Today, the Senate voted to rule out-of-order issuing any subpoenas to call witnesses, evidence and documents in the “trial” of President Donald J. Trump, which polls show 75% of the public wanted. House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi calls senators who voted against trial witnesses: ‘accomplices to the President’s cover-up’

• Editor’s note:

+ We are witnessing a watershed moment in usurping due process!

+ Congress deserves one of the lowest approval ratings of any organization in this country.

+ What ensues is a public collapse of faith in the institutions of our federal government when 75% polled wanted witnesses, evidence, and a real Senate trial.

+ House Majority Leader (D-CA) Nancy Pelosi: “He [Trump] will not be acquitted. You cannot be acquitted if you don’t have a trial. You don’t have a trial if you don’t have witnesses and documentation and that.” Read more

+ Other highlights are below –

+ “MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance Vance and former federal prosecutor: ‘There is no longer rule of law,’ Senate has handed over their oversight ability” Read more

+ Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said “Trump may win this day, but he will not win the nation. From MSNBC. Read more

+ Former Senator Claire McCaskill says that Attorney General Barr switched the DOJ’s position on ‘putting Michael Flynn in prison,’ and that ‘there is stuff going on in the Dept of Justice that we have not seen in my lifetime … That bright line between politics and the rule of law, Trump is destroying it,'” on Hardball, MSNBC.” Read more

+ “When a lawyer for President Trump suggested to senators this week that whatever a president does in pursuit of re-election is inherently in the public’s interest, the moment crystallized fears among some of Mr. Trump’s critics about creeping presidential autocracy,” by Charlie Savage, The New York Times. Read more

+ “The phrase “75% of Americans” began trending across the United States on Tuesday [Jan. 28] afternoon after a new nationwide poll showed an overwhelming majority of American voters in support of hearing from witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

“The latest Quinnipiac University poll, released earlier today, shows that a large majority—75 percent—of voters think the Senate should allow witness testimony in the ongoing impeachment trial. Respondents appeared to have answered along party lines, with 49 percent of self-identified Republicans, 95 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of independents saying there should be witnesses,” by Christina Zhao, Newsweek. Read more

+ “The Treasury Department announced earlier this week that it was lifting sanctions on three companies connected to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska is an ally of Vladimir Putin,” by Saleha Mohsin, Bloomberg. Ed. note: They have projects in McConnell’s Kentucky. Read more

+ “In Senate trial, Trump may have gained power but lost political case”

“Analysis: It’s hard for the president to cast himself as the victim of a system that looks rigged by him — especially after GOP senators say he’s guilty,” by Jonathan Allen, NBC News. Read more

“Pelosi Statement on Senate Vote to Block Witnesses and Documents”

Click here for the Press Release.

“Thurston County school districts use levies to maintain staff, programs”

• From Thurston County School Superintendents:

“Thurston County voters are receiving special election ballots from school districts seeking approval of local funding measures for students and schools.

“In the Feb. 11 election, all eight Thurston County school districts are seeking Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) replacement levies to fund learning programs and student opportunities, maintain staffing levels, and ensure funding for day-to-day school needs such as textbooks and instructional materials. These levies are not new taxes — they all replace expiring local levies that voters approved in prior years.”

“Athletics: For Yelm Community Schools, in addition to funding the kinds of support staff listed above, the levy renewal funds $1.4 million for athletics – coaches, transportation and equipment. The state provides no funding for athletics.”

We urge you to learn more about each of our districts, our successes, and our funding needs. And we ask you all to please remember to turn in your ballots by Feb. 11!

Greg Woods, Griffin School District

Debra Clemens, North Thurston Public Schools

Patrick Murphy, Olympia School District

Bryon Bahr, Rainier School District

Kim Fry, Rochester School District

Joseph Belmonte, Tenino School District

Sean Dotson, Tumwater School District

Brian Wharton, Yelm Community Schools

Read more

Read more from Citizens in Support of Yelm Schools.

Living Waters Church campus in Yelm is now open

Yelm Campus Church of Living Water

717 E Yelm Ave. Yelm, WA 98597

Sunday 10am

Read more

“City of Yelm Honored with Distinguished Budget Award for Exceptional Budget Document”

• Editor’s note: We owe a great deal of gratitude for the professionalism and upgrades that former Finance Director Joe Wolfe brought to the Finance Department’s improvements. The lack of recognition was astonishing by Mayor Foster and City Administrator Grayum in giving credit where credit is due! The city’s loss of Wolfe was the Thurston County Auditor’s Office gain, where he is now employed.

• From the City of Yelm news release:

“The City of Yelm was recently awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for an exceptional budget document, marking the second year in a row that the City achieved this honor.

“The City first received the Distinguished Budget Award for the 2018 budget after developing a new format with narrative, charts and graphs to provide context that made it easy to access and understand. It also included the City’s first financial policies and prioritized funds to hire additional police officers, a development review engineer, construct new sidewalks to keep kids safe, and invest more resources to care for our parks and aging infrastructure. The first award-winning budget was passed with only one dissenting vote.

“The award represents a significant achievement by the City and reflects the commitment of the staff members and governing body to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.”

“In order to receive the budget award, the City had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines to assess how effectively the budget serves as a policy document, financial plan, operations guide, and communications device. Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and in the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories to receive the award. Read more

• Editor’s note: For City of Yelm leaders to continue to omit crediting Joe Wolfe for 2018-2019 Finance Department accolades is pathetic! Though Wolfe received a complaint filed by a city employee, the city’s independent investigator found the situation “inconclusive,” yet city management suggested to Wolfe he resign. Read more

“Pacific Storm Parade, Atmospheric River Could Bring Flooding, Landslides, Feet of Cascades Snow in Washington, Oregon”

Flood Watch for Thurston County in effect through Sunday morning.

Landslide potentials mount.

At a Glance

• A classic winter jet stream is set up over the North Pacific Ocean.
• This jet stream will continue to steer a number of Pacific storms to the Northwest coast.
• Repeated rounds of rain could lead to flooding in parts of Washington and Oregon.
• Feet of Cascades snow is possible, raising the danger of avalanches.
• One location in Washington state will likely tally rain every day in January.

“Through Sunday, parts of western Washington could pick up 5 to 8 additional inches of rain. Washington Cascade foothills and elevations below snow level are expected to pick up at least another 3 inches of rain,” by Weather.com Meteorologists. Read more

UPDATE: 11am

“Flooding possible this weekend as Olympia experiences top-5 wettest January on record”

“Based on current forecasts, Olympia could get 2-3 inches of rain between Thursday and Saturday night, [Dustin Guy, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Seattle] said.”

“The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for 12 counties in western Washington that will be in effect Friday afternoon through Sunday morning. It covers Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Grays Harbor and Pierce counties, as well as Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties,” by Sara Gentzler, The Olympian. Read more

Meet Rory Summerson, Thurston County Commissioner (D1) candidtae in Yelm this Sunday

Thurston County District 1 map, which covers Tenino, parts of Rainier and Yelm’s Bald Hills.

WHAT: Town Hall Meet and Greet Public Forum

WHEN: Sunday, February 2, 2020 – 3-5:30pm

WHERE: Yelm Community Center

From Elect Rory Summerson:

“Hello! I’m Rory Summerson and I’m running to serve as your Thurston County Commissioner (D1). 

“I love this county and its people, so I want to ensure we preserve our history and lands, while providing a sustainable future for our children.

“I believe we need a balanced discussion with all Thurston county citizens, especially those directly inheriting the impacts of our decisions. Together, we’ll work towards what matters most to our families: Good schools for our kids, roads and public transport that get us where we need to go, and a thriving local economy focusing on green jobs. 

“So, Join me & vote Rory! 

“Let’s create positive change in our community, together!”

#allofus #aharddayswork #unity #representation #voterory #volunteerhere

Read more from VoteRory.com.

Read more from Rory’s Facebook page.

Sponsored by Steve Klein

“Yelm’s Partnership with Regional Partners Brings Training and Resources to Help Local Businesses Prosper”

“Yelm business owners take note. A slew of resources are available through a partnership between Yelm City Hall and the South Thurston Economic Development Initiative (STEDI) to support existing businesses, budding entrepreneurs and those with just the germ of an idea for a new service or product.”

“Since 2012, STEDI’s role has been to support rural communities in growing their capacity, both at the Chamber of Commerce level and through relationships with local city administrations. “We look at what they want to accomplish and what we can do to help them be successful,” says STEDI Rural Program Manager George Sharp,” by Heidi Smith for Thurston Talk. Read more

• From the Thurston Community Alert Message:
• Update: January 28, 1:41pm –

"Tacoma Power will increase water flow from LaGrande Dam 
to 7200 cubic ft. per sec. by 4 p.m today thru Feb. 3
to manage water levels. They will be maintaining through Monday 
with the possibility to increase again if needed. 

"Nuisance (Minor) flooding expected.  Farm and pasture land may experience erosion." 

* 9:58am: 
"Tacoma Power advises they will be increasing the water flow from the LaGrande Dam 
from 2200 cubic ft. per second starting at 10:00 a.m. today and reaching 6200 cubic ft. 
per second by 3:00 p.m. to manage water levels due to significant water flow.
"They will be maintaining through Monday with the possibility to increase again if needed. 

"Farm and pasture land may experience erosion."

“City of Yelm and State Transportation Agencies Establish Plan to Lessen Traffic Impacts During More Frequently Occurring I-5 Closures”

• From the City of Yelm news release”

“In the wake of more frequently occurring traffic related emergencies that force the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to shut down I-5 for multiple hours, the City of Yelm is expanding efforts to revamp an emergency plan with regional partners, including Washington State Patrol (WSP), Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC), Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), and WSDOT to improve flow when the interstate is shut down.”

“An emergency is now defined as a closure anticipated to last an hour or longer during hours when the roadways are most active. An hour long closure between 1-2 a.m. might not constitute an emergency, while a closure from 4-5 a.m. would activate the emergency response system. Closures anticipated to last four hours or longer will also involve JBLM opening the perimeter road to add an additional lane of north or southbound traffic.”

Map Legend: 
Red= I-5 closure between Grand Mound and Lakewood with traffic impacts to Yelm.
Blue= The shortest alternate route (distance), using State Routes 507 and 510 leading through Yelm.
Teal= Alternate route for semi-trucks notified in the freight alert.
Green= Alternate route along State Route 101 and 103 but this route is less frequently used and requires a toll at the Narrows Bridge or a ferry fare further north. 

Read more

• Editor’s note: Trump’s defense is to impeach Obama, go after the Bidens, Is that it?
• Republican majorities in Congress did not go after the Bidens in 2017-2018. Why now?
• U. S. law enforcement investigates Americans, not foreigners, President America First!
• The “America First” President does not understand government to his peril.

“Trump’s impeachment trial has a lot to do with his inability to fire Marie Yovanovitch”

“There were other ways for Trump to try to get rid of his ambassador. But these stratagems required knowledge Trump didn’t have — and so he went another route.”

“The formal documents on the impeachment of President Donald Trump ring with charges of greed and betrayal. But presidents don’t get impeached only because — or even mainly because — they’re egregiously corrupt. They get impeached because they don’t know how to get what they want without violating laws, rules and norms in order to do it.

“With Trump, we have a president who regularly demonstrates he has no knowledge of the intricacies of how the government works — and didn’t think he had to learn.

“We are watching this play out now in his Senate impeachment trial. The House managers have been presenting their case of alleged corruption. But they’ve also exposed the sheer dumbness of Trump’s efforts to get the Ukrainians to produce anti-Joe Biden campaign fodder for him. Even with administration partisans, including the attorney general, in control of the Justice Department, Trump couldn’t figure out how to use the regular levers of government to get what he wanted. He had to resort to his private lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his “associates.” That was a potentially disastrous choice — and the disaster has now materialized,” by Suzanne Garment, author of “Scandal: The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics.” Read more

“Chris Hayes: ‘We do not sic foreign systems of justice on American citizens'”

“Chris Hayes says that even if Hunter Biden was suspected of wrongdoing in his relationship with Burisma, as Trump’s defense team is alleging, there’s no reason for Trump to deal with that by requiring Ukraine to investigate it in exchange for aid. ‘We do not sic foreign systems of justice on American citizens… . if there is an actual predicate for some sort of investigation, there are processes by which that is pursued,” on The Beat with Ari Melber, MSNBC. Read more

“There’s something else at stake in Trump impeachment: Control of Senate”

“President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial may not result in his removal from office, but it could help determine whether his Republicans retain control of the Senate in the November congressional elections.

“For the handful of senators who face tough re-election battles this year, their vote to acquit or convict Trump, or even to call witnesses in the trial, could loom large when voters consider whether to give them another six-year term, analysts said,” by By Richard Cowan and David Morgan, Reuters. Read more

Read more