,” she said. 

Ingram and supporters say 2018 is the time for action against the climate crisis. 

The occupation is also to bring awareness of the Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) plant being constructed by Puget Sound Energy at the Port of Tacoma on Puyallup Tribal land. The plant, which will serve natural gas customers and maritime transportation needs, does not yet have all the proper permits. Authorities say the permits will continue to be obtained until it is scheduled to open in 2019.

Dakota Case, Puyallup, explained how the LNG will further threaten the Puyallup tribal way of life.

“We live there, right at the mouth of the river. The Tacoma City Council allowed PSE to do their own environmental impact statement and the site is on top of a 70 acre solvent plume – a Superfund site - that’s over an aquifer...I don’t know how they got the dirt samples clean enough to present them…it’s on top of a leaking arsenic site and they’re trying to figure out how to clean it up. How they got past everything is beyond me….

“The toxic air pollutants will emit 81 pounds of ammonia a day at peak, but they only did the environmental impact statement at 50 percent…It goes up into the air and will come back down right into our water. The air quality in the City of Tacoma is so polluted that we have one of the highest cancers rates in the State of Washington.”

He says that in four more years, there will be no more salmon.

“Our elders are coming forward and saying it’s a salmon estuary, that’s stated in the land claim settlement. The pH balance is already off in our water – our fish are having a hard time accumulating at the mouth of the river before they head up stream. They’re not able to spawn so we have to gut them to get the eggs out of there and fertilize the river manually instead of them letting them do it the natural way….Only twenty five percent of our salmon run is original, the rest is imported. The fish farms and the LNG are a threat to us so we’re trying to set up a government to government to negotiate. 

“Enough is enough – we’re protecting our part of the Salish Sea....”

As our interview concluded in the still of night, the rhythmic sound of rain and indigenous drumming and singing got louder.

Case encouraged Governor Jay Inslee to come out from his office or the nearby Governor’s Mansion to talk with them, hoping the drumming and singing was loud enough for him to hear.

Above: The Washington State Capitol Building and tarpee occupied by several indigenous women on Wednesday evening.

Pet Parade 2017

Above: Russell Soderquist, 3, of Olympia, gets a little help with his ice cream from his pug, Kirby, 9. The Soderquist family won the prize for best family entry, and earned a sweet bicycle that will take Russell a few years to grow into. They won the contest with Russell and Kirby sitting in their “Bathing Beauties” wagon, which was decorated like a shower, complete with shower head and clear curtain.

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https://janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

“Beauties and Beasts” was the theme of the 88th annual Pet Parade as goats, horses, bunnies, cats and dogs, King Kong, and even Sasquatch strolled through downtown Olympia on Saturday morning. 

All ended up in Sylvester Park with participation ribbons and ice cream for kids 16 years of age and under.

The event was sponsored by The Olympian newspaper and a wide range of local businesses. Donated prizes and gift certificates were awarded for a variety of categories.

Above:  This sweetheart of a Beast held onto his rose throughout the whole parade.

Above: Rusty, 3, an Australian Shepherd/English Springer mix, was a happy pollinator for the day as his owner, Malla Hayak, of Shelton, gives him a treat. Hayak's mother, Barbara, brought Darla, her four year old German Shepherd, and won $20 for their pirate costumes in the large dog category. “This was so much fun! I’m going to bring my nieces and nephews next year!” said Hayak, who won a $25 gift certificate. This was her first Pet Parade.

Above: Dressed like a skunk, Porter, 4, takes the pug breed to a whole new level.

Above: This family went all out with their float of the Capitol Building, King Kong, and a dog dressed as Faye Raye.

Downtown Olympia Development, Views Survey Available

Above: This view of Mt. Rainier across downtown Olympia from the Fourth Avenue Bridge becomes obscured by the nine-story Capital Center Building as one travels into downtown. A new survey by the City of Olympia asks questions regarding downtown development, pedestrian improvements, types of preferred bicycle lanes, viewsheds, and more.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The City of Olympia is encouraging everyone in Thurston County to take a survey to help shape downtown Olympia.  As noted in a recent Little Hollywood story on March 14, part of the survey includes weighing in on downtown views to area landmarks.

The survey, part of the city’s ongoing Downtown Strategy planning efforts, is online at www.olympiawa.gov/DTS through March 27. The city says it takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

City of Olympia city planner Amy Buckler says the city has heard “loud and clear” from a previous survey that the city must address parking, sea level rise and homelessness issues. 

Based on this survey and other plans, the city’s next steps in the Downtown Strategy will focus on design, view protection, historic preservation, business and development standards and incentives, and more specific strategies related to housing, retail and economic development.

It took Little Hollywood about 35 minutes to read through the survey questions, much less answer them. 

When asked about the nature of the questions, and their tendency toward the need for significant zoning and code changes, Buckler responded that the survey reflects what the city has heard in the public process so far, and include the input of their consultant’s recommendations.

“It is likely the city will update some development standards, and perhaps zoning, if needed, to align with the guiding framework of the Downtown Strategy. We are waiting for a guiding framework to be vetted through the…process of public engagement and analysis and discussion with city council on May 10 before scoping what updates might be needed. The guiding framework will drive any needed updates….”

Questions about viewsheds are included about mid-way through the survey, after questions about development scenarios, shared streets for pedestrian and intersection improvements, festival streets, types of bicycle lanes, and more.

Some questions are hard to argue with:

1. In the waterfront area, improve upon existing attractions to create a vibrant, attractive, family-friendly destination, with emphasis on the surrounding natural environment and many landmark views. Maintain vibrant and visible gathering places for public activity and events; increase waterfront recreation opportunities; and create inviting pedestrian connections to the historic shopping district, marinas, Farmers Market, Hands on Children’s Museum, LOTT Wet Center, and Capitol Campus.

On a scale of 1-5, with (1) being very important and (5) being not important, how important is this overall concept to you?

This question specifically involves the Northeast area neighborhood:

3. In the "Artisans/Tech" area, improve upon Port and LOTT activities and existing warehouses to create a mixed-use, artisan, culinary arts, and tech hub that includes affordable commercial space, housing (especially for artists), studio/workshop, gallery, live/work, and retail space. Encourage the reuse of industrial buildings and diverse, eclectic, energy- and water-efficient architecture. Ensure that visitors of all ages feel safe and comfortable arriving by bus, foot, bike, or car to participate in exciting education and recreation opportunities. Spur mixed-income residential development to support car-free lifestyles near the Transit Center. A more active atmosphere, redevelopment of blighted or underused sites, good design and continued clean and safe efforts by the City and other partners generate a feeling of safety in this area.

On a scale of 1-5, with (1) being very important and (5) being not important, how important is this overall concept to you?

Regarding the future of the Southeast area neighborhood, this question provides the only “not sure/don’t care” option in the questionnaire, among other options:

13. This area has significant potential for growth as a residential neighborhood. We have heard a range of preferences for the style of residential development in this area, sometimes a preference for tall residential buildings and other times for smaller scale residential development like townhouses, small lot homes, and low-rise multifamily buildings.  Assuming the same number of units are added in both scenarios described, check the circle that best represents your preference.

Above: Now it's gone - the view of Mt. Rainier becomes obscured by the nine story Capital Center Building as one travels into downtown Olympia.

Survey Questions about Views

The viewsheds for potential analysis have changed since the city’s March 3 Land Use and Environment meeting and now includes a new viewshed: City Hall to the Capitol Dome. The photo used to illustrate this view is from the sidewalk outside city hall on Cherry Street.

Two potential viewsheds were removed from the list: Marathon Park to Mt. Rainier, because it does not exist, and the effect of the 1063 Building, currently under construction, on the view of the Capitol Dome from downtown.

The survey uses computer generated illustrations of two viewsheds under consideration. City staff is in need of a photo from the navigation channel into Olympia on Budd Inlet, and a photo of downtown Olympia from the beach area of Priest Point Park. 

City staff provided Little Hollywood a map that indicates that the desired viewshed from the navigation channel is from the coordinates of 47 03.960 N and 122 54.509 W, which is roughly the center of the channel across from Swantown Marina.

Buckler confirmed that a photo of the viewshed from the East Bay pocket park to the Capitol Building featured in Little Hollywood’s March 14 article is one of ten proposed viewsheds slated for analysis. 

That view runs through Port of Olympia parcels 2 and 3 which are slated for development by local developer Walker John. Concept plans by architect Ron Thomas are not yet available to the public, Thomas said in an interview with Little Hollywood last month. If those parcels are developed as proposed, the public’s view of the Capitol Building from the park would be obscured.

If there are additional important viewsheds related to downtown that you think the city may have missed or if you have photos of your favorite views related to downtown that you want to share with the city, send them to dts@ci.olympia.wa.us.

Submitted photos will become part of the public record and may be used for public engagement purposes, so the city asks that you indicate who should receive credit for the photo. Views must be from public observation points within downtown or looking through downtown to landmark views, such as Mt. Rainer, the Black Hills, Puget Sound, Olympic Mountains, Capitol Dome, says the city.

For more information, contact Amy Buckler, Senior Planner, City of Olympia, at (360) 570-5847 or abuckler@ci.olympia.wa.us.

Olympia Gets Ready for Arts Walk

Above: Stephanie Johnson, City of Olympia Arts and Events program manager and knitter, was spotted making her own contribution to Arts Walk today. She said it was a portion of a really old, bad sweater she started in the 80's and never finished. "You know, the kind that would have had shoulder pads - it's made of acrylic - if it's going to take 20 years to finish a sweater, it should be wool!" she laughed.

by Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Olympia is getting ready for Arts Walk this weekend! Arts Walk maps featuring nearly 100 artists and events are available at www.olympiawa.gov/parks and distributed throughout downtown. Of course, plenty of guerrilla art and activities are not on the map.

A cozy yarn art installation was underway today on the Olympia -Yashiro Friendship Bridge and will cover the lamp post bases. Artists have received permission from the city to keep it in place until next Sunday.

Above and below: Gail P. of Spectral Spiders was busy today knitting together portions of donated pieces to be placed on the bridge's lamp posts. She said the group formed in August to do this project, and "all are welcome to come create on the bridge and offer pieces to be repurposed. It's all about showing your stitches, you know?"

 

Arts Walk is sponsored by the City of Olympia Arts Commission and the Department of Parks, Arts and Recreation, and local businesses.

 

Above: Hmmm...what's next? A winter cap for the dome of the Capitol Building?

When It Rains, It Pours

Above: The fencing around Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia on Tuesday afternoon is partially under water. Andy Haub, city of Olympia's public works planning and engineering manager, said high tide was 15.5 ft. at 11:19 a.m. on Tuesday and that the peak flow of the Deschutes River was running at 46,000 cubic feet per second. He said city utility crews are starting to take precautions to prevent potential flooding in downtown Olympia.

 

 

When It Rains, It Pours

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

It’s been a busy week for Andy Haub, city of Olympia’s public works planning and engineering manager. Not only is he monitoring potential flooding in downtown Olympia due to recent heavy rains, he is still reeling from the estimated 1.5 million gallon discharge of bacteria-laden, high nitrate, raw wastewater into Budd Inlet via a pipe located near East Bay Drive.

In a city press release issued Wednesday, November 14, city public works crews discovered, on November 13, that domestic wastewater was discharging to Moxlie Creek.  Moxlie Creek runs under downtown Olympia in a large pipe and discharges to Budd Inlet at the head of East Bay. Crews immediately corrected and reported the discharge.

Upon investigation of the cause, public works staff discovered that the discharge began in mid-September after a plugged pipe that had been opened for cleaning and maintenance was not re-plugged. The plug prevented wastewater from entering the downstream stormwater system.

At the time, Haub said, “Due to the complexity of the system, public works crews did not recognize the connection between the wastewater, stormwater and Moxlie Creek systems.”

It is estimated that up to 1.5 million gallons of wastewater were discharged over the last two months. The city has reviewed their procedures and have taken steps to prevent future occurrences.

On Wednesday evening, November 14, at the regular monthly board meeting of the LOTT Clean Water Alliance, board member and Tumwater City Councilmember Tom Oliva asked LOTT staff for more information on the situation. Oliva asked if there was a process regarding liability, including fines, and if environmental damage has been established.

LOTT staff and Laurie Pierce, operations and facilities director for LOTT, responded that they did not have much more information. Pierce clarified that per the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, LOTT is the clearinghouse for all reports to Ecology, and LOTT was responsible for reporting the incident.

Yesterday, in a telephone conversation with this reporter, Haub reiterated his own disappointment that the incident occurred.

“We made a mistake - it’s our responsibility. There were no outside contractors responsible. This was work performed by city staff….A sequence of minor mistakes created a perfect storm for a unique situation.” Haub said that during a thorough debriefing with staff, it was realized that the situation occurred over a period of six months and 14 staff were involved.

Pat Bailey, compliance specialist for municipal wastewater in the southwest regional office of the Washington State Department of Ecology, said in a telephone conversation late today that the city of Olympia reported the incident themselves. Under the type of permit, the incident is supposed to be reported immediately or within 24 hours.

“From what we can tell, at this point, because Olympia reported it as soon as they turned the wrench (to stop the discharge), there probably won’t be any monetary penalties… and the city reported it to LOTT within the required five days. I just spoke with Andy on Monday and we’ll get a full report and get together within a week. We don’t want something thrown together, we want good facts,” said Bailey.

Bailey said Haub was truly upset when he called her to report the incident. “It happened. The great thing is that there are quite a few old collection systems - sewer to stormwater cross connects - and this one has been corrected.”

For more information, go to: www.olympiawa.gov or Andy Haub, Planning and Engineering Manager, (360) 753-8475, ahaub@ci.olympia.wa.us

 

Above: Fencing nearly under water around Capitol Lake warns that the Capitol Lake is closed due to New Zealand mud snail contamination.

 

 

 

­­­­