Westside Police Station Attacked - Again

WESTSIDE POLICE STATION VANDALIZED

Date:  May 30, 2012                                                                                                    

Released by:

·         Laura Wohl, Public Information Officer

·         Phone:  360.753.8214, Cell:  360.951.8889

·         E-mail:  lwohl@ci.olympia.wa.us

Broken Windows at Satellite Police Station

The City of Olympia Westside police station located at 221 Perry Street NW was vandalized last night between 11pm and 3am, Wednesday morning.  Most of the windows in the building were broken.  It appears that a hammer or similar tool was used based on the pattern of the broken glass.  No entry was gained through the damaged windows and the Police Department believes that vandalism was the primary purpose for the breakage.  The police have no suspects at this time and no motive for the crime is apparent. 

Anyone with information about the vandalism is asked to call the Olympia Police Department at 360-753-8300.

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Neighborhood Conversation with Council

(Note:  NWONA is a member of the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations.  All residents encouraged to attend this meeting with the City Council!!)

To all CNA members,

Please plan to attend the combined City Council Work Study Session and CNA Full Coalition Meeting on Tuesday, June 5th at 6 PM at City Hall. The City Council and the CNA have a Work Session Study agenda item that evening centered around our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), establishing our CNA relationship with the City. We will be followed by a Work Study Session on the 2013 City Budget and we are invited to stay and participate in the discussion.

Come and help us forge the relationship, intended to enhance the Neighborhood Conversation. We hope to see you at 6 pm at City Hall on Tuesday, June 5. I will send the agenda when I get it from Mayor Buxbaum.

See you then and thanks. 

Bob

 

Bob Jones
Chair, Olympia Coalition of Neighborhood Associations (CNA)
1716 Easthill Place, NW
Olympia, WA 98502
360-867-0867
360-866-3520 (Fax)
bobjonesmilitary@comcast.net

Graffiti Prevention Workshop

All Neighborhood Associations  Welcome!

Are you tired of graffiti in your neighborhood?

Come to a Neighborhood University session to learn more about what you can do, what the City is doing and what other neighborhoods have done to battle taggers. This two-hour session will feature information about the problem, prevention tips, advice and materials for cleaning and time to talk to others about sharing resources. No need to RSVP, just come!

When: Saturday, June 23^rd from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Where: City Hall, 601 4^th Ave E, Room 207

Questions?

Amy Stull

Police Community Programs

Olympia Police Department

360-753-8049

astull@ci.olympia.wa.us

Now is the time for all good people to come to aid of their neighborhood!

Friends and Neighbors -

The Board of the Northwest Olympia Neighborhood Association needs new members!    We welcome the new ideas and the new energy new Board members can bring to the Board.  But most importantly, we need a broader and more representative Board.

Our major challenge as a Board is to expand involvement of the neighborhood in projects and plans affecting the neighborhood.  These could range from weeding the Mad-Tom Park to identifying walking paths to working with the City on future land uses to writing histories of the neighborhood.  These and other projects could add considerably to the experience of living in Northwest Olympia.  But no project will happen without increased involvement by the neighborhood.  And that means a larger and more diverse Board.

If you are convinced, join the Board and come to our next Board meeting, May 29 at 803 Rogers. (Northwest corner of Rogers and Giles)

      If you can't attend but are interested, drop me an e-mail:              
      jerome.parker@comcast.net

.

We need you.  The neighborhood needs you.

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Embrace This Place

Good Morning,

The City and community partners continue to make progress in Place Making efforts downtown.

Please take a look at the newest version of our Embrace Place web presence, link below.  All this work comes from the incredible work community members did at our 2 Place Making meetings over the last 7 months and the participation of so many people in the Place Games.  So much exciting work still to be done.

http://olympiawa.gov/city-government/departments/community-planning-and-development/embrace-place

Questions? Contact

Ruth Snyder

Community Planning and Development

Downtown Code Enforcement Officer

City Liaison to ODA & PBIA Boards

w:360-709 2790

c:360-507-0436

rsnyder@ci.olympia.wa.us

Important Meeting About Garfield School Construction

Friends -

I received the following important notice from Ryan Betz of the Olympia School District regarding new construction at Garfield School.  I cannot (yet) copy the "attached flyer" onto this blog but I will continue trying.

Jerry Parker


Hi Jerry,

I just wanted to send you a quick email to invite you and anyone in the
neighborhood to a community meeting about upcoming remodel to Garfield
Elementary. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 30 at 6:30 p.m. in
the Garfield gym. The purpose of the meeting is to get input from parents
and community members on the design of the new Garfield facility. We hope
that you and the rest of your neighbors can join us to share your thoughts
and ideas about this project. The attached flyer has more details. Please
do not hesitate to call or email me if you have any questions.

Best regards,
Ryan

Ryan Betz
Director of Communications & Community Relations
Olympia School District
Office: (360) 596-6104

Meeting on Home Foreclosures

                   Foreclosure and Eviction Advocacy Workshop
                     Olympia Center  room 200  at  7-9 PM  on  May 16
A group of concerned citizens will be holding a Foreclosure and eviction work shop and study session to explore the local interest and need for developing an advocacy group to assist home owners who are facing foreclosure and eviction. This meeting will be held in room 200 at the Olympia Center   at 7 PM  on May 16. 

Since the financial crisis in 2008 millions of Americans have lost their homes due to the irresponsible and outright criminal practices of Wall street and the financial institutions. Now thousand of homes sit empty, destroying communities while many people have no place to go.

Across the country there are many groups working on empowering people facing foreclosure and eviction to help them stand up for their rights and to find real solutions to this epidemic that is sweeping the nation.

If you have a story or information to share or our interested in supporting a foreclosure/eviction advocacy group please join us at this meeting.

Rod at smcrae@earthlink.net

A Walk on the West Side!

Mr. Parker

I would like to invite you and the members of the Northwest Olympia Neighborhood Association to an informational meeting to learn about upcoming projects on West Bay Drive. 

When:             Wednesday, May 23, 2012

6:00 p.m. to 8:00p.m.

Where:            Garfield Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room

325 Plymouth St. NW in Olympia.

Public Art

You will also have an opportunity to provide input on the public art component of the sidewalk project. City Parks, Arts and Recreation staff and the project artist will be at the meeting to learn about this community and hear from you about your walking experience along West Bay, both now and in anticipation of changes once the new sidewalk is complete.

Right of Way Acquisition

In order to construct the sidewalk, the City may need to acquire additional right of way. Project staff will be available to review current project plans and discuss potential right of way needs.

If you are unable to attend and have any questions you may contact me at 360.753.8484, or email at jrioux@ci.olympia.wa.us.

I am also  happy to attend one your association’s meetings to talk about these projects.

Jim Rioux

Project Manager

City of Olympia Public Works Department

(360) 753-8484

Police Report on Graffiti

 (The following report was distributed by Officer Amy Stull of the Olympia Police Department.)

On April 17^th, about 20 of us met to review quarterly graffiti data, discuss new information and review progress on the strategic plan.

Chief Roberts opened the meeting by discussing his commitment to deterring illegal tagging, including working with the prosecutor to create a separate graffiti ordinance with escalating consequences for repeat offenders. He talked about some of the tactics that were used in Eugene. He also made suggestions for citizen involvement beyond logging and cleaning tags, to include using cameras, notifying police when large tags are painted over in often hit areas, reporting crimes in progress and helping communicate with the public about the problem.

The group agreed that more publicity and information sharing will benefit the effort. Emphasis should be placed on cost to the community and individuals, general awareness of the problem and how to report. Education of the community through personal contact and with policy makers was also discussed. Working through publicity to communicate that illegal graffiti is not accepted here will be the challenge.

Dallen Archer, Probation Crew leader, shared survey information from a school project at Evergreen. He found interesting opinions about whether non-permitted graffiti was illegal (majority – yes), whether it was important to  have a space for expression (majority – yes) and if people were willing to pay for clean up (majority – no). He also reviewed information about some of the local tagging crews and associated monikers.

I’ll be working on a publicity plan and involving more volunteers in the clean-up efforts. Since the meeting, there have been four more arrests for tagging. There was a rash of graffiti related to May 1^st that will hopefully subside since that day has passed.

Thanks for everything you’ve been doing.

Amy

Graffiti Update

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARRESTS MADE IN GRAFFITI CASES

Date:  May 4, 2012                                                                                                      

Released by:

·         Laura Wohl, Public Information Officer

·         Phone:  360.753.8214

·         E-mail:  lwohl@ci.olympia.wa.us     

The City of Olympia Fights Graffiti

In the weeks leading up to May 1, 2012, buildings in downtown Olympia and the Westside were victims of a rash of graffiti.   City Hall, on 4^th Avenue, was among the buildings targeted.   Much of the graffiti was related to events associated with May Day and was accompanied by anarchist symbols.  The Olympia Police Department responded with targeted patrols that netted four suspects.  Local residents provided information that led to an additional four taggers being taken into custody.  Arrests were made in both downtown Olympia and on the Westside.  Business owners, neighborhood groups, and City of Olympia staff moved quickly to cover graffiti as it occurred.  Graffiti removal is an important tool for discouraging future tagging.   Taggers do not get satisfaction when their work is painted over or removed.

Olympia Police Chief Ronnie Roberts stated, “The recent arrests are a great example of both law enforcement and the community coming together to address crime.  Vandalism like graffiti encourages further degradation of a community.  We must all work together to proactively report and respond to criminal activity.”

For additional information about how to partner with the City in its fight against graffiti, please visit the City’s Graffiti webpage.

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