• From Black Dawg Farm and Sanctuary:

“Welcome Animal lover!

“We provide lifetime sanctuary to unwanted & unloved animals”

“Volunteer, Donate, and Join Our Team Today.”

Click here to meet the animals.

International Sanctuary Service Accredits Rainier-Based Black Dawg Farm

COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL NEWS

+ All Thurston County School Buildings to Remain Closed This Fall Following Health Officer Suggestion

+ Yelm/Rainier commuters, the planned closure of College Street has been postponed to Aug. 7, Lacey announces

+ Voting Center at South Puget Sound Community College
Mottman Campus today, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday

+ Thurston County makes changes ahead of August 4 primary election to prevent spread of COVID-19

+ Washington jobless claims remain at historic highs as recovery slows

+ Public can comment Friday on pocket gopher recovery plan, status

+ Washington governor slams military [Navy] testing impact on orcas

+ Washington Secretary of State Responds to President’s Tweet About Delaying the General Election

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

Could a Dog Tell Whether You Have COVID-19 or Not?

Former presidential candidate Herman Cain dies of COVID-19 (Ed. Note: attended President Donald Trump’s rally unmasked on June 20 in Tulsa, OK.!)

Second-quarter GDP plunged by worst-ever 32.9% amid virus-induced shutdown

Working parents face a child-care crisis (during pandemic). Here’s how L.A. employers are handling it.

United Airlines may furlough a third of its pilots as air travel recovery stalls amid COVID resurgence

** TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY **

Trump’s Properties Are a Playground for White Nationalists, Far Right Extremists

Michael Cohen allowed to publish Trump tell-all book under new agreement

Appeals court to take new look at whether Flynn charges must be dismissed

“OPINION BY JOHN LEWIS,” in The New York Times

“Mr. Lewis, the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral.”

Click here for the full text from Rep. Lewis.

Click here for the moving eulogy by former President Obama!

• Ed. note: U.S. Surpasses 150,000 Coronavirus Deaths, Far Eclipsing Projections, pathetic from a lack of national leadership. U.S. reports 1,400 coronavirus deaths in a day — about one per minute.
• This is almost the war dead combined total from the 3rd and 4th ranked wars, 116,516 in WW 1, and 58,209 in Vietnam.
• This country was in agony everyday during Vietnam when the body bags came into Dover, Delaware, and seen on daily news shows.
• Now, all is sanitized so we do not see these 150,000 deaths, who comprised fellow citizens: mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, and friends.
• Not a word of solemnity from President Trump, no recognition, no day of prayer, no leadership in mourning the current “war” dead from COVID-19.
• And COVID-19 “war” deaths continue to mount!

COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL NEWS

+ Judge OKs effort to recall Thurston County Sheriff over refusal to enforce mask order

+ Inslee extends high-risk employee proclamation

+ Boeing slashes aircraft production, warns on further job cuts as coronavirus devastates travel

+ Boeing CEO Warns of Future Prospects

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

Young people are infecting older family members in shared homes

Global air travel unlikely to recover until 2024 as COVID remains ‘issue’ in US, elsewhere

Spirit Airlines calls June rebound an ‘outlier,’ could furlough nearly a third of staff – on flying public’s virus fears

** TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY **

Three former presidents to attend John Lewis’ funeral in Atlanta, not 45!

KING 5 poll: Trump loses support in Washington after historic low in May – An exclusive KING 5 poll suggests President Donald Trump could earn 28% of the vote in Washington in November against Joe Biden.

Trump says he has not spoken to Putin about alleged Russian bounties on U.S. troops [Ed. note: Are our troops mere collateral damage and expendable to Trump?]

Trump again targets Fox: ‘They totally forgot who got them where there are’

Pelosi mandates masks in House chamber and hallways after Gohmert tests positive for Covid-19

Arrested protesters told they can no longer attend protests – what about the 1st Amendment?

COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL NEWS

+ Inslee: Freeze on counties reopening in Washington extended indefinitely

+ Yelm Cinemas Shuts Down Again After Inslee’s New Restrictions Announced, brings back Saturday drive-thu popcorn

+ Tacos Gaby, Renowned Yelm Restaurant, Announces Closure of Restaurant, continuing catering and food truck service

+ ‘We’re Veterans Helping Veterans’: Groups Come Together to Build Path for Yelm Veteran

+ El Portal Tienda Mexicana & Carniceria now in Yelm’s Frontier Village

+ DC’s order to self-quarantine affects travelers from 27 states including Washington

+ News release: Joint response to the demobilization of federal agents in Seattle

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

More people called out sick in April than at any time on record. Was it COVID-19?

US officials: Russia behind spread of virus disinformation

** TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY **

Twitter limits Trump Jr.’s access after he shared coronavirus misinformation

Lawsuit alleges Trump campaign, fundraising committee shielded millions in payments

Yelm.com: a free resource to our community and visitors

For almost 15 years, Yelm Community Blog host Steve Klein has owned and operated the www.Yelm.com URL after purchasing the link under a contractual agreement with the seller that this would only be used for the upliftment of our community.

The website has recently been refreshed with a total make-over and upgrade. www.Yelm.com

This website is independently owned & operated and is not affiliated with the City of Yelm or Yelm Chamber of Commerce. Photographs courtesy of Rory Siegel Photography & Fine Art, © 2020.

Ed. note: I decided to use this platform to create an easily accessible site highlighting the assets of Yelm and the Nisqually Valley. No advertising has ever been accepted and the site has not and will not be monetized.

If you would like your business included, please e-mail: info@yelm.com

Steve Klein, owner, www.Yelm.com.

• Editor’s note: Below are headlines of note in the last 48 hours:

COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL NEWS

+ Yelm/Rainier commuters be aware: Beginning Friday, this section of College Street in Lacey will be closed

+ Shiplap Shop and Coffee House is open after the Sunday’s electrical fire, though no in-store shopping.

+ What you need to know about noise on JBLM this week – Expect to see more than the usual air traffic.

+ Six Ways to Safely Work and Play in the Greater Olympia Region [Yelm’s Pizzeria LaGitana mentioned]

+ It has always been Mount Tacoma. Now is the time to make Rainier name change official

+ Thurston County should open fairgrounds as a temporary home for the homeless

+ How Thurston County’s COVID-19 budget has evolved ahead of public hearing this week

+ Long Shot Indoor Range (formerly Countyline Shooting Sports in McKenna has moved into Yelm near Wal-Mart

+ You’ll be quake smarter with this free booklet if the Big One hits Washington

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

Google extends its coronavirus work-from-home order to summer 2021 [Ed. note: Cities depending on these workers to eat/shop in town are going to take a huge hit to sales tax revenue.]\

National security adviser Robert O’Brien tests positive for COVID-19

Anti-mask US senator from Ark. who called coronavirus a hoax tests positive for Covid-19

Beets Can Help Fight COVID

Sleep, Snore Product Sales Increase During Pandemic

Target joins Walmart in staying closed for Thanksgiving this year – driven by COVID

About 4,000 federal employees say they contracted the coronavirus at work — and 60 have died

‘Delta again comes out on top’ in The Points Guy’s top 10 airlines rankings for customer service and safety – Delta Air Lines teams up with RB, the maker of Lysol®, to advance Delta CareStandard and disinfection protocols

** TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY **

4 in 5 Voters Say the U.S. Is on the “Wrong Direction” Under Trump

No, the election is NOT 100 days away – it’s more like 50 days away with 39 states and D.C. offer early voting

Barr continues his retaliation against Trump critics, this time outing a Russia-linked FBI source

How Fox News may be destroying Trump’s reelection hopes

Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google in Congressional Hearing on Wednesday

America’s global standing is at a low point. The pandemic made it worse.

One question still dogs Trump: Why not try harder to solve the coronavirus crisis?

How Fox News may be destroying Trump’s reelection hopes

Rep. John Lewis joins a rarefied and distinguished group

Rep. John Lewis today became the first Black elected official to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

The only other Black people to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda were civil rights champion Rosa Parks in 2005,and Capitol Police Officer Jacob Joseph Chestnut, killed in the line of duty in 1998. Rep. Elijah Cummings who died in 2019, and was the only other Black elected official ever to lie in state in the Capitol, though in National Statuary Hall.

“WHO’S ON FIRST” IN RESEARCHING LIBRARY OPTIONS?

• Editor’s note: This is Part II of a 2 part series.
• Something is amiss that Mayor Foster did not have his Councilor DePinto’s back!
• The council has discussed several times previously that the current library facility is no longer suitable due to space limitations and excessive annual expenses.
• The council’s Government Committee was tasked with the library issues, however they have not reported any work on this subject.
• At the July 7, 2020 city council study session and July 14 council meeting, Council member Joe DePinto shared with the mayor, city administrator, council and public that he was exploring some alternatives to the current library because of an unacceptable doubling of maintenance expenses that impact the city’s budget. He was on-the-record during the councilors’ initiatives reports about his intent and received no comment or objections.
• DePinto went ahead and scheduled an exploratory meeting with Timberland Regional Library (TRL) Executive Director Cheryl Heywood along with the Bellevue owners of the Nisqually Plaza about the feasibility of the library relocating to available space there.
• DePinto said, “multiple council members have brought up the issue of high costs and lack of library updates (which is supposed to occur annually) over the past four years and it has never been addressed (which is why I took it upon myself to recently start the conversations).”
• DePinto posted on his council Facebook page that TRL Exec. Dir. Heywood backed out of the meeting at the last moment on July 16, 2020, saying instead she would be meeting with the mayor and city administrator due to precedent. Then why did she schedule the meeting with DePinto in the first place? This while the Plaza owner from Bellevue was en-route to Yelm to meet!
• I asked the Government Committee’s Tad Stillwell for comment. He said, “The General Government Committee is leading the charge on how to proceed and have had talks with the library executive about reviewing the contract and foundational documents. The Mayor and city Administrator are also involved in these ongoing conversations.” I asked Stilwell then why no there was comment and/or collaboration with DePinto? There still has been no response.
• This leads to several key questions:
• 1. Why did the Government Committee not collaborate and/or support DePinto’s outreach, or object if they had any issue? They had two opportunities at 2 council meetings.
• 2. Why were the Mayor and City Administrator silent at both sessions if they had an issue?
• 3. If the Mayor had no issue, then why did he not immediately call the TRL Executive Director and support his councilor as being authorized to gather information in meeting with her, after Foster was informed by DePinto about the turn of events?

• DePinto filed this report on his council Facebook page that reflects a lack of communication and leadership from Mayor Foster. Why does this man not have his council members’ backs? Something is amiss and one has to wonder if DePinto was “thrown under the bus.” However, if so, why?
• Playing politics on this issue does not serve the public’s interests!

• Editor’s note: Below are headlines of note in the last 48 hours:

COUNTY, STATE AND NATIONAL NEWS

+ Federal judge rejects challenge to Inslee’s emergency orders to curb spread of COVID-19

+ Republican Governor candidate Loren Culp’s Yelm rally draws hundreds, no mask, no social distancing, Yet Phase 3 max. group size allowed is 10!. [Editor’s note: Watch the COVID-19 statistics for the 98597 zip code rise withinin 3 weeks.]

+ Thurston County ends week with 93 COVID-19 cases, 2nd highest weekly total.

** CORONAVIRUS NEWS **

Fauci tells MarketWatch his one big lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — and why he won’t fly or eat out

The pandemic has closed public restrooms, and many have nowhere to go

COVID Has Increased Cases of Broken Heart Syndrome

Take the True-or-False Face Mask Quiz from AARP

25 Smart Ways to Stay Safe From the Coronavirus from AARP

The CDC, bowing to Trump, waters down its previous guidelines for school reopenings

White House Privately Warned 11 Cities to Take “Aggressive” Action Against COVID

If Your Mask Doesn’t Have Two of These, It’s Not Working, Study Says

Did Sweden Get COVID Right?

‘Hit the reset button’ | Health professionals urge US shut down again in open letter

Apple Maps now suggest self-quarantine after travel

Amid virus, uncertainty, parents decide how to school kids

Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant dies of coronavirus after attending training course

** TRUMP’S PRESIDENCY **

#AmericasGreatestMistake

Timothy Snyder, author of “On Tyranny,” talks with Rachel Maddow about how Donald Trump’s actions echo the behavior of governments that slip away from democracy and into authoritarianism. American activism is best hope to save U.S. democracy from Trump.

Fact check: Trump again tells story about being booed at 2015 event he didn’t attend

We’ll prosecute: Two chief prosecutors [Baltimore, Philly] tell Trump and federal agents to back off their cities

WaPo: A month later, this New York City primary is still a train wreck and a warning to us all. Ed. note: The election will not be decided in November and America will come to understand that.

The wealthy Republicans who want to oust Trump in November’s election 

Trump’s Use of Federal Agents in Portland May Go Beyond What Is Lawful. Here’s How We Can Get Answers About What’s Going On

Reagan Foundation to Trump, RNC: Quit raising money off Ronald Reagan’s legacy

Ben Shapiro Forecasts the 2020 Election