Latest / Sound Neighbors Podcast / Sound Neighbors Episode 2: Have Your Say (Oct 15, 2026)

Transcript

Sound Neighbors Episode 2: Have Your Say (Oct 15, 2026) · Sound Neighbors Podcast

• 0:00
  Jean: Welcome to the Sound Neighbors podcast, episode two.
• 0:03
  Jean: This is our Thursday edition for South Bay, Johnson Point,
• 0:06
  Jean: and the Greater Olympia area.
• 0:07
  Jean: I'm Jean.
• 0:08
  Tyler: And I'm Tyler.
• 0:09
  Tyler: Every story we talk about today is on the website
• 0:12
  Tyler: at soundneighbors.com with the sources linked.
• 0:15
  Jean: Here's the rundown.
• 0:16
  Jean: Tonight's school closure hearing and initiative 645.
• 0:19
  Jean: Then the Capitol Lake estuary,
• 0:21
  Jean: a data center rumor checked against the record,
• 0:24
  Jean: a scam warning, e-bike rules, ramp closures,
• 0:26
  Jean: your weekend plans, and the forecast.
• 0:29
  Tyler: It's a week with a lot of chances to speak up,
• 0:31
  Tyler: so let's get into it.
• 0:34
  Jean: First, the story straight.
• 0:36
  Jean: Olympia School District Superintendent Patrick Murphy
• 0:39
  Jean: has recommended closing three elementary schools,
• 0:42
  Jean: Madison, McKinney, and L.P. Brown,
• 0:45
  Jean: before the 2027-28 school year.
• 0:47
  Jean: The district's middle estimate puts the savings
• 0:49
  Tyler: at about $3.14 million a year.
• 0:52
  Tyler: Board policy and state law require a public hearing
• 0:55
  Tyler: at each school before the board votes,
• 0:57
  Jean: and that vote is scheduled for November 12th.
• 1:00
  Jean: The first hearing was Monday night at McKinney.
• 1:03
  Jean: Hundreds of people filled the gym,
• 1:05
  Jean: and the Olympian reported more than 50 people
• 1:07
  Jean: spoke against closing it.
• 1:09
  Jean: The teacher's union is collecting signatures
• 1:11
  Tyler: asking for delay, and one parent pointed out
• 1:14
  Tyler: that kids reassigned to Centennial
• 1:16
  would be walking along Boulevard Road,
• 1:18
  Jean: which doesn't have consistent sidewalks.
• 1:20
  Tyler: Tonight is L.P. Brown at 6 p.m. at the school
• 1:23
  Jean: on 26th Avenue Northwest and on Zoom.
• 1:26
  Tyler: You can sign up online or on-site until seven.
• 1:29
  Tyler: Madison's hearing is Monday at six.
• 1:32
  Tyler: The district's analysis says L.P. Brown has 305 students.
• 1:35
  Tyler: The building got the lowest facility rating
• 1:37
  Tyler: in a 2023 study and modernizing it would cost
• 1:40
  Jean: at least $47.7 million.
• 1:43
  Jean: Closing it would save about 1.08 million a year.
• 1:47
  Jean: Students would split between Hanson and Garfield
• 1:49
  Tyler: and the average bus ride would go
• 1:51
  Tyler: from about 18 and a half minutes to about 20.7.
• 1:54
  Jean: Tyler, where do you land on this one?
• 1:56
  Jean: I see the district's point, and I don't say that lightly.
• 1:59
  Jean: The district is trying to rebuild its reserves.
• 2:01
  Jean: Its goal is an ending fund balance,
• 2:03
  Jean: that's the money left over at the end of the year,
• 2:05
  Jean: of about 7%, or roughly $14 million, by 2028-29.
• 2:10
  State Representative Beth Doglio
• 2:12
  Tyler: and former Representative Lori Dolan
• 2:14
  Tyler: both said there's no extra state money coming to stop this.
• 2:17
  Jean: And Murphy said that if they delay,
• 2:19
  Jean: deeper cuts will be needed elsewhere or later.
• 2:22
  Jean: $47 million to modernize one aging building
• 2:25
  Jean: is a lot to ask.
• 2:26
  Jean: Those are real numbers, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.
• 2:29
  Jean: But I'm with the families asking the board to slow down.
• 2:33
  About two minutes added to the average bus ride
• 2:35
  sounds small until it's your six-year-old.
• 2:38
  And the walking route concern on Boulevard Road
• 2:40
  is a safety question.
• 2:41
  The union is asking for answers on class sizes, staffing,
• 2:44
  and services before a vote.
• 2:46
  That seems like a reasonable thing to want first.
• 2:49
  That's fair.
• 2:50
  A delay doesn't make the deficit go away, though.
• 2:52
  It moves the cut somewhere else.
• 2:54
  True.
• 2:54
  and closing a school is permanent
• 2:56
  in a way most budget cuts aren't.
• 2:58
  So I'd want every question answered before November 12th.
• 3:02
  I think we can agree on this much.
• 3:03
  The board needs to hear from people.
• 3:05
  Jean: If you can't make it tonight,
• 3:06
  written comments go to the school board
• 3:08
  at 111 Bethel Street, Northeast.
• 3:10
  Agreed.
• 3:11
  Tonight's the night to be heard.
• 3:12
  Next, the ballot.
• 3:16
  Here's initiative 645, straight.
• 3:19
  This year, the legislature passed a 9.9% tax
• 3:22
  on individual income over $1 million, set to start in 2028.
• 3:27
  If voters approve I-645,
• 3:30
  that tax would be repealed before it begins,
• 3:32
  and state and local governments would be barred
• 3:35
  from taxing individual income at all.
• 3:37
  A no vote keeps the tax on schedule.
• 3:41
  A question neighbors keep asking,
• 3:42
  does it touch your 401?
• 3:44
  Retirement withdrawals count as income,
• 3:46
  but only income above a $1 million household deduction
• 3:49
  would be taxed, not your account balance.
• 3:52
  And the Attorney General's statement says the tax breaks passed alongside it,
• 3:55
  like the sales tax exemption on diapers, would stay in place either way.
• 4:00
  Jane, what do you make of it?
• 4:01
  I can see the appeal of a yes vote.
• 4:03
  Supporters point out that Washington voters have turned down an income tax 10 times.
• 4:07
  They argue that taxes always expand, and
• 4:09
  that the legislature has moved dedicated money into the general fund 80 times in
• 4:13
  five years.
• 4:14
  A yes vote, in their words, repeals the new income tax before it begins.
• 4:19
  If you believe the line will move,
• 4:20
  you'd rather not draw it at all.
• 4:22
  I hear that.
• 4:23
  I lean the other way.
• 4:25
  Opponents estimate the repeal would cut about $13 billion
• 4:28
  over four years from schools, healthcare, and childcare.
• 4:32
  And by its own terms, this tax only reaches the part
• 4:35
  of a household's income above a million dollars a year.
• 4:38
  That's true about who pays today.
• 4:40
  The worry is about tomorrow.
• 4:42
  And opponents say any expansion below a million
• 4:45
  would have to go to the ballot.
• 4:47
  So we both land on the same idea.
• 4:49
  We do. Read both arguments in the voters' pamphlet, track your ballot at votewa.gov,
• 4:56
  and get it in by 8 p.m. on November 3rd.
• 4:59
  Quick break. Sound Neighbors is free and it runs on Value for Value. If this show
• 5:04
  helped you make sense of your ballot, you can donate on the website at soundneighbors.com.
• 5:08
  More on that at the end.
• 5:12
  Now the rest of the week's top stories. The State Department of Ecology has opened
• 5:16
  comment period on its updated environmental review of the Deschutes Estuary project.
• 5:21
  That's the plan to remove the 5th Avenue Dam and turn Capitol Lake back into a title estuary,
• 5:26
  restoring about 260 acres. The new document is a draft supplemental environmental impact statement.
• 5:33
  That's a fancy way of saying it only covers design changes since 2022,
• 5:37
  like a new berm and trail at Heritage Park.
• 5:40
  Comments are open through November 9. There is an in-person open house and hearing Wednesday,
• 5:45
  October
• 6:15
  DART points lists 11 data centers in five states, not in Washington, and the appeals
• 6:20
  details match a debate foothold in Lexington, Kentucky.
• 6:23
  In August, commissioners asked staff to bring back, back a proposal for a one-year moratorium.
• 6:28
  That's a temporary pause on new permits.
• 6:30
  But as of yesterday, the county's own page shows no data center moratorium adopted.
• 6:36
  So it's worth watching, but there's no application on-on-file here right now.
• 6:42
  A few safety notes.
• 6:44
  If you've pulled a Thurston County permit lately, watch your inbox.
• 6:48
  The county says scammers posing as a county director are emailing fake invoices and demanding
• 6:53
  payment by wire transfer.
• 6:55
  The county does not demand wire transfer.
• 6:58
  anything suspicious to permit at Thurston County WA.gov. And if you already gave out
• 7:04
  information, call the sheriff's non-emergency line at 360-704-2740. That's 360-704-2740.
• 7:15
  Next, e-bikes and scooters near schools. Under state law, regular bikes and the 20-mile-an-hour
• 7:21
  Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes can generally ride on sidewalks, but they have to yield to people on
• 7:26
  foot. Olympia bans sidewalk riding in business districts. The faster class 3 e-bikes,
• 7:36
  Plus, a white front light and a red rear reflector after dark.
• 7:56
  and the sheriff's office confirmed it received his report.
• 7:58
  His opponent, Commissioner Emily Klaus, says her campaign has lost signs too.
• 8:03
  No arrests has been reported. Removing or defracing lawful political signs
• 8:07
  is a misdemeanor in Washington. Whoever you're voting for, leave the other side's signs alone.
• 8:12
  Drivers, two closures. Tonight from 9pm to 5am, WSDOT is closing the ramps from US-101
• 8:19
  and from Deschutes Way onto northbound I-5 in Temwater for pavement repairs.
• 8:24
  Detours will be signed. Then Friday from 8am to 3pm, the southbound I-5 exit to Pacific Avenue,
• 8:30
  Exit 107, is closed for maintenance. The northbound exit stays open.
• 8:34
  Schedules can shift with the weather so check the WSDOT app before you go.
• 8:41
  Two community notes. If a cherry limeade on Cooper Point Point Road is part of your routine,
• 8:47
  today's the day. A sign of the West Olympiasonic says it closes permanently
• 8:52
  today, October 15th. The general manager told the Olympian a potential buyer was coming to look, so
• 8:58
  it may not be the last word. The Lacey Sonic on Martin Way stays open.
• 9:03
  For a lot of us out on the point, Lacey was already the closer one.
• 9:06
  And downtown is saying goodbye to Dean Jones, who ran Encore Chocolates and Teas on Fifth Avenue
• 9:12
  with his wife Carla for 15 years. Before that, they ran four seasons books in the old Carnegie
• 9:18
  library building for 14. He was president of the Olympia Downtown Alliance and was named
• 9:23
  Downtown Person of the Year in 2023. He died October 2nd at 83.
• 9:28
  He once called taste testing the hard part of the job. That tells you a lot about the
• 9:32
  man. It really does. The shop has reopened with
• 9:36
  a space for customers to share condolences. Now you're weakened. Friday night at 6,
• 9:44
  The Olympia history and haunted walking tour meets on the boardwalk near the Olympia Oyster
• 9:48
  House at Percival Landing. It's about 90 minutes, $30, and all outdoors. Comedian
• 9:54
  Gary Goleman is at the Capitol Theatre at 8.
• 9:57
  Also Friday, Olympia Family Theatre opens The Luna Sisters of Element, a family play
• 10:02
  set during Dia de los Huertos at 7 on 4th Avenue East. There are matinees Saturday and
• 10:08
  Sunday at 3, and masks are required at the Sunday show.
• 10:12
  Every night, the Washington Center has the happiest concert on Earth, a Disney tribute
• 10:16
  benefit at seven. And the Crypt on Fourth Avenue has Fern Spores with OK Tiger and Fox
• 10:22
  and Bones at eight. Tickets are $12.
• 10:25
  Sunday at one, the Olympia Film Society Kids Club Movie at the Capitol Theatre is free
• 10:29
  for kids 12 and under. And the Farmer's Market on Capitol Way has live music Thursday
• 10:34
  through Sunday, 11 to 2.
• 10:36
  As always, confirm with the organizer before you go.
• 10:39
  weekend forecast from the National Weather Service for Olympia. Friday looks mostly sunny and warm
• 10:45
  for October with a high near 74. A chance of rain moves in Friday night after 11, about 40 percent,
• 10:51
  with a low around 52. Saturday is partly sunny and cooler, with a high near 64 and just a slight
• 10:58
  chance of a shower before 5 p.m. Then it gets chilly. Saturday night drops to around 37 under
• 11:04
  partly cloudy, skies. Sunday is partly sunny with a high near a 61, and Sunday night is mostly cloudy
• 11:11
  with a low around 38. So if you're doing the haunted walk Friday, you're in luck. Just bring
• 11:17
  a real jacket for Saturday night. And maybe dig out the flannel sheets. That's your Thursday.
• 11:23
  This is the Sound Neighbors newsletter, South Bay and Johnson Point edition. Hyper local news
• 11:28
  for the South Sound community.
• 11:31
  One last reminder, this is a Value for Value podcast.
• 11:34
  The news is free, no paywall ever.
• 11:36
  If you get value from the podcast or the website, send some value back.
• 11:41
  That can be a note with a tip or an event, a financial donation, or just sharing the
• 11:45
  podcast and the website with a friend.
• 11:47
  You can donate any time on the website at soundneighbors.com.
• 11:51
  Every bit helps pay for the reporting, the podcast, and the site.
• 11:54
  Tonight's hearing, the estuary comments, your ballot.
• 11:58
  This was a week of chances to have your say.
• 12:00
  We hope you take one.
• 12:01
  I'm Tyler.
• 12:02
  And I'm Jean.
• 12:03
  Have a great weekend, neighbors.
• 12:04
  Jean: And be kind to each other, even when you disagree.