What’s more important than the national election?

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Last night it became official: the gray hairs in my beard are now 51%, overcoming the struggling-to-remain-relevant brown hairs, now down to 49%.

This is the day after the 2020 General Election, a day in which many details, such as who will be the President of the United States after January 20, remain not determined. This unsettled business is troubling to many people, including me.

People here in what DC Beltway people call “The Other Washington” are justifiably concerned about what will happen if the guy we didn’t vote for wins the election. What will happen to social security payments, judicial appointments, human reproductive issues, environmental policies and more will certainly affect all of us, one way or another. These topics have been discussed and distorted and promoted beyond any prior campaign, with more than $1 BILLION spent on television advertising alone.  

Despite what happens in the other Washington, please consider that it’s what happens here in Lacey, Tumwater and Olympia that affects our lives each day.

  • Did the city build the promised new park, or do my kids have to play in the street?
  • Did every police officer get the de-escalation training that has proved in other cities to reduce tensions?
  • Has the city’s review of its policies measurably improved the lives of our most vulnerable neighbors?
  • Have the vandals continued to damage buildings?
  • When will Timberland re-open its libraries here?
  • Where is that new Italian restaurant?
  • What’s that new building on Martin Way going to be?
  • What does (name a non-profit organization) really do, anyway?
  • What’s the difference between the (you name it) policy in Tumwater School District vs. North Thurston Public Schools?
  • What happened to all the trees on that corner?
  • Look at what this 15-year-old girl (or boy) has done!
  • When will the construction be finished on Capitol Boulevard?
  • Is there really a concert this Sunday? 

Answers to these questions bring cultural competence to dwellers of our cities. Professionally written news stories about these and similar topics are aimed at providing accurate, useful and entertaining information, what journalist Tom Stites calls “civic nourishment.”

Like high quality food, this kind of nourishment costs more to produce than the fast-food variety of news you’ll find on mass-produced “news” sites, especially non-partisan news service, which seeks to get both or many sides of controversial stories. I’m not complaining about the cost, just pointing it out for your consideration.

We’re committed to making the local news we write and product available without charge.  That doesn’t mean it’s free for us – we pay our writers. Soon we’ll be inviting our readers to make voluntary contributions to our work. Now that the political campaigns are behind us, if the pandemic hasn’t hurt your personal finances, I hope you’ll consider diverting a few dollars each month to help us to continue nourishing our communities. 

Danny Stusser is publisher of The Journal of Olympia, Lacey  & Tumwater .

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