Yelm’s City Councils of the last 20 years have all had majorities that were weak and/or “rubber-stamped” the mayors, lacking responsibility of Executive branch oversight, costing taxpayers in the millions!

Yelm’s Mayor has a maximum contract limit without going to the council of $35,000. Any contract over that amount must be directed by the Yelm City Council via an Action item in a public meeting. Yet Foster unilaterally signed a contract for $2.1 million dollars.

+ Seattle’s Foster Garvey was hired as the law firm to advise the city on resolving the L.I.D.’s foreclosure.

+ Foster Garvey Attorney Steve DiJulio gave a complete overview Nov. 23 to Yelm’s council.

+ The key part of the presentation was DiJulio’s response to a question put to him by Council member and Mayor-elect Joe DePinto.

+ DePinto asked if Mayor Foster had the “blanket authorization” to sign into the Dec. 2017 L.I.D. contract regardless of the amount.

+ Mr. DiJulio responded that he understood his firm, in working with the city, had the authority to proceed with that $2.1 million contract, which Foster signed. Who gave him that idea? Foster?

+ Yelm’s Mayor has a maximum contract limit without going to the council of $35,000. Any contract over that amount must be directed by the Yelm City Council via an agenda Action item in a public meeting.

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+ The Yelm Protocol Manual states the Council’s authority is to approve contracts: 2.02 A 1e, “Summary of Council Duties and Responsibilities as Provided in, but not Limited to, the Washington Administrative Code and Revised Code of Washington, Establish Policy, Approve contracts.”

+ RCW 42.30.070, “No governing body of a public agency shall adopt any ordinance, resolution, rule, regulation, order, or directive, except in a meeting open to the public.”

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+ Attorney DiJulio said, “The question is whether or not the mayor had authority independent of the council to implement the council’s direction in July 2016, is a question that the city will ask internally.” DePinto said Foster perhaps would speak to it – yet Foster said nothing! Click here for the video, start at 1:44.

+ Where are the voices of the other council members in doing their job of oversight in asking Mayor Foster why he signed a $2.1 million contract independent of the council!

+ If this council remains silent through the rest of Foster’s term (ending Dec. 31st), then the State Auditor should be informed for an investigation into the council not doing their job of oversight.

BOTTOM LINE:

DiJulio’s answer was correct, as he and his law firm do not adjudicate the council’s responsibilities in oversight of the city’s Executive branch.

Mayor Foster has continued to remain silent on why he did not follow the RCW and the Yelm Municipal Code.

The Yelm City Councils of the last 20 years have all had majorities that were weak. The minority of council members that wanted to hold Mayors Rivas, Harding and Foster accountable have always been overridden by a majority of councilors wanting to keep the status quo. This has cost the city dearly in the cumulative millions of dollars in poor decisions borne on the backs of local taxpayers.

With Mayor-elect DePinto’s state legislature experience, he understands the process of governing. A new dawn is arising here.

The time has come for a directive to be issued that each and every council member read the Yelm Municipal Code (YMC) cover to cover, plus council’s duties and responsibilities as outlined in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW).

Yelm is now a city of over 10,000 people, and the new council needs to take governing seriously, and follow their number one responsibility – oversight!

+ UPDATE: November 30, 2021 from the Nisqually Valley News:

“Foster signed to receive the deed of the property in December of 2017, acquiring the 640 acres in lieu of the then property owner’s delinquent LID contributions, in addition to about $1.8 million that went into the LID fund.

“According to public record, Foster did not seek council approval of the move at that time, which resulted in the city owing money into the future for the property’s LID contributions. Because of this, DePinto raised the question of whether the council actually needed to have approved the allocation of the 640 acres, a question the council will have the opportunity to address if it sees fit.” Read more

==========

• Editor’s note: I post news about Trump on this blog because so much of his party is still influenced by his attempt to control the outcome of future elections, subverting voting rights, and even democracy itself.
• This story should serve as a cautionary warning published in The Washington Post:
• Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges
• Democracy is coming to an end in this country when election integrity has been corrupted right down to local governments. The 2022 elections will be the bellwether of that occurring.
• All authoritarian rulers have used this very playbook for centuries to overthrow the will of their people.

*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM MONDAY ***

+ KING-5 TV: Sea-Tac Airport sees up to 150% increase in holiday travelers over 2020 – An estimated 1.5 million travelers would mark a 150% increase over 2020 at Sea-Tac

+ CNBC: [Seattle-based] Amazon poised to pass UPS, FedEx in U.S. deliveries by early 2022, exec says

+ The [Centralia] Chronicle: Commentary: State Is Painting Lipstick on Its One-of-a-Kind, Long-Term-Care Law

*** NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL NEWS FROM MONDAY ***

FOX News: Arizona university students demand administration to ‘withdraw’ Kyle Rittenhouse: ‘killer off our campus’

MSNBC’s The Reidout Blog: Ahead of the 2022 elections, Facebook’s toxicity is rearing its head again – A recent report outlined executives’ refusal to take aggressive action against hate speech.

The Washington Post: Twitter CEO and founder Jack Dorsey is stepping down

The Washington Post: Barbados to cast off Queen Elizabeth II, declare itself a republic

Daily Beast: Book: Charles Questioned Skin Color of Meghan & Harry’s Baby

Daily Kos: Jill Biden’s beautiful White House Holiday Charming Decor!!! See the Photos!

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM MONDAY ***

AP: Biden vaccine rule for health workers blocked in 10 states

NBC News: Biden administration won’t take action against unvaccinated federal workers until next year

NBC News: Merriam-Webster chooses vaccine as the 2021 word of the year

CNBC: Biden says he doesn’t expect more travel restrictions or lockdowns as Covid omicron variant spreads

CNBC: Moderna CEO says it will take months to clear a new Covid vaccine targeting omicron

CNBC: Pfizer CEO confident Covid treatment pill will be effective against new variant

CNBC: As the omicron variant spreads across the world, here’s what we know so far

CNBC: South African doctor who first spotted the Covid omicron variant says symptoms seem ‘mild’ so far

The Olympian: Are COVID boosters needed? Another study finds protection wanes after 2nd Pfizer shot

*** TRUMP NEWS FORM MONDAY ***

CNBC: Jan. 6 committee to vote on criminal contempt referral for ex-Trump DOJ official Jeffrey Clark

The Washington Post: Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country, spurring fears about future vote challenges [Ed. note: Democracy is coming to an end in this country when election integrity has been corrupted right down to local precincts!]

Slate: Schiff: Jan. 6 Panel Likely to Decide This Week on Meadows Criminal Contempt Charges

Daily Beast: QAnon Hero Michael Flynn Secretly Said QAnon Is ‘Total Nonsense’

Daily Kos: Majority [60%] of Republicans want a Trump 2024 run, but he’s practically toxic to everyone else

Daily Kos: NBC News finds gentlest way possible to say Donald Trump will try to steal 2024 election

MSNBC’s Maddow Blog: New Covid variant leads to new Republican conspiracy theory – The omicron variant should lead to questions about transmissibility, severity, and vaccines. Ronny Jackson went in a very different direction.

Salon: Republicans Who Backed Trump Tax Cuts Now Accuse Democrats of Slashing Taxes for Rich

Truthout: Trump May Win in 2024 If Democrats Keep Derailing Their Own Agenda

CNN via MSN: How long can Mitch McConnell ignore Donald Trump?

=======================================================

• Editor’s note: The sudden and unexpected passing of Stephen Sondheim on Friday, Nov. 26 at age 91 shook Broadway and stages around the world. As has been said by many, there will never be another lyricist and musician like Sondheim.
• Kennedy Center Honors: Stephen Sondheim honored in Dec. 1993. Click here for the tribute video.
• CBS News Sunday Morning Video: Patti LuPone one-on-one with Stephen Sondheim: In 2020 Patti LuPone (star of the new Broadway revival of “Company”) spoke with musical theater legend Stephen Sondheim for “CBS Sunday Morning,” to discuss his craft, his favorite character, and his college acting career. With the passing of Sondheim on Friday, November 26 at age 91, we offer their conversation – and her appreciation of Sondheim’s artistry.
• CBS The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: Sept. 2021 interview- Stephen Sondheim Is Still Writing New Works, As “Company” Returns To Broadway
• DNYUZ: Days Before Dying, Stephen Sondheim Reflected: ‘I’ve Been Lucky’ – his last interview 5 days before his passing.
• And who could forget the video tribute to Sondheim on his 90th birthday during lockdown: “The Ladies Who Lunch” with Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski & Audra McDonald”
• R.I.P. Stephen, and thank you for what you gave the world – an honest refection of the human condition.

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*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND ***

+ CBS News 60 Minutes: How hazing led to the death of WSU fraternity pledge Sam Martinez. Anderson Cooper reports on the events of the night and how the fraternity responded.

+ The Olympian: South Sound escapes flooding from ‘atmospheric river’ – Experts say flooding continues to be a risk as rainfall is expected to continue through Thursday morning.

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND ***

The Washington Post: New data shows Merck’s experimental covid-19 pill is less effective than early results predicted

CNBC: Covid developments to rule the market once again in the week ahead after Friday’s rout

The Guardian (UK): Omicron variant detected in Canada as Fauci warns two weeks needed to study new strain

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND ***

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Donations to exonerated former Missouri inmate top $1 million on Thanksgiving, while Missouri gave him nothing after wrongly incarcerating him for 43 years

CNBC: Black Friday shopping in stores drops 28% from pre-pandemic levels as Americans stay home

The Hill: GOP eyes booting Democrats from seats if House flips

*** TRUMP NEWS FROM THE WEEKEND ***

MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes: Lawyer who tried to overturn Trump loss appointed to U.S. election board – Lawyer Cleta Mitchell was on the infamous Trump phone call trying to bully Georgia officials into overturning the election. Now she’s advising the agency responsible for making elections more secure.

Daily Kos: Republicans are desperate to believe 2020 was ‘stolen’ from Trump. Nothing will dissuade them

Truthout: Trump Has Already Laid the Groundwork to Subvert the 2024 Election

Rolling Stone via MSN: Trump Was ‘Fact Free’ During Briefings, Says Former National Intelligence Director

Rolling Stone via MSN: Michael Cohen: Trump Pulled Off the ‘Greatest Grift in U.S. History’ [Click here for the full interview on NBC’s Meet The Press.]

Business Insider: Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen said the investigators looking into the Trump Organization could ‘indict Donald Trump tomorrow’ and be successful [Ed. note: Cohen completed his incarceration and home confinement last week.]

Daily Kos: QNuts falling out of love with Kyle Rittenhouse

Rolling Stone: Trump’s disgraced national security advisor said in a recorded phone call that the Q movement was “total nonsense” created perhaps by the CIA to “make people look like a bunch of kooks”

About Giving Tuesday:

“GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

“Join the movement and give – each Tuesday and every day – whether it’s some of your time, a donation, or the power of your voice in your local community.

“It’s a simple idea:  whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts and everyone has something to give.“

Click here for donation options in the Yelm area.

“Everyone has something to give and every act of generosity counts

“Be a part of the global generosity movement and celebrate all acts of giving.”

Bloodworks NW Pop-Up Blood Drive

Pop-Up @ Yelm Community Center
301 2nd Street SE,  Yelm, WA
November 30 & December 1

Schedule your appointment HERE

*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM FRIDAY ***

+ The Olympian: Out and About: Welcome winter, warm up with ‘Tea’ or hear Advent music

+ NVN: Yelm’s Christmas in the Park Parade Canceled

+ JOLT News: Seattle-based startup is creating an interactive map of Puget Sound

+ American Red Cross: Continues to respond to severe flooding and support displaced families throughout Western Washington – How you can help!

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM FRIDAY ***

The Washington Post: Santas are also in short supply this year, which leads to some intriguing alternatives

The Washington Post: Apple iOS privacy settings to change now – How to make your iPhone and iPad as private as possible

The Daily Beast: How This Attorney General Beat Trump 40 Times in Court

Newsweek: Neutrino Signals Detected at Large Hadron Collider for First Time Ever

CNBC: Oil drops 13% in worst day of 2021, breaks below $70 as new Covid variant sparks global demand concerns

AARP: The Definitive Guide to Reducing Robocalls – Follow these steps to cut back on calls everybody loves to hate

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM FRIDAY ***

The Defender: NY City Teachers Back in Court to Argue City’s COVID Vaccine Mandate Policy Violates Constitution

The Hill: Bannon pushes for documents in court case to be released

The Los Angeles Times: Socking Trump’s enablers where it counts — in their wallets

Small Business Saturday from American Express is Nov. 27th

+ South Sound Talk: Yelm Chamber Launches Holiday Campaign to Celebrate the Season and Promote Shopping Locally

“If you’re looking for holiday spirit in Yelm this year, it won’t be hard to find. From a winter market and Selfie Spots to a “Keep the Cheer Here” campaign to support local businesses, the season will be in full swing as of November 27, also known as Small Business Saturday. Yelm Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Line Roy hopes Yelm shoppers will take advantage of the many specials and promotions local companies are offering and make Yelm their first stop when it comes to holiday shopping.

““Keep the Cheer Here” will run from November 27 through December 22. Anyone who shops at a local small business can submit their receipt to the chamber for a chance to have their entire purchase of up to $200 reimbursed. Drawings will happen once a week. “We did this last year and had a ton of entries,” says Roy. “It was really fun.” Local shoppers can also win prizes by posting a photo of themselves at one of the many Selfie Spots at businesses around town.”  

Read more

*** REGIONAL NEWS FROM THE HOLIDAY ***

+ Save the Yelm Historic Water Tower non-profit: Click here for the video of the final restoration look and acknowledgements.

+ The Olympian: ‘Tacoma needs its own beer’: How Heidelberg Beer came home after a 40-year vacation

+ JOLT News: Thurston County residents share overwhelming support for county-wide Home Fund, which would add a 0.1 percent increase to sales taxes everywhere in Thurston County except in the city of Olympia, with funds earmarked for affordable housing.

+ Gizmodo: The Pacific Northwest Faces Second Damaging Atmospheric River in a Week – A week removed from heartbreaking flooding, another fire hose of precipitation is slated to hit British Columbia

+ The Olympian: Thurston, Port commissions agree to expand to five members each next year – if the county population reaches 300,000.

+ Prestige Senior Living Rosemont Yelm: Named Best of Nisqually Valley for Seventh Year

*** VIRUS NEWS FROM THE HOLIDAY ***

The Defender: Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines ‘Dramatically Increase’ Heart Attack Risk, Renowned Cardiologist Warns –

Click here for the abstract.

CNBC: Germany’s death toll has now surpassed 100,000 but the country’s incoming, new coalition government is resisting a lockdown, for now.

*** NATIONAL NEWS FROM THE HOLIDAY ***

The Washington Post via Truthout: This Tribe Helped the Pilgrims Survive for Their First Thanksgiving. They Still Regret It 400 Years Later.

The Washington Post via MSN: Rep. Greene introduces bill to award Congress’s highest honor to Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two men

MSNBC Opinion: America’s democracy is failing — and the world knows it. Where does America turn when its democracy is in distress? Sweden’s International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) — pointed to the “visible deterioration of democracy” in the United States on several criteria.

EPA: Released Final Biological Evaluations for Glyphosate, Atrazine, and Simazine, that all of these chemicals may affect, and are likely to adversely affect, certain listed species or their designated critical habitats

CNBC: Sitting out the season: A record number of Americans say they won’t be buying holiday gifts this year

The Washington Post: Pentagon will track unexplained airborne objects through new intelligence group

*** TRUMP NEWS FROM THE HOLIDAY ***

Truthout: Rally Organizers Used Burner Phones to Talk With Trump Officials on January 6

Newsweek: Roger Stone Claims Ex-Trump Aide Katrina Pierson ‘Deeply Involved’ With Jan. 6 Violence [Ed. note: So Stone really does know more than he has stated!]

The Guardian (UK): Lara Trump claims pricier turkeys are a liberal plot against Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving Day message was first published here in 2009:

THANKSGIVING DAY has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863 & became a federal holiday in 1941. President Lincoln issued this proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving on October 3rd, 1863, which is as pertinent today as during the Civil War to heal our nation’s wounds:

By the President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln
A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.

Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State
Read more

– America the Beautiful sung by Hillsdale College’s Choir (Michigan)
“Written by Katharine Lee Bates and composed by Samuel A. Ward, “America the Beautiful” is one of the most well-known and beloved American patriotic songs. The song celebrates the natural beauty and the “patriot dream” of the United States.

Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.”
Click here for the video.

– America the Beautiful sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Click here