In The News
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New hope is budding for Washington pot shops seeking to go cashless
SEATTLE — Marijuana dispensary owners say they want change– and not the kind that jingles in your pocket. Since recreational weed was legalized more than a decade ago, pot shops in Washington have proven to be prime targets for thieves. “Everyone living around here knows that it’s not safe being cash-only as a business,” said…
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Draft NDAA seeks to cut housing costs for military families
The House Armed Services Committee will take up a defense authorization bill next week that would authorize the Pentagon to spend $1.2 billion to increase housing allowance payments for U.S. servicemembers. If the draft National Defense Authorization Act becomes law with that provision intact — and, more importantly, if appropriators provide those funds — it…
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Strickland leads letter calling FTC to investigate equity concerns with digital store coupons
Digital store-issued coupons can be a convenient way for shoppers to save money, but not everyone has access to the technology needed to redeem these discounts or deals. Now a group of lawmakers is calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate equity concerns, particularly when it comes to older Americans and low-income customers.…
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Tumwater gets major grant for brewery property. Is this the catalyst the site needs?
Twenty years ago this month the whistle at the Olympia brewery in Tumwater blew for its final time, signaling the end to the community’s largest private employer and a staple in South Sound. Since 2003, the campus, full of derelict yellow-colored buildings, has sat abandoned on 100 acres in the city. Tumwater officials, backed by…
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$500k grant marks small step toward a new future for Olympia brewery site
For generations, Olympia Brewing Co., in Tumwater, Washington, churned out bottles and cans of beer stamped with the brand’s famous slogan: “It’s the Water.” When it comes to reviving the company’s dilapidated former brewery site, it’s everything else that decades of industrial activity might have left behind that poses a problem. A new grant from…
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Service Members Are Struggling to Afford Housing. This Lawmaker Says She’s Working to Fix the Problem.
Military.com | Service Members Are Struggling to Afford Housing. This Lawmaker Says She’s Working to Fix the Problem. By Rebecca Kheel Updating the formula for housing allowances, making sure troops get a full stipend, and building more housing on bases: Those are a few of the ways a member of the House Armed Services Committee…
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Nichols’ death triggers another push for legislation to rein in police misconduct
NPR’s Leila Fadel speaks with Rep. Marilyn Strickland — the Congressional Black Caucus’s whip — about police reform in the wake of Tyre Nichols’s death. LEILA FADEL, HOST: The video of Tyre Nichols being punched and kicked by policemen as he lay on the ground, a beating that would lead to his death, has triggered…
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Marilyn Strickland Elected Whip of The Congressional Black Caucus
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland was recently elected as the Congressional Black Caucus’ (CBC) Whip for the upcoming Congressional session. Strickland represents Washington state’s 10th Congressional District, which includes Pierce County, Thurston County and parts of Mason County, is the first African American to represent Washington State at the federal level, and one of the first Korean…
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Quixote Communities and Olympia Community Solar Announce Quixote Village Solar Project
Quixote communities and Olympia Community Solar are excited to announce a partnership for the Quixote Village Solar Project. Construction began on the 27th of June 2022, and consists of installing solar arrays across Quixote Village’s 30 tiny homes and community building to generate renewable energy. As an integral community resource for the unhoused in Olympia, Quixote Village is…
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Democrats Propose Travel Grants for Those Seeking Out-of-State Abortions
Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would provide grants for those who need to travel out of state for an abortion. The Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act is the latest endeavor by Democrats to mitigate the impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Last week, the House passed legislation to safeguard the right to travel across…