The Olympia Standard

On this episode of The Olympia Standard, we talk about sea level rise in downtown Olympia with Andy Haub, Water Resources Director for the city. What’s up with the current planning process for sea level rise? What is the tipping point where we ditch downtown and move uphill? And why are new buildings going up before the plan is in place?

We interview Dr. Karen Johnson about her work with the Black Alliance of Thurston County, how policing in Olympia has changed (and still needs to change), the De-escalate Washington initiative, and how the race for county prosecutor will impact these issues.

The Olympia Standard interviewed Patrick Murphy, the new superintendent of the Olympia School District, and school board member Joellen Wilhelm. We discussed how McCleary has changed the way schools are funded across the state, and how that has put Olympia schools into a pinch. We also talked about population growth, social and emotional support for students, and how to teach children to engage in respectful discourse. Don’t have kids in the school system? We also talked about why you should still care!

The Olympia Standard interviews Meg Martin and Selena Kilmoyer – Joyful Crone, about the state of homelessness in Olympia. We discussed how homelessness has evolved over the years, including the population, perceptions, and services.

We recorded our next episode with Kathy McCormick, retired planner turned housing activist. We talked about the history of growth management in our area, where we are lacking in achieving the goals of our comprehensive plan, and how the Missing Middle is an important piece of the housing puzzle.