Sustainable South Sound - Living Local

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By Joe HyerOur Buy Local South Sound par-

ent, Sustainable South Sound, is nearly 25 years old. The term Sus-tainability has been used, overused, mis-used, maligned , praised and so much more that it’s hard to know now what we mean when we say it. We’d give you the Wikipedia definition, but it goes on for 5 paragraphs with 38 links to other terms to better define it, and we don’t have that much space, nor do we want to confuse you.

Social movements must be as sim-ple as possible, if they are meant to truly take root, become habits, and eventually get engrained into our

Join us, be a LOCALIST! Summer 2015 / Volume 1, Issue 1A Publication of Sustainable South Sound

daily lives. Sustainability issues are often so BIG that applying them to our local world is a challenge. Trans-lating how our actions make a difference is impossible to see. We get caught up- and proverbially lose the forest for the trees.

Localism, on the other hand, is intuitive. Smaller actions fit in. See-ing results, benefits, and the WHY behind our actions if far easier. Buy local. Bank local. Eat local. Shop local. Choosing the localest options possi-ble. Apparently, I just invent a word – localest. Meaning the most local. Let me illustrate. YOU can be a Local-ist. Eating food grown in your backyard is the localest. Eating food from the Farmer’s Market is the next localest.

We warn you, however, that it’s not quite as easy as it seems. I shop in my local grocery store, Ralph’s Thriftway. But I will not by shrimp there. I don’t eat shrimp from Indone-sia. That’s halfway around the World! Gulf Shrimp, Mexican Shrimp – that I will do. It the localest I can find. Some would say I shouldn’t eat shrimp at all, and only shellfish from Puget Sound. That indeed would be the absolute localest- but I love shrimp. And bananas, which don’t grow here.

So there is complexity, and lots of choices. Where ‘sustainability’ seems to be more of a fixed state- Localism is a continuum. A process. A contin-ual movement towards a goal. We focus on the choices, actions and efforts, not the end state that may never be reached.

Even our own ‘Buy Local’ pro-gram expands dramatically when you think in terms of Localism. We don’t think of banking as something we buy. But banks refer to their vari-ous accounts as ‘products’. We pay a monthly fee for many of them. We are ‘buying’ – but we often don’t see it that way. We pay for accounting and financial management services- but we don’t think of that as ‘buying’ things, even though it DOES matter if you do business with a local firm or a national behemoth. It’s the local firms that support our museums, theatres, youth clubs, and so much more. Even in the service sectors – a preference for local tangibly matters.

Our new publication is called ‘Liv-ing Local.’ Our goal is simple- promote the concepts of Localism so well that they become ingrained as habits regionally, and we eventually change the name of the paper to ‘The

Localist.’ We thought about starting out that way – but we don’t think our community is ready yet to go that far. First, we want hundreds, then thou-sands, then tens of thousands, and finally hundreds of thousands of local citizens to declare themselves Local-ists- that’s when we know it’s time to change the name.

Many of the stories you will find in this issue are squarely aimed at helping you become more Local in your choices. Learn about local man-ufacturing with our member feature on Alaffia. Terri Thomas shows us the best way to reduce food waste- don’t create it. Follow Emma Margraf as she shows us you don’t have to globtrot to be a tourist- we’ve got amazing places right here in our region too. We’ve got features on eat-ing local, how to conserve water, and more. For future issues, we will explore the importance of Banking local, local health care options, grow-ing independent business

Living Local is just one of many new initiatives to promote Localism by Sustainable South Sound. Soon, you will see us tabling at community events to promote the changes and habits needed. You will see programs for specific business sectors to get us more locally oriented. The annual Coupon book will stay- but we will add an APP to help you support local businesses year round. We’re going to partner with the Northwest Eco-builders Guild to promote innovative and green building practices and methods that will make the world better for all. Yep- being a localist directly impacts global sustainabil-ity. It’s true. If you want to save the world- be more local.

There’s another aspect of Local-ism we haven’t addressed yet- Local History, Culture & Identity. We are, however, actually addressing these areas square on. Look at our feature

on Arts & Culture as an economic driver. This is squarely about build-ing our local culture and identity. Many of our local tourist opportuni-ties we write about add thread to the tapestry we call history. It is hard to be a Localist if you don’t know who you are. Or rather, who we are.

There’s a particular project in the planning stages in Thurston County that many art not yet aware of, but could be a vital and key piece to our local history and identity. For many years, the City of Olympia got its water from McAllister Springs. The springs themselves, and the pond and area around is incredibly peace-ful, beautiful, and nestled right in the upper Nisqually Delta. The City recently moved to a wellfield nearby- so what will happen to the Springs?

Historically, the Creek is Medi-cine Creek, because legend holds the Springs have healing qualities. It is a sacred place for the Nisqually, and other tribes. The Nisqually Tribe actually made another kind of his-tory- supporting the City’s water rights transfer to the wellfield. City and Tribe, working together to solve the region’s water needs. Part of that deal is the preservation of the Springs site, and potentially re-opening it to the public.

We, like the indigenous peoples who have been here thousands of years, are people of the water. Water fuels our lives, our economy, and is the center of so much we do. It defines us as much as we define it. The future of McCallister Springs – well that’s a pure exercise in celebrating Local-ism, if you ask me.

So friends, step up now and become a Localist! Rip out the signup form on Page 15 and mail it in, or go online to www.sustainablesouth-sound.org and click on the link. Support the movement- and it will support you long into the future.

“Localism describes a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and local identity. Localism can be contrasted with regionalism and centralized government, with its opposite being found in the unitary state.” - Wikipedia

SUSTAINABLE SOUTH SOUND

Kirsop Farm

Localism Defined...

2 LIVING LOCAL Summer 2015

Living Local is a quarterly publication of Sustainalble South

Sound designed to educate, inspire adn promote Localism thoughout

the region. Living Local is published by the Buy Local

South Sound Program.

PUBLISHER & EDITORJoe Hyer

[email protected]

PRODUCTION MANAGER & GRAPHIC DESIGNHeather Antanaitis

[email protected]

ADDITIONAL GRAPHIC DESIGNChristine PhilippsenType & Style Design

ADVERTISING SALES Heather Antanaitis

Kate O’DonnellDinea Norrell

Louise MorganWhitney Bevelacqua

CONTRIBUTORS Joe Hyer

Emma MargrafSarah Hanavan

Terri ThomasRachel Freidman

PHOTOGRAPHYDinea DePhoto

ON THE WEBSustainableSouthSound.org

COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, LETTERS TO THE EDITOR?

CONTACT US [email protected]

NEXT ISSUES LIVING LOCAL

FALLSeptember 2015

WINTERNovember 2015

Living LocaL

Rachel Friedman, Sustainable South Sound

Board PresidentThank you for reading Living

Local, the first publication of Sus-tainable South Sound (http://www.sustainablesouthsound.org) and Buy Local South Sound. I hope that you find a lot that interests you, learn something new and take a new action (visit a local business new to you, or subscribe to become a Localist).

Sustainable South Sound is thrilled to introduce this new publi-cation which will be delivered to households throughout the county 4 times a year. Living Local stems from the mission of Sustainable South Sound of continuing the transforma-tion of our community into a model of sustainability through education, advocacy, action, and celebration. Buy Local South Sound, one program of Sustainable South Sound, serves to strengthen our local economy by keeping money circulating in our region. Until recently, Buy Local South Sound has primarily produced a coupon book filled with bargains from local, independently owned vendors and service providers throughout the county.

In this issue, we are introducing the concept of “localism”. Localism

supports local production and con-sumption of goods, and promotion of local culture and local identity. For example, one type of localism sup-ports local food networks, such as farmers’ markets, community-sup-ported agriculture, community gardens, farm-to-table programs, food cooperatives, and restaurants that serve local food. As you read the articles, see the advertisements and use the coupons, you will notice that everything revolves around the local-ism theme.

I am very interested to receive feedback on our new adventure. I value your input and ideas. You can reach me at: [email protected].

Thanks so much for reading,

Rachel Friedman

President’s Message

By Joe HyerAround the United States, the

‘Buy Local’ movement traces back decades- it began right after national chains were created, and began to put local companies out of business. Education was needed – both for businesses and for customers. Local businesses needed to learn new ways to compete, market and operate in a global marketplace. Customers needed to understand the impor-tance of shopping local. With that, a movement began.

Our own Buy Local program traces back to Marie Poland, who founded Olympia’s Buy Local more than a decade ago. What began as a handful of local merchants and a photocopied coupon book has grown and developed into a program with over 130 member businesses, 1500 annual coupon book sold, its own newspaper (debuting right….here), and a great deal of passion for sus-tainability issues. Scratch that- Localist issues.

Marie retired from the program in 2013, and long-time community activist Matthew Green was hired to steer the program. In late 2014, how-ever, Matthew was offered a job he could not refused, in the middle of growing into ‘Buy Local South Sound’. The Coupon Book was mid-stream, the sales staff was recruiting members, and the parent of Buy Local, Sustainable South Sound, had to act quickly or they would lose much of the building momentum.

A Sustainable South Sound Boardmember, longtime treasurer, and yes, Community Activist Joe Hyer stepped forward to ‘manage’ things for a few months to get the book out and get to year end. At this point the story’s author is growing uncomfortable speaking about him-self in the third person, so this article is about to shift tense. Watch out, you may feel some vibrations.

It took me two months as ‘interim program manager’ to tell the Board of Directors that if they didn’t want to keep me in 2015, they would have to fire me. Instead, they got fired up. Small businesses are fighting not just for the owner’s livelihood, but for their very lives out there. One of mine didn’t survive. Others did. When you look around our region, at the amaz-ing group of entrepreneurs who own businesses and have the passion, guts and drive to succeed, you can’t help but get excited. Buy Local South Sound, born many years ago, is now the chief proponent of LOCALISM in our region.

With the board’s support, I am taking steps to make Buy Local (and LOCALLISM) a year round program. Sure, there’s a coupon book, but there’s so much more! Why? To better support our local businesses of ALL types. There are many business sec-tors we underserve, and some we don’t serve at all. We want to you to Buy Local – but also to bank local, eat local, dine local….etc etc etc. Local-ism is about all aspects of our lives, and we intend to make localism an everyday term.

Living Local is our latest way to promote the principles of localism, and offer our members a way to advertise locally. This publication is supported by its advertisers – so please, visit them, use their coupons, and thank them for supporting the movement. I am being selfish here too – we have some great stories planned for the Fall issue, but need to keep the advertisers on board. So yeah- tell them you read it, thank them for supporting it, and we will focus on writing great stories.

On this page is our most current list of supporters. Almost all are member businesses. A few are sup-porters who sell the book and agencies advertising in this publica-tion. As a whole, they constitute our members and supporters. Now indi-viduals can add their names to the list – see Page 15 to become a Localist. If you have a local business and aren’t listed- well please contact us and we will show you the value you get in joining.

While it is all part-time, we have a great staff at Buy Local South Sound. I (Joe Hyer) serve as program man-ager. Heather Antanaitis is both our sales manager and graphic designer for this publication. Dinea Norrell is our Lead Sales Professional, as well as art director for Living Local, man-aging our photography needs. Kate O’Donnell does a little of everything- sales, office management, and ya know, things that just come up. Our longest serving staff member, Louise Morgan, has moved into a new posi-tion- so yeah, as we head into Fall and the coupon book, we are looking for 1-2 new staff members to do sales and member support. Interested? Contact me at [email protected]

And remember this summer ….

Be Local!

BUYLOCAL

2015 MembersThank you for your Support!!A+ Pest ControlA2Z Building SolutionsAbby’s Cookies & CupcakesAlaffiaAlways Safe & LockArchibald SistersArt House DesignsBagel BrothersBamboo & YouBatdorf & Bronson Coffee RoastersBayview ThriftwayBeauty TempleBelleza RopaBlue Heron BakeryBoston Harbor MarinaBrotherhood LoungeBurial GroundsCafe LoveCapitol FloristCasa MiaChildhood’s End GalleryCity of Olympia - Parks, Arts & recCoffee NewsCrain’s Office Supply Curry in a Hurry Darby’s Cafe Dinea De Photo Dingle Bay ArtDirty Dave’s Pizza ParlorDockside Bistro & Wine BarEastside Big TomEastside Smoke CompanyEastside Urban Farm & Garden CenterEncore Chocolates & TeasEnterprise for EquityEZ Foods OlympiaFarm Fresh NWFertile GroundFinder’s Keepers Antique MallFlourish in OlympiaFossilwearFull Circle BowenowrkFurniture WorksGardner’s Seafood and PastaGraphic CommunicationsGull Harbor MercantileHarlequin ProductionsHeart of WellnessHeritage BankHoly Lamb OrganicsHot ToddyHot Yoga OlympiaIntercity TransitIon EcobuildingIron Rabbit Restaurant & BarJensen LawJinjorKAOSKirsop FarmLarsen’s Auto RepairLast Word BooksLola Lifestyle BoutiqueLOTT Clean Water Alliance/ WET CenterLucky Lunchbox, TheLuken’s Tree PreservationMadeline’s Bavarian WurstMeconi’s Italian SubsMetroMix 96 FMMotion in Balance StudioNative Plant SalvageObee Credit UnionOld School PizzeriaOly KrautOly Power & LightOly Rock Fish Grill Olympia Copy & PrintingOlympia Credit UnionOlympia Downtown AssociationOlympia Family TheaterOlympia Farmer’s MarketOlympia Federal SavingsOlympia Film SocietyOlympia Food Co-opOlympia Gear ExchangeOlympia Little TheatreOlympia Supply CompanyOlympia, Lacey, Tumwater Visitor and ConvOlyphant Art SupplyOrca BooksPanowicz JewelersPARC FoundationPeacock VintagePet Works, ThePoppet OlympiaPremiere SalonPsychic SisterQuality Renovation & CarpentryRalph’s ThriftwayRed Creek Apparel & PromotionsRed Door InteriorsRising River FarmRosser ChiropracticSarah Goodwin @ Jamie Lee & Co.Smart Barn, TheSmart Energy TodaySmith Design Studio/Small Building CoSouth Sound SolarSwing CafeTapestry Garden and FarmTattered TreasuresTCTVTerry’s AutomotiveThe Commons at Fertile GroundThe Evergreen State College BookstoreThe GoodLife Health Foods, INC.The Healing Center of OlympiaThe Spa at Orchard HouseThree Magnets Brewing CompanyThurston County Solid WasteTimm’s Tree CareTraditions Cafe & World Folk ArtTugboat Annie’sTumwater Automotive/Tumwater Auto SpaType and Style DesignUrban OnionVibrant Health of OlympiaVic’s PizzeriaVivalaWarehouse Rock GymWashington Center for the Performing ArtsWSECU

SOUTH SOUNDWho Are We Anyways?

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3Summer 2015 LIVING LOCAL

By Emma MargrafSouth Sound is home to a bustling

manufacturing industry. The Port of Olympia makes it easy for goods to be shipped in and out across the world. Of what the Economic Development Council calls three of the ‘core indus-try clusters’ here in the Pac5 region (Thurston, Lewis, Pacific, Mason & Grays Harbor Counties) – food manu-facturing, wood products manufacturing, and chemicals &

plastics manufacturing – companies engaged in those industries had total combined sales of $10.9 billion in 2011. There is a wide range, from production of wood pallets to soda to soaps and beauty products thousands of people are employed in manufac-turing jobs in the South Sound.

Seventy employees work at Alaffia in Olympia, and 500 employees work for Alaffia in West Africa, making sustainable skin care products that are distributed nationwide. Alaffia

was co-founded by Rose Hyde and Olowo-n’djo, who met while Rose was serving in the Peace Corps in Togo. They fell in love, move to the US and married. They went to school in Cali-fornia but wanted to move to Washington to establish Alaffia, where Rose grew up. They chose Olympia because of it’s proximity to the Port and access to highways, and because they felt like the community atmosphere was the right one to begin their work and create a

Alaffia staff in Olympia, WA. Photos courtesy of Alaffia

Alaffia Co-founders, Olowo-n’djo & Rose Hyde.

connection between the United States and Togo.

Alaffia considers itself the culmi-nation of a partnership of two communities—one in Olympia, Washington and one in Togo, West Africa. Each community impacts the organization and is important in achieving their mission of alleviating poverty and advancing gender equal-ity. In return for the support they receive from the South Puget Sound community, they seek to have a posi-tive local impact by empowering local businesses, local charities, and our employees.

Each month on the first Thursday all of Alaffia’s Olympia employees get together for lunch served by a local vendor, enjoying each other in a fam-ily-like atmosphere. The staff and employees also enjoy their Bicycles for Education project, where bicycles are collected from all over the local community and sent by the company to Togo to be used by students who have no other way to get to school. They are very proud of the fact that in an area where 70% of children drop out of school before the sixth grade, 95% of Bicycles for Education stu-dents graduate from secondary school.

Additionally, Alaffia products are sold by local retailers including the Olympia Food Co-op, Radiance Herbs & Massage, and the Thriftway stores.

Kelsey Mayer, Alaffia Communi-cations Liaison, says, “We all enjoy the sense of family and camaraderie at Alafia. It is great to know we are connected with communities and families in Togo. At the end of a hard day or week, we know our work means something and is empowering ourselves and others.”

There are a host of other compa-nies that started in garages or kitchens in our area that have expanded exponentially in recent years and are manufacturing prod-ucts that are being sold regionally and nationwide, including Olykraut, making fermented foods and recently certified with their organic label, and Ice Chips, a candy company that recently moved from Yelm to Tumwa-ter and wa featured on “Shark Tank” competing for venture capital fund-ing for their operation.

Member Profile:

Since 2006 Alaffia has shipped over 6,300 bicycles to students with the most need in central Togo, West Africa.


By Joe HyerDo you support a $15 minimum

wage? A lot of different people have asked me that question over the past few months. The very first thing that comes into my head- how did Wash-ington State end up with the highest (or close) minimum wage in the Country? We passed an initiative tying the wage to the rate of inflation. While some economists argue this creates a positive feedback loop with wages increasing inflation, and infla-tion increasing wages, and so on…but given the low inflation we’ve experienced the past few years- I’m not that concerned.

If we take it to $15/hour, even over a few steps – are we also still going to tie it to rising prices, so it keeps up with the cost of living? That would seem essential, when you look at Washington’s current rate compared to the country. But if we jump from $9.47 to $11, then $13, then $15 – should we ALSO tack on a cost of living adjustment, or hold that for a time. I don’t hear anyone talking about this.

I’ve owned businesses with employees for 20 years now- and never once have I paid an employee minimum wage. Have I been able to offer a living wage always? To full-time yes, part-time not so much. In 1997, I had an former employee leave a job making several dollars an hour more than I could offer, and come back to work for us. Why? Because at the chain store he worked at, he got the next week’s schedule a day in advance, and his shifts changed con-stantly. I scheduled a month in advance, tried to accommodate requests off, and tried to be consis-tent with days off. Why? Because that was important to my staff, so they

Some Words on Wages...

could plan outings, events, and know in advance they had the time off. What value are we placing on consis-tency? Advance Scheduling? These things matter for our quality of life, but don’t fit easily into a slogan.

Part-time vs. full-time. Permanent vs. temporary. These things matter too, but they are hard to put a price on. UNDEREMPLOYMENT has become a key issue today. We’ve swept a lot of people off the unem-ployment rolls the past few years- but they aren’t working full-time jobs at $30,000 or more in salary ($15/hour annually). They are working 15-25 hours per week, on rotating sched-ules, making a second job difficult.

Since 2007, the retail sector of our

economy has eliminated over a mil-lion full-time jobs. This has been replaced by half a million part-time jobs. Naturally, customer service dis-appears at many retailers due to lack of staff. But even worse- everybody but management is part-time. Why can’t working retail be a full-time career anymore?

From a local perspective, it is retail taking the biggest hits against national companies. Why? Labor of course. Look at local banks vs. national banks. Compared to twnety years ago, the only difference in operating hours is being open a few hours on Saturday, and even that’s not common. A local bank has a simi-lar labor expense to long ago, and similar to its large competitors. Ser-vice businesses are the same- financial advisers, accountants, repair ser-vices – 8-5 weekdays, maybe a Saturday … but Labor costs are con-sistent over time, and similar to your larger competitors.

But look at retail. Twenty years ago, chain retailers all closed on Thanksgiving, the 4th of July, etc. Many were closed on Sundays. Few were open past 7:00 pm, or opened before 10:00 am (outside of grocery, or specific convenience stores). Local retailers were about the same.

Fast forward to today – not only are we OPEN on National Holidays, many retailers schedule sale events for those days. Open every day, and open til 9:00 or 10:00 pm is common. At Holidays, its weeks of being open til midnight.

Does this add convenience? Yes. But at what cost? Labor is the largest expense for retailers. While sales have increased – it is not enough to offset the massive increase in labor costs. Data proves that stores sell the same amount Thanksgiving

weekend, whether or not they open on Thursday, or wait until Friday. People don’t shop more- we just spread the same sales over more hours. And many also then pay holi-day pay (thanks to decades of work by our Unions!).

So significant extra expenses, and only a little more revenue. How do you afford this? Cut wages, of course. Cut hours. Cut full-time positions to part time. Scale back on training. Cut safetyprograms. Reduce the level of service to your customers. This is the race to the bottom that chain retailers have set in motion.

So how do our local, brisk and mortar retailers compete? They fear closing a day a week for loss of busi-ness to the chains that are open. They fear not having as long of hours will drive business to those chains. In essence, they try and compete- forc-ing them into the same race to the bottom. Many in Olympia have bemoaned the loss of so many strong local retailers- sadly, many of those retailers, including my own Alpine Experience, lost the battle BECAUSE we tried to be both- conveniently open for our guests, AND maintain full-time, living wages for the major-ity of our employees. We drowned in expense, and watched customers flock to the chains because they were open more hours.

Back to our beginning – Do you support a $15 minimum wage? My answer these days- I support a living wage for everyone, which eventually will exceed $15 an hour. But I also recognize the issue is not as simple as a single slogan- there’s economic and noneconomic issues, there’s factors beyond our control – and to be frank, wages mean nothing without a qual-ity of life to go with it.

OPINIONLocalEditor: Joe Hyer

Photo Courtesy of fightfor15.org

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By Terri ThomasMaking good choices for the

planet sure can seem expensive, at least in the short term. New electric vehicles, organic food and a wide range of products and choices that can help you “do your part” can quickly add up to a sad tinny rattle in the piggy bank. Sure, lots of those long-term investments will save you cash over time, but it’s hard to feel it when you’re scraping your quarters together to put in the parking meter.

Not this time, my friends. By learning to Waste Less Food, you’ll be helping the planet, supporting your community and…wait for it…

saving money right now. That’s because most adults are wasting as much as 300 pounds of food a year. For a family of four, that’s 25% of the food they buy, or $130 - $230 a month! Imagine reaching into your pocket right now and finding $130.

And wasting less food really will help the planet. Right now, humans around the globe are wasting 40% of the food we produce. Growing that food is taking billions of acres of land, and enough fresh water to fill the annual flow of the Mississippi river, not to mention vast quantities of chemicals and fertilizers. Mean-while, one in five kids in this country don’t know where, or if, they’ll get

their next meal. We can do so much better than this. We are growing enough food right now to feed three times the number of hungry people in the world.

And to rub salt in the wound, we have to spend another 1.3 billion dol-lars to send that wasted food to the landfill. It will rot there and produce about 14% of our domestic green-house emissions (20+% of our methane).

Maybe it all seems a little too easy, but it’s amazing how just a few small changes can add up to a lot less food waste and the hush-hush sound of cash in the piggy bank. Fewer wasted natural resources, less greenhouse gases, more food for those in need AND you save money? We think the more you do, and the more you save, the more you’ll want to do. Got friends you think should know about this? Schedule a free presentation for your office, church or other group by contacting Gabby at Thurston County Solid Waste at 867-2264 or [email protected].

And for those who want to take even bigger strides, you can help change the fact that we’re wasting 40% of the food we grow with some good conversation. See, only about 1/3 of the wasted food comes from our homes. The other two thirds come from farms, retailers and res-taurants. They can do a lot to help those in need and reduce our envi-ronmental impacts at the same time. And the nice thing about it is that case studies are showing that profits actually increase when grocers can implement some of these changes. You can support this evolution of store policy by asking question:

Do you donate overstock, near-expiration, or expired food to the local food bank or do you toss it? Make sure they know that even per-fectly good “expired” foods can be donated and stores are protected by the Good Samaritan Act.

Do you sell imperfect or “ugly” produce or do you demand perfection from your farms and distributors?

Tell your local stores that you care about reducing wasted food. Encour-age change and show your support for those doing the right thing by thanking them and shopping at their stores. Reducing waste and respect-ing our food, along with the energy, resources and effort that went into growing it should be a priority for all of us. Now you know. Go save some money.

Helping tHe planet Will... Save Me Money? Here are some

really easy ways to make it happen:

Use clear containers in the fridge to store leftovers. (so you can see what you have)

Make a weekly dinner menu and include a leftover night and a freezer night

Keep your fridge, freezer and cupboards clear—don’t over stockThat way you’re more likely to use what you have.

“Expiration dates” are just peak quality windows set by a manufacturer They don’t indicate safety. The best tools to know if your food is safe to eat are your common sense and your senses.

For more great ideas, tips, tricks, hacks and the latest research and innovations, join Waste Less Food on Facebook at /WasteLessFood

So, what do you say? Want to save some real money, reduce green-house gases and encourage changes that will support struggling people?

The average American wastes 209–254 pounds of edible food each year. That is a huge waste of resources and costs a family of four about $130 a month. Yet most people don’t realize they waste that much.

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I’ve spent years of my life wanting to live in Stars Hollow, the fictional Connecticut town where Lorelei and Rory and a cast of lovable brilliant characters that make up the Gilmore Girls television show live. The town is small and beautiful, and full of a wide range of interesting activities for residents and visitors that you won’t find anywhere else. Stars Hollow also hosts a number of festivals and local celebrations that include art, dancing, music, carnivals and so much more. There is great food in Stars Hollow, there’s beautiful antique furniture, there are fascinating educational tours and there is beautiful wildlife.

Gradually I have come to realize that I do live in that town. I found everything that is Stars Hollow in Olympia and the rest of Southwest Washington. Who needs a fantasy fictional town when we have all of those things and then some? Whether you’re on a stay-cation or entertaining visiting family and friends, there are countless things to do that you won’t find anywhere else. Here are some suggestions for filling your days with visitors that won’t fail you.

our area features a number of specialty bakeries for bagels, pastries, or freshly baked bread. Stop by the San Francisco Street Bakery on the eastside of Olympia or the Bread Peddler downtown for a break-fast pastry right out of the oven that will impress any foodie in your family, and don’t forget a latte to go with it. Our local baristas are award winning for their milk artistry.

Take your goodies with you out to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, where you can use their nature loop to walk off your sugar rush and get a great start to the day. Your visitors will love the beautiful views and the up close and personal exposure to local wildlife. While we are lucky enough to see this beauty every day, it’s pretty unique to our area and out of towners love the chance to see our wildlife and the boardwalk at Nisqually is accessible to all levels of mobility. Let the kids run while your grandparents walk at their own pace, and everyone will enjoy themselves.

Speaking of kid-friendly activities, if you want to keep spending time outside, visit our local farmer’s markets. If you check their websites ahead of time, you might find any number of local musicians or performers will be there while you stroll the booths of local food and craft vendors and the kids get their faces painted or play with balloon animals. If you are ready to head indoors the Hands On Children Museum is well loved by families and a great time for children.

Lunch options abound in our area and range from hamburgers with a side of quirky (they’ve got their own TARDIS!) at Eastside Big Tom’s to chowder with a view of the water at Budd Bay to Salvadorean food trucks to lunch outside at the Olympia Farmer’s Market.

FOR BREAKFAST ON THE GO...

BRING THE KIDS

South Sound TourismBy Emma Margraf

NISQUALLY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

And don’t forget to chat with everyone you meet as you go about your tourist activities – everywhere in the south sound there are people who have rich connections to our history and can tell you stories you’ll never forget.

LET’S DO LUNCH

Photos Courtesy of U.S. Fish & Wildlife


Do you have government and history buffs visiting?

Olympia’s Capitol Building has guided tours that are free and happen 6 times a day on the hour from 10am to 3pm. For the shoppers among you, Olympia and Centralia both have downtown shopping districts that feature unique local boutiques and bookstores

with great coffee shops for when it’s time to take a break. Antique treasures can be found all through-out Centralia’s main shopping core, and beautiful unique clothes, gifts, books, and more can be found in any number of shops in downtown Olympia. If your group would rather stay outdoors, take them kayaking or paddle boarding off Boston Harbor – you just might find yourselves eye to eye with a friendly seal or taking in breathtaking views of Mount Rainier when you do.

If you come during the Spring or Fall ArtsWalk, not only can you find great deals from local shops but you’ll be able to browse the markets that happen in the streets, see magic shows, and dancing in the street. The Procession of the Species, the annual parade that celebrates art and the earth’s species that bills itself as “a global act taking place locally” attracts thousands of visitors every year to see hundreds of participants dancing their way through the streets of Olympia.

But that’s not the end of the festivals; most weekends of the year you can find a local celebration. Just go online to Thurston Talk before the visit to see what local happenings there are – every year Lacey has the Pacific Northwest Mushroom Festival, Labor Day weekend brings Harbor Days to the waterfront, Chehalis has Chehalis Garlic Fest that attracts 18,000 people, local architects support the Hands On Children’s Museum with giant sand sculptures at Sand in the City and so much more.

Not sure how to keep track? There’s an app for that. In an attempt to capture the spirit of constant happenings in the South Sound, the Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater Visitors and Convention Bureau has signed on with an app called Stqry (pronounced “story”), an application

And don’t forget to chat with everyone you meet as you go about your tourist activities –

everywhere in the south sound there are people who have rich connec-tions to our history and can tell you stories you’ll never forget. From the waitress at the Spar who lives in Kurt Cobain’s old house to the history buffs that volunteer at the AMTRAK station to the owner of K Records, there are countless people who can show you , your family and friends just how amazing our local area really is.

Janis Dean, Owner of Popinjay

for your mobile device that will give you a local story of what’s happening nearby based on your exact location. If you are standing near a piece of local public art it will give you the background, if you are near a community activity, it will let you know when and where it’s happening.

FESTIVALS

STATE CAPITOL

THE PEOPLE YOU MEET

Photo Courtesy of VisitOlympia.com


By Emma MargrafWhether you are a friend of the

local farmer’s market, a person who wants to know exactly where their beef came from, how the cow was raised, or a foodie who is best friends with your favorite servers at your favorite restaurants, the South Sound is an amazing place for people, and a great place for people who love food.

you advice on everything from grow-ing your own artichokes to how to avoid pests and plagues in the yard.

If you have gardening accessory needs, you can head over to Eastside Farm and Garden on Martin Way on the edge of East Olympia. This relatively new locally owned garden-ing supply store has everything you need to supply your backyard garden paradise, and then some. The “and then some” includes classes and workshops on gardening and food preparation and the opportunity to visit/potentially adopt baby chickens and ducks the store regularly has in stock, which are indisputably the cutest things on the planet.

Eastside Farm and Garden also has an event space above its store where on semi-regular occasions they bring in local chefs, local food from local farms, and live music for farm to table dinner experiences in what they call the “Eastside Barn”. Tickets are generally $50 plus any wine you purchase. For more infor-mation on these dinners or other events at Eastside Farm and Garden (which include everything from hedge trimming workshops to poul-try processing classes) you can visit:

urbanfarmoly.com or visit their store at 2326 4th Avenue East in Olympia.

In the summertime, there are farmers markets open almost every day of the week. The Olympia Farm-er’s Market in downtown Olympia has the most accessibility, open Thursdays-Sundays from April to November and Saturdays the rest of the year, but during prime summer months there are also options in

Tumwater, West Olympia, Tenino and Rochester/Grand Mound. Many of the farmer’s markets hire local musicians and other entertainment for the whole family (palm reading!) and at the Olympia Market you can buy ready made food from a host of stands. You can also buy garden art, cheese, eggs, salsa, vegetable starts for your garden and more. Local farms provide everything that’s in growing season to the markets, in addition to sizeable donations of fresh produce to area food banks.

Addie Candib, West Olympia Farmer’s Market Board Member, says this about why she works on behalf of farmer’s markets and local food, “Local farmers markets provide an opportunity for farmers, produc-ers, and artisans to sell directly to their local community. Farmer’s mar-kets foster connections between consumers and their local producers, promote the sustainability of local agriculture, and increase the social and economic vitality of the local community. Shopping at local farm-ers markets helps you and your family eat healthily, reduces your impact on the environment, and helps local businesses grow and flourish.”

In addition to whatever you might want for dinner, at local farmer’s markets in the springtime you can get starts for your yard if you have the desire to create your own kitchen garden. Vendors are on hand to give

local eatsFARMERS MARKETS

“People who love to eat are always the best people”, said Julia Child, and the people of the South Sound have never had better options for gathering over food at local restaurants or buying all the locally grown and raised food your heart desires.

EASTSIDE FARMAND GARDEN



Moving out of the vegetable gar-den and into fresh meat, there are several good local shops you can get anything you can think of to put on your grill or in your broiler. Stew-art’s Meat Market has a stand at the Olympia Farmer’s Market, and a brick and mortar location on State Route 507 in Yelm. Started in 1933 by Emmett Stewart and his wife Doro-thy Carlson, Stewart’s is the kind of place where customers and employ-ees are all friendly and nod and say hello, how are you doing, and have a good day unless the place is so packed that the employees are hyper focused on serving as many customers as possible as quickly as possible so folks can get what they need. And that happens a lot. All year round you can get a host of meat options at Stewarts ranging from grass fed ground beef and steak to an entire luau pig that you can either have them smoke or smoke yourself.

The Olympia Food Co-op is our area’s leader in sourcing local food products. They currently buy directly from almost 125 local/regional pro-ducers and farms, and many of those purchases are made directly from Thurston County vendors. They buy regional products from larger dis-tributors as well. It can be a challenge to source and sell local items and make a profit – large distributors have the economic advantage of scale. In order to ease this challenge OFC uses a lower mark up on local and regional items that are sold to them directly than they do for other prod-ucts. This practice gives them the flexibility to sell more local products at a price their members can afford.

For those of us who love conve-nience (and really who doesn’t) there are countless farms that offer CSA’s

(community sustained agriculture). CSA’s essentially give you an oppor-tunity to buy a share of a particular farm for the season and receive a weekly box of food in return. There are many, many CSA options includ-ing meat CSAs, and the best resource to understand what you can buy directly from a local farm and when is the Direct Sales Farm Map pro-duced by the South of the Sound Community Farmland Trust (SSCFT).

SSCFT has the map handy on their website, and you can over vari-ous farms on their online map to find the closest farmers market to you or to find out about each farm and to see what’s available from them directly. To check it out for yourself, or to find out more about the Direct Sales Farm Map or the South Sound Community Farmland Trust visit www.communi-tyfarmlandtrust.org

Signing up for a CSA can be an exercise in cooking flexibility, as there are some weeks when you pick up your box to find vegetables you’ve never seen before and have to take a guess at how to cook – celery root? Celeriac? These were new to me – it can be an education. For the less adventurous among us many farms will let you adjust your order ahead of time online. I prefer to wing it and see where the box takes me as long as I have plenty of garlic and oil to cook it in, but that’s a personal decision. Local farms also often develop part-nerships with each other to provide diversity so on occasional weeks there will be special additions of food made by another provider.

For the times you are absolutely not cooking – or just want a night out – many recommendations for great locally sourced food include the Iron Rabbit Restaurant. The Iron Rabbit advertises itself as casual and family friendly, which it is while also provid-ing plenty of adult options (bacon AND blue cheese on a burger! Plus cocktail pairings!) Servers are friendly and the menu makes it clear that special orders are always wel-come. In addition to buying produce and meat from local sources, the Iron Rabbit makes it’s own root beer and sells the glass or in 32 and 64 ounce growlers and growlettes -- which is highly recommended.

“You have to define for yourself what local means, and that depends on the season and on what kind of sourcing you are talking about. I’m really proud of the progress we’ve made in our community towards making local food available, even though we have such a short growing season”, say owner Christian Skillings.

For more a more adult oriented evening in downtown Olympia, The Mark Restaurant is also well loved for it’s local food and good wine and cocktails. With somewhat limited capacity, it’s best on weekend nights to make a reservation. But it’s well worth it. The menu is very pasta heavy, and a good place for those who are gluten free to get their pasta fixes – as someone who has had some terrible gluten free eating experi-ences, I was incredibly pleased by the Mark’s gluten free pasta. On it’s web-site they list eleven different ranches and farms where they source local

produce, meats, and herbs and are very proud of the fact that ninety per-cent of their food comes from within one hour’s drive of the restaurant. Plus, the Mark is just plain stylish – from the moment you walk under the sign that looks like a restored tire store advertisement and see the deep red curtains, beautiful art, and emphasis on candle lighting it feels like being in a different place for a while – perfect for romantic dates or celebrations with friends. It’s a great cozy winter night out, or in the sum-mer you can enjoy the back patio garden.

When the sun comes out, it does feel like we see much more of each other, doesn’t it? On warm summer nights, the garden of the San Fran-cisco Street Bakery is one of the most beautiful places to be for din-ner. Their menu is largely a variety of wood fired pizzas, which you can pair with local wines and cheese and bread or salad appetizers. San Fran-cisco Street is much beloved for its baked goods, but the dinner options are an undersold treasure.

COMMUNITYSUSTAINED AGRICULTURE (CSA)

IRON RABBITRESTAURANT

Nice days are good for eating outdoors, too. In recent years we’ve seen an increase in food trucks and food stands which – while hampered by heavy permitting restric-tions other areas don’t have – are beginning to provide a wide range of low cost meal options. Whether you want to eat tacos in the West Central Park, wood-fired pizza on Mud Bay Road, Samosas or breakfast burritos on the corner of Plum St. and 4th Avenue in Olympia more and more options are popping up each year.

So there you have it; many options that can help you find what’s right for you. Ask your local server, farmer’s market manager, CSA operator, food truck proprietor, or garden store for more the next chance you get. There are hundreds of people dedicated to helping you get the best dinner available. We already know that we are among the best people. So eat well, Southwest Washington. You deserve it.

STEWART’S MEATMARKET

THE MARK RESTAURANT

SAN FRANCISCO STREET BAKERY

OLYMPIA FOOD CO-OP


The Iron Rabbit - Photo Courtesy of VisitOlympia.com


FOOD TRUCKS


By Emma MargrafAre you in the market for a pet

turtle? Do you need expert fish advice? Is your pup in serious need of a bath and you need a place to take her? PetWorks, the downtown Olym-pia store dedicated to your pet needs is open seven days a week and ready to help.

PetWorks is a pretty happy place. There are usually children running around, and you can sometimes find excitable dogs on their way to groom-ing or on their way home looking their best. The owners of PetWorks opened their location in downtown

Olympia a year ago, after many years running successful stores in Longview and Astoria. The three stores are run by the husband and wife team of Rebecca and Eric Smith – Rebecca has been in the business for 21 years having worked her way up to manager of the Longview loca-tion and then buying the business from the previous owners. She mar-ried Eric and they took over an existing pet store business in Astoria that was struggling (and still employ the previous owner), and then opened a new store in Olympia. They split their time between the three.

The Smiths live in Kelso and

commute to their stores, but each is locally rooted. This is part of their business philosophy -- the Olympia location is financed through Thur-ston First Bank and when they remodeled the inside, they hired local contractors to do the work. They try to source as many local products as possible. When doing business or opening a new location, they want to only look for opportunities where they will provide a positive impact on the local economy, so they chose the downtown location because they believed they could give residents an alternative to the big box stores with-out taking business away from other local businesses.

The Olympia location started with 3 employees and has grown to eleven staff members. In addition to pet sup-ply needs, they offer grooming and self-service dog washing stations. Customers report they are happy with the prices, too – the online reviews report satisfaction with what they say are comparable prices at a location that has more customer sat-isfaction and pet expertise than big box stores.

Storeowner Eric Smith says the business has been going really well, “I think this location is super cool. The building is phenomenal – it’s almost one hundred years old and used to be a train station. We feel really lucky to be here. The atmo-sphere downtown has really improved in the past year. All the

work local business owners and the city have done have really made a dif-ference. ”

Smith says they have been really well received, and that he thinks the community can tell that they love what they do so respond with incred-ible support. They know that they could do triple the business if they were in a big city, but they like the community and the spirit of the areas they are in. They feel like the towns they are in picked them, and it has worked out well.

The staff at PetWorks are very knowledgeable – they can answer any questions about all of their stock and know the personalities of the small animals and fish they sell. Children feel at home visiting, and get to know the pets available and the nature of them. Customers describe the fish tanks as mini-aquariums, and enjoy the fact that the owners seem to take their feedback to heart, like increas-ing the number of cat toys available. I, for one, didn’t realize the range of cat toys. Or cat outfits.

On a recent weekday I watched an eight year old ask if he could pet one of the lizards, and the owner obliged while telling him all about the per-sonality of each one. The small critters and birds available for adop-tion are locally raised, and they even have a moody little “oddball” corn snake looking for a home, though no takers yet.

Eric Smith , Co-owner

The WorksPetMember Profile:

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By Joe Hyer We’ve all read for years about Cal-

ifornia’s ongoing water woes- from agriculture to drinking to fish runs, they are truly in dire straits. Except the straits have run dry. It’s hard to believe this could ever happen in the rainy Northwest- c’mon, we grow moss behind our ears it’s so damp. But there it is- on May 15th, Governor Inslee declared a statewide drought emergency for ALL of Washington.

Says Ecology Director Maia Bel-lon, “This drought is unlike anything we’ve experienced. Rain amounts have been normal but snow has been scarce. And we’re watching what little snow we have quickly disap-pear.” 48 of the State’s 62 watersheds have 75% or less of normal water sup-plies. As of June 15, Statewide snowpack was at ZERO percent of normal. That’s right- zero. Compare this to one year ago – Olympia Penin-sula at 105%, North Puget Sound at 138%. In one year- from excessive snowpack to none at all.

So how does that impact those of us living in Thurston County? A higher fire risk to begin with, and burn bans should be expected. Those on wells may see a lowering of the water table, and difficulty drawing as much. In the Cities, water supply is there- but keeping PEAK demand low is becoming more and more critical.

The best analogy to describe municipal water supply is to think of a bucket, with a spigot in the side. The size of the bucket is vital, as it indicates our overall supply of water. The size of the spigot, however, is also vital, as that’s how much water we can draw at any given time. Under Growth Management, Urban areas are required to plan for growth- so they keep adding to the size of the bucket. It’s the spigot that can catch us. We can only draw so much water up from the ground at once- and only store so much. Adding storage capacity is expensive to the system. Keeping water available is only half the equation, we also have to keep it affordable.

Regionally, one of the biggest sources of ‘new’ water isn’t new water at all- it’s using less. Conservation is hands down the best way to extend our water supplies, AND to reduce peak demand. And if you’re on sewer, it doesn’t matter if you are in Tumwa-ter, Olympia or Lacey- most of the water conservation programs are funded regionally by the LOTT Clean Water Alliance.

So what can YOU do to conserve water? Get an indoor water savings kit FREE from your city- save up to 6570 gallons per year! We use water outside too – there’s a kit for that! Guess what, it’s also free. Rain Bar-rels, Rain Sensors, High-Efficiency Appliances- rebates galore abound and saving water has never been more affordable.

Got a business? You can save too. Twofold savings actually- water and money. Conserve our precious resource, AND improve your bottom line. Rebates for irrigation efficiency upgrades, toilets and more! Now, are you a Localist? That means that you ask the businesses you frequent how they are committed to water conser-vation. If they aren’t- don’t boycott them, they’re a local business. Instead, educate them, and suggest they check out the rebates, savings and benefits of water conservation.

Saving water, be it at home or in your business, be it outdoors or indoors- it starts with you. And you spread it to your friends and

neighbors. They spread it to theirs. Sometimes, going viral can be a good thing. It is only when residents of Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey and the rural county all join together in sav-ing water that we can succeed. Olympia’s Water plan looks 50 years into the future for planning, and jurisdictions around the State are now doing the same.

We wish there wasn’t a drought. But there is, so rather than see it as gloom and doom, we must instead seize the opportunity and make con-servation a habit- it is important EVERY year, drought or not, so becoming ‘water-wise’ now creates savings long into the future.

Photo courtesy of City of OlympiaWaterWe Can’t Live Without It

Top 6 Indoor Waterwise Tips

Fix running toilets. Running toilets can waste up to 1,000 gallons of water per month.

Take shorter showers. Shortening your showers by 2min. can save up to 150 gallons per month.

Don’t let the water run. Turn off the whater while shaving or brushing your teeth to save several galllons of water every minute.

Install faucet aerators. By mixing air into the water flow, faucet aerators creat a steadier more stable stream and give the feeling of high water pressure with less actual water consumption.

Fix leaky faucets . A faucet dripping at the rte of one drop per second will waste 2,700 gallons of water per year.

Only run your dishwasher when it is full. Running a dishwasher uses significantly less water then hand washing, but that is negated when running less full loads.

Top 6 Outdoor Waterwise Tips

Water early or late. Between 10pm-6am or just before dark, allows the water to infiltrate the soil without evaporating.

Be a leak detector. Leaks can be touch to find, but the water savings are well orththe effort.

Don’t over water. Your lawn needs only about one inch of water each week to stay green.

Install a rain barrel. Use the water collection for your garden.

Adjust sprinkler heads. Don’t water concrete.

Don’t be a hoser. Sweep! When you do need a hose, use a spray nozzle with a shut off valve.

Pick the right plants. onsider the water requirements of any new plants. Native or drough tolerant plants require less water in general.

Install a drip system. Or use a soaker hose to gie your plants’ roots a slow, steady supply of water.

Learn more at: www.olympiawa.gov/waterwise

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By Joe Hyer Years ago, when I served on the

board of the Economic Development Council, we spent a lot of time talking about how to ‘create jobs.’ It was the primary focus of the EDC, in fact. I remember looking at a room of bank-ers, lawyers, politicians and developers and saying, “But isn’t it just as important to get the RIGHT jobs?” Not minimum wage part time jobs, but instead quality full time employment opportunities for our citizens.

Not surprisingly, they actually agreed this made a lot of sense- and went on record as not welcoming another Wal-Mart to the community. (true story, check the records) That was the easy question- the far more difficult one is HOW we attract those kinds of jobs to the area?

At the time, there was a lot of upheaval and revolutionary changes in thinking in regards to ‘Economic Development.’ For decades, Cities, Counties and States competed with each other to get companies to open factories or headquarters or call cen-ters in their region. They offered subsidies and tax abatements and other incentives- so much so that it

often became a race to the bottom as to who could give away the most. The subsidies further depleted the reserves and revenues of govern-ment, and rarely did the number or quality of jobs promised actually develop.

Generation X, followed by Y and the Millenials, changed all that. Makes me proud to be a Gen-Xer- we accomplished something, amidst all our angst and ennui. When we got out of college, we didn’t go find a job like our parents did. Instead, we went and found the best and most cool places to live, and moved there. Then found whatever job we could. I am told there’s a lot of PHD’s living in Montana, simply because they love Montana. Places like Burlington, Vermont, Madison, Wisconsin and others, because of their livability, attracted GenXers in record numbers.

And something happened. As tal-ented and educated people pooled in these regions- jobs followed. Quality, well-paying jobs. Why? Because the companies wanted talented people- and the talented people had realized that quality of life was more impor-tant than base salary. They wanted to live in great and amazing places, even

if it meant working a lesser job. Wait- this throws a traditional

EDC in any County for a loop. There’s a new marketing goal- promote your-self as the coolest place to live, draw in smart and talented people, and then watch as the jobs follow. Remember back when Time maga-zine declared Olympia as the ‘Hippest Town in the West’? That’s HUGE in today’s concept of where you want to live. Why has Portland, Oregon attracted so many companies recently? A sustainable, livable city committed to the environment, multi-modal transportation, with a vibrant Arts Community!

Yes, a vibrant Arts Community. Why? Because smart, educated peo-ple desire to nurture and feed their souls and challenge their brains – and that’s what Art can do. Now, Thur-ston County has a unique advantage over many regions in this area- we’ve long been an intellectual talent pool of the Northwest. It’s that star on the map- so many State jobs require bachelor’s or graduate degrees, as a Capital we are naturally a draw for talent and educated people.

Add to that TWO four-year col-leges, and a lot of talented people come here. The natural beauty and

outdoor recreation opportunities keep them here. Their support is the basis of an already vibrant arts com-munity, and all the evidence we need that INVESTING in the Arts is one of the best investments we can make to create real economic vitality.

If this isn’t enough to convince you – how about 600 years of history? Remember a little thing called the Renaissance? City-States in Italy, then all over Europe, with booming economies, technological revolu-tions, major advancements in thinking and philosophy- truly an Enlightened and prosperous age. At the core of it all- investments by rich business people in paintings, cha-pels, architecture, performing arts- across all the humanities, patrons poured in resources, and some of the most amazing public and private art was created. And that drove even more development and prosperity.

It is time for a new Renaissance, beginning right here in South Sound. We have artists, writers, poets, actors, musicians- across the human-ities, Olympia is rich in the Arts. But there is so much more that we can do.

Five big ideas to get us started...

arts & culture

BUY LOCAL FIRST SOUTH SOUND --- LOCAL DOLLARS SUPPORTING YOUR COMMUNITY

Building a Vibrant Economy

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Music reaches each of us in different, unique and amazing ways. Personally, I don’t think you can say you’ve heard real jazz until you’ve heard it in New Orleans. Austin, Texas has marketed its music scene for decades- and boy has it paid off. Olympia’s ‘music scene’ is strong, independent, and waiting to explode. We need to do two kjey things for greater success-

First, support the venues. Safety is important- and fire sprinklers dreadfully expensive. We’ve got to find ways for venues to be able to affordable meet the codes and standards for life/safety required by government. Subsidized loans, grants- without the venues, we can’t have the bands and artists play.

Second, support the artists. Any venue that doesn’t pass on at least 80% of cover charges directly to the bands and musicians – well, they shouldn’t be eligible for any help in my first point. More important – we need to start a movement to support working musicians – all venues that do pay and support the artists should get a big thumbs up, and we ought to shun those that don’t. We also have to remember- without a cover, the bands often don’t get paid. So we must be willing to invest a few bucks to ensure the artists make a living, and keep playing. Also, we have to TIP the band, people, that should be a no brainer.

The goal – let’s make art, culture and the humanities so core to our identity that they don’t refer to us as an Arts community, but instead a Work of Art.

I am pretty certain that 4000 years ago, Ramses II did not anticipate his tomb being called a Great Pyramid, and being the largest economic driver in the country. I am not saying we need to think so grand, but you get the idea. The Capitol Building in Olympia is one of the region’s best tourist draws. I have also met folks, though, who came to Olympia to see the Monarch Sculpture Garden, or the Salmon run, or the Park of the Seven Oars. The Kissing Couple is known throughout the region. Art is about identity, soul- and yeah, our own humanity. And it is a reflection of our community and its character as well.

The best illustration of the NEED for public art lies at the intersection of Pacific & Marvin (Hwy 510). A huge roundabout- and a sea of red asphalt. Compare that to the Roundabouts in the County off Yelm Highway and Boulevard, or in Olympia above the 4th Avenue Bridge. Public Art brightens our lives every day as we drive, bike, or walk by. This improves and sustains our spirit, if even just a little. Makes us more effective at work. Makes our lives a little better. Every public works project in the County MUST have an allocation for public art. It IS economic development- artists are workers too, and keeping them employed matters.

Art is everywhere, if a community does it right. Ever look at the ‘manhole’ covers in Olympia streets – yeah, that’s Nikki McClure’s work- and those, I was told, will last 100 years. Check out the new retaining wals on West Bay Drive’s Sidewalk. Art pops up in the craziest, and best places around here.

A community filled with artists naturally supports, fosters and invests in Art more easily. We all can’t be Jim Lynch, and have best-selling novels – but that doesn’t mean we can’t write good stories, and share them. From visual to performing to musical to poetry- we must foster amateur artists of all ilks. This will make invest-ment in #1 a no brainer. It will also make us more creative people and naturally we are better and more productive in our jobs if we are creative and have outlets. If we make art about everyone, then everyone is invested in our Community Arts.

Every City in Washington bemoans the loss of sales tax to internet sales. Few how-ever, are getting smart about it. It is doubtful we will ever again see many of the sun-dries and other products sold at brick and mortar – online sales will take some retail sectors away. Smart communities will focus on and foster retail sectors least likely to move online.

Painting, drawing, sculp-ture – these are hard to buy online. Art is visceral- it must be witnessed for real effect. Our local galleries are all struggling. Some have closed. Some might. We must reverse this trend. How? Promote them. Mar-ket them. Advertise for them. Subsidize their rent if need be. It is the best investment we can make in future sales tax revenue. Attract more professional working artists. And attracts art lovers from all over- yep, make the visual arts an economic boom, and a tourist attraction. Small, independent and artist owned galleries NEED our support and help now, when they are struggling.

Galleries to be a Center for visual arts

The Washington Centre is rare gem in a community of ours size. 996 seats, with such great acoustics and design – people should be flocking from all over the Northwest to see our shows. Harlequin Productions, creating a professional theatre experience for 25 years in Olympia- you usually need to find communities much larger to get a professional company. The new Minnaert center at SPSCC. Olympia Little Theatre, Olympia Family Theatre … live theatre is alive and well in this area- but how much greater can we make it? We need to support, market, promote, and invest real resources to expand and enhance the live theatre offerings.

There are so many ways, big and small, to do this. It starts with the Theatre community uniting around these common goals and hopes, working with government and the private sector to strategically promote and support expansions of both productions and facilities. Don’t we need an outdoor amphitheater somewhere close? So much can be done, if only we come together and commit real resources.

From public schools to City programs to private instruction- we need to invest, promote, offer, and support art education at all levels, and for all ages. In doing so, we will create a community of artists. More artists will flock to our community to join it. We will get Jim Lynch some competition this way- an artistic community will attract great writers and artists.

All the world’s a stage so is Our Town

ArtisticRecognize Everyone is

and Cultivate That

Invest in Public Art and Architecture1

2

3 4

ART EDUCATION

Live music literally

Rocks!5

Photo Courtesy of City of Olympia

Photo Courtesy of City of Olympia

‘Pooh” Photo Courtesy of Olympia Family Theater


By Joe Hyer There I was – covering a few hours

at our retail store (The Olympia Gear Exchange) downtown, and trying to come up with a story to fill the last half page of Living Local. In walks a young man with a huge backpack, looking to lighten his load by trading out some gear. Twenty-four hours before, he’d been in Western Massa-chusetts. He was headed for the Hoh Rain Forest, and the town of Forks. His plan was to hitchhike.

He was shocked when I explained how he could get there, at least to Forks, using transit. I explained there was a bus from Olympia to Aber-deen, and then one that ran North on the 101 at least as far as Forks. I gave him directions to the transit center, and suggested they could guide him from there. What a world we live in.

A few years back, I was headed to Senator Karen Fraser’s annual picnic in Tumwater. Remembering how challenging parking can be, I pon-dered walking from Downtown instead. It would be good exercise to work off the picnic offerings in advance. My concern- it was a warm day, and did I have the energy to walk

all the way back home after the pic-nic. Then I realized – I would know dozens and dozens of people there, many who would have driven, and some probably headed my direction. Surely, someone would give me a ride home? Yep, I had plenty of offers. Spontaneous carpooling works too.

My friends Terry & Sandy live out on a cliff on Steamboat Island. That can be a long commute to work by car, with plenty of traffic. It’s far more relaxing, however, by boat. Most of the year, if they chose, they could boat to work instead of using the car. Now that’s alternate modes of transportation.

In South Sound, we’ve gotten really good with infrastructure. Trails, Bike Lanes, sidewalks and roads all work together for a great system. You can get to Sea-Tac Air-port now without a car. For decades, they’ve talked about high speed rail in Western Washington. I admit, I kinda laugh when I hear them talk now. In a state with one of the most extensive and well-run public ferry systems in the world, to talk about investing in a rail corridor seems, well, absurdly costly.

We already maintain navigable channels from Olympia to Tacoma, Seattle, Everett and many points in between. We don’t have to buy expen-sive right of way, taking people’s land by eminent domain. We don’t have to build countless miles of rail. Bridges and tunnels at major roadways to keep cars moving too. A passenger ferry service seems far more afford-able on the infrastructure side, as most of the infrastructure is in place.

So why don’t we have passenger Ferry service to points North, as a commuter option? I am not an expert like our Localist friends at Intercity Transit, but I have to suspect that WE

are the problem. We haven’t bought into the idea of ferries as a commute option yet. Until the demand is there- we will probably be stuck in traffic at Dupont and many other points on I-5 north. And not just for work- wouldn’t an awesome day with family or friends be a ferry ride to Seattle, a Mariners Game, then a relaxing cruise back home?

Localists are creative with their options on getting around – they use their feet, their wheels, busses, cars, water taxis, and whatever other ideas they can come up with. That’s the beauty of Localism, new ideas are welcome.

getting around By any means possible…

Photo Courtesy of Intercity Transit



Benefits of being a Localist:• Annual Subscription to Living Local – 4 issues a year, right to your door (A $20 value)• Complimentary 2016 Buy Local Annual Cou-pon Book (a $25 value)• Breaking News & updates – no, not an email newsletter – just easy links when we add to the website.• Coming Soon – Free ‘I’m a Localist’ button and sticker.• Knowing you’re supporting a growing move-ment for a more sustainable worldCost: Just $50 per year.

Join Online, or mail this form with $50.00 to:Sustainable South Sound

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BECOME a LOCALIST. We are mailing this publication to about 1/3 of the households in the metro area. Future issues will go to another 1/3 – if you join, you will get 4 issues a year, right on your doorstep. You’ll even get a 2016 coupon book when they come out, included, and delivered right to your door. Most important, you will fuel our efforts at Sustainable South Sound to push the Localism movement to new and greater things. So yes- become a LOCALIST today.

Be Creative. Think great thoughts. Inspire ideas. While this is far less tangible- do what you can to add to the richness of our community fabric. Remember that history, culture and identity are key attributes of Localism. They inspired a renaissance 600 years ago.

Bank local. Notice the banks that advertise in this publication. If you are a customer, do us a favor and thank them for advertising the next time you go in. If you have a local bank or credit union, and they are NOT an advertiser, tell them they should, and contact us to follow up. Our next issue will have a feature story on WHY banking local matters…and why banks should advertise LOCALLY.

Eat more local. The tomatoes on my back patio are ripening now. I may not have much space, but I am growing food with some of it. If growing isn’t feasible- join a CSA, or visit the one of the Farmer’s Markets in the area. At the grocery store- look at where things come from, and think about the supply lines involved to get it here.

Conserve Water. We have no historical records with this little snow in the Cascades. It’s really, really hot out this summer. Water is our most precious resource. We must conserve, not just as an example for those in areas even worse off, not just in solidarity with our neighbors in other regions, but also because we believe water to be sacred and core to our local Identity.

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1. BECOME A LOCALIST

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3. BANK LOCAL

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5. CONSERVE WATER

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