“People have a right to privacy in the text messages they send from their phones, even if they can’t know for sure who might be reading them, Washington’s Supreme Court held in two related cases Thursday [Feb. 27].”

“Writing for the majority in both cases, Justice Steven Gonzalez said the men had an expectation of privacy in the content of their text messages, just as they would have if they sent a sealed letter or made a phone call, and that Washington state residents have an expectation that their text messages won’t be read by police without a warrant.

‘Text messages can encompass the same intimate subjects as phone calls, sealed letters and other traditional forms of communication that have historically been strongly protected under Washington law, Gonzalez wrote.”

“The U.S. Supreme Court is due to hear arguments in April about whether police are allowed under the U.S. Constitution to search a suspect’s cellphone without a warrant…. Washington’s Constitution is considered to be more protective of privacy than the federal Fourth Amendment, which prevents unreasonable searches and seizures, quoting the AP.
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Editor’s Note:
This is a huge victory for in the protection of expectancy of privacy and rights of all citizens in this state.

Alaska Airlines President
& CEO Brad Tilden
Photo Courtesy: Seattle-based Alaska Air Group, Inc.

“The CEO of Alaska Airlines has written a letter to Arizonas governor asking her to veto a bill that would add protections for people who assert their religious beliefs in refusing service to gays.

The governor faces a Saturday deadline to either sign Senate Bill 1062 or use her veto stamp.

‘We believe the proposed legislation, regardless of its intent, will have a chilling effect on travel to Arizona and negatively impact the states economy in other says,’ wrote Brad Tilden. ‘This divisive law implies that all are not welcome, that diversity is not tolerated, and that a healthy business climate is an acceptable sacrifice to special interests,'” quoting KING 5 TV News in Seattle.
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UPDATE:
“Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, vetoed a bill that would have given business owners the right to refuse service to gay men and lesbians on religious grounds”
Read more from The New York Times.

“States with the most and least electric cars”
“Washington leads the list, while Mississippi is last and last to register a Tesla Model S.”
“Which state bought the most electric vehicles in 2013? Hint: It’s not California.”

“According to vehicle registration data from Polk, Washington and Hawaii were first and second in EV market share. California, despite its large population and some of the strictest environmental laws in the country, ranked third from January to November of last year,” by Douglas Newcomb on MSN.
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Source: Polk, Edmonds.com

Editor’s note:
This writer stills proudly owns the very first Nissan Leaf registered in the 98597 zip code.

During the Public Comment section of the Yelm City Council session this evening, area property owner and resident Steve Craig presented a petition representing signatures from 32 business owners in downtown Yelm against the City of Yelm’s plan to move ahead and relocate the skatepark from Yelm City Park to city land across the street, a site these business owners would like to see used for additional parking.

This is significant because this now demonstrates that this Blogger Steve Klein is not the only source expressing concern that there has been no public process, no public forum and no Town Hall on any of these Park proposals, including moving ahead on a Community Center after two failed Park Bond ballots.

No one is against Park improvements, rather the issue continues to be the way that the public is omitted from these decisions, even after Harding went on-the-record in the NVN on November 7, 2013 saying the public WOULD be included in further Park plan discussions.

Stay tuned for more, as this is sure to get heated and again demonstrates Mr. Harding’s disregard for the public process, discussed ad-nauseum here, due to such incessant behavior from City Hall for nigh a decade.

Click here for the video of Mr. Craig’s passionate presentation and comments to Mayor Harding including, “The natives are restless.”

UPDATE: February 28, 2014
Steven Wyble penned this front-page, top-of-fold story in the Nisqually Valley News:
“Skate Park Plans Breed Controversy”
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Editor’s Note:
The attacks against Raw Milk sold in this country is out of control.
This story below is pertinent locally because raw milk has been sold here at the Yelm Food Co-op for many years, where Dungeness Valley Creamery products are proudly sold.
I have visited the Creamery and used their products for almost a decade!

“The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) frequently cites raw milk as a leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks and deaths. The problem is, if you look at the actual data, you will not find any deaths linked to raw milk in the US. Even illnesses linked to this food are minimal, and far lower than those from the CDC-approved and supported pasteurized milk.

By continuing to publish misleading data about the illnesses (or rather the lack of illnesses) linked to raw milk, an educated consumer cannot help but view the CDC as biased against raw milk and in favor of industrial dairy.

The latest case of data massaging is especially blatant, signaling that either the CDC is becoming even more brazen in its attacks or is beginning to get worried that raw milk is catching on”

“CDC-Reported Raw Milk Deaths Were Not from Raw Milk,” quoting Dr. Mercola.
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UPDATE: March 13, 2014
“Milk with more fat may help you lose weight, not gain it”
From KING-5 TV News Healthlink.
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– UPDATE: March 28, 2014
“Thomas Massie Introduces Bipartisan Raw Milk Freedom Legislation”
By Thomas Masse.
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– UPDATE: April 8, 2014
“The War On Raw Milk”
Read more from Nelson Hultberg is a freelance writer in Dallas, Texas and the Director of Americans for a Free Republic.

– UPDATE: May 27, 2014
“The Raw Milk Crackdown on the Most Peaceful Among Us”
By Dr. Mercola.
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Excellent story by John Dodge in The Olympian:
” About one-third of the Thurston County population lives in a rental home, duplex, apartment or mobile home. Some of those units are drafty, moldy energy hogs that generate big utility bills and very little comfort.

Finding ways to improve energy efficiency and healthy living conditions in the rental housing stock of the region is both a great opportunity and a great challenge.”

About 85 energy experts, landlords, renters, government officials and other concerned citizens gathered at the Thurston County Public Health and Social Services office Thursday afternoon to explore some market-based incentives that would entice landlords to make energy investments in their rental properties. Key sponsors of the symposium were the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild and Thurston Energy, which is the energy conservation arm of the Thurston County Economic Development Council.

The conversation was candid.”
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JZ Knight teaching at her Fresh Air Event, January 2014
Copyright 2014. JZ Knight. Used with permission

37 yeas ago last week, in 1977 on the third Sunday in February, Feb. 20, Ramtha first appeared to JZ Knight, which began a journey in bringing knowledge to the world, making Yelm and Thurston County recognized internationally as a seat of spiritual work.

Knight and her staff traveled to Mexico this week to begin their first foreign stop on Ramtha’s 2014 World Tour.
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Blog writer Steve Klein has been employed by RSE for 11+ years and a Yelm resident for 25+ years.

The featured documentary, Unwasted: The Future of Business on Earth, presents the alluring ideal of zero waste as a key element of the sustainable business model. While some may shake their heads thinking this an impossible task, its worth remembering that mankind had a zero waste lifestyle up until about 100 years ago.

There were no plastic wraps around the food you bought, and virtually every scrap, be it fabric, paper, wood, or metal, was repeatedly reused; creatively refashioned into new products. The same cannot be said for our modern way of life…

‘Businesses around the globe produce nearly as much waste as they do product — almost 110 million tons annually in the US alone.

Washington State spent more than 500 million dollars on waste disposal, recycling, and composting in 2009. But what is the real cost to business and the community?’ the film asks,” quoting Dr. Mercola.
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“The Nisqually Indian Tribe on Friday will dedicate the first phase of the Nisqually Public Safety Complex, a $20 million facility that includes a 288-bed detention building to serve the tribe and other regional jurisdictions.

The dedication ceremony, which includes tours and lunch, is set for 10 a.m. at 11702 Yelm Highway SE, Olympia.

The first phase of the complex, which also includes space for tribal law enforcement, will employ about 80, such as corrections officers and administrative and maintenance staff, Nisqually Tribal Chairwoman Cynthia Iyall said Thursday [February 20, 2014].”

“The Lacey Police Department is one of several jurisdictions that will use the new jail to detain misdemeanor offenders; felony offenders are sent to the Thurston County Jail, Chief Dusty Pierpoint said.” [Yelm, as well].

“Construction took about a year, but in that time several residents in the area voiced their opposition to the project, feeling caught off guard by the complex and concerned about its effect on property values, safety and traffic, or that the new county jail the Accountability and Restitution Center still sits empty.

‘Instead of jumping on the matter like they (the commissioners) did with the pocket gopher, they could have just said no as soon as they found out and stopped the Nisqually jail in its tracks,’ Paul Capra of Olympia wrote in a letter to The Olympian last year.

But Commissioner Sandra Romero replied in her own letter that its not that simple.

The county cannot regulate what happens on sovereign tribal trust land, she said,” quoting Rolf Boone in The Olympian.
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Editor’s note:
Commissioner Romero IS correct- this IS the Tribe’s sovereign land!

Matt Drudge

“Matt Drudge, owner and publisher of the Drudge Report, recently tweeted a cryptic warning to his readers, Have an exit plan. Here is how Susan Duclos reported the story in BeforeItsNews.com:

“First of all, most of Americas pastors and churches are doing nothing to help their people make commonsense preparations for any number of looming disasters. In fact, they are fueling the passiveness and indifference most people are drowning in. In the second place, the establishment media is deliberately hiding and obfuscating the truth. In the third place, too many politicians are so consumed with their own lust for wealth and power, that they would do anything to keep the American people in the dark. And, yes, some of them are actually ignorant themselves and are immersed in their own darkness. And, beyond that, the American people continue to turn their backs on honest political candidateswho know whats going on and would truly make a gallant effort to turn the ship of state aroundand elect the same kinds of establishment elitists (regardless of party) who only want to maintain the status quo.

Ladies and gentlemen, this party is almost over. The charade is about to be exposed. Whether it be by divine judgment or the natural result of all of this corruption and graft (probably both), America is going to be forced to pay the bills. And its not going to be pretty.

Government agencies are not buying up millions of rounds of hollow-point ammunition for target practice. First it was the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), then it was the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), then the Social Security Administration (SSA), then the Department of Education (DE), then the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and now its the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Thats right. The Post Office is making mega-purchases of ammunition,” quoting Charles “Chuck” Baldwin.
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