What does economic justice look like? Megan Matthews, the Engagement Manager at the Department of Social and Health Services, has been engaging with the community to help develop Washington’s 10-year plan to reduce poverty and inequality. How is structural racism and historic trauma considered in this plan? How do we bring to the table those who have been most impacted by injustice? And what does this work mean for Olympia as we grapple with issues of racial justice?

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On our last episode, we explored safety and justice in the Olympia school system from the perspective of a middle school teacher. We’re now looking at a different perspective from inside Olympia schools: a recent graduate and a school psychologist. Aneya Cornwall just graduated from Capital High school, and now attends a historically black university on the east coast. Quinn Middleton is works at Capital High, and in her roles serves as the advisor for the Black Student Union.

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Continuing the conversation on racial justice in Olympia, we turn to public schools. Courtney Jarmon, who teaches science at Washington Middle School, shared her experience as an educator in the Olympia School District. She spoke with us about the impacts of the pandemic, decentering whiteness in curriculum, the role all adults play in making schools safe for all students, and how we can bring more educators of color into our school system.

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Protests from the Black Lives Matter movement have dramatically changed public discourse. Those who have been advocating for a new vision for safety and justice are now finding their ideas discussed in the mainstream. We’re dedicating the next few episodes to bringing forward voices of those advocating for change.

Larry Jefferson is the lead felony attorney at the Thurston County Public Defense Office. Through his work, he has been involved in the Opioid Response Task Force, and also helps lead the Diversity and Inclusion Section of the Thurston County Bar Association.

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The two races for local government on the primary ballot in Thurston County are for Superior Court Judge and County Commissioner. What should voters be thinking about when they decide who moves on to the general election? To gain some perspective, we talked to a judge, Chris Lanese, and a commissioner, Tye Menser. How do elected judges influence society? And what are the issues that will be decided by the Thurston County Commission? If you’re having trouble deciding between the candidates, listen to this episode!

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Our primary ballots have arrived in our mailboxes! Haven’t received yours yet? Contact the county auditor. In this episode, we go through the ballot with Jemmy Joe, our token uninformed voter, and answer his questions. We talk about party preferences, why we have so many gubernatorial candidates, and what voters should be thinking about when you decide who you’d like to elect to office. Next week, we’ll talk more in depth about the races for county commissioner and superior court judge.

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Literally, on this episode we are talking trash! Steve Gilmore, with Republic Services, joined us to talk about what happens to our waste once we drop it in the bin. What happens to our trash, recycling, and organics when we throw it away? Where is “away”? How have changes in China impacted recycling in Olympia? What impacts have the pandemic had on our waste systems? And what does the future hold for our excess?

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Recently in Olympia, we’ve been experiencing an intimidating culture shock that have left many wondering: who are the people with guns? To answer this question, we interview David Neiwert, a journalist and author who has followed far right extremist movements in the Pacific Northwest for decades. We talked about who these groups are, why they are here, and what we can do as a community.

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With 53% of our population living in rental housing, Olympia is a majority renter community. On top of that, there are far too few rental homes in our city, putting renters seeking housing at a disadvantage. Now throw in a pandemic, where renters who have lost their income are accumulating rent debt. To learn more about the landscape for rental housing, we talked to Whitney Bowerman, a small local landlord, and Carrie Graf, a tenant attorney at the Northwest Justice Project. What challenges do tenants have exercising their rights? How do landlords mitigate risk? And how can we look at rental housing through the lens of racial justice?

Request help from the NW Justice Project
File a COVID-19 Eviction Complaint with the AG
Dr. Kendi’s interview with the National Low Income Housing Coalition
And something for landlords too!

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Local journalism is struggling to survive, including our own newspaper, The Olympian. This was true before the pandemic, and has intensified in the crisis. Yet communities rely on local reporting to stay abreast of issues, keep government accountable, and share the good news taking place with the people around them. To get some outside perspective, we interviewed Kristen Hare of the Poynter Institute and Tampa Bay Times, a journalist who covers journalism across the nation, to get some insight. How can we save local journalism in Olympia? Here are a few pointers from Poynter.

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