Top Stories (from the archives)
Should local governments have sweeping power to change how we live–especially when those changes can disproportionately hurt our neediest citizens? Should a government’s decision making process be more accessible to those who are affected the most?
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA) is a little know regional government agency that has created strict and confusing regulations over wood burning, that can have great impact on low income citizens in King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties in western Washington.
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Under Obama, the tryouts for Endangered Species look like American Idol auditions. And these days, just about any prolific vermin has a fair shot at an ESA listing. That's because a species no longer needs to be endangered to be declared "Endangered" by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Like pocket gop... FULL STORY
The Obama administration is scheduled to list the Mazama Pocket Gopher as a federal endangered species in the near future. Ironically, the federal government previously spent nearly fifty years trying to eradicate the pocket gopher--unsuccessfully. The destructive rodent had been destroying valu... FULL STORY
Warning - This article contains graphic descriptions of a small boy’s repeat sexual abuse, including attempted suffocation and perversions. I have used the victim’s own words in the descriptions. “Mom, he told me not to tell you.” Thank God he finally told. With those words, a ... FULL STORY
From the Rochester School District - The Center for Educational Effectiveness recently named Rochester High School as a School of Distinction. The School of Distinction awards recognize sustained improvement - using five years of improvement in performance data. Performance is defined ... FULL STORY
By Conner Edwards - On October 3rd in Hoquiam, WA, citizen activists met to discuss D.C. politicians' attempts to designate much of the Olympic Peninsula as a “Wilderness Area." The event was organized by "Working Wild Olympics", an organization dedicated to stopping a large Federal land gra... FULL STORY
By Jeff Rhodes, The Olympia Report -First of a three-part series In late 2009, Whatcom County deputies arrested Robert Inda on a car theft charge on the campus Western Washington University. Described by local law enforcement authorities as a “prolific burglar and car prowler,” there wa... FULL STORY
By Glen Morgan - Shooting owls, counting slugs, and fighting evolution: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at work The recent announcement by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) about its plan to shoot 3,603 Barred Owls in Washington and Oregon over the next few years is a great way to star... FULL STORY
By Glen Morgan Thurston County demonstrates how NOT to build a jail. The poster shown here, modeled on the famous ubiquitous motivational posters found in every politically-correct office, has the following caption: “MISTAKES – it could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as... FULL STORY
by Jeff Rhodes for The Olympia Report - Barely a day after the Washington State Senate voted to fund a study that would explore ways to enforce tougher greenhouse gas emission standards, a respected academic spent nearly two hours presenting scientific evidence suggesting the assumptions... FULL STORY
For anyone convinced the Seattle wields undue influence over legislation in the rest of Washington, Monday’s hearing on the floor of the state Senate over the city’s new sick leave policies was a revelation. The debate — much of it feisty and personal — concerned Senate Bill 5726, which would wou... FULL STORY
by Jeff Rhodes, The Olympia Report The Washington State Supreme Court on Thursday lowered the threshold required to pass the massive tax increases mandated by its own McCleary decision and fund a long list of programs supported by Democrats in both houses of the Legislature by overturning Initiat... FULL STORY
By ANNA DUFF For the Olympia Report When Washington voters passed Initiative 502, making possession of marijuana legal under state law, they didn’t just create a conflict between state and federal drug laws. They also created a conflict between the tightly regulated and licensed system of... FULL STORY
Hi, folks. Welcome to our work-in-progress! We hope that the South Thurston Journal will soon be the voice of our community, and all of Thurston County. We will have all the regular features a traditional newspaper has, plus more--news videos, free classified, and articles written, photographed, ... FULL STORY
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office has loosened the guidelines for citizens’ online reporting of crimes. According to Sheriff John Snaza, "Our calls for service and the demand on our deputies have continued to rise. As a result, we are constantly looking for every opportunity to increase our ... FULL STORY
“How Could Murder Be Wrong?” – JZ Knight In 1988, cult leader JZ Knight asked ABC’s Judd Rose on 20/20, “How could murder be wrong?” Two of her followers acted on those words in 2011. A calm, cool, point blank assassination of a stranger, and a bullet to the spinal cord o... FULL STORY
“F--k God’s chosen people! I think they have earned enough cash to have paid their way out of the g-ddamned gas chambers by now.” - JZ Knight An unmarked DVD had been left for my husband Steve in a plain gym bag. The introduction said it was from a February 17, 2012 event at Yel... FULL STORY
Jeff Rhodes, The Olympia Report - Our 20th District Representative Ed Orcutt fired back at Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday, saying his call for a special legislative session in November to address transportation would be both premature and a waste of the taxpayers’ money. “While I applaud th... FULL STORY
From the Port of Olympia - Safety and emergency officers gathered once again on the Port dock to salute our Armed Services men and women at Foofaraw on Sept. 6th. The flag, flashing lights, sirens and cheers honored military guests as they cruised off for a day of rest and recreation. Thi... FULL STORY
Washington State Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson, a day after the court declared Initiative 1053’s requirement of a two-thirds majority to raise taxes unconstitutional, accused his more liberal colleagues of putting politics above principle and encouraged critics of the decision to support a propo... FULL STORY
The following is the 2012 District 1 Report Card, issued by the Washington State Patrol: "Troopers in District 1 (Thurston and Pierce counties) work very hard enforcing laws to keep citizens safe on our roadways. Every time a trooper stops an impaired, speeding, or aggressive driver, a life is po... FULL STORY
“When our in-house inquiry shows that an outside, independent investigation was warranted, we asked our attorney to hire a third-party private investigation firm to conduct the interview with you and 15 other witnesses” – Mike Wright explaining RSE’s rape protocol to a woman who stated tha... FULL STORY
Bt Glen Morgan - The Bethel School District, in a rural part of Pierce County, Washington, is governed by five elected school board directors. The district educated about 18,000 students in 2012–2013, a number expected to rise. Five school board members are elected by local citizens. One important j... FULL STORY
From the Thurston County Sheriff's Office - Thurston County Sheriff's Office detectives have made an arrest in a series of crimes that have occurred in Thurston County waters in recent days. On August 5th at about 8:00 pm, a homeowner on the waterfront in the Fishtrap area of Dana Passage report... FULL STORY
“Thus the one who needs to molest and the one who needs to be molested—because he needs to understand it—are brought together for the experience. In the understanding called God, nothing is evil.” - JZ Knight’s "Ramtha—The White Book." In 1988, JZ Knight told ABC’s 20/20<... FULL STORY
From the Thurston County Sheriff's Office -On September 15, 2013 at approximately 9:33 pm, an unidentified male armed with a handgun walked into the Island Market, located at 3403 Steamboat Island Rd NW, and robbed the store at gunpoint. The suspect appears to be a white male who is approx... FULL STORY
(OLYMPIA) – With fire danger continuing to increase across Washington, officials from four state agencies today urged residents to recognize that even seemingly low-risk activities, such as parking on a grassy field or using motorized yard tools, can spark a wildfire. Thirty-seven of the state’s ... FULL STORY
From the Washington State Fire Marshal - The holidays are right around the corner with Thanksgiving on the 28th of November. State Fire Marshal Chuck Duffy wants to provide a reminder to please think twice about fire safety while celebrating the holidays. The State Fire Marshal’s Of... FULL STORY
From the Thurston County Sheriff's Office - On November 16, 2013, at 6:29am, TCSO deputies responded to an alarm in the 1100 block of 76th Ave NE. The unoccupied waterfront home had been burglarized several times recently. TCSO placed a temporary alarm monitoring system in the residence to catc... FULL STORY
(Olympia)— Our State Patrol troopers see it and hear it all the time. A driver telling a trooper after a collision, “I don’t know what happened, I must have fallen asleep.” These types of collisions are more common than one might think and just as devastating and dangerous as speeding, drinking and... FULL STORY
(Washington, DC) -- At an awards ceremony on Capitol Hill, the Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today recognized the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Department of Transportation for their joint project developing an infrared commercial tr... FULL STORY
On Saturday, November 9, 2013, at 2:30 pm, a resident in the area of 13600 Peter Kalama Drive contacted the Thurston County Sheriff's Office to report that his dog had brought home what appeared to be a human leg. TCSO and the Thurston County Coroner’s Office confirmed that it was in fact a huma... FULL STORY
From the Rochester School District - The SmileMobile is coming to Rochester Dec.2-6, 2013. It will be located at Grand Mound Elementary School. The SmileMobile does dental check-ups, sealants, and fluoride treatments for children Birth-18 yrs. of age. It also does restorative dental work for stud... FULL STORY
Prepare Now for a Safe Commute This Winter! The unpredictable northwest winter weather will soon be upon us. Here are a few things you can do to help make your commutes safer. Driving Tips: Decrease your speed and increase your following distance. Avoid unnecessary lane changes. ... FULL STORY