Olympia Regional Airport reported a high temperature of 92 degrees Saturday, June 28, tied the record set on this date on 2003.
Sunday, June 29th 94 degrees was one degree shy of the record of 95 set in 1951.
The temperatures will be in the low 80’s today and through mid-week.
Olympian veteran reporters Lisa Pemberton & Jim Szymanski have been laid-off as of June 27th in the downsizing reported here last week by owner McClatchy newspapers.
Pemberton was the only press reporter to take a Ramtha School of Enlightenment class and publish observations and Szymanski covered business news and Yelm’s NASCAR track issue several years ago and both will be sorely missed, in an area where news is limited, at best!
We wish Pemberton & Szymanski well in their next adventures and acknowledge their fine work, especially in their interests in Yelm.
If you have general story ideas for The Olympian, a good place to send those is to
features@theolympian.com.
This story by the AP today highlights what is happening to American newspapers:
“Newspapers are bracing for more bad news
Deep job cuts, outsourcing, more asset sales coming as industry retrenches”
I am away until July 1st, so have gone ahead and published this weeks’ stories in advance.
Look for more local news July 1st!
Thank you for your interest and support…
Yelm Mayor Ron Harding said in the NVN of Yelm’s landmark Arnold’s Country Inn Restaurant closing,
‘I dont know all the reasons around Ricks decisions to close, but I think the local economy is going quite well.’
Harding speculated that the restaurant catered to a specific group of diners, who perhaps no longer have the discretionary income to spend on upscale meals.”
Mr. Mayor, with the national economic downturn and the Thurston County deficit announced last week, if Yelm patrons “perhaps no longer have the discretionary income to spend on upscale meals”, that should be of concern to city officials, who will feel the tax revenue loss in the coffers, rather than such a casual dismissal of Arnold’s closure.
Yelm now has its two long-time, full service restaurants closed (Arnold’s & Annie’s Bistro/Two Friends’ Cafe)
and a convenience store (at 93rd). Even the NVN says the closing of Arnold’s involves the loss of “34 full- and part-time employees”. That’s a huge job loss for Yelm.
Further, Yelm Community blog readers have known for quite some time what The Olympian readers learned about Yelm last week
“Homebuyers look to cut commutes and fuel costs
Rural housing market could lose out to urban centers”
“South Sound homebuyers are looking for houses closer to work, to cut the high cost of commuting brought on by record fuel prices, real estate agents and their customers said Wednesday [June 18].
It’s another indication that skyrocketing fuel prices are driving major changes in the way U.S. residents live…
Laura and Craig Haff of Olympia made a similar decision, Laura Haff said.
The couple recently bought a house in Olympia after living in Steilacoom for four years.
Their first choice was to live in Yelm where they found a house for $183,000 with a really large yard.
The Haffs soon decided that Yelm, without a direct road to Fort Lewis, was too inconvenient for work and not close enough to shopping, Laura Haff said.
‘It took forever to get anywhere, and if it takes forever, that costs more gasoline,’ she said.”
This story reflects what this writer has been reporting for months —
Yelm has a perfect storm brewing as people sell their homes here to be closer to urban centers and cut their commuting costs, businesses here losing customers that would come here from as far away as Gig Harbor or Puyallup for the Drew Harvey Theater, Arnold’s Country Inn & Gordon’s to name a few, as patrons are not driving out here because of the fuel costs. These factors plus Yelm’s ambitious announced projects including a Public Library, new City Hall & new Recreation Center and County cutbacks will all come to roost here before too long.
There are signals here that things are changing, regardless of Mr. Harding’s pronouncement “the local economy is going quite well.”
THIS IS THE TIME TO SAVE FOR A RAINY DAY — NOT SPEND, SPEND, & SPEND!
STORM CLOUDS HAVE GATHERED!
With the Thurston Highlands Draft EIS now out and available for public comment, this writer again brings up the subject of how the City of Yelm can be involved to pay for this draft EIS.
After all, Thurston Highlands is a private development and taxpayer monies were used to fund a private water study that formed the basis of this draft EIS.
The City of Yelm has been “called on the carpet” by the State for previously for using tax monies to fund private payments;
most recently when the city was collecting a hotel tax to fund the Prairie Museum’s rent in a private building, when tax monies are to go for payments for the museum to operate in a public building.
This issue was covered here on December 1, 2007.
Regarding the water study, the Yelm Community blog previously asked the city about funding the Thurston Highlands water study that became a front page story for the NVN. That story is here from February 3, 2007.
Again, using taxpayer monies to fund a private development’s water study for an EIS is an unauthorized use of taxpayer funds, because there is no recourse – there is no agreement on how/what the city is to be repaid.
From what City Administrator Badger said, we know:
“The City of Yelm has no contract, pro-rata or otherwise with the Thurston Highlands Associates for the SW Aquifer study. An agreement with the City of Yelm granting access to the property is not a binding contract telling the citizens of Yelm what share Thurston Highlands associates will pay for the $550,003 to date. Further, nothing binds Thurston Highlands Associates to pay anything, until after their EIS is underway.”
And, Mayor Harding told a lady at the City Council last year that she could not divide her property for an additional home because city policy is that “development must bring water to the table.” This lady was just short of the required water rights and her application was denied by the council.
So, why did the city accept the Thurston Highlands’ application prior to their owners providing water????
The City of Yelm is a defacto proponent of the Thurston Highlands development for accepting the application without the developers first providing water, which means the city has a conflict of interest in this case.
WHAT SAY YOU, THE YELM TAXPAYER WHO FUNDED THIS???
“McClatchy to cut 10 percent of work force”
KING-5 TV in Seattle reports:
“McClatchy Co. said Monday [June 16] it will cut 10 percent of its workforce in a move to save $70 million a year as the newspaper publisher continues to struggle to attract advertising dollars.
McClatchy, which publishes The Kansas City Star and The Miami Herald, will trim about 1,400 employees. The staff reductions are part of a plan to reduce overall expenses by $95 million to $100 million over the next four quarters.
“The effects of the current national economic downturn – particularly in real estate, auto and employment advertising – make it essential that we move faster now to realign our workforce and make our operations more efficient,” said McClatchy Chief Executive Gary Pruitt, in a statement.”
[Ed. Note: This is a huge blow to Washington State news coverage with McClatchy’s ownership of The Bellingham Herald, The Olympian The Tacoma News Tribune, & Tri-City Herald in Kennewick.]
Trader Joe’s is rumored to be considering a new store either at Gig Harbor or Olympia.
They are always looking at potential expanision sites, as explained on their website.
You can CLICK HERE and request Olympia.
” Just what is this thing we call Trader Joes? Well, were a grocery store, sure, but really so much more. Our shelves are stocked full of delicious foods and beverages from the basics like milk, bread and butter to more exotic fare like imported cheeses, organic produce and hand-tossed pizza from Italy. We taste every product before we decide to sell it, and we guarantee youll like it.*
You might expect indulgences like these to come with unbecoming prices. But at Trader Joes, were as much about value as we are about great food. In other words, we keep our costs low, cut out the middleman whenever possible and pass our savings on to you in the form of terrific everyday prices. So you can afford to be adventurous without breaking the bank,” quoting Trader Joe’s.
UPDATED AUGUST 8, 2008:
This writer finally received a return phone call from Nikki, Trader Joe’s Customer Relations Manager, who said, “we have no confirmed plans to move into that area (Olympia and Gig Harbor). We have sent a location request to the real estate department (about South Puget Sound.).
Ron Mallet, Ph.D., Professor of Physics
University of Connecticut
“Film rights to TIME TRAVELER by Dr. Ronald Mallett with Bruce Henderson — the inspiring memoir by one of Americas first African American Ph.D.s in theoretical physics who has discovered the basic equations for a working time machine — have been acquired by director Spike Lees production company, Forty Acres & A Mule Filmworks,Inc. The Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated Lee will co-write the script and direct,”
quoting Variety.
In 2007, Dr. Mallett was a two-time visitor to Yelm as speaker at Ramtha’s School; his book is available here and in Yelm at JZ-Rose.
Dr. Ron Mallett was interviewed in April on Yelm’s own by Beyond the Ordinary KRSE internet radio, where he updated his work on time travel. Dr. Mallett is a Professor of Physics at the University of Connecticut & author of “Time Traveler: A Scientist’s Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality.” He advanced Black Hole theory in the process, shared a lot more in this interview. Listen here.
TIME TRAVELER: A Scientists Personal Mission to Make Time Travel a Reality (Basic Books) is the compelling and touching story of a man whose deep childhood trauma — at age ten the sudden death of his father — drove him on a quest to build a time machine in an attempt to go back in time to save his father,” quoting the June 16th Press Release.
Dr. Mallett has also appeared in SuperConsciousness Magazine.
Click here for Yelm Cinemas showtime information.
Yelm Cinemas at Prairie Park
Photo courtesy of Yelm Cinemas’ website
YELM CINEMAS ONLY ONE OF 2 THEATERS IN WA. STATE TO DATE TO SHOWCASE LANDMARK FILM!
From the Press Release now carried by Yahoo.com:
Bloodline The Movie, the controversial documentary that rocked this years Cannes Film Festival, will come to Yelm, Wa. for a very special limited engagement June 27 July 3, 2008 at Yelm Cinemas.
Chronicling a three-year investigation by British filmmaker Bruce Burgess and his American producing partner Rene Barnett, Bloodline follows the pair as they uncover evidence sure to re-ignite the debate that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene married and had children. Taking a close look into the secret society Priory of Sion, believed to have protected the truth about Jesus bloodline for centuries, the film raises questions that will have people talking long after theyve left the theatre.
Did Mary Magdalene really remove Jesus body instead of his being resurrected as believed for centuries? Did the Knight of Templar hide the body three separate times finally laying him to rest in France? Is the shrouded corpse that was discovered with treasures in a French cave really that of Jesus Christ? Bloodline answers these and more while raising some new queries altogether.
Yelm resident and the internationally renowned founder of Ramthas School of Enlightenment, JZ Knight, has worked tirelessly with Yelm Cinemas to bring to fruition the only screening of this highly anticipated film to the Puget Sound. The films producer and director will also speak at Ramthas School of Enlightenment and host a screening for RSE students the morning of Monday, June 23, 2008. I am thrilled to be able to expose Yelm to this innovative and fascinating film, said Knight. This movie is sure to have all of Washington abuzz and spark debates nationwide.
Move over Harrison Ford, this incredible adventure is the real Indiana Jones, proclaims Fox News, while WENN calls the documentary Rivetingthe years must talk-about film.
Bloodline: The Movie will be in Yelm for a short run from June 27-July 3.
Rainier-based award-winning author Bettye Johnson
Congratulations to Bettye Johnson, who won the 2008 Independent Publishers Book Award for her book,
Mary Magdalene: Her Legacy (Living Free Press).
This year’s contest attracted over 3,100 total entries;
just over 2,500 entries in the national categories and just over 600 entries in the regional competition. Bettye’s book won in the Religious Fiction category. CLICK HERE & scroll down to #16.
Bettye’s first award was in 2006 for Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls.
