Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images, bluebay/Shutterstock; Edited: JR/Truthout


– Yelm’s Community Blogger endorses the following candidates:
* Maria Cantwell for US Senator.

* Denny Heck for US Rep., Congressional District 10.

* Carolyn Long for US Rep., Congressional District 3 (Clearwood).

* Annaliese Feld for Representative for LD 2.

* Tye Menser for Thurston County Commissioner, Dist. 1.

* Mary Hall for Thurston County Auditor.

* Steven Drew for Thurston County Auditor, recently appointed to replace Barbara Clarkson on SPSCC Board.

* Victor Minjares for Thurston Prosecutor.

* Andrew Saturn for Thurston County Public Utilities Commissioner.


Blogger Klein is a contributor to all of these campaigns.

Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images, bluebay/Shutterstock; Edited: JR/Truthout


– “Washington’s Election Success Flies Under the Radar”
“Washington has long been a leader in elections that is nationally recognized for its consistently high performance. As a mail-ballot state, Washington ensures that every registered voter gets a ballot that is easy and secure; the state also leads the country in cutting down wait times for voting, serving voters with disabilities, and accepting a high percentage of military and overseas ballots.

“These statistics are determined by the Elections Performance Index, an assessment overseen by MIT that analyzes election administration nationwide,” by South Sound Business.
Read more


– “Want election results? On West Coast, patience is required”
“If control of the U.S. House comes down to any of the competitive congressional races in Washington state and California, the nation might have to wait days to learn the outcome.

“In both of those states, voters can put their ballots in the mail as late as Election Day, meaning the final votes do not typically reach election officials until several days later.”

“Washington is one of just three states that conduct all elections by mail, and it’s the only one of those three that allows ballots to be postmarked on Election Day. The system usually leaves about half of the vote outstanding at the end of the night, making it impossible to quickly determine the winner of close races,” by Rachel La Corte, AP.
Read more

– From the Thurston County News Release
“Thurston County Auditor’s Office to Begin Passport Services”
“Services will begin in October, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.”

“The Thurston County Auditor’s Office will begin providing passport services in October. The Auditor’s Office will become the only passport services agency in Thurston County open five days a week for full business hours.

“‘We saw a need for new passport services providers in the County given upcoming changes to state law on REAL ID and the significant increase in passport applications over the last few years,’ said Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall. Over the last five years, the number of passports issued in Washington State has increased by 51%.”

“The Auditor’s Office will announce the first day of passport services when a completion date for office renovations associated with the new services is finalized. For more information about passport services, please visit the Auditor’s Office Passports webpage.
Read more from the County Auditor’s office.

Andrew Saturn (Non-Partisan position)
Credit: Friends of Saturn


– From Thurston Public Utility Commission candidate Andrew Saturn (District 1, non-partisan):
I’m Andrew Saturn, and I’m running to be your Public Utility District Commissioner. I want to help lower your utility bills by being smarter about our spending and investments. This includes getting serious about conservation, offering vouchers for modernization and help with paying your bills if you can’t afford them. I also think the PUD needs to invest in public power and broadband internet, which will help us deal with the influx of hundreds of thousands of residents expected over the next decade, and ensure that corporate monopolies aren’t ripping us off when it comes to the things we depend on for our daily lives. Our PUD exists to protect the resources of the residents of Thurston County, and I am running to fulfill that promise. I’m endorsed by the Thurston County Democrats, Green Party, and others. For more information, check out www.votesaturn.com.
Read more


– The Saturn campaign’s most recent campaign ad
“Our opponent says the PUD is “a water utility ONLY.” She’s wrong.”
Click here for the video.


– Mr. Saturn’s campaign has filed a vigorous response to last week’s complaint
“More Desperate Attacks from our Fossil Fuel Funded PUD Opponent”
Click here to read the response.


– Mr. Saturn attended a public forum in Yelm last Friday night and explained his stands on issues.
Click here for the video.

Credit: Kevin Siers, McClatchy’s Charlotte Observer


– Story highlights
* While Trump focused on his Supreme Court fight, UN issued most dire climate report,
* America’s President said nothing,
* Mr. Trump dissents from an effort that has galvanized much of the world.


– Editor’s note:
While President Trump signed legislation last Thursday [Oct. 11] aimed at expanding clean-up efforts in the world’s oceans, the president dismissed the work of American climatologists and researchers studying increases in global temperatures that have impacted the planet and exacerbated natural disasters, telling CBS News 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl [Oct. 14] that ‘they have a very big political agenda’ and claimed that Earth’s climate ‘could very well go back.'”
Click here for the interview.


– “Major Climate Report Describes a Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040”
“A landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change paints a far more dire picture of the immediate consequences of climate change than previously thought and says that avoiding the damage requires transforming the world economy at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent.”

“The report, issued on Monday [Oct. 1] by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040 — a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population.

“The report “is quite a shock, and quite concerning,” said Bill Hare, an author of previous I.P.C.C. reports and a physicist with Climate Analytics, a nonprofit organization. “We were not aware of this just a few years ago.” The report was the first to be commissioned by world leaders under the Paris agreement, the 2015 pact by nations to fight global warming,” by Coral Davenport, The New York Times.
Read more


– “Dire Climate Warning Lands With a Thud on Trump’s Desk”
“A day after the United Nations issued its most urgent call to arms yet for the world to confront the threat of climate change, President Trump boarded Air Force One for Florida — a state that lies directly in the path of this coming calamity — and said nothing about it.”

“That bottom-up activism is a source of hope for those who have watched in despair since last year when Mr. Trump declared he would pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord. But experts say it is no substitute for the world’s largest economy, and second-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, turning its back on the fight,” By Mark Landler and Coral Davenport, The New York Times.
Read more

Click here for the event’s video recording, courtesy of South Sound Events.

Click here for the full report Mr. Minjares referenced:
“FELONY CASEFLOW AND CALENDARING STUDY SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON,
THURSTON COUNTY – JUNE 1, 2017 FINAL REPORT”


– Three challengers to county incumbents came to Yelm last night,
An evening of public discussion on the issues with SE Thurston voters!


* Thurston County Prosecutor candidate Victor M. Minjares (D-Olympia), website

Victor Minjares (D-Olympia)
Credit: Victor for Justice


* Thurston County Commission District 3 candidate Tye Menser (D-Olympia), website

Tye Menser (D-Olympia)
Credit: Tye for Thurston


* Thurston Public Utility Commission candidate Andrew Saturn (District 1, non-partisan), website.

Andrew Saturn (Non-Partisan position)
Credit: Friends of Saturn