OLYMPIA –– A video posted on Facebook shows a man being beaten over the head during a protest outside Olympia City Hall on July 12, during which he bled profusely before fainting and receiving medical care. more

LACEY - City officials in Lacey examined the six-year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) Thursday night to review city-wide transportation projects. more

OLYMPIA –– The Olympia City Council approved on Tuesday a plan to address homelessness, which officials called the “One Community” Healthy, Safe & Housed Plan. more

LACEY –– The Lacey Planning Commission reviewed a proposal that allows and establishes standards for buildings up to 500,000 square feet in size in the Light Industrial-Commercial (LI-C) zone. more

OLYMPIA –– The Olympia City Council voted Tuesday night to pass a resolution that authorizes Olympia police to use chemical dispersion methods in crowd control efforts. The chemical dispersion agents are the third such exception to a city prohibition on less-than-lethal agents law enforcement can use on mobs and violent crowds who destroy property or set fires. The resolution passed by the city council took effect immediately.  The vote comes days after Olympia police officers were said to have been instructed to stand down from responding to property damage calls. Business owners downtown told JOLT earlier this week that a pack of vandals smashed five business’ windows late Saturday night into Sunday morning.  There were no arrests made despite the fact that six windows were broken at The Pet Works on Fourth Avenue East and Adams Street.  more

OLYMPIA -- The Olympia City Council approved a local artist, Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, to complete a street art crossing artwork installation on Eastside Street. more

OLYMPIA – Beginning Wednesday, July 8th, the Thurston County Auditor’s Office will mail voters’ pamphlets for the August 4, 2020 Primary Election to all households in Thurston County. more

THURSTON COUNTY –– The county’s acting public health officer, Dr. Diana Yu, stepped down from her role yesterday to resume retirement, beginning the transition to a new role for the county’s newest public health officer, Dr. Dimyana Abdelmalek. more

THURSTON COUNTY –– County Public Health Director Schelli Slaughter and business figures from the community gathered in a virtual meeting Thursday to discuss the resources available to local businesses responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and resources available to local businesses if the pandemic continues to worsen in the greater Olympia metro area. more

TUMWATER –– The Port of Olympia’s impending New Market Industrial Campus lease option came up for air again last night, this time in a Tumwater City Council meeting that saw some city council members expressing concern over whether or not the Port should develop that property. more

Say hello to Madeline Shannon, our new Managing Editor, who started with us earlier this month. Madeline’s in charge of determining what news to cover here.  She writes much of it … more

OLYMPIA –– A large crowd came out to downtown Olympia last week to celebrate the life of Yvonne McDonald, a local Black woman who died under mysterious circumstances in Aug. 2018. more

LACEY –– Some of the City of Lacey’s government buildings and offices will start reopening today under modified hours now that Thurston County is moving into “Safe Start” Phase 3. more

THURSTON COUNTY –– As parks in the greater Olympia area start to open up under “Safe Start” Phase 3, government officials are starting to spread the word about what to do to stay safe while enjoying local parks. more

OLYMPIA –– The actor Sacha Baron Cohen, famous for movies like “Borat” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” was widely reported on social media to be an uninvited participant in the “March For Our Rights” rally in Olympia on Saturday. more

LACEY –– Lacey officials decided Thursday to extend the city’s state of emergency over COVID-19 to the end of the year. more

OLYMPIA ––The Olympia School District (OSD) released the beginning of a Fall 2020 reopening plan this week, which reflects several efforts to remain flexible as the expected second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic plays out in the coming months. more

THURSTON COUNTY –– Thurston County got the green light from the Washington Secretary of Health on Tuesday to move into Phase 3 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Safe Start” plan. more

LACEY –– In an effort to revisit the city’s urban forestry plan, Lacey officials on the Land Use Committee talked about how they want to further develop the city’s trees, tree canopy and urban forest, as well as solve challenges posed by the city’s urban trees. more

With death and infection counts seeming to steadily increase, Gov. Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health John Wiesman today announced a statewide mandatory face covering order effective Friday, June 26. … more