One of my greatest memories, and that which separated South Sounders from others, is berry picking. Every kid during the 1950’s and 1960's picked berries.  As soon as school let out in … more

OLYMPIA, May 22, 2020 - Two firetrucks and a batallion from Olympia Fire Department remained on the scene of the fire that destroyed the Quality Inn on Quince St., 21 hours after it was reported just … more

OLYMPIA - Fri., May 22 - The Quality Inn at 1211 Quince St. SE was substantially destroyed last night by a fire that started at approximately 12:01 a.m.  Approximately 80 guests were … more

OLYMPIA - Thu., May 21- Thurston County's Board of Health is set to meet Friday, May 22 at 8:30 a.m. about whether to apply to the state to move to Safe Start Phase 2 re-opening rules. This board … more

The Journal of Olympia, Lacey & Tumwater and The Daily JOLT are published by The JOLT News Organization, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 87-2868827. Our mission: The JOLT News … more

Alexis Rae Baker -- Lexis@theJOLTnews.com -- has written the "Advice from A Lexis" column each Monday in The JOLT  since December 2020.  She grew up in Thurston County and earned her … more

Danny Stusser -- danny@theJOLTnews.com -- is the publisher of The JOLT and executive director of The JOLT News Organization , its nonprofit owner. He has been a news junkie since age 12 when he … more

Ken Balsley is Thurston County's most experienced journalist and columnist.  He has published "Ken's Corner" in several different local newspapers.  He's done it on the air for several local radio stations - currently KGY FM 95.3 and has published it in his blog "Ken's Corner & The Real News" which can be found at  kenbalsley.com. He has been in the media, journalism, radio, social media business for 49 years.  more

Linda Villegas Bremer grew up speaking Spanish in Mission, TX.  The first member of her family to earn a college degree, she worked in a series of progressively more challenging consulting and … more

Janine Gates has published more than 500 articles covering land use in Thurston County, local government, social, economic, racial and environmental justice, business, politics, and individuals and organizations making a difference in the blog she started in 2009, Janine's Little Hollywood. She lives in her 1914-built house in Olympia. more

Meta Hogan has been a promoter of local and citizen journalism since 2001, when she started as a copyeditor at the Cooper Point Journal.  She founded the Voice of Olympia street newspaper in 2003, actively participated in the heyday of OlyBlog, and co-owned and published Olympia Power & Light newspaper 2009-2016. more

Bob Jacobs describes himself as a "full-time advocate for good government and a positive future."  He served on the Olympia City Council and as mayor of Olympia from 1993-1999. Surrounding those years he was a policy and budget analyst for the states of Washington and Alaska.  He owns and manages residential rental properties, serves on non-profit boards and is a U.S. Army veteran. more

Jenna Mason was born in Pennsylvania where she studied Broadcast Journalism at Penn State University. She moved to Olympia in 2015 to study environmental journalism through videography at The Evergreen State College, graduating in 2018. She is a digital media producer, operating Jenna Mason Media LLC. She is also the Outreach & Digital Media Consultant for Olympia Community Solar.  more

Eileen McKenzieSullivan retired in April 2020 after serving for 24 years as Executive Director of Senior Services for the South Sound, a  multi-program agency serving older adults in Mason and Thurston Counties. She decided as a teenager to dedicate her life to working with seniors. After earning a BA in Sociology/Social work at Seattle University she began a career in geriatrics, working in Alaska, Iowa, Seattle and finally Olympia. Eileen and her husband live near Tenino. more

Paul Pickett enjoyed a long career as an environmental engineer, retiring in 2019 after 30 years with the Department of Ecology.  He is a consultant for the Squaxin Island Tribe. He has served as a Thurston Public Utility District Commissioner and a Thurston Conservation District Supervisor. Paul taught water management and climate change at The Evergreen State College and has written articles for local and national publications. He lives with his wife in Thurston County, along with cats, chickens, blueberries, fruit trees and noxious weeds. more

Graeme Sackrison is serving his second term on the board of North Thurston Public Schools. Following two years on the Lacey Planning Commission, Graeme spent thirteen years on the Lacey City Council, six as Mayor. A graduate of North Thurston High School, he attended Centralia Community College and Western Washington State College. After college graduation, he served four years in the U.S Air Force.  He worked for the Employment Security Department for 28 years. Graeme’s married with a daughter, a granddaughter and great-grandson. more

Bill Will is Industry Growth & Development Coordinator for Solar Installers of Washington, a trade association. He is a former newspaper reporter and editor and was executive director of Washington Newspaper Publishers Association from 2005 to 2014. He lives in Olympia. more

Bill Will is Industry Growth & Development Coordinator for Solar Installers of Washington, a trade association. He is a former newspaper reporter and editor and was executive director of Washington Newspaper Publishers Association from 2005 to 2014. He lives in Olympia. more

Bill Will is Industry Growth & Development Coordinator for Solar Installers of Washington, a trade association. He is a former newspaper reporter and editor and was executive director of Washington Newspaper Publishers Association from 2005 to 2014. He lives in Olympia. more

Who is behind The JOLT?     STAFF   Allie Baker Publishing Associate   Alexis Rae Baker grew up in Thurston County and earned her Bachelors Degree at The … more