Shows / The Olympia Standard
Episodes
The Olympia Standard#105: Do we want to close Madison and McKenny schools?
We have been slow rolling through a very large discussion on school closures since last summer. We sit down with three different community members on how we…
The Olympia Standard#104: New City Council member Robert Vanderpool
Robert Vanderpool just started his job on the Olympia City Council. So, to get to know Olympia’s new policy-maker, we asked him some questions about…
The Olympia Standard#103: The Multifamily Tax Exemption and You
We conducted a couple of interviews about how the Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) impacts the city in terms of growth, housing affordability and finances. We…
- The Olympia Standard
#102: Jess Tourtellotte-Palumbo (with Howard Rosenfeld)
Today we hear from Jess Tourtellotte-Palumbo, a candidate for Olympia School board. Interviewing Jess is Howard Rosenfeld, an old friend of the podcast who is…
The Olympia Standard#101: We’re Doing It Live!
We brought back host emeritus (and newly crowned friend of the podcast and I suppose city council member) Dani Madrone! We were also joined by Olympia city…
The Olympia Standard#100: What is Olympia doing about homelessness?
In the primary part of this episode, we visit with Darian Lightfoot, who is leading the City of Olympia’s response to the homelessness crisis. She talks…
- The Olympia Standard
#99 Where are all the state offices going?
In the first half of this episode, we sit down with Yvonne Knutson (Office of Financial Management) and Maurice Perigo (Department of Enterprise Services) to…
- The Olympia Standard
#98: Sine Die with a Housing Twist
Today we’re doing our traditional Sine Die (end of the legislative sesssion) episode, but with a Housing Twist. The Olympia Standard sits down with…
- The Olympia Standard
#97 Housing history in Olympia and setting the stage for the state legislature
The state legislature is about to act on statewide zoning reform that would adopt much the same policy that we’ve been passing in Olympia for years now…
- The Olympia Standard
The Lacey Standard
This is a non-numbered, out of the ordinary episode of the Olympia Standard. Ken Balsley passed away last week, and I thought it would be okay to share a…
- The Olympia Standard
#96: Maria Flores, Talauna Reed and the Olympia School Board
The Olympia School Board filled a vacancy in November by choosing Talauna Reed, a vocal activist and candidate for mayor last year city council last year. In…
- The Olympia Standard
#95 Olympia Strong and building an economically resilient city
As a community, we have been through a lot in the last three years economically. What path the city’s economic future will take will depend a lot on a…
- The Olympia Standard
#94 OlyWA Days of Change
Between 1960 and 1980, Olympia and Thurston County went through a massive change. From a sleepy timber town with a state capitol building, Olympia grew (and…
- The Olympia Standard
#93: Inspire (the) Olympia (Standard)
We have a small election coming up, so here is your small-ish episode about what people in Olympia will have to vote on. We talk to one of the people behind…
- The Olympia Standard
#92: Update on right wing protests
Download the episode With a large right wing protest planned for the Capitol Campus this weekend (Saturday, March 5), it is a good time to check in with David…
- The Olympia Standard
#91: Facing Racism at Capital High School
Just over a month ago, a racial slur shouted at a River Ridge High School basketball player spread over social media, and then into the mainstream. This…
The Olympia Standard#90: Special Bonus Election 2021 Episode: Wendy Carlson and Sarah DeStasio!
We decided that two elections episodes were better than one! We sat down with Wendy Carlson and Sarah DeStasio, who were involved in the Primary Election and…
- The Olympia Standard
#89: 2021 Election – “Be curious, not judgemental”
It’s been a while since The Olympia Standard has been on the air – but we’re back again in time to talk about your ballot for the 2021…
- The Olympia Standard
#88: The 2021 Primary Election
With primary ballots reaching mailboxes, Emmett joined forces with the folks of Olympia Pop Rocks, Jemmy Joe and Guire McGuire, to walk through the…
- The Olympia Standard
#87: Legislative Update with Jessica Bateman
For this year’s legislative update, we pulled the newest member of our state delegation for the 22nd district, “Friend of the Podcast”…
- The Olympia Standard
#86: Black History in Thurston County
Dr. Thelma Jackson has been living in Thurston County for over 50 years, arriving here from the deep south where she lived through Jim Crow. She shared with us…
- The Olympia Standard
#85: Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland is our new representative in Congress, along with the rest of the 10th district; from Shelton to Puyallup, and Tenino to part…
- The Olympia Standard
#84: Give the State Heck
Denny Heck is no longer serving us as our representative in Congress, but he is serving every person in Washington as our Lieutenant Governor. We chatted with…
- The Olympia Standard
#83: A new member on the Olympia City Council
With one of the members of the Olympia City Council moving up to the Legislature, a new person was recently appointed to represent us. In this interview, Yến…
- The Olympia Standard
#82: Economic Crisis and Recovery
Right before the pandemic shut down our community, we spoke with Mike Reid, the Economic Development Director of Olympia, about how our local economy was…
- The Olympia Standard
#81: Our 2021 Agenda
What will 2021 bring on The Olympia Standard? This episode is what we hope to talk about the in the year to come. We’ll continue to bring racial justice…
- The Olympia Standard
#80: Building on racial justice in the New Year
As we leave behind 2020 and look forward to the new year, we spent some time reflecting on the racial justice movement that has swept the nation and Olympia…
- The Olympia Standard
#79: An update on local Democrats
Until the moment this podcast was posted, Victor Minjares has been serving as the chair of the Thurston County Democrats. We talked with him about the impact…
- The Olympia Standard
#78: kwedigwsaltxw: Walk with Gratitude
One of the things that makes Olympia such a special place are the people who have lived here long before it was called Olympia. The Steh-Chass band of…
- The Olympia Standard
#77: 2020 Election Recap
What were the results of the 2020 election cycle? Let’s walk back through the ballot and find out what happened. This episode was recorded the day before…
- The Olympia Standard
#76: The Ballot for the 2020 General Election
This year, ballots have already hit your mailbox, several days earlier than usual. If you haven’t yet received your ballot (or haven’t yet…
- The Olympia Standard
#75: Women of Color on your Local Ballot
In years past, we’ve done candidate interviews for each local race, with both candidates speaking side-by-side. For a few reasons, we’re taking a…
- The Olympia Standard
#74: An Indigenous View on Climate Change
Many communities are preparing for a changing climate. The Squaxin Island Tribe, whose land on which the city of Olympia is located, has been studying how…
- The Olympia Standard
#73: A Future of Economic Justice
What does economic justice look like? Megan Matthews, the Engagement Manager at the Department of Social and Health Services, has been engaging with the…
- The Olympia Standard
#72: A look into Olympia high schools
On our last episode, we explored safety and justice in the Olympia school system from the perspective of a middle school teacher. We’re now looking at a…
- The Olympia Standard
#71: Safety and Justice in Public Schools
Continuing the conversation on racial justice in Olympia, we turn to public schools. Courtney Jarmon, who teaches science at Washington Middle School, shared…
- The Olympia Standard
#70: A Public Defender Talks Justice
Protests from the Black Lives Matter movement have dramatically changed public discourse. Those who have been advocating for a new vision for safety and…
- The Olympia Standard
#69: Voting for Judge and Commissioner
The two races for local government on the primary ballot in Thurston County are for Superior Court Judge and County Commissioner. What should voters be…
- The Olympia Standard
#68: Your Primary Ballot
Our primary ballots have arrived in our mailboxes! Haven’t received yours yet? Contact the county auditor. In this episode, we go through the ballot with…
- The Olympia Standard
#67: Talking Trash
Literally, on this episode we are talking trash! Steve Gilmore, with Republic Services, joined us to talk about what happens to our waste once we drop it in…
- The Olympia Standard
#66: Who are the people with guns?
Recently in Olympia, we’ve been experiencing an intimidating culture shock that have left many wondering: who are the people with guns? To answer this…
- The Olympia Standard
#65: A Landlord, A Tenant Lawyer, and Rental Housing
With 53% of our population living in rental housing, Olympia is a majority renter community. On top of that, there are far too few rental homes in our city…
- The Olympia Standard
#64: How to Save Local Journalism
Local journalism is struggling to survive, including our own newspaper, The Olympian. This was true before the pandemic, and has intensified in the crisis. Yet…
- The Olympia Standard
#63: Will James and the Outsiders Podcast
Before COVID-19, many in Olympia were engrossed in the Outsiders podcast. This production from KNKX and The Seattle Times delved into the issue of…
- The Olympia Standard
#62: Legislative Update with Laurie Dolan
What did Olympia bring to the Legislature? And how will the state impact our lives in Olympia? Here is our annual update on the legislative session! This year…
- The Olympia Standard
#61: The County takes on a Pandemic
Over a month into a declared state of emergency, Thurston County health officials are working hard to respond to COVID-19. We spoke with Schelli Slaughter, the…
- The Olympia Standard
#60: COVID-19 Hits Olympia
The past few weeks have turned life in Olympia on its head. In this episode, recorded remotely in our homes, we share some updates from our lives and our…
- The Olympia Standard
#59: Cooperative Business and Housing
What makes Olympia uniquely situated to support cooperatives? Maybe it’s because we’re home to the Northwest Cooperative Development Center, which…
- The Olympia Standard
#58: Economic Development
A few of the questions we received from our listeners for our 2020 agenda are about Olympia’s economy. We invited Mike Reid, the economic development…
- The Olympia Standard
#57: The 2020 Census
A new decade, a new census! Every ten years, the federal government completes a count of all the people living within the US borders. We interviewed Amy…
- The Olympia Standard
#56: Opioid Response
In June 2018, the Opioid Response Task Force started to develop a plan to address the opioid crisis in the county. This plan was approved by the Thurston…
- The Olympia Standard
#55: Our 2020 Agenda
What’s in the works for The Olympia Standard in the coming year? We asked our listeners to send us their ideas and questions on issues they’d like…
- The Olympia Standard
#54: Exit Interview with Steve Hall
Steve Hall worked for the city of Olympia for over 30 years, recently retiring as our city manager. When someone leaves a position of employment, exit…
- The Olympia Standard
#53: Homelessness in the City and County
This episode focuses on the response to the crisis of homelessness, both in the city and across the county. We interviewed Keylee Marineau, the county’s…
- The Olympia Standard
#52: Behavioral Health
Publicly funded behavioral health, including treatment for mental health and substance use, is rapidly evolving. We interviewed Mark Freedman and Joe Avalos of…
- The Olympia Standard
#51: Election Results and What Now?
We took a dive into the results of the election and what they mean for our community. Emmett plugged the precinct data onto maps for the port and mayoral…
- The Olympia Standard
#50: Immigration and ICE
On issues of immigration, most people are paying attention to the southern US border. To highlight how these issues impact our own community, we interviewed…
- The Olympia Standard
#49: Ballot Review and School Board
Your ballot is waiting in your mailbox today! In this episode, we review all the state and local measures you will vote on. We also interview Maria Flores, who…
- The Olympia Standard
#48: Port of Olympia Candidates
Dani has returned to the show as we continue our interview with candidates that will appear on the Olympia ballot. On this episode, we interview Joe Downing…
- The Olympia Standard
#47: Mayor of Olympia
Abby Spegman joins us one more time to interview Nathaniel Jones and Cheryl Selby, candidates for mayor of Olympia. We add a few more questions to the mix…